Hmmm.

Well, if there's anything to that, it would be George Bush's last insane throw of the dice, and quite possibly the start of a Third World War.

The thing about Georgia's strike on South Ossetia being used as a strategic diversion to distract the Russians is an interesting possibility. It might well be part of a large plan.

Perhaps Bush feels that a naval blockade of Iran would push the Iranians into launching a first strike in the Gulf. There's a sort of precendent for that...Japan was pushed by Roosevelt into launching a first strike on the USA in December '41...not by a blockade, but by a strategic trade embargo that denied the Japanese their overseas sources of oil and steel. An eventual Japanese attack was made virtually inevitable when Roosevelt embargoed them in early '41.

Would a blockade of Iran (which is technically an act of war) push the Iranians into launching a first strike on American forces? If so, it would give Mr Bush all the excuse he needs for the war he so dearly wants...and he would probably get a majority of the American public in support of that, providing the Iranians were seen to attack first.

But what would the Russians and Chinese do? That's the really dicey part. This is a profoundly dangerous game for all of us.

As to the Iranian biowar capability...that's the first I've heard about it.

I think the Iranians regard war with the USA as almost inevitable now, so they are probably preparing as best they can. They have already been effectively pretty much surrounded by American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I don't think that was any accident. I think it was part of a longrange plan.