Naseer Alomari's article "Iraq is not another Vietnam, it is worse", is a must read.  This is the first time I have heard someone describe the US-made tragedy in Iraq in those terms.  And how right Alomari is. The US got into this mess with total deception and lies against the protestations of most of the international community, except for the likes of PM Blair and Howard who purport to represent their countries!  All the lies and deceptions about the phantom wmds alone, certainly make it worse than the Vietnam quagmire!

It is compounded by the no-brainer remarks by  Rumsfeld in referring to today's downing of the US helicopter, "There are criminals in that country who will do things for money" ..."There are foreign terrorists who have come back in from Iran and are trying to kill people".  What hypocrisy.  Hello, Mr. Rumsfeld, just who are the criminals? Who, we must ask Rumsfeld and co, asked them to take over Iraq and kill thousands of Iraqis?  Chalabi?  What a joke he is? And just who got the lucrative contracts for money?

The Americans are in Iraq for exactly what Rumsfelf says, for the money(oil).  Democracy is only a smokescreen.  The Bushies just do not get it that they are foreigners invading and occupying Iraq, with arrogance, ignorance and barbarism.  They have got themselves in even deeper than in Vietnam, and things are only going to get worse until they and other foreigners meddling there are driven out.  Yes, the US quagmire is worse than Vietnam.  And now we are hearing about disagreements amongst the despoilers, eg. differences appearing between the British and the Americans about the war.  Yes, things are getting better as Bush has stated, better for the worse!   Now the daily arriving '"body bags" of US dead are called "transfer tubes", from which the media is kept away!  Thus the insanity is compounded daily.

Jack Lakavich 

Israeli Military Orders Palestinians to Obtain Permits

Guardian: "The Israeli military has ordered thousands of Palestinians living near the steel and concrete 'security fence' through the West Bank to obtain special permits to live in their own homes. Palestinian officials said the order breached a pledge by Israel to the UN security council a fortnight ago that the barrier would not change the legal status of those who live near it, and was another step towards the annexation of tens of thousands of hectares of Palestinian land. The order, signed by the Israeli army's commander in the West Bank, said Palestinian land between the fence and the 1967 border, known as the green line, was to be a 'closed military zone'. Any Palestinian who lived in the area would be defined by a new category of 'long-term resident' and everyone over the age of 12 would be required to obtain a permit to live in their own homes and travel beyond their villages. The order said that only Israelis and Jews could enter the designated areas without a pass."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1071768,00.html

Blues Pond