"Russian intelligence sees U.S. military buildup on Iran border"

[FourScore]

"The latest military intelligence data point to heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran," the official said, adding that the Pentagon has probably not yet made a final decision as to when an attack will be launched.

He said the Pentagon is looking for a way to deliver a strike against Iran "that would enable the Americans to bring the country to its knees at minimal cost."

He also said the U.S. Naval presence in the Persian Gulf has for the first time in the past four years reached the level that existed shortly before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003..."

SNIP

"...The USS John C. Stennis, with a crew of 3,200 and around 80 fixed-wing aircraft, including F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers, eight support ships and four nuclear submarines are heading for the Gulf, where a similar group led by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has been deployed since December 2006."

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070327/62697703.html

[BayCityProgressive]

1. Iran is toast

because congress is refusing to put it's foot down.

[bananarepublican]

29. As was Poland in '39. Hitler only ever got 33% of the vote before coming to power!

What % of the electorate still support W? Is this not a scary comparison?

[bdamomma]

35. is Congress even aware of this increasing drumbeat?

they are on recess next week, and we all know how bush defies the Congress while they are on vacation.

[FourScore]

2. I cannot BELIEVE that this one is dropping like a stone.

[izzie]

3. I would not be shocked to see Bush do this.

He has never cared what any one thought, seems to think he has God with him, and Cheney has been all over the Middle East just a short time ago. We have two wacko jobs in the WH and I am sure Congress will have enough to go along. Joe L. is almost in heaven with war. Scary just to hear him go on about it. Like a new lover in heat.

[FourScore]

5. LOL

"Scary just to hear him go on about it. Like a new lover in heat."

Maybe I didn't quite need such vivid imagery with Joe L...but it's still funny.

[izzie]

42. And at my old age I do not know where I found it.

I sat and watched him on the floor talking and was just so mad seeing him with all that love of war coming out. It was like love of it all.

[Blackhatjack]

4. There is no 'spinning' the facts about the build up of military forces on Iran's border...

So many people refuse to believe that Bush could be stupid enough to launch an all out attack on Iran, but I fear they are wrong.

I believe that the RW Republicans on Capitol Hill are aware of what is coming, and there is a deafening silence from the RW Noise Machine.

If Bush is not stopped and soon, we will be in another disasterous war with Iran.

And a military draft will just around the corner .... if Bush is not stopped.

[BeHereNow]

8. Those who think "Bush could (not) be so stupid" really do not understand reality.

It is not a matter of "stupid." it is a matter of power
and the those who seek it.
People who speculate on whether or not the current
administration would engage in such hubris have apparently
not been paying attention to Iraq or Afghanistan.
The consequences of what has happened there, to both
our service people, the Iraqi people and our collapsing
economy do not bother these people at all, nor will the
consequences of attacking Iran.

People who doubt the voracious appetite for power
possessed by these people still think in terms of
"America" as they have always believed it to be-
fact is, the people in power entertain no such delusions
about this country or any other.

There are no countries in their minds-
only the drive to amass and concentrate more power
into the fewest hands possible.

The consequences to any other people, including Americans, on the planet
are a minor detail to them.

This is what most people fail to comprehend when
discussing what the "administration" will or wont do
regarding Iran or any other country on the planet.

BHN

[BeHereNow]

9. PNAC to the letter. "Multiple theaters of war..." was the exact phrase I believe.

Not so sure they will start a draft just yet though-
they have effectively created a volunteer army by destroying
the economy and education system in this country.
If you are 18, poor and have no hopes for a future,
the army looks pretty good.
And let's not forget that "guest worker" program on the back burner.
And the people they are rounding up and detaining in their
spanky new detainment centers.
I can well imagine them offering two choices to those folks too-
"Deportation, or service with an offer of citizenship..."
there are already documented case of US judges offering to
young people found guilty of what ever.
BHN

[FourScore]

10. I completely agree with you. n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

20. I've been expecting this since before Iraq because of PNAC. Syria is to come too. Congress has to

start screaming. If they continue to keep silent, they are definitely complicit.

