• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

We will not go back.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

The lights are all blinking red.

No one could have predicted…

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Politics / War on Terror / War on Terror aka GSAVE® / Bang The War Drums Slowly

Bang The War Drums Slowly

by John Cole|  July 6, 200710:32 am| 38 Comments

This post is in: War on Terror aka GSAVE®, General Stupidity, Outrage

FacebookTweetEmail

Joe Lieberman has an Op-ed in the Opinion Journal advocating for war with Iran:

Our objective here is deterrence. The fanatical regime in Tehran has concluded that it can use proxies to strike at us and our friends in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine without fear of retaliation. It is time to restore that fear, and to inject greater doubt into the decision-making of Iranian leaders about the risks they are now running.

I hope the new revelations about Iran’s behavior will also temper the enthusiasm of some of those in Congress who are advocating the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Iran’s purpose in sponsoring attacks on American soldiers, after all, is clear: It hopes to push the U.S. out of Iraq and Afghanistan, so that its proxies can then dominate these states. Tehran knows that an American retreat under fire would send an unmistakable message throughout the region that Iran is on the rise and America is on the run. That would be a disaster for the region and the U.S.

The threat posed by Iran to our soldiers’ lives, our security as a nation and our allies in the Middle East is a truth that cannot be wished or waved away. It must be confronted head-on. The regime in Iran is betting that our political disunity in Washington will constrain us in responding to its attacks. For the sake of our nation’s security, we must unite and prove them wrong.

I don’t know what tickles me more- the fact that Lieberman’s agitation is based solely on the words of one individual, or the fact that the right wing is already swallowing this up and gearing up the rhetoric. Captain Ed busts out the old tried and true gibberish:

In truth, the Iranians have been at war with us since 1979, a fact that Jimmy Carter ignored for 444 days and almost every President since did for the entirety of their terms. Now the Senate wants to take up the ISG’s recommendations and pass them into law, based on the notion that we can negotiate for good terms with a nation that has done nothing but attack our interests for a generation. It moves American denial from the absurd to an art form — and Lieberman seems to be the only statesman in Washington pointing out the obvious.

Got it? We have been at war with Iran for three decades, we just didn’t know it or were not MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT IT. Fortunately, we have brave men of the blogosphere to push us towards war. This whole bullshit about us being at war with Iran is little more than a PR push towards war, and you should not be fooled.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Empty Gestures
Next Post: The Pottery Barn Army »

Reader Interactions

38Comments

  1. 1.

    Chad N. Freude

    July 6, 2007 at 10:51 am

    Tehran has concluded that it can use proxies to strike at us and our friends in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine

    I’m sure glad we have friends in those countries, who are so willing to rush to our aid when we need them and so eager to support us and stand by us when we need their help.

  2. 2.

    Wilfred

    July 6, 2007 at 10:52 am

    He’s just pimping the Likud line, like he always does. The Israelis are getting nervous that the neocons will end their run without getting enough Americans kids killed for Israel. Al Gore should thank God he wasn’t given Florida, he wouldn’t have made it through his first year. Imagine what President Lieberman would have done.

  3. 3.

    Dreggas

    July 6, 2007 at 10:53 am

    Captain Ed should be extremely pissed at St. Ronald of Raygun. After all he sold weapons to a nation who was at war with us!

    These people need to all have a nice big cup of shut the fuck up, hell I say we let them go over and we give them all guns, yeah it will be a bay of pigs fiasco but at least they’ll be out of our hair.

  4. 4.

    grumpy realist

    July 6, 2007 at 11:02 am

    Considering what the probable effect is of a war with Iran, you wonder if Lieberman has ever considered how this might boomerang on Israel’s support in the US.

    He actually probably is that clueless that he thinks an obvious shilling of US into a disastrous war in the Mideast “on Israel’s behalf” won’t ever have any blowback.

    Memo to Lieberman and all the other Jewish neocons: you think you’re being supported by the wacko Christianists, but you aren’t. They’ll be perfectly happy to see Israel get flattened in some nuclear cataclysm at some point in the future.

  5. 5.

    grumpy realist

    July 6, 2007 at 11:04 am

    And Israel is being far more pragmatic and realistic about what a US attack on Iran would mean. At present, they don’t want it. It’s the coo-coo neo-Likudniks here in the US who are the ones pushing for an attack.

  6. 6.

    scarshapedstar

    July 6, 2007 at 11:07 am

    We have always been at war with Iran. Iran war doubleplusgood.

  7. 7.

    Mr Furious

    July 6, 2007 at 11:09 am

    I like how Carter is the only guy called out by name, when I would argue he’s the only guy whose hands were actually tied.

