Headline of the Day

even though this piece is two years old, it still rings true today as much as it did then.

Pillaging Iraq in pursuit of a neocon utopia

when do they start to call it corruption?

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans -- restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers. But before they could go to Baghdad, they had to get past Jim O'Beirne's office in the Pentagon.

To pass muster with O'Beirne, a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts, applicants didn't need to be experts in the Middle East or in post-conflict reconstruction. What they needed to be was a member of the Republican Party.

--story

when do they start to call it corruption?

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans -- restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers. But before they could go to Baghdad, they had to get past Jim O'Beirne's office in the Pentagon.

To pass muster with O'Beirne, a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts, applicants didn't need to be experts in the Middle East or in post-conflict reconstruction. What they needed to be was a member of the Republican Party.

--story

i never did like the guy

he looks creepy and evil. and now he evidently has shown his true colors

Muslims Lash Out at Pope's Remarks
Benedict's criticism of Islamic violence draws sharp rebukes and may threaten his Turkey trip.

Letter of the Day

Recently, Donald Rumsfeld accused those like me of appeasing fascists for calling upon the administration to withdraw from Iraq. He accused us of being morally and intellectually confused.

Rumsfeld is intellectually confused. He believes the mission in Iraq is still war.

The repressive regime of Saddam Hussein is gone; the war is over. Clearly, the mission is now peace- keeping, reconstruction and nation-building. Peace in such a complex region requires vision, wisdom, nuanced diplomacy and restraint.

Rumsfeld is morally confused. He believes it necessary to ignore U.S. and international law if doing so allows us to obtain information that prevents a terrorist attack.

Even if torture and abusive tactics led to valuable intelligence, it diminishes us as a people and as a nation.

The "ends justifies the means" is the rationale used by every despot who ever bloodied the soil of this planet.

Our role in the world should be to bear the torch of liberty and preach the gospel of human rights.

- Rick Whitten, Madrid.

attribution

Quote of the Day

"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation,"
--Secretary Michael Wynne

attribution

Quote of the Day

"If we're not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation,"
--Secretary Michael Wynne

attribution

abc's the path to 9/11

i was a fool and recorded it on my dvr, and then relied on that to watch the 2nd part. well. when it came time for bush to enter the middle, i went to fast forward and somehow inadvertantly deleted the recording. and of course, there's no undo in DVR-land. so i'm left to wait til abc.com releases it on their website. part I is available, but not part II. so i have to wait. but from what i saw gave me a sense of 'hey bush you fuckd up' even as far as the zacarias moussaoui segment. so until tomorrow when i can comment further, i'll wait.

that comes to 80 million per terrorist

More than 5,000 terrorists have been captured or killed in the five years since the 9/ll attacks, CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden said today.

--source

the fix is in folks

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press,'' Cheney told moderator Tim Russert, "I'll even bet you a dinner that we hold both houses.''

--source