Mine, mine, all mine!
U.S. wants no interference in its occupation of Iraq

From an article in today's NYTimes ("U.S. Abandons Idea of Bigger U.N. Role in Iraq Occupation"), this quote just really struck me:

Mr. Rumsfeld, according to administration officials, vehemently opposes any dilution of military authority over Iraq by involving the United Nations, either through United Nations peacekeepers or indirectly in any United Nations authorization of forces from other countries.

American military officials say they fear that involving the United Nations, even indirectly, will hamper the latitude the United States must have in overseeing Iraqi security and pursuing anti-American guerrilla forces or terrorist actions.

Excuse me? So the American military is occupying Iraq for the purpose of... going after people who don't want it there? I thought Bush & co. were claiming that they wanted to "bring democracy" to Iraq, but now they're semi-admitting they're all about hunting down "anti-American" forces and turning Iraq into an American military state? OK, sorry for all the question marks, this all just makes me ill. Meanwhile, the cost of war and occupation goes up (just think of what we could have spent those billions on!), and Afghanistan is a disaster.