    Let’s not mention how twenty of those years were Republican Presidents and how they helped create what is now in Tehran.

  8. 8.

    Jake

    July 6, 2007 at 11:11 am

    The threat posed by Iran to our soldiers’ lives, our security as a nation and our allies in the Middle East is a truth that cannot be wished or waved away.

    Neither is the fact enough poor fools tapped the screen beside J. Lieberman during the last election.

    It’s the coo-coo neo-Likudniks here in the US ^same jackasses who know they won’t be anywhere near the fighting who are the ones pushing for an attack.

    Fixed.

    I swear, if they ever re-instate the draft every left-leaning blog would become a RedState Freeper Refugee Camp.

  9. 9.

    Zifnab

    July 6, 2007 at 11:20 am

    These people need to all have a nice big cup of shut the fuck up

    Cream? Sugar?

    Yes, it is curious that we’ve been at War with Iran for three decades and yet our Presidents – Carter, Clinton, other guys – never once mentioned this fact in their State of the Union addresses. Stranger still that Clinton spent all his time bombing Iraq, when the real enemy was right next door. And what’s with all those rising oil prices? Something tells me the fix is in, and the real culprit is a certain tie-less tyrant of Tehran.

  10. 10.

    RSA

    July 6, 2007 at 11:21 am

    Got it? We have been at war with Iran for three decades, we just didn’t know it or were not MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT IT.

    Three decades, hell. We’ve been at war with Iran since 1953, when the CIA helped overthrow their government. Captain Ed and company just want to go back for seconds.

  11. 11.

    cleek

    July 6, 2007 at 11:22 am

    In truth, the Iranians have been at war with us since 1979

    so when Cheney was arguing in 1996 that we should lift the sanctions on Iran, he was working to subvert the war effort ? awesome, when do we hang him ?

    Ed’s a fucking retard

  12. 12.

    Dreggas

    July 6, 2007 at 11:35 am

    RSA Says:

    Three decades, hell. We’ve been at war with Iran since 1953, when the CIA helped overthrow their government. Captain Ed and company just want to go back for seconds.

    Yeah, no shit. Was watching a program on the history of what is now Iran and how it got that way. I mean we all know history has a liberal bias so it’s not suprising that it was our actions that led to the rise of the mullah’s.

  13. 13.

    croatoan

    July 6, 2007 at 11:44 am

    the real enemy was right next door

    Right next door and only one letter different, so you can understand the confusion. In fact, the bombings and invasion and occupation were supposed to be of Iran all along, we just got lost along the way.

  14. 14.

    carpeicthus

    July 6, 2007 at 11:50 am

    I keep hearing people whose opinion I generally respect say that Captain Ed is not an idiot. I don’t get it.

  15. 15.

    Rome Again

    July 6, 2007 at 11:51 am

    Right next door and only one letter different, so you can understand the confusion. In fact, the bombings and invasion and occupation were supposed to be of Iran all along, we just got lost along the way.

    Yes, we’ve always been at war with drugs (Persian rugs to be exact).

  16. 16.

    Wilfred

    July 6, 2007 at 12:07 pm

    I keep hearing people whose opinion I generally respect say that Captain Ed is not an idiot. I don’t get it.

    Well, sometimes he’s not, maybe. This time he is. in fact, he mostly is, except when he isn’t. Generally, I don’t respect anyone, and I never respect Captain Ed, who is an idiot. Does that help?

  17. 17.

    ThymeZone

    July 6, 2007 at 12:20 pm

    I repeat, if they start a war with Iran, I’m marching on Washington, and I hope to have a couple hundred thousand friends with me.

    Enough of this is enough.

  18. 18.

    Dreggas

    July 6, 2007 at 12:21 pm

    croatoan Says:

    the real enemy was right next door

    Right next door and only one letter different, so you can understand the confusion. In fact, the bombings and invasion and occupation were supposed to be of Iran all along, we just got lost along the way.

    I new we shouldn’t have taken that left turn at albuquerque.

  19. 19.

    Dreggas

    July 6, 2007 at 12:24 pm

    ThymeZone Says:

    I repeat, if they start a war with Iran, I’m marching on Washington, and I hope to have a couple hundred thousand friends with me.

    Enough of this is enough.

    Ditto.

  20. 20.

    Teak111

    July 6, 2007 at 12:28 pm

    Doubt we will actually attack Iran, but those four mega bases in the Iraqi dessert speak of aggressive containment policy if you ask me. Attacks are exactly what the Iranian crazies want. When security is an issue, people get very conservative, see 911. I’m really beginnning to hate religion.

