We’re off to Africa in a couple of hours, to two fairly remote sites, one in South Africa, the other in Congo. They promise wifi, and assuming that’s true I’ll try to send pretty pictures. Marine Capt. (Reserves) Ledeen is coming along, and he knows how to get the pics from the camera to the computer. We were just talking about all those people who thought Anbar Province was hopelessly lost to al Qaeda, back when “the war” was on the front page every day…and how life is full of surprises. Of course, McCain isn’t a Marine, but he’s a fighter, and I still have my doubts about the “all is lost” crowd, as I did when just about everyone thought the war was lost. Africa has often been written off as a doomed continent, but nowadays Africa’s doing much better, in no small part because George W. Bush has sent a lot of American money, expertise, and medicine there. It’s one of the really good things he’s done, and while I am second to none in my criticism of his failure of strategic vision in the Middle East, I am full of admiration for his work in Africa.

arrivederci.