] The United States is now clearly involved in a guerrilla
] war in the Sunni regions of Iraq. As a result, U.S.
] forces are engaging in counterinsurgency operations,
] which historically have proven most difficult and trying
] -- for both American forces and American politics.
] Suppressing a guerrilla operation without alienating the
] indigenous population represents an extreme challenge to
] the United States that at this point does not appear
] avoidable -- and the seriousness of which does not appear
] to be broadly understood.

While the US media is so confident that the US won the Iraq war that the subject has become passe, it turns out that the capitulation of troops was part of a deliberate strategy. Hussein may in fact still be in control of his military. The war is not over. The US has not won.

Iraq war actually isn't over.

] HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of protesters
] took to Hong Kong's streets on Tuesday to denounce the
] government and its planned anti-subversion law in the
] city's biggest demonstration since the 1989 Tiananmen
] Square massacre.

Hong Kong breaks into protest

] The nation's largest intelligence agency by budget and in
] control of all U.S. spy satellites, NRO is talking openly
] with the U.S. Air Force Space Command about actively
] denying the use of space for intelligence purposes to any
] other nation at any time not just adversaries, but even
] longtime allies, according to NRO director Peter Teets.

NeoCons in Spaaaaaaaace.

EE Times - U.S. 'negation' policy in space raises concerns abroad

] Both the war and the tax cuts began as policy decisions.
] The justifications for the policies were developed -- and
] changed as often as necessary -- to accommodate the
] policies.
]
] And a lot of people have gone blithely along.
]
] I wonder if they go along out of belief, out of deference
] to their leaders or out of partisan loyalty.

This is a well written question. Nice and open so that you can insert the theory of your preference. I want to add that just because they are obviously lying doesn't mean your conspiracy theories are correct.

Does the Public Really Believe? (washingtonpost.com)

] An American citizen detained for more than a month as a
] material witness in a terrorism case in Oregon was
] charged today with plotting to fight against American
] soldiers in Afghanistan.
]

] The American, Maher Hawash, a 38-year-old software
] designer in Portland, was accused of conspiring with a
] group of six others who had already been charged with
] trying to provide material support to Al Qaeda and the
] Taliban.

Hawash Charged With Plotting to Fight U.S. in Afghanistan

] "I looked at it and found the emperor has no
] clothes, and now everyone's mad at me."

The Washington Post gives Billy Hoffman the Quote of the Day.

Link to my posting of the original story:
http://www.memestreams.net/users/rattle/blogid2864198

The full quote:
] "All I wanted to do is tell everyone, 'Hey, this
] is a problem, and it needs to be protected,'"
] Hoffman said. "Everyone was blissfully unaware of
] how it works. I looked at it and found the emperor
] has no clothes, and now everyone's mad at me."

DID YOU HEAR? . . . (washingtonpost.com)

] Sturgis police arrested seven Sturgis men for placing
] more than 20 threatening letters on various businesses,
] schools, banks and at the post office. At least 12 signs
] were posted Monday morning. Another 20 were put up
] Tuesday evening, according to Sturgis police.
]
] The letters all read "All your base are belong to us and
] you have no chance to survive, make your time."

The bar for committing a "terrorist act" is pretty damn low these days.

Ahh.. This will remind the world of the whole "all your base" thing, and within a week we will have an "all your base" take on the Iraq war.. I know it..

'All Your Base' Signs Land Seven in Court

] On Thursday, March 20, 2003, our friend and colleague
] Maher (Mike) Hawash was arrested ("detained") as a
] "material witness" by the FBI and the Joint Terrorism
] Task Force in the parking lot of Intel Corp's Hawthorne
] Farms parking lot.

(Comments Decius)

This case is interesting on a number of levels.

1. The obvious ... the government can spirit you away without charging you with a crime. They can hold you arbitrarily. We ought to demand that when the government takes people they explain why and for how long. "Material Witness" rules were not meant to be a loophole in the requirement that the government have reasons for holding people. If this is the Patriot act at work then this is definately not acceptable.

2. The fact that you know about this. Over the course of two weeks this website has gotten a lot of coverage in blogistan. This story has not really been covered in the mainstream press (do a google news search).

I'm posting this because I want to see more information.

Free Mike Hawash

Some article titles (VOLUME 39 ISSUE 11):

] Bush Bravely Leads 3rd Infantry Into Battle

] U.S. Forms Own U.N.

] Local Mom Whips Up Some Of Her Famous War Pie

] Dead Iraqi Would Have Loved Democracy

] New Bomb Capable Of Creating 1,500 New Terrorists
] In Single Blast

] U.S. Draws Up Plan For Post-War Transitional
] Dictatorship In Iraq

] Sheryl Crow Unsuccessful; War On Iraq Begins

] Vital Info On Iraqi Chemical Weapons Provided
] By U.S. Company That Made Them

] U.S. Continues Proud Tradition Of Diversity
] On Front Lines

The Onion takes on Iraq the way only The Onion can..

The Onion | Operation Piss off the Planet

] The following is a copy of Mary (Ann) Wright’s letter
] of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell.
] Wright was most recently the deputy chief of mission
] at the U.S. embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She
] helped open the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan,
] in January 2002.

More background on Wright:

] I have been a diplomat for fifteen years and the Deputy
] Chief of Mission in our Embassies in Sierra Leone,
] Micronesia, Afghanistan (briefly) and Mongolia. I have
] also had assignments in Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,
] Grenada and Nicaragua. I received the State Department's
] Award for Heroism as Charge d’Affaires during the
] evacuation of Sierra Leone in 1997. I was 26 years in
] the US Army/Army Reserves and participated in civil
] reconstruction projects after military operations in
] Grenada, Panama and Somalia. I attained the rank of
] Colonel during my military service.

Key Points:

] I disagree with the Administration’s policies on Iraq

] I disagree with the Administration’s lack of effort in
] resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

] I disagree with the Administration’s lack of policy
] on North Korea

] I disagree with the Administration’s policies on
] Unnecessary Curtailment of Rights in America

More high level resignations...