Monday night, Baghdad announced it would allow weapons inspectors unfettered access.

“Ack! The war effort is doomed!”

Shortly, the White House issued a communiqué saying Saddam’s new posture didn’t bend over far enough.

“Yes! The war effort is back on track!”

Don’t get your hopes dashed by Iraq’s maneuvers, and don’t go thinking the war is going to start tomorrow, just because of something Rummy said to some cub reporter at the Pentagon this morning.

We are moving towards war. The direction may seem to zig, it might appear to zag – but make no mistake: Either Saddam goes out or we go in. Call what we’ll see in the coming weeks the Pre-War Shuffle or the Multilateral Tango.

It’s just the way the game is played.

Steady, boy, steady.