There’s an interesting op-ed in the IHT this morning from the former head of Saddam’s nuclear program. It is ultimately a defense of our preemption. It also has a few delightful little details about how crazy Saddam was at the end:

By 2003, as the American invasion loomed, the tyrant was alternately working on his next trashy novel and giving lunatic orders like burning oil around Baghdad to “hide” the city from bombing attacks. Unbelievably, one of my final assignments was to prepare a 10-year plan for military-industrial works, even as tens of thousands of troops were gathering for invasion.

Also, this article from the IHT details how deceptive John Kerry’s “Europe will save us in Iraq” strategy is. Remember, this is the only part of Kerry’s Iraq policy that has remained consistent over the last 12 months. And it is — as any realist has known for all that time — a complete and utter crock. The Bush administration did everything it could to bring France and Germany into our coalition — why wouldn’t it have? These countries simply wanted no part (for various self-interested reasons) in deposing Saddam. And they certainly don’t want any part of the mess over there now.