[angkor]

In our (unarticulated) war against Islamism, we are going to destabilize the entire Middle East. That is the plan, even though the White House won't dare say it. I consider this a good thing.

The dithering in the Security Council has nothing to do with Saddam or Iraq per se, but rather about the consequences of removing him, and how to contain and manage the regional chaos that will certainly ensue.

Problem is, we want the destabilization, because that's the only practical way to defuse the slide toward Islamism in the Middle East. And in particular that's the only way to upset the logistics (recruiting, communications, money) of the Islamists, which are partly dependent upon tacit state sponsorship by Iran, Iraq, Saudi, and Pakistan.

This is only tangentially about Saddam.

[LS]

Probably right. This all goes back to the "whoever is not with us is against us" speech from Bush. I have no problem with that, but HOW we present it is important to placate our "Muslim allies" where we need bases. And anyone who thinks we don't need them and their bases is crazy.