Michael Ledeen and Amir Taheri both believe the latest Iranian hostage taking is simply par for the course. Max Hastings says it is a warning of grief ahead over Iran. Meanwhile, Tony Blair is warning the Iranians that the incident could move on to a different stage if the hostages are not released. Gee, I bet the mullahs are quaking in their boots.

The truth of the matter is that President Bush and Tony Blair have gotten themselves into a difficult political situation with their own people which limits their ability to maneuver against the Iranians. Because the Iraq War is so unpopular in both the U.S. and Great Britain, and because the intelligence that led up to that war has been so discredited, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for either Bush or Blair to generate domestic political support for any military action against Iran, either in retaliation for Iranian transgressions like the hostage taking, or to punish them for defying U.N. resolutions concerning their nuclear program, or to degrade that program before it reaches fruition. The Iranian leaders seem to know this, which has emboldened them to take more aggressive action. They may yet, though, go too far, which could result in a very messy conflict.

Thomas Sowell criticizes the Democrats for their posturing about the Iraq War.

Christopher Hitchens says we should consider Peter Galbraith's proposal for partition of Iraq.

Peter Brookes writes about other potential threats while our Army and Marines are being stretched thin by deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hillary Clinton is trying to burnish her credentials with the military, according to the NY Times.

Richard Cohen points out some problems with accuracy concerning Barack Obama's back story.

E. J. Dionne says the anti-war tide may provoke a constitutional crisis in the coming months. I think he is quite right. The Democrats have every incentive to try and limit the President's ability to prosecute the war, since a majority of Americans oppose it, and a large majority of their political supporters oppose it vehemently. Therefore, they will continue their efforts. At some point the President will face a situation whereby he cannot get a "clean" bill to continue funding the war effort. What will happen then, I wonder?