Reuters is reporting:
Despite the Bush administration’s insistence it has no plans to go to war with Iran, a Pentagon panel has been created to plan a bombing attack that could be implemented within 24 hours of getting the go-ahead from President George W. Bush, The New Yorker magazine reported in its latest issue. […]
The panel initially focused on destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities and on regime change but has more recently been directed to identify targets in Iran that may be involved in supplying or aiding militants in Iraq, according to an Air Force adviser and a Pentagon consultant, who were not identified.
The consultant and a former senior intelligence official both said that U.S. military and special-operations teams had crossed the border from Iraq into Iran in pursuit of Iranian operatives, according to the article.
Even as Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman denies there are any plans to go to war with Iran, separately, this report out of Australia states that Dick Cheney said “All options are still on the table” re Iran, including war.
The Scotsman tells us:
Tehran refused to comply with an August 31 deadline to suspend enrichment, triggering a Security Council resolution ordering all countries to stop supplying it with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programmes, and to freeze assets of ten key Iranian companies and 12 individuals related to those programmes.
Iran has offered unconditional talks, but accuses the West of having double standards.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week said Iran would halt its nuclear fuel work if those making such demands did the same. Iran also points to Israel, which is known to have nuclear weapons, yet refuses to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, as Iran has done.
According to the Scotsman piece, Cheney is the chief hawk on Iran:
Leading the hawkish camp is Cheney, who is urging the Pentagon to press ahead with war planning.
But as well as Rice, Robert Gates, the Defence Secretary, says he is unequivocally opposed to military action on the grounds that it would inflame the Islamic world, and make success even harder in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Scotsman article states that “The key question is whether Bush himself will seek a dramatic denouement of the Iran question by ordering military action before he hands over to his successor.” But I think the key question is this: If Congress refuses to pay for an attack against Iran, but Bush orders one nonetheless, who will the military obey?
According to this piece from the Sunday Times of London:
“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”
A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them.
“There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgment too far for there to be resignations.”
A generals’ revolt on such a scale would be unprecedented. “American generals usually stay and fight until they get fired,” said a Pentagon source. Robert Gates, the defence secretary, has repeatedly warned against striking Iran and is believed to represent the view of his senior commanders.
Meanwhile, America obsesses about Anna Nicole Smith’s death, Britney Spear’s head-shaving antics, the upcoming Oscars, and of course, who to vote for on American Idol. It’s shame most don’t have a taste for the only reality show that matters: Using American men and woman to secure private profit for individuals under the guise of the military and in the fake name of “National Security.”
You know what would make us all more secure? Pulling our nose and oil drillbits out of other people’s countries.
