As I described in a previous entry here concerning Iran, the war mongering neocons in the United States and Israel believe the time to attack Iran is coming up against some deadlines. The Bush/Cheney regime is over in just one month.
U.S. intelligence analysts say that nearly 100 Israeli warplanes staged a rehearsal air strike against nuclear facilities in Iran. David Martin reports from the Pentagon.
National Security Correspondent David Martin ends his short Pentagon report with these ominous words:
For many countries, choosing between bombing Iran and Iran with a bomb is a tough call, but there's no doubt what choice Israel would make.
The following interview with PNAC neocon and Bush's controversial appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, was conducted during the Republican National Convention, three months ago.
While John Bolton is no longer actively serving as Ambassador to anything currently, he certainly can speak as an authority on the mindset of the neocons still in the U.S. government. This interview entitled, Bolton Suggests Israel Will Attack Iran, illustrates some of the beliefs and talking points of the neocons if one listens carefully to Bolton lying through his moustache. He is a professional provocateur.
Other pundits seem to think that the time has passed for any Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran. Daniel Levy of Prospects for Peace and The Century Foundation spoke with columnist and author David Frum about this topic on Bloggingheads.tv after the U.S. elections in October. In this short clip of a much longer interview, Frum suggests that "there is no possibility of an attack on Iran."
However, Daniel Levy doesn't simply suggest that all is right with the world just because Barack Obama will take the reigns of U.S. power next month. In a recent article published in Haaretz, Levy opines that the next president will face four foreign policy crises in the Middle East when he takes office. While I understand that Levy is writing for an Israeli readership, I might just point out that Levy didn't bother to include Iraq and Afghanistan in his list. It's not as if those two conflicts are somehow finished and our U.S. military commitments over, after all.
Clearly, after 8 years of the Bush/Cheney reign of terror, many people on our Pathetic Little Spinning Ball Of Mud Called Earth® will breathe a collective sigh of relief when the new U.S. President is inaugurated next month. Obama will certainly have his work cut out for him, that much I do know.
Is it possible for Obama to get the United States out of the corner into which Bushworld has painted us? Many pundits think that simply removing the past cowboy hubris and diplomatic obstinance might be a starting point for the next administration.
The diavlog video clip above between Anne-Marie Slaughter of Princeton and Stephen Walt of Harvard is a discussion of the foreign policy issues concerning Iran, Israel, nuclear proliferation, energy security and terrorism. It's well worth your time to view it. It's about 12 minutes long.
I certainly look forward hopefully to a more positive world. I'm also cautious about getting my hopes up too high or counting my chickens before they are hatched. Even in this electronic age, military tactics favor offensive strikes during a new moon as it offers the most darkness. There is just one new moon left (on December 27th) until Obama takes office.
Personally, I'm waiting to exhale. At least I'm not as pessimistic as when my great uncle once told me that "there will never be peace in our world as long as two men are still alive." I hope he is just wrong.
[lyric of the moment] Tell Sanchito that if he knows what is good for him, he best go run and hide. Daddy's got a new 45. And I won't think twice to stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat. Believe me when I say that I got somethin' for his punk ass. – Santeria, Sublime
U.S. President George W. Bush twice nearly got hit in the face with an Iraqi TV reporter's shoes at the start of a press availability during his recent trip to Baghdad. Size 10 video of the year, FTW.
Al-Jazeera puts the incident into greater context than U.S. media sources, of course. It's an Arab perspective looking more at the entirity of Bush's Iraq War compared to simply saying that "the surge is one the greatest successes in the history of the United States military," as Bush told the audience of troops serving in Baghdad.
The International Herald Tribune reports that the 28-year-old Iraqi TV reporter, Muntadhar al-Zeidi, had once been kidnapped by al Qaeda Iraq (AQI) and also detained by U.S. forces in the last several years. Apparently, he has no love for any of the foreign influences in his country. In the eyes of many Iraqis, he is a hero for his defiant act.
I hope al-Zeidi survives the consequences of his outburst.
[lyric of the moment] Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure? Mr. Alarming, in nocturnal rapport. Uncovering things that were sacred, manifest on this earth. (Oh)Conceived in the eye of a secret. Yeah, they scattered the afterbirth. – Ozzy Osborne, Mr. Crowley
There is still time for the Bush administration neocons to force a third major war upon our Pathetic Little Spinning Ball of Mud Called Earth®. The convenience of the public's sleepy and distracting holiday season combined with the very real deadline of the end of the Bush regime worries me.
It's been obvious to those paying attention that Bush/Cheney neocons have been trying to sell the idea of a war with Iran since the Iraq war began. I've written about it for the last several years a number of times.
Am I just an alarmist? If I'm so worried about this, why hasn't there been a war already? If there hasn't been a war, why should anyone else be concerned at all?
Obviously, people get paid big think tank bucks to analyze the complicated machinations of the foreign policy of the United States. Look, I'm just an amateur hobbyist blog publisher who simply pays attention to this topic.
The Bush/Cheney regime is fond of working "in the shadows," as Cheney likes to muse. Combine that secrecy with the seemingly schizophrenic public policies and it makes any declarations by outsiders nothing more professional than simply shaking a magic 8-ball and reading the message it gives.
The Bush/Cheney public policy schizophrenia is indicative of the struggle in all circles of U.S. government power between the hardcore neocons who want war and the pragmatists who believe in real politik. One side rattles their sabers and the other side favors negotiation.
