"Never again", again...

Bush has concluded that peace talks will not halt the violence that has left tens of thousands dead and more than 2 million homeless in Darfur and that a more muscular military response is required...

About time. President Bush's plan is heroic, albeit belatedly; I hope he sees it through. Hell, I'd love to go myself.

No matter what else has happened, it's hard to imagine many other presidents or presidential candidates - probably McCain, possibly Lieberman - showing Bush's courage and persistence in fighting on behalf of humanity, not just of Americans.

If only he hadn't allowed the aftermath in Iraq to be so poorly mismanaged... and been willing to abandon fundamental American values and deny human dignity altogether for anyone labeled a "witch"... no, a "Communist"... no, an "enemy of the Revolution"... no, oh yeah, an "enemy combatant", that's the label in vogue now. Such sinister euphamisms necessarily have high turnover rates, if poltical language is to maintain its purpose of making murder sound respectable.

Speaking of which, according to ever more evidence, Guantanamo is starting to make Zimbabwe and Uzbekistan look like shining models of civil liberties and democratic due process. Some of these guys have been held for four years without trial, subject to gross inhumanity, based on this "irrefutable proof" that they were associated with al Qaeda: the fact they were wearing a Casio watch?!?! This is beyond sickening. How will we ever restore justice to these people and their families? And how long will it take before the world once again looks to America to stand for truth, liberty, and justice for all?

I'm all for bringing terrorists to justice, whether by trying them in court and locking them up for life, or by killing them on the battlefield. But the evidence from Gitmo and Abu Ghraib shows American efforts have turned from justice to masochism; and the indicators are suggesting we have no process for distinguishing terrorists from a large number, perhaps a majority, of innocent people. That must end.