The Autumn of our Expectations...

Yes, it's been over a month since we last entered our thoughts here. We've been focused on soliciting support from people whose voice on this pressing matter would be indispensible in any effort to make it a concrete proposition for the United States Congress to consider...

... but alas, we've not succeeded. As said before, too often the response has been that the proposition is too uncertain or that the vaunted Iraq Study Group report is finally gaining its rightful place on the table.

And then there was "Waiting for Petraeus", a long and finally anticlimactic drama that has left matters as uncertain as they were one year ago when it all began with the publication of the ISG report. Adding to that the fresh GOP-led blockade of Jim Webb's sincere attempt to put some compassion in the rotation of troops into a warzone, we're basically back to the beginning...

... heck, we've even got Alan Greenspan arguing that the intervention was 'essential' for the American economy, so we're back to 1979 and that fateful moment when Jimmy Carter winked and went with "stability" rather than "independence" as a basis for weaning our country back to economic health after the inflation-ridden post-Vietnam malaise.

We haven't had much response to the proposition itself because its diffusion has been limited by our preconceived notion that simply throwing it into the winds of the chattering electrons would have led either to distortion (at best) or conflation in the cacophony of schemes and proposals. We may try one last time because the premise of our proposition is still technically viable, but our hopes are not great...

... and we hope that something will be done to stem the red tide of instability and tension before either time, fate, or malign intent have their way.

So if you haven't read it yet, see http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dddbckfg_1c47g6j