Listening to the VP, or you're head asplode
I wanted to go back and follow on to previous post. After the Presidents state of the Union speech I thought of Prof. Telhami's Lebanese opinion poll
2006 University of Maryland/Zogby International public opinion poll) and in particular of a poll question on whether Iran is in fact engage in trying to build an nuclear weapon. "Do you believe that Iran is: Conducting research for peaceful purposes?, Trying to develop a nuclear weapon? "(p.15) The results are not close, across the board they believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. Another question in which there was clear and unambiguous opinion: "What do you believe would happen in Iraq if the US quickly withdrew its forces? The situation will not change, Civil war will expand rapidly, Iraqis will find a way to bridge their differences (p. 10). What would they have us believe? I don't even know who they are. They who would have me believe what no one in Lebanon believes. It is still possible to make things in Iraq and with Iran worse then they are, This can be done simply by over reacting one way or the other to the situation as it stands. There are some opinion setters in other gulf states, who I am aware speak softly the old argument: The only thing they (insurgents, shiite militias) respect is strength, brutal force. What some would have us do: bring in the B 52s bomb Sadr City kill hundreds or thousands of people. Flatten the rebellion, and sign our name not theirs, indelibly, imperially to the deed. From the point of view of web logging on our dear leaders. Cheney's technicolor alternate universe
Dan Froomkin - The Unraveling of Dick Cheney - washingtonpost.com beats Bush's resigned grey scale world - for this round. I know its been excerpted many times but once more Dick "strongbad" Cheney's interview on CNN with Wolf Blitzer: CHENEY: Well, you know, this is a argument that there wouldn't be any problem if we hadn't gone into Iraq. Now -- BLITZER: Saddam Hussein would still be in power. CHENEY: Saddam Hussein would still be in power. He would, at this point, be engaged in a nuclear arms race with Ahmadinejad, his blood enemy next door in Iran --
[and later]... CHENEY: Wolf, the entire sanctions regime had been undermined by Saddam Hussein. He had -- BLITZER: But he didn't have stockpiles of weapons of -- CHENEY: -- corrupted the entire effort to try to keep him contained. He was bribing senior officials of other governments. The oil-for-food program had been totally undermined, and he had, in fact, produced and used weapons of mass destruction previously, and he retained the capability to produce that kind of stuff in the future. BLITZER: But that was in the '80s. CHENEY: You can go back and argue the whole thing all over again, Wolf...
Vice President Cheney on CNN - washingtonpost.com
So what is he saying? The fact that the Weapons of Mass Destruction could have been there is as materially real as if they were there. Metaphysics. It was a coin toss, a matter of the first soldier stepping off with the left or right foot or starting the invasion at five of rather than five after the hour, they could just have easily have then been there. Random reality-altering facts on the ground. And given that being and nothingness are pretty much the same to Dick Cheney ; the war is justified on the basis of the arms race in the region that might have taken place if Saddam had been left in power. The absence of which seems to have been lost on Iran anyway. It has always appeared that the administrations core interests survive a fair amount of chaos so there is every chance that this situation just doesn't look that bad - to them
The Bait-and-Switch White House - New York Times. Now Iran is misbehaving
Iran May Have Trained Attackers That Killed 5 American Soldiers, U.S. and Iraqis Say - New York Times (although what happened here is far from clear). Iran has fallen into the pattern of a semi-governed state, centralized yet apportioned. Multiple power centers: none accountable, none speaking from a majority base, yet holding power in absolute terms. Iran's interest in Iraq has gone beyond activities designed to stabilize and protect co religionist and engineer a non-threatening Iraqi state
Are the Iranians Out for Revenge? -- Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007 -- Page 1 -- TIME. As our reaction turns from "catch and release" to eye for an eye
Troops Authorized to Kill Iranian Operatives in Iraq. . I wouldn't assume Iran's left hand knows what its right hand is doing. Then the 'they only value strength' argument returns. And some argue we need to starting identifying and shooting Iranians, to gain their respect. However; that is dogs, who supposedly will come meekly to heel if whipped hard enough, they are thinking about, not people. Human reaction is always a return show of force, or resistance for force. Its derigour, human culture will always reward this. Besides if you are only flailing about with your Iron Fist you won't leave much of an impression on them in any regarde. This fascination with a metaphor of dog training speaks volumes about realities of the neoconservative world view. Both sides betray a seeking for a causus belli. Iran and the AEI. Mondays AEI guest on the Diane Rehm Show was trying to play it casual but by the end of the show he had brought up the sad neccesity of action against Iran so many times it seemed to me that for whatever reason the AEI is desperate for this
U.S. Policy Toward Iran. As though the clarity they believe in and desire can only be found in glorious war against obvious evil. I would rather leave this to the professionals
Admiral Calls for New and Different Approach in Iraq - New York Times. Who may have a better sense of what wars they will need to finish they are willing to start. Their job is to parse the limits of the ways military action can aid diplomacy, the art of the possible
David Ignatius - Rice's Strategic Reset - washingtonpost.com. At least it wasn't Adm Fallon who used the line Battleship Diplomacy. He did respond to Senator Warner that the "whole idea" [of creating a ring of deterrence around Iran] was "most appealling" given that we have ongoing combat operations in the area already
Centcom Pick Warns of Iran Influence in Gulf Region - washingtonpost.com centcom.He went on to talk about the balance that must be observed rewarding helpful behavior, challenging unhelpful behavior. An axis of modifiable evil.
11:29:49 PM  ;;
|
|
