While everyone is distracted with other things, the administration is dusting off the Office of Special Plans and gearing up for war with Iran:
Last week’s violence in Basra and Baghdad has convinced the Bush administration that actions by Iran, and not al-Qaeda, are the primary threat inside Iraq, and has sparked a broad reassessment of policy in the region, according to senior U.S. officials.
Evidence of an increase in Iranian weapons, training and direction for the Shiite militias that battled U.S. and Iraqi security forces in those two cities has fixed new U.S. attention on what Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates yesterday called Tehran’s “malign” influence, the officials said.
I think I speak for everyone when I say I am really looking forward to this next phase in the permanent war in the middle east. I hear if we bomb Iran, we will be greeted as liberators.
4tehlulz
YOUR SNARK IS UNPATRIOTIC! OUR
BROKEN ARMYMISSILES AND BOMBS WILL BE GREETED WITH CANDY AND BLOWJOBS!Dork
I can’t wait for this new war to start. Just think of all those cool missle-is-closing-in-KABLOOEY! videos we’ll get when they hit what was supposed to be a bunker. End all coverage everywhere of the Pres. campaigns, effectively reversing Obama’s momentum.
I smell fire in Tehran in July. George Bush, Patriot.
Eural Joiner
I’m still trying to get this straight –
We’re going to support the government of Maliki (which is supported by Iran) to defeat Sadr (which is supported by Iran) in order to establish a secure Iraq to defeat Iran? But wait, maybe we should just use our influence to support any of the other numerous Shi’a factions in Iraq (which are supported by Iran)in order to defeat Iran. That seems to make a lot more sense.
Or maybe I’m missing something here…
Face
It’s like this: we plan to bomb the country that is supporting the government of the country we’re trying to build. This is like punching in the face the father of the girl you’re trying to nail. Somehow, El Retardo Presidente either doesn’t notice this, or is too drunk to care.
Probably both.
Wilfred
The Neo-cons must be panicking at the thought that someone might actually , you know, talk to the Iranians. The perfect Zionist/American conflation of the Bush years is not likely to leave the destruction of Iran to a successor government not led by Clinton, as much an Aipac whore as can be. here’s Krauthammer seeding the paranoia:
You got that, America? Best way to avoid it is to send your children to die for Israel now.
The Pale Scot
Dear Gentle Readers;
I need a little advice, I putting together a refutation of the meme that European intelligence agencies agreed with the Bushites that Saddam had WMD. I have been unable to formulate an effective search query, all I get are reactions from the governments (the political arms), and references to curveball. Does anyone know of perhaps an article that puts this together which could guide my research?.
El
From The Asia Times Online:
March 20 is destined to be another day of infamy. On this date this year, the US officially declared war on Iran.
So who made it official?
A unit within the US Treasury Department, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which issued a March 20 advisory to the world’s financial institutions under the title: “Guidance to financial institutions on the continuing money laundering threat involving illicit Iranian activity.”
empty
Irony is dead.
Bob In Pacifica
Did Bush bomb Irony too? Where’s that country located?
calipygian
The real manly men in the Bush Maladministration just want to get to Tehran before the pantsuit wearing Hillary or the effete, elitest, bi-sexual
OsamaObama take office.Zifnab
Hey, four years ago they got to invade a country with a great deal of fanfare and hoopla. Now they’ve kinda got to slink into it under cover of night.
That’s an improvement, right?
Dork
Fucking christ, here we go.
nabalzbbfr
For God’s sakes, during the past three weeks Iran’s Quds force have been firing rockets on the American Embassy in Baghdad, trying to take over Basra, accelerating their nuclear weapons programs and making more threats to wipe out Israel:
IRAN’S BUSTED IRAQ BID
And we are supposed to sit still and take this lying down?
calipygian
Why don’t we go to our great ally and friend Maliki and tell him to tell his
good friendspuppet masters in Tehran to knock it off?Or how about we just get the fuck out of Iraq?
Dork
Not only are we currently lying down, we’re nursing a broken ankle and ribs (Army/Marines), cared for by a shitty doctor (Bush), and have run out of insurance coverage to fix it quickly (the deficit).
Now we have a new hotshot lawyer (Cheney et al) who thinks that by suing (bombing Iran), we can instantly fix the ankle and ribs and not sustain any more fiscal damage. While the rest of us in Realityville recoil at teh stoopiditee.
So to answer your question, yes.
calipygian
And using a story from the ever classy Rupert Murdoch New York Post does not count as a citation to back up an argument. If I wanted to know about Headless Bodies Found in Topless Bars, I read the Post.
That, and Amir Taheri was the liar who peddled the lie about Iranian Jews having to wear Stars of David, Nazi-style.
He is an unrepentant liar.
Svensker
So is nabblefoozer.
4tehlulz
>>And we are supposed to sit still and take this lying down?
“we”
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Graeme
I dunno, guys. Instapundit has been predicting revolution *any minute now* in Iran since 2001 or earlier. I’m sure we’ll have tons of support once we go in!
Or we’ll just resort to a draft. That would be a nice way to segue into a McCain ‘National Greatness’ Administration, anyway.
Hahahahaha! It seems as though everyone on the Right wants the GWOT to turn into WWII. Unfortunately, they want an endless version of WWII.
Except they seem to be itching to fight everyone in the Middle East and they want to throw in China, to boot!
The Pale Scot
“We”
Perhaps you should take your family and your assets to Israel where that term might actually have a bit of truth to it. Since you seem to be so hopped for a war against Iran, pick up an UZi and fight it,
But Like other neocons, I’m sure you have “other priorities” , SO SHOULD WE
“A survey of Israeli State pronouncements, documents and press releases echoed by its resident representatives in the Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and their supporters writing and speaking in the major media reveals a concerted effort to convince the United States to militarily attack Iran”
informationclearinghouse.info/article14862.htm
globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=4536
Jay C
NO: I think a much better idea is to simply dismiss this shit as the ranting gibberish of a right-wing troll – then ignore it. And you.
Dennis - SGMM
Seems to me that bombing Iran is the ultimate expression of Bush-league use of force: stomp on a hornets’ nest then stand around and let them sting you.
A quick look at a map of the region will inform almost anyone of the suicidal stupidity of starting up hostilities with Iran. Lamentably, suicidal stupidity is another hallmark of the Bush administration.
Zifnab
Whatever. I’ve played tic-tac-toe enough times to recognize that – holding Iraq and Afghanistan – we totally win if we invade Iran. They’re all in a nice neat little line. How does that not translate into instant win?
It’s also worth noting that if we can’t stop Iranian rocket attacks on US troops sitting in the Green Zone in Iraq, how the hell do we intend to protect ourselves from rocket attacks while sitting in the New And Improved Green Zone in Tehran? No one has precisely explained how an Iranian bombing run or tank invasion would halt the violence. Would Iran become LESS hostile after we killed a few thousand of their citizens?
Soliton
After observing the reaction of American to the events of 9/11/2001 the answer is clearly “yes”.
Conservatively Liberal
Rumor is that as long as our planes fly low enough while dropping bombs on Iran, our pilots will be showered with flowers and candy. First, they have to low-level bomb an Iranian candy factory and an Iranian florist. Then, as the candy and flowers fly upward, the pilots take turns flying through them.
Of course, the oil from Iran will pay for everything, right?
Right now, I have a feeling that the right is so desperate to win this fall that they are willing to start another war in an attempt to do so. Never mind that our military is in the worst state of readiness since who knows when, and our national bank account is overdrawn, if we throw enough American lives at Iran then we will win!
Osama spent less than a million in cash to pull off 9-11. How much have we spent in retaliation since then? How many of our men and women in the military have died or been maimed for life? How is our reputation holding up around the world?
I know, dumb questions.
I know, dumb question.
rawshark
I hear the Marines in Yuma yesterday were maneauvering in town. Giant helicopters were dropping off marines in the middle of town, tanks running the streets. Apparently the residents of Yuma don’t see that often. Practicing a city drop?
Delia
Wow. War against Iran. The Pope won’t eat dinner with Georgie as it is. Most of the world hates us as it is. The military is almost broken as it is. Most of the country hates Georgie as he is. And what a great plan for turning a recession into a full-blown depression.
And BTW, what are the Israelis going to do after the good ol’ USA is well and thoroughly sunk, a mile above our eyeballs in foreign debt, unable to send them any more nifty weaponry, and surrounded by Arabs who will be, shall we say, more than a little miffed with them? Have they thought that scenario through?
TenguPhule
And they butter their bread butter side down!
TenguPhule
I welcome Iran practicing Bush-style elimination of legitimate political targets. It will be a refreshing change to see Republicans experience their own policies directly.
TenguPhule
If Israel were really so scheming and and influential behind the scenes, why are they so dumb as to let Bush make their situation worse?
Soylent Green
The Israelis are afraid of Iranian missiles, which can’t reach us but can sure as hell reach them. They have a deadly nuclear response in store but would rather stay alive than use it. OTOH, the Iranians are not crazy and ought to stay deterred.
During the cold war we used Israel as a proxy against the Soviet Union, which was arming the Arab states; now some Israelis want to use us as a proxy against Iran. This is not hard to understand. It’s probably not in their best interests, but being in mortal danger has a tendency to skew one’s perceptions. Maybe they think if we fight Iran for them that they can stay out of it.
President Cheney can’t invade Iran (him and what army?). What’s being cooked up is air attack only.
After it is underway (timed as usual to help the GOP politically) I expect a lot of unexpected consequences.
Rick Taylor
I can’t even believe an air attack would be possible. Iraq wouldn’t stand for it; it would be the beginning of the end of the occupation, one way or another.
Reverend Spooner
Anyone who isn’t pro-liberation is objectively pro-mullah.
Sure, especially if it’s some other real man’s ass that’s going to have to actually go there and do the fighting, some other real man who gets brought home in a box wrapped in a fucking flag.
TenguPhule
I pity whatever naval forces we have in the Gulf when the balloon goes up.
An air attack would hurt Iran, but they’d retain full offensive ability to retaliate.