Had to stop for a moment, or a few of them actually, and listen to George's performance of last night. One must express admiration for a magnificent show.
Good use of words, well phrased, speech modulated to suit the content. Mention the bad guys, turn to the national picture, establishing a sequence of emotions in the listener which starts, like a good movie, with a glimpse of the end.
And what an ending when it came too.. will not allow a 'dictator', 'dominate an area vital to the interests of the United States'.
Twist the viscera.. stoke the fires of righteous indignation with pure patriotism.
Add a factor, wherein any action would be to offer 'liberation' to the 'brave, oppressed peoples of Iraq', who would eventually 'cheer' the American cause.
Great oratory. As effectively manipulative as any one has seen perhaps..
Not quite a Churchill, but an apt student of the art of riding the juggernaut.
Now comes the final push, the continued buildup of men and materiel in the Middle East, the eventual withdrawal or expulsion of the UN investigative Teams, and a short, possibly very unpleasant war.
Ah to be a fly on the wall, at a meeting of the JCS on 'acceptable' casualties. One can only hope they keep an eye on the weather forecasts before letting the dogs go out to play. A prevailing northerly wind could upset a few European stomachs.
Perhaps that's why the Euro's being allowed to rise so dramatically, a partial compensation for the risk of being gassed by their Mediterranean breeze.