Suprising to many, the gavel passed on January 1, 2007, to the Democrats in both houses ending six years of one-party rule. The passing of the gavel was marked by much rebellious antiwar chant but little else.

Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How It Changed the World

Even an uncensored portion of the the usually staid BBC news analysis deemed it remarkable that US press would cover Senator Kennedy`s anti - war speech which scarcely a year ago would have passed unnoticed in the US media.

Proclaiming a New Way Forward, The Bush affirmed his right to rule by fiat sending in 25,000 in December and 21, 000 January to shore up the Quisling regime in the wake of turmoil following the execution of Sadam Hussein, now regarded throughout the Moslem world as a martyr to the faith.

The execution was ostensbibly carried out by the Quisling Regime. In fact, the hanging was staged by the US Army psychological warfare team. The execution spiked tensions in the Bush-Iraq War with a dramatic increase in casualties now acknowleded to exceed 3,000.

The Regime is strong on theatre so necessary to persuade the milquetoast neo - cons that they are "morally superior."

The Bush, over the objection of the new Congress, rushed 25,000 troops in December and 21,000 in January. With no new recruitments, the troops come from the Reserve Components returned home after the massive mutiny among Reserve Components in December 2004.

Reserve Forces are enlisted with a two year active duty committment. Bush created more reservists by changing the rules to enlarge the commitment. The move is of dubious legality. Such has never troubled the administration before.

Where will additional troops come from? The Administration has been reaching deep into a pool theoretically available for further service--veterans, so deep that it purported to call up the dead. Department of Defense sent orders to thousands of dead veterans.

We may have reached the stage at which The Leader in ordering around imaginary battle groups, reminiscent of the World`s last tin-plated dictator sending hither phantom armies.

According to Dr Davies, the Mentor of The Society, a west coast periodical said it all in a cartoon depicting an old man in a wheel chair over the caption "Never Too Late."

Joys of Live Alchemy

Officially, the Armed Forces` strength stands at 500,000, less than half its size during the Vietnam War. In fact its actual strenth may be in the range of 100,000 - 125,000, considering the generous over counting of Reserve components and excessive accounting of their dependability, capability and even actual existence.

Despite the rebellious spirit in Congress, little more than ceremony and rhetoric is expected. Congress is not expected to pull the plug by exercising the power of the purse.

Immobilism may infect Congress but it has not frozen the Iraqi Quislings. They aren`t stupid. They want to move quickly. Fortunately, US blocks their admission.

According to Dr Charles Fredrickson, "it`s impossible to tell the protagonists from the antagonists. The manipulative con games are forcing outlandish US forces to take sides in an overacted uncivil war melodrama... The main theme of the sensationalized soap opera dramatic treatment is to consolidate the Shiite power base and obliterate contentious minorities in a dress rehearsal preview of coming distractions associated with long overdue occupier pullout. Only one thing can be sure in this last act scenario � there will be no happy ending to this tragic farce."

It is better all around to leave the Quislings where they are.

Shortages of men and equipment has not phased The Regime in the least. The war of rhetoric against Iran continues with the adminstration charging Iran with providing arms to the Iraqis fighting US and the Quislings.

The problem with brinkmanship is the OR ELSE. What is the else? Does the President intend to send an army of the dead into Iraq?

Awesome David Lawrence, much admired here at FP, tells us:

It seems to me that now may be the time to leave Iraq. The angry little cut-throats are busy decapitating each other. Identification with mini-sects of Sunnis and Shiites is used as an excuse for murder. Machiavelli said that the means justify the ends. But when the ends are excuses for the means, and the violence of the means becomes an end in itself, we have political chaos, we have Iraq. Unfortunately, cutting and running would make America look weak and cowardly. We would show that we do not live up to our obligations. There is only one way out of this. Instead of cutting and running, we cut and attack. That`s right, we attack Iran. We move our troops out of Iraq, not because we are afraid of the great Moslem dog but because we have a bigger war to fight in Iran. Let the Iraqi`s kill each other. Without Sadam to kill them, they feed on each other`s carcasses. So what? That`s their murderous choice. Iran is the greater threat. Our attacking them would show that we are not afraid of Moslems but that we are willing to take them on where they are strongest. Cutting and running would be embarrassing. But leaving Iraq to fight in Iran would be strategically intelligent. The Iraqis are so murderous and lacking in character that they have not shown themselves worthy of fighting against. Iran is the greater threat. Let`s get them before they get us.

