Just what the doctor ordered.

Less-than-damning assessments of Iraq's cooperation by the chief U.N. weapons inspectors coupled with massive worldwide protests against a possible war have sent the United States and Britain back to the drawing board.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, diplomats said U.S. and British officials are toning down a draft resolution, and that the final version may not explicitly call for war.

Okay, so what would it call for?

They described working versions of the draft as short, simply worded texts that found Iraq in "material breach" of its obligations and reiterated that Saddam now faces "serious consequences" as a result.

Oh..."serious consequences". Hmm...that sounds familiar. Gee, where have I heard that before?

This is like a sick joke, but I suppose really it's consistent with U.N. process thus far. "Serious consequences" obviously means getting together at the U.N., debating, and passing another resolution that promises "serious consequences". Goodness knows, if I were a despotic tyrant, nothing would frighten me more than the endless issuance of resolutions promising "serious consequences" from the U.N.

So if all these resolutions are what brings a frown to Iraq's esteemed leader, what makes him happy?

Why, anti-war rallies, of course.

Nice going, folks. You cheered up a lonely tyrant, who was just beginning to think his days were numbered. And you managed to weaken prospects for a stronger resolution.

Boy, that's the power of activism in action.