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Target: Tehran

By Michael WeissPosted Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007, at 5:44 PM ET

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Gordon at the British democratic socialist blog Harry's Place, which supported regime change, explains: "Today's statement comes after Blair told the BBC's Sunday AM that the operation to allow Iraqis to take the lead in frontline security in Basra—Operation Sinbad—had been 'completed' and 'successful' … No one can accuse Blair or anyone else of cutting and running as there is the hope that withdrawal might have a positive impact on Southern Iraq because of the view that the continued presence of British troops may have contributed to the violence in Basra."

Read more about British troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Too hot, too soon: A task force set up by the American Psychological Association has concluded that sexualized images of young women in the media damage young women. Hillbilly Liberal reads a profounder feminist plaint into the study's findings: "The real, deeper issue, however, is how western society views women—whether she is a 'virgin', a 'madonna', or a 'whore', a woman's purpose—at least according to the traditional view—is always to serve men. The sexism that is rampant in our society destroys girls before they ever have a chance to live."

Henry at medical blog Æsculapius, Henry, and Panacea doesn't jive with the task force's nonclinical lingo: "What the hell does 'harms' mean? Does it indicate the psychological damage that sexualized images in the media do to the female half of the population? Does it take into account the positive images of women in advertising and on television? Is 'harms' a medical term, or does it have a broader meaning? ... It is exactly this kind of unclear medical reporting that frustrates me to no end. To make generalizations like this, particularly in regards to such an important topic, misleads the public and compromises scientific research. One could argue it 'harms' them."