RADIO TIDBITS

Last night, I heard a tape-delayed broadcast of the FOX News radio show "Brian and the Judge." Only Judge Napolitano was present and he had a very interesting interview with Courtney Kealy, formerly FOX News' Baghdad correspondent. Despite evident disappointment on the Judge's part, she told him that the situation in Iraq was terrible.

Unfortunately, FOX does not provide transcripts of this show and I could not get the audio clip and make my own transcription. However, I did find that Kealy interviewed Sec. Rice on April 2, 2006 and her questions show how she regarded the situation BEFORE the rise in violence:

QUESTION: Now we're getting to the point where there's a lawlessness, chaos and daily violence among Iraqis. Their lowest death rate among the soldiers in March in the last two years. The death rate among Iraqis in the last six weeks has soared . Death squads, militias, general lawlessness and criminals. Who's to blame for this chaos right now?

QUESTION: The general lawlessness and sectarian violence is clearly coming out of people and cities with commando uniforms. Iraqis on the street are more trusting of the Iraqi soldiers, the army with US backup. And this has really shifted. I've seen soldiers work. I've seen the Iraqi soldiers work. And people are telling me of neighborhoods that won't let these come in were forming their own militias. That's now extreme it's getting. Is there anything besides the formation of a unity government that can stop some of this outrageous violence that's happening right now?