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The New York Times profiles one of the great counterinsurgents of the contemporary era ... and a great friend and mentor to this blogger.
RARELY does the hulking commander of American forces in Iraq meet with Iraqis or go to a news conference without a slight, dark-haired woman standing just a little to one side — as if to give him space, but almost always in his line of sight and within earshot.
The woman is Emma Sky, and she is an unlikely figure in the milieu of the generally strait-laced American military. She is British, 41, a civilian and a onetime opponent of the war, but nevertheless a political adviser, as well as confidante on many policy matters to the American commander, Gen. Ray Odierno.
She is often compared to Gertrude Bell, a celebrated early-20th-century British adventurer who was an architect of modern Iraq. That may be an overstatement, but Ms. Sky is nevertheless, like Ms. Bell, a woman to be reckoned with.
Ask her if she wants this as her next gig. Personally if I were her I wouldn't go home...nor Londonstani either...
Herman-Van-Rompuy-and-Baroness-Ashton
It's all yours, Tableegh. Better for them after all.
At first I thought this was from the Onion.
the article failed to mention how HOT ms. sky is.
and the impending shift of DoD to create Jedi warriors (i.e. "the Men Who Stare at Goats").
war as we know it will be no more and the Age of Aquarius will come forth in the year 2012.
"After high school, she entered Oxford’s Somerville College, one of two formerly all-women’s colleges and the alma mater of such strong-minded characters as Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi. "
Well-written article. I liked the above detail (and, Margaret Thatcher's official website has an interesting article on her closeness with Indira Gandhi, unless I'm totally making that up, which I might be, because my memory's cr*p. Hey, it's a blog comment section, not a peer-reviewed journal, okay?)
Anyway, extraordinary person.
Oh, and that NYT link takes you not only to the well-written article on Sky, but a lovely one on '36 hours in Rajasthan,' (the state where my parents grew up. Cool.
*There you have it: a conservative or libertarian (depending on the day of the week), complimenting the NYT! Will wonders never cease!
Very likely an anti-Semite, certainly a left-wing extremist. A perfect Chairman of the Joint Chiefs! At least she would trust the Russians less than the gullible Mr. Mullen.
I imagine I would find much to disagree with in terms of her political views. To be expected, given the respective political orientations.
Here is the Thatcher excerpt I was thinking of:
"I lunched with Indira Gandhi in her own modest home, where she insisted on seeing that her guests were all looked after and clearing away the plates while discussing matters of high politics. Both her sons, Sanjay and Rajiv, were present, although it was the former who had most to say for himself. He had, indeed, allegedly been responsible for many of the abuses such as forced sterilisation and compulsory re housing which had provoked such bitter opposition. But in spite of everything I found myself liking Mrs Gandhi herself. Perhaps I naturally sympathised with a woman politician faced with the huge strains and difficulties of governing a country as vast as India. But, in spite of a long self justificatory account she gave me of why the state of emergency had been necessary, I could not approve of her government's methods. She had taken a wrong turning and was to discover the fact at her Party's devastating election defeat in 1977."
A wrong turning, indeed.
http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=11092...
So, Madhu, extremism merits only "disagreement"? In that case, Cartwright's replacement has also been found.
Whatever, Visitor.
I don't know anything about her apart from the linked article, so, unless you give me a specific link, that's all you're getting from me for now. Give me a link, I'll rethink my placid commenterly "disagreement," and turn up the outrage, as needed.
Very likely an anti-Semite? Why, because she started her work in Israel/Palestine?
Madhu, I have sufficient confidence in your reading ability to be sure that you have read that part of the article where she accuses Americans of "mass murder," and that you have also noticed that she speaks of "a moral compromise" in the concluding quote.
As for you Raoul, it is a matter of common knowledge that the British Foreign Office is home to left-wing extremists of every sort, including rabid anti-Semites. Considering Sky's known views and her association with the FCO together, it must be considered most unlikely that she is not anti-Semitic.
@ Visitor: You were correct to chastise me. I got it wrong.
I'm kind of embarrassed, actually. I did read the above, and thought, 'well, that's typical of that sort,' and rolled my eyes. And, then, I went on to think, 'she's a human rights campaigner - and all that - and she advises the American Military, so she must be doing some good.' The soft bigotry of low expectations?
You were right to call me out. I could praise, and still note what she said about 'mass murder,' and that I disagree with the sentiment.
As for you Raoul, it is a matter of common knowledge that the British Foreign Office is home to left-wing extremists of every sort, including rabid anti-Semites.
Have you ever met a Foreign Office employee? Could you link or cite either of these libellous and actionable statements? Or are you a coward as well as a redbaiter?
Alex, your fulminating provocations discredit any criticism you may wish to make.
That'd be a "no", "no" and "yes", then.
Ajay, where Alex was offensive, you have succeeded in being infantile.
Hey! Madhu, you're being herded by an expert - long practice, going back centuries. Doesn't spring in to being without lots of guidance, beforehand, and all along the way.
Do you get paid for your posts, Madhu? That visitor does, I can almost guarantee it.
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