Dan Rather Serviced On Air

Via LGF I discovered this story about the Dan Rather retrospective that CBS is running on the night of his retirement. Why don't they get the weatherbabe to service him on air instead? If you've got no viewers, what've you got to lose? ESPN's minor league hockey will have more viewers. Although, if CBS does decide to go the weatherbabe route, call me.

Not Good...

So I get to playing around with Google after that last little post. I search Google News for Syria+Assad and come up with this article from The Turkish Press dated January 24, 2005. A key quote:

Putin further underscored the importance Moscow attaches to Damascus by saying Russia planned to "use the Syrian route" to influence the Middle East peace process.

Assad said his talks in Moscow would also focus on the mounting crisis surrounding Iran -- an Islamic state where Russia is constructing a controversial nuclear power plant and which is a growing concern for Washington military strategists.

OK, who else is now worried? Russia and Syria meet to talk about arms deals and Iran. Approximately a week later (February 2, 2005) the Prime Minister of Georgia dies in a classic Soviet "Accident". Two weeks after that (February 14, 2005), the former Prime Minister of Lebanon is killed in classic Middle East style. Iran and Syria announced a "common front" yesterday.

Does this sound like really BAD news to anyone else. I keep asking myself that classic paranoiac question: "But am I being paranoid enough?" Russia, who has nukes and missles but is short on capital, is selling nuclear technology to the Iranians and missle technology to the Syrians. Russia is making a return to the bad old days internally, and, if Georgia and the Ukraine are any indication, externally as well.

On January 30th I thought we had turned a corner. Now, I think we're going to need a bigger army.

Never A Dull Moment

Quick, what's worse than the idea mentioned in the previous post that Assad might force the US into a confrontation with Egypt and Saudi Arabia? How about a Russo-Syrian-Iranian Axis? LGF links to a report in which all three countries are mentioned together. I think it's time for me to start looking at land and guns.

I know that friends and acquaintances of mine in the military - low level - have joked about betting on whether the US exit strategy was "drive East" or "drive West". I thought this was just military humor. Now, not so much.

My final thought on this is that Vlad Putin has turned out to be a major demon hasn't he? He's like something out of a Ludlum novel. Talk about the ultimate Soviet sleeper agent.

Soul-Freezing Thought of the Day

Thoughts like this are why I stopped spending hours every day in the blogosphere: What if Bashar Assad, in a mad rush not to be the guy with the US target on his head, spills verifiable evidence (bank transfers, etc.) that Saudi and Egyptian Government agencies were funding, supplying, and perhaps even manning the Damascus-Falluja insurgent supply routes?
That one made me lie awake last night, thinking about where to go when all hell broke loose. I think I'll hop over to Kim Du Toit's and find a rifle to add to my collection. Although, a friend of mine bought an AK at the last gunshow and I got a chance to fire it. It's a great little gun for the end of the world.

Now There's a Brand I Could Get Behind

So I stop by Ace's to check on him b/c I've been living on Instapundit and The Corner for too long. I never did get around to reading any of the articles because of the chick in the BlogAd for Dusty Clothes. All I can say is, I love the ad Ace! Where can I get me one of them?

NOTE: Yes, this is shameless self-promotion. A new wardrobe and a date with that model would be the appropriate compensation for my brazen public servicing. Especially if all 3 of my readers buy something...

Even the Syrians aren't That Stupid, Right?

Wretchard has an interesting article about the Rafiq Hariri assassination. I have to posit that the Syrians were not so thumb-fingered as to car-bomb the guy after President Bush has said, "You're next." I'm also going to go way out on a limb (haven't been wearing my tinfoil hat lately) and say that the CIA-Mossad axis probably isn't to blame. Who's left?
Iran-Hizbollah, that's who. Hizbollah is backed into a corner. Anything that happens to the West of Iraq in the ME takes the US eye off of Iran. Also, fascist dictators aren't really the car-bombing type inside their own territory.