More evidence from the Telegraph about Saddam's SOB status. This here mass grave has only 3000 dead people in it. I predicted more than once that those of us who supported the war are going to be publicly vindicated when Saddam's Belsens and Babi Yars and Vorkutas start turning up. Have you people seen enough yet to realize that we not only eliminated a blatant threat to both ourselves and all Saddam's neighbors, not to mention seriously undercutting international terrorists' support base, but also eliminated the most evil non-Communist dictator since Hitler? This should have been done years ago. Like maybe in 1991.

Question: Did what was left of the Soviet leadership, or the Army, or the KGB, or some combination thereof, get together and tell Bush I that Kuwait was fine but he'd better not try Baghdad--and threaten him with the use of WMD and / or with an invasion of the East European satellites if he didn't comply? That was 1990-91, and Russia wasn't nearly as supine as it has become now.

There are certainly rumors that Ike, upon his accession, threatened the Russians with WMD if they didn't stop the Korean War. I have no idea whether they're true; I can't see it because I don't think Ike was ever dumb enough to bluff and risk his bluff being called, and I can't see Ike's going nuclear over Korea, or Ike's wanting to whip up the already serious crisis--hell, Americans and Chinese were fighting hand to hand, more than 50,000 Americans died, it doesn't get much more serious than that--to a level when use of nukes by either side might seem plausible.

Several Nixon Administration people said that the Russians and Chinese came very close to nuclear war in 1969-70. I don't know whether that's true, either. There were, I believe, some border clashes with conventional weapons between the two like in Sinkiang or somewhere literally the middle of nowhere like that. On the other hand, these Nixon guys' saying that obviously works in their favor, since it makes the Administration look good for managing a serious crisis well.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, OK. Japan, of course. Any other time when we almost went nuclear?