bush says

Recently reported in the Globe and Mail is the response by George W. Bush to "unauthorized" release of pictures of Saddam Hussein in his knickers:

"I don't think a photo inspires murderers. I think they're inspired by an ideology that is so barbaric and backwards that it's hard for many in the Western world to comprehend how they think."

If comprehension within the West of radical Islamists is so lacking then it stands to reason that there would be a similar lack of understanding travelling in the other direction and in fact we in the West likely appear barbaric and backwards to those fighting Americans in the Middle-east.

It strikes me that there is likely a lack of imagination on the part of the Bush administration when it comes to dealing with many of the myriad problems faced by the U.S. abroad. If they are unable to comprehend the backward, barbaric thinking if Islamic radicals then there is likely no solution to the impasse. America will fight on in a misguided attemp to impose order on a chaotic world.

It would be nice if all the nasties in the world could be hauled together in one place and kept an eye on. Australia was settled by the British essentially as a penal colony. The criminal element seems still to be alive and well in the land down under, as is made apparent by that country's participation in the war on Iraq. So, start repopulating the land with all the bad-asses from around the globe. With a little luck the kangaroos will kick some decency into them.