Sy Hersh has written another incredible article for The New Yorker outlining the Administration’s planning for military action against Iran including the use of tactical nuclear weapons. That’s frightening enough coming from the twinkle toes crowd that gave us the “they’ll welcome us as liberators in Iraq” rational for invasion. But even more frightening is how Bush’s self-understanding comes through in this article.
A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was “absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb” if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do “what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do,” and “that saving Iran is going to be his legacy.”
This is so fucked on so many levels. First we have the quintessential draft dodger, dilletante, born-on-third-base-claims-he-hit-a-triple coward talking about courage. When did Dubya ever display courage in his pathetic life? When Daddy got him all his jobs? When he illegally insider traded his shares in his own failing company? When he avoided the draft? When he chicken hawked all over the country in Air Force One instead of heading to the sounds of the guns like Rudy Giuliani on Sept. 11 2001? This fucking guy and courage have never met, not one fucking time. I’m sure the Iraqis will appreciate that Bush is going to “save” someone else the way he has “saved” them. Misery loves company, ya know.
It gets worse.
One former defense official, who still deals with sensitive issues for the Bush Administration, told me that the military planning was premised on a belief that “a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government.” He added, “I was shocked when I heard it, and asked myself, `What are they smoking?’ “
Well, at least with Bush that last question is the right one. This is the same lunacy that Bush thought about Iraq.
Here’s more
“This is much more than a nuclear issue,” one high-ranking diplomat told me in Vienna. “That’s just a rallying point, and there is still time to fix it. But the Administration believes it cannot be fixed unless they control the hearts and minds of Iran. The real issue is who is going to control the Middle East and its oil in the next ten years.”
A senior Pentagon adviser on the war on terror expressed a similar view. “This White House believes that the only way to solve the problem is to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war,” he said. The danger, he said, was that “it also reinforces the belief inside Iran that the only way to defend the country is to have a nuclear capability.”
So of course, Bush has going for him the great job he’s done dealing with the North Koreanson their “nookuler” issue.
But the even more frightening thing is that it’s the same bunch of fucking idiots that got us involved in Iraq that are sitting around in a circle jerk thnking about Iran.
In recent weeks, the President has quietly initiated a series of talks on plans for Iran with a few key senators and members of Congress, including at least one Democrat. A senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, who did not take part in the meetings but has discussed their content with his colleagues, told me that there had been “no formal briefings,” because “they’re reluctant to brief the minority. They’re doing the Senate, somewhat selectively.”
The House member said that no one in the meetings “is really objecting” to the talk of war. “The people they’re briefing are the same ones who led the charge on Iraq. At most, questions are raised: How are you going to hit all the sites at once? How are you going to get deep enough?” (Iran is building facilities underground.) “There’s no pressure from Congress” not to take military action, the House member added. “The only political pressure is from the guys who want to do it.” Speaking of President Bush, the House member said, “The most worrisome thing is that this guy has a messianic vision.”
We all know who the Democrat is: “Fightin’ Joe Lieberman, the fascist’s favorite Democrat finger puppet.
This does it for me. Bush and his messianic vision and his lunatic lusting after his legacy must be impeached for the safety of not only the United States but of the human race.
Is Lunacy an Impeachable Offense? God I hope so.
