"Iranians have reason to feel paranoid . . . A hidden war is unfolding."

[bigtree]

Newsspeak: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17086418/site/newsweek/


Rumors of War


The Iranians have reason to feel paranoid. In recent weeks senior American officers have condemned Tehran for providing training and deadly explosives to insurgents. In a predawn raid on Dec. 21, U.S. troops barged into the compound of the most powerful political party in the country, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and grabbed two men they claimed were officers in Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Three weeks later U.S. troops stormed an Iranian diplomatic office in Irbil, arresting five more Iranians. The Americans have hinted that as part of an escalating tit-for-tat, Iranians may have had a hand in a spectacular raid in Karbala on Jan. 20, in which four American soldiers were kidnapped and later found shot, execution style, in the head. U.S. forces promised to defend themselves.

Some view the spiraling attacks as a strand in a worrisome pattern. At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran. "They intend to be as provocative as possible and make the Iranians do something would be forced to retaliate for," says Hillary Mann, the administration's former National Security Council director for Iran and Persian Gulf Affairs. U.S. officials insist they have no intention of provoking or otherwise starting a war with Iran, and they were also quick to deny any link to Sharafi's kidnapping. But the fact remains that the longstanding war of words between Washington and Tehran is edging toward something more dangerous. A second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf, and NEWSWEEK has learned that a third carrier will likely follow. Iran shot off a few missiles in those same tense waters last week, in a highly publicized test. With Americans and Iranians jousting on the chaotic battleground of Iraq, the chances of a small incident's spiraling into a crisis are higher than they've been in years.

Sometimes it seems as if a state of conflict is natural to the U.S.-Iranian relationship—troubled since the CIA-backed coup that restored the shah to power in 1953, tortured since Ayatollah Khomeini's triumph in 1979. With the election of George W. Bush on the one hand, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the other, the two countries are now led by men who deeply mistrust the intentions and indeed doubt the sanity of the other. Tehran insists that U.S. policy is aimed at toppling the regime and subjugating Iran. The White House charges that Iran is violently sabotaging U.S. efforts to stabilize the Middle East while not so secretly developing nuclear weapons. As the raids and skirmishes in Iraq underscore, a hidden war is already unfolding . . .

article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17086418/site/newsweek/


http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree

[Altean Wanderer]

1. Call your Congressman regarding the Jones bill...

which would prevent the (mis)administration from attacking Iran with US public dollars. Here's the description:

'Concerning the use of military force by the United States against Iran.'

Bill # H.J.RES.14

Original Sponsor:
Walter Jones (R-NC 3rd)
Cosponsor Total: 29
(last sponsor added 02/06/2007)
23 Democrats
6 Republicans

1/12/2007--Introduced. Provides that: (1) no provision of law enacted before the date of the enactment of this joint resolution shall be construed to authorize the use of U.S. military force against Iran; and (2) absent a national emergency created by an attack or imminent attack by Iran upon the United States, its territories or possessions or its Armed Forces, the President shall consult with Congress, and receive specific authorization pursuant to law from Congress, prior to initiating military force against Iran.

[KharmaTrain]

2. How Would We React???

My favorite argument when this nation's hubris is put on display and I have to deal with some "John Wayne" who feels we have the "right" to play world cop. Now, if we had a China camped on our doorstep (like in Mexico) with troops and weapons pointed at us, how would we react? Would we knuckle under and allow them to subjugate us? Or would we want to defend ourselves? And how far would you be willing to go to defend the country? Would it include developing nuclear weapons? A wingnut can't get his pea brain around this concept...hopefully people here can.

Several people have already pointed out that boooshie will attempt to strike Iran using the IWR. It's time to push for the Jones bill along with a BINDING resolution that would require both Houses to vote for any attack on Iran.