May 6, 2003

Bush names Bremer as top Iraq administrator San Jose Mercury News - President Bush on Tuesday named retired diplomat L. Paul Bremer to be his top representative in Iraq, signaling a shift from military to civilian control over the reconstruction of Iraq. He has no illusions about Islamic extremism, and wrote this in the Washington Times: "Al Qaeda's leaders propound an extreme vision of an Islam inevitably at war with the West. Their fatwas, interviews and statements over the past decade make clear that their ultimate goal is nothing less than the conversion, by force if necessary, of the entire world to their warped version of Islam. For this vision, they are prepared to die and to kill thousands or millions of Westerners." "This struggle is not about Israel and Palestine. To argue that America must "reengage" in the "peace process" as a way of dealing with the "root causes" of Islamic extremism is fundamentally to misunderstand the nature of the new terrorist threat. All of al Qaeda's attacks and plots against American targets in the past decade took place while there was an ongoing "peace process" in which the American government of the day was fully engaged. Even the September 11 attack was planned during that period. Not until December 2001 did Osama bin Laden think to mention any concern over the plight of the Palestinians, and then only as a transparent effort to broaden his appeal in the Muslim world. " I like him already! 6:19:17 PM

Palestinian women, girls killed for family 'honor' Worldnet Daily - Each year, dozens and probably hundreds of brutal "honor killings" of Palestinian women and girls – most of whom are virtually blameless – go unreported, according to an anthropologist's recent study. If you don't see this reported in the mainstream media, don't be surprised. Yassar Arafat and his gang would probably restrict the access for any reporter who might expose this.  2:49:22 PM

What is the big deal about Bill Bennett gambling?   Only that while doing it, as a government employee he accepts free limos, complimentary hotel rooms and other amenities.  Let's be real, the gambling industry has one of the most vigorous lobbies in Washington, the American Gaming Association, and its president, Frank Fahrenkopf, is a former Republican National Committee chairman. Is it Whitewater?  No, I think it is much more! UPDATE:  The email coming in means I am being misunderstood.  The unsaid sentance was that Whitewater was zero, and this is a multiple of zero. 9:00:55 AM

From Todays Instapundit: France helped Iraqis escape Washington Times - The French government secretly supplied fleeing Iraqi officials with passports in Syria that allowed them to escape to Europe... 6:35:13 AM