A keen observer will note Duchess Downer's shiny, new, prosthetic right hand. So in love with the prospect of HRH South Pacific fortress of decency signing up with aspirations to be part of east [heeewwwwckkk! ptooooieeeeee] Asia, that he chewed off his hand in frustrated rage. Lex has nothing against the smaller, browner folks, as long as they remain below stairs.

Kev Rudd, out early, is challenging the PM to reconsider Oz's nuke-em-first policy of pre-emption. For the ordinary statesperson, reconciling the two positions should be a piece of cake. But Our Glorious Leader likes his full English breakfast, and is fresh from an engagement with the troops. It was an, urrrrm, exciting adventure, and until the residual tumescence subsides, we will have head and shoulders, only, thank you.

So, Kev's flapping of the teatowel (credit due to Peter R Green for this brilliant expression at Web Diary) over pre-emptive strikes should yield results.

I expect Our Leader to meet the challenge head on. We are now engaged in a war against evil ideologies. This new paradigm makes it all so easy. With CCTV and satellite surveillance, we should be able to locate the sources of those bad thoughts, and eliminate them before they can hatch into evil deeds against us. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tappity-tap.

OGL could just tell the truth - "George and Dick told me it was OK to cuddle up to those people. No problem with a treaty. We have an expert team of liars and traducers." - but not when you can mock up as eyebrows in camo.

From The 'rebranding' of the war on terror
The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday that the phrase "war on terror," which coalition officials have used over the past four years, will be "phased out in favor of more nuanced language." US officials are instead starting to use the "less than snappy phrase 'struggle against violent extremism.' "

Juan Cole on similar theme - War on Terror Over I take it this is because they have finally realized that if they are fighting a war on terror, the enemy is four guys in a gymn in Leeds. It isn't going to take very long for people to realize that a) you don't actually need to pay the Pentagon $400 billion a year if that is the problem and b) whoever is in charge of such a war isn't actually doing a very good job at stopping the bombs from going off.

Since the army of Oz propangandists is bigger than Al Quaeda, they'll have to ballot for who starts the ball rolling in another, more NUANCED, direction of government preferrment. Come in, spinner! Unless Greg or Gerard want to volunteer?

..

Cole's thoughts on methods of recruitment are good.
You have to think about terrorists as units of hardware, on which software has been installed. The software is a world-view, a set of premises about the world, which then make sense of the terrorist's actions. How does the software get installed? The potential terrorist meets the installer socially and falls under his spell.

But he leaves out the essential ingredient (we are all susceptible to the conman, and readily submit to the "spell" of the guru of the day). Bombers have an overwhelming sense of shame, that they personally have brought dishonour to the name of God, by their womanising, sexual fantasies, drinking, etc. They can wash away their guilt with the blood of martyrdom, in an act of violence. It has to be great violence, and a punishment, to bring the masses to attention.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel In Iraq ...