Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Gunfight at the Syrian Coral
The recent whoop-la over an incursion by US forces into Syria in hot pursuit of an Iraqi convoy seems to me a classic case of the press getting a hold of a story without considering the realities on the ground. It's not as though there is a white picket fence along the border. My wholly uninformed guess is that US forces engaged the Iraqis in the compound mentioned in the times article, and the Syrian border guards who were there returned fire. The American brought to bear overwhelming force (a style of warfare we have been applying since Grant ground down Lee's armies in Virginia) and the Syrians ended up hog-tied and face down on the ground along with everyone else not in a US uniform. The Americans, realizing that they had some non-Iraqis in the mix, were not just going to load up in their helos and leave the wounded Syrians there. From what I've seen of various news articles, this was just over the border, so we are not talking about snatch and grab on the outskirts of Damascus.
The recent whoop-la over an incursion by US forces into Syria in hot pursuit of an Iraqi convoy seems to me a classic case of the press getting a hold of a story without considering the realities on the ground. It's not as though there is a white picket fence along the border. My wholly uninformed guess is that US forces engaged the Iraqis in the compound mentioned in the times article, and the Syrian border guards who were there returned fire. The American brought to bear overwhelming force (a style of warfare we have been applying since Grant ground down Lee's armies in Virginia) and the Syrians ended up hog-tied and face down on the ground along with everyone else not in a US uniform. The Americans, realizing that they had some non-Iraqis in the mix, were not just going to load up in their helos and leave the wounded Syrians there. From what I've seen of various news articles, this was just over the border, so we are not talking about snatch and grab on the outskirts of Damascus.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Intellectual Rock Climbing
I spent the weekend at a conference in Squaw Valley, CA put on by the Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research. Given the fact that almost everyone else there was either a law professor, a neuroscientist, or a biologist, I spent my time listening to presentations and discussions which had me hanging on by my mental fingertips. Never the less, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and look forward to more of the same. Zack Lynch has done a much better job than I could ever manage of giving a brief overview of the topics discussed and the luminaries in attendance (Vernon Smith, recent recipient of a Nobel Prize in Economics among them) on his blog. If you have not had a chance to hear Prof. Smith, I strongly recommend you have a look at his interview at the Nobel Institute - he is quite a character, and continues to do some very exciting work.
I spent the weekend at a conference in Squaw Valley, CA put on by the Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research. Given the fact that almost everyone else there was either a law professor, a neuroscientist, or a biologist, I spent my time listening to presentations and discussions which had me hanging on by my mental fingertips. Never the less, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and look forward to more of the same. Zack Lynch has done a much better job than I could ever manage of giving a brief overview of the topics discussed and the luminaries in attendance (Vernon Smith, recent recipient of a Nobel Prize in Economics among them) on his blog. If you have not had a chance to hear Prof. Smith, I strongly recommend you have a look at his interview at the Nobel Institute - he is quite a character, and continues to do some very exciting work.
And so it begins...
Ah, my belated entry in the exciting world of Blogs (I feel I should capitalize this, now that Google has paid for this site). I'm inclined to reflect on what it is like to be unemployed in the Bay Area, but feel this topic may have been over worked of late. I'll likely stick to comments on international events and my thoughts on wireless communication, the two thinks I feel comfortable (although not perhaps competent) to write about.
Ah, my belated entry in the exciting world of Blogs (I feel I should capitalize this, now that Google has paid for this site). I'm inclined to reflect on what it is like to be unemployed in the Bay Area, but feel this topic may have been over worked of late. I'll likely stick to comments on international events and my thoughts on wireless communication, the two thinks I feel comfortable (although not perhaps competent) to write about.
