Crossposted at Tondee's Tavern.
We all lived through the escalating double-entendre and outright "mushroom cloud" threats that formed the basis of the Bush administration's case for war with Iraq. Surely, if such rhetorical tactics were again employed, we'd all be alert to the signals and we'd be more critical the 2nd time around.
One would think, anyway. Sadly, there appears to be a surprising level of skepticism in the blogosphere--people who are convinced, for whatever reason, that Bush would never do that again! Amazingly, people actually believe this.
More after the fold.
Here is just a sampling of stories in the major media, from established journalists, who are spelling out in great detail the push toward war with Iran. Yet, in various forums, skeptics still speak loudly. Here are just 2 examples:
"Oh, come on, the American people aren't that dumb....seriously. We aren't gonna start another war...We tried the war-with-a-middle-eastern-country thing. It didn't work. I bet you dollars to inflation-adjusted donuts we won't do that again for a while."
"We are not going to attack Iran. Sy Hersh thought we were going to attack Iran by mid-2005. It didn't happen then, and the man he said was most in favor of it, Rumsfeld, is no longer in the administration. This is people crying wolf."
So I have compiled a smattering of articles from the past year, which document only some of the incidents and adjustments in policy we've seen regarding Iran. Can anyone explain to me how, after all these items have come out, anyone can still seriously doubt what we're up to? Is it blissful ignorance, or are we truly that far removed from reality?
- New Yorker, April 2006. Sy Hersh: The Iran Plans.
- Congress, April 2006. Ron Paul: Iran:L The Next Neocon Target.
- Rolling Stone, July 2006. James Bamford: Iran - The Next War.
- BBC News, February 20, 2007. US 'Iran Attack Plans' Revealed.
- Times Online, January 7, 2007. Revealed: Israel plans Nuclear strike on Iran.
- Times Online, February 25, 2007. US Generals 'will quit' if Bush orders Iran attack.
- ABC News, May 22, 2007. Bush Authorizes New Covert Action Against Iran.
- Telegraph, February 25, 2007. US funds terror groups to sow chaos in Iran.
- Guardian, July 16, 2007.
Cheney pushes Bush to Act
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- McClatchy, August 9, 2007. Cheney urging strikes on Iran.
- Time Magazine, August 18, 2007. Prelude to an Attack on Iran.
In recent weeks, we've seen that Iran is cooperating in some respects according to the IAEA. Meanwhile, the US detained several Iranians in Iraq for several hours. Salon's Glenn Greenwald observes the following snippet of a recent Bush speech is particularly scary:
And Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust. Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late (Applause.)
Also, the US recently delcared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to be a specially designated global terrorist. This week it has been suggested that "the Cheney Administration..plans to roll out a military confrontation with Iran in September....coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, Fox, and the usual suspects."
Brave New Films has recently shown us that Fox is already ratcheting up the terror with regards to Iran. It's happening again--do we have the intestinal fortitude to stop it?
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