FOR OUR CHILDREN'S SAKE

I am at a conference for the rest of the week during the day, so will be somewhat distracted. However, I did want to say a few things about the President's speech last night which I didn't get a chance to listen to, but which I read this morning. Here is a part I especially liked:
Bush said exactly the right thing if there is to be any hope of making Iran and it ruling psychotics see reason:

If we do not defeat these enemies now, we will leave our children to face a Middle East overrun by terrorist states and radical dictators armed with nuclear weapons. We are in a war that will set the course for this new century — and determine the destiny of millions across the world.

Read the entire speech. I believe he has made it as clear as possible that we will use pre-emptive force if the mullahs do not relent on the issue of nuclear weapons.

Mario Loyola at The Corner agrees:

Conservatives these days are dejected that the president's rhetoric appears less-than-reinforced by the decisions and actions of the national -security establishment. But viewed from Tehran, Washington has continued to raise the stakes—and quite skillfully united the international community—against Iran's nuclear program. Nearly 60% of the public in France would approve the use of force before allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons.

With statements such as the president made yesterday, and the brilliant diplomacy orchestrated by U.N. ambassador by John Bolton, the United States is fanning an increasingly chill wind in the direction of Tehran. Have no doubts that the Iranians are starting to get scared, and not a moment too soon.

If there is anyone in the world who doubts that Bush means what he says, then they haven't been paying attention for the last 6 years. Taking a stand now gives us the best chance of preventing the loss of possibly millions of lives in the future.

We are now in the early hours of this struggle between tyranny and freedom. Amid the violence, some question whether the people of the Middle East want their freedom, and whether the forces of moderation can prevail. For 60 years, these doubts guided our policies in the Middle East. And then, on a bright September morning, it became clear that the calm we saw in the Middle East was only a mirage. Years of pursuing stability to promote peace had left us with neither. So we changed our policies, and committed America's influence in the world to advancing freedom and democracy as the great alternatives to repression and radicalism.

Those who are unable to see beyond the usual appeasement and express a desire for stability over everything else, will likely not appreciate the courage and remarkable clarity of vision that drives Bush, and which I think is --despite its many flaws in implementation--the hallmark of this administration.

To my mind it is like seeing an asteroid hurtling through the heavens toward our planet on a flat-out collision course that has the potential to destroy everything and everyone; and responding by sending out as many rockets as possible to meet it and deflect it, even just a bit, from its path of destruction.

My hope is that the interceptor rockets have been sent out early enough, while the asteroid is far enough away from its target; and that the degree of deflection necessary to save us is small enough to achieve a complete miss.