Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 1111

The Great Georgia-Tennessee Border War of 2013 Is Upon Us

Historians, take note: On this day, which is not a day in 1732, a boundary dispute between two Southern states took a turn for the wet. In a two-page resolution passed overwhelmingly by the state senate, Georgia declared that it, not its neighbor to the north, controls part of the Tennessee River at Nickajack. Georgia doesn't want Nickajack. It wants that water.

Georgia's claim is that the boundary between the states was set at latitude 35° north when Georgia first gave up the Mississippi territory, but that a lousy 1818 survey ended up putting that state boundary a mile south of where it should have been. The blue line on this map is a rough approximation of that latitude parallel.

Georgia's not worried about its sovereign territory, like the Pennamite Wars that pitted Pennsylvania against Connecticut before the Revolutionary War. Nor is it an ideological conflict like that in the Koreas, which, interestingly, centers around the 38th parallel. What Georgia cares about is that splash of blue that is the Tennessee River.

During the summer of 2012, up to 95 percent of the state experienced some level of drought; in December, it hit 99 percent. Last May, nearly a quarter of the state experienced drought that registered as extreme. Despite the state legislature arguing that the drought wasn't that bad (in an effort to avoid hurting the landscaping industry), it was.

Nor was last year the first time such a drought imperiled the state. In 2008, there was a similarly bad drought — prompting the state to try to gain access to the river by moving the boundary north. Tennessee rejected that effort.

Georgia's renewed focus on accessing the river isn't just a smart plan for right now. (Eighty percent of the state is still under drought conditions.) Climate change is likely to ensure ongoing droughts of similar magnitude, making an additional steady source of freshwater a critical need for the state.

If Tennessee agrees to redrawing the state line, the issue would be brought to Congress for approval. If it doesn't, the result probably won't be war. At least not between Georgia and Tennessee. Shortly after leaving the upper corner of Georgia, the river flows into Alabama, which last year saw drought cover 72 percent of its state. The odds are good Alabama isn't eager to give up its water either.

What the Toll of Drones Looks Like, in Just One Country

Drone attacks in countries like Pakistan have become an increasingly controversial (if accepted) and no less common (if transferred) reality — Pakistani officials reported another one by U.S. missile fire just this weekend. So what do all of the strikes look like broken down by the available data, even if many strikes in the U.S. targeted killing program go unreported? That's what Pitch Interactive attempts to represent with their new graphic, "Out of Sight, Out of Mind." Using data primarily from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the graphic charts every drone strike it can inside Pakistan since 2004. Within that chart Pitch highlights who was killed in the strike: how many children, civilians, high profile targets, and "others." Pitch defines the "other" category as such: 

The category of victims we call “OTHER” is classified differently depending on the source. The Obama administration classifies any able-bodied male a military combatant unless evidence is brought forward to prove otherwise. This is a very grey area for us. These could be neighbors of a target killed. They may all be militants and a threat. 

Pitch Interactive says that the graphic is not designed "to speak for or against" the use of drones, but the data itself can be striking. Take for instance an attack in October 2006 that killed 69 children—represented in bright red. 

The graphic can be oriented on a horizontal timeline, or on a setting dedicated to portraying the victims of the attacks:

 

Gay Parents Are Judged More Severely than Straight Parents

Discovered: gay parents get viewed negatively compared to their straight counterparts; people support politicians who are vague about gun control; prostitute-seeking men are not, in fact, very common; excess choices increase risky decisions.

