Chaos under heaven
By Tom Engelhardt
"Asked about continued political challenges such as Iraq and social security, President George W Bush said he doesn't care about the polls.
"Question: But power is perception.
"The president: Power is being the president."
- Bush in an interview with Texas reporters.
G-SAVE yourself
Last week, the State Department issued an "updated worldwide caution" about "extremist violence" against US citizens traveling abroad. According to Robin Wright of the Washington Post:
The warning said attacks against private and official targets could come in the form of assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings or bombings. The targets could include places where Americans meet or visit, such as residential areas, hotels and restaurants, as well as places of worship, schools, clubs, business offices and public areas, the caution said ... as causes of concern, the department cited spillover from the US intervention in Iraq in and outside the Middle East ... .
This came not long after other officials in the Bush administration, who had been arguing fiercely since September 11, 2001 for a series of deep links between terrorism and Iraq, strove hard to deny that the terrorist bombings in London's subways had anything to do with Iraq. So the message was clear: don't leave home because ... uh, they hate us (but Iraq has nothing to do with it). Somebody just hadn't bothered to inform the State Department.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/GH09Ak01.html