More on the Bush/Zarqawi connection

I'm probably quoting more than I'm allowed to, but this article on Slate is worth a read:

The implications of this are more shocking, in their way, than the news from Abu Ghraib. Bush promoted the invasion of Iraq as a vital battle in the war on terrorism, a continuation of our response to 9/11. Here was a chance to wipe out a high-ranking terrorist. And Bush didn't take advantage of it because doing so might also wipe out a rationale for invasion.

The story gets worse in its details. As far back as June 2002, U.S. intelligence reported that Zarqawi had set up a weapons lab at Kirma in northern Iraq that was capable of producing ricin and cyanide. The Pentagon drew up an attack plan involving cruise missiles and smart bombs. The White House turned it down. In October 2002, intelligence reported that Zarqawi was preparing to use his bio-weapons in Europe. The Pentagon drew up another attack plan. The White House again demurred. In January 2003, police in London arrested terrorist suspects connected to the camp. The Pentagon devised another attack plan. Again, the White House killed the plan, not Zarqawi.

When the war finally started in March, the camp was attacked early on. But by that time, Zarqawi and his followers had departed.

Undeterred by McCain Denials, Some See Him as Kerry's No. 2

As unlikely as this scenario is, I think it would be a dynamite move, in the good sense of the word.

Regime change

Pollsters: Kerry aside, Bush is in trouble

Is Bush responsible?

If this is true, the Bushies are far worse scumbags than even I imagined:

"Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi's operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam."

Zarqawi is the guy probably responsible for beheading Nic Berg.

Superb job, Rumsfeld.

Islamic Web site claims revenge killing

"A video posted Tuesday on an Islamic militant Web site showed the beheading of an American civilian in Iraq, and said the execution was carried out by an al-Qaida affiliated group to avenge the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers."

Nic Berg truly owes you a debt of gratitude.

Saddam to be handed over to Iraqis in June

Good idea. Because, clearly, he will not be able to escape -- seeing as how all of Iraq is united against him, and all.

Hybrid Mileage Comes Up Short

From Wired News:

Data from independent product-testing organization Consumer Reports indicates that hybrid cars get less than 60 percent of EPA estimates while navigating city streets. In Consumer Reports' real-world driving test, the Civic Hybrid averaged 26 mpg in the city, while the Toyota Prius averaged 35 mpg, much less than their respective EPA estimates of 47 and 60 mpg. Hybrid cars performed much closer to EPA estimates in Consumer Reports' highway tests.

Well, this is disappointing. But the story should have compared real-world milage between traditonal and hybrid cars.

Missions accomplished!

Bush says Rumsfeld doing a 'superb job'

Yes, apparently, we've:
1) Caught Osama
2) Freed Afghanistan from the clutches of opressive Islamists
3) found the weapons of mass destruction
4) Established a pro-U.S. democracy in the Middle East
5) Given the Middle East a fine example of respect for human rights
6) Secured cheap oil for low, low gas prices
7) And, of course, ended a regime of torture, murder and rape.

With a record like that, what's not to praise about Rumsfeld's performance? No wonder the military loves him so much!

New comments

Blogger added a commenting system in a big upgrade, so I switched. One nice thing about this one is you can put the comments right on the page itself, not a separate pop-up window. (This may have been possible before on YACCS, but I didn't take the time to figure it out.)

So, feel free to comment away...