U.S. strikes blow for Islamic fundamentalism....

From a Reuters story via Common Dreams.

BAGHDAD - Muslims poured out of mosques and into the streets after the first Friday prayers in a U.S.-controlled Baghdad, calling for an Islamic state to be established.

Carrying Korans, prayer mats and banners, tens of thousands marched in the city's biggest protest since U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein over a week ago -- a protest unthinkable under the former president.

"Leave our country, we want peace," read one banner aimed at the Americans who seized control nine days ago but failed to check looting, power blackouts and chaos in the aftermath.

"No Bush, No Saddam, Yes Yes to Islam," read another. [Emphasis mine.]

I really wonder how many middle-of-the-road Americans who supported this invasion realized that Saddam's Baath Party, which ruled for three decades, was secular. I'd like to see a poll on that! True or False: Saddam Hussein's Baath regime was diametrically opposed to the establishment of an Islamic fundamentalist state in Iraq.

Uhh...but wait, weren't Saddam and Osama allies?

Well, thanks to the Bush cabal, Hussein seems to have indirectly accomplished more for bin Laden's cause than any run-of-the-mill Islamic fundamentalist leader. So what now, Mr. Bush? Will democracy be permitted in Iraq if it leads directly to the establishment of an Islamic state?