Well, it looks like the war in the Middle East is winding down. Or is it? From Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo I was directed to a fascinating article by conservative writer Ken Jowitt from the latest issue of Policy Review.

Jowitt's article, "Rage, Hubris, and Regime Change," discusses the new triune god of American foreign policy (Dominance, Preemption, and Regime Change) and then proceeds to examine and demolish the idea that a democratic government in Iraq will be the magic bullet that leads to a democratization of the entire Middle East. A snippet:

[T]he attempt to impose democracy in Iraq and the Middle East has all the unreality of Don Quixote. The truth is that an invasion and occupation of Iraq with the pronounced intent of imposing democracy will more likely be a "poison dart" with a "boomerang effect" than a "magic bullet" with a "democratic domino effect" in the region.... [read all]

Now, I hope Jowitt and pundits like him are wrong. I hope the Middle East settles down and cools off. And now I'm going to take that hope and a dollar and go buy a cup of coffee.