More sinister propaganda on the New York Times op-ed page March 16, this time from Russell L. Schweickart, a former Apollo astronaut and chairman of the B612 Foundation, "which promotes efforts to alter the orbits of asteroids." Entitled "The Sky is Falling. Really.," the piece warns that there is a one-in-45,000 chance (gasp!) that an 850-foot asteroid called Apophis could collide with the Earth "with catastrophic consequences" on April 13, 2036. As we have noted before, these supposed efforts to save the Earth from rogue asteroids are really a transparent ploy to find a new rationale for nuclear weapons in the post-Cold War era. It seems to us nuclear weapons have far greater potential to destroy the planet than a rogue asteroid. Talk about creating what you fear!

As we have argued before, the paradigmatic metaphor for the global struggle is jihad against the robots: equally anti-human, exterminationist forces battling for control of the Earth—one zealous to the point of insatiable bloodlust, the other sterile and devoid of all emotion. Who's side will you be on? Who will ultimately win? Will our grandchildren be living under the tyranny of fundamentalism or the tyranny of robots? Or is a human alternative still possible? The skepticism expressed by some scientists in this account is a little comforting. From the BBC, March 16, emphasis and link added:

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, purportedly the highest-ranking al-Qaeda operative in US custody, has now confessed to being "responsible for the 9-11 operation from A to Z," as well as being the mastermind of the 1993 WTC attack, Richard Reid's attempted shoe-bombing, the Daniel Pearl slaying, and a slew of planned attacks on such targets as Chicago's Sears Building—although given the notorious interrogation methods used at Guantanamo Bay, we are skeptical as to the veracity of these allegations. However, his statement sheds much light on al-Qaeda's worldview—and its appeal in the Third World. From the International Herald Tribune, March 14, emphasis and link added:

"We believe the threat we face in the near term is less than that currently confronting our European allies," Charles Allen, assistant homeland security secretary for intelligence and analysis, told Congress March 14. "But we are concerned that radicalization will continue to expand within the United States over the long term." The government has identified only isolated pockets of homegrown extremists, mostly involved in what he called "aspirational plotting. " Unlike their European counterparts, Allen said, those groups appear to lack direct ties to al-Qaeda. "But we remain concerned that radicalization will eventually spawn operational attacks in the homeland if we do not gain deeper insights into the phenomenon and actively work to deter it," he said.

Five civilians were killed when gunmen opened fire targeting on Sunni worshippers coming out of Huthaifa mosque after noon prayers in al-Risala neighborhood of Baghdad March 13. Four civilians were also killed and four others wounded when a Katyusha rocket fell in Karrada Dakhil neighborhood of Baghdad. (NYT, McClatchy Newspapers, March 14) On March 16, gunmen ambushed a convoy that was carrying the mayor of Sadr City, Rahim al-Darraji, leaving him seriously wounded. Two bodyguards were killed in the attack, as was Lt. Col. Muhammad Motashar, director of the Sadr City police. Also March 16, Sabir al-Issawi, the head of Baghdad's city council, was wounded when a car bomb exploded beside his convoy in the Karrada district, killing eight police and soldiers. (Press TV, Iran, March 16)

Three bombs, two of them carried by suicide attackers, exploded in southern Afghanistan March 13, killing four people and wounding at least 10. The two suicide bombers struck in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. The third explosion was a bomb left under a pile of rags in a crowded area at Spinbaldak, a crossing at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The attacks took place during a visit to Kabul by a US assistant secretary of state, Richard A. Boucher. (NYT, March 14)

The United Nations observer mission in Georgia has opened an investigation into missile attacks in three remote villages near the Russian border March 11, claiming initial evidence suggested that Russian helicopter gunships were involved. The military action damaged several buildings in the Kodori Gorge. Both Russia and the forces of the nearby breakaway region of Abkhazia denied involvement in the attacks. (NYT, March 14)

Authorities announced the arrest of four men in Beirut who they described as members of Fatah al-Islam, a radical Palestinian faction, in connection with the bombing of two minibuses in the city last month that killed three people and wounded 23. Two other members of the group were being sought in the attack, which took place on the eve of the second anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. News reports said the men were detained after explosives were found in an apartment in the Christian neighborhood of Achrafieh. (NYT, March 14)