Progress in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. Marine jets Tuesday destroyed two bridges across the Euphrates River near the Syrian border to prevent insurgents from using them to move foreign fighters and munitions into major cities, the U.S. command said.

The attacks occurred a day after U.N. chief Kofi Annan said Iraq had become an even greater terrorist center than the former Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Attacks attributed to al-Qaida's wing in Iraq have increased in the Baghdad area and western Iraq.

A Marine statement said F/A-18 jets dropped bombs shortly after midnight on two light bridges near Karabilah, about 185 miles west of Baghdad.

``The purpose of the strike was to prevent al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists from using the structures,'' the U.S. statement said. ``The munitions used in the strike were designed to crater the bridges, rendering them inoperable but not destroying them.''

Think about this one -- we have been occupying Iraq for more than 2 years. We claim it is on the road to democracy. We claim that the lives of ordinary Iraqis are better now than under Saddam. And the Administration claims that reports of civil unrest are greatly exaggerated.

Now try to square all that with the need to bomb bridges.