Reference:
Bypassing the United Nations and setting up an American civilian peacekeeping administration under the military, however temporary, is a huge break from recent tradition and a denial of one of the United Nations' central roles since the end of the cold war.
NY Times

Notes:
Will this kind of news inflame tensions in the region more or not? It supports a claim of expectation for greater US hegemony.

Reference:
That with-us-or-against-us message may be starting to take root in the entertainment industry as well. According to Matt Drudge, CBS warned musicians not to speak out against the war during the Grammy Awards last month. Last week, radio and concert giant Clear Channel barred protest groups from distributing literature at an Ani DiFranco concert in New Jersey -- and threatened to pull the plug on DiFranco or anyone else who made antiwar comments from the stage.
Salon

Notes:
And who said the media liberal.

Reference:
After all, the typical attendee here follows Dyson's lead in believing that software continues to be one of the world's most important forces for good. Jeff Jonas, founder of Systems Research & Development, a Las Vegas-based company that does sophisticated analysis and "regularization" of massive data sets, said that only after deploying his company's software did one casino discover that among those it routinely flew in as favored high-rollers were 24 big-time cheaters.
....
If we don't keep inventing, and companies don't keep buying, we will all drown in the oncoming tsunami of information.
Fortune

Notes:
Good for whom?

Reference:
"It was a new government that I think didn't quite know what it was doing," (Wolfowitz) said. "It was a big, big mistake."

Turkey would have benefited from the $6-billion aid package the United States was offering, he said. "And that's clearly gone."
canada.com

Notes:
This stinks so bad. Trumpeting the Coalition to defend and spread Democracy, but then so callously undermining democratic processes through blatant bribery.

Israel gets $8-9 billion for just being. Turkey gets $1 billion for allowing overflights. The cynicism and lies is at such an appalling level.

Wolfowitz reminds me of a rabid pit bull, chomping at anything that moves. Gen. Clarke and others on CNN made a strong point that with along with US troops there would have also been Turkish troops, and that the ensuing political tensions between the Turks and the Kurds would have be distracting and potentially much more detrimental and overweighed any military benefits.

Reference:
WASHINGTON: The eruption of war in Iraq last week set in motion a massive global PR network, cultivated by the Bush administration during the months-long buildup of forces.

The network is intended not only to disseminate, but also to dominate news of the conflict around the world.

Before the attacks began, Suzy DeFrancis, deputy assistant to President Bush for communications, outlined the daily media relations hand-off that was about to begin.
PR Week

Notes:
A PR colaition vs. a coalition of allies.

Reference:
Rumsfeld is known to have a difficult relationship with the Army's upper echelons while he commands strong loyalty from U.S. special operations forces, a key component in the war.
WaPost

Notes:
This is troubling. That the Sect of Defense is courting Spec Ops reminds me of all the "palace guards" surrounding notorious dictators.

Reference:
Bush believes he was called by God to lead the nation at this time, says Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a close friend who talks with Bush every day.
....
Rather, the president's passion is motivated by his loathing for Saddam's brutality, aides say. He talks often about his revulsion for Saddam's use of torture, rape and executions. He is convinced that the Iraqi leader is literally insane and would gladly give terrorists weapons to use to launch another attack on the United States.

The thought of another assault on the United States horrifies Bush. Aides say he believes history and heaven will judge him by his ability to prevent one.
....
Bush copes with anxiety as he always has. He prays and exercises. Evans says his friend has a placid acceptance of challenges that comes from his Christian faith.

"He knows that we're all here to serve a calling greater than self," Evans says. "That's what he's committed his life to do. He understands that he is the one person in the country, in this case really the one person in the world, who has a responsibility to protect and defend freedom."
USA Today

Notes:
The rest of us don't have that responsibility to defend freedom? In the context, I guess I understand what Evans is trying to say, but he should certainly choose his words better. King George II, anyone???

Reference:
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad:
"If a small country made a mistake it might affect its neighbors, but if a superpower committed a mistake it would threaten the whole world. The disquieting reality that we see is the reality of the world and that of the world's greatest country."
Washington Post

Notes:
That's another way of putting it. It strikes me that the neocons haven't accepted the resposobility that goes with authority. This is a curious twist, since in most cases it's a matter of having responsibility without authority.

Reference:
Powell played down the differences, calling his meetings consultative. ``I'll report back (to President Bush) what I heard. We are still examining the proper role for the United Nations.''
Salon/AP

Notes:
The discomfort, of course, is that this statement implies that the UN is subservient to the US. It really calls into question Powell's past claims in support of multi-lateralism. Either he's caved to the neocons or his past statements were smoke-screen bullshit.

Reference:
The freed Iraqis would start pumping their southern oil like mad and help us bust up OPEC for good.
Talking Points

Notes:
Ok, so this is Josh Marshall quoting William Safire pretending to be Richard Nixon. What is the economic and business impact of busting up OPEC?