The war in Iraq may not lead to nation-building, but it sure has been great for career-building. And not just the debacle in Iraq: Since 9/11, new trails of advancement have been blazed in politics, law-enforcement, business, and journalism. In the last realm, my own specialty, for every good, thoughtful, conscientious book, or article, or essay, many of which have appeared, there are half a dozen more that are worthless, opportunistic events. They are mental Halliburtons. Here's an intellectual with a stalled career who writes a short muddled volume arguing an absurd historical analogy; here's a journalist in decline who'd long seen that the leftist star he'd hooked himself to was sinking and so seized 9/11 to finally, irrevocably swing--ranting, raving, name-calling, bullying--to the opposite ideological star; here's another fallen scribe notorious for abusive rhetoric and dodgy standards, who has resurrected himself and adopted the pained, rueful tone of a reluctant Catholic saint; here's a frenetically ambitious, transplanted British academic who is enjoying his fifteen minutes as the resident expert on imperial structures, adapting himself to the changing situation just as fast as his fleet little feet can carry him. Am I being nasty? Well, these spoilsmen--these intellectual profiteers--are extreme hawks, and their jingoism has helped lead us into our present debacle. They can't justifiably cry foul unless they admit their mistakes. And not a single one of them has. They just keep bloviating, sneering, and screaming.

Assignment for today: Find out who he is talking about.