What Rough Beast...

Given the horrifying carnage and grim prospects in Iraq, you'd think that the ideologues who pushed for the US to invade a country that posed no threat would have retired in shame from public life. But no. And now, some of the shameless are trying to midwife an attack on Iran, and they are trying to use the current fighting in Lebanon to help matters along. James Wolcott introduces us to one of the neocons favorite tools in their new effort, Amir Taheri. If you liked Ahmed Chalabi, you're going to love Amir Taheri.

Meanwhile, in other midwifery news, Digby offers an explanation of what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meant when she said called the bloodshed in Lebanon "the birth pangs of a new Middle East". Unless you're one of the Rapture-ready, you probably missed the reference.

(But if you recognized the Yeats reference in the title of this post: Congratulations, you've won a free link to the poem!)