Don't read this

[Timbuk3]

If you're already in a bad mood about the things our government has done in your name, don't read any further. It won't cheer you up.

I knew we'd go to war in Iraq in April of 2002, long before anyone else was willing to admit that train had already left the station. Once his majesty King George the 43rd had been convinced by the powers behind the throne, most notably Dick "Dick" Cheney and the Vulcans, it was only a matter of manipulating the right things. The hostile firing of Jose Bustani was the last clue I needed. It was no longer a question of "if", but "when". http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2002/04/16/a-war-against-the-peacemaker/

"When" turned out to be March of 2003, nearly a year later, timed perfectly to ensure a Bush victory in his second run for the Presidency. We don't change Presidents when we're at war. This is how jaded, self-serving, cynical, greedy, and corrupt our government has become. And when we do nothing to change it they don't change, they take notice that what they're doing is working, that they can do it again, and keep doing it until they get it right or until they get caught.

I know, there is no doubt in my mind, that we will be at war with Iran, with the enthusiastic support of the people of this country, before Bush leaves office. I should have admitted this to myself long ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to believe that he, or the people of our country, could be that insane. I forgot about the media, who owns the media, and where these monstrous corporations make their money. What passes for "the fourth estate" in America are whores, suckling at the teat of the military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about.

Everything they need is there, of course, and the media will soon begin to again beat the drums of war, for the simple reason that war is profitable for the corporations that own them. These soulless corporations, legal entities not "people" as the Supreme Court has declared, have exactly one motive. It's not us, it's not "the common good", it's not "freedom", it's not "preserving the constitition", it's not even the well-being of the CEO or the board of directors (much less the well-being of their employees.) The sole motivation of a corporation, any corporation, is profits, and war is immensely profitable. It is the only racket in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

The pro-war media has everything it needs. "Terra", "nuke-ya-ler weapons", and an oppressed people who will, no doubt, greet our troops with parades and flowers before they start naming parks after George W. Bush, if only we'll help them throw off the shackles of the government that they just elected. We will be sold on this war just like we were on the last one. The media will tell us that Americans are dying at Iranian hands, the Iranians are building nuke-ya-ler weapons and will use them against us, Iran is supporting/allied with terrorists (and if you missed Mr. Bush tying iran to Hezbollah lately, you haven't been paying attention.) If we don't go to war with Iran, we will learn, we will all die. And we will believe it.

There can be no mistaking this rhetoric from last week's state of the union address, because we've heard something similar in the past during the PR blitz in support of a war: "Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror -- pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing, and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/02/20050202-11.html

Paraphrased: "Be afraid. Be very afraid. And BTW, they'll love us for it." All that will be needed for us to be convinced is that we continue believing that we are an invincible force for good in the world (or, for some, an invincible force for God), and we will embrace another chance to prove it. And we will fail. Again.

Iran appears to be doing their part. Today they announced they will be installing 3,000 centrifuges for their "peaceful" nuke-ya-ler program. This number of centrifuges is sufficient to purify enough uranium for a bomb within a year. Iran is afraid, and there is no doubt in my mind that they do want to build a bomb. They are afraid, and anyone but a loyal, patriotic, nationalistic American would say "and with good reason." As North Korea told James Kelly, US assistant secretary of state for Asian affairs, in 2002, "Your president called us a member of the axis of evil. ... Your troops are deployed on the Korean peninsula. ... Of course, we have a nuclear program." The difference this time is, this nuke-ya-ler program threatens Israel, and Israel's lobby is far too strong in our government for us to allow that. http://www.cfr.org/publication/12495/new_squeeze_on_iran.html?breadcrumb=%2Fpublication%2Fpublication_list%3Ftype%3Ddaily_analysis
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/10/16/us.nkorea/

The fact is, we are already at war with Iran. A second carrier battle group is now in place. There are few news reports about it, and they are not on the front page anywhere in America, but the BBC has published Sy Hersh's assertion that our special forces are already active within Iran's borders. We have arrested Iranian envoys, in Kurdish territory at the invitation of the Kurds, on the grounds of their own consulates, sovereign Iranian territory awarded to them by the host country. (And so that you don't miss the greater point, Kurdish territory is peaceful by any measure, and especially in contrast to one mile outside the green zone in any direction. There are no "terrorists" operating in Kurdish Iraq. The grass is too green for fighting in Baghdad, al Ansar, Fallujah, Mosul...Kabul, the Afghan-Pakistani border...) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4180087.stm

But after all the other evidence this is the piece, the "Bustani moment", that made it all clear. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012502199_pf.html

Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq

Excerpted sentence: The new "kill or capture" program was authorized by President Bush in a meeting of his most senior advisers last fall, along with other measures meant to curtail Iranian influence from Kabul to Beirut and, ultimately, to shake Iran's commitment to its nuclear efforts.

