True 'Spirit of America': Bush's Icon Teaches Tots to Tune In

"Wildlife conservation in Iraq has been given a significant boost with the release of a guide to Iraq's birds -- the first field-guide of its kind for the nation," BirdLife International said.

"Covering the 387 species that have been recorded in Iraq" -- though some may now be in exile in neighboring countries -- "this is the first comprehensive, fully-illustrated field-guide to an Arabic-speaking country," the announcement said.

"For Iraq, a nation that has lost so much of its wildlife in the last 20 years" -- not to mention a lot of its people -- "this book opens the door for the growing conservation movement in this country," an Iraqi conservation official said.

So for all the talk about boots on the ground, maybe some attention should be paid to enhancing wings in the air.

Saddam's Imaginary Nuclear Race

In the Blitzer interview, Cheney also brought up our favorite mushroom-cloud imagery, noting that had Saddam Hussein been allowed to remain in power, "he would, at this point, be engaged in a nuclear arms race with [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, his blood enemy next door in Iran."

Okay, so maybe the Iraq Survey Group reported otherwise. "Saddam Hussein ended the nuclear program in 1991 following the Gulf war," ISG chief Charles Duelfer wrote in an October 2004 report to Congress. U.S. inspectors in Iraq, he wrote, had "found no evidence to suggest concerted efforts to restart the program."

Well, that doesn't mean he hadn't dreamed from time to time about having nukes. Or about beating Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open.

Downsizing Begins at the Top

On Jan. 12, the Forest Service announced that chief Dale Bosworth is retiring, to be replaced as head of the agency by Abigail Kimbell, regional forester for the northern region, based in Missoula, Mont. On Monday, Bosworth, as a parting gift, announced that there is a plan to "reduce operating costs of the Washington office and regional offices by approximately 25 percent" in the next couple of years. We all know what that means. "The new organization will . . . be smaller," he said in announcing the "realignment." Well, Bosworth's showing the way, leaving his office on Feb. 2. True leadership.