The Coming War with Iran: 9-29-07

I found this excellent analysis of what is going on with Congress, and the failure to prevent a seemingly inevitable collision course with Iran:

Let me put this as plain as possible. The United States Congress wants war… with Iran. Emulating the Bush/Cheney democratic double dictatorship, AIPAC and all the little Neocon weevils infesting our golden fields of grain, congress prefers to shoot first and think later… if at all.

Nothing you or I can do will stop it. We are all statistical hanging chads in the minds of our "elected officials."

[...]The U.S. Military? The National Guard? Oh sure, they’ve done an exemplary job in Iraq. All we need is to up their tours of duty a bit. Twelve months to fifteen months was insufficient. How about a nice round figure of twenty-four months to win hearts and minds? Better make sure each and every U.S. soldier gets a month R&R and psychological therapy in between tours. We must support the troops… at all costs.

[...]I give up. There is no point in deluding myself anymore. Congress wants war with Iran as badly as George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Norman Podhoretz, Rudy Giuliani, Hillary, Barack Obama, AIPAC or... the list goes on and on. All options may be on the table but our "esteemed" members of congress are quickly painting themselves into the corner furthest from that table leaving one option: War with Iran. Remember, congress answers to the call of the puppet masters holding the campaign contributions, powerful lobbies and big business… not We The People.

At least one member of Congress (and there are a handful) is resisting the march to war:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich says he is so concerned about what he sees as the Bush administration's push for a war with Iran that he is considering using a parliamentary measure to force the House of Representatives to vote on impeaching Vice President Dick Cheney.

"We're preparing for another war, and they're going to destroy America," the Ohio Democrat said Thursday on the Ed Schultz show. "We have a government in place right now that has to be challenged. I'm seriously thinking about calling a privileged resolution on impeachment of the vice president and forcing a vote on the floor of the House."

Firedoglake on Hillary's Treachery:

But what about the next war? Senator Edwards framed the most obvious question: Now that we know Bush and Cheney cannot be trusted to tell the truth, or to give peaceful alternatives a chance, or to act with wisdom and due regard for consequences, why would anyone in their right minds approve a resolution that would give Bush and Cheney the idea Congress had enabled them to make any decision regarding possible war with Iran?

Wednesday’s vote on the Lieberman - Kyl resolution, condemning Iran and allowing the designation of its Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist” entity, was a litmus test for candidates seeking the Presidency. The vote separated the wise from the foolish, and Senator Clinton voted — again — for foolish.

[...]There is no way to spin Clinton’s vote to blunt what it tells us. Her vote in favor of the resolution was reckless and foolish and exhibited exactly the same flawed judgment — if not opportunism — as her original Iraq authorization vote. Only this time, she has no excuse of claiming she didn’t know Bush’s character.