The Public Ain't Buying

And yet, at least as far as Iraq is concerned, very few Republicans are breaking with Bush so far.

As Murray herself writes in a separate story: "Unable to garner enough Republican support, Senate Democratic leaders said yesterday that they are abandoning a bipartisan effort to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq by next spring.

"Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said that Democrats had been willing to make the troop withdrawal a 'goal' in order to attract GOP support, but it never materialized. Instead, Reid will again push for a firm deadline, this time June 2008, along with a stronger effort at cutting off war funding."

Iran Watch

Philip Sherwell and Tim Shipman write in the Telegraph: "Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

"Pentagon planners have developed a list of up to 2,000 bombing targets in Iran, amid growing fears among serving officers that diplomatic efforts to slow Iran's nuclear weapons programme are doomed to fail.

"Pentagon and CIA officers say they believe that the White House has begun a carefully calibrated programme of escalation that could lead to a military showdown with Iran. . . .

"In a chilling scenario of how war might come, a senior intelligence officer warned that public denunciation of Iranian meddling in Iraq - arming and training militants - would lead to cross border raids on Iranian training camps and bomb factories. . . .

"Under the theory -- which is gaining credence in Washington security circles -- US action would provoke a major Iranian response, perhaps in the form of moves to cut off Gulf oil supplies, providing a trigger for air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and even its armed forces."

As if that weren't enough: "The vice president is said to advocate the use of bunker-busting tactical nuclear weapons against Iran's nuclear sites," Sherwell and Shipman write.

But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is said to be putting her foot down: "The Sunday Telegraph has been told that Mr Bush has privately promised her that he would consult 'meaningfully' with Congressional leaders of both parties before any military action against Iran on the understanding that Miss Rice would resign if this did not happen."

Steven Clemons writes in Salon: "In the national debate about America's next moves in the Middle East, an irrepressible and perhaps irresponsible certainty that America will attack Iran now dominates commentary across the political spectrum."

Writes Clemons: "Bush does not plan to escalate toward a direct military conflict with Iran, at least not now -- and probably not later. The costs are too high, and there are still many options to be tried before the worst of all options is put back on the table. . . . [A] classic buildup to war with Iran, one in which the decision to bomb has already been made, is not something we should be worried about today."