It’s the ‘Oh Shit!’ Moment on Iran
Every horror movie has that “Oh Shit!” moment, when the hero or heroes are huddled in some creepy hideout, and suddenly something happens that tells you that the monster is just around the corner, or just about to attack. In “Jurassic Park” it was the pulsing ripples in a cup of water, heralding the arrival of a T-Rex. In “Jaws” it was the deep bass music, letting you know that a monstrous shark was about to attack.
Well, we just got our “Oh Shit!” moment with the just-announced resignation of Admiral William J. Fallon, the military commander of US Middle East operations.
Adm. Fallon, 63, famously said that an attack on Iran would not happen “on my watch,” and is widely believed to have already threatened, along with a number of other top generals and admirals, to quit the service if the Bush administration were to launch an air attack on Iran.
Put the pieces together. We know that the vice president is obsessed with a desire to attack Iran, and has been since before he even took office. Bush has repeatedly stressed that Iran cannot be permitted to continue with its nuclear processing (he calls it their “nukular” bomb program, though there is no evidence that the country has a nuclear bomb development program, and in fact the last National Intelligence Estimate on Iran said there was not and hadn’t been since 2003). And Fallon has now quit.
The Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier battle group is in place there, and loaded to the brim with strike aircraft, Tomahawk missiles, and even nuclear weapons. It was long ago reported that air bases with aerial tankers had been put in place in Central Asia north of Iran, ready to refuel B-2 stealth bombers flown from the US or Diego Garcia islans in the Indian Ocean.
All the elements, that is to say, are being assembled for a massive air assault on Iranian targets, designed to destroy its nuclear program, cripple its military command and control, and–at least this is a stated Cheney goal– to lead to the overthrow of the Iranian government by its own people.
It is, of course, the strategy of madmen.
The US has no forces to send into Iran. All they can do is bomb it. And bombing a country doesn’t lead its people to rise up. It leads them to rally ’round the flag. Especially when the civilian casualties of our not-so-”smart” bombs start to soar.
If such an attack were to happen, we can kiss goodbye to six years of domestic peace, such as we’ve had. The Iranians have considerable capability to inflict damage on US targets of interest, both overseas and here in the domestic US using assymetrical warfare techniques. The worse part is, they’d be completely justified in doing so, since any attack on them would be a crime against peace–the gravest of all international crimes.
American troops already mired and pinned down in a war in Iraq, would find themselves suddenly under attack by Shia forces there, who for several years now have been largely leaving them alone.
And oil, which just bumped up against $110 a barrel, an all-time record, will double in price overnight, as the whole Persian Gulf becomes a war zone.
We can expect massive launches of small boats armed with missiles and torpedoes, as well as sophisticated anti-ship missiles from shore batteries, all fired at US ships in the Gulf, and it would be astounding if some or even many vessels of the US fleet weren’t sunk.
Meanwhile, tanker traffic in the Gulf, which accounts for 20% or more of the world’s oil, will cease as insurance rates for those vessels go through the roof.
The monster of war will be unleashed, and will not easily be defeated. That’s why Adm. Fallon was so opposed to the whole idea. He knows that it will be a disaster for the US militarily, economically and politically.
The worst part is that Cheney knows this, too. He just doesn’t care. This is the man’s parting shot as he leaves office– to put the country into the throes of a war so vicious that no one will think of pursuing him for his long list of crimes against the nation and the Constitution.
He is guessing–and he may be right–that the American public will, sheep-like as always, rally to the cause, with a new round of yellow magnet “ribbons” on their cars. He is hoping–and he may be right–that war will be a boon for the candidacy of Republican John McCain and for embattled Republicans running for Congress.
It’s a kind of political Hail Mary.
Oh Shit! Here it comes!
Dave Lindorff is a Philadelphia-based journalist and columnist. His latest book is “The Case for Impeachment” (St. Martin’s Press, 2006 and now in paperback). His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net
Lord God, save us all from these madmen!
oh shit
How could it have to this where a cabal of incompetent fascists are enmeshing the USA in this stupidity? (That was rhetorical question)
Ditto los…
If you haven’t become very intimate with your elected officials, now is the time to do so and let them know how you feel.
One of my senators, Dick Durbin of IL, has been very responsive. My other senator, some guy named Obama does not respond to my emails. And my rep, Denny Hastert, has been AWOL.
I can’t get several scenes from “Dr. Strangelove” out of my mind.
I have maintained since 2000 the sick mass murderers would kill us all. There is no excuse for the bloodbath they unleashed - and the American public let them do (led by those sitting in Church every Sunday).
It’s like being strapped into a horrifying roller coater that never stops until the cars are hurtled into the abyss. Time to reap what we have sown - time to reap big time, brothers and sisters.
Truly terrifying. I suppose another false flag op could be expected to generate some excuse for an attack. Sickening.
Remember when our heroic Commander in Cheif said he would listen to the advise from “His” military commanders. I’m wondering when our military will revolt.
