can we leave yet?

WAR
* "In a statement on Saturday's raid on the notorious facility outside Baghdad, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group said its fighters killed "dozens of Americans," destroyed more than 15 vehicles and shot down an Apache helicopter." LINK
this got very little attention under the papal death watch. Aravosis sez "Yes, it's come to this - we're defending Abu Ghraib, they're "liberating" it." which is about spot on.

* depending on which news report u read, the abug attack "lasted around an hour" or "lasted most of the night." or " the 40-minute firefight" - u know somethings amiss when the disinformation is this thick...

* in other news, i read recently that the ams have doubled the number of iraqi prisoners in the past 6 months.

* juancole: "The trope in the American media of the "winding down" of the guerrilla war is without foundation. At 60 attacks a day, it is extremely active." LINK

* " Colin Powell and Richard Armitage hated dealing with Bolton and that Powell did not want Bolton on his team. No one trusts him. He is lustful for power and position, disdainful of process, and frequently sees it as his right and obligation to "make his own weather" when it comes to foreign policy.
One of the more interesting tidbits I picked up in these conversations -- with several people -- is that John Bolton regularly and frequently defied command and control within the State Department." LINK
ftr, the stobbolton campaign is a waste of time. the fact that he was nominated is all that matters. Steve Clemons is all of it none-the-less. "118 hours left to go before John Bolton's hearings begin."

* " Contractors for the former Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq can be sued in U.S. courts under an anti-war-profiteering law, the Justice Department contended in a federal case Friday... Victor Kubli, one of the former employees' lawyers, said the brief raises the "pregnant question" of why U.S. officials originally said CPA contracts were not covered by the U.S. anti-fraud law." LINK
of course, that question has been 'a little bit pregnant' since the first day...

* " If American forces aren't pulling out of Iraq in a year, a draft will be needed to meet manpower requirements, military analysts warned Wednesday." LINK

* theres a 20 min ritter interview re iran on airamerica here

* ritter gets more press. nope, still not in the US. he slams powell and blair this time.