It's not just Scott Bell--Andrew Sullivan is worried as well.

He told the German press yesterday that there is no plan to invade on his desk. He said it almost proudly. His military leaders, in a sign of their determination to risk nothing and achieve nothing, are now leaking to the Washington Post that they have all but scotched a serious military option in Iraq.

Well, Andrew, I've already pointed out the Clintonian formulation of Bush's statement. You and I might like him to be more direct, but he didn't say no plans exist. And consider the possibility that such leaks as are being described are ummmm...disinformation. After all, is it really to our advantage to telegraph our intentions to Saddam? Only if we still hope (futilely, in my opinion) to deter him.

I'm willing to wait for a while longer. And of course, the alternative (that Andrew is justified in his pessimism, and we really aren't going into Iraq) is too depressing to contemplate...

is there one among us who do not think that if Bush put off "Iraq"...and we were attacked by them, that the lieberals would be raising bloody hell?

This is why they're trying to hemm him in from both sides...neutering him from taking any steps, then "what did you know and when did you know it" when something does happen...

The only difference is that these days, they're playing with the lives of us 'commoners'.

Some months ago there was mention that time was needed to manufacture replacement munitions for what was expended in Afganistan. Based on this, the time line for any action in Iraq (or elsewhere) was sometime this fall.

I'm not any kind of expert, but it seems to me that if you really want to scope military intentions, watch logistics movements. Not only troops (who have minds of their own and can be moved relatively quickly) but also any expendables (munitions, food, vehicles, etc.). Look at the buildup required for Desert Storm as an example. Another would be the supply to Diego Garcia for the Afganistan operations.

At this point in time, they may say anything because they probably aren't ready. When they are ready, they'll probably shut up.

Much as we would like to just pounce on Saddam after veiling ourselves in secrecy and misdirection, the plain fact of the matter is that the big decisions our government makes realistically require the support and participation of the governed. That support is there for the taking and can certainly be developed further but the case has to be made, both here and abroad, and unfortunately there's too damn much of a kabuki dance from this administration. Do we really think were fooling Saddam anyways?

If Bush, Powell et al make the case, the snowball will start to roll. Unfortunately the same can be said of pretending to have no plans. Bush has to let others in on the secret or he'll risk demoralizing those like me and be stuck in a great big shithole.

My advice is be blunt, make the case for inevitable invasion, ignore the screams from Europe and Arabia, and proceed expeditiously. It will be nice to have the Russians, Brits, Kuwaitis and Jordanians aboard but in the end the only one's who matter are ourselves and probably the Turks. On to Baghdad!!