Not like I've been paying attention to anyone else's blog over the last week, but I'm pretty sure this bit of news is making the rounds.

Has it dawned on anyone yet that having the mightiest military machine in the history of the planet doesn't make you invulnerable? That a little economic jiu-jitsu from will stop you faster than killing a couple of thousand of your guys? And what makes it jiu-jitsu is that you don't have to be strong enough to stop your opponent, just strong enough to redirect them into the nearest wall?

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 1, 2003; Page A01

The Bush administration has decided to repeal most of its 20-month-old tariffs on imported steel to head off a trade war that would have included foreign retaliation against products exported from politically crucial states, administration and industry sources said yesterday.

The officials would not say when President Bush will announce the decision but said it is likely to be this week. The officials said they had to allow for the possibility that he would make some change in the plan, but a source close to the White House said it was "all but set in stone."

European countries had vowed to respond to the tariffs, which were ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization, by imposing sanctions on up to $2.2 billion in exports from the United States, beginning as soon as Dec. 15. Japan issued a similar threat Wednesday. The sources said Bush's aides concluded they could not run the risk that the European Union would carry out its threat to impose sanctions on orange juice and other citrus products from Florida, motorcycles, farm machinery, textiles, shoes, and other products.

Bush advisers said they were aware the reversal could produce a backlash against him in several steel-producing states of the Rust Belt -- including Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. That arc of states has been hit severely by losses in manufacturing jobs and will be among the most closely contested in his reelection race.