It looks as if Bagdad is under US/UK control now. And I will not disagree with the idea that a change of leaders seems to make the average Iraqi very happy. From all accounts, Hussein was a rotten sonuvabitch who relied on intimidation, torture and murder to control Iraq. His removal was probably a very good thing for the average guy.

But should it have been done by outside forces without a mandate from the people? Should it have been done without international approval? Perhaps the most troubling question to me is one of motive. Should it have been done by people whose primary goal doesn't seem to have been freedom or liberty, but control of a deep water port and a damn lot of oil?

The only clear message from the White House concerning the reconstruction of Iraq is that is it's something they prefer to leave to the Iraqi leaders who've been exiled since the 70's and the big oil companies, most of which were last able to make big money from Iraqi oil in the 70's.

Oh, there's a shock. Someone connected with Big Oil stands to make assloads of money. You'd almost think that the people who wanted to go to war most had some reason to be connection with the Oil industry. Next you'll tell me that the defense contractors who are going to get huge contracts to replace the thousands of missles and bombs used also have direct financial connections with the White House.

No, wait, you don't have to tell me. The damnned White House has said openly that this will mean enormous profits for the company that Cheney used to work for.

You lie to people when you worry that they can take action against you if they find out. What's it mean when you can brazenly say exactly what you're doing? If nothing else, the message is finally clear: "Bend over. Try not to think about it: there's gonna be some deep drilling, and if you struggle it's just gonna hurt more."

How do you think Iran and North Korea feel right about now?