Albion's great sword.

Capt. Ed reports that the British have decided that military action will be necessary to deal with Iran. As a run up to that, Britain plans to seek approval of the military option from the U.N. Security Council.

This is a waste of time according to the Captain:

We have reached the point where the Western nations looking to defend themselves from Islamofascist threats need to band together instead of working through a dead process at Turtle Bay. The UN does not preserve peace; it preserves the status quo, and unfortunately that allows rogue nations like Iran the breathing room they need to make those developing threats a reality. We need to recognize that and act on it. The US and the UK are not required to commit suicide in the cause of upholding the credibility of international organizations that have already demonstrated themselves as hopelessly corrupt and demonstrably inert.

The U.N. embodies the so called WWII Allies' fantasy of coordinated action by the major powers to deal with future threats to world peace.

The U.N. should evoke the kind of intellectual interest that a Jurassic mosquito in fossilized pine pitch does. It's a laboratory experiment in massive fantasy, having as its basic operating premise the existence of a commonality of purpose between the civilized nations of the West and Stalin and his murderous henchmen. That is, a commonality of purpose extending beyond a firm commitment to a nutritious breakfast.

The time has long passed for the democratic, liberal nations to band together to support a purely Western agenda, not some goulash of peevish tribalism, obscurantism, Inca populism, Russian pursuit of the Oddball Alliance of the Year award, Chinese muscle flexing and energy source scheming, and neofascist Islamic terror and irredentism.

Did we leave anybody out?

"Britain Hardening Its Line On Iran." By Capt. Ed, Captain's Quarters, 3/22/06.