The death toll rises in Baghdad....

BAGHDAD -- The United Nations' chief official in Iraq died today along with at least 14 others when a suicide bomber struck a hotel serving as the headquarters for the U.N., injuring about 100 people.

Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was working in his second-floor office when the explosion occurred, was trapped in the rubble of the Canal Hotel after the blast. Despite rescuers' attempts to pull him free, the U.N. confirmed in a statement that he died.

The blast, occurring about 4:30 p.m. local time, caused part of the hotel to collapse, and thick, black smoke rose above the rubble. The explosion, which was believed to be caused by a vehicle bomb, jolted Baghdad up to a mile away.

At least 14 people are known dead, with the death toll expected to rise.

Right below this story on the L.A. Times website is one about a suicide-bomber attack on a Jerusalem bus that just killed at least five people.

Tell me again, how are we "winning the war on terrorism?"

I will say it again: you cannot "defeat" terrorism with force, no matter how overwhelming. Did we not learn that in Vietnam?

Moreover, if Israel--with the finest military, police and intelligence forces in the world, operating in a tiny country with a small population--cannot prevent terrorists acts through force, what makes us think we can?

I only wish that the people suffering from these terrorist strikes were the ones driving our insane foreign policy, like Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et. al, and not innocent bystanders.

Complete story here.