Fortress America
Via Dan Froomkin's essential White House Watch:
Bush visited Al-Asad Air Base -- an enormous, heavily fortified American outpost for 10,000 troops that while technically in Anbar Province in fact has a 13-mile perimeter keeping Iraq -- and Iraqis -- at bay. Bush never left the confines of the base, known as " Camp Cupcake," for its relatively luxurious facilities, but nevertheless announced: "When you stand on the ground here in Anbar and hear from the people who live here, you can see what the future of Iraq can look like."
Bush visited Al-Asad Air Base -- an enormous, heavily fortified American outpost for 10,000 troops that while technically in Anbar Province in fact has a 13-mile perimeter keeping Iraq -- and Iraqis -- at bay. Bush never left the confines of the base, known as " Camp Cupcake," for its relatively luxurious facilities, but nevertheless announced: "When you stand on the ground here in Anbar and hear from the people who live here, you can see what the future of Iraq can look like."
posted by Paul McAuley at 2:40 pm
8 Comments:
Why don't you stick to SF instead of our country's politics? Oh, that's right you don't write SF anymore as witnessed by your last couple mediorce books.
Why the author couldn't discuss politics of the USA, Russia or whatever he wants in his blog?
SF is not about aliens, it's about us.
Its the typical Eurpoean Socialist/Left Wing crap. Lets focus on SF instead
No anon I'd disagree. Mr McAuley can discuss anything he wants, regardless. And in this he is correct- for Bush to claim he is getting an understanding of the people whilst never leaving his fortified base is nonsensical. He is in essence making things up.
Certainly aspects of Mr McAuley's politics can be disputed, certainly like many on the left he focuses too much on America, but in this single matter he is strictly correct. Debate, but do so meaningfully and correctly.
If a history of the past 10 years had fallen into your hands in 1997, would you have considered it anything other than not-terribly-believable dystopian science fiction?
Scrap the last ten years, the last 30 at least. Particuarly the EU which manages nearly every fascist requirement.
Given the Ongoing Situation, I thought Bush’s remarks the most science-fictional thing I’d read, lately...
Too bad the surge succeeded eh?
"Bush’s remarks the most science-fictional thing I’d read, lately"
And that's why I'll never read your books.
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