Without a false flag operation to trigger the attack, as Stiv Whitman mentions, there will have to be a massive propaganda campaign comparable to what occurred prior to the invasion of Iraq. There is a lot of anti-Iran rethoric, but nothing to the level that existed against Saddam Hussein. Or, do you think that the administration will just start bombing Iran casually?
I can’t get several scenes from “Dr. Strangelove” out of my mind.
Cripes, now I have the mental picture of Shotgun Dick shooting a Coke machine in the face.
a little levity in the face of armageddon
I’ve always thought that the key people and laws that the Administration has systematically put into place over the last 7 years would not be allowed to fall to an incoming Democratic president. The detention centers that have been built on American soil, the new directives concerning martial law, the huge mercenary army controlled by the White House but paid for by us, the enormous power grab by the Administration and now irrelevancy of Congress. A massive attack on Iran close to the elections, worldwide disruption of oil, martial law at home, a canceled election, and the quarry is finally bagged. No more democracy.
If Fallon is the patriot some believe he is, he will become more vocal and valuable to us, not less so, after resignation. We’ll see.
Oh, shit! Indeed, I’d guess on a war starting just before those admin officials are supposed to testify to congress about the firing scandal before the 2006 election. This spring might be the last one for centuries if bushie launches a nuke strike…
I don’t think a red flag event will be necessary. We’ll just wake up one morning soon, and the bombs will have already been launched.
Great article Dave. As usual. I have a couple of questions though. Do you think that there is any other high ranking brass that will step down with Fallon? And where does Russia, China, Pakistan, and India fit in this scenerio? Also, I wonder why Cheney is going to the Middle East just now.
NO SHIT!
We’re gonna need a bigger boat…
Its going to get real ugly here if this happens.
CME — AND a bigger hole.
Perhaps Fallon’s resignation is portentous. I suggest, however, keeping tabs on John Hagee’s calls to the white house and to McCain . . . .
Ya, man, Mr. Lindorff, you PRECISELY nailed the emotion I felt when I read the news.
It is time for a national strike. We should all be staying at home or standing in the streets until this criminal administration is arrested and removed from office.
oh Shit! is also usually the last word heard on the cockpit voice recorder before impact.
I felt my heart sink in my gut when I heard this news and a horrible sensation of foreboding. We are truly in deep shit..
In the last 6 or 7 years I’ve learned to be on guard when the MSM all grab a story and flog it in our faces unceasingly. For the last day or so, it’s been Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer.
Gee, what do you suppose is lurking behind this smokescreen? Hmmm?
Maybe attacking Iran is Bush’s way of knocking the Iraq occupation off its perch as the greatest US foreign policy blunder of the modern era.
Jaded Prole sez: “It is time for a national strike. We should all be staying at home or standing in the streets until this criminal administration is arrested and removed from office.”
Exactly. Far cleaner than actual revolution.
Unfortunately, several million more Americans will need to be roused from their slumber to take part.
A few thousand Common Dreamers staying home isn’t a strike. It’s a Friday.
I’d like to see Fallon and those who realize he’s right, just march into the Oval office and arrest these degenerates who are GUILTY of crimes against The Geneva Conventions, and our OWN Constitution. Maybe some foreign powers in synch with top US military brass that recognize the true DANGERS FROM WITHIN will act? These unelected mis-leaders ought not be allotted any further freedoms to bomb and destroy any other lands!
Holy oilcan, Batman! It’s time to fire up the Batmobile and make a mad dash to Washington DC to do battle with the evil Joker and his henchmen!
But seriously, folks, all this saber rattling against Iran is part and parcel of the reason that gas prices jumped yesterday from $3.19 a gallon to a whopping $3.45 a gallon, apparently with no real end in sight to the price gouging.
Never mind that the US only imports 20% of its oil from the Middle East (the other 80% coming from our neighbor to the north, Canada). This is what you get when you have oil men running the country who will stop at nothing to further enrich themselves and their cronies as a parting shot before leaving office.
Remember, there are also the Rapturists (Dubya’s so-called “base”), who believe in the Second Coming of Christ, which can only happen when Armageddon is visited upon the earth. Well, if you set the entire Middle East aflame, that’s exactly what will happen.
They will never, ever allow a sovereign Palestinian state to exist, either, because they believe that only when their chosen people occupy Jerusalem and all the lands supposedly belonging to Israel are completely restored to the Jews, “God’s Chosen People”, that Christ will come again.
If you want my opinion, we’re under the rule of a bunch of people living in some kind of warped fantasy world. We must stop them before they blow the whole world to smithereens with their mad visions of imperial power.
And yes, I agree with the statement,
Jaded Prole sez: “It is time for a national strike. We should all be staying at home or standing in the streets until this criminal administration is arrested and removed from office.”
