Iran situation continuing to move towards military action

Niall Ferguson says that Iran needs to be dealt with now, or else we risk a more dangerous conflict in the future, here, while this look at what motivates the President of Iran echoes the Clash of Civilizations theory.

It looks like we're headed for more fireworks, folks.

With a vacuum of leadership in Israel, it's clear that the US is going to have to do most of the heavy lifting itself if a pre-emptive strike is chosen as the correct course of action. And one can tell that the influential Bill Kristol has signalled his own PR campaign to prepare the Republican establishment for the next foreign policy debate.

No doubt it's going to be a nasty one, with Congressional elections in November of this year. That vote will be a watershed for the Dems, and conversely, an opportunity for the GOP to cement '04.

It's also informative to read two other pieces published today.

Here, Andrew Sullivan looks at how Rumsfeld mismanaged the post-Saddam occupation of Iraq, while this lengthy study of Dick Cheney's role in the Administration shows that he is one figure observers can assume that the President completely trusts on matters like Iran. Watch Cheney closely over the next few weeks. While Condi plays good cop, he will play bad, while Rumsfeld fades and the President deals with it from 10,000 feet. What he says will be the best indicator of what course of action the US will choose.