Jeffrey Goldberg

Durango Blogging

Wed,08 Jul 2009 15:37:09 GMT

I don't think this is the Durango Bob Dylan was singing about. There aren't any hot chili peppers in the blistering sun, just a really crappy Best Western motel and a tourist railroad that runs to Silverton that seems like a nightmare to someone such as myself, who is always looking for an exit from crappy tourist adventures. In any case, there won't be much blogging this week -- we're heading to Monument Valley in search of the ghost of John Ford. I'll let you know what we find.

On Those Atlantic Salon Dinners

Tue,07 Jul 2009 06:22:45 GMT

Marc Ambinder has interesting thoughts on the big boss's note to us employees on the suddenly-controversial salon dinner business. I myself have never attended one of these underwritten dinners, so I can't say for sure, but I see no crime here committed against journalism. In fact, I'm glad David Bradley is busy searching for legal and ethical ways to keep the Atlantic funded. In double-fact, he seems to be branching out in all sorts of unusual directions.

Would the Saudis Help Israel Strike Iran?

Sun,05 Jul 2009 18:24:56 GMT

I discuss the possibility of a Sunni-Jewish alliance against Iran in this piece; now comes a report that the Saudis might be willing to let Israel fly over their territory on their way to and from Iran:

The head of Mossad, Israel's overseas intelligence service, has assured Benjamin Netanyahu, its prime minister, that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran's nuclear sites. Earlier this year Meir Dagan, Mossad's director since 2002, held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility.

It Makes You Proud

Sun,05 Jul 2009 17:07:02 GMT

Jason Lezak is skipping the World Swimming Championships for the Maccabiah Games.

Is Israel Safe for Jews?

Fri,03 Jul 2009 19:47:57 GMT

Here's my interview with Michael Oren, the new Israeli ambassador to the U.S., at the Aspen Ideas Festival. I asked Michael various deep questions about the relationship between the Diaspora and Israel, Israel's morality, and so on. He did very well, according to the audience:

What a Putz

Wed,01 Jul 2009 17:25:55 GMT

Ruth Marcus has a great column today on the unforgivable Mark Sanford (though, man, would I like an interview with that guy, because pure-bred, hi-test, four-square narcissists always make for the best interviews). Ruth argues cogently that it is not Jenny Sanford who has been humiliated here:

I admire, too, her practical vision of real love and what it takes to make a marriage work. "It wasn't exactly love at first sight," Sanford recalled about meeting her future husband at a beach party in the Hamptons. "It was more like friendship at first sight."

Now she still has her feet on the ground even as her husband is head over heels -- with another woman. "I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal," Jenny Sanford said in her statement.

And I admire her investment-banker steel. "He was told in no uncertain terms not to see her," she said in an interview with the Associated Press last week about her husband's pleas for permission to visit his mistress. And, on his decision to defy her: "You would think that a father who didn't have contact with his children, if he wanted those children, he would toe the line a little bit."

Those Damn Colorado Ski Resort Jewish Burglars

Mon,29 Jun 2009 13:28:52 GMT

Thank goodness we here in Aspen don't have problems with large-nosed burglars like they do in Vail:

The Vail Daily newspaper last week took the brunt of a well-deserved public beat-down for publishing a sheriff's department press release in which a witness to a home break-in in Edwards described a suspect as being of "Jewish or Eastern European descent."

Is Roger Cohen a Neocon?

Mon,29 Jun 2009 03:57:04 GMT

Sure sounds like it:

I think President Obama, as I wrote from Tehran, erred on the side of caution early on. He misspoke in equating Moussavi with Ahmadinejad in terms of US strategic interests. He should have been more forthright in standing with the Green Wave. Meddling be damned. This was a pivotal and historic moment. Obama should have tossed the strategy papers in the garbage and spoken from the heart.

His comments got stronger and better, but they came as the street protests ebbed.

That Washington Post Crash Piece: A Dissent

Mon,29 Jun 2009 03:09:39 GMT

John Judis didn't think much of that piece by Eli Saslow I linked to before, on the survivors of the Red Line crash. He argues that the Washington Post has ignored systemic problems with Metro, and has instead provided its readers with "fluff":

And now in the wake of the Metro crash, how is the newspaper responding? With a front page fluff piece on three people who survived the crash. Maybe it's a wonderful piece, a real tear-jerker by an author with the skills of a Tony Lukas or Joan Didion. I don't know, because I am not wasting my time reading it. I am still waiting for the newspaper to do what local newspapers should do, and get to the bottom of what happened, and do it in a way that will prevent future crashes.

I'm not in a position to argue that the Washington Post has adequately covered problems in the Metro system; Judis makes a strong case that it hasn't. I don't think, however, that the piece today was "fluff," and I think Judis would see that if he had actually read it before he condemned it. And by the way, bringing the human tragedy of the crash to light can only help spark the outrage necessary to reform the system.

Let's See the Huffington Post Try to Do This

Sun,28 Jun 2009 17:36:37 GMT

The Washington Post today features a beautifully-written article by Eli Saslow about the people who survived the Red Line crash on the Washington Metro earlier this week. The story is deeply-reported, authoritative, riveting and altogether a reproach to those who say that newspapers are somehow unnecessary, that the Huffington sweatshop and Google and the Daily Beast will keep us sufficiently informed. Read the whole thing and tell me I'm wrong.

Peace is at Hand: Khaled Meshal Clears Everything Up

Sun,28 Jun 2009 04:50:56 GMT

Here's what the Hamas leader said in a recent interview:

"The enemy's leaders call for a so-called Jewish state is a racist demand that is no different from calls by Italian Fascists and Hitler's Nazism."

Yep, Hamas is definitely moderating. Just like the mullahs.

The Appalachian Trail

Thu,25 Jun 2009 11:30:12 GMT

I'm not hiking it (literally or euphemistically) but I'm heading out today for Colorado, which is like the Appalachian Trail but with less air. A bunch of us from The Atlantic will be there in the coming days for the Aspen Ideas Festival. Blogging will be light for the next little while because I'll be busy testing my ideas on the elk.

Well, Gov. Sanford Isn't Suffering from Dissociative Fugue

Wed,24 Jun 2009 18:36:25 GMT

He's suffering from something else entirely: Argentine Nookie Syndrome. We're watching this ridiculous man on TV now. James Bennet: "So he didn't want the stimulus money but he did want a certain kind of stimulus."

Does Gov. Sanford Suffer from Dissociative Fugue?

Wed,24 Jun 2009 15:39:10 GMT

Gov. Sanford's strange vanishing act -- he was thought to be hiking the Appalachian Trail alone, until he washed up in Argentina -- prompts me to wonder if he suffers from a condition known as dissociative fugue disorder. When a person is in this fugue state, he'll pick up and travel suddenly to some random point, not at all sure why he's doing it, and sometimes with little memory of who he is. For a fuller description of this unusual condition, read this. Here's one interesting observation from the Merck Manual:

Dissociative fugue is often mistaken for malingering because both conditions may give people an excuse to avoid their responsibilities (as in an intolerable marriage), to avoid accountability for their actions, or to reduce their exposure to a known hazard, such as a battle. However, dissociative fugue, unlike malingering, occurs spontaneously and is not faked.

If I were on Sanford's spin patrol, I'd certainly look into this.

How Long is the Appalachian Trail?

Wed,24 Jun 2009 13:47:34 GMT

It would be a long walk from South Carolina, but maybe the trail reaches into Argentina. Just a thought. Must ask Bill Bryson.