Quote of the day

"I don't think the United States is a country that is capable of doing nation building".

A surprisingly frank admission from former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, but perhaps something he and Dubya should have considered before thoughtlessly setting about nation destroying.

According to Rumsfeld, nation building is best left to "the people of a nation" themselves. That's nice - we'll smash it to smithereens and leave you to pick up the pieces. With the assistance of Halliburton, of course.

In the same interview, with Al Jazeera, Rumsfeld did at least have the guts to equate Christian extremism with Islamic extremism with respect to the dangers they pose. I doubt that will have washed too well with Dubya or many of a Republican persuasion.