"I Don't Mind If We Bomb Next Month."

This exchange between Chris Matthews and Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute (and MIT's Jim Walsh, though he's less important here) really sums up the simple-minded war-lust of American hawks. Here's my translated summary-

J. Muravchik: 'We have to bomb Iran NOW or the whole world is DOOMED!!!11!!!'

C. Matthews: '{*reasonably detailed discussion of issue/dissection of Muravchik's logic*}

J. Muravchik: 'Okay, maybe I'll wait a year to blow them up.'

This is the video of the segment. The media coverage of this issue is still often quite silly, but compared to the 'debate' prior to the invasion of Iraq, we are almost discussing this volatile issue like adults.

Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria is not as optimistic on that front as I am. He has a really good article on Iran, and how hawkish conservatives are using deceitful rhetoric to paint a doomsday scenario. In looking not only at the real history of our relationship with Iran, but also at the history of the real threats we have faced in the past, he puts all this craziness in context better than most politicians seem capable of.

"The American discussion about Iran has lost all connection to reality," he notes. Agreed.