Yahoo! News – Bush Will Push U.N. for Iraq Vote This Week

Bush will oppose any effort to extend the proposed March 17 deadline for Iraqi compliance by a month as some undecided Security Council members have suggested, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news – web sites) told reporters, calling the idea a “non-starter.”

I really don’t get it. Fleischer dismissed the idea of extending the deadline by 30-45 days. What do they think is going to happen in that time frame? Somehow, I don’t think they are going to make any progress with any weapons programs. It’s not like the issue is going to drift off the international agenda again in that time frame (a legitimate concern if we were talking about another 6-12 months).

The only thing I can imagine happening in 30-45 days is that the US might regain some of the credibility that Bush & co have been working so damn hard to squander. I can see why that would be a non-starter with “Rumstud” and King George.