Now answer this question honestly. "Why was a program that was authorized last fall just announced today, and why was it only directed at Iranians?" Why not Syrians, Saudis, Egyptians, or any of the other nationalities in Iraq? Why now, after our carrier battle groups have arrived?

I believe the answer to that question is, "Because President Cheney has convinced his sock puppet that the only option is war with Iran. Now, 'we' just need to provoke it."

Crossposted
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/26/211555/933
http://timbuk3.com/messages/index.php?topic=34.msg982#msg982

[133724]

1. OK I won't n/t

[CoffeeCat]

2. Maybe I'm just a Pollyanna...

...but I cannot imagine America buying more of Bush's war-marketing ploys. They
don't trust him. He has no credibility--and he's failing miserably at the first
war he started.

I find it hard to believe that America would believe anything Junior says about Iran.

Bush rode on the coattails of 9/11. America was afraid and people wanted to believe
that the leader of our nation wasn't a warmongering fool who would lie to the entire
nation. Now they know for certain, that he's a warmongering fool who would lie to
the entire nation.

He has no leverage anymore. The American people will not stand for this. Yes, we have
25 percent of the country that loves war and cannot think for themselves. However, if
75 percent of this country is against it--I find it hard to believe that this could
happen again.

[Timbuk3]

3. Don't focus only on Bush

Look for statements from Democratic congressmen warning us about the danger of war in Iran, or demands that every effort at diplomacy be undertaken before those carrier battle groups are put into action. But once the fully loaded planes are on the decks, don't look for them to wait much longer.

"We have to support the troops!", remember?

I strongly urge you to watch some of the trailers on this page http://www.sonyclassics.com/whywefight/ , realize that the MIC is real and has been growing since Ike first warned us about it in 1961, and then ask yourself how you would take on that much money.

Besides, Bush may be a has-been, but he's still got signing statements. Congress can pass any law they want to, and Bush will ignore it with the stroke of a pen.

Oh...

...and don't make the mistake of thinking you're dealing with sane people.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

4. I listened to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now this morning.

She reported on the guy in charge of Blackwater this morning. He is running a mercenary army killing off anyone he or 'they' don't want around. She said he had right wing 'christian' backing and was one of the "christian supremacy" crew.

The kind of report that makes a person want to just cover there head with the blanket and wake up in another dream.

She also reported on the new ray gun that makes your skin heat up to 120 degrees. They claim they will need it for crowd control. I think I understand why "they" would need it. (not really being elected in 2000, and most likely a stolen election in 2004. not to mention all the money missing from the Pentagon etc. )

Hope no one marching gets it tomorrow.

[Timbuk3]

5. Blackwater IS fundies

From "The Nation":

It's hard to imagine that the cronyism that has marked the Bush Administration is not at play in Blackwater's success. Blackwater founder Erik Prince shares Bush's fundamentalist Christian views. He comes from a powerful Michigan Republican family and social circle, and his father, Edgar, helped Gary Bauer start the Family Research Council. According to a report prepared for The Nation by the Center for Responsive Politics, in all of Erik Prince's political funding generosity since 1989, he has never given a penny to a Democrat running for national office. Company president Jackson has also given money to Republican candidates. For his part, Joseph Schmitz--the former Pentagon Inspector General turned general counsel to Blackwater's parent, The Prince Group--lists on his résumé membership in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a Christian militia formed before the First Crusade. Like Prince, he comes from a right-wing family; his father, former Congressman John Schmitz, was an ultraconservative John Birch Society director who later ran for President. Joseph Schmitz was once in charge of investigating private contractors like Blackwater, but he resigned amid allegations of stonewalling investigations conducted by his department. He now represents one of the most successful of those contractors.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060605/scahill

I may be in DC tomorrow. Still debating it, because it's a pretty long drive for us, but we'll probably go. I've heard (but don't know) that you can defeat the newest death ray with tin foil, sort of like putting tin foil over something in the microwave. Take that with a grain of salt, because it's anecdotal.

[12string]

7. coattails of 9/11

Are the American sheeple going to support the *ush regime when one of our ships sustain major damage with loss of life in the Persian Gulf?You can count on it.I'm confident that Iran will be blamed for this even if it is self(U.S.) inflicted.

[Codeblue]

6. Enthusiastic support

I don't think many people will be supporting the war enthusiastically. It will probably even erode his suuport base to its lowest levels. I don't think that will stop them from declaring war or anything. Congress won't stand for it but again, he won't care. He can just take all the troops outta Iraq and send them over the border without Congressional approval.

In any case, we'll all either die in the ensuing nuclear exchanges, or in the civil/world war that will come with an invasion of Iran. Either way, America is fucked.