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?
Showing posts with label William Fallon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William Fallon. Show all posts
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Bush: A Laugh a Minute
This week was a beaut....
Tuesday, Admiral William J. Fallon, commander of American forces in the Middle East whose outspoken public statements on the wisdom of diplomacy in dealing with Iran put him at odds with the Bush administration, announced his early retirement.... the White House mood being "Here's your hat and coat, what's the hurry?"
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), house majority leader, called Fallon's departure "yet another example that independence and the frank, open airing of experts' views are not welcome in this administration." (NYTimes)
The Decider is in no mood to listen to those who would counsel diplomacy, after all, war is beautiful. On Thursday Bush told U. S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan by videoconference... "I must say, I'm a little envious.... I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you... in some ways romantic, you know, confronting danger." (Slate)
Spoken by someone who never put himself in danger, except to play "hot planes" with his guard unit... when he showed up.
While uttering this jaw-dropping inanity, Bush was flanked by Defense Secretary Robert Gates who also didn't experience combat.... serving in the Air Force at an ICBM base.... and Vice President Dick Cheney whose numerous deferments enabled him to avoid the "romance" of serving in any capacity. These are the boys playing soldier with the lives of others.
The Decider has just been full of himself lately, singing and dancing on the morass he'll leave behind. At the Gridiron Club dinner, attended by Washington's journalistic and political disgraces, Bush serenaded them, to the tune of "Green Green Grass of Home"....
"That old White House is behind me.... I spend my days clearing brush, clear my head of all the fuss, like that big fuss you made over Harriet and Brownie. Down the lane I look and here comes Scooter, finally free of the prosecutor. It's good to touch the brown, brown grass of home.... Down the lane I look, Dick Cheney is strolling with documents he'd been withholding, it's good to touch the brown brown grass of home." (WaPo)
And, everyone laughed and had such a good time.... while Hurricane Katrina victims still struggle, Scooter Libby got away with outing an undercover CIA agent and obscuring the White House lies that led us to war in Iraq, and Cheney was allowed to engineer the gutting of checks and balances that are the bedrock of good governance, to say nothing of the rending of citizens rights under the Constitution. Funny stuff.
Had enough?.... oh, but there's more. After repeatedly telling us "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" as home prices were dropping, mortgage loan defaults spiraling and financial markets imploding, The Decider finally fessed up yesterday admitting that the economy "is going through a tough time." (NYTimes)
As he spoke, investment bank Bear Stearns was being rescued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and JP Morgan Chase because of crippling losses on mortgage-linked investments.
How bad is this "tough time".... as Balestra Capital hedge fund president James Melcher said: "If the Fed hadn't acted this morning and Bear did default on its obligations, then that could have triggered a very widespread panic and potentially a collapse of the financial system."
In reaction to the financial tsunami coming down on us all, stocks continued their steep tumble. A panicked Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, warned of worse to come and unexpectedly cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percent.
But not to worry.... surveying what the financial havoc and ruin of The Decider's "cut taxes and spend" voodoo economic policies, his monstrously costly war, and the administration's "look the other way" abdication of oversight and regulatory restraints have wrought.... Bush boasted that the "fix" was already on the way, referring to the tax rebates scheduled to be mailed over the next few months.
That "fix" is really too silly and facile to even talk about. It's not even a finger in the crumbling financial dike.
When the country elected Frat House Bush they reasoned he would be more fun to have a beer with.... still having fun?
Tuesday, Admiral William J. Fallon, commander of American forces in the Middle East whose outspoken public statements on the wisdom of diplomacy in dealing with Iran put him at odds with the Bush administration, announced his early retirement.... the White House mood being "Here's your hat and coat, what's the hurry?"
Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), house majority leader, called Fallon's departure "yet another example that independence and the frank, open airing of experts' views are not welcome in this administration." (NYTimes)
The Decider is in no mood to listen to those who would counsel diplomacy, after all, war is beautiful. On Thursday Bush told U. S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan by videoconference... "I must say, I'm a little envious.... I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you... in some ways romantic, you know, confronting danger." (Slate)
Spoken by someone who never put himself in danger, except to play "hot planes" with his guard unit... when he showed up.
While uttering this jaw-dropping inanity, Bush was flanked by Defense Secretary Robert Gates who also didn't experience combat.... serving in the Air Force at an ICBM base.... and Vice President Dick Cheney whose numerous deferments enabled him to avoid the "romance" of serving in any capacity. These are the boys playing soldier with the lives of others.
The Decider has just been full of himself lately, singing and dancing on the morass he'll leave behind. At the Gridiron Club dinner, attended by Washington's journalistic and political disgraces, Bush serenaded them, to the tune of "Green Green Grass of Home"....
"That old White House is behind me.... I spend my days clearing brush, clear my head of all the fuss, like that big fuss you made over Harriet and Brownie. Down the lane I look and here comes Scooter, finally free of the prosecutor. It's good to touch the brown, brown grass of home.... Down the lane I look, Dick Cheney is strolling with documents he'd been withholding, it's good to touch the brown brown grass of home." (WaPo)
And, everyone laughed and had such a good time.... while Hurricane Katrina victims still struggle, Scooter Libby got away with outing an undercover CIA agent and obscuring the White House lies that led us to war in Iraq, and Cheney was allowed to engineer the gutting of checks and balances that are the bedrock of good governance, to say nothing of the rending of citizens rights under the Constitution. Funny stuff.
Had enough?.... oh, but there's more. After repeatedly telling us "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" as home prices were dropping, mortgage loan defaults spiraling and financial markets imploding, The Decider finally fessed up yesterday admitting that the economy "is going through a tough time." (NYTimes)
As he spoke, investment bank Bear Stearns was being rescued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and JP Morgan Chase because of crippling losses on mortgage-linked investments.
How bad is this "tough time".... as Balestra Capital hedge fund president James Melcher said: "If the Fed hadn't acted this morning and Bear did default on its obligations, then that could have triggered a very widespread panic and potentially a collapse of the financial system."
In reaction to the financial tsunami coming down on us all, stocks continued their steep tumble. A panicked Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, warned of worse to come and unexpectedly cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percent.
But not to worry.... surveying what the financial havoc and ruin of The Decider's "cut taxes and spend" voodoo economic policies, his monstrously costly war, and the administration's "look the other way" abdication of oversight and regulatory restraints have wrought.... Bush boasted that the "fix" was already on the way, referring to the tax rebates scheduled to be mailed over the next few months.
That "fix" is really too silly and facile to even talk about. It's not even a finger in the crumbling financial dike.
When the country elected Frat House Bush they reasoned he would be more fun to have a beer with.... still having fun?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)