Wikileaks: The Bottom Line

So once again, and for the last time, we ask the question: How does this alter the prevailing conventional wisdom about the war?

It doesn't, of course. These media "bombshells" will simply bounce off the hardened shell of American exceptionalism -- which easily countenances the slaughter of civilians and "targeted killings" and "indefinite detention" and any number of other atrocities anyway. In fact, I predict the chief "takeaway" from the story will be this:

American forces are doing their best to help the poor Afghans, but the ungrateful natives are too weak and corrupt to be trusted, while America's good intentions are also being thwarted by evil outsiders.

   Chris Floyd

I can't argue with that. I'm sure that's the exact view many Americans will hold. But if it could get us out of Afghanistan, I don't really care what fairy story they choose to tell themselves.

We have already seen far too many atrocities, brutalities and acts of criminal folly countenanced, when they are not actually praised, far too many times -- over and over and over again -- in the course of the last decade to believe that these disgorgings of junk intelligence and apparatchik memos will make any difference.

Any difference for the better, that is.

Yeah, well, there's that possibility, too. And a very likely one. But it was still important for them to come out. Let the truth be told.

Taliban killed three US troops in the Pashtun south with two bombings, bringing the death toll for July 2010 to 63, the highest since W. began the war.

  Juan Cole