First up, Ambassador John Bolton gets his war face on vis-a-vis Iran in an appearance on (wait for it) FOX NEWS’ Your World with with Neil Cavuto (courtesy Think Progress):
Transcript:
BOLTON: And I think when the President says it’s unacceptable, I think what he means by that is that it’s unacceptable. So it’s important…
CAVUTO: But unacceptable means that if it keeps going on you’re going to do something about it…
BOLTON: That no option is taken off the table. And Secretary…
[ snip ]
CAVUTO: Unilateral military action?
BOLTON: Secretary Rice made that point again today. But that’s why I think…
CAVUTO: That we would, I’m sorry Ambassador, that we would act alone if we had to?
BOLTON: That’s why he says no option is taken off the table. But it’s also why he has, the President, has reached out President Putin and other leaders in the past couple of days to say, “We’re making a significant step here,” that will be criticized by many of the president’s staunchest supporters here at home. But he’s taking this step to show strength and American leadership and to say he’s willing to do something that may be unpopular even with some of his supporters, to remove all excuses from Iran and its supporters to say, “We went the extra mile. We gave Iran really, this last chance to show that they are serious when they say they don’t want nuclear weapons.” This is put or shut up time for Iran.
Put up or shut up time. I guess the Cheney cabal in the White House still expects to see the missiles fly and the bombs fall. Before they get all orgasmic about that possibility, perhaps they should heed this shot across their bow fired by the current Prime Minister in Iraq:
BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 1 — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki lashed out at the American military on Thursday, denouncing what he characterized as habitual attacks by troops against Iraqi civilians.
What connects these two stories? Follow me below the fold for the answer.
First though, more from the NYT about Prime Minister al-Maliki’s charges:
. . . Mr. Maliki said violence against civilians had become a “daily phenomenon” by many troops in the American-led coalition who “do not respect the Iraqi people.”
“They crush them with their vehicles and kill them just on suspicion,” he said. “This is completely unacceptable.” Attacks on civilians will play a role in future decisions on how long to ask American forces to remain in Iraq, the prime minister added.
The denunciation was an unusual declaration for a government that remains desperately dependent on American forces to keep some form of order in the country amid a resilient Sunni Arab insurgency in the west, widespread sectarian violence in Baghdad, and deadly feuding among Shiite militias that increasingly control the south.
Put aside the seriousness of these charges, and the certainty that al-Maliki is trying his best to placate the Sunni elements of his “Unity” government. Does anyone seriously doubt that an attack on Iran at this time would send the region into chaos far worse than what we are experiencing at the moment? That al-Maliki would use such rhetoric against the very country whose military is keeping him and his colleagues in their nice safe offices in the Green Zone tells me just how shaky the new Iraqi government is. We bomb Iran and al-Maliki’s government likely collapses overnight.
Further, any attack on Iran would bring massive assaults on our understaffed and widely dispersed units throughout Iraq. Shia militias would provide the main source of such attacks, but no doubt Sunni insurgents would act opportunistically to kill isolated American forces when they could. This may be the real reason for the purported strategy of an American redeployment to their “enduring bases” which has been much bruited about by various sources in the media. But does anyone really think we can keep our troops safe anywhere in Iraq once the bombs start to rain down on Iran?
Why do Bolton and his handlers continue to insist on this tough line with Iran? It’s certainly not the threat posed by Iran’s puny efforts at enrichment. Even our EU allies are only “with us” on the “diplomatic track” because they hope to forestall another military misadventure by the US in the Middle East, not encourage one.
I understand that the theory of US hegemony imposed by force in the oil rich states of the Gulf is driving their policy, but at some point you have to wonder if anyone in the Bush administration truly understands the situation on the ground in Iraq and Iran. We know they didn’t foresee the consequences when they deposed Saddam, so I can only assume they are in complete denial of the risk any attack on Iran poses to our forces and our national security. I can only assume that they believe attacking Iran will put right the strategic situation in the Middle East, and restore the balance that was shattered when US forces invaded Iraq.
Sadly, it appears we are at the mercy of the dreams of madmen.
“Sadly, it appears we are at the mercy of the dreams of madmen.”
Yes, it appears so.
If only we could discern their dreams more clearly we might be able to do more to stop them. However, I still think they are trying to sell a cave-in as tough talk. Unless they can convince Lugar and Warner and get at least some kind of passive aggreement from Blair, they can’t do this.
I never dreamed in a trillion years that I would be saying this kind of thing, but it is now time for all good men to come to the aid of our country. It is time for the military leaders to refuse the order to do such a thing. It is time for mutiny in any fashion we can to save not only us but the lives of many innocent. It is time to shove this administratin to trial and give them just justice. I am so very tired of this bullcrap. It is now up to us to stop this administration…totally it is our job now. As I see it the world is depending on us for this. I just wished I had the power to start the revolution here. I wished I had the now how to do it. All I know is it now time.
This is the post I would have made had I not seen yours.
She speaks loudly and clearly for me, too. We are running out of time to stop this insanity.
Who will ask George W. Bush “Give me back my legions” when this plays out like as Bolten lusts? It will have the same impact on yet another empire. The principal man responsible for this debacle just might not be remembered so fondly. Of course, didn’t both spouses names begin with an “L”? Hmmmmm?
Nice allusion to the Chimperor.
It’s amazing to me how badly they have mismanaged this “War on Terror”. They consistently seem to do worse than the worst case scenario. I’m horrified and amazed at the same time that such ineptitude is possible on such a large stage.
The 9/11 attacks should have played to Republican strengths and helped enormously with setting up their 1000-year reich. We were attacked by a relatively small group of extremists. All they had to do to retaliate was go into Afghanistan and Pakistan with massive numbers of special forces and air support, and kill everyone who might remotely be Al Qaida including Bin Laden. Bingo, the entire world is scared of our military might, other terrorist organizations carefully avoid killing americans in the future, and Bush is elevated to monarch by an adoring public.
Instead, they let all of these other objectives cloud their pursuit of the main goal, and as a result have done absolutely nothing right. I’m guessing the original plan was to move on from success in Iraq to subsequent wars against the other two members of the “Axis of Evil”, but it’s horribly incompetent to stick to the plan when the first few dozen steps have all been disastrous.
As always, I remain stunned at how inept these incredibly smart people have turned out to be.
was never to fight the terrorists. But you knew that.
I did indeed, but I will argue til my dying day that the Republicans would have been much better off if it had been. They were presented one of the easiest foreign policy opportunities in American history, gift-wrapped and there for the taking, and they completely blew it. I can’t even imagine how much worse off this country would be now if they weren’t so incompetent.
I think what we’re hearing is the last gasps of a dying would-be empire. Refusing to look reality in the face BushCo continues on their nihilistic path toward doom.
Could be right. The SS ran their extermination camps until the end. Even as their cities were leveled they stayed the course. Bush will attack Iran probably after the 2008 elections but before the inauguration of the new democratic president. Bush Sr. went on his Somalia adventure between his election loss and Clinton’s inauguration. This family has no true morals nothing is real to them and repercussions are for the poor. He will think nothing of starting another war and leaving the blowback for the next administration.
I have some hope that a Democrat majority in Congress could put the brakes on all this.
My concern right now is that the big news media are playing echo chamberlains to the White House propaganda on Iraq. And I’m not just talking about the U.S. press.
We’ll see how this plays out.