A friend who has several global connections (runs a hedge fund) has informed me that the situation in Iraq is very much "out of control," according to his source. It's gone from bad to very, very bad. The recent prisoner abuse problem has been wonderful PR material for terrorist recruiting -- just as Richard Clarke has discussed, with regards to the Iraq occupation making us effectively less safe.

Whereas Bush supposedly has the Saudis working diligently to make for a successful election year, make no mistake that the terrorists will be working the opposite side, attempting to make Bush look bad at very opportune times.