What have you learned, Dorothy?

Meanwhile, back in the world, India and Russia have (thankfully) put the brakes on the Administration's rush to bring Iran before the United Nations Security Council, in an attempt to force condemnation or sanctions on "Axis of Evil Spoke #2". Guess Mr. Bolton didn't have a very good week either.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I like Iran - in fact, I'm old enough to have actually lived through the Iranian Hostage Crisis, seen yellow ribbons tied to every mailbox and tree and signpost on the block, and suffered the suddenly resurgent popularity of Tony Orlando and Dawn. And yet, I can't help but remember the last time the Bushies were absolutely convinced that an Islamic country was hell-bent on developing nuclear weapons; demanded United Nations sanctions and condemnation; and decided ultimately to just "go with their gut" 'cause we were all in imminent danger.

Look how well THAT turned out...

Apparently other nations haven't forgotten either. According to George's friend Vladimir:

"I'd like to point out that the potential of diplomatic solutions to all these questions is far from exhausted," Mr. Putin said, adding that it was necessary to take steps "to settle all these problems and issues, not to aggravate them, not to bring them to extremities."

I'd like to have believed that the White House learned something from the last two years down Baghdad way. Things like... the UN inspections were working. And... imposed sanctions contributed to the deaths (and enduring ill will) of thousands of Iraqi citizens. Or maybe... the intelligence driving their conclusions just might not have been completely reliable. And how 'bout... there were no goddamn nuclear weapons in Iraq after all!

But then I come back to Kansas, and realize which White House it is I'm talking about.

Oh well. At least we know the Administration has the capability of rushing forward on something that piques its interest. And we know that, as aggravating as the UN truly can be sometimes, there are some global leaders in its halls who've actually paid attention to the lessons of Iraq.