Darker Motives

It now appears that the most-moderate member of the Bush foreign-policy team—the only one with active military experience, let alone combat experience—will be replaced by the individual most "at fault" for the 9/11 atrocities. That's not to say that Dr Rice is personally responsible, only that the correlation of data that might have led to a less-atrocious result falls within her job description. Thus far, the foreign reaction appears very restrained, particularly as Gen Powell's departure was predictable.

The kind of spin that various parties in Washington are going to try to put on Powell's "legacy" promises to be at least moderately amusing. What promises to be even more amusing is the probable demonstrations of complete ignorance that will spill out of the spinmeisters' spin organs (usually not their mouths…); what promises to be immensely frustrating is that virtually nobody will notice.