It's Official: We are Pumping up the Volume in the Gulf

And by pumping up the volume I mean this:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 — The United States and Britain will begin moving additional warships and strike aircraft into the Persian Gulf region in a display of military resolve toward Iran that will come as the United Nations continues to debate possible sanctions against the country, Pentagon and military officials said Wednesday.

The officials said that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was expected this week to approve a request by commanders for a second aircraft carrier and its supporting ships to be stationed within quick sailing distance of Iran by early next year.

Of course, Iran shouldn’t view this as indicating an intent to bomb the hell out of their miltary installations and nuclear facilities. Not at all. It’s just a gentle reminder that we can blow their shit up if we feel like it, so maybe they’d better cool their jets, so to speak.

The trouble with this type of provocation is that you never know how it’s going to turn out. Sometimes, nothing of any significance happens. Sometimes, by the grace of God (and a President more inclined to use diplomacy rather than military force) a nuclear holocaust is narrowly avoided. And sometimes, people sort of blunder into a conflagration which everyone, in retrospect would have sought to avoid if they could have foreseen the results of their sabre rattling bluster and bombast.

Iran’s leaders are no Boy Scouts, and they clearly have sought to hinder our interests in the Middle East by taking advantage of our misteps in Iraq. However, I for one don’t think it behooves us to threaten them at this point in time with hints and suggestions of another unilateral military action by our armed forces in the Persian Gulf. Threats of annilhilation and regime change are the last thing we should be doing right now. As even Jim Baker realizes, we should be trying to engage them diplomatically. Unfortunately that’s the one option Bush and Cheney have consistently taken off the table.

6 Comments

chimneyswift on December 21, 2006 at 9:17 am

We all know Dick Cheney wants to nuke somebody.

So let’s have a thought experiment: Would the US being involved in a shooting war (or massive bombing vs. ground to ship missle war) make it more or less likely that major investigations by a Democratic Majority Congress will get media traction?

Now ask yourself, “What would Karl do?”

You now have the opinions of the two biggest influences on the boy king’s decision making.

So if you’re Iran, what do you do?

The interesting thing is that the Bush administration will be that last military adventurists of the US for a long time, because we will have no ground strike military capacity to speak of by the time they’re done.

Cheers!

keepinon on December 21, 2006 at 10:10 am

We could have a regional war involving the surrounding Muslim countries in a heartbeat, after that who knows what could happen with Russia, China, India, Pakastan, Europe and the like. Our hubris does not seem to allow us to consider the possibility that the rest of the world has a bit at stake regarding a stable supply of oil from the mid-east. I guess we assume all will sit by and watch our “decider” keep mucking the whole thing up. That would be very convienent for GW for sure, but at some point (soon), I think there is going to be hell to pay.

idredit on December 21, 2006 at 10:15 am

Or caught in “Dire Straits” as it were: “The US military build-up in the Gulf is a preamble to President Bush’s rejection of a key recommendation of the Iraq Study Group.” – Commentary Guardian, UK

Two points are worth noting regarding the bolstering of the US Navy in the Gulf…[..]

One, it is a continuation of an ongoing, albeit unannounced policy-Keeping the Oil pumping.

On 30 October the Pentagon led a five-day naval exercise, codenamed “Leading Edge”, in the Persian Gulf involving the participation of Britain, France, Italy, Australia – and Bahrain, which hosts the US fifth fleet. There were observers from 19 other countries, including a few in the Gulf region. And this led the Pentagon to declare, falsely, that the naval manoeuvres involved 25 countries.

Two, the Bush White House is manipulating its own leaked stories about the pressure that Saudi Arabia is allegedly exerting on it by threatening to fund Sunni militias in Iraq if the Pentagon withdrew its forces from Iraq.

That the Saudi government has been in league with the Sunni tribal leaders in Iraq for a long time is an open secret. There is nothing new about this. As it is, there is no more effective way to undermine the legitimacy of the Saudi royals than to claim that they want the infidel American troops to continue their occupation of Iraq.[.]

