Grim, grim, grim

The whole Iraqi situation depresses the hell out me. It's been on my mind more than ever after the power outage.

I had a lot of negative feelings about us going over there in the first place, but I told Mark the other night that I think I would have been willing to eat some crow now if things had gone well. If we'd deposed Saddam and given Iraqis some autonomy and withdrew gradually but steadily and gracefully, I'd be happy to say "Well, maybe it was a good thing. I was wrong; my reservations were unwarranted." But god, that place is just an unholy mess. Soldiers unhappy. Iraqi people angry. Unreliable power. Terrorist attacks on pipelines and institutions. Troops murdered. Gah!

I heard a report that the State Department had been working with Middle East experts and Iraqi expats for years, developing solid game plans for the country should Saddam ever get the boot. But that after State lost the pissing match with Defense over who would "run" the place after hostilities ended, those plans were never consulted or used. Is that true? It makes me want to scream!

Oops, did I wake up in an alternate universe?

Evidence: Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are on the cover of Rolling Stone.