Relax, Secret Service and NSA domestic surveillance teams. I’m not planning a little leftist “wet work” involving Our Dear Leader.

My title to this post refers to *a fictional movie about the assassination of George W. Bush in October 2007 (now out on DVD) by British director Gabriel Range. It caused quite a controversy before it was ever shown, and few theaters in America screened it, despite the fact that it is delicately balanced between the right and left points of the American political compass. However, I urge you to rent or buy it, if you haven’t already. A compelling drama, told in the style of a documentary, it gives a keen outside observer’s perspective regarding how much our country has changed since 9/11.

**Spoiler Alert: In the movie, the assassin turns out to be a Gulf War I vet, who loses one son in Iraq, and has a second son who suffers from PTSD after having served in Iraq. Ironic, in a way since yesterday was the day that Congress insured that hundreds, maybe thousands more American men and women will have to die in a far away land, merely to satisfy George Bush’s desire to fight the War on Terror over there, and to uphold his perverted sense of honor.

Disclaimer: I don’t want to see George Bush assassinated, I want to see him impeached. And I don’t really believe George W. Bush will be assassinated. Certainly not by anyone on the political left (fringe or otherwise), nor by any disgruntled Iraq War veterans or their family members (though if anyone has a reason to do so it would be one of those “Other Americans” who are the only people sacrificing on behalf of tax cuts for rich assholes and our insatiable desire to drive SUV’s and faux military vehicles).

No, if George Bush is ever assassinated, I believe, in all honesty, that it will be someone from the right wing of our political theater, and they will do so because Bush will have failed to satisfy the neocons’, AIPAC’s and Christian fundamentalists’ most compelling “need” to Bomb, bomb, bomb — bomb, bomb Iran.

(cont.)

Multiple sources have reported that a senior aide on Vice President Cheney’s national security team has been meeting with policy hands of the American Enterprise Institute, one other think tank, and more than one national security consulting house and explicitly stating that Vice President Cheney does not support President Bush’s tack towards Condoleezza Rice’s diplomatic efforts and fears that the President is taking diplomacy with Iran too seriously.

This White House official has stated to several Washington insiders that Cheney is planning to deploy an “end run strategy” around the President if he and his team lose the policy argument.

The thinking on Cheney’s team is to collude with Israel, nudging Israel at some key moment in the ongoing standoff between Iran’s nuclear activities and international frustration over this to mount a small-scale conventional strike against Natanz using cruise missiles (i.e., not ballistic missiles).

This strategy would sidestep controversies over bomber aircraft and overflight rights over other Middle East nations and could be expected to trigger a sufficient Iranian counter-strike against US forces in the Gulf — which just became significantly larger — as to compel Bush to forgo the diplomatic track that the administration realists are advocating and engage in another war.

Personally, I think, with all due respect to Steve Clemons, that this “talking point” of a split between Bush and Cheney regarding policy toward Iran is utter bullshit. This is just part of a cover story to convince the gullible that Bush is the “good cop” and Cheney the “bad cop” when it comes to Iran. In terms of actual steps the Bush administration has taken I have seen no indication that diplomacy is the path to which Bush is committed. Quite the contrary.

Indeed, I’m as convinced today as ever that both Bush and Cheney share the same goal of “blowing up real good” Iran’s nuclear facilities, along with a bunch of innocent Iranians in the process, because that has always been their goal. Have to break a few eggs and all that, right? Nonetheless, if Bush doesn’t attack Iran this year, it wouldn’t surprise me if certain elements of the American Oil War Industrial Complex decided it would be to their mutual benefit if “President” Cheney became a reality. I’m sure Bush knows that as well. He may be an idiot, but he’s no dummy, at least not as long as he has Karl Rove to do his thinking for him.

Which is why the failure of the Congress to cut off funding for the Iraq war now is such a tragedy. Because who knows how the lay of the land will be perceived this September. We may be in the middle of a “shooting war” (as opposed to our current covert war by proxies) with Iran. Another major terrorist incident could occur (whether real or Reichstaged). If recent history has taught us anything, it is that anything is possible from the gang of criminals who currently control our military might.

Sooner or later Bush will pull the trigger on Iran. He’s already supporting, funding and training terrorist organizations in Iraq and (through Saudi Arabia) in Lebanon to attack Iranian interests and allies. He’s already engaged in a massive disinformation campaign against Iran to convince the American public that Iran is the worst enemy we’ve ever faced in our entire history. And he knows that Halliburton, Exxon, Lockheed Martin, etc., are salivating at the chance to throw a few tactical nukes Teheran’s way.

People say we are living in interesting times. What they really mean by that phrase is that the United States of America, the last Superpower and Empire left in the world is under the dominion of violent, sociopathic lunatics. And lunatics don’t stop their crazy behavior on their own. It takes an intervention.

Which is the the ultimate “bad news” regarding the Congressional Democratic Leadership’s craven surrender to Bush on funding the Iraq war. They have now officially become enablers of war criminals and genocidal maniacs. It’s now their war as much as it is Bush’s war. They failed to intervene at the most propitious moment. They even failed to insist that Bush obey the Constitution and seek Congress’ permission before issuing the order to our military to start the pre-planned, “preventive” war against Iran.

Now only God (or sheer dumb luck) can prevent matters from getting, horribly, horrendously worse for Iraq, Iran, Israel, the other countries and peoples of the Middle East, our military and us, the American people. We witnessed true evil claim another victory last night. It will not be the last one it claims as a result of the Democrats’ cowardice.