Maintaining their perfect record

Was it really just a day or so ago that I was ridiculing Victor Davis Hanson for his triumphalist recitation of the good that has flowed from Dubya's war? One of the things Vic pointed to was our disruption of A.Q. Khan's nuclear bazaar. If true, that success would stain Bush's otherwise unblemished record of failure.

But Vic can rest easy. Turns out we're screwing that one up, too.

A Swiss investigation into an international nuclear smuggling network is being hampered by a lack of cooperation from the United States.

Authorities in Bern say they asked US officials for judicial assistance a year ago but have yet to receive a reply.

Washington's failure to respond to "multiple" Swiss appeals was revealed last week by former United Nations weapons inspector David Albright.

He told a US hearing into the nuclear trafficking ring run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atom bomb, that he found the lack of cooperation by the US "frankly embarrassing".

"It is difficult to understand the actions of the US government. Its lack of assistance needlessly complicates this important investigation," said Albright, who is president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.

Their ability to screw up with mathematical certainty is a thing of wonder.