[CPOSharky]

But no one could deny that such a strategy had been laid out.

Except the demonrats.

[AntiGuv]

EVENTS ARE CONVERGING TO ELEVATE the nuclear crisis with Iran into the central crisis of the Bush presidency.

If true, considering all the crises of the Bush presidency, Iran's gonna be a whopper!

[i_am_right_of_center]

I have huge issues with the spread of the Iranian revolution at the moment- and be in no doubt that it is spreading my friends:
In Iraq the near majority Shai vote in the recent elections are a sign of the growing influence of Iran-
The recent Palestinian election where Hamas - an organisation funded by Iran in terms of money, weapons and political ideas- show Irans influence in this area too.
There even seem to be rumblings in Afganistan at the moment- with the lawless Western border area of Pakistan providing breeding grounds for a resurgence of religious Shia fundamentalism (I see the Brits are sending another detachment of solidiers to the country). Wouldn't put it past Iran to be funding this either.

We have to do something to at least halt the Iranian expansion- but not too sure we have many options though.

Sanctions would run the risk of failing, with countries like India, Russia and especially China in desperate of Oil.
As for a military strike- on the 2nd biggest oil exporter in the world- this would push the oil price to levels never seen before causing world recession. This would cause misery to the average American.

Be interesting to see what Bush does next.....I guess that is why he is President and I am not :))

[Hardastarboard]

He had also laid out a coherent U.S. military and political strategy to deal with the protracted world war he believed us to be in. You could disagree with the strategy, and many did. But no one could deny that such a strategy had been laid out.

I have to respectfully disagree with this somewhat. I don't think President Bush has done nearly enough to plainly and simply explain his strategy to the country. I understand what he's doing, and agree 100% with the strategy. I just don't think the average American has heard it enough from him. That allows the Dems to keep up their insistent anti-war wail enough to fool some of those who aren't paying sufficient attention.

If you had to pick one flaw in the superbly organized U.S. invasion of Iraq, as Jed Babbin recently pointed out, it would be the lack of an element of surprise.

In today's world, I don't think you can have much of an element of surprise, honestly. We could have avoided putting every little strategic initiative on the front pages of our papers, but the inevitability of the invasion was obvious to anyone paying attention.

[AmericanDave]

The good news, there has been a counter-revolution building in Iran. The bus strike yesterday hopefully, is one of the opening acts. A LOT of Iranians, do NOT want the Mullahs in charge!

[hershey]

If we don't stop Iran with force, it's Vietnam all over again. The US would be seen as a paper tiger, and every tinpot terrorist would line up to take a potshot at the us. Bush doesn't have a choice -- any finagled 'agreement' with Iran at this point will be seen as a sham. This could all telescope drastically -- if we piddle around much longer and if Israel fails to act, they're gone. We'd have to take off the gloves....but too late for millions of Jews. Not an option Bush or the US could live with.

[willyd]

The Iraq war was an invasion...Iran will be an air strike which doesn't require a very public build and support system.

[G.Mason]

" ... what is starting to become clear is that Ahmadinejad's seemingly reckless challenge will extract, and is meant to extract, a cost in U.S. standing among our friends and allies, in Iraq and across the globe. A war president who can be portrayed as having given up on the core of his own war strategy will be seen as a leader considerably less capable of deterring our terrorist enemies ... "

That is an undeniable fact.

I fully expect the Iranian yorkies to keep yipping and the enemy Democrat Party & Co. to keep giving aid and succor to any and all that hate the US and what She stands for.

We will either fall, like Germany, France and Russia, or we will stand tall and do what must be done.

[IronManBike]

EVENTS ARE CONVERGING TO ELEVATE the nuclear crisis with Iran into the central crisis of the Bush presidency

Uhm...no...events are converging to ELEVATE the people of God UP...UP...and AWAYAY!

As we're floating, this Believer is going to shake his finger at chu and declare, "See, 4CJ, I told you I knew what the he--ah, Heaven, I was talking about, son!!"

[manwiththehands]

Sadly the Bush administration and Republican's tendency to "play nice" all the time will hurt us in dealing with Iran.

The perception is that the Iraq war is troublesome but our cause over there has not been defended vigorously enough.

I doubt we could present even a remote possibility of another conflict with another Muslim terrorist country in the middle east without the 'Rats, MSM and the public in general going nuts.

[Thermalseeker]

When he (Johnson) left office in January 1969 the United States was in a far weaker geopolitical position, in Vietnam and globally, than it had been when Johnson took office.

Yeah, but his buddies that ran the various defense contracting companies were pretty happy......

[junta]

Conventional wisdom has it that once the mullahs are gone Iran won't seek nukes, I think that is wrong. A non-mullah government might go along with the NPT initially, but in the long run national pride means Iranian nukes.

[Savage Beast]

Circumstances have forced Bush to restate Franklin Roosevelt's famous dictum: "Carry a big stick, and make sure everybody knows it."