"We trust the Americans more than Iraqis"

That's what Barzan Hassan, Saddam Hussein's half-brother, said in court Tuesday during the never-ending Saddam trial. This oddly humorous and ironic statement was made in reference to an allegation that a prosecution witness was paid to lie about the Dujail incident:

He even called for U.S. officials -- whom he has repeatedly accused of interfering in the trial -- to help with the investigation.

"We trust the Americans more than Iraqis," he said.

In today's session he began lecturing Judge Abdel-Rahman was rebuked and summarily tossed out. Again.

Meanwhile things just couldn't get much worse on the PR front over there. In the midst of the Haditha story we now learn American troops allegedly shot and killed two women, one supposedly pregnant, who didn't slow down for a marked checkpoint in the Sunni triangle. It's likely an accident, but the liberal media and their Iraqi insurgent comrades will no doubt put it to great use (while this will go virtually unnoticed).

But it also sounds like the kind of sick stunt a Saddamist or AQ gang might stage to help maximize the current propaganda value of Haditha. Pregnant women involved in suicide attacks at checkpoints are not unheard of, so let's wait for the investigation on this one, too. Remember, Barzan said he trusts us to do investigations.

While all hell breaks loose in Iraq and Iran, the 'enemy' here has also been active. Apparently some in the lefty tinfoil hat league have decided the 'shots fired' incident at the Rayburn office parking garage at the US Capitol last week was actually an espionage shootout involving intelligence services from three countries. Sounding like a snippet from knock-off Tom Clancy novel (with George Bush and Tony Blair the supervillians, of course) this version of events also manages to mix in the freezer cash of Congressman Jefferson, but not quite in the way MacRanger had earlier suggested.

You'll have to read it to believe it. Important safety tip--you might want to avoid food or drink while doing so.

Taking recent events into context the Butcher couldn't hope for much better, could he?