Courtesy of the British conservative newspaper The Telegraph, more drum beating for a military attack against Iran by US forces in the Persian Gulf:

Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

Pentagon planners have developed a list of up to 2,000 bombing targets in Iran, amid growing fears among serving officers that diplomatic efforts to slow Iran’s nuclear weapons programme are doomed to fail.

Pentagon and CIA officers say they believe that the White House has begun a carefully calibrated programme of escalation that could lead to a military showdown with Iran.

Now it has emerged that Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, who has been pushing for a diplomatic solution, is prepared to settle her differences with Vice-President Dick Cheney and sanction military action. […]

Under the theory – which is gaining credence in Washington security circles – US action would provoke a major Iranian response, perhaps in the form of moves to cut off Gulf oil supplies, providing a trigger for air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities and even its armed forces.

Senior officials believe Mr Bush’s inner circle has decided he does not want to leave office without first ensuring that Iran is not capable of developing a nuclear weapon. […]

A State Department source familiar with White House discussions said that Miss Rice, under pressure from senior counter-proliferation officials to acknowledge that military action may be necessary, is now working with Mr Cheney to find a way to reconcile their positions and present a united front to the President.

The source said: “When you go down there and see the body language, you can see that Cheney is still The Man. Condi pushed for diplomacy but she is no dove. If it becomes necessary she will be on board.

If Bush is trying to bluff Iran I don’t think it’s working. If he is trying to gin up enough support for another war among the American people, it isn’t working, either. If, however, his purpose is to cow the Democrats in Congress into letting him get away with another preemptive war crime, well …

Ps. How can diplomatic efforts be doomed to fail when Iran has just agreed to a deal with the IAEA regarding its nuclear program? What, pray tell, diplomatic efforts has the US tried other than demanding more and more sanctions from the UN? It certainly hasn’t engaged Iran directly, nor has it supported IAEA chief ElBaradei in his efforts to increase inspections of Iran’s program. In short, the argument that diplomatic efforts are doomed is a shibboleth. The only party who wants them to fail is the Bush administration, and its new conservative ally in the EU, France.

The world should “prepare for war” with Iran, the French foreign minister has said, significantly escalating tensions over the country’s nuclear programme.

Bernard Kouchner said that while “we must negotiate right to the end” with Iran, if Teheran possessed an atomic weapon it would represent “a real danger for the whole world”.

The world should “prepare for the worst… which is war”, he said.

The insanity will only get worse, my friends. And don’t expect the Bushies to consult with Congress once Bush elects to use his “Decider” powers to attack Iran:

(cont.)

Asked if President George W Bush would consult Congress before launching any strikes on Iran, [US Defence Secretary] Gates said he would not be drawn on “hypotheticals”.

Hypotheticals? Like Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, of the Constitution?

The Congress shall have Power …

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Nice to know the Congress’ power to declare war is only hypothetical in the eyes of the Bush administration, whereas the President’s power is, well, that of a King. Funny, but I thought our forefather and mothers fought a revolution to free ourselves from the despotic rule of a single man. How silly of me. Once again, 9/11 changed everything.

By the way, does anyone doubt that the Bush White House, through either incompetence or active intention, has done more to advance the cause of nuclear proliferation than any other administration since the development of nuclear weapons in 1945?