Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Hand the man a dictionary: If "all options are on the table", then the idea of invading Iran can't possibly be "ridiculous".

President Bush has never been a good straddler, and his discomfort is obvious as he tries to allay fears of another war while trying to talk tough at the same time. We can't abandon Iraq at this point, but we can't ignore its neighbor Iran either. So that means we're stuck without a firm course of action.

That may change in an instant if we confirm that Iran's nuclear program is a threat. In the mean time, Bush has pledged diplomacy. I'm sure Iran isn't comfortable with a large U.S. military parked next door. But I'm also sure officials in Tehran read the newspapers and are willing to wager that the unpopularity and troubles of the Iraq war will force the Bush administration to think twice before launching another attack.