Dr James Davies, the Mentor of The Society observed, I dare say Dean you might have supported the more aggressive war advocated by Awesome Lawrence. Your problem with the war has been the recruiting problem: there aren`t any.

One aspect of the Iraqi resistance to the occupation has been that the US simply lacks the manpower to attack another country.

At about the time in 2002 Iraqi resistance started to make noticeable inroads into occupation forces, the US was with typical over confidence preparing to invade North Korea.

Various foreign militaries which have studied the US war effort in Iraq have expressed confusion in determining US war aims, particularly on identification of an enemy. The US seemingly wants to fight "terror" without defining who the "terrorist" are they want to beat. Though the US wants to shoot up Moslem countries, it wants to try to persuade the Islamic people it is not anit-Moslem. Thus, we have the incongruity of the US war effort standing alongside a recent US policy of giving sensitivity training to US border guards in dealing with the Moslem pilgrims returning from Mecca and the war crime charges against US service members mostly of junior rank.

We believe this aspect of US policy serves only to persuade hedonistic Liberals of their moral superiority. We doubt any Moslems are fooled.

Worry Causes Wrinkles: The Truths of the Soul

As US military fortunes ebb, Red China`s rise. With US leadership proclaiming specious victories in Irak, Red China launched a satelite destroying rocket.

Staying On (The Raj Quartet, Epilogue)

According to Andy Martin, perennial candidate for Senate and other offices, Red China now has the capacity to nullify the US strategic advantage:

In the meantime, China has been developing technology to assert and exert its control over the next area of potential world military conflict: space. A few days ago the Chinese shot down a satellite using an anti-satellite weapon. Overnight, much of America`s space technology has been become endangered and obsolete. The day your communications and intelligence satellites can be knocked out by someone else`s rockets is the day you can no longer claim "super" status. The United States remains an immensely powerful nation with superior military forces. The Iraq conflict can`t endanger the strength of our navy or air force. But our unquestioned worldwide influence has now been diluted. For the first time in decades we have been rendered vulnerable, by China`s endangerment of our space-based power. Congress, of course�both Democrats and Republicans�have ignored the growing Chinese threat because it was easier to keep stomping on poor George W Bush and proving he was an incompetent boob when it came to foreign policy. Well, the days of easy or "cheap" criticism of Bush, Donald "Rummy" Rumsfeld and the defense establishment are over. Today China has become a major threat to our future military capabilities. We are "super" no longer. The capability to destroy satellites is the capability to render much of the U. S. defense establishment helpless and blind. We rely on satellites to control our airplanes, to spy for us from both high and low altitudes, and to provide guidance right down to the platoon level with handheld devices and intelligence systems. Today those satellites are all endangered. Our military establishment has been put at risk, virtually overnight. The surrender-at-any-cost apologists now have a new cause. Demo Surrendercrat Ed Markey has already been quoted in the Washington Post as saying we must "negotiate" to stop the Chinese. Fat chance.

In the midst of tragedy there is humour.

Allie M. Harnisch reports

San Deigo: California (naturally) Concerned passersby found Lisa X sitting in her car in the parkinglot of a grocery story with windows rolled up. Eyes closed, she held both hands tightly behind the back of her head. Lisa claimed to have been shot in the back of the head, and had been holding her brains in. Responding paramedics, rushing to the scene, broke open the locked car. Lisa refused to remove her hands from her head until examination revealed Lisa had been hit by a wad of bread dough. According to police, a Pillsbury dough biscuit canister exploded in the intense Californian heat. The report sounded like a gunshot.

The Society exclaimed: You may find this hard to believe.