The Duck of Minerva

...it brings out the wackos. Via Yglesias:Andy McCarthy correctly observes that if we start a war with Iran, Iran will fight back. Then he mentions offhandedly that "The retaliation we most have to worry about is a nuclear attack against our homeland." A nuclear attack with what? The nuclear bombs they don't have? Even more remarkably, McCarthy favors taking action against Iran. I certainly don't, but I certainly wouldn't if I thought Iran could retaliate against our airstrikes with a nuclear bomb. That's crazy. Color me deterred. Is the idea here that the media should just be flooded with...

Washington Post:Escalating the threats between Washington and Tehran, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Wednesday that his country would strike U.S. targets around the world in the event it is attacked over its refusals to curb its nuclear program."If the U.S. ventured into any aggression on Iran, Iran will retaliate by damaging U.S. interests worldwide twice as much as the U.S. may inflict on Iran," Khamenei said in a speech to a workers' assembly, according to the official news agency IRNA.In a spate of statements this week, Iranian officials have also threatened to cut...

Rob mentions the provocative article in the recent issue of Foreign Affairs by Keir Lieber and Daryl Press on the possible achievement of nuclear primacy by the United States. In the article (as well as a more detailed analysis forthcoming in International Security), the authors claim that[t]oday, for the first time in almost 50 years, the United States stands on the verge of attaining nuclear primacy. It will probably soon be possible for the United States to destroy the long-range nuclear arsenals of Russia or China with a first strike. This dramatic shift in the nuclear balance of power...

Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.) decides to take a 'principled stand' and is holding up $10 million dollars necessary to buy the land where a monument to the passengers and crew members of United Flight 93 is to be built.Why is Taylor, chairman of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee, holding up the funds?For Taylor, a large landowner in the mountains of western North Carolina, the issue comes down to principle: The federal government is already the largest landowner in the country, and he believes that no additional tax dollars should go to more land buying for this or any other...

G. John Ikenberry has a post up at TPMCafe on what he terms the "security trap". The piece argues that a number of major changes (American Unipolarity, a 'revolution' in the concept of state sovereignty, lack of common threat as in the Cold War, and the rise of a more democratic international community) have produced conditions such that......as the Bush administration tries to solve the nation'’s security problems by exercising its power or using force, it tends to produce resistance and backlash that leaves the country more isolated, bereft of authority, and, ultimately, insecure.Those who...

The BBC (via FP Passport, my new favorite 'msm' blog) is reporting that Iran and Russia may have yet again reached a deal to shift the enrichment of Iranian uranium to Russia.Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ali Asghar Soltanieh, told Iranian radio he had struck a basic agreement...Mr Soltanieh said the joint enrichment company would operate on Russian soilThis is almost exactly the same thing Iran said in February. It is an attempt to revive an old Russian compromise plan which proposed moving all Tehran's sensitive nuclear work to Russia.If true this may...

Yesterday, Kevin Drum had an interesting piece on the failure of the Bush administration to take Iran up on an offer to talk about its weapons program and support for anti-Israeli terrorists shortly after the President declared the end of 'major hostilities' in Iraq. The story goes that Tehran exchanged messages with the US through the Swiss in which they offered...to resolve bilateral differences. The document acknowledged that Iran would have to address concerns about its weapons programs and support for anti-Israeli terrorist organizations. It was presented as having support from all...

After having previously vowed to speak candidly with Chinese President Hu Jintao about affording more political and social freedom to Chinese citizens, President Bush managed to miss a golden opportunity and let diplomatic nicety get in the way.Most should by now be aware of the vocal protester who shouted at Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Bush during the welcoming ceremony at the White House today. The women apparently acquired a press pass and from her location on top of a camera stand began shouting "President Bush, stop him from killing...President Bush, stop him from...

Chinese President Hu Jintao is in town to meet with our own commander-in-chief and while I am sure most people are focusing on the more visible issues of trade, currency valuation, and nuclear proliferation I like to look at the apparently insignificant, yet likely-to-cause-diplomatic-hay types of moments.FP Passport reports that while introducing the Chinese national anthem during the arrival ceremony on the South Lawn this morning, the announcer referred to it as the national anthem of the "Republic of China". One problem--the Republic of China (ROC) is the official name of Taiwan, not...

If Barry Bonds had never taken steroids, never broken the single-season HR record, and never moved himself into baseball's holy trinity of HR hitters (i.e. Aaron, Ruth, and Mays), he still would have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. In addition to his 8 gold gloves and 3 MVPs (pre-juice) he would have finished among the all time leaders in a number of prominent offensive categories. But what has been lost due to the hysteria over Bonds the last few seasons and a serious of injury-plagued seasons is the brilliance that is Ken Griffey, Jr.Still only 35, Junior has already climbed into the...