Wednesday, March 26, 2008

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

3 comments:

Roger said...

Since you moderate, doubt that you accept any deviant remarks -- the truth is that you are ignorant about depleted uranium. DU has never been used to attack anything else but an enemy tank or armored vehicle. It does a remarkably good job of destroying them and has saved American and UK tank crews. One crippled US tank, left behind by its comrades was surrounded by three Iraqi tanks in the Gulf War - it was fired at point blank, but the Iraqi shells did not penetrate the armor of the tank. It fired back and destroyed all three, even though the last one had hid behind a sand dune. That's really what DU is good for, bringing Americans home alive. The rest of the anti-DU crusade is pure propaganda that has been amplified by sincere, but scientifically ignorant "peace activists" (ask any one of them if they have ever eaten uranium - and how much natural uranium is in their own backyard - you will be amazed at the answers) and by pseudo-scientists like Leuren K Moret and Douglas Lind Rokke who have DVDs to sell and collect donations when they come to speak. Isn't it nice to travel the world on someone else's dime?

Go learn about DU -- start with the video at www.depletedcranium.com and then the links at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/DUStory/message/55

Write me through the DUStory Yahoo Group - I will reply.

Roger

Paul said...

It would seem that I have, indeed, ignorantly confused the use of DU with regard to tanks and EPW (earth penetrating weapons, aka nuclear bunker busters). But this was not a central point to the topic I wish to raise, which is war with Iran. Any reference to our use of weapons with any form of nuclear material may be completely eliminated from this discussion and the problem of consequences of attacking Iran remain.

So, though I moderate, I have published your comment. I see no need to enter a debate with you about something that is not the point of what I was trying to say.

That you should come across my entry at all suggests that you conduct searches on "DU" and this is your passion. It is not mine. This is all the reply you will get from me, Roger. Be well.

Roger said...

Paul,

Yes, I do have a Google Alert on DU. It is a passion because there are so many lies about it and those lies may very well come back and bite us. I don't want some American city devastated because some Arab kid, perhaps as yet unborn, believes that the US has poisoned his country forever so why not get even. I don't want American veterans and their families worrying about DU when the real problem is combat stress and IEDs. I don't want monies diverted to studying non-existent DU caused maladies instead of treating our wounded and comforting their families. That is my passion.

Far as nuclear bunker busters. There is no bomb that contains DU. That is a myth. Given that we no longer need nuclear weapons because of the extreme accuracy of the "smart weapon", I am all for total nuclear disarmament. I share this view with a number of retired 4-star generals so it is not one that is foreign to the military mindset.

Thanks for posting my first comment. Maybe you will write some day.

Roger