Maybe I'm just irritable and tired from being sick with cellulitis, but I feel the way I do before a snow storm. The clouds are lowering and theres a chill in the air. The Press are so busy trying to torpedo war with Iraq. No, not the uninlateral one that Howard Dean is yapping about. That war doesn't exist, and if it did, Dean woudl still be wrong. The U.N. has been warned, along with the holdouts in Russia, German and France. The train is pulling out. It's not going to stop to take on passengers. They'll want to participate in the peacekeeping afterward, but I think that when the details and proof of their willingness to trade Iraqi misery for oil, they probably won't be welcomed by them. This is not unilateral or a rush to war. The terrible swift sword is about to be drawn.

The "peace" arguments remind me of the Democrats' attempts to defend Clinton during the House impeachment hearings. This is just about sex/oil. You are not being bipartisan/multilateral. He's just a man/Arab. We are intruding on his private life/We are being imperialist. Then there are the hypocritical, dishonest ones: Saddam isn't a threat. Bush hasn't made the case. We need more proof. Bush is a moron. We should rely on deterrence (from people who have wanted us to disarm unilaterally all their lives).

If Bush appears inept, it's because he isn't unilateral. He's constantly making his case, but you can't prove anything to a person who refuses to listen. He's used diplomacy long beyond the point where I would have washed my hands of it. He is not ignorant of the potentials of biological and chemical weapons. He is trying to make sure that he hasn't missed any consideration. This is NOT how the Democrats have conducted wars, at least in my lifetime.

The lessons of Viet Nam should have been 1. Don't go to war without the people soldily behind you. 2. Have a clear goal. 3. Don't accept limits such as the DMZ or the Cambodian border. The enemy won't. 4. Clean out the source of the problem. This isn't always possible, as in the Korean and Cold Wars, but whenever possible, go for unconditional surrender by the enemy. 5. Use overwhelming force, shock and awe.

Update: There's report today that the U.S. is pursuing exile for Saddam. I see the logic, but my gut rejects that idea. He should be handed over to the successor regime, along with all of his co-conspirators. It may be more expedient, even compelling, to settle for exile, but it sticks in my Jacksonian craw. I guess I need to to reread the Sermon on the Mount.