Colin Powell, uh, clears up the confusion on the Bushies' aim in Iraq.

WASHINGTON –– Secretary of State Colin Powell is assuring the Arab world the Bush administration's demand for regime change in Iraq aims at disarmament, not ousting President Saddam Hussein.

"If he cooperates, then the basis of changed-regime policy has shifted because his regime has, in fact, changed its policy to one of cooperation," Powell said in an interview with a London-based Arab newspaper released Monday by the State Department.

Powell said the policy of regime change in Baghdad was inherited from the Clinton administration by the Bush administration.

I love that Bush's "this will signal that the regime has changed" speech from a couple months ago has forced his administration into this corner where they have to be very "playful" with their words when talking about Iraq policy. Last I checked, "regime change" and "disarmament" are two very different things.

We all know what's going on though. The Bushies are trying to confuse terms here, to verbally hedge their bet, and take credit no matter what happens. The Republicans had some fun playing with the word "privatization" during the midterm campaign. Now they're merging "disarmament" and "regime change", and this could lead the way to making it easier for them to justify military action.

If a Democratic administration did this, would conservatives call it "Clintonian"?

I have a better word: Orwelian

War is peace.
Cut down trees to save the forest.
Disarmament is regime change.

Of course, given recent events within the Republican Party, could an Iraq invasion on the premise of "Wagging the Lott" occur?