Jerry Schweighart Has Company

I invited my court martial, and today I stand ready to answer these charges. I was prepared to deploy if only the President would authorize the release of the proof of his eligibility. He refused, and now the court will determine the issue, and my fate. The constitution matters. The truth matters.

-- Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin, court-martialled for refusal to obey orders from President Barack Obama on the ostensible grounds that Obama is not a natural-born United States citizen, in a press release issued by the American Patriot Foundation, 23 April 2010

Theater

It's a kind of theater. Sometimes, a car will fly by in the air.

-- Juma Gul, who works beside a mountainous stretch of the Afghan national highway that is famous for accidents, New York Times, 8 February 2010

No Interest

The absence of a time frame for transition would deny us any sense of urgency in working with the Afghan government. America has no interest in fighting an endless war in Afghanistan.

-- President Barack Obama, 1 December 2009, in a speech announcing the addition of 30,000 troops to the fight in Afghanistan, coupled with a plan to begin removing troops in July 2011

Karzai Wins!

Anybody can win unless there happens to be a second entry.

-- George Ade (1866 - 1944), American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright

Remarkable

He's a semi-literate individual who has met with no more than a handful of non-Muslims in his entire life. And he's staged one of the most remarkable military comebacks in modern history.

-- Former CIA officer Bruce Riedel, on Mullah Muhammad Omar, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, New York Times, 11 October 2009

Insurmountable Opportunities

We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.

-- Walt Kelly (1913-1973), creator of the Pogo comic strip

Seminar

It has been the largest seminar in my life and I have been the sole student. I connect back to the people because I have heard them, and I have heard some very harsh things.

-- Ashraf Ghani, on his presidential campaign in Afghanistan, New York Times, 14 August 2009