  21. 21.

    caustics

    July 6, 2007 at 12:44 pm

    I can only guess that Lieberman was under the impression that since his immortal soul was already fucked, why not come out ahead on the deal. In for a penny, in for a pound as they say.

    One can only imagine what Ol’ Scratch (Cheney) promised him.

  22. 22.

    Aaron

    July 6, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    And lets remember those evil traitorous sons of bitches who dealt with Iran:
    Major traitor Ronald Reagan- sold advanced american weapons technology-TOW missiles to the evil Iranians.
    and traitor Dick Cheney who’s company, Halliburton was having commercial dealings with Iran as late as 1999.
    God damned traitorous republican sons of bitches.

  23. 23.

    Zifnab

    July 6, 2007 at 4:35 pm

    Bang The War Drums Chick Slowly

    Fixed, for hotness.

  24. 24.

    Dreggas

    July 6, 2007 at 6:15 pm

    Zifnab Says:

    Bang The War Drums Chick Slowly

    Fixed, for hotness

    yes fuck her gently.

  25. 25.

    HyperIon

    July 6, 2007 at 6:17 pm

    I’m really beginnning to hate religion.

    mosey over to WaPo and check out their PostGlobal & On Faith (?) column by good old Chuck Colson where he wrote:

    I see no reason why Wiccans or pagans generally should have the services of taxpayer-paid chaplains.

    because those are CULTS.

    Lest this sound discriminatory, I think it is very clear from reading the writings of our founding fathers that a sound adherence to the values of the Judeo-Christian tradition—or at the very least, deism—was essential as a basis of the moral law that would sustain a free society.

    the moron does not even know what a deist believes.
    i came away thinking that there should be no chaplains of any type in the military.

  26. 26.

    Dreggas

    July 6, 2007 at 6:26 pm

    HyperIon Says:

    I’m really beginnning to hate religion.

    mosey over to WaPo and check out their PostGlobal & On Faith (?) column by good old Chuck Colson where he wrote:

    I see no reason why Wiccans or pagans generally should have the services of taxpayer-paid chaplains.

    because those are CULTS.

    Come say that to my face and I will gladly stick my pagan foot up his sorry ass.

  27. 27.

    rachel

    July 6, 2007 at 10:28 pm

    grumpy realist Says:

    …Memo to Lieberman and all the other Jewish neocons: you think you’re being supported by the wacko Christianists, but you aren’t. They’ll be perfectly happy are hoping to see Israel get flattened in some nuclear cataclysm at some point in the future.

    Armageddon is 2000 years late by their reckoning and they’re getting impatient.

  28. 28.

    jake

    July 6, 2007 at 10:52 pm

    mosey over to WaPo and check out their PostGlobal & On Faith (?) column by good old Chuck Colson where he wrote:

    I tried to make myself read that but the first sentence sounded like it was written by some snotty 12 year old at Bible Camp.

    Lest this sound discriminatory, I think it is very clear from reading the writings of our founding fathers that a sound adherence to the values of the Judeo-Christian tradition—or at the very least, deism—was essential as a basis of the moral law that would sustain a free society.

    Sure. “I think we should bring back slavery, but lest this sound discriminatory, I would note our founding fathers also owned slaves…”

    WTF is up at the Post? Different opinions are one thing, but this shit doesn’t even make sense. Sometimes I think they get a bit too cocky because the only other game in town is the Washington Times.

  29. 29.

    Zifnab

    July 6, 2007 at 11:06 pm

    i came away thinking that there should be no chaplains of any type in the military.

    Death is scary. If I’m going to pay a man to walk through IED infested, sniper-ridden streets 5000 miles away from home so I can pay less than $3/gallon for gas, he can have his superstitions. A cup full of holy water and an “Our Father” is a small price to pay for getting a guy to catch a bullet in his teeth for my benefit.

    That said, if the same guy asks me to do whatever wiccan thing people expect when they die, I can’t reasonably begrudge him that either. Still, chaplains are as often as not the only psychological/emotional therapy-esque person the active duty soldier is liable to meet. Chaplains serve a very important purpose in the armed forces, even if its not the purpose they were originally envisioned for.

  30. 30.

    merlallen

    July 7, 2007 at 6:25 am

    Somebody needs to dig up Reagan and try his corpse for treason if we’ve been at war with Iran since 1979.
    And his administration, including Poopy Bush need to be tried also.
    One other thing, when are Lieberman’s kids going to enlist to fight this war?
    I’d ask him but he won’t accept emails from out of state anymore. Maybe because I used to call him on his bullshit almost daily.

