An "Enchanting Day". That's how George Bush described today, as the US announced the capture of Saddam Hussein. ... However, finding the ex-Iraqi leader does not equal success in Iraq. It does not make the US invasion lawful under international law and it will not stop the attacks on the occupying army. The Scotsman reports an average of 130 attacks a day on coalition forces and fellow Red Sox fan William Rivers Pitt believes the carnage is only beginning. Hussein's capture won't justify the US's immoral policy of "pre-emptive" war and it won't make those mythical WMDs magically appear. And most of all, it won't stop the PNAC Gang (the ones who said they needed a "new Pearl Harbor" to implement their dreams of empire) from pillaging Iraq's resources for itself and sticking several generations of US taxpayers with the bill.

What happens next will be the true test. Will the US immediately stop its attacks (since its most recent justification for invading has been fulfilled) or will it continue to be an occupying force for the foreseeable future? Don't wait for the media to explore these issues. Despite broadcasting 24 hours a day, they never seem to find the time. Observed on one political board: "Honest to God if you told the average ignoramus out there that it's an old Iraqi tradition to live in towns surrounded by barbed wire, they'd believe it." ... American Dead: 456; total wounded nearly 10,000. Not very enchanting.

The post-9/11 terrorism dragnet has ensnared 6,400 suspects nationwide, but only 23 cases have led to prison sentences of five years or more -- about the same number as in the two years before the attacks. ... Convictions in the US's first major post-9/11 prosecution are in jeopardy because the Justice Dept. admitted it withheld evidence from the defense. ... Then and Now. ... On December 20, 1983 -- almost exactly 20 years ago -- Donald Rumsfeld, special envoy of President Reagan, met with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Hey, now these two criminals can get together and rehash old times. Happy Anniversary!