"One, two three, what am I fighting for?"

Remember the anti-Vietnam war song - was it by Country Joe, or Vinegar Joe, can't remember exactly. Here's the updated version:

"And it's one, two, three, what am I fighting for?

Don't ask me I don't give a damn,

Next stop's Waziristan..."

Having successfully Balkanized Iraq and reduced it to a vassal state with a permanent American military presence, the US military is now handing provinces back to Iraqi control. Guess where those poor US troops are going next? Yep, you've got it. They'll be going to the Afghan/Pakistan border to conduct cross-border operations inside the sovereign territory of their biggest "ally" in the war on terror.

Yesterday, Pakistani troops fired shots in the air to discourage US troops who had crossed the border. We're almost at the point I described in my last post, the death of US troops on the ground in Pakistan. I listened to one Pakistani commentator describe the difference between the tone of statements issued by Pakistani officials for domestic consumption and the tone of statements for the Western media. This is a difficult time for the new Pakistani administration, who must defy America at home while recognising force majeur.

And since they're a nuclear state, there's only so much the US or NATO can do. All of which makes the possession of nukes even more appealing - it keeps the Americans at bay. Many years ago Dennis Skinner, an English MP, made the observation that if nuclear weapons were so good at deterrence, we should give them to the Arabs and the Israelis. His point looks well made now. Except of course, the Israelis do have them. You can see why Iran wants them, can't you?