Gay parents are judged more harshly. A key theme of the campaign to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act is the act's effect on gay parents, who under current law cannot be legally recognized by the federal government. Even if DOMA is overturned based on oral arguments being heard on Wednesday at the Supreme Court, however, gay couples may still find themselves facing other challenges, according to a group of researchers at Binghamton University, who say that same-sex parents are often judged more severely than their straight counterparts. "When parents displayed favorable parenting behaviors like comforting an upset child, gay and straight parents were judged in a similar, positive manner," on the researchers said. But, "if parents got frustrated — raised their voice or slapped their child on the hand, the gay parents were judged more negatively than the straight parents." [Journal of GLBT Family Studies]

People support politicians who are vague about gun control. As the Democratic coalition attempts to enact (slightly less wide-reaching) legislation to address gun violence, they may want to query new research about the most effective sort of messaging. Indeed, a new study performed by two psychology researchers at the University of Texas, shows that pro-gun control politicians are most effective at getting their message across when they phrase it in sweeping, "big picture" generalizations, rather than with particular incidents or facts. "To effectively influence a divided America, elected officials must take a broad perspective rather than focusing on specific incidents," the researchers found. [Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin]

Prostitute-seeking men are not, in fact, very common. "While the media is replete with examples of 'normal' men who seek out prostitutes regularly, how common are prostitute-seeking men and how much do they differ from men in the normal population?" That's the question with which two doctors at the University of Oregon began their investigation into the prominence of prostitution in the sex lives of men. In turns out that most men do not solicit sex workers: "There is no credible evidence to support the idea that hiring sex workers is a common or conventional aspect of masculine sexual behavior among men in the United States." But the men who do hire sex workers tend not to be that different from most other men: "Men who actively seek out prostitutes do not possess any 'peculiar' qualities that would differentiate them from men in the normal population." [International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology]

Excess choices increase risky decisions. Most of us are familiar with the choice paradox theory — the notion that, as the number of choices increase, our ability to choose decreases. But according to a new study carried out at the University of Warwick, increasing the number of choices also increases the risk of our choices: "When faced with a large number of choices — each having outcomes associated with different probabilities of occurring — people are more likely to overestimate the probabilities of some of the rarest events," the study found. The results are more easily understood in the language of gambling: "With large choice sets, people took riskier gambles based on a flawed perception that there was a higher probability of 'winning big' – but in reality they more often went away empty-handed." [Psychonomic Bulletin and Review]

The Syrian Opposition Lost Its Head

Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib announced his resignation as National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces chief on Sunday, but there are conflicting reports over who wanted him out and whether or not he'll end up leaving in the end. 

"I announce my resignation from the National Coalition, so that I can work with a freedom that cannot possibly be had in an official institution," Khatib wrote on his Facebook page Sunday. His resignation comes at a crucial time for the opposition: they're meeting with the heads of other Arab countries in Qatar two days to see if they'll accept the rebels as Syrian's official representation in the Arab League.

"I had promised the great Syrian people and promised God that I would resign if matters reached some red lines," Alkhatib wrote, but he never outlined what those red lines were.

Reuters makes the case that Qatar, coincidently enough, was the main reason Alkhatib decided to resign. Alkhatib objected to the election of Ghassan Hitto as the rebels' official Prime Minister earlier this week. Alkhatib doesn't believe the rebels are ready for a naturalized government. He reportedly accused Qatar of imposing Hitto and attempting to control the opposition forces. 

But the AFP reports that Qatar's prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani told local media he wants Alkhatib to reconsider his resignation. "We are very sorry for this, and I hope he reviews his resignation," the minister said. 

The other thing to consider is that the Coalition's presidential office nor the general assembly have accepted Khatib's resignation yet. They very well may not, at least not until the end of the meetings in Qatar. People on the inside seem to be lobbying him to stick around, though it's unclear if it's for the short term or long term. "Some Coalition members have asked Khatib to return to his post," someone from the opposition told AFP.

So Alkhatib picked an ideal time to resign if he wants to regain control of his party. Getting a spot in the Arab league would greatly help their cause, but the headlines saying the group is in "disarray" spreading right now certainly won't. If he decides to stay in the end, it will signal some kind of stability and restore some kind of order, which only makes him look more important and crucial to the opposition's development.