[Selatius]

6. The troops on the Iranian border are probably to contain Iran in event of war.

We don't have the troops to occupy Iran, but we have enough troops to try and halt any Iranian retaliation coming into Iraq from Iran.

[FourScore]

7. Uh-huh. Right.

And the four nuclear subs are just to contain them as well I suppose.

[BeHereNow]

11. They don't plan to occupy Iran- Cheney's plan is to nuke it.

Now the only question is, what Gulf of Tonkin incident
are they cooking up to justify commencing WWW 3?

BHN

[FourScore]

12. Do you smell an oncoming "terrorist attack" perhaps? n/t

[BeHereNow]

15. My suspicions run along the lines of a massive attack on troops in the area...

something to outrage and horrify the folks here at home.
After all, we know this adminstration views our service
people as nothing more that replaceable units of cannon fodder.
Tools in the corporate elites' agenda bucket.

Americans haven't done whoop about the horrendous
treatment of the Vietnam vets or the Iraq war wounded
here at home, but oh boy will they be outraged by the
Fox news stories about the poor brave US military boys and girls in Iraq
being the victims of the evil doers in Iran.

The hypocisy and ignorance is shocking. Really.

And yet, I predict 80% of America will buy "the story"
hook, line and sinker, just as they did the "Gulf of Tonkin" incident.
I don't think "they, tptb" would dare risk an incident
on US soil- people whould accuse them of not
keepng us "safe." After all, we're fightin over there
so we don't have to fight them here" and all.
No, Americans will not accept the failure
of their fairy tale Homeland Security myth.
(Never mind the folks in New Orleans...)
AND THEY WILL sit in front of their television
set in fits of morbid fascination and outrage
as they drool over the video game images
provided by the corporate "news" media.

Just my prediction of a possible scenario
or more aptly, what these war mongers are capable of.

BHN

[FourScore]

44. I, too, think that is a very likely scenario. n/t

[bdamomma]

36. this thuggish regime we have is continuing to use their deadly

toys, this has got to stop.

[Theduckno2]

19. I understand that Iran has substantial oil fields just across the Iraqi border.

Or should I say "the current recognized border"?

Of course Bush only wants to liberate the Iranians and bring them democracy.

War for oil? Not George!

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

13. Ohhh, well,...golly,...I reckon since "gods over earth" have lost control over Iraq,...

,...the "gods" MUST contain Iran. They MUST, MUST, MUST,...and will, somehow, get their 'common people' to support power-mongering profiteers, one way or another.

hmpf

[HCE SuiGeneris]

14. We have become our own worst nightmare...

with Chimp and Chain forging ahead into ever worsening killing fields.

[BeHereNow]

16. It's like watching your limbs fall off in slow motion, is it not? Horrifying- completely.

I feel completely helpless as it grows increasingly clear
that it is way past the hour for help to arrive.
The damage has been done and now we pay for it for the rest of our lives.
Sorry, I do not believe for one minute that the Congress can or will
do anything to stop the madmen.
I truly think it is all out control and
no one can stop them before the damage is ratcheted up
another level or ten.
BHN

[HCE SuiGeneris]

17. beware the stray sunburn missile

that will amazingly strike the only area of the aircraft carrier that results in the most cataclysmic damage... we should have no faith -- NONE -- in the false belief that this cabal is not stupid enough to take us into WWW III

[BeHereNow]

18. 100% agree- people who ponder the point REALLY don't understand that

The people running the world could care a less what the ramifications
of starting WWW 3 will be and fact is, if you asked most of
them, they would probably ask you,
"What rock have you been living under?
Hell, we've already started it!"

And indeed, I believe they have.
I believe it has already started, it just
hasn't begun to spiral out at full warp speed yet.
But yes, I think they have already started it.

BHN

[AJ9000]

21. I posted this yesterday on DU:

http://www.inteldaily.com/?c=166&a=1478

Edit: Here is the DU thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[BeHereNow]

23. Holy SHITE!

"Ivashov attributed decisive importance to the decision of the Democratic leadership of the US House of Representatives to remove language from the just-passed Iraq supplemental military appropriations bill that would have demanded that Bush come to Congress before launching an attack on Iran. Ivashov pointed out that the language was eliminated under pressure from AIPAC, the lobbing group representing the Israeli extreme right, and from Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni.

