The "human shields" in Baghdad have apparently packed it in, after being told by Iraqi officials to actually act as human shields.

Abdul Hashimi, the head of the Friendship, Peace and Solidarity organization that is officially host to the protesters, told the shields to choose between nine so-called "strategic sites" by today or leave the country.

The Iraqi warning follows frustration among Saddam's officials that about 65 of the volunteers had so far agreed to take up positions at the oil refineries, power plants and water-purification sites selected by their hosts.

It heightened fears among some peace activists that they could be stationed at non-civilian sites. Mr. Meynell and fellow protesters who moved into the power station in south Baghdad last weekend were dismayed to find that it stood next to an army base and the strategically crucial road south to Basra.

Many shields had earlier asked to be stationed at sites such as schools, hospitals or orphanages, but Iraqi officials said there was little point in guarding low-risk targets in any aerial assault.

These folks take the phrase "useful idiots" to a whole new, transcendant plateau.

[Update at 2:20 PM PST]

Everyone else has probably already linked to this, but Charlotte Edwards has the inside story.

And so ends the modern Childrens' Crusade--not with a bang, but a whimper.

This proves yet again that Saddam is not interested in protecting his people from hardship, he's just interested in protecting himself and the infrastructure that supports him.

And so much for the intestinal fortitude of the human shields. Why didn't they demand to stay in the schools, hospitals and orphanages? Could it be because the host of the Iraqi Human Shield Fun and Games Event is not such a nice, reasonable guy?

Mr. Meynell, a former high sheriff of Derbyshire, said he was leaving out of "cold fear."

Well Mister High Sheriff, you could leave. Cold fear is what the people of Iraq live with every day. The season of cold fear will continue until Saddam is gone from power, dead or alive.

Yep, at the top of the bombing lists are every school, hospital, orphanage and baby milk factory in Iraq. Once those horrors are taken out, then we can start to worry about missile launchers, command-and-control centers, biochem weapons caches and the big SH himself.

I still think one of the reasons the start of hostilities in Iraq is taking so long is to allow the various opponents (U.N., peacecreeps, the Arab League, France, and now Turkey) time to make total asses of themselves. If nothing else, they've come out of hiding and exposed themselves for what they are.

Raoul, I had the same thought. Dunno as I'd say it's the point of the delay...but it's certainly a happy (and illuminating) side-effect.

Raoul, I had the same thought. Dunno as I'd say it's the point of the delay...but it's certainly a happy (and illuminating) side-effect.

They're not even useful.

Raoul, that's gross. I mean, who milks babies?

I love the line in Edwards' column about how the "tough guy" Ken O'Keefe took his mom with him.

I'm reminded of the line from the Beatle's "Bungalow Bill" -- "...in case of accident he always took his mum..""

HA!! What a collection of buffoons!!

"Transcendant" is not the word that leaps to mind....

I'd have said it ended:

"Not with a bang, but a snicker."