Because Al Qaeda hates PowerPoint, or, Today it's no liquids; what's next, no snakes?

Via Arms and Influence, from Thomas Ricks' new book Fiasco: the American Military Adventure in Iraq comes this, an explanatory powerpoint slide created by the Joint Task Force IV, the group responsible for planning the final transitional stage of the US presence in Iraq. He includes this slide with the account of one senior military officer's problem that Rumsfeld's command failed to give clear orders with clear goals.



Um...you think? Seriously, if we're trying to put this plan into action it is no wonder everybody thinks we're jerks. My favorite is the arrow that points toward "stability." Why didn't they just make one pointing to "awesomeness?"

And while I've talked to a few of you about this, I just want to underscore my uncomfortability with the security response to this most recent plot against air travel. We get a big show, and people feel better sacrificing their conditioner and Fiji Water so that they feel safe on a plane. But medications could still be take on, right? And are they really going to check every prescription to make sure it's legitimate? It's not like they can make you take a big swig of your medication in front of them - some medications are lethal in high doses.

Maybe..I don't know, I'm just saying...maybe we could work on our foreign policy a little so that fewer folks would want to blow us up? It seems like all those civilian deaths in lebanon might not be a bad place to start.

sigh...only 5 more days 'til snakes on a plane!