Front-Running

The "front-running" scandal at the New York Stock Exchange is a huge story and The Wall Street Journal's coverage has been excellent. The Board of the NYSE will fracture over this. And the future of the NYSE itself is at stake.

Exactly Right

Every so often, someone comes along and just nails it. Read this column in today's Financial Times.

The Masters

What was Tiger thinking? He himself says that the least reliable part of his game is driving accuracy. He himself knows that he can stripe that knock-down 2-iron 250 yards. And yet he went with the driver on the third hole (a short --350-yard -- par four) and he never really recovered. The decision was all the more astonishing because Tiger's course management skills, especially in major championships, are legendary.

The absence of a Tiger charge deflated the last two hours of Sunday's broadcast. Two things stood out: Mike Weir's steady putting and Jeff Maggert's professionalism. Weir three-putted only once during the entire tournament and he made four-footer after five-footer all day Sunday. Maggert watched his day turn to ashes with a triple-bogey on the front and then a snowman (an 8) on the 12th hole. But he never quit, and went on to birdie 14,15 and 16. He finished the tournament under par, a testament to his ability and character.

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

"The gravest danger to freedom lies at the perilous crossroads of radicalism and technology. When the spread of chemical and biological and nuclear weapons, along with ballistic missile technology -- when that occurs, even weak states and small groups could attain a catastrophic power to strike great nations. Our enemies have declared this very intention, and have been caught seeking these terrible weapons. They want the capability to blackmail us, or to harm us, or to harm our friends -- and we will oppose them with all our power.

For much of the last century, America's defense relied on the Cold War doctrines of deterrence and containment. In some cases, those strategies still apply. But new threats also require new thinking. Deterrence -- the promise of massive retaliation against nations -- means nothing against shadowy terrorist networks with no nation or citizens to defend. Containment is not possible when unbalanced dictators with weapons of mass destruction can deliver those weapons on missiles or secretly provide them to terrorist allies.

We cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. We cannot put our faith in the word of tyrants, who solemnly sign non-proliferation treaties, and then systemically break them. If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long.

Homeland defense and missile defense are part of stronger security, and they're essential priorities for America. Yet the war on terror will not be won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the worst threats before they emerge. In the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act.

Our security will require the best intelligence, to reveal threats hidden in caves and growing in laboratories. Our security will require modernizing domestic agencies such as the FBI, so they're prepared to act, and act quickly, against danger. Our security will require transforming the military you will lead -- a military that must be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of the world. And our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives. (Applause.)"

-- President George W. Bush, West Point Commencement, 2002

What A Day!

The fighting forces of the United States and the United Kingdom have won a tremendous victory in Iraq. They performed brilliantly and this is their moment. God bless them all.

Hugh Grant's Brother; A London Story

A friend e-mails:

I met Hugh Grant's brother at a dinner party recently. Very nice, also good-looking, a banker working now in NY, the older brother. What's it like? I asked, having a kid brother who's world famous. Rather fun, he said, then told me that his mother, at a dinner party in London, was asked what her children did. Oh, one's a banker and one's a film star, she said. Really, how interesting, the other guest said, which bank?

Michael Kelly

The addition of Michael Kelly to the Iraq War casualty list is enormously sad. Every addition to the casualty list is enormously sad. Mr. Kelly is well-remembered here. Down to his dying day, he was loyal and true.

Disaster

US Forces in Iraq suffered a stunning blow today when R.W. "Johnny" Apple announced -- on the front page of today's New York Times -- that US Forces in Iraq were winning. CNN military analyst Gen. Norman Downing (ret.) said Apple's analysis was "a serious setback for coalition forces" that "could point the way toward quagmire and even defeat." "When Johnny says you're winning," said Downing, "that's when you know you're losing."

Capt. Weir Gonnawin, a US Special Forces operative working near Baghdad Airport, was disheartened by the news. "I'm gonna change my last name to Gonnalose," he said.

Various senior officials at Centcom were unavilable for comment. One official, who asked not to be quoted by name, said: "defeat seems certain now. Just when we 're winning, he has to come along and ruin everything."

Cable News Networks Do Battle

Here's my piece about the cable news networks covering the War in Iraq. It was published today in The Wall Street Journal's "Weekend Journal," which is that fourth section of the paper with all the real estate ads. I must say that working with the Journal staff is a pleasure.

Situation Analysis

This link provides a fairly good overview of the military options. The Victor Davis Hanson has a good piece in The National Review. There's good news and bad news here. The bad news is the Marines are hungry. The good news is the citizens of central Iraq are feeding them.

The siege of Baghdad nears.