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September 3, 2003
Vol. 6 No. 35

In this issue:

1. Target Audience
2. Nations-R-Us
3. News and Scary
4. Quick Hits
5. New at Reason Online - Why Buffy Kicked Ass
6. Reason's print edition
7. News and Events

1. Target Audience

There can be little doubt now that that a campaign targeting those who work with coalition forces in Iraq is underway. How the U.S. responds to it will determine the success or failure of the Operation Iraqi Freedom and quite possibly the outcome of the next year's presidential election.

The bombing in Najaf made brutally clear to anyone who did not grasp the intent of the UN bombing that working with, or even tolerating, the coalition presence in Iraq is a life-threatening act. It has already had the intended effect of causing one Shi'ite leader to resign from the Iraqi Governing Council in "protest" of lax security. And in a neat twist, it is not the killers of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim that his brother held "primarily responsible" for al-Hakim's death but coalition forces.

On Tuesday a blast at a police station in Baghdad further underscored the guerillas' determination to scare Iraqis away from the U.S.-installed regime. And away from the bomb blasts, even individual translators who work with the new government are marked for death. With each blast U.S. officials repeat the call for Iraqis to step forward and secure their country.

So the one-time advocates of "de-Ba'athification" have come full-circle. They have nowhere to turn except to former members of Saddam's security forces to supply the bodies needed for "Iraqization" of the on-going conflict. For the former Ba'athists signing onto a new Iraqi security force is a no-brainer. As former henchmen for Saddam, their lives are already on shaky ground with much of the populace.

Best case, your gig as a new old-boss will bring order to Baghdad and environs and you're a hero. Worst case, at least you've got a gun.

http://www.sunspot.net/news/nationworld/bal-te.iraqside31aug31,0,2849378.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A11462-2003Sep1?language=printer

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,96194,00.html

2. Nations-R-Us

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has turned his steely gaze on the Iraq problem and has a solution: Send drywall hangers, lawyers, and city managers ASAP. At the same time the Bush administration wants to arm the populace and cars are going up like bottle rockets, McCain wants to ramp up the civilian presence. It is measure of how crazy things have become that McCain has something of a point.

Writing in The Washington Post, McCain calls for "linguists, civil affairs officers, military police, engineers -- as well as a significant increase in civilian experts in development and democracy-building." Leaving aside who and what a civilian expert at "democracy-building" would be, there is no dispute that these kinds of skills are needed to forge a functioning country out of the current maelstrom.

The catch is that the skills will have to come from the Iraqis themselves, as Washington -- as yet -- lacks any mechanism to order American civilians into a war zone. And even assuming there exist enough civilian volunteers to make a difference in so vast a land, protecting them would be very difficult given current circumstances. Yet you never change the circumstances without such expertise. Such is the vicious circle the U.S. now finds itself caught in.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A2466-2003Aug29?language=printer

3. New and Scary

Finally, some good news about the voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) and state regulators. Time Warner is ready to roll out VoIP services in a few test markets, including two in North Carolina and one in New York. That's in addition to a trial already underway in Maine.

Significantly, Time Warner has jumped through all the hoops needed to get state regulators to greenlight the tests, including setting up an "information services" adjunct and preparing to offer both local and long distance calling. In the case of North Carolina, regulators explicitly ignored a warning from the state's existing telephone providers that VoIP was not an "original intended use," and hence is dangerous to the established telecom order.

Why, yes. Yes, it is. And although only a few thousands customers in Maine are thus far on board, VoIP from outfits like Time Warner is one of the few ways left to shake up the telecom cartel.

http://www.cabledatacomnews.com/sep03/sep03-3.html

4. Quick Hits

Quote of the Week

"Look at all the people leaving, that tells the story right there." --Jeremy Wilburn, 22, on the reaction of 150,000 attendees of the 100th birthday celebration for Harley-Davidson upon learning that the special, secret guest on the concert stage was Elton John

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=musicNews&storyID=3331960

Bursting at the Seams

Has mighty Microsoft been caught trying to destroy tiny Burst.com in order to make off with its technology? The matter is now in court.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20030828.html

Patriot Games

A concrete example of the Patriot Act dropping a veil of secrecy over previously available and harmless documents. Added bonus: a researcher threatened with arrest for asking to see something out of the National Archives.

http://palestinechronicle.com/article.php?story=20030812221737540

And So It Begins

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) announces his presidential bid and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) promises as much health care as Americans can eat.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A13394-2003Sep2?language=printer

5. New at Reason Online

6. The Print Edition

Get your personal copy of the latest issue of Reason's print edition each month -- before it hits the newsstands and before it's posted on the Web! Subscribe Today!

7. News and Events

New Book!

Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use, by Reason Senior Editor Jacob Sullum

"Jacob Sullum has produced a thoughtful, sane, and logical analysis of our drug laws. Is that even legal?" -- Dave Barry, syndicated columnist

After decades of a futile war on drugs, Saying Yes makes public what many Americans discuss only in private: Drug use as it is described by politicians and propagandists is dramatically different from drug use as it is experienced by the silent majority of users--the decent people who, despite their politically incorrect choice of intoxicants, lead productive and fulfilling lives.

For more information and to purchase a copy, click here

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