Guns of August

A few weeks ago, The American Conservative magazine reported that Dick Cheney had ordered the Pentagon to draw up plans for a pre-emptive attack on Iran. Such an attack would be carried out in response to the next terrorist attack that occurs on U.S. soil. Whether or not Iran is the perpetrator of this hypothetical terrorist attack, Iran would be the target of a U.S. military assault. This makes me wonder, how far will the evil doers in the Bush regime go in order to implement their grand imperial agenda?

First, are there any warnings to indicate or predict an upcoming attack on U.S. soil? Second, I'd like to look at Iran, most particularly, why attack Iran? According to John J. Albanese, the political stage is ripe for another war:

1. The economy’s housing bubble is ready to pop
2. Oil is at an all-time high, with winter approaching
3. A grand jury appears poised to zero in on the White House
4. The president’s approval ratings is at historic lows
5. The Downing Street memos, as well as myriad other sources of evidence are slowly revealing the awful truth behind the lies and high crimes of this administration

I recommend reading Albanese's entire work Red Alert – The Cassandra Complex – Part 2. There are many good sources which connect Iran, new terrorist threats and U.S. Neoconservative war plans.  So, what about terrorist attacks? Does the government know something that we don't? Is there any chatter out there?

• CNN:  FBI: Al Qaeda plot possibly uncovered in California
• NRO:  Ayman al-Zawahiri promises further destruction to US and UK
• Karena:  Terror drills in Texas
• UnCapitalist/NY Times:  Officials warn of possible new terrorist attacks in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago around September 11th, 2005

The Neoconservatives would probably love to shift the war into Iran for a variety of reasons. That might have been PNAC's goal all along. Most of these NeoCon oil connoisseurs are still angry about the fall of the Shah in 1979. Plus, Iran has some good tasting black gold.         

      

The folks at PNAC have both predicted and demonstrated that the best way to rally Americans to support war is a terrorist attack:

Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor. Domestic politics and industrial policy will shape the pace and content of transformation as much as the requirements of current missions.

We've seen what happens to the American psyche after a terrorist attack. It is bruised and beaten, and rightly so, seeks vengeance. Bush was able to easily connect the 9/11 attacks to Iraq and Saddam Hussein in the minds of the American public. I bet that he'd have an easy time connecting a future attack to the "evil" nuclear-obsessed mullahs of Iran.

Let's check out some of the warring rhetoric against Iran:

• CNN:  Bush tells Israeli TV that "All options are on the table" for Iran
• Haaretz:  Iran tells Bush they have more war options than U.S.
• Seattle Post:  Senator McCain considers military options for Iran
• InfoWars:  Israeli hawks might take out Iran's nuclear facilities
• Liberal Revolt:  Iran Watch--Timeline to Destruction. Vaughn chronicles the past seven months of U.S.-Iran rhetoric.
• Granny Insanity:  Fishing Poles and the Guns of August
• Blogenlust:  John notes that the Iraqi insurgency is getting bombs from freedom-hating Iran
• NBC San Diego:  Military training and exercises have increased at Camp Pendleton. One of my friends who lives near the Marine base had to give away their dog who was continually spooked by the 24/7 sounds of bombs. They can't recall a time when the bombing noises have been so frequent.
• Portland IndyMedia:  Was Four-Star General Kevin Byrnes fired for trying to organize opposition to the NeoCon plans to use the Air Force to attack Iran?

I will continue to catalog the links regarding this brewing conflict with Iran. If you have any links or sources to add, please drop it in the comments.

downing street memo cindy sheehan politics war freedom pentagon iraq iran

Comments

[Michael Hawkins]

Excellent and informative post -- much appreciated. There are enough links here to keep me busy all evening.

My sense is that it's a race down to the wire, and that's what it's been since the day Chimpy stole office in 2000. The question has always been, will the neocons implode before they get the chance to launch Armageddon? That's what we're all wondering about. If Smirk attacks Iran, what will be the world's reaction? Will it be enough to keep the wolves (i.e., Fitzgerald, Florida grand jury, etc.) from biting neocon heels? Will another "terrorist" attack on U.S. soil do the trick?

My money is on a big, fat neocon failure. In my mind, optimism is the only option.

[Fred]

XIANS want to set S Carolina up as a XIAN state run on the 10 Commandments. http://www.christianexodus.org/

LMAO!

[Jake]

If there is another terrorist attack people will quickly give up their rights in exchange for security and that would allow a "blank check" for congress and the president to do anything they wanted possibly marital law or invading Iran and or Syria.

Have you ever heard of the northwoods document or memo?

[Agi T. Prop]

Operation Northwoods could be ressurected by the Bush regime although its original intended target was Cuba.

[Chuck Dupree (Belisarius)]

Northwoods, carefully documented by James Bamford:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Northwood

Not to mention REX84, Oliver North's project to get WWII prisoner-of-war camps ready for the influx of leftist Americans:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex84