Written by: Beck

I would not want to be this guy. You figure SOMEONE has to wind up being the media contact, but after seeing what can happen to reporters after the execution of Daniel Pearl, it's not exactly the most stress-free job in the world.

"I certainly go out there and expose myself. I've been to the safe houses. I surrender myself to their control. I've sat in living rooms face-to-face with these men," [Michael Ware] said.

"Maybe I am too close to all of this. I've been this close, and it terrifies me. It terrifies me on a personal level and it terrifies me in terms of what we are up against. This is far more serious, far more organized, committed, than many of us realized."

They can't possibly be paying this man enough.

Everyone has seen this coming since the collapse of Enron back in November-December of 2001. Still, it seems momentous that Ken Lay has finally officially been indicted.

"I have been advised that I have been indicted," Lay said through a spokeswoman. "I will surrender in the morning. I have done nothing wrong, and the indictment is not justified."

Whatever you say Kenny. How long until we see, "I have been advised that I have been sodomized by a giant drunken hillbilly named Jimbo," Lay said through a spokesman.

This news, if accurate, is worrying. Congressmen have warned the Pentagon that troop levels are critically tight. Why it is exactly that lawmakers are informing the Pentagon rather than the other way around escapes me at the moment. Nonetheless, the details in this article are grounds for concern.

Defense Department officials testified at a committee hearing about troop rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The session followed last week's announcement that the Army was calling up soldiers who had already served in the Middle East.

Stretched by war needs, the Pentagon already had declared a "stop-loss" to prevent troops from leaving once they have finished their obligation.

The Army in April broke a promise to some active-duty units, including the 1st Armored Division, that they would not have to serve more than 12 months in Iraq. It also has extended the tours of other units, including some in Afghanistan.