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Tom Friedman comes close to brilliance, then blows it at the end. Read:

To be successful in dealing with Iraq, President Bush has to tread the most unusual line one could imagine for a statesman: He has to be wild, but not crazy.

How so? Well, it all goes back to a well-known concept in strategic theory: how to win a game of chicken between two drivers barreling head on at one another. If you are one of the drivers, the best way to win is, before the race even starts, to take out a screwdriver and very visibly unscrew your steering wheel and throw it out the window. The message to the other driver is: “Hey, I’d love to chicken out and get out of your way, but I just threw out my steering wheel – so unless you want to crash head on, you better get out of the way.”

Wow. Yes. It builds on a theme from an earlier Friedman column, and you have to admire both Friedman