Yes we all know that Mel Gibson got a DUI and shot his drunken mouth off, apparently using some fairly clear racial anti semitic epitaths.  In the drama that followed, he made a minor apology, then stunned everyone by actually making a clear apology that made no attempt to diminish his actions.

In Hollywood and in Washington DC, that is anathama.  Here is the basic details of the apology:

Mel Gibson asks the Jewish community for help

Mel Gibson has finally confirmed that the "despicable" comments he made, while he was being arrested for alleged drunk driving, were in fact anti-Semitic. And now he’s asking for help. Here’s his latest statement, issued today, via the Associated Press:

There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.

I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words.

The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life. Every human being is God’s child, and if I wish to honor my God I have to honor his children. But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.

I’m not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one on one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.

The translation and review of the documents seized in Iraq continues with the allegation that Russia tipped Iraq off about the invasion in 2003

All through the Iraq/US debate and conflict Russia has been a force to be reckoned with.  They opposed the use of force, and at various times fought to lift sanctions.  They were also one of the bigger gainers in the oil for food scandal, and historically they accounted for about 57% of Iraq’s conventional weaponry.

Now it seems that Russia had an active role in Iraq on the eve of the war. 

Pentagon report says Russia gave Iraq intelligence

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia provided intelligence to Iraq’s government on U.S. military movements in the opening days of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, a Pentagon report released on Friday said.

The report said an April 2, 2003, document from the Iraqi minister of foreign affairs to President Saddam Hussein stated that Russian intelligence had reported information on American troops plans to the Iraqis through the Russian ambassador.

The intelligence, the document stated, was that the American forces were moving to cut off Baghdad from the south, east and north, that U.S. bombing would concentrate on Baghdad and that the assault on Baghdad would not begin before around April 15. In fact, Baghdad fell about a week before that date.

"Significantly, the regime was also receiving intelligence from the Russians that fed suspicions that the attack out of Kuwait was merely a diversion," the report stated.

The revelations were contained in a report by the U.S. military’s Joint Forces Command assessing the Iraqi view of events in the opening months of the war, from March to May 2003, based on interviews with senior Iraqi officials and captured documents.

Well gee thanks.  That was swell of you guys.

Then there is this:

Russia Spies Operated in Iraq Through 2003

Russia had a military intelligence unit operating in Iraq up through the 2003 U.S. invasion and fall of Baghdad, a Russian analyst said Friday. A Pentagon report said Russia provided Saddam Hussein with intelligence on U.S. military movements and plans.