Just try luring people away from their overstuffed sofas, 200 channel satellite TV’s and home theatre systems. It ain’t likely to happen in our lifetime, but it’d sure be nice if a national strike could happen. I think that millions of people descending angrily upon DC would send a loud wake-up call to this criminal administration that, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
You could almost sense the anxiety when Fallon’s “retirement” was announced.
It clearly points to a possible attack on Iran by the Bush-Cheney administration.
Fallon was a major obstacle to this course of action. Food for thought in the articles:
“Will Bush, Cheney attack Iran? When and why?”
PopulistAmerica.com
Populist Party of America
Feb. 2, 2007
http://www.populistamerica.com/will_bush_cheney_attack_iran_when_and_why
- - -
“Military Draft Needed for War With Iran and Syria?”
PopulistAmerica.com
Populist Party of America
Sept. 28, 2006
http://www.populistamerica.com/military_draft_needed_for_war_with_iran_and_syria
Dump the Greenback
The ‘war for terror’ corporate America
with full spectrum Enron pentagon dominion
has a cause like ‘just cause’ and cause we can..
so
color code us red for
greed backs green
the corporate line bottom line flat line time
say
Who’d want to call a rogue nation at 3 AM?
Perhaps a threat from China to dump their notes
to undue our pro terror nation dolts
who
pimp for war and call it freedom
pushing the supreme international crime
and
hey buddy it’s all on your dime!
It’s funny, I started to write that you all (including the author) might be getting a little too ahead of yourselves here and that his resignation might have more to do with his “speaking out of turn” then any actual plan to start bombing Iran but then I recalled all the previous acts of the last several years of this Administration, Wall Street, the Financial Bankers, the Mortgage Industry, Congress and the general apathy of the public to each and every punch in the stomach by these groups. Then I thought about $110 barrels of oil, “Peak Oil”, “Peak Production”, our refusal to ever leave Iraq (lots of oil there), the U.S.’s stated committment to destroy anyone who tries to stop the flow of imported oil into our Country (”OPEC again see’s no need to increase oil production at this time”), our massive and unsustainable cost of importing foreign oil (around $350+ billion last year), our out of control fiat economy which is creating massive inflation as I write this, Wall Street’s and the Bankers apparently imminent collapse (”Fed. offers another $200 Billion to Banks”), $1 trillion being proposed military related expenditures in the Bush Administrations latest Federal Budget proposal. So no, I won’t write that you all may be overreacting, I will only hope you are. I always wondered what it must be like to live during a time of truly life altering events like WWII or the Great Depression and the like (I’m 36, white, male, decent looking, hard working, intelligent enough to have found a way to make a little more money each year and have pretty much only scene “good times” for my entire adult life). Now that it appears to be upon us here’s what it’s like for me, in the begining of such an event you feel like you’re living in a parallel universe where you have you “normal” daily routine that you still slog through day after day but at the same time you can’t shake the feeling of pending doom, you can’t stop refreshing CNN to make sure the other shoe hasn’t just dropped. You find yourself watching all your fellow commuters (I commute to Downtown L.A. via train everyday) and feeling really sorry for them for some hard to define reason. You find the “normal” silence of everyone around you deafening and bewildering (out here in Los Angeles we don’t talk to our fellow commuters much and certainly not about “serious issues”). You say to yourself “dude, calm down you’re overreacting and being an extremist it’s not really all going this bad, this fast”, and then the next day it has gone again from bad to worse and everything that you saw happening in the near future is all of a sudden upon us and happening NOW (I won’t say “predicted happening” because I only learn what to expect from the shared understanding and learning of others like our author above). But I have so much self-doubt and disbelief still that “we” are really this wreckless, in this bad a spot. I can’t shake the self-doubt that I’m totally wrong and they really do know what the hell they are doing and it’s me who doesn’t see the big picture. But events keep proving me “right”. So rave on, rave on.
I agree with what was said in the piece..however I must say that PERHAPS..capitalism will infact..”save” us…why? becasue i firmly believe that the only reason they have not done this yet..and other evil shit as well..like Martial law, for example..is..the economy…people without GAS for their cars..can’t go out and BUY yellow ribbon magnets..they don’t like to go through armed “checkpoints” with highschool dropouts in blackwater hats sticking guns in their faces and demanding to scan the RFID in your new “Real Id”…nope! the ECONOMY..just may save us after all…Bush AND Cheney…don’t do anyhting if not for money..and OIL is not the only factor..although it is ALMOST the only factor..but the whole “Show” is run by…Greed..and Greed is defeated at the source if people don’t “just go out and shop” and that last..is my “proof” as to just how WORRIED “They” are about the damage to the Economy, that Upheaval causes…remember Der Juniors words after the 911 Riechstags Burning…again..”go out and shop..” that’s how worried they were/are..
And Finally…YET AGAIN I SAY..THAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR THIS MADNESS…YEAH YOU! IF YOU CHOOSE TO PAY YOUR INCOME TAX..WHICH THERE IS NO LAW THAT SAY’S YOU DO..THEN YOU ARE ENABLING THIS BULLSHIT…ALL THE LITTLE WEASELS IN THEIR BUNKERS, AND THE LITTLE ZEALOT LOYALIST FORCES IN TERRORISM TASK FORCES..ALL THE LITTLE TORTURERS AND FASCISTS AND EAVESDROPPERS…THEY ALL GET PAID TO DO WHAT THEY DO…SO WHY DO YOU ALL CHICKEN OUT AND MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE CORPORATE FASCIST THEOCRACY TO HIRE MORE AND MORE UNTIL THE ONE THUG FOR EVERY CITIZEN EQUATION IS REAL?
IT IS TIME FOR A “TAX STRIKE”..THE CITIZENS LAST REAL “POWER” THE POWER OF THE PURSE..DO NOT PAY!…SIMPLY DENY THE FUNDING FOR THIS INSANELY EVIL NIGHTMARE (SIDE NOTE: THIS SHIT IS GETTING SO THICK, SO EVIL, I MUST ADMIT..WEIRD AS IT IS..THAT I AM BEGINNING TO THINK THAT THERE MAY BE A “METAPHYSICAL’ ASPECT TO THE EVIL IN POWER NOW…LIKE A GIANT PENTAGRAM IN THE BASEMENT WITH WHICH THEY SUMMON THE ANCIENT EVIL FORCES..C’THULU ET AL..AND THEN THERES THE ..”PENTAGON” THE CENTER OF THE EVIL SYMBOL AND SURROUNDED BY 5 POINTS OF DEATH OR DISTRUCTION…HMMMM..I DUNNO..)
DO NOT PAY..DO NOT PAY..DO NOT PAY…DON’T PAY FOR THE BOMBS THAT WILL END THE WORLD..DO NOT PAY FOR THE STATE SPONSORED TERRORISM OF THE BUSH DOCTRINE…THE FACT IS..YOU ARE MAKING IT POSSIBLE IF YOU GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY…DUHHH! SO STOP GIVING IT TO THEM…WHAT IF 100 MILLION OF YOU..JUST DID NOT PAY? WOW! CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW FAST THINGS WOULD CHANGE…BECASUE THEY JUST WOULD NOT HAVE ANY CHOICE..WITHOUT THE MONEY…WHAT CCAN THEY DO? MOST OF THE THUGS ARE NOT DOING THIS SHIT FOR..”FREE” YOU ARE PAYING THEM TO DO IT..SO STOP…BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE..THIS IS IT FOLKS..THE “OH SHIT” PERIOD OF OUR ENTIRE HISTORY..SO DO YOUR PART…YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO PICK UP A RIFLE..YOU JUST HAVE TO..”NOT DECLARE”
Just a thought…
The president veto’s the torture ban; Adm. Fallon resigns, and what is the MSM obsessed with? GOV SPITZER GETS LAID!!!
Oh shit, indeed.
Goebbels sez: “A few thousand Common Dreamers staying home isn’t a strike. It’s a Friday.” LOL, I want to be in your bunker when the “Commondreams” revolution stars, at least I’ll die laughing. Thanks.
Cheney said a while back that we would invade Iran after the next 9/11 style terror attack, whether or not Iran was involved.
Democrats in congress see no pressing reason to impeach. Nuclear war doesn’t rise to the occasion.
Hillary Clinton voted for the Kyl-Lieberman war cheerleading bill, on behalf of her Israeli bosses.
God help us.
New Zealand is a nice place. I think I’ll check out their immigration policies.
Can you say “military coup”? I never thought I’d live to see the day when that seemed to be the preferred alternative.
“This is the man’s parting shot as he leaves office– to put the country into the throes of a war so vicious that no one will think of pursuing him for his long list of crimes against the nation and the Constitution.”
Or it could be the attempt to prompt the event they really need—9/11 2.0—so they can “permanentize” their regime.
“I don’t think a red flag event will be necessary. We’ll just wake up one morning soon, and the bombs will have already been launched.”
Agreed. We still naively think that the “mainstream” media—which has held us down while the Corpublicrats fucked us—will actually report on something substantial. If only we could get Brad, Angelina, and Brittney to get involved in Iran, THEN we’d hear about it.
Obama/Fallon? ___ Hillary/Fallon? ___Fallon/Edwards or Kucinich? I fear it will happen before the election and it will be King George for a long, long time. Then those Fema prisons will have a purpose. After all, if you buy somethng ___ you should use it.
Cranky right-wingers believe there will be a jump in the oil price just before an ill-conceived attack. Yes, most cranky right-wingers think it would be most ill-conceived. They heard the “shark music” when they read the news, too. So, the price of oil is nice and steady at, uh, 109.95 right now, does that help soothe your fears?
Make that 110.09…
Check out www.aipac.org and see how they are still fear mongering and stoking the embers of conflict with Iran.
Zionist Israel and their supporters seemingly will not be content until the MidEast is further engulfed in conflict and ruin allowing reactionary Israel to continue its theft of the entire “Greater Israel”.
