All the months of diplomatic posturing and military positioning has finally come to and end. Once again the US is at war.

Ever since the President’s address on Monday night and his 48 hour ultimatum, one news channel or another has served as the background sound to my day, and all of them were repeating the same mantra: war is coming, but we’re gonna let the Iraqi’s stare at the sky and make them worry about when things would start.

But wouldn’t you know it? Someone in the CIA managed to get info on Saddam’s location, and so things were sped up in an attempt to end the war before it ever really began with one shot. As of this moment it looks like the magic bullet missed it’s mark. Oh well.

At least the waiting is over. We’ve made our bed. Time to lie in it….

You would think that George Bush Sr. disagreeing with sonny-boy’s foreign policy would get a little more airplay here in the states, but I had to learn this through UK news channels. And by the tone of this piece, it sound like it’s not just a disagreement over how many tanks to send in:

Although not addressed to his son in person, the message, in a speech at Tufts University in Massachusetts, was unmistakeable. Mr Bush Sr even came close to conceding that opponents of his son?s case against President Saddam Hussein, who he himself is on record as loathing, have legitimate cause for concern.

I guess this really isn’t a continuation of daddy’s war after all. Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. I just hope we all don’t have to live with the regret.

(Link via Plastic)

Russian President Vladimir Putin vetoed a media restriction bill that would have allowed the government to cap up the newscasts during a crisis situation. To say this action is a total 180 from his usual stance is the understatement of the year. As one commentator put it so wonderfully:

I’m impressed. Really, truly impressed. My faith in humanity has been destroyed by his failure to do exactly the wrong thing.

Crap. Now I have hope.

The US had been providing 500,000 metric tons a year of heavy oil to North Korea since 1994, but that deal is more than likely going to go bust as a result of North Korea’s admission of trying to create a Nuclear Weapon. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice on ABC’s “This Week”:

ìThe North Koreans should understand that it’s not going to be business as usual while they are in violation of their international agreements.”

While North Korea was in the wrong, I have this strange feeling that by admitting their plans before another country had the chance to point the finger, they’re actually trying to reform their ways. Maybe I’m dreaming; it’s just a thought….

After two months of fine tuning the wording the UN Security council unanimously passed a resoultion against Iraq, including Syria, the only Arab nation on the council. The timeline goes like this:

• 7 Days: Iraq will say if it will “comply fully” with the resolution (or if Sadam is going to laugh in the face of the UN).
• 30 days: Iraq must reveal all programs, plants, materials, etc. that can be used in weapons production.
• 45 days: Inspectors must be allowed back in to resume their checks.
• Inspectors have 60 days to report back to the Security Council but may report violations earlier.

No places in the country are off limits this time around, and “serious consequences” are promised to Baghdad if it fails to comply. While the resoultion stops just short of guarenteening an automatic military responce, it also makes no mention of the need of another resolution for said military responce, which is a big deal considering how delicately the wording was put together.