 

 

Ari Emanuel Didn't Appreciate Brian Williams' Nosey Questions

The brothers Emanuel recently sat down for an interview with NBC's Brian Williams that aired on Friday's episode of Rock Center. But one of the brothers -- probably the most famous one -- didn't like it when Williams asked them some tough questions.

Of the three brothers, Ari is likely the most famous. He's the Hollywood agent Jeremy Piven famously portrayed on Entourage for all those years. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former White House chief of staff and current mayor of Chicago, would be next. But it's Ezekiel the bioethicist who wrote the book on the family, Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family. But Ari was the only one who wrote NBC and Williams a legal letter requesting they not air some of the more "contentious" parts.

The three met with Williams in a New York bar for the Rock Center interview. But, according to the New York Post and The Hollywood Reporter, Ari took issue with some of the questions Williams asked. In particular, Ari didn't like it when Williams brought up his reputation as an uncompromising, aggressive jerk Hollywood agent and the family's connections to Israel. (Their father was from Israel.) Ari wrote the letter after he was upset the interview was treated "like Meet the Press," the Post says, when he thought it was going to be a bit lighter; just him and his brothers joking around and talking about eldest Ezekiel's book. The Post reported Ari "confronted" an NBC executive about it while attending a Saturday Night Live taping with his client Justin Timberlake, but THR says that definitely didn't happen.

The network denies changing the tone of the piece because of the letter. There are few signs the interview was contentious in the piece that aired. It opens with the brothers arguing, which we're told is their favorite pastime, while laughing and highfiving each other. Ari swears at one point, but anyone familiar with Ari via Entourage would see that as normal. Rahm also has a famously filthy mouth. 

At the end of the interview, Williams profiles each brother separately and mentions Ari didn't enjoy when they asked about his reputation. "As we learned, they don't love being challenged or prodded. Ari's facial expressions speak volumes when the conversation turned to his scorched earth reputation in Hollywood." But Ari goes on to answer Williams' question honestly, saying he's "really comfortable" with where he is in life. "I would have gotten into therapy a lot earlier and dealt with stuff," he says, "but you know something? I'm actually really comfortable. I'm really happy. I'm the happiest I've been in a long time."

Honey, We Blew Up the 'The Croods'

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're always thinking about Rick Moranis' lasting contributions to cinema. 

1. The Croods (Fox): $44.7 million in 4,046 theaters

So it's the end of spring break which for some people means chugging the last few beers, trying to find your left shoe and finally showering before stumbling back into the real world. For kids, it means going to a movie about a family of cave people who discover plants for the first time after they go outside for the first time. This thing had the help of being in every theater in the country and collecting 3D receipts, too, but don't get the idea this is a tainted victory or anything. 

2. Olympus Has Fallen (FilmDistrict): $30.5 million in 3,098 theaters

Who would have guessed that blowing up the White House is still a viable marketing strategy for a movie? Oh, everyone? OK. Hm. Anyway, Gerard Butler finally has a successful opening weekend. He hasn't had one of those in a very long time. Someone needs to make the Venn diagram comparing people who are excited to see this and people excited to see the new GI Joe movie. You have to think Joe has more fans being a franchise starring The Rock, right? 

3. Oz: the Great and Powerful (Buena Vista): $22 million in 3,805 theaters [Week 3]

It feels like forever since we've had three movies make more than $20 million but, hey, why not this weekend? Also, Oz continues to chug along on the money train. It's getting closer and closer to that $200 million domestic plateau, but it ain't there yet. 

4. The Call (Sony): $8.7 million in 2,507 theaters [Week 2]

The Call's success didn't hold up over two weeks? Quelle surprise! 

5. Admission (Focus): $6.4 million in 2,160 theaters

We should all have a sad because no one saw Tina Fey's turn as a dramatic funnyperson, instead of being the funny funnyperson she usually is. 