( Imagine that... AIPAC? Who'da thunk it.)

Ivashov noted that it was not to be excluded that the Pentagon would use smaller tactical nuclear weapons against targets of the Iranian nuclear industry. These attacks could paralyze everyday life, create panic in the population, and generally produce an atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty all over Iran, Ivashov told RIA-Novosti. “This will unleash a struggle for power inside Iran, and then there will be a peace delegation sent in to install a pro-American government in Teheran,” Ivashov continued. One of the US goals was, in his estimation, to burnish the image of the current Republican administration, which would now be able to boast that they had wiped out the Iranian nuclear program."

“Moscow must exert Russia’s influence by demanding an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to deal with the current preparations for an illegal use of force against Iran and the destruction of the basis of the United Nations Charter,” said General Ivashov. “In this context Russia could cooperate with China, France and the non-permanent members of the Security Council. We need this kind of preventive action to ward off the use of force,” he concluded.

We've been discussing the China/Russia alliance for some time.
Looks like we called it correctly.
AS IF China and Russia were just going to sit by and let the Empire take control of the oil.

Yikes, we are in DEEP SHIT people.
Why isn't your post with the link to this article on the front page of DU?
For that matter, why are we discussing anything but the Iran situation?
Talk about a serious situation.
BHN

[AJ9000]

25. I see you took some time to analize this. I'm worried too. I fear our

last hope to prevent it vanished with the removal of demands that * come to congress before moving forward in Iran.

There's every indication they will do it, and certainly some Americans and congressional reps will support it.

[BeHereNow]

26. When you add the Chinese and Gulf States switching to Euros for oil payments...

the picture becomes even clearer, not to mention horrifying.
And yes, I do actually read the articles people post before
I respond to them...
heh-heh.
Don't ya wish everybody did?
BHN

[cali]

22. I'm in the minority here.

I don't believe they'll do it. ANY attack or Iran would have disasterous implications for our troops in Iraq. There is no way to possibly "win" this.

And if he did do it, without Congressional approval, we'd get our impeachment and conviction, so fast your head would spin. Everyone believes that Iran is years away from actually acquiring nukes. There's no way to spin this as an imminent threat. A pre-emptive strike against Iran would be even more blatantly illegal than the attack on Iraq. What's more, I absolutely disagree that the American people would support such an attack, even if they ginned up a phony strike against the troops in Iraq or a fake terror attack here, tied directly to the Iranians. Americans are deeply distrustful of bushco.

[BeHereNow]

24. Better read the link in AJ9000's post above.

Seriously Cali, read the entire article
posted in the link.

Do note the "removal of" clause...
BHN

[PinkUnicorn]

27. Maybe

Whilst an 'unsanctioned' Iran attack would be disastrous - especially for people in Iraq (The Shia would go ballistic), with so much hardware in the same proximity all it would take is one little mistake for things to go out of control.

If a US plane went down in Iran territory (say due to mechanical failure), or an Iranian sub pops up near a US task group (navigation error) then it would only take one person to get carried away (it's coming right at us! Fire!) and it would turn into a shooting war, especially if each sides respective media showed the typical hype and lack of accuracy they have displayed in the past).

As for the US/Iran populace supporting the attack - they would initially. Take for example 9/11 where a significant portion of the populace was willing to blow the hell out of _anyone_ who may/may not be responsible. I suspect Iran would react the same. The hardliners on both sides would have a massive (if temporary) surge in popularity.

If cooler head prevailed it could be averted, but when their constituents are screaming for retaliation politicians tend to suffer from rubber spine syndrome.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

31. You're not in the minority, I suspect.

I think that by this point most DUers realise that "Russian media reports" are about as reliable as those reports of alien babies in the supermarket tabloids, and simply don't bother posting in these ridiculous threads.

[paparush]

37. Nukes. Nukes will 'win' it. Google "Global Strike"

"When military officials refer to global strike, they stress its conventional elements. Surprisingly, however, global strike also includes a nuclear option, which runs counter to traditional U.S. notions about the defensive role of nuclear weapons.

