Newsflash: the Iraqis do not consider American troops to be liberators. Apparently, the White House is the only place on the planet where this development was not anticipated.

The White House yesterday drew up emergency plans to accelerate the transfer of power in Iraq after being shown a devastating CIA report warning that the guerrilla war was in danger of escalating out of US control.

The report, an "appraisal of situation" commissioned by the CIA director, George Tenet, and written by the CIA station chief in Baghdad, said that the insurgency was gaining ground among the population, and already numbers in the tens of thousands.

One military intelligence assessment now estimates the insurgents' strength at 50,000. Analysts cautioned that such a figure was speculative, but it does indicate a deep-rooted revolt on a far greater scale than the Pentagon had led the administration to believe. (via the Guardian)

Bush's move to speed up the transition to democracy smacks of trouble. If we don't have a handle on the country now, how are we going to do it faster?