Dan Lyons

IRAQ DRAINS NATL.GUARD: For the Katrina disaster, 7500 NG troops are available in Lousiana, Florida, and Alabama. 40% of Mississippi NG and 35% of Louisiana NG have been sucked away by Pentagon to Iraq.

N.G. official said there was no strain--but a CATO thinktank analyst said, "They don't have the men they might want; the number available is minimum, not optimum."

80,000 NG troops nationwide have been sent to Iraq.
REUTERS
(Many are poorly trained for combat; probably most are poorly trained to face guerillas.)

The Katrina disaster warns us of the consequences of our unpreparedness for a terrorist attack, in possibly more than one city.

We are short nationally of policemen (already, crimes are going unsolved --and are increasing !--in Denver) of firemen , of medical personnel..the 'first responders' to a terrorist attack. (Hospitals are luring scarce nurses from each other by big cash bonuses.)

But Bushies don't care; they spend only $1 on Homeland Defense for every $10 shovelled to Pentagon.
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The Pentagon is shipping 100,000 NG troops from other states to the states struck by Katrina. What this shows terrorists is that they'll want to strike in two different regions at once.

THE BEST DEFENSE IS NOT A GOOD OFFENSE!

Pres. Bush announced (31au) that we will not return to "pre-911 isolation" but would 'stay on the offensive' to protect our 'allies in the broader region'. [SanDiego.Com,31AU ]

--The only real allies we have in the region are Sharon's Israelis. Nobody doubts that avenging Saddam's support for the Palestinians fighting against Israel was one of the main Bushie motives for invading Iraq.

--'Staying on the offensive' means more indiscriminate bombing/shelling of Iraq (like the helicopters firing today on the insurgents--AND on hundreds of thousands of Shiites, swarming toward the contested shrine; this air-attack may have aggravated the panicked stampede that caused well over 1000 casualties).

Bush wants to compare this fiasco with WWII campaign against Japan, ignoring the difference: in that war we were fighting against nations, where bombs made for our victory; now we are fighting against enraged individuals, a conflict where bombs are counter-productive.

(The Pentagon's main talent is bombing and shelling--we are like the dumb leopard who tried to counter an enraged hive of hornets with his awesome teeth and claws.)

The enraged relatives of the innocent victims of our 'offensive' are prime targets for terrorist recruiters. One U.S. general said, "We kill one guerilla and thus generate 3 more."

--Veering from 'pre/911 isolation', when we have no real understanding of the MiddleEast, means interventionist lunges based on isolationist thinking--a recipe for continuing disaster.

At least 950 Shiites dead, hundreds wounded TODAY, after insurgents attacked a Shiite mosque during a big festival, and pilgrims stampeded on a bridge, because someone shouted that a suicide bomber was among them.
NYTIMES
Some may have panicked because of U.S. helicopters which fired on 'insurgents'.

Zarqawi faction hate Shiites as 'polytheists' (a terrible insult for Muslims !); they also want to make sure that resentful Shiites don't offer a big enough bribe to Saddamite 'insurgency-allies' to persuade them to turn on Zarquawites.

(20 people died also from poisoned fruit-juice offered to pilgrims. ZAMAN )

This slaughter ought to achieve Zarqawi goals--one can't imagine much generous Shiite willingness to compromise, after today; indeed, this may be a sign (as some experts have said) that the Shiite/Sunni civil war has already begun.
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The disappearance of Yugoslavia's dictator meant horrific civil war there--remembering this, the Bushies should have been able to predict these results of Saddam's fall. But the Bushies were as unable to learn from Yugoslavia as they were from Vietnam.

A PRO-WAR LETTER IN DENVERPOST, by one Jeff Miller, HAS JUST ENOUGH CONTENT TO BE WORTH ADDRESSING:

MILLER:He notes that the jihad to kill all infidels was declared before we invaded Iraq, and that the jihad did not say "Get out of Islam'. He concludes that nobody is safe who won't convert to Islam.
LYONS: Yes, binLaden said he was triggered to attack (a) by our automatic support for every action of Israel, and (b) for our stupid stationing of infidel GIs in Sacred Arabia.

But our invasion of Afgh. & Iraq has indubitably strengthened the spirit of 'jihad', by recruiting enraged Muslims as new terrorists, and by training them in guerilla war. (If only 1 in 10,000 Muslims was newly enraged by our invasions, that makes 100,000 new terrorists!)

"All humanity turning Muslim' may be the rhetoric of jihad, but such an unreal goal wouldn't motivate many martyrs. A Prof. Pape (an ardent Zionist) has studied the suicide bombers, and he says their motivation is usually to expel the infidels from Islamic countries.
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MILLER: If we got out, he says, all Westerners would be 'kicked out'of MiddleEast..and now comes the main point..then the oil-producing nations would be forced not to do business with us.

LYONS: If we don't get out now, we will be forced out later, and then...No doubt binLaden is out to unseat the Saudi royals, whom Bush is in bed with. And sooner or later, these corrupt rulers WILL be unseated.

Venezuela's ruler hates us, but he still sells oil to us--though he's looking to China,etc.,for other customers. Our enemy Iran still sells oil to the western world--although, if Bushies are dumb enough to bomb them, all that could change--with gas soaring above $5 a gallon!
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Miller: Suppose the Wahabis get control of Saudi-Royal bank accounts, and withdrew every dollar from the West....
LYONS: We asssume that even if they threw out the royals, they would NOT get control of this money, which is deposited outside the country.

By the way, all this fuming about 'Wahabis': he ignores the fact that Wahabism is the OFFICIAL RELIGION of royal-ruled SaudiArabia, that the royals were in bed with them for decades, until recently when the jihadists turned on the royals.
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MILLER notes that binLaden is smart enough to realize the possibility of wounding or destroying us economically.

LYONS: And he's succeeding, by luring us into wasting hundreds of billions in Iraq--money we might better spend on Homeland Defense.------------------
MILLER says we can't back out. Our way of life is on the line.

LYONS: The second sentence is true, but it doesn't support the first sentence. The longer Bush keeps U.S. involved in Iraq, the more threatened is our Way of Life. Notice the main result so far--we are setting up a Shiite, anti-American ministate in South Iraq, allied to our oldest enemy, Iran. Together they may control more oil than Saudi Arabia.

Could we conquer the Shiites (while still fighting Sunni guerillas)? The casualty rate for GIs would leap up; the remaining home support for this fiasco would evaporate completely.

We must back out, and soon.
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By the way our oil-guzzling 'way of life' will heat the world, raise the sea-levels and flood millions in Bangladesh and the Egyptian Delta and parts of China, just as the increased number of hurricanes will be battering our Southern coastlines. Let's hope that expensive gas will finally cut down our polluting the world's air.

CACKLE,CACKLE--ANOTHER EGG!

DenverPost (circ.200,000?)just printed another letter..same old theme.

http://www.denverpost.com/letters

A NEW PIECE OF BUSH-SHIT: 'W' now says we have to keep troops in Iraq to prevent Zarqawi & binLaden from getting access to huge Iraq oil reserves. GUARDIAN

However, The oil-fields are all in Kurdish or Shiite territory, not in middle Sunni/Arab region where Zarqawi operates. The Kurds can defend their own territory--although, so far, they can't prevent guerilla sabotage of the pipelines. But stopping oil-exports is NOT the same as Zarqawi taking over the oilfields!

In fact, most of Iraq's oil is in the Southern Shiite region. Again, insurgents have managed to sabotage pipelines there. However, when the Shiites form their own ministate, and set up a firm border--with a no-man's-land--against Sunni/Arabs, there will be no chance of the binLaden crowd getting into control of those oilfields.

(With just a few troops plus airpower,we could help defend the Shiite region from any conventional Sunni/Arab invasion! And Shiite Iran would be on hand also to protect the Shiite oilfields from Zarqawi-types..not to mention that the Shiites themseves outnumber the Sunnies by 3 to 1 ! )

Note that guerillas have been able to sabotage oil-lines in spite of 140,000 U.S. troops there to block their moves. One really wonders what good those U.S. troops are doing there.
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Bushies must be pretty desperate to put such foolish arguments (against our pulling out) into the mouth of their Texas ignoranus.

THREE BLUNDERS IN WRITING CONSTITUTION:
--Bushies' demented insistence on the early deadline--no time for haggling.

--Shiite last-minute demand for right to form a deFActo-seceding ministate in the South, leaving Sunnis with destitute middle region.

--Adding Sunnis to constitution-writing committee, then rushing on over their objections--signalling Sunnis about what happens to minorities...(Even if they'd voted, they'd still be a 20% minority in the Parliament.)

This U.S. advisor to the committee thinks the best thing would be if the Sunnis manage to veto this constitution ! If it goes through, the Sunni insurgency will continue. (Maybe it will in either case.)
NYTIMES

POETIC JUSTICE? GOP Americans often drive big SUVs or trucks, often unnecessarily, just because it makes them 'stand taller' because they can look down on smaller cars.

Thus they contribute extra to Global Warming. And G.W., by warming the seas, produces a higher number of hurricanes hitting our Gulf Coast, where a good part of our oil supply is imported or refined into gasolene.