These right wing forces may believe this is strategically their best time. Bush is still in office and the contesting Dems have been cowed into either obeisance or silence.
It’s time for progressives to speak out loud and clear. We have two AIPAC leaders under indictment for espionage in the US (about US policy re Iran).
BTW I hope readers are aware that reactionary forces have their agents and some of them write in here as well. The alarms should go off whenever you see someone posting racist or genuinely anti-semitic comments. The goal is to undermine or taint legitimate criticism.
Congress left the door open to an attack on Iran by labeling Iran’s Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. Bush claims he can unilaterally attack terrorists anywhere, so, ergo, he can attack Iran. And he’s already stated that he will not leave office before destroying Iran’s nuclear program. He might relent if he thinks McCain is a shoe-in, because if he doesn’t attack Iran then McCain will. Either way, an attack on Iran would destroy what’s left of the U.S. economy, leading to greater resistance and possibly a civil war. At that point we can only hope that, as in the first Civil War, the forces of equality and freedom prevail.
Who in our Senate supports Joe Lieberman 100%?
rsterling1:
Thank you for adding this critical piece to the Lindorff scenario. Right-wingers in Israel and their paid agents in AIPAC and on White House staffs have been agitating to attack Iran for decades. They have the fourth or fifth largest military on Earth and about 200 nuclear warheads.
If they should get involved in any way, there will be such an uprising in the already chaotic Middle East (long fueled by Israel and the West) that it is highly unlikely that Israel could survive the reaction. And if they, or we, start tossing nukes around, the bets on survival for our species won’t really be all that good either.
I guess Oh Shit says it as well as it can be said.
If the Dems ever did decide to impeach, I think the Administration would simply laugh in their faces. I think the Dems won’t consider it because they are afraid to test if they have any power left to them, as they are an isolated island amidst lock-step Republicans and surrounded by Bush appointed loyalists. If you don’t use the flashlight, you won’t have to face the fact that the batteries are already dead.
OH! SHIT!< NO SHIT!
SPITZER! SHITZER! (Man, you let us down)
Siouxrose, you’re thinking correctly. I think it would be called a military coup, something we have been supporting overseas for a long time for our convenience. I have no doubt that there is much thought and at least some vieled conversations within the upper eschalons of our military about your suggestion. They swore to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, and what bigger enemy has our country faced than this Administration?
Although I am protected by the First Amendment, my paranoia……OH! SHIT!!!!!!!!!
Conspiracy Theory Disclaimer Advised:
Knowns:
1) Hillary’s hanging in even though logic says it’s a no win
2) Been suggested she’s hoping for a Denver miracle
3) Wants to frame contest on National Security/Commander in Chief argument
4) (Historical frame: husband Bill been cozy with the Bush’s).
5) Commander Fallon (there’ll be no war with Iran on my watch) resigns (actually, most say forced out)
Predictions:
6) Bush/Cheney start war with Iran.
7) Hillary captures nomination on fear/War Commander campaign. Hillary or McCain becomes President.
Why?
Bush has two nominees, McCain and Clinton, who are both pro-war.
(Remember, he recently said something to the effect that the U.S. policy on Iraq will stay the same AFTER the next President is in charge?)
My personal favorite conspiracy theory:
Both Clinton and Bush have used thought reading technology covertly on Americans. Both have a vested interested in not prosecuting/or even embarrassing their legacy’s with this info. Re: McCain, anyone what to venture that the smart $ is on McCain also agreeing to legislating this dirty technology?
Now would be a good time to call the Obama campaign, or his office in the Senate (202-225-3121) and let them know that he won’t get your primary vote unless he proves his bonafides by speaking out forcefully against any attack on Iran. Such an attack would be a Crime Against Peace, under the UN Charter and, since the US is a signatory, under US Law. It would be an impeachable act, and Obama, a constitutional law professor, knows that and should say so.
You might also use that same number to contact your members of Congress and demand that they speak out.
May I remind one and all that there is a day of action planned in DC, and around the country (check out http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_homepage
It would be a good time to strike for a day (or call in sick) for peace and attend the rally nearest you!
Dave Lindorff
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
Dave - you left out peace vigil, march and fast in San Jose.
OR, maybe they’ll all sit down together and have a nice cup of tea……….
You still talk as if the Dems are a different and opposing force to the Republicans. But, when the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council … founded and led originally by people like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Joe Lieberman) took over the Democratic Party in the late 80’s\early 90’s they committed the Democrats to be dependent on big contributors just like the Republicans. They cut loose from the traditional Democratic bases of support such as labor unions, environmentalists and the peace movement and instead committed today’s Democratic Party to being dependent on rich contributors and media-based campaigns of negative attack ads. In other words, today’s Democratic Party bases its success and survival on exactly the same classes of American society that have always supported the Republicans.
This is why the Democrats are now “Republican-lite”, or “corporate America’s B-team”.
