Stardate 20031221.1029

(On Screen): Somebody named "Pepe Escobar" writes a two-part article about how the US is losing in Iraq. In part I, he explains how Saddam's arrest is actually a victory for Saddam. In part II, he explains how there will be an increase in resistance.

I must confess that I couldn't wade all the way through them. It became clear that he wasn't living in the same world I was. But I decided to Google him. It's an interesting record.

The weblog "Global Angst" wrote this about him last May:

He's a left-wing Brazilian journalist who seems to specialize in primarily Muslim countries and writes for a Hong Kong newspaper, a true example of "global community". Pepe is smart, articulate, and well-connected with sources that aren't easily available to other Western journalists. His strongly anti-US views don't hurt him either, at least in this regard. He's got quite a reputation outside the normal left-wing community with an article he wrote for the Asia Times in late August of 2001 that suggested, in a round-about fashion, that al Qaeda was on the verge of a major attack, as indeed they were. Since then, his predictions have been spotty, as often wrong as right.

In November of 2001, Escobar wrote "The New Imperialism", which included this sage observation:

The New Afghan War increasingly runs the risk of being configured as The New Vietnam. Washington has said from the beginning this is not Gulf War II. But now, deeply frustrated because they are unable to break the Taliban - those medieval architects of a pan-Islamic utopia - the Pentagon is contemplating a Desert Storm-style invasion the next Afghan spring. This won't be Gulf War II: this will be Vietnam II.

Last March, he wrote at great length about the Neo-con Conspiracy To Rule The World.

He's quite a guy, quite a guy. I'm glad he's on our side... (heh)

I must say I did like this article by him when it first came out, however.