Bribed witnesses. Bush has promised the Al-Qaeda it will learn the meaning of "American justice," and so they shall, if they read Robert Scheer of the LA Times via Alternet on the truth behind the saving of Private Jessica Lynch.

Another report spread by news organizations nationwide claimed Lynch was slapped by an Iraqi security guard, and the U.S. military later insisted that an Iraqi lawyer witnessed this incident and informed them of Lynch's whereabouts. His credibility as a source, however, is difficult to verify because he and his family were whisked to the U.S., where he was immediately granted political asylum and has refused all interview requests. His future was assured, with a job with a lobbying firm run by former Republican Rep. Bob Livingstone that represents the defense industry, and a $500,000 book contract with HarperCollins, a company owned by Rupert Murdoch, whose Fox network did much to hype Lynch's story, as it did the rest of the war.

The identified bad guys are brought to justice with staged and planted evidence, false reports, bribed witnesses and strict control of what the jury -- in this case the U.S. public -- gets to see of the whole truth. The U.S. government does such things often enough at home in cases of no great moment. Why would they not do it abroad in mighty adventures that could secure an administration's place in history?

Oh, what a war we wove: false casus belli, manufactured evidence, bought allies, faked heroism and bribed witnesses, with the American ship of state sailing along, one Big Lie from port to starboard and stem to stern.