Meanwhile in the New Iraq®

Billmon, who is using the registered trademark symbol, has a couple of good posts about the re-Baathification of Iraq. (Here and here.) What a freaking fiasco.

I don't know who's calling these shots -- Bremer, the Pentagon or the White House -- but whoever it is, their behavior is starting to remind me of a behavioral pattern common among less sophisticated investors. Rattled by a sudden, unexpected drop in the market, they sell. When the market rebounds (as it has a tendency to do), they buy -- usually at about the point the recovery falters and the market heads back down. Then they sell again, taking another loss.

This is called getting "whipsawed." And right now, it looks to me like the Coalition may be whipsawing its way into an even deeper hole in the ground.

I wonder if they're going to restore the teachers they tossed because they held (mandatory) Baath cards. Or if this just applies to government officials.

Sheesh.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.