Quite a week in the "war on terror", and it's only Wednesday.........

• Britain and Denmark (and, what the hell, Lithuania) are pulling back
• Italy's PM resigns after coaltion wouldn't back expansion of US air base
• Italians took to the streets in protest of that base expansion (I guess when Italians speak, their representatives listen..........)
• "bombings in the Baghdad area have claimed more than 100 lives since Sunday " and worries rise over development of chlorine gas bombs

Meanwhile, on another planet (with an apparent oxygen deficit)..........the scene is rosy: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that despite the announced withdrawals, "the coalition remains intact," and in Japan, Vice President Dick Cheney said the U.S. wants to finish its mission in Iraq, then "come home with honor."