6. Spring Breakers (A24): $5 million in 1,104 theaters

Hey, to everyone saying Spring Breakers failed once it went wide: it has the third highest per screen average in the country right now. Only The Croods and Olympus did better. Wait until it goes even wider. 

Bloomberg and LaPierre Trade Shots; Rand Paul Disapproves of Your Dope

While New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NRA chief Wayne LaPierre both appeared on NBC's Meet the Press as advertised, they were never on camera together as some hoped. Bloomberg expressed his measured confidence that the U.S. government would get around to passing meaningful gun-reform legislation in the near future during his segment. "I am cautiously optimistic," Bloomberg told host David Gregory. "I think when you have an issue where 90 percent of the public, 80 percent of NRA members even, say that they think we should have reasonable checks before people are allowed to buy guns. We all support the Second Amendment, as I do, but there are an awful lot of people that think that this is one of the great issues of our times. We have to stop the carnage." Bloomberg announced Saturday evening he would spend $12 million on TV advertising targeting Senators in 13 different states. But he was careful not to spike the football too soon, as it were. He knows there's a chance it could fall apart. "While I think we are going to win this, celebrating in advance isn't the right thing to do," he said. "We've got to go out, we've got a lot of work ahead of us. But I don't think we should give up on the assault weapons ban. But clearly, it is a more difficult issue for a lot of people." Last week, Harry Reid announced the Senate would not include Dianne Feinstein's assault weapons ban in their gun reform proposals, but Bloomberg shrugged off any insinuation that was a win for the NRA. "I don't know that that reflects the NRA's power," he said. "It may be just that people have different views about assault weapons than they do about background checks. Ninety percent of the people want background checks, period." But he's not totally giving up hope on the assault weapons ban. Reid had mentioned it could still be added as an amendment to the Senate bill. "We've been fighting since 2007 to get a vote. We are going to have a vote for sure on assault weapons and we're going to have a vote on background checks," Bloomberg said. "And if we were to get background checks only, it wouldn't be as good as if we got both, but -- we demanded a plan and then we demanded a vote. We've got the plan, we're going to get the vote."

Meanwhile, LaPierre was on the attack during his allotted speaking time. He called Bloomberg's gun control campaigning "reckless," "insane" and accused him of trying to "buy America." So, yeah, LaPierre came out swinging. "He's going to find out that this is a country of the people, by the people and for the people and he can't spend enough of his [money] to try to impose his will on the American public. They don't want him in their restaurants, they don't him in their homes, they don't want him telling them what food to eat - they sure don't want him telling them what self-defense firearms to own. And he can't buy America," LaPierre said. "He's so reckless in terms of his comments on this whole gun issue." The NRA CEO said people have been sending the group small donations and urging them to stand up to Bloomberg's bullying, an image most would argue is the opposite of reality. "We have people all over, millions of people, sending us 5, 10, 15, 20 dollar checks telling us to stand up to this guy that says that we can only have three bullets, which is what he said. Stand up to this guy that says ridiculous things like, 'The NRA wants firearms with nukes on them.' I mean it's insane the stuff he says," LaPierre said. He did go on to explain what he would like to see included in any gun-reform legislation brought forward: harsher penalties for gun trafficking and including the mentally ill in the national background checks system. 

Republican moneyman Karl Rove dispensed some advice for Democrats and gun-reform supporters like Mr. Bloomberg on ABC's This Week: stop trying to scare people "Let's be clear about this. This is prompted by the Sandy Hook murders," Rove said. "Those guns were legally purchased with a background check. Let's be very careful before trampling on the rights of people. Look, if you want to get something done -- then stop scaring people." Rove thinks reformers are going too far with suggestions of a national gun registry and it's terrifying a lot of Second amendment supporters. "If there's one thing that scares a lot of people who believe in the Second Amendment, it's the federal government keeping a national registry of gun sales and gun purchases and gun owners." Rove said. The best strategy, he says, would be focus on closing those pesky gun show loopholes. "There could be a lot of mutual agreement found on closing some of these so-called gun show loopholes," he said later. " We could probably get agreement on a widespread basis of people saying, 'You go to a gun show, you pass a check, you get your stub that allows you to purchase a weapon, and that's it.' But this goes far beyond that." He also said he could see a 2016 Republican presidential nominee supporting gay marriage during a roundtable discussion with former Obama supporter Jim Messina: 

