[Sosfbay-discuss] It's the "Oh Shit!" Moment on Iran

[Andrea Dorey]

A classic method to retain the White House by the invading  
administration—because of a "crisis."
Real bad news that they have begun to seriously remove any roadblocks.
Andrea

On Mar 12, 2008, at 3:30 AM, Drew Johnson wrote:

> Who knows if this will come to pass, but it IS the right time of  
> year when
> the weather is optimal for military enterprises in the Middle East.
>
> Green is alert!
>
> Drew Johnson
> California
>
>
> It's the "Oh Shit!" Moment on Iran
> Submitted by dlindorff on Tue, 2008-03-11 22:32.
>
> By Dave Lindorff
>
> Every horror movie has that "Oh Shit!" moment, when the hero or  
> heroes are
> huddled in some creepy hideout, and suddenly something happens that  
> tells
> you that the monster is just around the corner, or just about to  
> attack.
> In "Jurassic Park" it was the pulsing ripples in a cup of water,  
> heralding
> the arrival of a T-Rex. In "Jaws" it was the deep base music,  
> letting you
> know that a monstrous shark was about to attack.
>
> Well, we just got our "Oh Shit!" moment with the just-announced
> resignation of Admiral William J. Fallon, the military commander of US
> Middle East operations.
>
> Adm. Fallon, 63, famously said that an attack on Iran would not  
> happen "on
> my watch," and is widely believed to have already threatened, along  
> with a
> number of other top generals and admirals, to quit the service if  
> the Bush
> administration were to launch an air attack on Iran.
>
> Put the pieces together. We know that the vice president is  
> obsessed with
> a desire to attack Iran, and has been since before he even took  
> office.
> Bush has repeatedly stressed that Iran cannot be permitted to continue
> with its nuclear processing (he calls it their "nukular" bomb program,
> though there is no evidence that the country has a nuclear bomb
> development program, and in fact the last National Intelligence  
> Estimate
> on Iran said there was not and hadn't been since 2003). And Fallon  
> has now
> quit.
>
> The Eisenhower nuclear aircraft carrier strike force has departed for
> stationing off Iran, joining forces already in place there, and  
> loaded to
> the brim with strike aircraft, Tomahawk missiles, and even nuclear
> weapons. It was long ago reported that stealth bombers had been put in
> place in come of the countries of the old Soviet Union north of  
> Iran, as
> well as on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
>
> All the elements, that is to say, are in place for a massive air  
> assault
> on Iranian targets, designed to destroy its nuclear program,  
> cripple its
> military command and control, and--at least this is a stated Cheney
> goal--to lead to the overthrow of the Iranian government by its own
> people.
>
> It is, of course, the strategy of madmen.
>
> The US has no forces to send into Iran. All they can do is bomb it.  
> And
> bombing a country doesn't lead its people to rise up. It leads them to
> rally 'round the flag. Especially when the civilian casualties of our
> not-so-"smart" bombs start to soar.
>
> If such an attack were to happen, we can kiss goodbye to six years of
> domestic peace, such as we've had. The Iranians have considerable
> capability to inflict damage on US targets of interest, both  
> overseas and
> here in the domestic US using assymetrical warfare techniques. The  
> worse
> part is, they'd be completely justified in doing so, since any  
> attack on
> them would be a crime against peace--the gravest of all international
> crimes.
>
> American troops already mired and pinned down in a war in Iraq,  
> would find
> themselves suddenly under attack by Shia forces there, who for several
> years now have been largely leaving them alone.
>
> And oil, which just bumped up against $110 a barrel, an all-time  
> record,
> will double in price overnight, as the whole Persian Gulf becomes a  
> war
> zone.
>
> We can expect massive launches of small boats armed with missiles and
> torpedoes, as well as sophisticated anti-ship missiles from shore
> batteries, all fired at US ships in the Gulf, and it would be  
> astounding
> if some or even many vessels of the US fleet weren't sunk.
>
> Meanwhile, tanker traffic in the Gulf, which accounts for 20% or  
> more of
> the world's oil, will cease as insurance rates for those vessels goes
> through the roof.
>
> The monster of war will be unleashed, and will not easily be defeated.
> That's why Adm. Fallon was so opposed to the whole idea. He knows  
> that it
> will be a disaster for the US militarily, economically and  
> politically.
>
> The worst part is that Cheney knows this, too. He just doesn't  
> care. This
> is the man's parting shot as he leaves office--to put the country  
> into the
> throes of a war so vicious that no one will think of pursuing him  
> for his
> long list of crimes against the nation and the Constitution.
>
> He is guessing--and he may be right--that the American public will,
> sheep-like as always, rally to the cause, with a new round of yellow
> magnet "ribbons" on their cars. He is hoping--and he may be right-- 
> that
> war will be a boon for the candidacy of Republican John McCain and for
> embattled Republicans running for Congress.
>
> It's a kind of political Hail Mary.
>
> Oh Shit! Here it comes!
> ______________
> DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based journalist and columnist. His  
> latest
> book is "The Case for Impeachment" (St. Martin's Press, 2006 and  
> now in
> paperback). His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
>
> _______________________________________________
> sosfbay-discuss mailing list
> sosfbay-discuss at cagreens.org
> http://lists.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss
>