Just Biding Their Time

In an article in yesterday's LA Times, William Arkin discussed the American military's frantic buildup and expansion of supply capacity for the past, and undoubtedly future, American wars on terrorism whoever we deem to be a threat. Buried in the article, Arkin also laid bare why the Bush administration has been bothering to work with the UN on Iraq:

Some analysts have suggested that U.N. weapons inspections may reduce the likelihood of war. That is not how senior White House and Pentagon officials see it. None believes Saddam Hussein will permit effective inspections, but they see the U.N. effort as a win-win situation: The inspections process will improve the political climate for eventual action and buy time for the Pentagon to get ready. The war that Bush and his team think is necessary and inevitable will thus come with the approval of both Congress and the U.N. Meanwhile, one of the main practical obstacles to war with Iraq will have been dealt with: The enormous infrastructure needed to supply and sustain today's armed forces against Iraq is being constructed on the foundations of the system created for the war in Afghanistan.

Convenient, eh?