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Sen. Rand Paul does not approve of you kids and your proclivity for smoking the ganja. Paul sat down with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace for a wide-ranging interview this weekend. On the weed, Paul said he's not a fan. "Look, the last two presidents could have conceivably been put in jail for their drug use and I really think -- look what would've happened, it would've ruined their lives," Paul said. "They got lucky. But a lot of poor kids, particularly in the inner city, don't get lucky and they don't have good attorneys and they go to jail for some of these things and I think it's a big mistake." Wallace helpfully pointed out the last three Presidents have had run ins with marijuana during the course of their life. "But [Clinton] didn't inhale," Wallace joked. The point of all this wacky tabacky talk was that Paul doesn't support extended jail sentences for marijuana convictions. "There are people in jail for 37, 50, 45 years for nonviolent crimes and that's a huge mistake," Paul said. "Our prisons are full of non-violent criminals... I don't want to promote [smoking] but I also don't want to put people in jail who make a mistake," he added. "There are a lot of young people who do this and then later on in their twenties they grow up and get married and they quit doing things like this. I don't want to put them in jail and ruin their lives." He also told Wallace about discussing the future of the Republican party with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. "The Republican Party needs to figure out how to be bigger and I think I do bring some ideas to that," if they want to compete in traditionally blue states, Paul said. The Kentucky Republican thinks "a lot of young people are attracted to" the libertarian style of politics. The traditional political spectrum "doesn't always work for people," Paul said, bringing it back to marijuana convictions. "I think could appeal to young people, independents and moderates, because many of them do think it's a mistake to put people in jail for marijuana use and throw away the key," he said. Paul also believes a lot of people think the U.S. should adopt a less aggressive foreign policy strategy. "There are all kinds of issues that don't neatly left in the left-right paradigm that I think would help because we're not doing very well in a lot of these states, these purple and blue states. So we need a candidate that would appeal across the left-right paradigm." He still has no idea whether or not he's running for President in 2016, though. 

Ana Navarro, a former adviser to prominent Republicans John McCain and Jon Huntsman who now serves as a CNN contributor, said her former party is shifting towards accepting gay marriage during a segment on CNN's State of the Union. "There's no putting this genie back in the bottle. This is now undeniable. The shift is here. We're not going back," Navarro said. "I do feel an evolution and a shift, a small change albeit in the Republican party. People who maybe a few years ago were saying hell no we won't go there are now saying it should be states rights." OK, so she wasn't exactly breaking any news here, but she's highlighting an important point. The conversation touched on marriage equality in anticipation of the Supreme court tackling gay marriage decisions this week. "[Republicans are] talking about it in a different way. The people who are taking about it in a very strident way are now a minority," she said. The debate over gay marriage isn't dividing the party nearly as much, Navarro explained. "We're no longer saying that people who are pro traditional marriage are bigots, and we're also not saying that people who are like me, a Republican that is for gay marriage, is less of a Republican," she said. "There's now much more room with in that tent. It may not look at it, but it is."