This damage has already raised WHOLESALE gas prices to $3 a gallon on the Gulf Coast (Boston.com)

You might think the oil companies would cut down on their profits, to help Americans in this crisis. Nonsense--their profits have skyrocketed.

You might think our government would impose a 'windfall' tax on them (used formerly when some firms get a huge unearned profit, when ordinary Americans are suffering economically.)

Nonsense--instead our government (with GOP controlling all 3 branches) has shovelled NEW TAX BREAKS onto these greedy corporations !

Many of these SUV owners voted to keep Bush & the GOP Congress in office. They deserve little sympathy now, when they are stressed by high gas prices.

AIRPOWER FOREVER ! We'll keep planes flying over Iraq even after our troops are gone, says general. NYTIMES,30au

Why not? We bombed Iraq for over a year BEFORE we invaded!

Never mind that it is our airpower's indiscriminate killing that mainly turns Iraqis against us. (We just bombed a 'houseful of insurgents'; civilians were reported killed.) One U.S. general said, "We kill one insurgent, thereby generating 3 more!"

MOUNTAINS OF CHINESE TEXTILES PILE UP IN EUROPEAN PORTS, because China has cheated on 'quota system'. EU trade rep., of course, favors 'free trade'--but political pressures from European textile producers has forced him to demand that Chinese consider this surplus mountain as part of next year's quota. FinTimes

Of course a 'quota system' goes against the ideal of 'free trade' ! But Western countries simply can't allow China to undersell their own producers.

Oh for the good old days when Communist dogma stopped Russia and China and India from adding efficiently to the excess productive capacity around the world !

(There is huge potential increase in consuming--among the world's destitute billions. But all that counts is EFFECTIVE demand, demand backed by money. And that demand is finite, swamped by the excess productive capacity.)

Optimists cite the new purchasing power of, say, Russians, Indians, and Chinese. But each new 'consuming mouth' is accompanied by two new 'producing hands'--so the dilemma will continue and even be aggravated.

The problem is simply another instance of the dangers of super-rapid technical progress--as is the 'infantry-robot' problem sketched below. See my other website presenting, in 'ch.2', my defense of LUDDISM.

PENTAGON ROBOTS:
Now we hear [ASAHI] of Japanese robots that are almost human in their capacity to understand commands, etc.

This is especially good news to the Pentagon. Their ability has shrunk to con foolish 18-year-old humans into enlisting for their imperial adventures abroad. Instead they'll use trouble-free infantry robots (supplementing their drone planes, etc.) to put down insurgencies like the one in Iraq.

But most important, they can openly take over in America. We haven't worried much about a military coup here, because we're pretty sure American soldiers wouldn't fire on Americans. American robots, however, won't hesitate.

There'll be black humor when our handgun fans, the self-styled 'defenders of our freedom', try to hold back a line of impassive Pentagon robots.

(I've been warning about this danger for a long time. My wife took a picture of me more than a year ago in a robot-costume on a corner, making this warning.)
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Once again, I advise sensible young Americans to get ready to emigrate, if
worst comes to worst. But first they must get fluent in a couple of foreign languages; and they must pick up some scarce skills, so another country will want to accept them.

CONSTITUTION BAD FOR U.S.: Experts from various think-tanks agreed that the present situation is really bad. If the Sunnis manage to veto the const, the whole process has to start over.

If Sunnis can't veto it, they'll be further enraged. The guerillas will be better able to pose as nationalists, trying to preserve 'all/Iraq' identity in the face of apostate Shiites and alien Kurds who are out to destroy that identity.

Civil war may already be underway. Only option for U.S.is to beat down guerillas militarily; that they haven't been able to do, and will likely not be able to do it now. FORBES

U.S. ENTERS,GROWLS, LEAVES: INSURGENTS RESUME CONTROL.

In huge Sunni Anbar Province, previous reports are confirmed: Our troops may barge into a city, shell and shoot it up (suffering some casualties) , then leave.

Then insurgents return to take control again.
ContraCostaTimes, cited by InformationClearinghouse.

THE 'CONSTITUTION': ANOTHER BUSHIE FAILURE:

--at first,Bushies pretended NOT to interfere;

--but then, they did try to interfere--with bustling around by our ambassador, even with phone calls from TEXAS!

--but they were ignored, and Shiites went ahead with
(a) insistence on permission to form a (deFacto seceding) Shiites ministate like that the Kurds have already achieved. and

(b) the opening for Shiite clerics to suppress the extensive rights for woman guaranteed under previous Baathist law.
NYTIMES
The insurgent violence may not skyrocket at this result; it's already sky-high, and very effective in killing GIs and any Iraqis who collaborate with Americans.

Even a continuation of evidence of Bushie failure in Iraq will probably continue the downward plummetting of his polls.
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Bush is now a very lame duck (Only 36% approve.) War opponents should emphasize that now there is unbalanced support for Bush from Republicans, NOT from Dems or Independents. Congressmen running in '06 should have their feet held to the fire.
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In Britain, Blair is also under fire. He said the London bombings were NOT related to wars in Iraq & Afghanistan. Then another Intelligence memo was leaked, saying Iraq war was 'prime factor' in recruiting terrorists. INDEPENDENT

AFGHAN OPIUM ACREAGE DOWN 21% IN A YEAR, BUT...
opium PRODUCTION is down only 2.4%.

One reason is that the PRICE of opium has sunk (due to plentiful supply!)
Boston.com

Taliban actually cut opium production; but when we invaded, we allied ourselves with warlords who were also druglords. A large proportion of world opium now comes from Iraq; a very large portion of heroin sold (cheaply) in Britain is now from Afghan. Weren't they fools to join in Bush's crusade?

"ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN THREATENS GIs" warns Rummie.
Troops in Cal. training were told to roll up their tents a few inches off the ground, to protect certain tortoises. But when they did this in Iraq, light leaked out of the tents, helping insurgents attack them. Boston.com

If these troops, & their commanders, didn't know enough to vary their practice from Cal. to Iraq, then the recruitment crisis is worse than we thought: recruits must be pretty dumb.

Of course Rummy would say that ANY concern should yield to Pentagon whims. That's why we shovel $10 to Pentagon for every $1 we spend on Home Defense.

15 GIs KILLED IN AFGH. IN AUGUST:
What is chance for GI to die in Afgh.,compared to chance in Iraq?

15 in Afgh = 105 in Iraq, more than 3 a day. (7 times as many GIs are in Iraq).

i.e., a given GI has as much--or more--chance to be killed in Afgh. as in Iraq.
M&C(SouthAsia)

Bush tried to steal critics' thunder by admitting that the number of GIs killed (in one or the other of his 2 goofy wars) already topped TWO THOUSAND.

Of course we don't count the thousands of GIs maimed or wounded.

IRAQI WOMAN RECANTS: She was pictured next to Laura Bush, celebrating Iraq's new future. But now, with the Shiite constitution ready to go to the voters, she is disillusioned.

[Iraqi women], she says, are falling backwards. There should be no connection with SHARIA in the constitution. [Sharia has often been interpreted to trample on women. Saddam, strangely protected women's rights.]

Meanwhile, Bush chatters on that women's rights are going to be protected by the new constitution. INDEPENDENT

REASSURING: As deadly Hurricane Katrina moves toward Louisiana, what comfort it must give the state's residents to know that the Pentagon has taken a large number of their NationalGuard troops and sent them to Iraq !

This is just an example of the situation in any state with any kind of a large emergency...the type of emergency that the National Guards are supposed to handle--or some new kind of emergency, like terrorist attacks on our Homeland. Their national Guard units will be over in Iraq.

David Brooks (in NYTIMES) lays out a 'winning strategy' for beating the Iraq insurgents.

--We shouldn't 'attack insurgent strongpoints'; this just enrages all the relatives of the natives we kill by mistake. Then we leave the place (not enough troops!) and insurgents return to kill all those natives who cooperated with us.

--We should settle for pacifying just a few cities. Then, when insurgent attacks are down there, we proceed to build each city up economically, to be the envy of other places. And our troops make friends with the people inside our enclaves.Then we gradually expand...

PROBLEMS:
--Huge numbers of U.S. troops would be needed, for pacification and reconstruction. We DON'T HAVE that many troops, nor will we--unless we restore the draft.

--Above all, we don't have enough troops qualified to make friends with the natives. Our troops are exasperated at being recalled to Iraq again and again--angry, contemptuous of the natives and trigger-happy.

--Rummy's Pentagon wants to lean on our airpower, our firepower--both counter-productive. And Bush will back Rummy right over the cliff. After all, if we had sensible military leadership, we would never have wandered into this quagmire!

--This strategy would take YEARS AND YEARS to work. (Britain's conquest of Malaysia took years and years, as did our conquest of the Phillipines.)

Bushies don't have years and years of U.S. patience. (Childish Americans are now bored or exasperated by evening Iraq news.) Some polls say 60% want us to 'stay till Iraq is stable'. But others say 60% want us to pull out this year (some or all of the troops--but pulling out some would be really nuts. So practically speaking, a majority want us to pull out now.)

