I'm doing everything I can not to become a frothing pacifist, but it's hard in the face of the unilateral sanctions against Iran which will be announced today by the present administration. I don't have time or energy to distill my point into a post supported with lots of external links, support which at this point is unnecessary given the evidence.

By now, it should be obvious to all that United States interest in the Middle East has been primarily about establishing control over the political, cultural, and economic landscape of the Middle East. Many interests combine with this desire of the United States to control the production of Middle Eastern social, political, and material resources, including Israeli and Christian anti-Muslimism and a seemiingly broad international consensus regarding state-tolerated terrorist activity. Right now, I want to spit in Sarkozy's eye for doing a Blair, partially paving the way to the United States assertion that a war against Iran is necessary and inevitable. At least such sentiment may go some ways to helping French citizens to understand the problem faced by citizens of the United States.

George W. Bush only maintains power until January 2009 and my guess is that he will attempt to destabilize Iran and establish United States military presence there before he leaves office. To that end, he may authorize the use of stealth bombers equipped with Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) to begin that occupation. The United States military is spread thinly, but I don't think that will stop the current administration from trying to establish the conditions which would require the United States to invade Iran.

In which case, the metaphorical reference to World War III made by Bush in a 17 October 2007 news conference is a window into the soul of this administration. The United States has already declared World War III against the entire world, deciding among which of the world's nations can be found the axis of evil. From Asia to Argentina, all countries are under the purview of a United States that is out of control.

My impulse is to blame: Naderites, Christian fundamentalists, Greens, Al Gore, Antonin Scalia, Condoleeza Rice, you. I, too, am part of this United States war machine and I am angry about it. A part of me wishes the entire United States would blow itself up, starting with Athens, Ohio. We are collectively to blame for the atrocities committed in our name. There are only a few people calling for slowing United States military activity, but they are not speaking loudly enough. The champion of the self-satisfied overeducated left, Hillary Clinton, has made no secret of her own lust for war and I would gouge out my eyes before I support such a candidate given the present condition of World War.

The truth is there for everyone to see: the United States is an empire barely in control of itself, and there seems to be no one willing to challenge her.

I am horrified and pessimistic. I want the bloodshed to stop, even as I realize the United States seeks to increase its wealth and power by controlling the Middle East and that this is a goal shared by nearly all United States politicians.