Dems, please don't fall for Rove's Syria/Iran trap!

[John_H]

All of the propaganda coming from the misadministration and the whores about Iran and Syria is not about Iran and Syria. It's about Iraq and only Iraq.

Keep in mind the following premise: The overarching goal of Chimp's foreign policy over the next two years is cutting and running from Iraq and declare victory before the midterm elections. This he will do though the puppet government "asking" the US to create a timetable,insisting they can handle the problem with our financial and logitical support. The media will say, "The troops are on their way home! Our Preznit was right! Disarm Schmisarm! He has created a democracy in the middle east!"

2)There will never be an invasion of Syria or Iran. Never. They'll never get a UN resolution or probably even enough GOP votes,and it'd be a bloodbath since both countries have actual armies. What they want is a compromise--ANY copmpromise or statement coming out of syria or Iran that they can spin as capitulation. Then they will say, "See the invasion of IRAQ scared tose damn evildoers so much that they gave in, and we didn't have to fire a shot. Jsut like Libya!"

3)Any attention drawn to Iran and Syria diverts attention from Iraq. And what better way to draw attention than to get people screaming against another "war."

Lets be smart about this. We should be focusing America's attention to the debacle already underway in Iraq, not helping Rove create two "victories" out of thin air.

[mattclearing]

1. That sounds like a win-win situation for them.

Interesting spin.

But I think you underestimate them.

Has it occurred to you that they might invade Iran or Syria as a pretext to pull out of Iraq?

Edit: And by pull out, I mean keep the bases, but get out of the cities.

[cthrumatrix]

2. I see a massive mess.... the corporate media will paint "nirvana"

with or w/o us.

We are not leaving Iraq....

[bowens43]

3. Never say never........

I for one, firmly believe that at a minimum there will be attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. I think this will be of much greater benefit for them in the 2006 races then would be bringing home the troops.

You seem to be under the impression that they would need either a UN resolution or the support of Congress in order to attack. That's not the case.

IMO you are greatly underestimating this administration's desire to create a legacy. I don't believe for a minute that they are concerned with 2006. The fix for 2006 is already in. Remember, they own the vote machines and the tabulation programs.

I think that you also underestimate the power of nationalism and the ignorance and blood lust of the American people. If Bush attacks Iran or Syria , support will be overwhelming and his approval ratings will skyrocket again (at least at first).

But I do agree that it would take our attention away from Iraq. Iraq is a failure. They need another distraction.

Statements very much like yours were common here and elsewhere in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Few believed that it would happen.

[John_H]

4. I was posting about their Iraq plans within days of the innauguration

and almost everyone on DU believed it would happen.

The fact is they would need a UN resolution for an invasion of Iran--russia and china would make sure of that. They will need a congressional resolution to invade. The dictatorship of fixed midterm elections and presidentially decreed major invasions simply hasn't arrived in america......yet.

Plus, any arguments about WMD's are going to be viewed more skeptically by everyone, and, hopefully, the media would inform the american people that Iran has the latest handheld anti-armor weapons (which make the RPG's that briefly bogged down our invasion of Iraq look like pop guns), a state-of-the-art anti-aircraft system, a half-decent air force, and lots of well trained soldiers. We'd win handily, but there'd be more of our people killed in the first three days than the total killed in Iraq.

What Rove wants is people screaming about Iran now.

[ThorsHammer]

5. I am worried about more wars, esp. with Iraq still a mess

From others' posts here, Iran unfortunately looks likely. Adding Syria would make it even more of a mess, and would also likely be another guerilla type war.