What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility of cutting U.S. troop levels in Iraq to 100,000 by the end of next year, well beyond the cuts President Bush has approved. Stressing that he was expressing a hope, not an administration plan, Gates said it was possible that conditions in Iraq would improve enough to merit much deeper troop cuts than are currently scheduled for 2008. It was the first time a member of Bush's war cabinet had publicly suggested such deep reductions, perhaps offering a conciliatory hand to anti-war Democrats and some wary Republicans in Congress who have been pushing for troop reductions, a change in the U.S. mission and an end to the war. Okay, now I'm getting concerned. First General Petraeus, and now the Secretary of Defense is making statements to suggest that our war policy in Iraq may actually change to reflect the will of the country. Surely, I must be missing something here.

Iran - President Bush and other American officials will one day face trial just like deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for "the catastrophes they caused in Iraq." Speaking to thousands of worshippers during the first Friday prayer of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Bush will be called to account for the U.S.-led invasion. "A day will come that the current U.S. president and officials will be tried in an international supreme court for the catastrophes they caused in Iraq," he said. Yeah, I see this happening...around the same time that monkeys start flying out of my butt.

Taiwan - Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, criticized the U.S. on Friday for refusing to support a referendum the island is planning to hold on whether to seek U.N. membership under its own name. He believes the U.S. opposes the referendum because of China's opposition, intimidation and threat of military action. Chen said the referendum is the best way to show the world that the majority of Taiwanese favor the island gaining a U.N. seat. "I'm convinced that the United States would rather improve relations with North Korea than Taiwan," Chen said. "The U.S. also believes Kosovo will be independent eventually. If you support Kosovo, why can't you support or at least care about Taiwan? Are we that unworthy?" Taiwan is a close U.S. ally, although they have no official ties. U.S. officials worry that Chen's referendum plan will provoke China and upset the delicate balance of power in the region. I hate to say it, but it sounds like some of Chen's accusations may have some merit. Not that it matters. Taiwan can only get into the U.N. if the Security Councial approves it. And guess who has veto power? Yup. China.

Zimbabwe - If you are an animal lover, you may want to skip this item. Pets are being slaughtered for meat in shortage-stricken Zimbabwe and record numbers of animals have been surrendered to shelters or abandoned by owners no longer able to feed them, animal welfare activists say. Animals, like people, are being hard hit by Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, with official inflation of more than 7,600 percent, the highest in the world. Independent estimates put real inflation closer to 25,000 percent and the International Monetary Fund has forecast it will reach 100,000 percent by the end of the year. Vets have run out of the drug used to put down the animals and are relying on intermittent donations from neighboring South Africa. One veterinary practice was waiting for supplies to destroy about 20 animals, and on Friday could neither feed them adequately nor fatally inject them. Pets, mostly dogs, have been butchered and eaten. In its latest bulletin to donors and supporters, the SPCA said it launched an awareness campaign on "the ethical and moral issues regarding the killing and consumption of trusted companion animals." I don't have much to add here other than it's hard to image things can get much worse.

Soccer - Here's the latest from the Women's World Cup in China. Abby Wambach scored twice as the U.S. beat Sweden 2-0 -- her third in two games in China. The victory boosted the United States to four points atop Group B -- the same as North Korea -- with a final group game Tuesday in Shanghai against Nigeria. North Korea defeated Nigeria 2-0 on Friday and faces Sweden on Tuesday in the northern city of Tianjin. A draw will be enough to get the United States to the quarterfinals, although a victory might guarantee first place and a quarterfinal against Japan or England. If the U.S. finishes second it will have a tougher time against defending champion Germany. In Group A in Shanghai, Germany and England played a 0-0 draw. In the other Group A game, Japan defeated Argentina 1-0 on an injury-time goal.

Golf - Tiger Woods ran off five straight birdies, including one he never saw go in from the bottom of a bunker. Then he rammed in a 70-foot eagle putt for a 28 on the front nine of defenseless East Lake, the lowest nine-hole score of his career to cap off a a second round 63 and a 3 shot lead going into the weekend at the Tour Championship in Atlanta. As for the FedEx Cup, it might be time to start wiring that $10 million prize into Woods' retirement account. Steve Stricker is second behind Woods in the playoff standings, but was nine shots behind him going into the weekend at East Lake. Phil Mickelson needed a victory to have any chance of winning the cup -- and that was if Woods finished worse than second alone -- and he was seven shots behind through two rounds. Woods is playing some of the best golf of the year, a staggering 65 under par in 18 rounds since the British Open. He is 29-6 on the PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 36-hole lead, and he hasn't spit up a lead on the weekend in three years. There are plenty of superlatives that you can apply to the rank-and-file, but when you are talking about Tiger Woods, they just seem ordinary. How crazy good is this guy?