The official U.S. position on the use of nuclear weapons has not changed. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has taken steps to de-emphasize the importance of its nuclear arsenal. The Bush administration has said it remains committed to reducing our nuclear stockpile while keeping a credible deterrent against other nuclear powers. Administration and military officials have stressed this continuity in testimony over the past several years before various congressional committees.

But a confluence of events, beginning with the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the president's forthright commitment to the idea of preemptive action to prevent future attacks, has set in motion a process that has led to a fundamental change in how the U.S. military might respond to certain possible threats. Understanding how we got to this point, and what it might mean for U.S. policy, is particularly important now -- with the renewed focus last week on Iran's nuclear intentions and on speculation that North Korea is ready to conduct its first test of a nuclear weapon."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[rman]

40. You seem to think Bush cares about the troops,

and that his idea of what "winning" is, is the same as yours.
I hope you are correct.

[slowry]

28. Honestly...

I wouldn't put it past the criminals in your government, but I don't trust anything from Russian sources. They're very active with all kinds of propaganda and evil shit, themselves.

[symbolman]

30. It's not the USA turning Iran into glass that worries me so much

though that is REPULSIVE and INHUMAN, and a War Crime of great magnitude..

I'm more worried that there's a MAD Mutually Assured Destruction component here - if we lit up Iran, there's a good chance they'll take out a LOT of ports and oil fields all over the Middle East, Isreal may be no more, 140,000 troops in Iraq may disappear in a puff of Nuke smoke as well..

Imagine going without OIL for a couple of YEARS, a meltdown of disasterous proportions all over the world, China and Russia ATTACKING the US to salvage what's left of the world..

These boys are playing with Matches in a Fireworks factory, and what will all of their RICHES do for them, when NO ONE can walk the earth for 300,000 years? When Chernobyl blew there was a nuke 'plume' that travelled with prevailing winds all the way around the planet, as far as SEATTLE, and raised the background radiation level of the whole planet.. people in Germany had radioactive FOOD and cattle had to be killed and not eaten..

I had a german girlfriend who carried a card because of that plume, one that said she was not to be X-Rayed except under extremely urgent conditions since they'd been DOSED..

These fools will kill themselves along with all of us...

[tom_paine]

32. The Russians lie like Fox Infoganda Channel

Believe neither, for neither are worthy of any trust nor belief.

I am not discounting this story wholly, just being skeptical as I would from ANY Bushputinist source.

[NoPasaran]

33. Another day, another repost

Another day, another repost of this stinking pile of paranoid horsehit.

[Leopolds Ghost]

41. Your concern is noted. n/t

[Orrin_73]

34. It will be a disaster for the US

Iran is 6 times as large as Iraq and has more then 3 times the population of Iraq. The US needs at least 1 million men to occupy Iran if not more.

[bdamomma]

38. this murderous regime we have, have the nuclear weapons

they keep on pushing to use, and they do not care about the consequences. They are WAR CRIMINALS.

[Roland99]

39. Israel/Lebanon was a practice run. We saw that abject failure but the warmonger neocons are INSANE!!

They WANT war!

They WANT death and destruction!

They WANT Fear and Terror!


They are vampires sucking the life and goodwill out of America and turning this into a rogue nation.

[bdamomma]

43. now we have conflicting reports here.

what is going on??

http://en.rian.ru/world/20070328/62756839.html


Iran denies reports of large-scale US Navy exercise in Gulf
20:00 | 28/ 03/ 2007



TEHRAN, March 28 (RIA Novosti) - Iran has denied reports that large-scale U.S. Navy exercises are underway in the Persian Gulf.

On Tuesday, it was reported that the U.S. had started its biggest naval exercises in the past few years in the area.

"Statements surrounding the U.S. Fifth Fleet conducting large-scale U.S. naval exercises in the region are untrue," a deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said.

According to Kevin Aandahl, a representative of the Fifth Fleet, the ships will keep out of Iranian waters, and the maneuvers are unconnected with Iran's detention of British sailors and marines.

[redqueen]

45. Oil Oil Oil... n/t