Cause & Effect

Do you imagine that this (via CQ)...

Iraq's landmark constitution was adopted by a majority of voters during the country's October 15 referendum, as Sunni Arab opponents failed to muster enough support to defeat it, election officials said Tuesday.

Results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq showed that Sunni Arabs, who had sharply opposed the draft document, failed to produce the two-thirds ``no'' vote they would have needed in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces to defeat it.

Nationwide, 78.59% voted for the charter while 21.41% voted against, the commission said. The charter required a simple majority nationwide with the provision that if two-thirds of the voters in any three provinces rejected it, the constitution would be defeated.

...might have had a little something to do with this?

A series of massive explosions hit Baghdad at sunset this evening. The explosions are now reported to have been two car bombs and, for good measure, a cement truck filled with explosives. They were detonated right in front of the Palestine Hotel where many in the media are housed. The AP and others were notified ahead of time so that they could focus their cameras on the event and record it for history.

Given the front row seats the media occupied for this latest terrorist extravaganza, the TV footage was on the air instantaneously. Anyone who witnessed the explosions seen on TV will have to admit the terrorists did put on quite a show. [emphases added]

Or was it all just an(other) amazing coincidence?

Meanwhile, there's the unfinished part of this war.

Syria:

With Friday's release of the long-awaited Mehlis report, the speculation concerning the future of Bashar al-Assad and his nation has reached a fever pitch. Its publication is only the latest in a long line of scandals that have buffeted the regime in recent months, beginning with the murder of Rafik Hariri, continuing with the humiliating Syrian retreat from Lebanon, and taking a deadly turn two weeks ago with the assisted suicide of Assad-stalwart Ghazi Kana'an. This dizzying series of events - taking place in the usually staid dictatorship of Syria - has elicited a stream of
prognostications that envision the Assad regime falling within months. Headlines scream of "siege," "panic," and "fear," while pundits breathlessly write Bashar's obituary in advance.

The reports of Bashar al-Assad's imminent demise are, unfortunately, far too optimistic, reflecting our hopes and desires more than the grim reality of Bashar's durability. The rising degree of "pressure" oft mentioned by the press is more indicative of the media's and the U.N.'s overestimation of their own relevance and ability rather than the actual burden being placed on the Assad regime. While CNN and Detlev Mehlis flail away at the Ba'athist edifice, Assad - who cares little about "public opinion" - need only mollify certain minute segments of his populace to retain control over everyday life in Syria.

Iran:

Six months after announcing a plan to give $3 million to promote democracy in Iran, the U.S. State Department has yet to release the funds, says a USA Today report.

Senator Sam Brownback, R-KS, who put the $3 million in the budget, expressed frustration: "This money should be made available immediately for those seeking to express their opposition to the hard-line Islamic government and to promote internationally recognized human rights.”

Foggy Bottom says this delay is "bureaucratic." Hyuk. What strikes me almost as much is the amount - three million smackers. Twelve million quarters. Thirty million dimes. Sixty million nickles. Three hundred million pennies. Cripes, Congress has that much sitting around in the pizza fund. How about boosting that humble figure, oh, I don't know, a thousandfold? Even better - take away the money for Don Young's and Ted Steven's bridge to nowhere and pour it into this cause, along with a requirement that every last penny be spent as Congress intended. Surely everybody except the two Alaska porkers can agree that subverting an enemy power on the verge of nuclear weapons capability is money far better spent - right?

As the Extreme Media cynically and ghoulishly hyperventilates about their latest artificial military fatality milestone, wouldn't it be a more profitable investment of the President's time (instead of pressing his misbegotten SCOTUS choice) to start making the case for spreading regime change to Iraq's two neighbors to the northwest and northeast? Especially if the idea is to starve the "insurgency," stabilize and de-terrorize the region, and make it actually feasible to begin bringing the troops home? Because until Iran and Syria are also liberated, a democratic Iraq will never know peace, and neither will Israel - or we.

UPDATE 10/26: The esteemed Jed Babbin does me the high honor of seconding my sentiments:

Perhaps the most worrisome event - so far not something we should confuse with White House disarray on the the Plame Name Blame Game - is the President's inexplicable continued reliance on the UN to deal with the matter of Syria. If Mr. Bush is to be criticized, it should be for failing to prosecute the war against Syria. That it is the source of terrorists, money, and weapons that are killing Americans in Iraq has not been in doubt for more than two years. Why are we not doing something - decisively, conclusively and, yes, unilaterally - about it is a criticism to which Mr. Bush has no defense.