What's Bush Up To?

Apparently not satisfied with the nation-rending disaster of the war in Iraq, Seymour M. Hersh of The New Yorker now reports that The Decider is "Preparing the Battlefield..... The Bush Administration steps up its secret moves against Iran."

A gutless or ill-informed Democratic Congress approved Bush's request for funding for a major escalation of covert operations in Iran late last year.... at about the same time that the National Intelligence Estimate (released in December) concluded that Iran had halted its work on nuclear weapons in 2003.

The administration didn't want to hear that kind of talk. Bush questioned the N.I.E.'s conclusions, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain all bobble-headed into line in his dismissal of the report.

But, evidently having second thoughts about the headlong rush down the hawkish road The Decider wants to travel, Gates and the "Joint Chiefs of Staff are 'pushing back hard' against White House pressure to undertake a military strike against Iran.... 'at least ten senior flag and general officers, including combatant commanders have weighed in on that issue."

And late last year Gates met with the Senate Democratic caucus where he warned of the consequences of a preemptive strike on Iran.... "We'll create generations of jihadists, and our grandchildren will be battling our enemies here in America." Asked if he was speaking for Bush and Vice President Cheney, Gates replied, "Let's just say that I'm here speaking for myself."

Admiral William Fallon, former head of U.S. Central Command in charge of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, was outspoken in his reservations about an armed attack on Iran.... which resulted in his resigning under pressure in March.

What about Congress?.... "The Democratic leadership's agreement to commit hundreds of millions of dollars for more secret operations in Iran was remarkable.... 'The oversight process has not kept pace - it's been co-opted' by the Administration.... The process is broken, and this is dangerous stuff we're authorizing.' " according to someone familiar with the process.

How did that happen? "After September 11 the President signed an Executive Order giving the Pentagon license to do things that it had never been able to do before without notifying Congress.... called 'preparing battle space'.... circumventing congressional oversight."

While an overwhelmed America watches these events with alarm and frustration at being led further into the explosive Middle East quicksand by the reckless Bush/Cheney cabal, the no-longer-hibernating Russian bear, and oil-hungry China are seizing the day.

As reported by assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration Richard Perle in "Coalition Of the Ineffectual,"..... (WaPo) " 'A successful multilateral coalition' is how Condoleezza Rice described those countries, 'united in confronting Iran,' on which the administration's Iran policy critically depends.

" 'A complete failure' is Barack Obama's description of the Bush administration's Iran policy."

Perle points out that they are both right, but that the "coalition that Rice thinks is a success, and Obama a failure, is, at best, a 'do-nothing decisive' group, with at least half its members - Germany, Russia and China - maneuvering for self-serving advantage in their dealings with the mullahs in Iran."

"Russia continues to assist Iran's nuclear program while selling Iran advanced weapons. China is prowling for oil deals and selling advanced weapons. German businessmen fill the lobbies of Iranian hotels.... the Russians and Chinese have made it clear that they will not support sanctions that are severe enough to exert any real influence."

And what about Iran?.... "Report: Iran to hit Israel if attacked." (WaPo) "The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned that Tehran would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and controlling a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf," according to a Tehran newspaper report published Saturday.

Soooo...... what has all of this saber rattling produced? "Oil near $143 on Israel-Iran tensions." (WaPo) "Oil rose more than $3 a barrel on Monday to a new record above $143, propelled by heightened market fears of conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program.

"A fall in the U.S. dollar to three-week low versus the euro helped boost the market..... oil prices have jumped more than 40 percent this year, extending a six-year rally, in response to Middle East tensions...."

It's one minute until midnight.... do you know where your government is?

Terrorism in Transit

Remember in July when Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had a "gut feeling" about an increased terrorism risk this summer based on patterns and intelligence he wouldn't disclose?

Then this week we had two unsettling events.... first, another Osama bin Laden "boo." Although this pre-9/11 video (transcript) reads more like a U.S. history lesson and Islam conversion screed.

And, CIA Director, Gen. Michael Hayden, spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations.... at his request, decked out in his military uniform.... and defended his agency's controversial program of detaining terrorism suspects in secret jails abroad.

Then, Hayden cited the findings of the recent National Intelligence Estimate.... the one issued in July... saying that "Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction, and significant economic aftershocks." (WaPo) When pressed on this warning, he wouldn't give details.

So, just what did that NIE report say that was so upsetting to Chertoff's guts and now elicits warnings from Hayden?

The published public NIE report, "The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland," of July, 2007 is short. The "Key Judgments" just a terse page and a half. And, yes, it did give Hayden's warning.

And, this sobering assessment too: "... globalization trends and recent technological advances will continue to enable even small numbers of alienated people to find and connect with one another, justify and intensify their anger, and mobilize resources to attack - all without requiring a centralized terrorist organization, training camp, or leader."

Interesting. So, our government is taking extra precautions.... right?

No. Just the opposite.

Because... and this really is unbelievable.... Thursday our own Department of Transportation started allowing Mexican trucks to roll over the U.S. border, freely roaming anywhere in the U.S. No need to spell out the terrorism risks, the economic and safety pitfalls, or the unbelievable joy of the Mexican drug dealers.

