How's It Going? In "the war of ideas or the struggle for hearts and minds [of Iraqis], American efforts have not only failed, they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended ... elevat[ing] the stature of, and support for, radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single digits in some Arab societies. ...

"Muslims do not 'hate our freedoms', but rather, they hate our policies. ... Thus when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy. ... US actions appear in contrast to be motivated by ulterior motives, and deliberately controlled in order to best serve American national interests at the expense of truly Muslim self-determination. ...

"American actions have elevated the authority of the jihadi insurgents and tended to ratify their legitimacy among Muslims. ... The war has increased mistrust of America in Europe, weakened support for the war on terrorism and undermined US credibility worldwide. ... [There is a perception] of the US as arrogant, hypocritical and self-indulgent. ... There is no yearning-to-be-liberated-by-the-US groundswell among Muslim societies ..."

So what bleeding-heart, troop-hating, lefty, tree-hugger wrote the above three paragraphs? Uh, actually, it was the Pentagon.

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Arbeit macht frei! Boston Globe: "The US military is drawing up plans to keep insurgents from regaining control of this battle-scarred city [Fallujah] ... Under the plans, troops would funnel Fallujans to so-called citizen processing centers on the outskirts of the city to compile a database of their identities through DNA testing and retina scans. Residents would receive badges displaying their home addresses that they must wear at all times. ... One idea that has stirred debate among Marine officers would require all men to work, for pay, in military-style battalions. Depending on their skills, they would be assigned jobs in construction, waterworks, or rubble-clearing platoons."

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I'm out of town this week. Nothing until Friday, at the earliest.