Foreign policy made E-Z

I think what we're all watching in regard to Iraq is a live-action version of Elmer Fudd hunting Bugs Bunny. Bush, of course is the dim-witted, light bulb-headed hunter and Saddam Hussein is the most crafty of all hares.

Seriously though, now that the U.N. getting ready to put weapons inspectors back into Iraq, will Team Bush back down? If the inspectors find no weapons of mass destruction (and say they didn't get jerked around by the Iraqi government; they got full and free access and everything), will Team Bush be satisfied? Will Team Bush get pissed off and march into Baghdad anyway? What would the U.N. do? Will Team Bush ask for more demands, eventually forcing Iraq into a set of demands it can't meet, thereby giving the U.S. the excuse it needs to attack?

Whatever happens next, you can thank Saddam Hussein that Bush's little war won't happen before the 2002 elections. By January 2003, Bush may be looking at a Democratic Congress that, one hopes, will curb the White House's power, crippling Bush until he can be voted out of office in 2004.

I don't think Saddam Hussein will be a jerk and yank the rug out from under the U.N., the global body that's helping him buy time. Frankly, it'll be awfully embarrassing for Team Bush if the U.N. inspectors come out and say Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction, thereby short-circuiting a war to boost Bush's (and CNN's) rating. And I'm sure Hussein would love to see the son of the man who tried to oust him a decade ago get a lot of grief in the press when the U.N. finds no weapons in Iraq.

Yet, the U.S. and Great Britain will pound holes into Iraq anyway, weakening the country for the hell of it. Call it a consolation prize for the barbarians at the gate.


...just watch what you say

According to the Daily Howler, a site that loves to crucify the media for apparent abuses of bias or shoddy reporting, that story about the three guys who made a terrorist prank last week has taken an odd turn. I'm not sure how much I trust the folks at Daily Howler (think of them as "The Onion" after a steroid rage), but this could be an interesting case of they said/she said.

Are we going to believe three students of Middle-Eastern descent or a waitress? Who's telling the whole story here? Who has biases and who heard what? If the story of the bombing joke turns out to be false, and the waitress made things up in her head, then the government's whole "be vigilant and report anything suspicious" is going to be worthless. As I wrote a couple months ago, what's going to stop people from calling in tips based on prejudice? The whole information gathering process for law enforcement and anti-terrorist activities are shot to hell.

Here's a different analysis (read: more objective and less fire-breathing) of how the media mis-covered the whole "terrorist prank" story.

What the neighbors are thinking

By the way, on the right side of the BBC News home page there's a neat primer on what countries are for or against war with Iraq. Look for the "Who wants war?" graphic on the right-side rail.

A geeky sci-fi afterthought

Anyone remember that classic "Star Trek" episode where Kirk and some lizard leader are transported to some desolate planet to duke it out? The winner has his ship survive. The loser dies, along with his crew. Anyway, Kirk and the lizard have no help except for what they craft out of their surroundings. The lizard uses boulders and Kirk (in a pre-MacGyver state of mind) pieces together a crude firearm out of a hollow tube and some handy gunpowder components that are handily lying around.

If Bush wants Saddam Hussein so damn bad, let's send Saddam Hussein and Bush to some godforsaken hole, like the Australian Outback, and have them fight. If Hussein wins, the U.N. will drop its sanctions and leave him alone. If Bush wins, Iraq becomes the 51st state.

Simple. No costly war. No innocents dying. No yellow ribbons. No mawkish country tune to play over footage of soldiers departing for war.

French Word of the Day

Faits divers (feht dee vehr): "news in brief"; short news items.

Yeah, right

P.S. I’m sick of writing about Iraq, Bush and all the blatant moves by my government to throw peace out the window. I need to get back to writing fiction and posting it here. Yet again, like any recovering addict, I’m going to stop taking my drug. I’m going to stop writing about Bush. I’m going to go clean and sober.

But that’s really easy to say when the needle is still in your arm.