(re)Tagging = POSTERBOY

I only now found out about Poster Boy and it seems he was already caught ... or was he?



See him in action

A Strange Alliance in the Forgotten War

In the rhetoric war against Iran, the US constantly finds itself in odd positions. Today it was announced that former Soviet paupers Kyrgyzstan would bail out on it's US base deal. Russia has the US by the balls on this one (they have a base there too). The base has been pretty essential to supplying the Afghan war, the one Obama wants to step up. It's yet another blunder that the Bush administration didn't use the rather large window of opportunity to end the rein of the Taliban and, instead, becoming fanatic about Iraq. But now it's Obama's issue to deal with, and the door to Afghanistan via Kyrgyzstan is closing. Russia, in it's typical post-soviet used car salesman way, wants a political leg and an arm to allow the US a Russian passage to Afghanistan via friendly Uzbek and Kazak airspace. The proverbial arm and leg are said to be sizable concessions in the old NATO apparatus.

What route does that leave to the Taliban front? Pakistan is the most obvious route. But it's a tough position to put a barley stable nuclear (and Pashtun) country in.

The other route is a country that has been a natural enemy to the Sunni Taliban. Iran.
Despite all the saber rattling, it's clear Iran want's to play on the big boys playground. Hell, they have already joined the elite satellite club. Their Russian buddies to the North might not be the only benefactors to this base closure. Sounds far fetched? Anyone care to remember how we got into bed with the Mujaheddin or Saddam in the first place? (or hell, maybe the last time we did with Iran!) Oh yeah, war baby!

UPDATE: Juan Cole nails it;

It is striking that Western anxieties about Iran often depict the regime as "medieval," but what they are really afraid of appears on the contrary to be Iranian modernity.

Insane Clown Posse?

If anyone knows where I can find the Abstinence Clown video, please comment/send to me!

The story on Derek Dye the Abstinence Clown