You DID want war with Iran, didn't you?

No?

Do your elected officials know that? They seem hell-bent on stupidity these days.

Do something before it's too late.

[See Tom J's diary at Daily Kos for starters.]
--the BB

If the People speak loudly, Congress must listen

Dick Cheney has been bopping around in the Middle East, as we all know. Because my mistrust of him is immense, I assume that whatever is reported is only a disguise of his actual agenda and activities.

The day after he visited Saudi Arabia, this news came out there:

Riyadh (dpa) - The Saudi Shura council will secretly discuss national plans to deal with any sudden nuclear and radioactive hazards that may affect the kingdom following experts' warnings of possible attacks on Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactors, media reports said Saturday.

The Saudi-based King Abdul-Aziz City for Science and Technology has
prepared a proposal that encapsulates the probabilities of leaking nuclear and radiation hazards in case of any unexpected nuclear attacks in Iran, the Okaz Saudi newspaper said.

Why would the Saudis be preparing for this right now? Care to guess?

We get this news from DPA (Deutsche Presse Agentur) via Wiredispatch.com, with a hat top to Margaret Kimberley at Smirking Chimp (who in turn gave a h/t to Chris Floyd). I heard about this on Air America yesterday and had to go looking for it this morning.

I am not seeing this on the surface of US news, certainly. But it scares the shit out of me.

Can you imagine the consequences of an American attack on Iran?

Consider how exhausted and fractured our military resources are because of the stupidity of the Iraq venture. Consider the difference between a weakened Iraq and the wealthy and populous Iran. Consider the blowback in opinion from the Arab world (which is already in the toilet from our actions in Iraq and our evident inability to foster resolution in the Israeli-Palestinian situation). Consider the impact on our extremely fragile economy. Consider where this will put us vis-à-vis the rest of the world, cementing our image as a rogue nation and global bully. Consider the long-term consequences of our warheads with depleted uranium (DU) landing on facilities with radioactive material: fallout in the region (hence the Saudi concerns). Consider that the United States might never recover from such a stupid and disastrous mistake. Consider whether Dick Cheney or George Bush give a damn about the consequences so long as they get what they want? Consider whether the American people might be so frightened by this that they run to Grandpa McCain to make them feel safe (when he doesn't know much about geopolitics or economy or, near as I can tell, much else). Consider the deterioration of this nation.

I make no apologies for my repeated calls for impeachment.

Why has Congress not passed a law making it explicit that Bush has NO authorization for launching another war. If he is even considering an attack on Iran, and I believe he is doing more than considereing it, he should be imprisoned before he can act.

Sweet suffering Jesus, when will the American people wake up to the fact that we have two madmen running the show?

--the BB

Nous sommes foutus!

Think Progress reports this news from Esquire:

[W]ell-placed observers now say that it will come as no surprise if Fallon is relieved of his command before his time is up next spring, maybe as early as this summer, in favor of a commander the White House considers to be more pliable. If that were to happen, it may well mean that the president and vice-president intend to take military action against Iran before the end of this year and don’t want a commander standing in their way.

Digby comments:

If the Republicans want to shoot the moon to win in November, this is the likliest course. Start a new war and rely on the "rally round the flag" effect. It's hard to imagine they could go to that well again, but never underestimate paranoia and the lure of patriotic grandeur and big ratings to push the country into temporary insanity.

They are talking about CENTCOM Commander Admiral William Fallon.


As I said in the header....

Unless we can stop them. But who can and will? Not the Congress we currently know and loathe.
--the BB