What we should worry about, however, is the continued effort by the neocons to shore up their sagging influence. They now fear that events and arguments could intervene to keep what once seemed like a “nearly inevitable” attack from happening. They know that they must keep up the pressure on Bush and maintain a drumbeat calling for war.
They are doing exactly this during September and October in a series of meetings organized by the American Enterprise Institute on Iran and Iraq designed to reemphasize the case for hawkish, interventionist deployments in Iraq and a military, regime-change-oriented strike against Iran. And through Op-Eds and the serious political media, the “bomb Iran now” crowd believes they must undermine those in and out of government proposing alternatives to bombing and keep the president and his people saturated with pro-war mantras.
We should also worry about the kind of scenario David Wurmser floated, meaning an engineered provocation. An “accidental war” would escalate quickly and “end run,” as Wurmser put it, the president’s diplomatic, intelligence and military decision-making apparatus. It would most likely be triggered by one or both of the two people who would see their political fortunes rise through a new conflict — Cheney and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
That kind of war is much more probable and very much worth worrying about.
Why do I not find this news re-assuring?
I think I’ll go put my head in a bucket of water now….
Front page
Why Would the US Attack Iran?
The “Why Would the U.S. Attack Iran” website - http://www.whyattackiran.com/ - has been updated to represent the current government.
There is not the slightest actual evidence that the Iranian nuclear program has anything to do with creating nuclear weapons [1] and even if it did have a weapons program it would pose no threat to the United States [2]. Nevertheless, the United States has been constantly and deliberately misrepresenting these realities [3] in order to create the false impression that there is some valid reason for us to attack Iran.
So why is the political leadership of the United States falsifying evidence to justify a war against Iran, a war that would make the current war in Iraq look like a cakewalk [4]?
“… it’s the threat against Israel,”[5]
Although the vast majority of Americans are opposed to a U.S. attack on Iran [6] – a fact that has been a problem for many leaders of the Israel Lobby [7] – roughly 71% of Israelis actively support the idea of the U.S. attacking Iran [8]. The “Why Would the U.S. Attack Iran?” website - http://www.whyattackiran.com/ - shows this in detail, illustrating the current leadership (President, Vice-President, Secretary of State, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Speaker of the House, House Majority Leader, and House Minority Leader) standing before AIPAC [9] declaring their willingness to go to war against Iran on behalf of Israel. Further, recent news stories – primarily from pro-Israel sources – are listed on the left side of the site clearly illustrating the issue. There is no mystery or conspiracy about the fact that the pro-Israel lobby is leading the charge for war on Iran, it is all quite out in the open and freely admitted.
To learn more about the push for war against Iran and why, please visit the “Why Would the U.S. Attack Iran?” website at: http://www.whyattackiran.com/ If you find it useful, please be sure to pass it along to others.
Notes:
[1] Mark Heinrich, “Western talk of Iran war premature ’hype’: IAEA head,” Reuters, 17 September 2007, http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArt…
[2] Robert Burns, “Abizaid: World could abide nuclear Iran,” Associated Press, 17 September 2007, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070918/ap_o…
[3] BBC Staff, “US Iran report branded dishonest,” BBC News, 14 September 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5…
[4] Paul Rogers, “Iran: Consequences of a War,” Oxford Research Group, February 2006,
http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/pu…
[5] Quote given in context of Iraq, not Iran, but holds true in both cases. Philip Zelikow, former member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and executive director of the 9/11 Commission. Statement made at the University of Virginia on Sep. 10, 2002 http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=23…
[6] For a collection of recent polls, see: PollingReport.Com http://www.pollingreport.com/iran.htm
[7] James D. Besser, “Jewish Leaders Caught In Iran Bind,” The Jewish Week, 31 August 2007, http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newsco…
[8] Aluf Benn, “Poll: 71% of Israelis want the U.S. to strike Iran if talks fail,” Ha’aretz, 18 May 2007, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/8609…
[9] AIPAC, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, http://www.aipac.org/