IRAQ: ESCAPING THE WEB

Caption: This seems like a good image for the war in Iraq.

For an interesting critique of U.S. policy in Iraq and elsewhere, check American Respect, which has just released Terrorism: A Brief for Americans. A sample quote from their home page:

Simply put, U.S. policies and actions in Iraq and throughout the world have increased world terrorism. The predictions made by our administration regarding the war have been badly wrong—predictions regarding how quickly it would end, how much it would cost, how we would be greeted as liberators, and how terrorism would decline as a result. Now predictions are no longer even offered. The predictions have been wrong .....

Roger that. The group recommends the following steps:

*Pursue true terrorists such as al Qaeda by eliminating training camps, preventing arms smuggling, freezing financial assets and apprehending terrorist leaders.

*Find balanced solutions in sensitive areas which foment terrorism by rebuilding international coalitions. Violence in regions like Chechnya, Kashmir and especially Palestine directly and adversely affects the entire Muslim world.

*Decrease our profile in Iraq and use international coalitions to lead a march toward guaranteed rights, limited government and democratic representation. Further recognize that Iraq was arbitrarily assembled in 1919 from three ethnically and religiously different Ottoman provinces, and that a peaceful solution may require a return, either partly or fully, to this pre-1919 arrangement.

*Build up the economies of Muslim countries with the goal of creating a larger middle class in each. If abject poverty is a breeding ground for terrorism, then creating broad prosperity is a key part of the solution--especially in the areas of trade and land reform. And success in the economies of any Muslim country--from Morocco to Indonesia--is positive for stability and peace throughout the region.

*Establish a tone of goodwill in policies and actions toward these nations and their growing and increasingly global populations.

One of the leaders of this group is business leader Richard Vague, former CEO of FirstUSA Bank and a co-founder of Juniper Financial, who describes himself as a pragmatic conservative. He is now working to persuade business leaders and conservatives that the war in Iraq is increasing terrorism, weakening America, and is also "bad for business."

I guess the President would say these guys hate freedom...

MEANWHILE, BACK IN EL CABRERO'S BELOVED STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, a diverse coalition, including yours truly, held a press conference in support of a resolution now under consideration by the WV House of Delegates that supports U.S. troops but opposes escalation of the conflict there. Here's one news report on the event.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED