We reported on November 5th that Google and Yahoo ended their ad agreement. We only knew what the Google Blog (and other news outlets) told us: the government didn’t seem too happy about the agreement and advertisers were concerned.

In the past 24 hours, though, it’s come to light that there was a lot more than just a “governmental concern.” The truth of the matter is that the United States Department of Justice was “three hours away” from filing an antitrust lawsuit against Google, according to CNET.

Now what? Well, Google’s decision to pull away was “shrewd.” And they think it’s smart that Google pulled out, whereas Microsoft’s past history shows that they wouldn’t back down.

At the same time, though, some wonder why there was a concern about monopolies anyhow. After all, Google and Yahoo are considered competitors.

At the same time, there’s a problem with the government’s approach, according to one individual.

(In comparison, Google is doing a lot better.)

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld and Sphinn.