MC writes in after a too-long absence:

Dread, terrible, awful Czar, whose axe should be swung with even more frequency and force,

I’d really like to go off on an hour rant in the wake of this story, but work events are preventing this. I would like to make two relatively short points:

1) Should we have the good fortune of having Mitt Romney re-elected, can someone explain to me why GEN Martin Dempsey should still be on active duty by the morning of 21 Jan? Not to put too fine of a point on it, but this son-of-a-bitch needs to go. I about had an aneurysm when he made comments suggesting a United States citizen should STFU about Mohammed. Coming from the SecDef or another political type, fine. But the CJCS? No effing way. After yesterday’s press conference with Panetta and today’s story, he’s lost all credibility with not only the public, but within the armed forces too.

I’m not saying that the firing has to use another country’s methods, but GEN Dempsey should be fired nonetheless. I’m willing to entertain counterarguments though.

2) It’s now clear the President and his senior staff wanted to avoid a Desert One. Again, to be somewhat crass about it, their thinking boiled down to ‘better an ambassador and maybe a few others die in something that can have a “blame America” factor to it than to have a couple dozen die in a failed extraction that resulted from a positive decision traceable to the President’. I think that’s why the shift within a couple days from “terrorism” to “video”. I bet the decision timeline regarding rescue decisions was known on the political side of the WH within a day and a half, and they now needed to re-vector the media to something else. A ‘terrorism’ angle would have led to too many uncomfortable questions. Thus the near desperation of Susan Rice selling the video angle the following Sunday.

I’d really like to expand on this but I’m sure you are probably preparing something now anyway – awaiting a new blog post once you’re done with your axe-sharpening.

Uh, no. Volgi and GorT did, though.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.