SO WHEN DOES THE WAR

SO WHEN DOES THE WAR START?….Back on November 12 I wrote this:

I’ll even go out on a limb and predict what will happen next: Saddam Hussein will accept the UN resolution at the last minute, inspectors will go in, they will eventually report obstruction or outright cheating, and the Security Council will then authorize military force. A few weeks later Saddam will be out of a job.

Now, via John Quiggin, I find that I might have been a little too hasty. Here’s what the Sydney Morning Herald had to say today:

Britain is pressing for war against Iraq to be delayed, possibly until late this year, to give weapons inspectors more time to provide evidence of violations by President Saddam Hussein.

….British officials hope that London’s reservations and Mr Blair’s growing problems in the Labour Party will help to tip the balance in the Bush Administration in favour of delay.

I think I’ll stick with my original guess, but there’s a nagging feeling that tells me that Bush might not be that hard to convince. Wouldn’t a successful war be a little more helpful to him if it were closer to election day?