Note the last sentence of this Aug. 19 AFP account. Do you think Hamid Karzai grasps the irony?

Afghanistan celebrates independence from Britain
President Hamid Karzai led Afghanistan's Independence Day celebrations on Sunday with a call to the country's young people to educate themselves to preserve their freedom.

Remember back in March when the Brits pulled out of southern Iraq, citing "progress"? Looks like the only thing which has "progressed" is a violent internecine Shi'ite struggle for political control. From the LAT, Aug. 21 (links and emphasis added):

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed the governor of Muthanna province yesterday, and armed men in a fleet of sport utility vehicles kidnapped a senior government minister on a busy Baghdad street.

A glimmer of hope that the ADL capitulated, but what a profound disgrace that they had to. And note that they are still taking a reactionary position on the Congressional resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide. Does Elie Wiesel, whose name they invoke in their defense, share this shameful stance? From JTA, Aug. 21:

Bolivian President Evo Morales has announced he and his cabinet will donate part of their pay to families left homeless by the devastating earthquake that hit neighboring Peru last week. "Peru has always shown solidarity toward us, and the first contribution I'd like to announce is that the president and vice president will donate 50 percent of their salaries," Morales told a news conference in La Paz. Morales said all ministers and deputy ministers will donate 25% of this month's salaries and urged all Bolivians to contribute to relief funds.

After last month's deadly Con Ed blast, another eerie sense of deja vu for jittery New Yorkers—this one cutting even closer to home. From AP via Newsday, Aug. 20:

Investigators probe cause in fire that killed 2 NYC firefighters
NEW YORK - Fire marshals went back into a condemned ground zero skyscraper Monday in hopes of learning more about a blaze that killed two firefighters as details emerged about numerous unsafe working conditions at the troubled demolition site.

Freedom's on the march. From Reuters, Aug. 18:

BAGHDAD — Rare footage from inside a Baghdad prison camp shows hundreds of inmates packed into wire-mesh tents, protesting their innocence.

On Aug. 16, a Miami federal jury convicted Jose Padilla on charges of aiding terrorist operations abroad, together with co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi. "We are so pleased with the verdict," said acting Deputy Attorney General Craig S. Morford. "Frankly, America is a better place today." (LAT, Aug. 17) But the charges were a far cry from the "dirty bomb" hype that occasioned his arrest as an "enemy combatant" in 2002. Furthermore, the case against him was still dubious at best. Padilla's attorney Andrew Patel, interviewed on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now the day after the verdict, provided an overview of the numerous irregularities and extreme measures in the case. Some 300,000 telephone calls and other communications were intercepted in the investigation, with 130 introduced as evidence; Padilla's voice is actually heard on only seven, with his name referenced on another dozen. In an echo of tactics used against Lynne Stewart, the government introduced portions of a CNN interview with Osama bin Laden—while disingenuously instructing the jury not to conisder it as evidence against Padilla. Finally, the most incriminating piece of evidence, a "mujaheddin data form" Padilla had allegedly submitted to join al-Qaeda, was actually filled out in more than one handwriting. Goodman also interviewed psychiatrist Angela Hegarty, who examined Padilla last year and concluded that the extreme isolation, sensory deprivation and torture he had suffered while held in military custody as an "enemy combatant" had left Padilla essentially brain-damaged. Padilla's lawyers also charged the psychological damage was augmented by LSD and other psychoactive drugs he had been given as a "truth serum." Patel pledged to appeal the verdict.

This piece is far too optimistic and soft on Bush, but perhaps the writer wants the president to listen, and is phrasing his critique thusly. We think that's a lost cause, but the historical analogy is still worth considering. Richard Bulliet writes for the International Herald Tribune, Aug. 2:

Bush and Napoleon
What does George W. Bush share with Napoleon Bonaparte? Perhaps only one thing. Both men launched spectacular attacks on Arab countries, won stunning initial victories, and then became bogged down in a hopeless military occupations.