And if the Draft is restored (to provide troops enough for this strategy), mothers and wives who are apathetic now (perhaps more interested in abortion or gay marriage) will rise up in rage.
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Brooks' proposal should be read this way: That strategy might work--in fact, it's the only one that has any chance. But we don't have the troops or the time or the intelligent leaders to make that strategy work, not at this late date. So nothing is going to work. So we should bug out--the sooner the better, the later the worse.

ANTI-IRISH SLANDERS:
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How do the Irish provoke foreigners to slander them so poisonously?

A medieval historian, Gerald of Wales, said these preposterous things:
--that Irish monks spent every day laboring in the fields, chanting psalms, fasting, and flogging themselves. But then in the evening they punched out and went into town to raise hell.

--that Irish women pissed standing up, while the men squatted. Now really!

Actually,old Gerald had some skeletons in his own family closet. The Geraldines were actually Italian bandits who threw in with William to conquer England. On close inspection, William sent them all to Wales..and then, on second thought, shipped them off to rule sullen Ireland.

The Fitzgeralds (it’s alleged that ‘Fitz’ means ‘bastard’!) ruled Ireland until the Protestants took over England.

One nasty story was of an Earl Fitzgerald who was indicted before HenryVIII for burning the cathedral of Cashel. They say he offered this defense: “I would never have burnt the cathedral, had I not thought the Archbishop was inside.”

This slanderous tradition extends to our time. I was in Ireland visiting a stately home of the Fitzgerald clan. As usual, the woman showing people around was from that rare species, Irish Protestant landowners still in Eire; of course she spoke with a posh British accent.

I said to her, “My family comes from Iowa—but my grandmother was named Fitzgerald; and we like to think we might be related to the famous Fitzgeralds of old.”

“Very possible!” she replied coolly, “They left Bahstahds all over Ireland.”
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In Ireland, women don't go to the pubs. Sean won the toasting contest with this gem: "To my lovely wife: may I spend the rest of my life between her legs, till the day I die!"

At home, he told his wife he won..she asked with what toast. Nervously, he revised: "To my lovely wife: may I go to Mass with her for the rest of my life, until the day I die."/ She snorted with contempt, rolled over and went to sleep.

The next day she met Sean's buddy, who asked "Did Sean tell you he won the toasting contest?"

"Yes," she said, "But I don't understand. It's only happened twice--and the second time I had to tug his ear to get him to come!"

Slander & more slander!
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There were two great Fitzgeralds in 19th-century, both named 'Edward':
--read CITIZEN LORD, the life of EdwardFitzgerald, Irish Revolutionary (by Stella Tillyard).

--read E.Fitzgerald's THE RUBAIYYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM (an enchanting, if not completely accurate, translation of an ancient Persian poem). Fitzgerald's poem advocates a hedonistic life-style, despising the asceticism of ambitious men, also that of religious men:

'Some for glories of this world, and some
Sigh for the Prophet's Paradise to come.
Ah, take the cash and let the credit go--
Nor heed the rumble of a distant drum!"

SIDE WITH SHIITES? [ltr to Wash.Post]
David Ignatius [Wash.Post]endorses a young Shiite cleric visiting U.S. from Iraq who says we should ally ourselves with 'Najaf' (the Shiite capital) in trying to stabilize Iraq.

At first that seems right (the Shiites ARE a large majority in Iraq) and sensible (they will likely secede from Iraq to form a large, wealthy ministate with lots of oil and a seaport.)

And Ignatius admits this is just the least bad of the bad choices facing us.

However, we should look at some drawbacks Ignatius doesn't mention.

--It won't be just the Iraqi Sunnis who would be annoyed/enraged at this alliance. 9 in 10 of the 1500 millions of Muslims worldwide are Sunnis. And many of these see Shiites as apostates worthy of death.

--Moreover, this alliance would be indirectly an alliance with Iran, our old enemy. Ignatius admits that this cleric is (sensibly) calling for our reconciliation with Iran--but this would stick in the craw of Bushies, Sharonistas, and other 'American Century' dreamers.

PROFOUND CARTOON EXPOSES 'THE SACRIFICE TRAP':
Bushies are using ignominious psychology to muster what support they can from their 'core group' of loonies (mostly white, church-going, suburban males) who probably constitute about 35% of Americans). They're saying that any criticism of Bush policies--especially any call for pulling our troops out of Iraq--dishonors those who have died in the war. And many families of the dead fall for this trick; fewer of them than in the general population show disapproval of the war.

Cindy Sheehan of course represents the many survivors who DON'T fall for this shabby rhetoric. But it's easy for the rich Bushies to mobilize a few dozen of the goofy survivors to balance her demonstration at Crawford, Texas.

In a country with many small businesses that fail, we are familiar with the poor businessman who 'throws good money after bad', often taking a 2d mortgage on his home just to postpone the admission of failure. (Interestingly, women owning small firms have a better record of sensible behavior.)

You'd think then that these poor saps, the remaining hawks, would at least see the folly of throwing more billions of dollars into this war, after the billions already wasted--(and this when our country is practically bankrupt, so we can't afford adequate homeland protection!) But distaste at 'dishonoring our dead troops' may trump any such sensible reaction.

In DENVERPOST.COM, a cartoon by Keefe exposes this folly neatly; in a long line of GI corpses, each says that his death is honoring the corpse in front of him.

The first casualty of war is NOT, as is often said, Truth; what dissipates first is GoodSense; then Truth is not in demand.

"INSURGENTS HAVE BECOME A PART OF IRAQI LIFE: they are intrinsic, so they can operate with impunity," said a U.S. general. GUARDIAN

THIRTY-YEAR BONDS ARE CLAIMING VERY LOW INTEREST; BUT COMPANIES ARE NOT GRABBING THE CHANCE TO ISSUE THEM. REUTERS

Both the low interest and the disinterest in borrowing seem to indicate that the money-handlers are not optimistic about the long-run health of our economy.

There is a great world-wide surplus of productive capacity, relative to the goods and services world consumers are willing AND ABLE to pay for.
Such a situation seems to predict world-wide Deflation,then Depression.
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Japan has had slightly falling prices since beginning of '03 (even with gas prices jumping up). Trouble is, people tend to wait to buy till prices drop further. FinTimes (This aggravates deflation.)

BUSH HAS THE GOD-DAMNED NERVE, DURING ONE OF HIS MANY EXTENDED VACATIONS, TO CALL ON AMERICANS FOR 'MORE SACRIFICE' in regard to Iraq. REUTERS

(The above sentence does not contain an expletive, but rather a guess about the divine attitude toward this man's arrogance.)

Unless we have a friend or relative among the wretched GIs in Iraq, we're none of us making ANY sacrifices in this silly, brutal war. (though we and our children WILL likely suffer considerably in years to come for Bushies' crimes and blunders.)

Especially this little combat-shirking jerk is making no sacrifices--though he may be humiliated by his plummeting popularity (now below that of any modern President, except Nixon during the Watergate scandals) ...IF his keepers even tell him!

TRAGIC CONSTITUTIONAL FARCE: The surrealistic tale is recounted in detail by the Iraq expert, Juan Cole. in SALON, cited in InfoClearingHouse

But the simple summary is this: Bushies screwed up the situation thoroughly. Shiites gave up hope of controlling all/Iraq (as they felt entitled to, with 60% of the population). They have decided to secede and form their own ministate, just as the Kurds have done.

Whether the constitution is vetoed or not, the Sunni guerillas will certainly not be pacified, as the dumb Bushies seemed to hope. It looks more and more as if U.S. will bug out and leave the Sunni/Arab region as a no-mans-land.

TOP UN OFFICIAL SAYS U.S. OBSESSION WITH ABSTINENCE HAS HURT ANTI-AIDS CAMPAIGN IN AFRICA. Boston.Com

(U.S. image abroad is defaced by GOP appeasement of loud minority of fundamentalist fanatics--Catholic & Protestant.)
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AGENCY DEFUNDED FOR PUSHING CONDOMS VS. AIDS:

Thanks to a complaint from a right-wing Congressman from Oklahoma, a campaign to teach 3d-world prostitutes about condoms has been cut off from U.S. funding.

This NYT letter-writer [NYTimes]concedes wrongly that 'abstinence' is a sure-fire way to avoid sex-diseases--though she insists rightly that condoms work also! This ignores the distinction between 'successful abstinence' and 'attempted abstinence.'

Successful abstinence is of course a 'sure-fire' STD-preventer. But a person cannot just decide to SUCCEED at abstinence; he can only decide to TRY.
And human nature is such that many such attempts fail, with the attempter left vulnerable to disease.

Indeed, conscientious abstinence-attempters may not have condoms available when they slip, or may not know how to use them--so they may be at a HIGHER RISK of sex-disease than are 'immoral non-abstainers' !

POOR BUSH ECONOMY: Polls show that only 1 in 3 Americans approve of Bush's handling of economy. But right-wing statistics show a Good Economy!

Wrong numbers. Jobs available plummeted in first Bush years; since then they've increased only by 3%, which is just enough to match new job-seekers, not enough to help the jobless.

