Can somebody please explain this to me, right down to Earth, in a language that I can easily understand?

The Central Intelligence Agency has closed a unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials confirmed Monday.

The unit, known as Alec Station, was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned within the C.I.A. Counterterrorist Center, the officials said.

The decision is a milestone for the agency, which formed the unit before Osama bin Laden became a household name and bolstered its ranks after the Sept. 11 attacks, when President Bush pledged to bring Mr. bin Laden to justice "dead or alive."

So all this time that Bush has been promising to capture or kill the man responsible for the largest mass murder in U.S. history … eh, not so much? And he cut the program a year ago without bothering to tell us.

And you have to really dig the spin they’re putting on this:

"The efforts to find Osama bin Laden are as strong as ever," said Jennifer Millerwise Dyck, a C.I.A. spokeswoman. "This is an agile agency, and the decision was made to ensure greater reach and focus."

The decision to close the unit was first reported Monday by National Public Radio.

No wonder the administration has put more emphasis into shutting down NPR than they have on dealing with bin Laden. So once again for the cheap seats: Clinton started trying to get this guy 10 years ago, and Bush is the one who gave up. Any questions?

Amnesty for all except Mexicans then?

Interesting article from Howard Zinn on July 4^th celebrations:

National spirit can be benign in a country that is small and lacking both in military power and a hunger for expansion (Switzerland, Norway, Costa Rica and many more). But in a nation like ours -- huge, possessing thousands of weapons of mass destruction -- what might have been harmless pride becomes an arrogant nationalism dangerous to others and to ourselves.

Having left the U.S., I’ve always been rather stupefied as to the lack of parallel nationalism outside this country. People don’t routinely hang flags outside their houses, banks, car dealers, etc. Even though one can be un-American, there is no such thing as being un-Swedish. The very concept is rather silly.

But the United States has long been subject to a sense of nationalism akin to a civic religion. We’ve created a national narrative based upon our overly mythologized inception and, especially in times of conflict, use these stories to justify oppression and scapegoating among our fellow citizens with whom we disagree. This is neither rational nor healthy.

So Happy Birthday America and all, we really do hold a great deal of potential to be a wonderful country. But let us never forget that we must also cohabitate this planet with our brothers and sisters around the world (and don’t forget all the small, furry animals either).

How 'bout a bit of Bill Bennett pummeling?
 

... still cannot capture this one crazy man.