After being Bush-whacked yet again, domestic and international political opponents of the president are reeling — just as the United States marches closer to the brink of war with Iraq. In a masterful presentation in front of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell laid to rest any doubts about the pervasive threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

Powell’s address was not just an unmistakable signal that war is imminent, but it was also the latest — and perhaps most successful — use of a Bush trademark: “throw me in the briar patch” politics. Like the brer rabbit — who told the fox that any punishment would be preferable to the briar patch, where he was born and bred — President Bush has mastered the art of goading political opponents into demanding something he knows full well he can deliver.

Consider the events leading to the present. First, top Democrats demanded a debate on Iraq — and Bush delivered, right in the months leading up to the election. Those same gluttons for political punishment then insisted upon a resolution authorizing the use of force to stop a ruthless regime — and Bush delivered, just before the all-important midterm elections. Then, joined by an international coalition of anti-war activists, the doves demanded a “smoking gun.” Bush, through Powell, delivered a gun — and it was “smoking.”

War with Iraq is now near-certain — the only escape valve would be Saddam doing the extremely unlikely and choosing exile — and world opinion is moving steadily behind Bush. Domestically, seven in 10 Americans believe Saddam possesses weapons of mass destruction, and even more believe that the tyrant has been playing games with U.N. weapons inspectors, according to a recent Washington Post poll. A strong majority of Americans now think Bush has justified the need for action in disarming Saddam. And the tide of opinion is shifting overseas as well.

On the same day Powell impressed the world, 10 Eastern European nations signed an opened letter urging the Security Council to respond to “the clear and present danger posed by Saddam Hussein’s regime” with “necessary and appropriate action” — mirroring language used the previous week in a letter signed by eight Western European nations. Muslim nations near Iraq — including Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey — also have lined up behind Bush, agreeing to cooperate in the effort to disarm Saddam.

War is never a joyous event, and not even the so-called hawks in the Bush administration are celebrating the prospect of war in Iraq. But the case presented by Powell was both disturbing and compelling. The secretary of state showed convincingly that Iraqi officials have outmaneuvered the weapons inspectors, that there has been recent activity near weapons of mass destruction facilities, and that there are, in fact, Iraqi ties to al-Qaida.

The most damning evidence offered was the audiotaped phone conversation of an Iraqi official boasting, “We evacuated everything. We don’t have anything left.” Powell also proved that Iraq has been moving banned weapons from key sites, relocating them to private homes of government officials. Using satellite photos — recalling Adlai Stevenson’s shining moment before that very council — Powell also showed how soil from around a chemical weapons facility had been removed to clear out incriminating evidence. Other photos showed a likely ballistic missile factory with transport vehicles and missile-moving equipment outside — just two days before weapons inspectors arrived there.

Showing most already knew to be true — that Saddam possesses weapons of mass destruction capability — would not alone have silenced anti-war activists. But Powell’s demonstration of a solid link between Saddam and al-Qaida should, if for no other reason than because that’s what peaceniks have been demanding. Powell’s address made clear that there is an al-Qaida cell operating openly in Baghdad, under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a man with designs on striking American targets with chemical weapons. In the end, though, an existing link to al-Qaida doesn’t really matter, since Saddam could get weapons of mass destruction to al-Qaida with or without Zarqawi.

Maybe someday Democrats will figure out that Bush really is smarter than they think. But in the meantime, the United States will lead either the U.N. or a coalition of the willing in disarming Saddam — and the world will be safer for it.