Cole 1, Goldberg 0 (and holding on for dear life)

Anyone who's anyone has already linked to this, but you should really see Juan Cole's smackdown of Jonah Goldberg today regarding the War in Iraq and Goldberg's "punditry", among other things.

Feel the sizzle, and this should whet your whistle:

"But I did not say that Goldberg's judgment is always faulty. I said he doesn't at the moment know what he is talking about when it comes to Iraq and the Middle East, and there is no reason anyone should pay attention to what he thinks about those subjects, as a result. If judgment means anything, it has to be grounded in at least a minimum amount of knowledge. Part of the implication of my assertion is that Goldberg could actually improve his knowledge of the Middle East and consequently could improve his judgment about it (although increased knowledge would only help judgment if it were used honestly and analytically). I don't think he is intrinsically ignorant, I think he is being wilfully ignorant. He'd be welcome to get a sabbatical and come study with me for a year some time."

It's all this good. Check it out.