The average # of hours worked is low (showing many involuntarily part-time workers). The average duration of unemployment is high.

Walmart offered 400 jobs. ELEVEN THOUSAND people showed up to apply!

Average pay is lower than in '03--with gas costing average person an extra $900 a year, and medical costs (& college tuition) skyhigh.

Where's all the money from our 'healthy economy' going? Average CEO pay up FIFTY-FOUR PERCENT THIS YEAR !
[Paul Krugman in NYTIMES ]

IRAQ SOLDIERS' FRIENDS/RELATIVES OPPOSE BUSH'S WAR LESS FERVENTLY:
61% of those with no contacts say war was a mistake (vs. 36%: 'no mistake')
But those with contacts were about evenly divided.

44% of those with contacts approve of Bush's conduct of the war, vs. 37% of those with no contacts.

(This is the famous sacfrifice trap. Rather than admit that the GIs' sacrifice was wasted, these contacts would sacrifice even more.)

60% say we should stay in until Iraq is stable. GUARDIAN,26AU
--that is, one week after the Messiah returns and the Rapture happens.

(Other polls, with questions phrased differently, show majority want GIs pulled out (some or all of them) this year.)

BUSHIE DOUBLE-TALK: White House says we won't pull out until Iraqi militia is ready to take over. Generals in Iraq hint that we'll pull out in the next 12 months, and EXPECT the native militia to be ready.
FinTimes

They're all liars by the clock,anyway. Ignore their hints.

What's most likely is that Shiite militias will take over in Shiite ministate (with some GIs backing them up) , and Kurdish militias in Kurd ministate, (needing little GI backup)--and GIs will pull out of Sunni/Arab region, leaving it a no-man's land, with Baathist guerillas fighting Zarqawi guerillias and Sadrite Shiites for control.

(The much chattered-over all/Iraq constitution will be mainly irrelevant.)

That would be the sensible thing for Bushies to do--but who knows?

SADR-SHIITES MARCH--ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND! against the present draft of the constitution. REUTERS,26au

Sadr is lining up with the Sunnis who oppose federalism, and against the pro-Iran Sistani-Badrites who control Shiite regions--who, along with the Kurds (already in deFacto secession) back the federalism in the constitution.

One supposes that Sadr is demonstrating that he could call on his followers in an open civil war vs. Badr forces. But his followers are not as well trained in fighting as are the Iranian-trained Badrites. (They collapsed when they openly fought against the Americans earlier.)

SHARIA: The present Shiite-written constitution for Iraq leaves room for people to be judged by 'sharia', the traditional Muslim law.

The problem is that 'sharia' can be interpreted in so many ways, some of them primitive. For instance, in Nigeria, a woman got pregnant while her husband was away. She claimed she was raped.

Nevertheless, she was sentenced to be buried up to her neck in sand, then stoned to death. (Muslims say they accept Jesus as a prophet--but some of them apparently ignore his remark to the men who were going to stone the adulteress: "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.")
(To convict a MAN of adultery, 4 witnesses are required; for a woman, mere pregnancy suffices !)

This sentence was approved all the way up through the clerical courts; after the secular rulers of Nigeria raised hell, the top Sharia court acquitted this woman on a technicality--but the law stays in effect in many regions of Nigeria. (Thieves have their hands cut off.)

To read a brief summary of the vagaries of SHARIA, click on BBC

In the Iraq constitution, the Supreme Court will include 'experts on Sharia'.
What does this mean?

We're told that 'individuals' will be able to choose whether to be judged by a clerical or secular court. But will the men in a family get to choose for an accused woman?

Over half of Iraqis are women. Saddam's regime subjected women only to the same injustices that men suffered from. Once U.S. took over, Shiites tried to overturn Saddam's liberal laws for women; our imposed sultan, Bremer, vetoed this attempt. But now it looks as if these strong protections for women will go down.

For this majority of Iraqis, it's not so clear that they'll be 'better off' for Saddam's removal.

GENERAL ADMITS U.S. MILITARY 'ALONE' CAN'T BEAT INSURGENTS: and there is no reason to think that our native militia can beat them back--or that the silly games over the constitution are going to persuade Sunnis to quit backing the insurgents. So it follows that we can't beat the insurgents.

What's more, this general admits that our troops are doing more harm than good in Iraq, since 150,000 foreign troops are bound to be seen as OCCUPIERS, not liberators. Also, he says, there's no way GIs can distinguish civilians from guerillas. [London TELEGRAPH,25AU.]

(When GIs slaughter civilians by reckless, trigger-happy 'mistake', all the victims' enraged relatives are prime candidates to be recruited as new terrorists!)

This general says we must 'draw down' our forces in Iraq, i.e., cut their numbers (in fact, Bushies are sending over about 2000 more!)

What might make sense is to pull out GIs from Sunni/Arab region, leaving the Saddamites and the Zarqawi faction to fight for control.
Then perhaps the Shiite militias can run the Shiite ministate, protected by some GIs from open invasion by the Sunni Saddamites.

'Divided they stand--or fall!"
Smarmy right-wingerDavid Brooks [NYTIMES] typically tries to see the bright side in Iraq's constitutional chaos. He says the constitution 'reflects organic Iraq'. But then he notes that Iraq was not created by God, but by Winston Churchill. So it's OK if it breaks up. (Why then talk of ONE constitution?)

'Organic Iraq' consists of the Kurds, who are in deFacto secession, and the Shiites who will set up a similar ministate in the South (with most of the oil) and the Sunni/Arab section which will eventually be handed over to some set of the guerillas.

If there is a Baghdad 'central government' it will be largely fictional, like the 'central' government of 'Serbia/Montenegro', which pretends to rule over the separate states of Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. [click on ATLAS]The only real function this fictional entity will have is to fool Americans into thinking there has been 'political progress' in the country.

And Americans aren't so easy to fool any more.
---------------------
Brooks tries some typical hawk rhetoric: since this constitution contains much that we don't like, "that shows that we didn't try to force a regime onto Iraq".

Nonsense--that just shows that incompetent Bushies tried and failed to force...

OIL UP, UP,UP! Betting firms saying they're on the edge of receiving bets of future oil costing $100 per barrel. Predictions of oil-costs in 2066 average over $50 a barrel. REUTERS

Meanwhile, Bushies are threatening Iran (2d biggest OPEC exporter), alienating Russia, and enraging Venezuela. China is soaking up oil we want, to run industries underselling U.S.

The Good News: jerks who want huge vehicles so they can look down on my little Nissan will have to sell their virgin daughters to feed the monsters--while my Sentra drinks gasolene by the spoonful.

APOLOGY NOT NEEDED! Pat Robertson's apology to Venezuela's Chavez (for saying U.S. should murder Chavez) was unnecessary.

Chavez' toes undoubtedly curled with delight when Robertson's rantings were reported throughout South America, along with reminders of R's close relationship with the Bushies--making Chavez's already-considerable popularity rise even further.

(Chavez has offered to sell cheap gasoline to poor regions in America.)

Then, even better, Robertson added that he expected that one day we will go to war against Venezuela. JapanTimes That's what Chavez has been saying all along, that we would invade in order to grab their oil.

Latin Americans' loathing for Bush's America has been greatly bolstered.

EMBOLDENED TERRORISTS: (ltr to DenverPost)
When Hitler refused to back out of Russia after his crushing defeat near Stalingrad, his enemies were encouraged to realize he had gone irrational. Now Pres. Bush says our withdrawal from Iraq would 'embolden' our enemies.

Actually, our staying on in Iraq demonstrates further the weakness of our feckless military, helpless to defend Iraqis or themselves--thus emboldening the terrorists.

Not only that--our Iraq fiasco is helping the terrorists to enlist new recruits, and also to train them. Our ally Jordan worries that Jordanian terrorists are getting 'war-hardened' in Iraq, then returning to make trouble in Jordan.

The GOP expert Chuck Hagel says flatly that the longer we stay in Iraq, the more damage we do. Sen. Hagel is hardly a traitor for contradicting the President who lied and blundered our way into this catastrophe.

for what it's worth (a little known polling agency 'Amer.ResearchGroup, cited by AngusReidGlobalScan :

"Do you approve of the way Pres. Bush is handling his job?" Only 36% say yes, down 6 points in one month.

"Do you approve of his handling of Economy?" 33% yes, down 5 points in a month.

We're finding out how small is the core of his support, the people who would and will follow him to hell. The trend is what's impressive.

UNUSUAL OPEN ATTACK BY INSURGENTS IN BAGHDAD: Usually they just use car-bombs or individual pedestrian suicide-bombers; but today they came out into the open by the dozens, in open battle with GIs and our native militia. [Canadian GlobeAndMail ]

In the past when they have resorted to open battle, they have suffered terrible losses (as have our native militia). Does this mean that they have so many volunteers they can afford to waste lives?
-----------------------
BADR VS. SADR: Now there's fighting between different factions of Shiites! The Badr are the fighting wing of the main party of Shiites (who hid out in Iran till Saddam was ejected). Sadr is the young hothead leader of the poor Shiites, mainly in Baghdad. Earlier, he actually led battles vs. U.S. troops, who killed many of his followers. Now he says he'll stick to politics.

