Dateline: SWA flight 227 from BWI to Providence, 8 September 2004

Spent the day on the run. Up at 0530 to catch an 0800 plane to BWI. Rental to DC, then gave lunch time speech at DC think tank. Then a long and winding road to suitably non-descript location in Northern Virginia to spend an afternoon discussing the possibility that PNM is the real deal (the grand strategy that prevails) with someone who might act on it in a big way in coming months and years as the national security establishment revamps itself in light of the 9/11 intelligence failures. Itís a quiet conversation that strains my brain cells to the limit. This guy is a serious thinker with serious problems requiring serious solutions. Am I interested in helping? There are some offers you cannot refuse on a day when the U.S. announces the 1000th casualty in Iraq.

Hereís todayís catch:

ï"U.S. Conceding Rebels Control Regions of Iraq: U.S. Deaths Pass 1,000; Pentagon Is Not Certain When Central Areas Can Be Secured,î by Eric Schmitt and Steven R. Weisman, New York Times, 8 September, p. A1.

ïìPutin Angered By Critics On Siege: West Fails to Grasp Situation, He Says,î by Susan B. Glasser, Washington Post, 8 September, p. A1.

ïìChina Ex-President May Be Set to Yield Last Powerful Post,î by Joseph Kahn, NYT, 7 September, p. A1.

ïìTurkish Surprise: As Nation Struggles to Join EU, Maker Of TVs Shows Way: Kocís Manufacturing Success Highlights Both Progress, Hurdles to Membership Bid; Europeís Most Efficient Fridge,î by Hugh Pope, Wall Street Journal, 7 September, p. A1.