[marron]

Grownups have seen for a long time that we were going to wind up at war with Saddam and the Afghan-based gangs sooner or later. You let your diplomats do their work, you never know what they may turn up, but below the surface you prepare for war. Thats the way it is supposed to work.

If the guys in suits manage to pull the rabbit out of the hat, good for all of us. If not, if we are serious people, we should have the pieces in place to move it to the next level.

I can safely state that the US military has been preparing for war in the mideast and Central Asia for several years. Anyone could see the storms brewing, and we pay smart people to be ready when it hits.

[Shermy]

Grownups have seen for a long time

Certainly Clarke knows, but has an arrested development. And he didn't think up that "important, not urgent" and "focus" semantics all by himself. He was fed them. Kerry ops parsing past statements, defining a "dissent" to fit against Bush, and mindful of Kerry's statements.

Thing about the internet, people can fact check on their own and not rely on the media.

Can o' worms I tell ya.

[WestTexasWend]

Does anybody else recall hearing in the weeks after 9/11 that AQ had attacked after word leaked that the Bush Administration was launching a major crackdown against them before year's end? Was I dreaming? (And it was reported then with a "it's Bush's fault" attitude...)