Seen from a distance . . .

The Administration's adventure in Iraq has long been criticized around the world, and now that it looks like many of those critics will be proved to be right, it's interesting to read some of the foreign press:

This, for example, from an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post:

To understand just how bad things are, listen to the good news. Rice told the senators that compared to last year, "security along the once-notorious airport road in Baghdad has measurably improved."

Measurably, noch. You also don't have to be a Saddam-loving, antiwar-marching, Israel-bashing anarchist to recognize that "victory" is not an option.

The idea of attacking Iraq in the wake of 9/11 was hardly a bright one from the get-go. Saddam Hussein wasn't behind Osama bin Laden, and thus attacking Iraq was a mindless, unforgivable distraction, one that made it possible for the Islamist menace to metastasize further.

Iraq is - always was - the wrong war in the wrong place, led by a man who does not read papers or watch TV news.

And from Colombia, a worthy article in El Tiempo; the writer refers to the war in Iraq as an "illegal war, to which the Colombian government has adhered with much enthusiasm and little sense." [Check out the article for its cartoons, if nothing else!]

Each time one turns around, the depravity seems to have multiplied. On the one hand, there are the fundamentalist neoconservatives that chaperon Bush and that discharged (this is the correct verb; not "released") a celebrated imperial manifesto for American military and political supremacy [Rebuilding America's Defenses . . . READ]. And, on the other, there was the decision that only a good old-fashioned-war would guarantee popular support for the government. Rove concocted these plans. His credentials as a political strategist are impeccable: it is he that Bush owes the successful campaigns that took him from governor of Texas to the presidency of their country.

And finally (for now), here's a piece in The Guardian (UK) about a fellow who has his own way of handling accusations against him:

George Galloway is considering taking his fight with Senator Norm Coleman to the Republican's heartland by booking a venue in Minnesota and challenging him to a debate.

All of these fascinating stories were culled from watchingamerica.com, definitely a site to add to your list of favorites.