The Middle East will be sorted, again

According to the Guardian, Dick Cheney is whispering "Attack Iran! Attack Iran!" into Dubya's ear, and Dubya might be whispering .1 The article doesn't really amount to much on inspection, just the opinion of a "well palced source" and one Nick Burns, the "undersecretary of state responsible for Iran and a career diplomat who is one of the main advocates of negotiation."

At the same time, you can't help wondering if this recurring theme - which we've heard so often it seems like a sort of political tinnitus - will actually lead somewhere, or if it is just what undersecretaries and well placed sources say when they have nothing better to do. Hopefully, it is just hot air. The last thing we need is an attempt to occupy another Muslim country, the last two efforts having been so successful. But perhaps Bush is dim enought to think "Third time lucky"?

Another common refrain: an American president calling for resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,2 which is heard so often but signifies so little that it might be a form of coprolalia on the part of the speaker.

1 - "Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran," by Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Julian Borger, in The Gaurdian, Monday July 16, 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2127115,00.html
2 - "Bush launches peace bid with Middle East talks," by Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Patrick Wintour, in The Guardian, Tuesday July 17, 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2127951,00.html