A Third War Coming?

Well, we have learned to expect the unexpected. One possibility in the next few weeks is that the president will acquiesce to a winter draw-down of US troops in Iraq, but only so as to remove them as potential targets in the war he is planning to launch against Iran. Money quote from Barnett Rubin:

Someone whose proximity to knowledge of such things is so great that I cannot identify him in any other way, told my interlocutor that President Bush would be inclined to accept suggestions for withdrawing some troops from Iraq and moving as many as possible into more secure bases, as a safeguard against reprisals in the event of a U.S. attack on Iran.

I don't know what to make of this. I hear all sorts of rumors. But it is clear to me that a sane management of the Iran problem is not something we should expect from this administration. A third war - started by Washington - is a real possibility. Since the president believes he needs no Congressional authorization for this, there may well be no checks on him, barring a military revolt.