And this is why its a fallacy to even suggest that the Democrats would want to impeach Bush or Cheney. They won’t do it because they represent the same people who support Bush and Cheney.
If you look closely, you can see this. For instance, in the spring of 2006, long before the elections, Reid and Pelosi announced that if the Democrats took control of Congress, then there would be no impeachment of Bush or Cheney. They made this announcement very clearly, such that there should be no mistaking their intentions.
Amongst the rich Americans and the corporations that now control both parties, this message was received and acknowledged. Its timing of months before the election means that it was a clear signal from the Democrats to these big money sources that it was ’safe’ to let the Democrats take control of Congress. After this announcement, you started to see much more money flowing into the Dem party and the corporate media did not massively object to the Dems congressional campaigns.
This is the reality of today’s Democratic party. Its not that they are scared of impeaching Bush or Cheney. Its that they have absolutely no intention of doing so.
If you listen closely to the Democrats, it is clear that their ‘enemy’ is the left. They always reserve their strongest and most vicious attacks for the left. Look at how they react to the Greens and the idea of Nader running for President. Find all the quotes where they get caught saying what they really feel and they call us “idiot liberals” (Rep Obey) or wish they could have us arrested for loitering (Rep. Pelosi).
Meanwhile, Democratic party supporters always seem surprised and shocked, shocked I say, when the Democrats now consistently support and vote for the Republican bills and nominees.
It is clear that this leadership of the Democratic Party takes as its goal and mission as to PROTECT Bush and Cheney from criminal charges and impeachment. The evidence is there to easily justify starting an investigation. And the support for that is there in public opinion polls. The only thing that is blocking an impeachment of Bush and Cheney is the leadership of the Democratic Party. They are the ones saying that this will not proceed and that it must not be pushed. IE, the leadership of the Democratic Party is protecting Bush and Cheney and making sure they finish out their term.
Its important to understand this. If it was merely a failure of personal courage on the part of some Dems, then they could be replaced. Instead, it is very important to understand the fundamental change in the nature of the Democratic Party that’s taken place in the last 20 years. People must start to understand exactly what today’s Democratic Party represents and who they represent in the government.
That leads to this. If you wanted impeachment, voting Democrat was a waste in 2006. If you wanted to stop the Iraq war or to stop the launching of additional wars, voting Democrat was a waste in 2006. When people voted Democrat, they voted to continue the same policies with just a different face as before. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
If you want something different, you have to vote differently. Vote Green. Vote independent. Just stop voting Democrat.
Have we all forgotten, that when the strike on Iran starts….the elections will not happen?
YUP, marshall law.
http://www.inteldaily.com/?c=117&a=1431
http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php?id=17432
And, the peace pageant in Ithaca, NY at 2pm on Sat. 3/15, w/ music, theater, etc.; on the Ithaca Commons.
So, is this the same Sen. Obama that went to AIPAC and gave a speech saying ‘all options are on the table’, when at the time the Bush\Cheney crowd was using exactly the same language to hint at a nuclear strike upon Iran?
Sure, you can call. In fact, if you live in one of the few states that hasn’t had its primary yet, he might even lie to you and say that he opposes the attack on Iran. But, it won’t mean a damn thing to what he’ll do if elected. After he’s elected, he’ll do exactly what the big money that supports the Democratic Party tells him to do. And you’ll be out in the streets alongside me protesting. Only I won’t be the one who’s confused while you will be because you were naive enough to believe what a Democrat said during an election.
There will be elections. Count on it. I keep hearing this same nonsense over and over. And its pure nonsense.
Why not have elections when all the potential candidates represent the same class of Americans? The only thing the elections would do is to replace the cowboy puppet with an Obama puppet.
Not having elections would be very risky for them as that would risk waking up the American people that they don’t live in a free and democratic country anymore. They don’t today, but the phony elections we have hides that fact from most Americans. The last thing on earth that they would do would be to risk waking people up to that fact.
Everyone misses the fact that Obama is pro-war.
Yeah, back when he was a state senator he made a comment against the Iraq War. He represented an urban district that was anti-war, so it would have been politicaly bad for him to do otherwise.
Since he’s been in the Senate, he’s consistently supported all our wars. As I mentioned above, he threatened war against Iran when talking to AIPAC. Up until this year, he voted to fully fund the Iraq war. He’s made speeches threatening to expand the war into Pakistan. At the time of his 2004 convention speech he was giving interviews saying his views on the Iraq war and Bush’s were very much in alignment.
This is what I don’t get about the Obama cult. They consistently project upon Obama beliefs that Obama never claims. Obama just goes around seeing how many times he can say ‘hope’ or ‘change’ in his speeches (just like Bush and ‘freedom’ by the way), and then never says what that means. So everyone seems to believe that Obama believes what they believe. But you have to be not paying any attention at all to belief that.
DL should surely know better.
“That’s why Adm. Fallon was so opposed to the whole idea.”