Strangely enough, Sadr is siding with the Sunnis (especially in denouncing the U.S. presence in Iraq; he claimed he got one million signatures on a petition insisting U.S. pull out.)

Today, someone attacked Sadrite offices in Najaf; Sadr said it was Badr thugs. Sadrites withdrew from the assembly and govt. in protests.

Elsewhere, the Kurds agreed to the Shiite version of the constitution, which will likely be voted in tomorrow by the assembly, composed over 50% of Shiites, and the rest mainly Kurds. alJazeera

Of course the Sunni will try to veto this constitution--but that's not the real issue, which is the continuation of guerilla attacks on Iraqis and Americans.
Bush's glib remarks about the 'birth of democracy' in Iraq will ring hollow as GI casualty rates continue (now over 2000 deaths in Iraq plusAfhganistan!)

FOREIGN BASES: (ltr to NYTIMES):
From the screams here over possible military base-closings, we can guess how much the Pentagon spends in districts with these bases; we can also understand why so many bases are in districts of powerful Congressmen.

But what about our hundreds of foreign bases? Are they really needed?
We can ship troops anywhere in the world quickly by sea or air.
We managed to bomb Afghanistan with planes stationed in Kansas!

Domestic bases add to our governmental deficit, as do overseas bases.
But expenses at overseas bases count as imports; they also aggravate our TRADE deficit, the gap between our inadequate exports and our sky-high imports.

We can guess the billions of dollars the Pentagon spends in countries hosting our bases. The real point of these bases may be to reward rulers who are friendly to our Pentagon. Germany and SouthKorea have lately talked rebelliously; there's talk of closing or shrinking bases in these two naughty countries.

ELEVEN U.S. CASUALTIES TODAY FROM ONE BOMB--plus many Iraqis. ABC

SUPREME COURT REAFFIRMS ITS PERMISSION FOR CITIES TO CONFISCATE PROPERTY, E.G., TO BUILD NEW WALMARTS.
Boston.Com

The GOP-dominated court doesn't mind outraging people by a decision favoring the Big Guys over the ordinary guy---but they won't reverse Roe/vs.Wade. (Even new Bush nominee Roberts says it's the 'settled law of the land'.)

When are the moralistic, unrich Republicans going to realize that the GOP is abusing their trust?

Rich Americans don't want ordinary Americans to breed like rabbits--especially now that soldiers as well as workers can be replaced by robots!

"U.S. LOSING ITS GRIP OVER ASIA" says a columnist for FinTimes
"Its military supremacy remains overwhelming, but its diplomacy is weak."
[rest of article available only to FT subscribers]

This is a familiar story. Bush's America's only real talent is in bombing.
And more and more countries are developing 'second-strike deterrents' (nuclear or germ-war): "You can destroy our cities; but our survivors can seriously damage your homeland, so you'll regret attacking us."

Bush's America is a muscle-bound weakling.

On the other hand, Hitler didn't mind offering up his cities as the price of his try at conquest; it may be that the Bushies have a similar attitude.
If so, God help us all.

"SUNNIS HAVE TO DECIDE', says Bush,"if they want to live in a free society or one of violence." REUTERS

That's not how Sunnis see it. They think they must choose between a society dominated by hostile, 'apostate' Shiites & alien Kurds, or fight a continued 'revolution'. The people who dominate the Sunnis have already decided on revolution.

It's not just the Sunnis who object to the present text. The Kurds say that the Shiites slipped in bad language at the last minute; and the other minorities (e.g., the Christians) also say they'll oppose the present text. (The Shiites rejoiced prematurely by parades.) FinTimes
-------
"BUSH OFFERS ROBUST DEFENSE OF HIS POLICY," says FinancialTimes. A real misnomer. A robust defense would stand up under attacks and criticisms. Bush's defense is merely brash and loud.

PEACENIKS ARE COMMUNISTS? One of the hawks heckling peacenik marchers in California called them 'Communists' ! WashPost
(The correct epithet is 'AlQaeda Fan Club'.)

In Ft.Collins,CO, a hawk called my wife a Communist. She responded, "You're SO twentieth-century!"

As the hawks realize they are more and more outnumbered by war-opponents, we can expect them to get nastier and more violent.

INSURGENTS ATTACK TODAY (Monday) ALL OVER IRAQ, killing an unknown number of Americans (Army won't release number) and blowing up a pipeline providing petrol to Baghdad SanDiegoUnion

Insurgents also interrupted oil exports from the South (unusual!) by sabotage. FORBES
------------------
Bush displayed his unmitigated gall by citing 2000 U.S. deaths in his double-war, and then using that as a reason for us to waste more blood and treasure on his fiascos!

Bush vowed not to end his 'missions' prematurely. And RMtnNews referred to his 'missions'. They love euphemisms, talking of 'action' and 'intervention' and 'missions', instead of admitting the bloody, pointless slaughter they're engaged in.

Generals admit we can't beat insurgents militarily. And now it's clear that the pretence of an all/Iraq constitution won't pacify Sunni guerillas.
(The latest draft allows for a deFacto secession of Shiites in South, to match the deFacto secession of Kurds in the North. Sunnis are enraged.)

THAT OTHER WAR: Remember, Bushies started war in Iraq when they were already at war in Afghanistan ! Bush was pretty dumb to remind people of this double-war. Americans may see the Afghan war as already won and over. Think again !

Bushies invaded Afgh. to nab binLaden. After 3 years, with $50 million as a bounty on b.L's head, Bush still can't nab him.
---------------------
What are the chances of a given GI getting killed in Afghanistan, compared to the chances of a GI in Iraq?

In Iraq, there are seven times the number of GIs in Afghanistan (140,000 vs. 20,000). Sixty-Four GIs killed in Afgh. in the last 6 months. That's the equivalent of 80 each month in Iraq.

'At least' 228 GIs, total, have been killed in Afgh.--NYTIMES--(eqiv. to 1600 in Iraq) vs. 1850 actually killed in Iraq. (We don't count the maimed or wounded in either war.) Boston.com

So a given GI is in as much DANGER today in Afgh. --now, after 3.5 years of U.S. effort-- as in Iraq--and the Taliban is revving up again !
-------------
An ex-Taliban leader who went over to U.S. puppet govt. was just gunned-down in Kabul. U.S. said, "We don't know if it was because he worked with Taliban."
REUTERS
They don't mention the possibility that he was killed for DESERTING the Taliban! 'Collaborators' with U.S. are killed regularly.
---------------
Our puppet 'President' of Afgh. is sarcastically called 'Mayor of Kabul' (his writ runs no further). Our parliament will be Kabul's city council.

Most of the country is run by druglords allied with U.S., or Taliban.

(In fact, Taliban attack even in Kabul!)

CONSTITUTION DELAYED AGAIN. Another deadline has arrived breathlessly, then been wiped out. But now they have a text voted on--the next 3 days changes will come as amendments. CNN

[No--they withdrew the text offered at the last minute; no vote was taken.
Edinburgh Scotsman]

Islam will be "A source of law", not "THE source of law". The big fight now is over 'federalism'. The Sunni delegates still balk.

It's hard to see what's at stake. With a central government deciding how to divide the oil money, the Sunnis would be outvoted by Shiites & Kurds FOUR TO ONE!

It must be that all this is too subtle for the average Sunni, so the delegates have to rant vs. 'federalism'. Perhaps ordinary Sunnis still dream of ruling all Iraq again, as they have done for centuries.

What will change in 3 days? No detailed plans for sharing the oil can be worked out in that time. It looks like the constitution will be rammed thru by Shiites & Kurds, with Sunni delegates still balking.

One thing is sure--the guerillas will NOT be pacified, as Bushies say they're hoping. Are Bushies really that dumb, or are they counting on the morons in their 35% support-base being fooled? And how long would even these morons be fooled, when deaths of GIs continue at same level OR WORSE ?!

WHY NOT CALL IT 'CIVIL WAR'? Shiites in large numbers are being killed by Sunnis, and Shiites are being warned to leave Sunni areas.

More and more, Sunnis are being killed by Shia militia, and other Sunnis are warned to leave Shiite areas.

One Norwegian expert (and Allawi, former pres.) say Iraq is already in a civil war...which the upcoming constitution is NOT likely to end.
Nor is it likely that GIs leaving OR STAYING will change the situation.
[ChristSciMonitor, cited by ABC]

Any sensible observer (remembering what happened in Yugoslavia after their dictator disappeared) could have predicted BEFOREHAND that Bush's invasion would have this grisly result .

The slaughter won't end till there are 3 separated ministates: Kurdland, Shialand, and the no-man's land in the middle, which will sooner or later be handed over to the Saddamite guerilla-leaders.

"Retreat will not bring safety!" Bush pontificates.

Nothing will bring us perfect safety from terrorist attacks on our Homeland, now that we have enraged thousands of Muslims who seem to have a deficient respect for death (perhaps a small portion of the 1500 MILLIONS of Muslims, of every race and color, worldwide).

But 'retreat' (bugging out) would at least prevent adding to the thousands of GIs getting killed or wounded in Iraq.

