The next Downing street memo must have just been written!

[sce56]

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/03/1318243
From DemocracyNow radio show this am


UK Military Officials Discuss Impact of Possible U.S. Strike Against Iran
The London Telegraph is reporting senior military officials from Britain are meeting today to discuss possible military strikes against Iran and the consequences of a U.S. attack. According to the paper, British officials now believe that the Bush administration is prepared to attack Iran on its own or with the assistance from Israel even if there is little international support. The paper outlined one possible attack scenario like this: U.S. ships and submarines stationed in the Gulf would begin by firing tactical tomahawk cruise missiles at Iran's air defense systems. Then B2 stealth bombers would drop satellite-guided bunker-busting bombs on suspected sites connected to Iran's nuclear program. One senior official in the British Foreign Office told the newspaper "The belief in some areas of Whitehall is that an attack is now all but inevitable." But some British officials are concerned that an attack within Iran will unhinge southern Iraq where British troops are stationed.

U.S. Experts: Attack on Iran Would Result in Greater Terrorism
Meanwhile the Washington Post is reporting that U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts now believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes by deploying intelligence operatives to carry out attacks against U.S. targets abroad and civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The Iranian-backed group Hezbollah has carried out attacks against the U.S. targets before including the 1983 truck bombing of a Marine barrack in Beirut killing 241 and a 1996 truck bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 U.S. service members.

UK Government Admits London Bombings Tied to Iraq War
In other news from Britain -- Tony Blair's government is now acknowledging for the first time that the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq provided motivation for the four British suicide bombers who killed 52 people in London last July. According to the Observer newspaper, the British Home Office is preparing a report that concludes the men were radicalized by Britain's foreign policy particularly in Iraq. Shortly after the July 7th attacks, British MP George Galloway said Londoners had "paid the price" for the British government's decision to attack Iraq and Afghanistan. But until now the government has tried to claim there were no ties between the bombings and the Iraq war.

UK Intelligent Agents Warn Iraq War Will Make Britain A Target For Years
Meanwhile the Times of London reports high ranking British intelligence agents have warned Tony Blair in a top secret memo that the war in Iraq will make Britain a target of attacks by Al Qaida for many years to come.

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. "on its own or with the assistance from Israel"

Somehow, this doesn't surprise me at all. For quite a while, I've been thinking that Bush's "we'll attack them before they attack us to protect ourselves" is, in essence, a twisted form of "Israel has every right to defend itself". It's just been morphed to apply to the U.S....in a post-9/11 world, of course.

But, unless Israel is ready to put nukes throughout the Middle East, overtly teaming up with the U.S. to attack Iran would be like poking a stick at a rabid dog--from inside the same cage. Not a good move, IMO.