'We could lose this situation'

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• CIA says insurgents now 50,000 strong
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• Crisis talks over transfer of power

"The White House yesterday drew up emergency plans to accelerate the transfer of power in Iraq after being shown a devastating CIA report warning that the guerrilla war was in danger of escalating out of US control".

The report, an "appraisal of situation" commissioned by the CIA director, George Tenet, and written by the CIA station chief in Baghdad, said that the insurgency was gaining ground among the population, and already numbers in the tens of thousands.

One military intelligence assessment now estimates the insurgents' strength at 50,000. Analysts cautioned that such a figure was speculative, but it does indicate a deep-rooted revolt on a far greater scale than the Pentagon had led the administration to believe.

An intelligence source in Washington familiar with the CIA report described it as a "bleak assessment that the resistance is broad, strong and getting stronger".

"It says we are going to lose the situation unless there is a rapid and dramatic change of course," the source said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1083847,00.html

Note: This item was sent to me in a Pagans4Peace newsletter subscription I receive daily. Thanks to Nora and J-9 for posting it today. It continues to be the foreign journalists who are bringing forth the "news" that Americans seem to get much later, if at all...

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Wilson's Almanac is a terrific website of great depth and fascination. I suscribe to the daily blog of the site, and also to companion sites Pagans4Peace and Almost Prophetic. Been reading Austrailian webauthor Pip Wilson's commentary and gems of history, folklore and peaceful links for quite a while and highly recommend to all readers. Look for J-9's contributions too, in Pagans4Peace. These are amazing folks that make you smile and get out messages that enrich your life.

Today the aphorism blog - AlmostProphetic - delivered a telling quote from BushDaddy, from just five years ago. Links to many delightful sites, blogs, and online communities fill this compendium. Read today's quote and see what you think. Prophetic, oh yeah - big time. Comments welcome - just click on the "comment" link at the end of this post.

"Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under the circumstances, there was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different - and perhaps barren - outcome."

Yeow-za! Finally, finally made it thru the log-in back to my own blog! Yippee and woohoo! Whoever may have helped me to get the notice of admin from Antville and then re-enable my login, thanks thanks thanks!

Now, back to normal programming....

(LOL)

Lots to add - as usual, there is so much "in the news" that it is hard to pick thru and edit just to what hits me the most at one time. Here, for starters, are links to several stories I found tonight:

This by Demon Sweat I found this in my daily suscription to Wilson's Almanac. Look also at the companion yahoo groups to Wilson's, with Blogmanac, Almost Prophetic, and pagans4peace. Tomorrow I'll get up a list of links to such newsletters as I suscribe to.

"You know you're doing good when...Saw this and laughed.

"Fiercely proud of their son's achievements" - Like what? Waging a pointless war? Keeping a economy shabby? Making Haliburton rich? What accomplishments is she talking about? Does she have such low expectations from her own son, that she considers him not having driven the country into total chaos an achievement?

I'm really confused by that one."

http://www.demonsweat.com/blog/blogger.html
Be sure to scroll waaaay down towards the bottom of the web page to see his Photoshopped image of George pontificating - his site has the before and after photos...
- - - - - -

Gross Interview: New Meaning But Soooo True - with Terry Gross of NPR and Bill O'Reilly:

This is from the Arts Journal Weekly newsletter I suscribe to:
MEDIA
NPR takes reporter to task for O'Reilly interview
By ANTHONY VIOLANTI
News Staff Reporter
10/22/2003
Gross said she is surprised by all the controversy. "But," she added, "it's very exciting to have such a lively debate about the interview."
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20031022/1034792.asp