Up And Down, In And Out

The options have been dubbed "Go Home," "Go Big" and "Go Longer." These were the choices suggested by a Pentagon panel to improve the situation in Iraq. If it all sounds a lot like sports metaphor, then maybe we should dig a little deeper.
Thirty-plus years ago, Chevy Chase reported on Weekend Update that "Marines are pulling out of Angola. A frustrated Angola couldn't be reached for comment." The Pentagon has already dismissed the "Go Home" option anyway, as they felt it was likely to push Iraq directly into a full-blown civil war, as opposed to the trial version in which they are currently participating.
I get e-mail all the time suggesting that I should "Go Big." I tend to delete these as a matter of course, since even peeking at them suggests that I may lack a certain, ahem, confidence and maturity. For Iraqi purposes, "Go Big" would mean more troops from America, participating in that previously mentioned trial-size civil war.
"Go Long" is all about endurance. The song "Workin' In A Coal Mine" includes the marginally musical question: "How long can this go on?" Metaphysically speaking, it will go on as long as it needs to, and since the history of conflict in this region is approximately as long as history, we can only assume that the United States will do all that it can to satisfy the burgeoning democracy and the flowering of liberty.
If it's all the same to you, I'm just going to roll over and go back to sleep.