President George W. Bush gives new meaning to the expression – speaking out of both sides of your mouth:

“This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous,” Bush said during a news conference Tuesday evening. “And having said that, all options are on the table.”

Are we going to bring American-style democracy to Iran too? As I drove to work the other day, I listened to Rush Limbaugh “report” from Afghanistan. Beyond the usual fluff in the conservative talk-show host's monologue, he said something quite interesting. All that mattered, he said, was that people in Afghanistan were set free [from the Taliban]. While I applaud the removal of the Taliban, I have to wonder, though, if the Americans set a country free (isn't there a tinge of condescension building here already?) would the Americans really accept a militant Islamic state to take its place, assuming of course that people were free to choose a militant Islamic form of government?

I think the American agenda in that region of the world is much too complex and Mr. Limbaugh is as usual much to simplistic in his world view. But back to W; the ambiguity in his statements are not likely to assuage Iranian fears and like any country that has been battling the US overtly and covertly over the last 50 years, it will seek to defend itself. All we need to do now is to crib notes from Saddam Hussein on that front. History, teaches nothing.