What Has Bush Done to the Government?

In fact, as I wrote in my June 4 column, Clemons first described Cheney's position in late May, and in early June, Helene Cooper of the New York Times followed up with confirmation, specifically naming Wurmser.

And back in late July, I noted that investigative reporter and blogger Robert Dreyfuss had broken the news of Wurmser's departure.

Attacking Iran -- to Vindicate Iraq?

Via Andrew Sullivan, I find Dan Friedman writing for the American Thinker: "All the damaging consequences of all the blunders the President has committed to date in Iraq are reversible in 48- to 72-hours - the time it will take to destroy Iran's fragile nuclear supply chain from the air. And since the job gets done using mostly stand-off weapons and stealth bombers, not one American soldier, sailor or airman need suffer as much as a bruised foot."

But wouldn't that backfire at least as badly as Iraq? Wouldn't the Iranians strike back?

Not at all, Friedman insists: "They would stand before mankind with their pants around their ankles, dazed, bleeding, crying, reduced to bloviating from mosques in Teheran and pounding their fists on desks at the UN. . . .

"Miracles would be seen here at home. Democratic politicians are dumbstruck, silent for a week. With one swing of his mighty bat, the President has hit a dramatic walk-off homerun. He goes from goat to national hero overnight. The elections in November are a formality. Republicans keep the White House and recapture both houses of Congress."

In Iraq, Has It Come to This?

Josh White and Joshua Partlow write in The Washington Post: "A Pentagon group has encouraged some U.S. military snipers in Iraq to target suspected insurgents by scattering pieces of 'bait,' such as detonation cords, plastic explosives and ammunition, and then killing Iraqis who pick up the items, according to military court documents."

In case the horror of this escapes you: "Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said such a baiting program should be examined 'quite meticulously' because it raises troubling possibilities, such as what happens when civilians pick up the items.

"'In a country that is awash in armaments and magazines and implements of war, if every time somebody picked up something that was potentially useful as a weapon, you might as well ask every Iraqi to walk around with a target on his back,' Fidell said."

Not So Fast?

In the Washington Post, Walter Pincus calls attention to several indicators of wiggle room in Army Gen. David H. Petraeus's stated goal of bringing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq back down to 130,000 by July.

Much More Money

Julian E. Barnes writes in Saturday's Los Angeles Times: "After smothering efforts by war critics in Congress to drastically cut U.S. troop levels in Iraq, President Bush plans to ask lawmakers next week to approve another massive spending measure -- totaling nearly $200 billion -- to fund the war through next year, Pentagon officials said.

"If Bush's spending request is approved, 2008 will be the most expensive year of the Iraq war. . . .