And towards those ends (of creating the zones PeterT mentions above), we have the Attorney General's current barnstorming tour of the US, to shore up support for the Patriot Act, and pave the way for introduction of the Victory Act this fall, when Congress reconvenes.

The Victory Act, which is an expansion of powers granted to the government under the Patriot Act, attempts to link drug "terrorism" to Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, effectively creating zone 2, Latin America. Zone 1 is, of course, the Middle East.

The Victory Act will apparently be the Bush administration's replacement for last year's Patriot Act II, which failed to garner any real support in Congress, except among the deeply committed fundamentalist GOP crusaders.

Article about the Victory Act can be found here, in today's Washington Post:

"GOP Bill Would Add Anti-Terror Powers"