This back-and-forth, toward and away from war, is usually what causes me to write about Iran. One of the people less on the outside (than you or I) is investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh. In the very short video below, Hersh describes the aspect of manufacturing consent with the American public for a war with Iran.
I shouldn't have to cite again news media articles with links of the number of times Bushworld has tried to ramp up public support for a war with Iran. If you've forgotten, read some of the archives here.
Google "Scott Ritter," the former weapons inspector. He has been quite outspoken on this matter. He's often said that he only hopes that the Iranians are smart enough not to fall for any Bushworld bait to escalate tensions.
In the video above, Hersh talks about the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) having a mandate from Bushworld to act on its own to snatch up so-called "high value targets." It's no coincidence that the neocon Kyl-Lieberman initiative in the U.S. Congress added Iranian military organizations to the official terrorist list. It wasn't all about economic sanctions.
The IDF is drawing up options for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities that do not include coordination with the United States, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
While its preference is to coordinate with the US, defense officials have said Israel is preparing a wide range of options for such an operation.
The Jerusalem Post, December 4th, 2008
Look at the manufacturing consent sublimals on the Jerusalem Post (JP) page. It's there for a dumbass bricklayer from Detroit like me to see. JP should stand for Jewish Paranoia, not Jerusalem Post.
Top left: the JP link to Iran News has a nuclear symbol next to it.
Topic banner for these articles: called "The Iranian Threat" with stop signs behind a goofy-looking Iranian president (because Iranians are crazy, right?)
Poll: Strike Iran, good or bad idea?
Banner ad: "How will Obama handle the Iranian Crisis?" > Vote here.
Now, despite the fact that the losing Republican choice for Vice President had trouble describing the Bush Doctrine in an interview, I'll give it to you with a quote from the war mongering neocon horse's ass, Stephen Hadley:
"The doctrine of preemption remains sound and must remain an integral part of our national security strategy. We do not rule out the use of force before the enemy strikes."
Perhaps the pragmatists have won the day and Bush will simply leave without a stupendously stupid and irrational final act. Then again, If Israel strikes and Iran retaliates, the sheeple in the United States will undoubtedly be glued to the likes of Fox News Channel and we'll all go down that rabbit hole once again.
[lyric of the moment] Tell Sanchito that if he knows what is good for him, he best go run and hide. Daddy's got a new 45. And I won't think twice to stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat. Believe me when I say that I got somethin' for his punk ass. – Santeria, Sublime
Being a C-Span junkie, I like poltical news websites like Politico.com. James Kotecki is both a humorous and informative commentator. He's not a mainstream corporate news bunny who has no idea what he is reading off of a teleprompter or cue card.
Mainstream corporate news media have been whining for several years that people have stopped watching their evening news broadcasts and the cool kids are all now just watching Jon Stewart.
The pathetic little spinning ball of mud®, called Earth, is done with the fear-and-loathing distraction ideology of the old world. Yeah, I don't even watch the Daily Show on that thing you really old people call a television.
[lyric of the moment] Tell Sanchito that if he knows what is good for him, he best go run and hide. Daddy's got a new 45. And I won't think twice to stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat. Believe me when I say that I got somethin' for his punk ass. – Santeria, Sublime
Accepting the first ever YouTube Visionary Award via taped message, Queen Rania Al Abdullah spoofed the famous Top 10 format from David Letterman to explain why she launched her channel.
10. Because I didn't have enough friends on Facebook.
9. Because anything Queen Elizabeth can do, I can do better.
8. Because I was tired of people thinking that Jordan was just a basketball player.
7. Because Barack Obama said, "Yes we can!" so I thought "So can I." And by the way, congratulations America.
6. Because my original idea of "Where the hell is her majesty?" had already been taken.
5. Because I wouldn't have got past an audition in front of Simon Cowell.
4. Because I couldn't get a camel on a skateboard.
3. Because what you know about Arabs shouldn't just come from Jack Bauer.
2. Because if Madonna can get millions of hits cleaning the floor ...
1. Because suspicion, intolerance and mistrust are driving us apart.
Queen Rania is a very hip monarch, obviously. After the humorous Top 10 List, she does get down to a more serious riff.
"And that's why I wanted to kick start a conversion on the world's largest community because we're stronger when we listen and smarter when we share.
And that's what I love about YouTube -- the way it encourages us to be active participants in that conversation -- making our voices heard, giving us the power to broadcast ourselves, increasing knowledge of each other, breaking down the barriers between us, clip by clip.
So let's use that power. I'm not claiming a video can change the world, but maybe it can help us change some minds, and that's where real progress starts."
Hat tips to Professor Juan Cole for posting the video on his blog, Informed Comment. He also includes the recent two-part video interview of Queen Rania by Fareed Zakaria on CNN (part 1, part 2).
After listening to the last eight years of Bushworld neocon propaganda and the politics of fear and division, Queen Rania's message of tolerance and moderation is a forward-looking breath of fresh air from a head of state.
Let's hope that the recent attack in Mumbai doesn't cause a return to the Bush/Cheney mindset. The corporate news media will undoubtedly hype up the fear for ratings (advertising revenue) but let's keep things in perspective.
CNN, for example, ran a piece highlighting several recent terror attacks and suggested that the new threat will be Europeans with easy access to the United States. Look, terrorism isn't new. Terrorism in Europe isn't new. Despite the manufactured hype, the sky is not falling.
The deaths and injuries in Mumbai are tragic, of course. At the same time, about 100 people die and 15,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. each year from peanuts. Politicians aren't asking us to support a new War on Peanuts.