And if we quit pouring billions into the Iraq fiasco, we'd have more money to spend on the (expensive) obvious precautions needed to minimize damage from terrorist attacks at home--e.g., recruiting and training medical personnel to diagnose, treat and quarantine victims of the likely germ-war attack.

JORDAN ACCUSED OF 'HARBORING TOP TERRORISTS' BY IRAQI OFFICIALS. [NYTIMES,22AU]

As noted below, Bushies chatter on about threat of help to terrorists from their bogeymen Syria & Iran; but it turns out that Saddam's wealthy relatives are operating openly in our 'ally' JORDAN, financing the guerillas in next-door Iraq.

IN HADITHA, GUERILLAS IN CHARGE! A Guardian reporter managed to spend 3 days in HADITHA, one of the towns where we hear that the marines flushed out the guerillas. The minute the marines left, the guerillas returned to run the place, quite brutally. (U.S. refused to comment on the extent of guerilla influence in Haditha.)

A former division commander in Iraq, in NYTIMES, says U.S. will fail with present obsession over fighting guerillas (with GIs or with our trained native militia). He says that approach just generates new guerillas. (A top general in Iraq once said ruefully: "I kill one insurgent and thereby generate 3 more.)

This guy says we must give just as much weight to reconstructing Iraq, to restoring services like electricity--also we must produce jobs, and restore local government--in order to minimize support for the guerillas.

Trouble is, the guerillas see this clearly; they manage to disrupt every reconstruction effort. Also: in the reconstruction efforts, Iraqi & American, most of the money is wasted on corruption.

PRODUCTIVITY VS. JOBS:
DUMBEST QUOTE OF WEEK: from economist at ECONOMY.COM, cited in USATODAY, 22AU:

"Many manufacturers are increasing capital spending to get more productivity from their workers. For that reason, job losses should soon end, though additional hiring might not be in the offing."

Through new technology, firms can produce goods and services to match the (dwindling) demand with FEWER WORKERS (the def. of productivity increase) 'so fewer workers will be laid off' ??!!

One wonders if the study of economics dims the mind--or if economic journalists are propaganda hacks for the OWNER-class, disguising the threat that automation poses to workers.

SUNDAY AM CHATTER FROM LEGISLATORS:
GUARDIAN
GOP Sen.Chuck Hagel (foreign affairs expert) says Iraq war is steadily getting more like Viet fiasco. Army says they're planning to stay 4 more years. Says Hagel, where will they get troops? They're destroying Natl.Guard & Reserves already. The longer we stay, the more we'll destabilize MiddleEast, harm Israel and SaudiArabia and Jordan. We are not winning.

BUT another GOP senator: a constitution guaranteeing basic freedoms would rally Iraqis vs. guerillas. (See below about the repressive const. the Shiites are imposing, with the help of our ambassador!)

Another GOP: Worst outcome is NOT 4 more yrs in Iraq, but leaving in a dysfunctional, repressive govt. there which would be PART of problem of terrorism.
(Is he referring to the succession of puppet govts. we have installed?)

Nincompoop Lott from Mississippi: "We're winning, but we still have a long way to go. And it's going to take some time." (But have Bushies GOT that time? Bush's overall approval is down to 41% !)

BUSHIES WANT TO BOMB SYRIA AND IRAN SO BAD, THEY CAN TASTE IT.

So they constantly chatter about guerillas sneaking into Iraq 'with the help of govts. of S. & I.'

--They count SaudiArabia as a staunch ally even though:
1) binLaden is a Saudi; (2) most of 9/11 attackers were Saudis; 3)Wahabism, the most virulent anti-West Muslim sect, is the official religion of S.A., 4) S.A. has a large border with Iraq, and many incoming guerillas are Saudis.
(Bush family is joined at the hip with Saudi Royals.)

--They count JORDAN'S KING as staunch ally, even though 1) a large proportion of Jordan's population are refugees from Israel's rape of Palestine; (2) Zarqawi, our Iraq bogeyman, is Jordanian; (3) rockets were recently fired at U.S. ship in Jordanian port.

(We're told that the guerillas are out to get Jordan's govt...no doubt; this is likely also true in Syria and Iran !)

Jordanian govt. says Jordanian terrorists 'battle-hardened' in Iraq are sneaking back into Jordan to make trouble.One more indication of the way our Iraq fiasco is HELPING the terrorists. REUTERS

ONE DAY TILL DEADLINE: Sunnis on the const.-writing committee (who've risked their lives to collaborate !) petititioned U.S. and internatl. community to block Shiites & Kurds from shoving thru their parliament a draft arrived at--with connivance of U.S. ambassador-- without consulting the Sunnis. USATODAY

The justification for hurrying to get a constitution was allegedly to pacify the Sunnis so they'd quit backing guerillas. What a farce!

The Kurds also object to the powers this draft grants to the Shiite hierarchy.

The deadline could be extended again--it's not clear how long it could be extended without interfering with the October date for referendum on the constitution!

BLACK HUMOR: While the committee wrangles over the language of the 'all/Iraq' constitution, Shiite militias in the South (& in 'SadrCity' in Baghdad), and Kurdish militias in the North, are carrying out campaigns of assassination and intimidation which render the whole constitution-game irrelevant.

They are setting up ministates independent of any fictional 'all/Iraq' government that the Bushies are setting up to fool the American voters. WashPost

This from my Iowa friend Jerry Baker:

From: Robert Schlesinger:
Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New 'Intelligent Falling' Theory
August 17, 2005
KANSAS CITY, KS - As the debate over the teaching of evolution in public schools continues, a new controversy over the science curriculum arose Monday in this embattled Midwestern state. Scientists from the Evangelical Center For Faith-Based Reasoning are now asserting that the long-held "theory of gravity" is flawed, and they have responded to it with a new theory of Intelligent Falling.

"Things fall not because they are acted upon by some gravitational force, but because a higher intelligence, 'God' if you will, is pushing them down," said Gabriel Burdett, who holds degrees in education, applied Scripture, and physics from Oral Roberts University.

Burdett added: "Gravity which is taught to our children as a law is founded on great gaps in understanding. The laws predict the mutual force between all bodies of mass, but they cannot explain that force. Isaac Newton himself said: 'I suspect that my theories may all depend upon a force for which philosophers have searched all of nature in vain.' Of course, he is alluding to a higher power."

Founded in 1987, the ECFR is the world's leading institution of evangelical physics, a branch of physics based on literal interpretation of the Bible.

According to the ECFR paper published simultaneously this week in the "International Journal Of Science" and the adolescent magazine "God's Word For Teens!", there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by secular gravity alone, including such mysteries as how angels fly, how Jesus ascended into Heaven, and how Satan fell when cast out of Paradise.

The ECFR, in conjunction with the Christian Coalition and other Christian conservative action groups, is calling for public-school curricula to give equal time to the Intelligent Falling theory. They insist they are not asking that the theory of gravity be banned from schools, but only that students be offered both sides of the issue "so they can make an informed decision."

"We just want the best possible education for Kansas' kids," Burdett said.

Proponents of Intelligent Falling assert that the different theories used by secular physicists to explain gravity are not internally consistent. Even critics of Intelligent Falling admit that Einstein's ideas about gravity are mathematically irreconcilable with quantum mechanics.

This fact, Intelligent Falling proponents say, proves that gravity is a theory in crisis.

"Let's take a look at the evidence," said ECFR senior fellow Gregory Lunsden. "In Matthew 15:14, Jesus says: 'And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.' He says nothing about some gravity making them fall, just that they will fall. Then, in Job 5:7, we read: 'But mankind is born to trouble, as surely as sparks fly upwards.' If gravity is pulling everything down, why do the sparks fly upwards with great surety? This clearly indicates that a conscious intelligence governs all falling."

Critics of Intelligent Falling point out that gravity is a provable law based on empirical observations of natural phenomena. Evangelical physicists, however, insist that there is no conflict between Newton's mathematics and Holy Scripture.

"Closed-minded gravitists cannot find a way to make Einstein's general relativity match up with the subatomic quantum world," said Dr. Ellen Carson, a leading Intelligent Falling expert known for her work with the Kansan Youth Ministry. "They've been trying to do it for the better part of a century now, and despite all their empirical observation and carefully compiled data, they still don't know how."

"Traditional scientists admit that they cannot explain how gravitation is supposed to work," Carson said. "What the gravity-agenda scientists need to realize is that 'gravity waves' and 'gravitons' are just secular words for 'God can do whatever He wants.'"

Some evangelical physicists propose that Intelligent Falling provides an elegant solution to the central problem of modern physics.
"Anti-falling physicists have been theorizing for decades about the 'electromagnetic force,' the 'weak nuclear force,' the 'strong nuclear force,' and so-called 'force of gravity,'" Burdett said. "And they tilt their findings toward trying to unite them into one force.

But readers of the Bible have already known for millennia what this one, unified force is: His name is Jesus."
-----------
In the College of St.Thomas, St.Paul,Minn., in the '40s, students were annoyed at the low level of religious teaching. The explanation was very simple: once enrollment is guaranteed in a course, a school can save money by taking instructors off the street. Now 'religion' courses were required--so the college drafted various parish priests to teach them.

