[From the diaries by susanhu.] In the event of another “9/11 type attack” according to Philip Giraldi, in the print edition of the American Conservative (courtesy Justin Logan). And when he says attack Iran, he means ATTACK IRAN!

The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option.

More after the break . . .

As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States.  Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing–that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack–but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections.

Some thoughts:  

First, Giraldi is a former CIA officer (specifically a CIA counterterrorism specialist according to his bio at American Conservative), so he probably has contacts among the intelligence services and the military that few journalists in Washington can match.  Second, the leak of this information appears to be coming from the military officers in charge of drawing up this plan, or at least with someone familiar with their views.  This means the military is starrting to become very ansty at the direction the Bush administration is taking the country.

The military has seen up close and personal what the Iraq War has done to the Army and Marines with their extended and multiple tours of duty in theater.  They also have to be scared shitless about the possible consequences of a nuclear attack on Iran.  The blowback would be massive.  Iran, if it has any nukes would surely use them against American Forces in the Gulf.  I leave to your imagination what the results of that would be.

Even if Iran doesn’t have the ability to respond in kind, however, the entire region would go up in flames.  The shia in Iraq would be outraged and some of them (Sadr’s militia perhaps?) would likely begin their own violent resistance to the American occupation.  Meanwhile recruitment of Muslims to Al Qauda or other terrorist organizations would shoot up tremendously, and any allies we still have would likely abandon us in horror at the breach of the nuclear threshold by the US.

Longer term?  We might see the more extremist elements of the Pakistani miltary depose Mussharef and begin to covertly aid Al Qaida, perhaps even providing them with the means to attack the US with nuclear or biological weapons. We would also likely face an oil boycott from OPEC, if merely to satisfy their own populations demand for Jihad against us.  We can’t know all the consequences, frankly, but once you unleash nukes on the Middle East, a positive result for our national security is the least likely scenario.