1 The problem with a time-released response is that, not unlike WWII, it allows the enemy ample time to aggregate weapons and political power to blunt or depreciate the actual attack. Had we intervened and stopped Hitler as he was moving his army into the Rhineland it's at least possible that the war might have been averted. The difference can be measured in about 40 million lives. It is estimated that Iran will have a nuclear weapon within two years and should the Democrats win the White House we can be assured they will engage them and the other barbaric regime--Syria--in a protracted and wholly impotent series of "negotiations." For an apt retort to the left, please see my post "Speaker Pelosi's 'Peace in Our Time,' at: www.clearcommentary.com Philip Mella ClearCommentary.com

2 Now if the Iranians had appologized and said that it was thier mistake, for some of these right wing idiots that would be all the more reason to go to war! My question is what were the Brits doing so close to the border without ample protection. Its like when you are about to have sex and say that you have no intention of penetration, just wanna hang close to that area, without any accidental penetration and no condom

3 No. Apologies are not an act of war. Kidnappings are. Hm. How would a guy feel if he got naked with a girl, didn't penetrate her, didn't even ejaculate, and then was informed later on that he'd gotten VD and she was pregnant? It seems to me that he might be a bit put-out by such a thing.

4 That is the point risky behavior can get you into trouble. Stay far away, don't get naked and you are OK!

5 So the Western world should just tiptoe around the Iranians, so as not to tempt fate? No, Az: they should tiptoe around us. We've been tiptoeing since the 1970s, and all it's gotten us has been more trouble.

1 The Brits apologized and said they won't do it again

2 They sure as blue blazes wouldn't have pulled this stunt with Truman in the Oval Office. Of course, if Truman ran for president today, he'd have to run as a Republican (and he'd win the nomination easily), because the Democrats have moved light-years away from him.

3 Yeah, but we don't know what went on behind the scenes. Publicly, everyone saved face. Privately, I suspect it was a bit different. And who knows whether a different person as President here--or as P.M. in Britain--would have made a big difference. We cannot assume that the Iranians are going to act in their own rational self-interest. That's why the WoT is tougher than the Cold War.

4 "Publicly, everyone saved face. Privately, I suspect it was a bit different." Reminds me of this quote, said by someone whose name I forget at the moment. "While you're saving your face, you're losing your ass."