Super Bowl winner and Supreme court lobbyer Brendon Ayanbadejo compared the struggle for gay marriage rights to the civil rights battles of the 20th century on CBS' Face the Nation. "This is something I've been speaking about since 2009. In my opinion it's just the evolution of civil rights and equal rights. Athletes do a lot to change society and this is something we can make a big difference. It starts with bullying and kids in elementary school and goes all the way to the legislative, and treating everybody equally," the Baltimore Ravens linebacker said. "This is a fight that myself and a bunch of my colleagues want to take on and we feel like everybody should be treated equally. We're not going to stop until everyone is treated fairly."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers is pretty sure the Syrians re using chemical weapons on their rebelling citizens. "I think when you look at the whole body of information over the last two years there is mounting evidence that it is probable that the Assad regime has used at least a small quantity of chemical weapons during the course of conflict," Rogers said during an appearance on Face the Nation. Rogers seems to think the Syrian government has already gone over President Obama's "red line" of chemical weapons use and that the U.S. must do something about it. "Now is the time. If we're going to have any hope for any diplomatic solution and stop that wholesale slaughter, some up to 70,000 and more in Syria which is now spilling up to the doorstep of Israel, it's causing huge problems in Jordan and Turkey," Rogers said. "This is a growing destabilizing event in the Middle East. The fact that they have I think put chemical weapons in position to use and I believe have intent, and at some course during the last two years have used some quantity of chemical weapons, this needs to be a game changer." Rogers never says it outright but it sure sounds like he wants to put boots on the ground in Syria. "The president went to the Middle East and said 'This is a hard decision. If I go in it might be wrong, if I don't go in it might be wrong.' Indecision in this case is dangerous to the United States," Rogers said.

[Correction: the original version of this article confused our Huntsmans with our Portmans. We regret the error.]

Finally, 'Iron Man 3' Ditches the Doom and Gloom

So last night Marvel released a new 30-second trailer for Iron Man 3 during the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards that will soon dominate your television viewing habits and, thankfully, it seems the old Iron Man is finally back.

The appeal of the Iron Man movies was how they stayed so loyal to the original character while also being, y'know, fun, which is a rarity in the post-Christopher Nolan comic book movie landscape. So you can understand why we were so worried when the trailers released so far for the latest Iron Man movie were so... drab. Everything was all "Tony Stark can't sleep" this, and Ben Kingsley's maybe racist Mandarin character is going to "destroy everything you love" that. We saw Stark's house getting bombed and destroyed and the Iron Man suit breaking down. Sheesh. The original movies and zip and pizzazz and, yeah, some bad stuff happening, but Stark was always there with a quip to make it all go down a little easier. That part seemed to be missing. 

But Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark is kicking butt and taking names and dropping one-liners like the good old days in the latest clip. "You know, it's moments like these where I realize how much of a super hero I really am," Stark says while striking kung-fu poses and doing backflips as the Iron Man suit assembles around his body. There's actually a surprising amount of new footage packed into the short preview. "I'm here on a mission fighting bad guys," he promises us at one point. Which, thank God. The preview doesn't tell us anything new or riveting about the story so much as it reassures us the producers haven't forgotten what made the first two movies so insanely successful: they were fun and enjoyable to watch, unlike the moody blues of Nolan's Batman movies and the many imitators they spawned. They could have made tony Stark's alcoholism a plot in one of the Iron Man movies if they really wanted to go gritty with it, but instead it was mostly relegated to a deleted scene. Watch the clip here: 

Yes, Don Cheadle, that does look awesome. 

The Kids at the Steubenville Rape Party Told Cops They Should Have Stopped It

According to newly surfaced video of police interviews with students who attended one of the fateful parties last August in Steubenville, Ohio, several teen witnesses had trouble coming to grips with what was unfolding in front of them, even as they came to understand that they should have stopped what would unravel into the most emotionally charged rape case in the country.

Footage of the interviews was leaked to ABC News for a report that aired this weekend. In it, we hear the original statements made to police from some of the other kids who were at one of several parties where a 16-year-old girl was assaulted by Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, two players on the Steubenville High football team.

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The police footage show teenagers who watched a horrible event unfold in front of their eyes but did nothing to stop it. Instead, most of them pulled out their cell phones and took pictures or sent text messages about it. "I could tell that she was gradually getting more drunk and worse throughout the night," Farrah Marcino, a 16-year-old friend of the victim identified by ABC's 20/20, says in the video. "Just, like, that she couldn't, like, she didn’t walk."