He WAS NOT and IS NOT opposed to “the idea.” From the Esquire interview, on an illegal, aggressive war with Iran:
“Get serious. They’re ants. WHEN the time comes, we’ll crush them.”
Not IF the time comes.
WHEN the time comes.
Non-serious people consider 75+ million Iranians living in a country over 4000 years old, well, people. But, according to Fallon, “serious” people consider them ANTS to be CRUSHED at the right TIME.
So, wake the f**k up already - Fallon WAS NOT OPPOSED to crushing the Iranian ANTS, he just didn’t agree on what time to do it!!!!
Look, if the US attacks Iran, we may not have a democracy afterwards. You can knock Obama all you want, but at the moment, and we’re probably talking about the next few months at most, the country is being set on a course for war, and Obama, who’s trying to win a nomination in a nation that doesn’t want a war, is the best chance we have to fight to prevent if. If he can win the nomination by calling for peace, and by adamantly speaking out against war with Iran, it would strengthen the hand of those in the military leadership like Fallon, who oppose it, and of those of lower rank who can resist it.
It’s not that Obama is the great black hope. He’s not. But if “his” movement demands that he take a stand, he very well might.
Besides, there’s the fact that much of the corporate world outside the oil and defense establishment, probably recognizes that an attack on Iran is going to smash the global economy.
What the peace movement can do in the short term is try to exacerbate the split within the capitalist/ruling class, to try and prevent this next war.
To understand where the Dems really stand, think back to last year.
For awhile, there was language in the Defense auth bill that would require Bush to get congressional approval before attacking Iran. Since it was tied to the funding, it actually had some teeth to it.
Pelosi and the Dem leadership struck that language from the bill. Then Pelosi went to the AIPAC convention to get standing ovations for what a great supporter of Israel she is.
So, now you expect the Dems to stop this? Quit dreaming. You should have voted Green last time. And I wish you’d vote Green this time around. Then we might have a chance of stopping the next one. Our chances of stopping this one went out the window when everyone wasted their vote on the Democrats in 2006.
Sure, you can call Obama if you want.
But, the first thing to realize is that whatever he says now has absolutely nothing to do with what he’ll do after he’s elected. Its all BS. And after he’s got your vote and is elected, he won’t listen to you nor give a damn what you think.
Also, I’d fall off my chair if Obama took a strong position on anything. What he’ll almost certainly do is to make a statement with such mealy-mouthed and convoluted language that the people who want him to be against attacking Iran will believe that he is. But the language would also be so muddy and unclear that he’ll also be able to say that’s not what he meant at all when he changes his policy after the election.
And incidentally, the “ants” quote was taken out of context. Fallon is on record as having said war on Iran would not happen “on his watch.” The “ants” quote was addressing the question of whether Iraq’s military posed a threat to the US, and I would agree with him that it does not. That is, even if Iran got an atomic bomb, it would be no threat to the U.S.–or Israel–both of which countries have overwhelming nuclear capability.
As for voting Green in November, trust me, if the country is at war with Iran at that point, the last thing you’re going to want to see is John McCain winning the White House, and no Green candidate will prevent that.
I’m afraid that voting Green in America is about as revolutionary as recycling your newspapers, and about as potent, and if we want to challenge the American war machine, we may, in the end, have to do it by abandoning this country and joining the resistance to it.
In the meantime, our best hope may be to try strengthen the hand of the capitalists who oppose the neo-con goal of endless war. In this flawed political system we don’t have much in the way of options.
The concept to understand is that no one can effectively take on and defeat the Establishment (MIC). Nor can they overthrow corporate influence. These two entities are too powerful and control politics. You can put anyone you want in the Oval Office and they will not be able to successfully take on these two powerhouses. The only way to stop them is through mass protest including giving up shopping (except for the bare essentials). I understand what Dave Lindorff is saying about the Obama movement, but it needs a leader who, come hell or high water, will LEAD the movement ALL the way. Given the recent history of those who tried to take on the Establishment, we all know what happened to them. This one is entirely up to the people, not the politicians. We need to take back our country.
I just heard about an interview made yesterday with a Slovenian citizen. If anyone else knows more - please clarify.
As I understand, he was asked ‘If you could be the president of the US for one day and could do anything you wanted, what would that be?’
He thought a moment and then said something to the effect “I would disenfranchise the residents of the US from voting for their president. They don’t do such a good job. Since the US has essentially established an empire around the world, all the other citizens of the world should be the ones to select the next president - not people from the US.”
Hillary or Obama in the White House is the same thing. They’ve all gone and pledged their support to Israel and this policy. Every dang one of them went to the last AIPAC convention and pledged fealty to the cause.
This is pretty standard Dem BS. They always try to personalize and demonize their opponents. Its the ‘its all Bush’s fault’ theme you see constantly. Which leads to the faulty conclusion that all we need to do is to replace Bush. Now its morphing into the ‘its all going to be McCain’s fault’ theme.
When are people going to realize that these people are all just figureheads?