  31. 31.

    RSA

    July 7, 2007 at 7:53 am

    The only thing saving those Colson pieces is his bio, which includes this line:

    After pleading guilty to a Watergate-related charge of obstruction of justice in 1974, Colson served seven months of a one to three-year federal prison sentence.

    Not that I judge a book by its cover, but it’s nice to see that such sanctimonious drivel has an appropriate wrapping.

  32. 32.

    Chad N. Freude

    July 7, 2007 at 8:19 am

    hoping to see Israel get flattened in some nuclear cataclysm at some point in the future

    Doesn’t have to be nuclear, fire raining down from Heaven will do, or “Knock, Knock!” “Who’s there?” “Angel of Death,” at every door. The only real requirement is that all the Jews of the world assemble in Israel, kind of like a fire drill on the quad outside the dorm.

  33. 33.

    IanY77

    July 7, 2007 at 9:16 am

    Merlallen: can’t we go one blog post without digging up a corpse? /Quimby

    Seriously, I’m surprised that Ed brought that little talking point up. Most people thought it was dead after it was pointed out that Michael Ledeen and Oliver North would have to be executed if we were at war with Iran since 1979. Although, I might consider that a fair trade.

    /I’m going to hell for that last line, aren’t I?

  34. 34.

    bernarda

    July 7, 2007 at 10:04 am

    as some earlier posters imply, Lieberman is an Israel-firster. His first loyalty is to Israel. His Likudnik “friends” wanted his support for the attack on Iraq and now they want it for an attack on Iran. He doesn’t care how many Americans die as long as he thinks it will benefit Israel. Home is where the heart is.

  35. 35.

    r€nato

    July 9, 2007 at 1:22 am

    In truth, the Iranians have been at war with us since 1979, a fact that Jimmy Carter ignored for 444 days and almost every President since did for the entirety of their terms.

    So, since Reagan and Bush I sold arms to Iran in the 80s…

    …that means they were arming our enemy at war with us…

    …which would make them…

    …someone help me here, it starts with a ‘T’ and ends with the death penalty…

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Balloon Juice says:
    July 6, 2007 at 12:44 pm

    […] Bang The War Drums Slowly […]

  2. Democratic Convention Party Political Local Advertising Presidential Campaigns » Blog Archive » NeoCon Joe Bangs the Iran War Drum says:
    July 6, 2007 at 1:44 pm

    […] While Bush’s own rat’s are jumping from his War Ship, Joe Lieberman is desperately hanging on for dear life, clinging to the notion that we should now “Join Hands and Bomb Iran,” as Taylor Marsh points out. Robert Stein notes that Lieberman is “blowing a kiss to the Journal’s soon-to-be-owner Rupert Murdoch,” with his OP/ED and elsewhere in the blogosphere Jules Crittenden is pounding on his own little toy drum, in hopes that we’ll go to war in Iran and he can be an embedded reporter again, so he can smuggle home ancient artifacts from Iran, like he did when he embedded in Iraq. John Cole nails it: “This whole bullshit about us being at war with Iran is little more than a PR push towards war, and you should not be fooled.” […]

  3. LIEBERMAN wants war with Iran. « Exposing The Neo-Right says:
    July 6, 2007 at 4:17 pm

    […] Others: Jules Crittenden, The Newshoggers, Taylor Marsh, TigerHawk, Obsidian Wings, Captain’s Quarters, Shakesville, Reason Magazine, The Democratic Daily, GOP Bloggers, Balloon Juice, The Jawa Report, Connecting.the.Dots, Rising Hegemon, Townhall.com and Reuters Technorati Tags: Joe Lieberman, Politics, opinion, congress, washington dc, iraq, iran, stupid people […]

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Winter Wren - North of Quebec City (part 2 of 3) - Cap Tourmente and on the way to Tadoussac 4
Image by Winter Wren (5/16/25)

Recent Comments

  • Ten Bears on War for Ukraine Day 1,177: A Brief Friday Night Update (May 17, 2025 @ 2:35am)
  • BSChief on War for Ukraine Day 1,177: A Brief Friday Night Update (May 17, 2025 @ 1:41am)
  • NotoriousJRT on War for Ukraine Day 1,177: A Brief Friday Night Update (May 17, 2025 @ 1:27am)
  • Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom on War for Ukraine Day 1,177: A Brief Friday Night Update (May 17, 2025 @ 1:17am)
  • Westyny on War for Ukraine Day 1,177: A Brief Friday Night Update (May 17, 2025 @ 1:12am)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!