What does BushCo have to do to attack Iran?

[hexola]

Does he need to go to congress?

Or can he use the Iraq authourization to hit Iran?

[Trevelyan]

1. I don't know but we need to raise a loud stink refusing to go along with

this insane plan. Maybe the military will go ahead with its threats to resign rather than sign off on this Dr. Strangelove PNAC plan.

Petition by physicists on nuclear weapons policy -

You can sign under non-physicists and under institution many people wrote "Student" or "Self"

Petition by physicists on nuclear weapons policy, September 2005

As physicists we feel a special responsibility with respect to nuclear weapons; our profession brought them into existence 60 years ago. We wish to express our opposition to a shocking new US policy currently under consideration regarding the use of nuclear weapons. We ask our professional organizations to take a stand on this issue, the Congress of the United States to conduct full public hearings on this subject, and the media and public at large to discuss this new policy and make their voices heard.

http://physics.ucsd.edu/petition /

Will The U.S. Nuke Iran?

Professor of Physics Highlights The Dangers....


When Truman faced the decision of whether or not to use the A-bomb in 1945, no one outside of the project (except numerous Soviet spies) knew about it. President Harry S. Truman didn't learn about it until he was informed (by Stimson, IIRC) a few hours after FDR died.

Also, obviously, no one had any idea of the long term affects such as fallout, etc. But the key factor was that he was getting estimates from the JCS that the invasions of Kyushu and Honshu, planned for October, 1945 and Spring, 1946, respectively, would likely result in 500,000+ KIA for the US forces alone. This, pus growing concern about the geopolitical implications of the Soviet Union entering the war against Japan, led to his decision. If he had not used it and the casualty rates of the invasions of the home islands had been in accord with projections he would have been villified.

Things are very different now, and there's no excuse for the use of nuclear weapons, even "tactical" ones, not being dismissed out of hand. In today's environment there is no such thing as a "tactical" nuclear weapon because their use would have profound strategic blowback. In this I disagree with Billmon's awsome post of yesterday.

Anyone morbid enough to want to pursue this topic should check out The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.

==BC, i keep on mentioning this, but no one has picked up on it yet. If there is an order to nuke Iran, this will have to go to officers who are especially trusted. Who are those?

People like Boykin—crazy, end-timer christians who want to bring on Armageddon, whom Bush will use for his own purposes, whatever they are.
I really think that if there is a way to look at recent officer promotions for suspicious patterns, it would be worth doing.

=I try to keep up with Prof. Cole and others as often as I can. All of my int'l relations studies never really prepared me for a foreign policy analysis of an Administration THIS out of whack. SIGH

=And while we're discussing Iran and nuclear weapons, Mr Preznit really needs to get out the bubble.

His saber-rattling appears to be causing a crisis of conscience in the military's officer corps.

Apparently some general officers who would have to counter-sign an order to use WMD have announced they would not do so. I know quite a few of the ROTC cadets on our campus and the more thoughtful among them are trying to figure out what to do.

I've never heard ROTC cadets questioning the command authority before. Not even during the Vietnam wind down.

[Junkdrawer]

2. At this point, I think Russia and China have more to say...

on this issue than the US Senate.

Makes you proud to be an American, huh?

[mwooldri]

3. I'd say if he wants to attack Iran he's going to attack Iran.

It's not a case of how, but when. A few announcements and finds and captures of 'Iranian' soldiers on Iraqi turf attacking Iraqi civilians would be enough of an excuse to go in.

Mark.

[Swamp Rat]

4. Create another "Gulf of Tonkin" incident - a "Straight of Hormuz" incident

Then say goodbye to Tehran. :hide:

[dflprincess]

5. Congress?

Bush don't need no stinkin' Congress. He has God on his side. :sarcasm:

[killbotfactory]

6. He just has to tell the military to attack Iran

He can pretty much do whatever he wants for up to 60 days without congressional approval.

[Sinti]

7. An extensive cost-benefit analysis

as well as making sure his brass is along for the ride. If the higher levels of the services aren't willing to take the leap he may (may being the operative word) be SOL.

He also needs to get Russia on board, and China to at least look the other way. Russia is making noise saying Iran is misbehaving, so that aspect is well underway. Prince Bandar's talk with Putin probably offered him some comfort that if we do he won't be left out in the cold, oil wise.

Then they have to consider the radiation cloud that will pass over Europe ... nobody loves old Europe anymore, do they? Then there's the fact that they may not be able to drill for oil in that oil rich nation for quite some time. I suppose some extreme slant drilling would take care of that, but I'm not sure.

Once this work is done, he's just got to let his noise machine get the Iran is dangerous mantra out there -- we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud -- and BOOM! We own Persia.

Next, Uzbekistan and possibly Venezuela.

[tyedyeto]

8. Because they're there and they're one of the ...

'Axis of Evil'? :shrug: