Why We're Still There -- The More Likely Explanation

Bolten: Iraq won't end with Bush term - 6 Sep 2007 at 7:59am - President Bush will address the nation next week about Iraq and U.S. efforts to get that country "well on the path" to stability by the end of his term, White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten said Wednesday....Bush wants to make "it possible for his successor — whichever party that successor is from — to have a sustained presence in the Middle East," Bolten said. "And have America continue to be a respected and influential power in the Middle East."

Feared, probably -- resented, almost certainly -- but "respected"? So, anyway, this makes it look like the U.S. is aiming less for "Iraqi troops to stand up", and more for establishing a permanent muscular presence in the middle east.

Panel: U.S. could lower its profile in Iraq - 6 Sep 2007 at 11:14am - WASHINGTON — A panel of retired senior military and police officers told Congress on Thursday that significantly reducing the number of U.S. troops and allowing Iraqi forces to take over more daily combat missions by early next year would be "possible and prudent." "The force footprint should be adjusted in our view to represent an expeditionary capability and to combat a permanent-force image of today's presence," said retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, who led the 20-member commission.

Hmmm, so the U.S. wants to keep the permanent-force option open, but minimize the "image" that it's doing so. Very nice.

U.S. air strike in Baghdad kills 14: police - 6 Sep 2007 at 7:35am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. airstrikes on a Shi'ite neighborhood in Baghdad overnight killed at least 14 people and destroyed 11 houses, Iraqi police and residents said on Thursday.

Iraq says won't disband police despite U.S. report - 6 Sep 2007 at 12:32pm - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Thursday it would not disband the national police despite a report by an independent U.S. panel that will recommend scrapping and reorganizing the force.

Judge strikes down part of Patriot Act - 6 Sep 2007 at 10:54am - NEW YORK -- A federal judge struck down parts of the revised USA Patriot Act on Thursday, saying investigators must have a court's approval before they can order Internet providers to turn over records without telling customers.

UN: Substance found at office is solvent - 6 Sep 2007 at 11:21am - UNITED NATIONS -- A substance found at a U.N. weapons inspectors' office last month and suspected of being a chemical warfare agent appears to be a nontoxic solvent, a U.N. official said Thursday.

Rift on Iraq as Bush meets man tipped as next Australian PM - 6 Sep 2007 at 1:20pm - SYDNEY (AFP) - US President George W. Bush met Thursday with the man tipped to be Australia's next prime minister, Kevin Rudd, who has pledged to pull the country's troops out of Iraq.

Thought for the day:
If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking. -Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973)