Two Words For A Big Boost

Next time you get an assignment at work, identify its scope and success metrics, then repeat them to your boss, and once you're both on the same page, get confirmation you understand what's required and when its due.

It's called Expectation Mirroring, and it's all the rage.

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President Alludes To World War III

Here's a chilling excerpt from Bush's 17/Oct/2007 press conference.

Pay special attention to the third paragraph of his reply. It's the first time I've ever heard a sitting President (or any President for that matter), refer directly to the prospect of World War III.

Q: "But you definitively believe Iran wants to build a nuclear weapon."

BUSH: "I think so long until they suspend and/or, you know, make it clear that that their statements are real yes, I believe they want to have the capacity, the knowledge in order to make a nuclear weapon.

And I know it's in the world's interests to prevent them from doing so. I believe that the Iranian if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would be a dangerous threat to world peace.

We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel. So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.

And I take the threat of Iran with a nuclear weapon very seriously. And we'll continue to work with all nations about the seriousness of this threat; plus, we'll continue working the financial measures that we're in the process of doing.

In other words, I think the whole strategy is, is that, you know, at some point in time, leaders, or responsible folks, inside of Iran, may get tired of isolation and say, this isn't worth it.

And to me, it's worth the effort to keep the pressure on this government.

And secondly, it's important for the Iranian people to know we harbor no resentment to them. We're disappointed in the Iranian government's actions, as should they be.

Inflation's way too high. Isolation is causing economic pain. This is a country that has got a much better future people have got a much better should have better hope inside Iran than this current government is providing them.

So, look, it's a complete issue, no question about it, but my intent is to continue to rally the world to send a focused signal to the Iranian government that we will continue to work to isolate you in the hopes that at some point in time somebody else shows up and says it's not worth the isolation."
Text of Bush's Wednesday news conference
-- Yahoo News - Wed Oct 17, 2007, 2:54 PM ET

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Hell Bent

Here's an article that directly addresses an (apparently far along) plan of a U.S. air campaign against Iran, as early as this Spring, or as late, and more meaningfully, as late as January 2009, just before Bush passes the torch.

This is actually the first I've heard yet, that actually considers this a genuine possiblilty.

Bush seems absolutely determined to plunge us all into some sort of sci-fi channel, hellish world.

And here's a suggestion of why:

"Mr Bush is part of the American generation that refuses to forgive Iran for the 1979-81 hostage crisis. He leaves office in January 2009 and has said repeatedly that he does not want a legacy in which Iran has achieved superpower status in the region and come close to acquiring a nuclear weapon capability. The logic of this is that if diplomatic efforts fail to persuade Iran to stop uranium enrichment then the only alternative left is to turn to the military."
Target Iran: US able to strike in the spring
-- Guardian Unlimited - Sat, Feb 10, 2007

"I do not think anyone in the US is talking about invasion. We have been chastened by the experience of Iraq, even a hawk like myself." But an air strike was another matter. The danger of Iran having a nuclear weapon "is not just that it might use it out of the blue but as a shield to do all sorts of mischief. I do not believe there will be any way to stop this happening other than physical force."
Target Iran: US able to strike in the spring
-- Guardian Unlimited - Sat, Feb 10, 2007

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The New Reality: Martyrs With Nuclear Weapons

I gotta tell ya, my spine started quivering the more I considered what this article, basically about nuclear deterrence being moot to an enemy willing to die, is suggesting.

Here's a chunk:

"What makes suicide bombing especially relevant [as demonstrated in recent years by muslim extremists] to the nuclear question is that, by design, it unsettles the theory of deterrence. When the suicide bomber dies in an attack, he means to send the message "You cannot stop me, because I am already willing to die." To make the challenge to deterrence even more stark, a suicide bomber who blows up a market or a funeral gathering in Iraq or Afghanistan is willing to kill innocent bystanders, including fellow Muslims. According to the prevailing ideology of suicide bombing, these victims are subjected to an involuntary martyrdom that is no less glorious for being unintentional."

Nuclear holocaust: A risk too big even for martyrs?
-- International Herald Tribune - Fri, Oct 27, 2006

"The last two decades have seen a challenge to this Islamic tradition of warfare under law, a challenge driven mostly by the attempt to justify suicide bombing despite its evident inconsistency with Islamic tradition. On the subject of suicide, the Koran could hardly be clearer: "Do not kill yourselves; for surely God has been merciful to you." Faced with this explicit text, the solution of the militant Islamist ideologues has been to avoid the category of suicide altogether and to treat the bomber as a martyr rather than as one who has taken his own life. This interpretation is not very convincing in historical terms: martyrdom classically meant that another person killed the Muslim warrior, not that he pushed the button himself. Nevertheless, many Muslims now seem to find the argument convincing. Even among rather secular Muslims, it has become standard to refer to suicide bombers as martyrs."

Nuclear holocaust: A risk too big even for martyrs?
-- International Herald Tribune - Fri, Oct 27, 2006

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