One nincompoop priest had a True/False question: "Catholics can serve as witnesses at Protestant weddings."
The students all said, 'False'. The priest giggled, "They CAN, but they MAY NOT! Don't you know the difference?"

A student who was a convert to the Church responded, "I know the difference, Father--but I didn't think you did."

Anyway, the annoyed students protested in this way: in every science course, when asked to explain some phenomenon, they began answering "...because God wanted that."

The college quickly reformed the religion courses.

GOP SenateLeader Frist, MD (who once diagnosed Ms. Schiavo from a TV picture) now says both evolution and 'intelligent design' should be taught in schools. NYTIMES
(GOP wants another phony issue--besides gay marriages--to distract voters from Iraq/Afghanistan disasters and Bushie-caused economic disasters.)

Lyons says that ordinary U.S. schoolkids should not be distracted by this controversy about the ORIGIN of life. We should make sure instead that Kansas children know the difference between insects and mammals today.

Lyons says that honor students should be exposed to both theories..but the 'I.D.' theory should be taught honestly: that it claims that 'some kind of Mind' is behind evolution.
Not the kindly Father Almighty. When you see the cruelty this Mind uses [natural DEselection] as a MEANS to promote complexity of organisms...

Perceptive religious leaders would not want their youth reminded of the fact that "the mountains don't care" about human suffering, and neither does this strange Mind.

MORE BUSH-SHIT: "If we don't prevail against terrorists over there, we'll have to face them on our streets.." and so on. [ REUTERS 20AU]

In fact, we WILL have to face 'them' on our streets even if we SHOULD prevail in Iraq (which is not bloody likely!)

Most Americans now see that the Iraq fiasco has put our Homeland in even more peril!
--by recruiting more terrorists among Muslims worldwide, enraged by our clumsy, bloody tactics in Iraq----and by spending billions there that ought to be spent taking expensive precautions against terrorist attacks here.

TRAGI/COMIC CONSTITUTIONAL WRANGLING:
Five thousand Sunnis marched to oppose 'federalism' (which version?) TVNEWS, 20AU
-------------------
STRANGE! Shiites insist that constitution say that 'No law can contradict principles of Islam.' Kurds say that gives Shiite clerics power to forbid, e.g., having a beer or women not wearing Chador. So they want wording to go,
"No law shall contradict AGREED-ON principles of Islam."

Shiites won't yield on this language for 'all/Iraq' constitution-even though the allowance for autonomous 'federal' region (deFacto secession for Shiite region) would let them impose rigid Islam on all their own people!

And it's said that the U.S. ambassador is siding with Shiites! All this in spite of Bushie chatter about protecting the rights of women--the majority of Iraqis! WashPost
---------
Another story said (1) Kurds are astonished/outraged over U.S. surrender to 'Islamism', and (2) that Shiites might water down their call for 'federalism', and (3) that Americans insist that the constitution comply with 'democracy'. REUTERS

But will 'democracy' include a real Bill of Rights (esp. for women)? Or will it allow for a tyranny of the devout Shiite majority? (After all, Bushies have installed in America the tyranny of the devout Fundamentalist Minority!)

The Afghan constitution (written by this same U.S. ambassador) at least paid lip service to women's rights. (Of course no constitution means anything in Afghan, ruled by drug-lords allied with U.S.--so nobody really cared what the 'constitution' said.)
----------------
GoodNews: Kurds are ready to drop explicit 'right to secede' (they'll keep 'autonomy' which equals deFacto secession).

Bad News: Kurds say Shiites insist that const. should say explicitly that the decrees of their hierarchy count as 'sacred' ! NYTIMES
--------------
Another report says that it's agreed that Islam will be A main source, not THE main source of law, and that no law contradict the 'FIXED' principles of Islam...????

Kurds astonished by U.S. backing of Shiites: "You spent all this blood and money to set up an ISLAMIST Republic ??!!"

Two days before the 'final' deadline, there is still disagreement (understandably) over control of the oil money (later, when there is some.)

Also Kurds want independent contact with other nations, which Arabs oppose (Shiite & Sunni!)
----------------
In the last 2 days of constitution-writing, the Sunni participants are just being ignored. ABC (The touching thing is that these Sunnis have taken a real risk of their lives by participating in this process.)

The big problem is not having the const. rejected by a 2/3 vote in 3 or 4 Sunni provinces. That would mean the Sunnis would have to give up their boycott of politics.

The point is that there is now no hope at all that the new regime will please the Sunnis so much that they'll quit supporting the guerillas !

It occurs to me that we could revise slightly a song from Viet-war times:

We're knee-deep in the desert sands,
and the runt-fool says "Push on!"

PRIDE IS THE MOTHER OF ACHIEVEMENT, AND THE SENSE OF HONOR--also of folly and crime. We had better study pride.

Just as every culture has moral standards for when you should feel guilty,even if you don't--so also every culture has AESTHETIC standards for when you should feel proud or humiliated,even if you don't--when you shouldn't feel these emotions even if you do.

Sometimes a culture's standards for judging 'splendid/pathetic' are irrational: e.g. "If I was a real man, I'd have shot her when she left me." Philosophers ask which standards are rational--of right/wrong or of splendid/pathetic.

Jann Benson and Dan Lyons wrote a book on these standards: STRUTTING AND FRETTING: STANDARDS FOR SELF-ESTEEM. It's now out of print, but still available on interlibrary loan--or it can be bought (cheap!) second-hand: AMAZON

GOP FOREIGN-POLICY EXPERT, Sen.Hagel, calls Bush's war-threats vs. Iran 'empty and foolish threats'.

Hagel wants us to start talking with the new leader in Iran.
"Iran has much influence on Iraq outcomes, whether we admit it or not." Boston.Com, 19AU.

WILL CONSTITUTION APPEASE SUNNI GUERILLAS? Some observers think it will HEIGHTEN sectarian tensions, since it will have to be passed over Sunni objections (esp. to 'federalism').

Sunnis who have participated in constitution discussions are subject to assassination. NYTIMES

Why in the world are Bushies so hot for this phony constitution? True, many Americans will be fooled for a while by this mark of 'progress'. But very soon it will be obvious that guerilla violence has RISEN because of constitution, and with it GI casualties.

The elections aren't till '06. Do Bushies hope to use the constitution and subsequent 'elections' as signs of 'victory'
so they can bugout with less disgrace?

136 GIs killed in last 3 months just by IEDs (roadside bombs), in spite of Pentagon taskforce assembled TWO YEARS AGO to address this problem!

Russia's PUTIN says that invader GIs must pull out of Iraq if there's to be any hope of pacifying guerillas. FinTimes

Over 180 total of GIs killed in last 2.5 months. [LATimes]

'FEDERALISM' in Iraq is the quickest way for Bushies to bug out, says analysis in InternatlHeraldTribune

Bushies are trying to persuade Sunnis that this '3 ministate' solution is in their interest, since they'd be outvoted 4 to 1 in a central Iraq govt. But the Sunnis hate the thought of their never taking over Iraq again, after centuries of dominance (bloody likely!) Also, they know that their ministate would have no oil, would be desperately poor. (Zarquawi guerillas obviously WANT 3-ministates, preferably after a civil war. But Saddamite guerilla leaders presumably don't want this.)

Bushies say they deplore the likelihood of Shia ministate installing Sharia, with few rights for women. But they care more about chance to bugout.
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SECURITY CHIEF WARNS OF CIVIL WAR, if 'federalism' is not in place. In a pretended 'all/Iraq' regime, each faction would rely on its own militias to defend their interests.

Strangely, SADR (the rival to Sistani for Shiite leadership) led his biggest-ever rally in Baghdad AGAINST the idea of federalism. REUTERS He seems to side always with SUNNI positions (for instance, blaming Americans for guerilla attacks on Shiites).

Sistani wants federalism, i.e., independent Shiite ministate, where intense Shia religion could be installed, and an open alliance with Iran.

FROM JORDAN, ROCKETS AIMED AT U.S. SHIP AND AT ISRAEL. bbc

Bushies constantly denounce Syria and Iran for 'harboring terrorists'. SaudiArabia and Jordan are counted as our allies. But Jordan is full of refugees from Israel's takeover of Palestine; and SaudiArabia has Wahabism (binLaden's faith, also Zarquawi's) as its official religion.
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At news of the bombing, with MiddleEast seen as tinderbox (and with U.S. refineries lowering output, and Ecuador protests wiping out their exports to U.S.), crude oil jumped back up to $65 a barrel.

One expert estimate was that oil would be around $40 a barrel in 5 years. Another said $60. REUTERS

SarahLyons has said that,contrary to my letter to USATODAY, the Iraq constitution problem is NOT that Iraqis think compromise involves disobeying God.

I admit that only the Zarqawi fanatics seem to think that Shiites are apostates deserving death; any compromise with those Shiites would be forbidden by Allah.

But there are many other reasons why a real all/Iraqconstitution is impossible in the near future, and perhaps impossible forever. The Shiites seem to have given up on the dream of their ruling all Iraq (as the 60% majority).

