[Pokey78]

[aculeus]

He now regrets the whole ear-slicing thing, and the good news is he’s ready to come back and serve his country. So is his fellow warlord Roosevelt Johnson (no relation).

(no relation) chuckle.

[sd-joe]

Mark Steyn sure has an EAR for prose.

He is such a super writer.

[FreedomPoster]

The Congressional Black Caucus blames all this on the legacy of colonialism, but it would be more accurate to call it the legacy of post-colonialism or prematurely terminated colonialism. The first generation of the continent’s leaders were those LSE-educated Afro-Marxists who did such a great job at destroying their imperial inheritance. By the time that crowd faded from the scene, the Cold War was over and nobody needed African puppets. So today West Africans find themselves in a land beyond politics. You can’t seriously talk of these factions as being Marxist or Maoist or Blairite. None represents any coherent political platform. The video of Samuel Doe’s sudden loss of hearing predates the equivalent scene in Reservoir Dogs by a couple of years, but that’s the valid comparison: these are criminal operations, not political ones. The only difference is that the ear-slicing of Sam Doe wasn’t accompanied on the soundtrack by ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’. That’ll be left for the US Marines to sing.

The insight, wit, and effective summarization demonstrated in that paragraph is just breathtaking.

[Lysander]

Statehood for Liberia.

[spodefly]

I think Steyn should have his own network, where 24 hours a day he 'decodes' the double-speak of the major news organs and victims groups. Within 6 months, the world would be a completely different place because there is no way the sheeple could avoid the truthfulness and wit Steyn brings. Plus, he is so prolific that he must already be awake 24 hours a day anyway.

[headsonpikes]

bump.

This African story is just starting to be an American political issue.

Which is the thing to become if one wants attention in this Imperial Age.

;^)

[StatesEnemy]

the very prerequisites for a democratic political system do not exist among the people in question

Understatement of the day.

[Tax-chick]

The New York Times managed to find at least one Liberian who’s got the message: ‘One young man held up a torn sheet of cardboard, his fury scrawled with a black marker. “G. Bush Killer Liberia,” it said.’ Wow! Forget Doe and Taylor and the various Johnsons: G. Bush Killer Liberia! Before a single warlord’s genital has yet slipped down Dubya’s gullet!

Steyn defies description. Words fail me.

[joesnuffy]

If the libs are looking for a moral purity war to fight
they should try the Sudan

Ah thats right its another Muslim stronghold

where little Christian boys and girls are kidnapped sold ...held as sex slaves..to muslim slave owners
When their masters tire of them ..they are tortured in order to get them to renounce Christ
and take allah and mohammed as their new gods...

If they refuse (who knows even if they do as they are tortured into) their little arms and legs have been cut off...or they are set onfire..

Hey...What's a muslim to do when there aint no cable?

[KellyAdmirer]

The liberals want to intervene only as long as no oil is involved. They are obsessed with the myopic view that if there is oil in the place to be liberated, the Republicans will be enriched somehow, so the US must not get involved because that would hurt Democrats. Now, in Liberia, there is no oil, no US national interest, but lots of Black people killing each other - so the liberals can't get the US involved fast enough.

It is the mindset of an 11-year-old, orient everything around your own parochial concerns. No wonder the NY Times wants us in there so bad.

[Gritty]

Steyn manages, as usual, to cut through the bullsh!t of the Democrat's words - and those of their sychophantic Media allies - to arrive at the bullsh!t of their thought patterns and policies.

Africa is a Horror Show, just waiting to entrap America in a ghastly death-dance. Naturally, this (and the fact they are pandering to their black base) appeals to the Dem's political instincts so they want us to send troops!

As Steyn remarks, as soon as we are stuck in this genuine quagmire, their rallying cry will be

"No Blood For Diamonds!"

[tictoc]

I’m an imperialist,

First time I've seen Steyn come right out and say it.

I call myself a neo-imperialist, because there were serious moral problems with the "old" imperialism, although on balance (British) imperialism was a good thing. Neo or not, it's nice to have company out on the fringe of current politics.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[goldstategop]

Unlike Iraq, Liberia has no strategic resources nor does it threaten any American national interest or ally. Its just a swamp of violence and despair. And this is the place the Democrats and liberals want us to commit to. If President is smart, he'll stay well clear of it. Save this "white man's burden" for some else - like Howard Dean and the Eight Dwarfs who can volunteer and go clean Monrovia up.

[Flashman_at_the_charge]

ear-today-gone-tomorrow

Class.

[Rummyfan]

Bump for later read.... thanks Pokey!

[r9etb]

It makes sense to Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church — i.e., America’s Anglicans. On Iraq, he advocated endless jaw-jaw — ‘diplomatic and multilateral initiatives ...a foreign policy that seeks to reconcile and heal...’ — but for Liberia he’s got the whiff of cordite in his nostrils, demanding immediate ‘peace-keeping forces to end the hostilities and achieve a ceasefire. Only then can an orderly transition be made from the current chaos to a legitimate and stable government.’

You've got to remember that Frank Griswold's (I can't believe my church has a Presiding Bishop named 'Griswold' -- he's a jerk, BTW) interest in Africa has more to do with sucking up to African Bishops than anything else, in hopes that they won't follow through on their threats concerning his apostasy.

Once you've got that straight, Frank's comments take on an entirely different meaning.

[gymbeau]

Thanks!
Always nice to hoist a frothy Steyn!

Jim

[DeuceTraveler]

The more I read the less I'm thrilled about the prospects of sending troops there. It would be nice to stabilize Africa, but where can we put a foothold that we won't be supporting some African, lunatic dictator? Oh, but we could get the UN involved... you know, that organization run by that African, socialist dictator.