Oh damn, still in this dream.

Oh Dear....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/11/usa.israelandthepalestinians?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

I quote from the article:

The top US military commander in the Middle East is stepping down days after a magazine profile reported he was trying to block US military action against Iran.

Admiral William Fallon, the head of US Central Command, was described in an Esquire article published last week as a lone voice within the administration arguing for restraint.

The article's author, Thomas Barnett, had predicted that if Admiral Fallon was pushed out of his job "it may well mean that the president and vice-president intend to take military action against Iran before the end of this year and don't want a commander standing in their way".

Now I think GWB will have to get a UN resolution on this if he wants anyone else to go with him: and that may be difficult.
And we all know the costs will have to be borne by the next administration.
Perhaps the next President will rescind some of the legislation that GWB passed. Specifically the 'get out of jail free' cards.

William Fallon: an honourable man in an honourable service led by....
Naval bods tend to be honourable: look at Canaris.

As a correction to last night's post: Fripp nicked/was influenced by/borrowed the final 5^th movement from Bartok's 4^th string quartet - the pizzicato section is the 4^th movement. (Beethoven late quartets exhibit the same violence and intellectual astringency.)
Mind you, my tastes run pretty catholic.

Thinking about the huge demographic shifts happening in Iran. My chum K Milligan reckons that withdrawing from Iraq will be as good as handing it to Iran. However, I'm begining to think otherwise. I think Iran is in the process of transformation. (It may be my lefty past, but there are times when I still think structuralism has more to say about situations than a simple reductive approach.) Iran is very interesting at the moment. A huge proportion of its population are under 30, and they have an agenda somewhat different to the Iranian establishment. Just as the 'Baby Boomers' in the West changed society by their numbers so, I think, on a smaller scale, will Iran be changed. Again, probably is one of those 'Lap of the Gods' situations (but so many things are).
I don't know if we actually have to do anything about Iran at all - I think it might just happen all of its own accord if we do other things right.
Will think more on't. I doubt, however, that as a position it would be a vote winner.

List of Quacks and Angels to thank. They've all been brilliant. And I'll tell 'em so in no uncertain terms.