So I've been reading over the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, at least the portion that was released the other day (not because I work on National Intelligence, but just because I like to indulge in a little oxymoron every now and then), and it's kind of just what I expected to see. I mean, informed, smart people generally don't disagree too broadly, and, since the majority of Americans are in the "middle-of-the-road" politically, it's no surprise that our national intelligence reflects a somewhat balanced perspective. If you haven't read anything about the Estimate yet here's a quick capsule review: portions of a document were recently leaked saying that the world is now more dangerous as a result of the war in Iraq. Bush was angry about the leak, but cowed into releasing four out of thirty-some pages of the intelligence document. The document starts off by saying basically that US counterterrorism efforts haven't been a complete failure, kind of the way, y'know, a teacher would say, "Yeah, you failed your driver's test, but at least we know that you know where the accelerator is." With that praise out of the way the report goes on to say that the war has created a "cause celebre" for terrorist recruitment efforts and further emboldened those who already hate the US. That's not such a surprise. I mean, I'm not a nationalist or anything, but if someone started seriously bombing the crap out of my country I would probably start looking for somewhere to sign up, too. Of course, Bush would probably like us to think that the threat really was that clear to the American public, but the truth is it's not.

Apart from the politics I am pleased to read that the NIE has helped to inject an underused phrase into the American lexicon. Look up the word cause célèbre in Google News and you'll see page after page of articles about Iraq and the NIE. Could this phrase replace "perfect storm" as the news phrase du jour? Sadly, I doubt it. First of all, cause célèbre is a happy phrase - it stirs up visions of a celebration of sorts, balloons and pony rides. A perfect storm is negative - it conjurs up images of swirling storm clouds, huge tidal waves, and George Clooney drowning - it will prove much more useful in a negative news climate. Second, cause célèbre is French. Need I say more? And it's hard to pronounce. Do you say "celeb?" Or is it"celeb-bra" or "celeb-bur" - I could find out, but I'm too lazy. If I hear Katie Couric say that the release of X-Men III on DVD is a dweeb cause célèbre though I'll be sure to let you know.