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there's a swirl of rumor about nearly every aspect of this action. over the past few days reports surfaced that arms are getting to the rebels through egypt. there was a long denial from the provisional government in cairo this morning that sounded persuasive, but could either really mean (a) the arms aren't going through egypt or (b) they are but it really shouldn't get any attention. i haven't heard anything directly about us or uk special forces being on the ground since early on when the uk squad was caught and then released, to the embarrassment of london. but given the debate that's happening about weapons delivery and the problem that attends those deliveries of showing people how they work, i'd be more surprised if there were not people on the ground than i would be to find out there are officially.
one place i think everyone who's paying attention to this is in agreement, though: this is a new kind of situation and not a whole lot is clear about it. not a lot of precedent. and the precedents that exist shouldn't be precedents because they were fucking disasters (iraq anyone? or for the Really Big Show, vietnam?......and for france, there's always algeria, which turned out real well for them...)
and none of this is to even start talking about syria, which could well be the next place to blow up. that'll be ugly. and the policy complications that attend libya will be a walk in the park in comparison if it does. there's little doubt---at this point---that asad will massacre people to stay in power. he's already moving (accepting the resignation or firing the government for example, the promise to lift martial law and institute reforms) but that's balanced by the speech from this morning blaming some "conspiracy against syria" for all that's happened. so the options are all on the table. and the americans have a realpolitik interest in syria along much the same lines as they have with egypt----israel.
and then there's saudi arabia...
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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