Here are some interesting comments about Bush and Co: "The US is now in the hands of a group of extremists" - by George Soros, who isn't exactly a lefty. The link is to "an edited extract" pubished in today's Guardian, from "The Bubble of American Supremacy",a book by Soros published this week.

"We have fallen into a trap. The suicide bombers' motivation seemed incomprehensible at the time of the attack; now a light begins to dawn: they wanted us to react the way we did. Perhaps they understood us better than we understand ourselves.

"And we have been deceived. When he stood for election in 2000, President Bush promised a humble foreign policy. I contend that the Bush administration has deliberately exploited September 11 to pursue policies that the American public would not have otherwise tolerated."

I especially agree with his judgement that what has happened since Seoptemer 11th has been precisely what the people who organised it and took part in it wanted to happen.