Just as nothing changes the course set by the The Decider's "vision" for the Middle East (more on that in a moment).... not the cost in blood and treasure, not the outrage of the American public.... also, nothing deters Bush in his determination for open borders with Mexico and his covert push toward a North American Union.

Now, if you can stand it, this last tidbit today from the Columbia Journalism Review, called "An Iran Plan?"

CJR reported that Barnett Rubin, a New York University professor and widely-respected Afghanistan expert and fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, wrote that just before the Labor Day weekend, the Office of the Vice President had issued "instructions" to a group of right wing think tanks and media outlets, asking them to mount an anti-Iran PR offensive after Labor Day with the goal of building support for U.S. military action.

When the assistant editor, Clint Hendler, at the CJR contacted Rubin to see if any journalists had contacted him to run down the story, Rubin replied, "Let's say I have not been overwhelmed with the volume. No one has contacted me from the NYT, WP, WSJ, or FT. No wire services."

It all just doesn't make sense.... administration warnings about homeland terrorism yet opening our borders to Mexican trucking.... in over our heads in Iraq yet serious saber rattling on Iran.

Congress.... it's up to you to stop this runaway White House and their monstrous hidden agenda.

Facing Facts on Iraq

Consider, this is the public report issued today, not the more highly-sensitive full report the White House and key Congressional leaders see, that still reaches the inescapable verdict.... "NIE: Iraq 'Unable to Govern' Itself Effectively."

Even without the full NIE report, the bare facts are inescapable.... the government of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki "will continue to struggle" while the civil war grows ever more violent.

No wonder members of the Armed Services Committee Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), who did see the full report before today, called for the Iraqi parliament to oust Maliki.

The NIE, National Intelligence Estimate, which is a consensus judgment of the CIA and 15 other U.S. intelligence agencies, concludes.... If U.S. forces continue their current strategy, security "will continue to improve modestly" over the next six to 12 months but violence will remain high and political reconciliation will remain elusive.

How many more military lives is The Decider going to recklessly put in harms way for a cause even the currently vacationing political leaders of Iraq don't have the will to successfully pursue.

As The Decider likes to points out, we can't control what the "democratically elected" Iraqi parliament does (or doesn't do).

But, as the disaffected American public is loudly pointing out, we can decide to end our futile military involvement in Iraq. Now!

The Schitzo Chronicles

George W. Bush has been hearing voices.... God has been whispering in his ear, telling George he's the chosen one to carry out a messianic mission.

In 2005 the BBC aired a series called "Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs." In this documentary, Abu Mazen, Palestinian Prime Minister, and Nabil Shaath, his Foreign Minister, describe their first meeting with Bush in June of 2003.... four long and bloody years ago.

Shaath: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did. And then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq...." And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God I'm gonna do it." (BBC)

We all have heard Bush frame his "global war on terror" in the terms of good and evil... the "axis of evil," the "evil-doers," as he puts himself at the head of the crusade to execute what he scarily believes to be divine will.

In Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack," he recounts how Bush told him after giving the order to invade Iraq in March of 2003 that "I was praying for strength to do the Lord's will."

We all remember when Bush was asked by Woodward whether he had asked his former-president father for advice on what to do about Iraq, Bush replied that his earthly father was "the wrong father to appeal to for advice... there is a higher father that I appeal to."

So, Bush unleashed the dogs of war against Iraq... justifying his actions with lies, faulty intelligence and propaganda slogans.... firm in the belief he was on a mission from his God and in a religious fog.... God will take care of all.

Bush and his neocon cheering section were so caught up in the "vision" they didn't plan.... didn't listen to generals telling them to use more troops to secure Iraq, didn't continue pursuing the 9/11 perpetrator, al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden. ... they just kept repeating the same mantra "stay the course" and closed their minds to all other options.

So, here we are, according to the newly released National Intelligence Estimate, "On Shakier Ground,".... in more trouble than ever with an al Qaeda that "has protected or regenerated key elements of its Homeland attack capability by reestablishing a haven in Pakistan and reconstituting its top leadership," able "to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for Homeland attacks." (WaPo)

The White House has made no serious attempt to mediate a solution through hefty diplomacy with envoys to the Middle East like Henry Kissinger, Jim Baker, George Mitchell or Richard Holbrooke.... instead Bush sends his stiletto-heeled pretender, Condi Rice, to jet around uttering inane platitudes or issuing unworkable orders from Washington.

In an attempt to focus its members on the need for a change of course, the Democratic-led Senate debated all-night last night, and into this morning, on a bill to try to force limits on Bush's ability to recklessly keep our troops in the middle of the civil war in Iraq.

Entrenched senators were not swayed by the many impassioned pleas. The outcome was predictable.... the timeline measure was blocked.... the GOP stayed firmly in Bush's camp, fingers crossed, compassion and reason firmly in check.

So our country remains in the grip of a religious fanatic, bent on his crusade regardless of the will of the people, or the consequences for all time.