In the US, the latest military manoeuvring by the White House is a preamble to President George W Bush rejecting the key recommendations of the Iraq Study Group co-chaired by James Baker: withdrawal of the US combat troops from Iraq by early 2008, and engaging with Iran and Syria diplomatically.”

(emphasis added)

refinish69 on December 21, 2006 at 10:49 am

Bush & Company and their little pet monkey Blair are some of the dumbest assholes known to mankind!!!! I can just see us starting yet another war in the mideast when we don’t have the manpower to even replace troops being killed daily in a civil war that we started. Can you tell I am a little pissed off at George and the rest of the idiots.

boran2 on December 21, 2006 at 11:04 am

The lessons of history are lost on these individuals. USA uber alles.

observer393 on December 22, 2006 at 12:25 am

chimneyswift on December 21, 2006 at 9:17 am

We all know Dick Cheney wants to nuke somebody.

So let’s have a thought experiment: Would the US being involved in a shooting war (or massive bombing vs. ground to ship missle war) make it more or less likely that major investigations by a Democratic Majority Congress will get media traction?

Now ask yourself, “What would Karl do?”

You now have the opinions of the two biggest influences on the boy king’s decision making.

So if you’re Iran, what do you do?

The interesting thing is that the Bush administration will be that last military adventurists of the US for a long time, because we will have no ground strike military capacity to speak of by the time they’re done.

Cheers!
- keepinon on December 21, 2006 at 10:10 am
  
  We could have a regional war involving the surrounding Muslim countries in a heartbeat, after that who knows what could happen with Russia, China, India, Pakastan, Europe and the like. Our hubris does not seem to allow us to consider the possibility that the rest of the world has a bit at stake regarding a stable supply of oil from the mid-east. I guess we assume all will sit by and watch our “decider” keep mucking the whole thing up. That would be very convienent for GW for sure, but at some point (soon), I think there is going to be hell to pay.
idredit on December 21, 2006 at 10:15 am

Or caught in “Dire Straits” as it were: “The US military build-up in the Gulf is a preamble to President Bush’s rejection of a key recommendation of the Iraq Study Group.” – Commentary Guardian, UK

Two points are worth noting regarding the bolstering of the US Navy in the Gulf…[..]

One, it is a continuation of an ongoing, albeit unannounced policy-Keeping the Oil pumping.

On 30 October the Pentagon led a five-day naval exercise, codenamed “Leading Edge”, in the Persian Gulf involving the participation of Britain, France, Italy, Australia – and Bahrain, which hosts the US fifth fleet. There were observers from 19 other countries, including a few in the Gulf region. And this led the Pentagon to declare, falsely, that the naval manoeuvres involved 25 countries.

Two, the Bush White House is manipulating its own leaked stories about the pressure that Saudi Arabia is allegedly exerting on it by threatening to fund Sunni militias in Iraq if the Pentagon withdrew its forces from Iraq.

That the Saudi government has been in league with the Sunni tribal leaders in Iraq for a long time is an open secret. There is nothing new about this. As it is, there is no more effective way to undermine the legitimacy of the Saudi royals than to claim that they want the infidel American troops to continue their occupation of Iraq.[.]

In the US, the latest military manoeuvring by the White House is a preamble to President George W Bush rejecting the key recommendations of the Iraq Study Group co-chaired by James Baker: withdrawal of the US combat troops from Iraq by early 2008, and engaging with Iran and Syria diplomatically.”

(emphasis added)
refinish69 on December 21, 2006 at 10:49 am

Bush & Company and their little pet monkey Blair are some of the dumbest assholes known to mankind!!!! I can just see us starting yet another war in the mideast when we don’t have the manpower to even replace troops being killed daily in a civil war that we started. Can you tell I am a little pissed off at George and the rest of the idiots.
boran2 on December 21, 2006 at 11:04 am

The lessons of history are lost on these individuals. USA uber alles.
observer393 on December 22, 2006 at 12:25 am

It’s Official: We are Pumping up the Volume in the Gulf

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