"She wanted to go with Trent. Like, we just kept trying to tell her: 'You don't want to do this. You don't want to go with them,'" Marcino told police. "I just let her do what she want[ed], which I understand was wrong."

Anthony Craig, an Steubenville 18-year-old who took an immunity deal in exchange for testimony that included his confessing that Mays sent him a naked picture of the victim the next day, told investigators he also took two photos of the victim on his phone that night, but that he deleted them. Police were never able to recover them from his phone. Craig, of course, was one of many students who snapped pictures of the victim — and who was aware of her very drunken condition: "She was a mess," Craig told the police. "She wasn't responding." 

Mays and Richmond were both found guilty of rape charges and will serve time in juvenile detention facilities for at least one and two years, respectively. But the Steubenville case is proceeding with a grand jury next month, and more charges could be on the way for other participants in the case; Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has suggested the ongoing investigation will focus on the 16 people who didn't speak with the police, but the new police footage reveals what investigators did and did not have to rely upon as the local police chief "begged" for clues. Richmond is planning to appeal on the grounds his brain wasn't "fully developed" at the time the rape took place.

Meanwhile, parents of one of the first parties of that August 11 night — before the assaults took place — are speaking out, with claims of harassment from the many outside voices to descend upon the case, as well as the ongoing investigation. Look, we've been thrust into the middle of this, you know. If they want to talk to us, we'll talk to them. We're not really concerned that we've done anything. I know that some people think that -- we've gone over it and over it and over it again," Marty Howarth, the father of "Party No. 2" host Eric Minor, told WTOV this week. "You can always look back in hindsight and say should have, could have, but when you look at the situation as it unfolded that evening, I felt that our son acted rather responsibly with his friends based on his knowledge of the situation."

John Kerry Is Sick of Iraq Letting Iran Fly Whatever It Wants Into Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry made a surprise trip to Iraq on Sunday to urge Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to at the very least do something about the continued Iranian flights to Syria that go right through Iraq's airspace. Right now they're not doing very much. 

Kerry lobbied al-Maliki with the argument that Iraq could play a larger role in discussions about the Syria's future in a post-Assad era, if Iraq decides to play ball now. Kerry's main concern is that Iran is shipping weapons into Syria, "including rockets, antitank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, as well as Iranian personnel," intelligence officials told The New York Times. Iran insists it's only shipping in humanitarian aid and not weapons, but they're also one of Assad's biggest (and one of few remaining) allies. 

The flights are going right through Iraq and the country is doing almost nothing about it. "[Kerry] will be very direct with Prime Minister Maliki about the importance of stopping the Iranian overflights and the transits across the territory or, at a minimum, inspecting each of the flights," an official travelling with Kerry told Reuters before the meeting. It's the first time the serving Secretary of State has visited Iraq since Hillary Clinton made the trip in 2009. Kerry said his meeting with al-Maliki was a "very spirited discussion" afterwards. 

This isn't the first time concerns about the cargo on Iranian planes flying to Syria has been raised with Iraqi officials. Following numerous reports of unchecked Iranian weapon shipments last year, Iraq announced it would start regularly inspecting the planes if they had suspicions about the cargo. But American officials contend only two planes have been inspected since July despite flights happening on an almost daily basis. One inspected flight was on its way back to Iran when it was checked. It's hard to find suspicious cargo when the suspicious cargo was already unloaded.

But one of the biggest problems Kerry faces is how little Iraq can really do about the Iranian planes. American military planes no longer patrol the Iraqi skies and the country doesn't have it's own air force. There's little they can do about Iran's favorite supply route but ask politely for them to stop. With the military relationship between Iraq and the U.S. supposed to be on the decline,  there's little Kerry can do but ask Iraq to ask Iran to stop.