George W. Bush, who can’t decide whether or not we can win the war on terror, says the Taliban “is no longer in existence.”
“The Taliban is no longer in existence.”
You don’t have to believe me; the President said it himself.
Now that’s what I call optimism; not only does he imagine good things that might happen in the future, he imagines good things as actually existing in the present.
What’s strange is that the non-existent Taliban has enjoyed such a resurgence that Karzai is being forced to negotiate with them.
How much longer is this severely delusional character going to remain in power?
Either four months, or four months and four more long years.
It’s up to you.
[Arithmetically updated.]
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
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