] And for what? To avenge 9/11 by punishing a regime that
] had no proven role in it? Out of humane concern for the
] Iraqi people, whom we have been, by our own policies,
] starving and impoverishing for the last decade? In order
] to destroy possibly mythical "weapons of mass
] destruction" in Iraq, even while we abide their proven
] existence in such potentially irrational countries as
] Pakistan, Israel, India, France, and, hardly least, the
] United States? The Administration attacked before it ever
] provided a justification that would satisfy any but the
] most TV-enchanted Christian soldier.

Barlow's reaction to hearing the Iraq war had begun.

BarlowFriendz | CONTEMPLATING WAR IN THE LAND OF PEACE

This is a truely excellent blow by blow war blog.

The Agonist--by Sean Paul Kelley

] The official White House gloss on why acres of newsprint
] previews were made to look stupid is that the CIA
] suddenly got a fix on the Iraqi figurehead and tried to
] take him out: "target of opportunity" replacing "shock
] and awe" as the Pentagon catchphrase of choice. That
] explanation has been accepted by the press as meekly as
] they bought the supposed war plans. But healthy distrust
] demands examination of another possibility. Did the US
] military - playing on the media's desperation to publish
] conflict strategies in advance as if they were sporting
] fixtures - sell them a false yarn about the action's
] likely shape?

Of course the media is being played.. The media always gets played in wartime. That should be obvious. Everyone knows the media was played durring the first Gulf War. Hell, its such common knowledge that its makde its way into Hollywood movies as a punchline. It is shocking that this is the first article I've seen that make this case..

The TV war coverage has really sucked.. Yes, the digi-fuzzy footage of the armored vehicles rolling at high speed across the desert is impressive.. But its not useful to have running on the TV for three hours while I gotta listen to a talking head tell me how cool it is. Not helpful. Not the information I want, certainly not the information I need. The "embedded" journalists have NOTHING useful to say. I have heard way more talk about their damn masks and bio suits then anything actually happening with the conflict..

And furthermore, the best shot of something blowing up came from Al-Jazeera [U: Abu-Dhabi actually]. The US news outlets fail on all levels..

] Yet when asked to explain what is actually happening in
] these violently pretty pictures, politicians contemptously
] refuse to give "a running commentary", while press
] secretaries hide behind the sandbags of "classified"
] information. This trick of appearing open while being
] closed is also seen in the military tactic of attaching
] reporters to army units. It looks fantastically democratic
] but even the most skilled journalists risk becoming, in
] the jargon, "clientised": coming to share the fear,
] excitement and eventually triumphalism of the troops
] beside them. And if heaps of charred bodies should occur
] on either side, these "embedded" journalists will be kept
] well away from them.

Anyone who made it up to the start of this war, and actually thought this administraton could be described as "open" in any way, should have their head checked.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Military mind games

] In other words, Iraq is a means toward an end. It is not
] an end in itself. It achieves nothing definitive by itself.
] Its purpose is to enable the United States to achieve other
] ends later, ends that will bring the nation closer to winning
] the war -- or so Washington hopes.
]
] ...the primary purpose of the Iraq war is to set the stage for
] undermining the foundations of al Qaeda in particular and
] of radical Islam as an effective paramilitary force in
] general.
]
] If the campaign goes well, two points will sink in: First,
] that the international system, alliances and institutions
] cannot contain American power; there is no protection there.
] And second, that the American ability to exercise warfare at
] extreme distances is overwhelming. Therefore, resistance to
] the United States is less rational than accommodating the
] United States.

Stratfor explains US strategy really well...

[IP] Stratfor Weekly: Beyond the Iraq Campaign

] This war, should it come, is intended to mark the
] official emergence of the United States as a full-fledged
] global empire, seizing sole responsibility and authority
] as planetary policeman.

ajc.com | Opinion | Bush's real goal in Iraq

If you need a laugh during all of this...

The Gulf War Drinking Game

] "This is a very intriguing decision (by Beers)," said
] author and intelligence expert James Bamford. "There is a
] predominant belief in the intelligence community that an
] invasion of Iraq will cause more terrorism than it will
] prevent. There is also a tremendous amount of
] embarrassment by intelligence professionals that there
] have been so many lies out of the administration -- by
] the president, (Vice President Dick) Cheney and
] (Secretary of State Colin) Powell -- over Iraq."

United Press International: Top White House anti-terror boss resigns

] Six months after President Bush first appeared before the
] United Nations and urged a confrontation with Iraq, the
] United States appears to have lost diplomatic ground, not
] gained it, leaving it in a precarious international
] position as it prepares to launch a war.

Bush runs his house evil villan style. Take the Azores summit coming up as example. Has a sort of James Bond vibe to it all. And you know Bush is the type of guy who spent more brain cycles thinking about the villans in all those movies.. Maybe the bond girls, but most defintally not bond. I envision him doing that Dr. Evil pinky thing.. Ok, maybe not.. But I'm sure at these meetings Bush does all the talking.. Mostly telling what he wants to happen.. You know, CEO style.. That was his stich when he first got into office, wasn't it? And then we got Dick running the country from the switchboard in his bunker 500ft underground.. They really _do_ have that Hollywood movie global villan org vibe to them. I can picture Bush bumping coke and watching those movies with his frat buddies, smiling and thinking to himself, "some day.. some day.. I'll do it right.."

U.S. Missteps Led to Failed Diplomacy (washingtonpost.com)

"Several are focusing on a letter that arrived at the company about a week before the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. It was described by sources as a ?weird love letter to Jennifer Lopez??similar, outwardly, to the types of mail the tabloids often get. But inside the oddly-worded letter was what was described as a ?soapy, powdery substance? and in the pile of that a cheap Star of David charm. The letter, per routine, was taken in by the joint mailroom of the company. Employees said the letter was handled both by Stevens and by Blanco."

And now it starts to sprial out of control..

Anthrax Uber Alles. Its going to be bigger then Amy Fisher! Bigger then Gary Condit! Bigger then OJ!

Everyone is going to want Anthrax! Its going to be the hip new thing! Anthrax on TV! Anthrax in the mail! Anthrax on your money! Anthrax at the mall!

And as far as pop-culture was concerned, up until "the end of times" started, Anthrax was just another band that went the way of the 80's. I AM THE MAN! I AM THE MAN! WE ARE GOING TO ROCK YOU LIKE A MARSHALL STACK IN THE MID 80'S BOIEEE!!!!

MSNBC | Anthrax Alarm