News Nugget 481

The Nankoweap Canyon stretch of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.  From National Geographic.

Afghans to Be `Masters in Their House' With NATO Security Handover by 2014 from Bloomberg News Service
"President Barack Obama and leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said the alliance’s 130,000 troops will “stay as long as it takes to finish our job,” though a province-by-province handover should be completed in about four years…"
It's not 2012 -- but I don't think anyone thought it was really going to be that anyway.  This sounds realistic.  The fact that this is coming from Obama AND NATO make the declaration pretty solid.  The Europeans are even hotter to leave than we are, and they wouldn't be lining up behind this statement if they didn't have better-than-the-average-bear assurances that it was going to happen.

Top Al Qaeda Leader Killed in US Drone Attack from Sify News [of India in English]
"A senior Al Qaeda leader, Mufti Ali Muhammad, has reportedly been killed along with two of his accomplices in a US drone strike Friday in Pakistan's North Waziristan district along the Afghan border.  The pilotless drone fired four missiles at a vehicle, in which Mufti was travelling along with three other militants near Mir Ali village of Miranshah in the restive tribal area."

Retired General: Senate GOP Doesn't Trust Our Military (Greg Sargent) from the Washington Post
"Jameson, referring to the wide array of current and former military leaders who support New Start, said it was "quite puzzling" that all this military support is being "ignored." He added: "I don't know what that says about the trust that people have and the confidence they have in our military.""

Here's the bigger picture:
Conservatives Split with U.S. Military Leaders over U.S.-Russia Nuke Treaty from the Washington Post
"An unusual split has opened between conservative Republicans and the American military leadership over the U.S.-Russia nuclear treaty, with current and former generals urging swift passage but politicians expressing far more skepticism. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) "essential to our future security." Retired generals have been so concerned about getting it ratified that some have traveled around the country promoting it."
For the GOP to sign onto the treaty they would have to walk back on SO MUCH partisan, anti-Obama rhetoric, they can't bring themselves to do it.  It amounts to confessing that "Yes, Mr. & Mrs. America --  we lied our asses off.  The treaty REALLY is in the country's national interest."  Are there enough responsible GOP senators in the lame-duck session?  I guess we'll find out!

Obama and the Book of Job (Jon Meacham) from the New York Times
"In the history of the American presidency, reversal happens time and time again: Lyndon Johnson declining to run four years after his landslide victory in 1964, George H. W. Bush losing re-election after winning the Persian Gulf war of 1991, Bill Clinton in the 1994 midterms, and now Barack Obama. The connection between the trials of Job and the president’s midterm rebuke came to mind as I read what I think is the political book of the season: THE WISDOM BOOKS: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes (Norton, $35), a new translation and commentary by Robert Alter. "

Republicans in a Post-Post-9/11 World (Dana Milbank) from the Washington Post
"Republicans seem to have entered a post-post-9/11 era, in which national security is no longer a higher priority than their interest in undermining President Obama. There's no need to resort to the demagoguery once used against Democrats, but neither would it hurt the White House and congressional Democrats to point out that their opponents are trying to weaken Americans' security."

Hiding from Reality (Bob Herbert) from the New York Times
"Wherever you choose to look — at the economy and jobs, the public schools, the budget deficits, the nonstop warfare overseas — you’ll see a country in sad shape. Standards of living are declining, and American parents increasingly believe that their children will inherit a very bad deal. We’re in denial about the extent of the rot in the system, and the effort that would be required to turn things around. It will likely take many years, perhaps a decade or more, to get employment back to a level at which one could fairly say the economy is thriving."
Some straight, blunt talk from Mr. Herbert today.  I can't find fault with his pessimistic assessment concerning how the next decade will look.

Let's Rescue the Race Debate (Charles Blow) from the New York Times
"The argument of these whites minimizes the victimization of others while magnifying their own victimization. While their argument may hold for some individuals, when you look at blacks writ large, the argument falls apart."

Why Sarah Palin Shouldn't Run (Mona Charen) from Townhall.com
"By telling Barbara Walters that she thinks she can defeat President Obama, Sarah Palin has dimmed hopes cherished by sensible Republicans that she might decide against a run for the White House in 2012. Here are just some of the reasons she should not run."
This is the first appearance of Mona Charen among the nuggets and it's a rare day indeed when anything from Townhall makes it here.  A rare two-fer today!!

BIOGRAPHY NUGGET!!
The Last Hero: A Review of Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda from the Daily Beast
"A new biography by Michael Korda captures T. E. Lawrence’s epic life and his role in forming the modern Middle East. Brad Gooch on his strange life and legacy."

PITTSBURGH ZOO NUGGET!!
Baby Tiger Cubs Debut at Pittsburgh Zoo (VIDEO) from Huffington Post
"These cubs are Amur (or Siberian) tigers, the world's largest cat species. The tiger is found mostly in forests of eastern Russia. Although together in the zoo, the tiger lives alone in the wild, scent-marking its territory to keep away rivals."

BOOK SALES NUGGET!!
Mark Twain’s Autobiography Flying Off the Shelves from the New York Times
"When editors at the University of California Press pondered the possible demand for “Autobiography of Mark Twain,” a $35, four-pound, 500,000-word doorstopper of a memoir, they kept their expectations modest with a planned print run of 7,500 copies. Now it is a smash hit across the country, landing on best-seller lists and going back to press six times, for a total print run — so far — of 275,000. The publisher cannot print copies quickly enough, leaving some bookstores and online retailers stranded without copies just as the holiday shopping season begins."
I am surprised that UCal Press so underestimated the demand for this book.  I know I've been waiting anxiously for it since I first saw word of it last summer.  Glad to see that people are scarfing it up!