Joe Conason: Iran: Bush's Next Disaster? (Truthdig)

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Iran: Bush’s Next Disaster?


Posted on Jan 31, 2007
By Joe Conason

Whatever George W. Bush may tell us about his intentions toward Iran, every action and order indicates that he will seek to expand the war eastward from Iraq. Despite the warnings voiced by military and diplomatic advisers, the president still seems to be listening to the same discredited neoconservatives whose fantasies and falsehoods drove us into the Iraqi quagmire.

If their plotting succeeds in provoking military conflict with Iran, the resulting carnage could indeed make Iraq look like a “cakewalk,” to quote one of the more stupid predictions that preceded the current war.

Imagine firefights erupting along the Persian Gulf and violent uprisings among the Shiite masses in the Baghdad slums and southern Iraq—and then imagine the entire region convulsed by ethnic and religious conflict. The potential consequences could be catastrophic, from the closing of the gulf straits and a new oil crisis to ruptured political alliances and terrible American casualties.

Yet regardless of these risks, the Bush administration’s urge to provoke Iran is as unmistakable as its preparations for a wider war. Nearly every day, the White House sends obvious signals of belligerence to Tehran, with the same drumbeat heard during the months that led up to the invasion of Iraq.

The president announces that he will deploy Patriot batteries to the region, which can be useful only in shooting down Iranian missiles. The president sends another carrier battle group to the gulf, with an air wing poised to strike Iranian nuclear sites. The president appoints an admiral whose specialty is naval air combat to run Central Command for the Middle East region. The president orders an armed raid on an Iranian diplomatic office in northern Iraq, which nearly results in a shootout with Kurdish troops. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20070131_iran_bushs_next_disaster/