Teribus-

Maybe we should have a lottery based on whether--if ever-you will admit what you've just said. You're almost as good as Bill Clinton--who denied 24 hours later what he had said about who played the "race card". Too bad he was on video saying it.

Case in point for you: 9 June 2008   10:13 "...anything--
(in this case an al-Qaeda takeover of Iraq)-- is possible in politics given the right timescale and circumstances". You did say it. Your words are still there.

I repeat: that is a singularly flimsy pretext to keep US troops in Iraq. We actually have better ways to spend money, amazing as that might seem to you. And the families of the troops would like them back home more often.

Interesting that you're now backing away from your earlier threat--supporting GWB and now McCain---that al-Qaeda can take over. Your reasoning--they're not in the business of governing. That's putting it mildly. They're in the business of firebrand sectarianism--which is alienating Sunnis every day, with al-Qaeda's thuggish enforcement of their perversion of Islam. That's why they are not supported by Sunnis in general--and never will be. And as I've pointed out--and you have not denied--even Sunni states like Saudi Arabia feel under threat by them.

Your apocalyptic--if somewhat nebulous--predictions of doom if the US combat troops are removed from "rump Iraq" are unfortunately not graced by logic or evidence.

There is no chance al-Qaeda can take over in Iraq. You have given no remotely plausible scenario as to how they could--ever. And no reason why US combat troops should sit there as potential targets in any terror attacks or Shiite-Sunni friction or, just as likely, Shiite-Shiite unrest.

And you are also wrong about the bases. It is not a leftist invention. WSJ: 17 June 2008: the Iraqi foreign minister says the one of the biggest points of contention is "how many bases the US would be allowed to maintain in Iraq longterm". And I have said there should be bases in "Kurdistan"--where the Kurds actually want us. Just not in "rump Iraq"--since "Kurdistan" will go its own way regardless of what the US and Maliki decide.

For somebody who complains about words being put in your mouth, you are both showing rather poor reading skills, and somewhat reluctant to admit what you actually say. Perhaps you'd like to try running for office--those are very useful skills, it seems--at least on the Bush "team".

But your entertainment value is still high. Congratulations.