Three Strikes Update... Was it only Ball 3?

It turns out that my previous contention that the Kyle-Lieberman act contained implicit permission for the Bush Administration to start another war was incorrect. Are they off the hook?

Was it only 'ball' 3?

It turns out that the Senate did not ratify the Kyle-Lieberman bill in it's original form. The 2 offensive paragraphs targeting Iran and unleashing the 'Executive' to proceed with plan 'Mayhem' were struck from the bill prior to it's being passed. Phew! That was close. Scared the bejeezus out of me. The full story didn't come out right away. Deliberate or accidental? Who knows. Sure got a rise out a few people, and some UN delegates as well. Looks like they have decided to hold off on sanctioning Iran after all. They want to wait for the report from the IAEA. Take that, you bully.

But is that all? Unfortunately, not so. The Senate also signed a resolution this week, designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Not to be outdone, the Iranian Parliament signed a resolution the next day designating the US Army and CIA as terrorist organizations. Tit for tat. Who can blame them?

On the surface, it seems like harmless cold war name calling that won't affect much of anything. But, oops, what is going to happen when their guys run into our guys over in Iraq? The Iranians say they are waiting to see what we do before making any policy decisions based on the new resolution. And what about us? We already have a policy for treating terrorists. Remember all those rules that apply to 'terrorists', ie. 'enemy combatants'? Shoot the between the eyes if you can see their face. Torture them for information. Lock them up forever. In a 'tit for tat' world, what do you think that might mean for our guys?

So, it's still Three Strikes and we darn well better start looking for a way to effect a regime change around here before those maniacs in DC start the 3rd world war.