Sarajevo, 1914?
What's all this about World War III I keep reading?
From Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the U.S. House, who told the Seattle Times on Saturday, that president ought to level with the people: We're in the middle of The Big One. "We need to have the militancy that says 'We're not going to lose a city."
From a worried friend, who asked the end of last week if I thought the kidnappings in the Middle East are the Sarajevo, 1914 of our times.
Some conservative blogs are starting to frighten me. Power Line's Paul Mirengoff is arguing how Israel's best move now is to strike Iran: "With Iran well on its way to becoming a nuclear power, Israel will never be stronger in relation to Iran than it is today. And, quite apart from the perfectly valid concept of a preemptive strike, Iran's central role in the current war justifies direct retaliation."
Some liberal blogs are frightening me. Billmon is making a Vietnam analogy, arguing that Israel's hubris has allowed them to severly underestimate the military capability of Hezbollah and Hamas: "The years of U.S. largesse and bloated procurement budgets, the state-of-the-art tanks and fighters, the fascination with technology and push-button war, plus the pitiful state of the Syrian Army and Air Force -- Israel's remaining conventional front-line foes -- all appear to have infected the IDF with the arrogance and complacency that plagued the United States in Vietnam."
Some X-treme message boards might be beyond frightening. Matt at The Tattered Coat went trawling through the musings of Rapture-ready evangelicals, who are are sensing the opportunity for deliverence in the eruption of violence in the Middle East. One comment:
The posts have been taken down, but not before The Talent Show scooped out the most troubling.
Luckily we have She Flies With Her Own Wings, who's gone shopping for essential items to pack for the endgame.