Saddam Hussein is captured. It is certainly a feather in President Bush's cap. Just this morning I was wondering what happened to the search for both Hussein and Osama bin Laden. One man down and another to go.

In the picture in the New York Times, he has a long beard and looks very tired. It appears he was able to keep some dignity, though he was found in a hole. It seems appropriate that Hussein be treated with dignity as a former head of state.

He was captured with $750,000 and a handgun in a hole beneath a walled compound in Ad Dwar, 10 miles from Tikrit. Two other Iraqis were captured at the same time with AK-47's. Hussein surrendered without a fight, apparently resigned to his capture. His identity was confirmed with a DNA test. It is not clear where they got the DNA to compare to, however.

At news of the announcement, Iraqis across the country celebrated by dancing in the streets.

What this means for violent resistance to US occupation is unclear. Hussein was not captured with any communications equipment, leading military observers to conclude he was not coordinating the insurgency. This means that the insurgency is decentralized and will likely continue for some time. He is apparently being talkative and cooperating with his captors, so much more information will probably come to light regarding coordination of the insurgency, other Baathists still at large, and, importantly for President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, WMD's.

He will likely be tried for his crimes, but it is unclear what powers will sit in judgment. Members of the Iraqi Governing Council expect him to be turned over to an Iraqi tribunal formed to try former Baathists for their crimes.

Life has been very hectic for me over the past month. I moved to a new city the day after my 40th birthday. I began a slightly new job for the same company in a new city, so there was a lot of setup for that as well as moving all my stuff into an apartment.

I have not really paid a lot of attention to current events, but this caught my eye.

It seems the Bush Administration screwed up again. The day after the Paul Wolfowitz at the Pentagon announced that France, Germany, Russia and Canada will be cut out of any contracts in Iraq, the President asked those countries to forgive Iraq's debt to them. Bush was described as "distinctly unhappy" that he had to deal with foreign leaders who had just found out about being excluded from contracts.

Bush's unhappiness is understandable, given that the pentagon just threw away the administration's bargaining chips for dealing with Iraq's debt. In addition, this is likely to set back further the improvement of already strained relations with the anti-Iraq coalition governments.

Wolfowitz claims that the policy is not punitive, but forward looking. According to the directive, "Limiting competition for prime contracts will encourage the expansion of international cooperation in Iraq and in future efforts." Also, limiting the competition will "encourage the continued cooperation of coalition members." Talking Points Memo, December 10, 2003

The conflicting directives coming out of the Bush administration are tearing the government apart, as well as hampering reconstruction in Iraq and trampling 50-plus-year-old alliances with France, Germany and Canada. Josua Marshall at Talking Points Memo put forth an idea, tongue firmly in cheek. That is that we need a new executive branch foreign policy coordinator to "ride herd" over interagency disputes. Marhsall also suggested a name for the position, something like National Security Advisor. He has a point. I have given Condoleeza Rice the benefit of the doubt for a long time, but the breakdown of cooperation between the State Department, CIA, Pentagon and the Vice-President's office should never have happened, especially when all of these agencies needed to be united to fight an overseas war. Rice just has not been able to keep them all in line. Perhaps it is time to start looking elsewhere for someone who can.