January 12, 2003

"TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE"- GEORGE W. BUSH

"I have to speak to you about St. George and the Dragon. I have been
wondering what would happen if that legend were repeated under modern
conditions.
     St. George would arrive in Cappadocia, accompanied not by a horse, but by a
secretariat. He would be armed not with a lance, but with several flexible
formulas. He would, of course, be welcomed by the local branch of the League
of Nations Union. He would propose a conference with the dragon - a Round
Table Conference, no doubt - that would be more convenient for the dragon's
tail. He would make a trade agreement with the dragon. He would lend the
dragon a lot of money for the Cappadocian taxpayers. The maiden's release
would be referred to Geneva, the dragon reserving all his rights meanwhile.
Finally St. George would be photographed with the dragon (inset - the
maiden)."
----Winston Churchill addressing the Royal Society of St.
George on April 24th 1933.

"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggy' until you can find a rock."
-Will Rogers

     As Inspector Clouseau—Hans Blix-- and his merry band of see-no-evil, UN inspectors scurry about eager to avert military action vs. Saddam by finding nothing, the question arises: How long does it take to find a rock, or how long does it take for our smart weapons to find Iraq? There is now a clear danger that the search for Saddam’s WMD’s will become an end in itself. Whereas once there was talk by the President that time was not on our side, now we hear we must take our time. Why? Surely the degraded Iraqi army doesn’t require the slow motion buildup of forces we are witnessing. Even the Brits are saying we should wait until the fall, but if the fall, why not beyond that? Each day’s delay in prosecuting the final phase of the ongoing war with Iraq creates doubt of our seriousness of purpose. That doubt invites our adversaries to believe they can prevail by exploiting our reluctance to act. Already there are consequences to our delay: North Korea is behaving as if the United States is not a serious power capable of inflicting serious pain on those who challenge it. After years of appeasement the architects of that failed policy urge us to continue down the same road. There is another, more effective road, but that one runs through Baghdad. Until our adversaries realize we are capable and willing to inflict great harm they will continue to press us. Mr. President, hurry up please.

Posted at 08:49 PM by