blargblog

Three "Indispensible" Articles from the NY Times

So much for the "War on Terror": the BushAdmin has exaggerated the value of Guantanamo Bay detainees as sources of intelligence on al Qaeda and often in the danger that they pose. To make matters worse, the article reports that a stint at GITMO has radicalized detainees, some of whom, upon release, have joined the war on terror, only on the other team, so to speak.

So much for democracy in Iraq: The new appointed government is considering the imposition of a state of emergency banning public demonstrations and enforcing curfews. This on the heels of a U.S. strike on a reputed "safehouse" in Fallujah that killed 17 people, including children, based upon "actionable intelligence" that al Zarqawi's people were there, although there was no actual evidence as such. Um, if there is no evidence, how can there be "actionable intelligence." Me confoozed.

Meanwhile, on a lighter and more positive note, librarians offer an alternative resource to Google. Goody. As much as we all love the search engine, it has its limits. Nothing like having a savvy professional at your disposal to put a book in your hand—or, knowing the enthusiasm of librarians for info (it's their crack), several books, a few articles, and hey, check out this archive!

Not that my nubile professional ambitions bias my judgement in any way. Nooo.