I have been on hiatus of late but I had to comment on this.

According to the Washington Post, at least one American commander has been taking hostages in Iraq:

Col. David Hogg, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, said tougher methods are being used to gather the intelligence. On Wednesday night, he said, his troops picked up the wife and daughter of an Iraqi lieutenant general. They left a note: "If you want your family released, turn yourself in." Such tactics are justified, he said, because, "It's an intelligence operation with detainees, and these people have info." They would have been released in due course, he added later.

This philosophy, that the difficult situation justifies extreme tactics, has been showing up increasingly in the conduct of the American occupation of Iraq. I'm unbelievably offended as an American that my government is taking hostages. But even leaving aside the moral issues involved, the fact is that tactics like these are simply unwise.

The Israelis have been using these kinds of intimidation tactics for years, and all it has done is alienate the population and induce them to violence. The CPA may not be familiar with what has been effective in the West Bank and Gaza and what has not, but rest assured that the Iraqis are.