When you can commit gross acts of hypocrisy right out in the open--and get praised for committing them--you know you are in a country whose citizens are brain-dead and whose news media is held on a tight leash by the government. Bush's new best friend, Iyad Allwi, has long been a pal of the CIA, and now he is an example of "democracy" in action.

Allwi, you'll recall, was the head of the Iraqi National Accord, the group founded by British intelligence in 1990 and composed of those who had defected from Saddam Hussein's army. Two years after it was formed, the INA was recruited by the CIA, and for the next few years, the INA staged attacks with Iraq in order to show that it meant business. According to former CIA officers, these attacks included the bombing of both a cinema and a school bus--acts of violence in which children were killed. Just a few months ago, Allwi is said to have executed half a dozen prisoners.

There are other violent acts associated with Allwi. The Bush administration's cuddling up to him and making him Iraq's leader is reminiscent of Reagan's rush to get friendly with Saddam Hussein in the 80's, when the U.S. was fearful of Iran. In 1984--with full knowledge that Saddam Hussein was using mustard gas laced with a nerve agent--Reagan sent none other than Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq to seal diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Now, at every opportunity, Bush says of Saddam Hussein, "He gassed his own people." His administration is correct to rely on the short memories and general ignorance of the American public. Pay attention to whoever is planting bombs and gassing people today: That person will be our ally soon enough.