Some links

from my daily reading, more or less scary, and recent developements and things possibly to come.

Best maybe to start here, which might explain why it had to be "war on terrorism" even though terrorism usually is - or at least was until dubya's Orwellian redefiniton - a crime (and a practice - incidentally, how do you make war on a practice?), not an act of war:
Krugman on Chris Hedges "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning."

Well, sometimes things just don't happen according to plan - or was that fantasy? - though, as even US mainstream media seem to be finally realizing:
NYT on No Go Zones. For the US military in Iraq that is, cities and quarters that are under insurgent control.

Meanwhile, a new bogey man has been promoted, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - who may or may not be responsible for everything laid at his door - and some military persons seem to think they can actually win, just because they can win - more or less, depending on one's definition; personally, I wouldn't call the outcome in Najaf and Karbala a win for the occupation forces, even if they did successfully kill of any number of Iraqis, even including insurgents - in direct confrontations, but since the majority of the insurgents seem to prefer a less direct approach, chances for that idea to turn into reality seem somewhat slimmer. It's no real problem though, someone tells USA today: "It's just everyone underestimated the intensity and complexity of this." Hm, I guess so. IS anybody making readjustments?

Well, maybe or maybe not, but at least it can't be said that the lack of security in Iraq isn't been made up for elsewhere, such as in the land of the free - relatively speaking, and depending on your location and the activity you're engaged in - and the home of the brave - well, at least those who don't prefer deferments as they have other priorities - itself. Steven Greenhut has a bit to say about that.

Meanwhile, just so the plebs won't get to complancent as things become better in Iraq - or, alternatively, Iraqi oil can't be ripped of as fast as planned - there is always also the option to aquire said resource elsewhere . . . er, bring freedom and democracy to other benighted countries.

Which might also nicely serve to distract from some minor local issues, such as elections.

Those pesky things, that is, were some ungrateful population might just hand a pink slip to the coward in chief. Which would be something profoundly to be hoped for . . .

And finally, a somewhat scary scenario that talks about a possible American equivalent of the German Reichtagsbrand, only slightly or maybe not so slightly bigger in scale . . .

One hopes not.