They can't control the Kurds in the North, and they can't fight off the guerillas in the middle region.

Shiites seem ready to pull back into their huge, oil-rich region in the South, forming a ministate like the Kurdish ministate in the North.

So the 'constitution' process is just a way of duping (some) Americans that Bushies are making progress in Iraq.

56% SAY 'PULL OUT' (33% say 'pull out ALL GIs',23% say 'pull out SOME'. ABC/TV/NEWS, 18AU.

It would be nuts to 'pull out some', leaving the remaining GIs even more vulnerable (there aren't enough GIs there NOW to protect themselves, let alone protect Iraqis!)

So we can think that the 23% just doesn't have the guts to say 'pull out ALL.'

Also, no timetable was set. But the point is that this 56% no longer accept the war as legitimate. This may be a tipping-point.

Observers say there isn't the PASSION in the 'peace movement' now that there was in the last years of the Viet war, that led to hundreds of thousands marching in NewYork & D.C.

But perhaps peaceniks now realize that those big marches did no real good--in fact, they may have annoyed the 'silent majority' and delayed the bugout.

The real indicator to look at is to see how many legislators running again in '06 turn openly against the war, as Nebraska's Sen Hagel has done.

Also, how many GOP candidates will want loser Bush to 'help them' in their campaign?

ANNUAL NEOLOGISM CONTEST
Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.) the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.) appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.) impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.) to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.) a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n) a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.) a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.) (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

The Washington Post's Style Invitational once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are this year's winners:
1. Bozone (n.) The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
3. Cashtration (n.) The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n) Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n) The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6 . Inoculatte (v) To take coffee intravenously when you are running llate.
7. Hipatitis (n) Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n) A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
9. Karmageddon (n) It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10 .Decafalon (n.) The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v) All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n) The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.) The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.) Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.) The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:
Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
(What Texan do you think of here?)

WAR WORRIES GOP ABOUT '06 ELECTIONS:

The egregious NewtGingrich said that the Bushie optimistic statements about our 'being on track' in Iraq just won't wash. He thinks GOP should emphasize justified 'blood,sweat and tears' in fight against world terrorism.

The only 'blood,sweat,tears' the Bushies have asked for is from the GIs in Iraq. The home-folks haven't been asked to PAY FOR even part of the war; it's all been put 'on the tab' for our children to pay for.

Anyway, other observers say that Americans generally no longer believe that our Iraq fiasco is making them safer from terrorist attacks on our Homeland. NYTIMES
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IN COLORADO: One of the most threatened GOP incumbents is the ineffable Marilyn Musgrave (4th District). She has always been a frothingly enthusiastic hawk (when she isn't trying to stop gays from saying they're married). One hopes that sensible people will back her likely opponent, Angie Paccione, with time and money, in '06. Already Angie is only 6 points behind Musgrave in the polls!

NEW CHINA/RUSSIA WAR GAMES:
Remember how alarmed we were when Soviet and Mao's China were allied? Remember how relieved we were when they quarreled? Well, now Russia/China are allied again: "The main target is the United States." [ FinTimes,18AU ]

No surprise: in Sept.'02, Bushies made as official U.S. doctrine the [incredible ! ] warning that they would feel free to launch a first strike at any 'hostile' nation that dared to try to catch up with the U.S. in weapons!

One Bushie (Edelmann) admitted this warning was aimed at China. He said smugly,"We're just trying to save them the money they'd spend on new armaments."

As anyone could have expected, the Chinese were NOT intimidated by this silly threat; they after all have nukes and missiles (and subs for launching missiles) as '2d-strike deterrent', to severely damage U.S. after our 'first strike' .

Rather, they're organizing the nations against us. Their 'ShanghaiCooperationOrgn'--with America excluded--will be expanded to include half the human race!

Americans rarely hear about this orgn; but there are over one million web-sites on google that mention it!

With Bushies as our leaders, we need no enemies to wreck our nation--but we're generating enemies wholesale.

"WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF IRAQ!" said GOP Sen.Hagel to Nebraska crowds now dubious about the war. "We're seen as occupiers, as targets.I don't think we can sustain our current policy, nor do I think we should."
REUTERS

ANOTHER SILLY DEFENSE OF BUSHIE WAR: VictorDavisHanson [RmtnNews,18AU--link unavailable] offers a really absurd defense of this war: He considers the non-war attempts of Westerners to meddle with the Middle East and North Korea, and notes they are very unlikely to succeed.

Then, to endorse Bush's war, he says, "Iraq and Afghanistan...MAY settle down to enjoy the first constitutional governments in the Middle East."

ALSO NOT LIKELY ! The Bushies aren't even serious about this last-minute justification for the war. They just cut their budget for 'democracy-building' in Iraq to one-tenth of its former size! (USATODAY)

Vincent Carroll (RmtnNews,17Au) says breezily that people 'on the other side' of the peaceniks (presumably the warniks?) "do not need sermons on the value of human life."

The hell they don't. The right-wing fundamentalists care little for the value of Iraqi lives,not even Iraqi unborn babies destroyed by bombs or shells, or deformed by our depleted uranium--their concern is only for American foetuses threatened by abortion!

And the 'geopolitical realists' see the horrendous war-costs of GIs killed, maimed, or wounded as a reasonable price to pay to protect 'our interests' overseas. People who value human lives see that this is NOT a reasonable trade-off.

Indeed, these self-styled 'realists' are actually dreamers.
Bush's Iraq venture is HARMING our worldwide interests, political & economic !

IRAQI LEADERS CONFIDENT that they will come up with a 'constitution' by next Monday. (But some say substantive issues still divide them; and some say that people are reviving issues thought to be settled earlier.) NYTIMES

You'd think they'd want a constitution; if the parliament is dissolved, all these elected members would lose their salaries!

The amazing thing is that they didn't come up with this meaningless document, papering over the real disagreements, LAST MONDAY! It makes you wonder if they will be any more prudent next Monday.
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SUNNIS DENOUNCE Americans for rushing the constitution-writing; and the leaders of the biggest Sunni party denounces the constitution-committeee as biased and incompetent. IrelandOnline

Rumsfeld et al brag that the new constitution will appease Sunnis, and cut down guerilla attacks. More Bullshit.

THE VOTING CEREMONY: Afghans will vote for local representatives in Sept. The Taliban will try to disrupt the elections, but Afghans seem determined to vote.

The real problem is the likelihood of fraud. REUTERS

It turns out that voting is really an empty ceremony (in most self-styled 'democracies'). The powerful know how to control the process for their own benefit..so what harm to let the little guy feel he has a voice?

At least One Hundred and Thirty casualties from car-bombs just today, just in Baghdad. CNN 11 more killed elsewhere in Iraq today. MiddleEastTimes

At least SEVENTY GIs killed from 1 Aug thru 18Aug. (Never mind how many maimed or wounded!)

Our troops seem unable to protect Iraqis very well--or themselves!

The bombs were aimed again at Shiites.Zarqawi-followers would like to provoke the Shia into striking back at random Sunnis--starting a civil war. It's amazing this hasn't already happened!

But even failing this, the understandable resentment of the Shiites will probably block big constitutional concessions to Sunnis by the controlling Shiites--meaning that the constitution will do nothing to appease the Sunnis so they'd stop backing the guerillas.
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My letter on this phony constitution-process was printed in USATODAY . I tell myself I care only that my message gets out,not about my name featured for 2.3 million readers....I tell myself... (Never mind that I send out many letters every day to various newspapers--few of which get printed.)

Dummy Rummy says that their finishing the Constitution (an empty document, papering over lethal differences) will mean fewer Iraqi and GI deaths.

In fact, the Pentagon is going to send over extra troops to handle the increased level of violence expected after the constitution is actually signed.

"WE'VE SAID ALL ALONG THAT WE WON'T LEAVE A DAY BEFORE IT'S NECESSARY," said a U.S. official wryly. "Necessary for them? No--necessary FOR US !"

The D.C. establishment no longer dreams of Iraq as a model democracy--or as having a self-sufficient oil industry--or of leaving most Iraqis free from SECURITY challenges.

Barbers don't dare shave men, for fear of being killed by religous fanatics. It's settled that laws must be 'compliant with Islam'--that probably means with weak rights for women.

The recent Shiite demand for 'autonomy' (read deFacto secession) stunned the Bushies--who all along have been easily stunned. "We underestimated the 'winner-take-all' attitude of Kurds & Shiites (vs. SunniArabs)."

We're scrapping the dream of forging national unity behind a new constitution.

The killing of our native militia has TRIPLED since Jan.
4000 civilians killed since end of April, just in Baghadad.

Last week was the 4th worst week in the whole war for GIs getting killed, maimed, or wounded.

We don't expect to defeat the insurgents before bugging out, only to 'diminish' them (so far no sign of that!)

We'll turn the anti-insurgent campaign over to our native militia, even if they're not ready. (Echo of 'Vietnamization'--leave our allies to get slaughtered.) WashPost, cited in TheStandard(China)

Bugout is inevitable; the sooner the better, the later the worse.