[beckett]

With all due respect, I don't at all interpret his hypothetical about Albright as an endorsement of the view that Serbia actually did pose a security or military threat to the US. The "outraged" reaction he "imagines" would have occurred had HalfBright put on a dog-and-pony slide show for the Security Council indicates that he realizes no such threat existed.

Again, in the context of the essay --- Feb 2003 with the war looming in Iraq --- Hanson's aim was to justify Powell's dog-and-pony slide show. He employed the Serbian analogy for rhetorical purposes only, not to argue that Serbia actually posed a threat to the US.

[JohnGalt]

And I read it differently, that's all. Its sloppy for a history professor to use hyperbole, but that is a stylistic issue. In the context of the piece, I read someone who thought the Serbian intervention was completely justified, which I find absurd.

I don't consult the writers from the New Republic, I guess, for national security observations.

With a little luck, we will get a response.