William Saletan has a conservative side?

His analysis of Iraq is as facile as it is shallow. Bush may be selling it as a humanitarian measure, which it is, but that's not why he's doing it. It's a strategic move in the war against terror, and the other authoritarian regimes in the Arab world must surely be hoping it fails and financing the dead-enders and terrorists operating in Iraq. Saletan's discussion of it as folly understates the real stakes.

He says, "'Coalition' is Bush's euphemism for the United States." Not only is that an insult to Great Britain and Australia, but it would also be true if the U.N. had authorized this war. Does anyone really think that the U.S. wouldn't still be carrying the main load if France, Germany, Belgium and Russia were on board? How much did they contribute to The Gulf War?