General Zinni on Sixty Minutes

"Paul J. Adam" wrote in message
...
In message , Kevin Brooks
writes

snip


No, I'd even be willing to meet you halfway (to NYC, that is); do you
have a
suitable alternative in mind?

Not immediately to hand, given that it seems I must pursue you in this
matter (doesn't *that* indicate your honesty and conviction!). But if
opportunity offers, then I'll give you another chance to demonstrate
your cowardice.

Offer stands.


Indeed, and I note with amusement your efforts to avoid it - while
loudly trumpeting your enthusiasm.

I have offered to meet you halfway now.

"Halfway" is mid-Atlantic, Kevin.

It's worth remembering that this "halfway" offer (halfway between NYC
and DC, not the US and UK... funny how Kevin's claiming to be the brave
and determined one here) came only after Kevin heard I was pressed for
time on the 5th.

Sounds like you are the one making the excuses here. DC was unacceptable to
you; now I guess Philadelphia or thereabouts is equally and conveniently
also unacceptable. Figures.


If I'm taking a three-thousand mile trip, can't you match even a
fraction of that?

See above.

In other words, "No, I'm too scared" (in a Brooksian 'accurate
paraphrase')

The offer still stands.


As I said, it's a working visit so I'm constrained for time. (Fly in on
the 5th and the ship leaves on the 6th, and time and carriers wait for
no man). So, no long drives, but I'm willing to fit you in.

Oh, so now you have already started building your newest excuse.

If you want to call it an excuse, *you* persuade a carrier task group to
delay sailing.

And doubtless if i had offered to meet you at the airport gate you'd have
found some other excuse.


Halfway?

Halfway is about thirty-five degrees West, and rather damp.


I'm going very considerably further than that and you're still evading.
If I'm covering thousands of miles, you can manage a few hundred if your
honour is so wounded and your confidence so high.

That it is evidently not... allows obvious conclusions to be drawn.

Yeah--that you really never had any intent whatsoever of following through.
Again, that is about par for the course with you.


And you've indicated that you lack the means or the will to visit the
UK
(or, perhaps, just the courage).

Just never had any plans to do so, now or in the past--but you already
knew
that, didn't you?

I didn't know anything about your travel habits (unlike you, who yet
again made seriously erroneous claims and passed them off as truth), but
I had a suspicion that your challenge was completely insincere and
looked forward to testing it - and I had some tiny hope that you
actually meant what you said.

Phily is not such a long trip from NYC, now is it?


Which is whaty that whole Fort whatever on 19 June was
just your psing for the stage?

No, the old tradition that the challenged party chooses the ground. I am
quite confident that you would never honour your challenge, but that
doesn't change the fact that I'll do so. Shall I wait there for you?

And choosing ground that you know I have never visited, and have never
indicated I would visit, was oh-so-convenient. Yeah, right.


By tradition, you issued the challenge, you've been told when, where and
how: attend, or forfeit. (Of course, this applied to men of honour,
which is why I know you will not attend)

Can't drag yourself on to Phily; too bad.



But, it's a long trip, so I offered you something closer to home. And
again it's too difficult for you.

So, now we just have to wait until I find myself in the DC area to
discover what your next reason why you can't follow your bluster through
might be.

Anytime.



Again, halfway?

Okay, "halfway", but that'll be rather later - probably around the 10th
at a very rough guess - and I presume you'll be swimming unless you find
a mail buoy to cling to.

Of course: on current form, I could knock at your door and you'd claim
it was "too far" to meet me.

No, not as I have offered to meet you halfway to NYC.

After making sure you knew I lacked the time to do so. And yet *you*
claim I'm making insincere offers? I'm sticking to what I can do: you're
large on claims, but short on substance.

You have plenty of time. Getting from NYC to Phily and back by train on the
same day is no problemo.


I'll see you at Fort Widley on the 19th, or I'll see you in NYC on the
5th, or we'll wait to be amused by your next evasion.

Yeah, right.

Brooks