Tom Burka on loyalty and staying the course:Bush Says Umbrella Working "Just Fine" President Bush said that his present umbrella was "working perfectly" and rejected calls for a new one. "This umbrella is perhaps one of the finest umbrellas this country has ever had,"...

Alexander Cockburn asks, "Has Bush Gone Over the Edge?" I thought he went over the edge long ago, but this is really bad. Oh, and Tony Blair is also insane. UPDATE: Here's the Capitol Hill Blue article Cockburn references.

Iraq's Sunni Clerics:Iraqi Sunni Muslim clerics Friday rejected the newly appointed Iraq interim government, charging it is a U.S.-shaped and dominated administration. The clerics used their Friday sermons t criticize Prime Minister Iyad Allawi for declaring the new...

Please don't take our bodyguards away Astonishingly, Hoshyar Zebari, speaking for the New Iraqi Government® tells the UN that the IGCv.2.0 wants the American military to stay in Iraq, to "keep the peace." One might wonder what "peace" there currently is in Iraq to be...

Two powerful posts from Martial at De Spectaculis: Insolence and Blindness Lost in Afghanistan?

A new Seymour Hersh book planned:The details of the deal were not disclosed, but the book, to be titled “Chain of Command” is expected to be published in the fall. “Sy Hersh has been writing big, important stories for more than 30 years, and we see this book as...

Juan Cole has translated Sistani's fatwa on the "new" government. It sounds pretty harsh to me. He didn't call for an uprising, but he might as well have:1. Obtain a clear resolution from the United Nations Security Council on the return of complete sovereignty over...

Ever the opportunist, the "Hero in Error" accuses Tenet of everything he himself did :Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi accused CIA director George Tenet on Thursday of being responsible for allegations that the former exile leader passed intelligence information to...

Iraqi Governing Council Takes Bold New Step Of Renaming ItselfIraq took a mighty step forward toward creating an independent sovereign government this week as the Iraqi Governing Council -- a group of U.S. appointed Iraqi exiles seen as largely subservient to U.S....

Well, well. The Religious Policeman was right.Saudi Elite Forces capture Terrorists Well, only one actually. Three others escaped, as they always do, because that is how it is foretold in the old prophesy from the Sage of Riyadh "Tho' many be surrounded, and the...