LOOKING BACK. Greyhawk emails about this:

So I read this today…

GEORGE BUSH IS NOW THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD: People always say that about Presidents, of course, but usually it’s only notionally true. Now, if he wants to nuke Baghdad, there is nobody to say him nay — and damned few who would want to. That’s a danger if he goes off half-cocked, but I don’t think there’s much risk of that. But I wonder: do the people behind this assault realize what this means?

Posted 9/11/2001 12:50:25 PM by Glenn Reynolds

…and just wanted to let you know you were probably more right than you knew back then. I was on Barksdale AFB, and right about the moment you posted that thought President Bush was walking onto the flight line for the next leg of his trip – accompanied by the commander of the 8th Air Force.

We were near the end of a major exercise that day, so by coincidence the B52 fleet was loaded, the pilots were on hand, and everything was ready to go. (“What do you mean by loaded?” You might ask. “Yes,” I would reply.) ‘Sir,” the General advised the President, “give the word, we are ready to go.”

“Stand by, I’ll let you know.” He responded.

That was a moment in history like no other before or since, but I don’t believe more than a handful of people know it happened. Your “I don’t think there’s much risk of that” is exactly right (obviously) but the temptation and justification were greater than most people might have imagined. To be sure, the General’s meaning was a very sober “we’re ready if you need us” rather than an eager “let us go,” but remains a marked contrast to what I suspect most people think about when considering US military power. In short, the unthinkable is anything but unthinkable.

I knew.