MSNBC is reporting that troops have located a "pesticide" warehouse or factory 30 miles northeast of Karbala, near a military training facility. These have to be tested to see if they're the smoking gun or not. We don't know yet, but it substantiates the view that it requires troops on the ground to do an adequate inspection of a regime like this. Of course, the French will still need more proof.

Baghdad is being looted by Iraqis. Rick Leventhal on Fox describes many brand new Bobcats, the small construction tractors, on the highway heading out of Baghdad carrying loot, most noticeably generators. The Brits have put on a clinic on how to take a city, and Basrah is now under their control.

The tarnish on this operation is still the problems with "blue on blue" casualties, those inflicted by mistakes in targeting or just getting in each other's ways. The whole argument about whether we had enough troops on the ground seems moot now. I'm sure that these things appear inevitable because of the fog of war where everybody is trying to think while their adrenyline is redlining, and sometimes because of real fog or sandstorms. For most of the troops this was the first time they've been in real war, but none of these reasons can erase the horror of the deaths caused by our own weapons mistakenly aimed at our own troops or our allies.

One of the most important ideas in the world is the idea that governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed. The only other legitimate source of power is God. From ancient times, men have believed that their rulers were established by God and that the ruled were responsible to him for honoring or dishonoring such authority. Ancient kings also saw their positions as stewardships from God and felt an obligation to protect and deliver prosperity to their people. They were given the trust because of their performance in war. But being a great fighter or leader in battle is decreasing as an indicator of good leadership in a world where economics play a greater role than war.