I've spent the last week trying to catch up on learning about Iran, which may be the next target of U.S. intervention. I'm re-reading "The Eagle and the Lion" -- a book about U.S.-Iran relations between WW1 and the fall of the Shah.

Tonight I went to a talk at Mayday Books. A local Iranian spoke and his words depressed me. This man talked about all the invasions that Iran has repelled over the centuries: Alexander, Ghengis Khan, etc. Yeah, well, eventually, they prevailed. But meanwhile there was death and destruction for many, many years. It reminded me of the talk before the U.S. invaded Iraq. Consequences would be dire. The Iraqi army was powerful, the U.S. would underestimate the response, and so on. And, yes, the U.S. military did not anticipate the response of Iraq correctly. OTOH, hundreds and thousands of Iraqi people died. U.S. soldiers died. And that is not good. No way. No how.

Bah. Humbug. I definitely need a diversion. I'll look for one tomorrow.