The key sentence in the speech of Vice President Cheney in Nashville was, "The risks of inaction are far greater than the risks of action."

In this intense address, in which words and sentences carry huge freight, we are asked to attend scrupulously to what Mr. Cheney is saying, and of course the very first question becomes: Risks to whom?

"Cheney doesn't give us the intelligence sources of his information and can't be expected to. But it is inconceivable that he should be speaking in that high pitch of resolution unless he has the evidence on which he frames his analysis. We assume that he is justified in the evidence he has, and right in the course recommended, and that the acquiescence of Congress is implicit. Which means: The American people should now be told that we are at war against Saddam Hussein. "

I can't tell if Buckley is really serious about his assumption or if he is being sarcastic. Maybe it doesn't matter...