The reason why we don’t have political options right now is because people keep voting Democrat in the faulty belief that they are an opposition. Then they always seem shocked to find that the Democrats don’t oppose any of this stuff.
And of course, politicians don’t take us seriously precisely because we keep voting Democrat. Why should they? They know that for all our protest marches and phone calls to their offices that on election day most of us are going to march into voting booths and vote for candidates that are going to do exactly the opposite of what we say we want. Knowing that, of course they don’t take us seriously.
So, voting Green does two things. First, if all the people who really opposed these wars started voting Green (or independent or libertarian, etc), then you’d actually see them winning some elections. The Dems put forth this myth that the war in popular, when polling data says 70% or so of the people oppose it and want us out.
Secondly, even a sizeable losing vote for the Greens would mean that our views would start to be taken seriously. It would be a firm statement that you can’t take our votes for granted. And it would come with the threat that the Green vote would grow even larger in the following elections.
Cheney changed when he had a heart attack. Facing his mortality, he has decided he has nothing to lose by going all out. He wants to leave this world as a hero to his family by leaving them extremely wealthy. He will be the family hero long after his death. This is what he is looking for, immortality in the thoughts of his descendants. Tribalism.
No more war please…can we try and avoid WWIII..just TRY IT?!?!? Maybe I should dig a bunker after all!
Claudius: Mike Gravel had the same message. He got almost no votes.
Claudius — I think you’re right on the mark.
Our only hope is us…unified….
But Mr.Lindorf, the attack on Iraq was also a crime against peace. Do you see any consequences? So why would attacking Iran be any different? The US ,like Israel, does not care what people think, it only believes in power.
“A massive attack on Iran close to the elections, worldwide disruption of oil, martial law at home, a canceled election, and the quarry is finally bagged. No more democracy.” — mairs March 12th, 2008 11:48 am
Hey … I’ve never been much of a conspiracy nut, but I’ve been having this same thought for the past few months, and can’t understand why Bush and cheney are so sanguine about their terms coming to an end. Could it be that they don’t really intend to leave office next January?
The very predictable consequences of an attack on Iran, as discussed by Mr Lindorff, Steven Kinzer and others, would be more than enough to trigger this scenario. And it should be remembered that the administration floated the possibility of suspending the 2004 election in the event of a domestic terror attack or national security emergency. It’s not as if our government has never done anything extraordinary on the basis of trumped-up events or intelligence.
I’m surprised to see that no one here has mentioned yesterday’s Washington Post atricle, based on unnamed sources and filled with rank speculation, that, according to the UN, there are and have been “secret Iranian nuclear projects.” (If you posted on this and I missed it, please accept my apology). Check the Just Foreign Policy website for a link and call to action:
http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/
I recently read a great quip, but can’t credit it at the moment … it went something like this:
“When it’s time to man the ramparts, will anyone know where they are?”
It’s time we make clear where to go when it’s time to hit the streets. I’ll take Mr Lindorff up on his suggestion and call on anyone within 500 miles of Chicago to assemble at Barach Obama’s national campaign headquarters, 233 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. There are actual ramparts there.
Why does the UN Security Council keep voting “yes” to every egregiously punitive US resolution to add more sanctions to those Iran already faces? Did they not learn anything from our 2003 “performance?” We don’t always pay our dues and our current administration has been trying to undermine the UN for seven years now. I’ve been waiting for them to take the IAEA seriously (NO nuclear weapons in development) instead of Bush/Cheney, but they still seem cowed by our Military Might.
If Hillary “had known then what she knows now” and would not have voted for the authorization to use military action in Iraq, why ever did she vote for the Lieberman amendment designating Iran’s armed forces as a terroristic group? She has no excuse this time.
Does anyone know why The Iranians don’t simply just stop their uranium enrichment? They can purchase the stuff from the Russians for less than they can make it themselves. I don’t know the particulars of the sanctions, but the Canadians, French… would line up at the door to peddle the stuff. Wouldn’t it be easy for them to quit, invite el Baradei in to confirm it, and leave Dubya no excuse to bomb, bomb, bomb?
They can always start again after the neocons are done and things have settled down a bit.
Why does Iran stand there with that chip on its shoulder? One of the reasons Saddam allowed the WMD myth to persist was he didn’t want the neighbors to know how weak he really was. Iran doesn’t have that problem. They can mess up anyone in the region without serious retaliation, other than nuclear Israel, and the US force in Iraq.
i’m not a big fan of people who dedicate their lives to war, but i’m grateful to ofallen for refusing to participate in a self serving war that could bring new meaning to the word ‘armageddon’.
to suggest the iranians would use asymmetrical warfare really under represents the chaos that could ensue. china is a client of iran, russia is willing to trade nuclear technology w/ the iranians, azerbaijan (former ussr satelite) borders iran as does pakistan which is incredibly unstable (as is russia) and armed w/ nuclear weapons. any reasonable military strategist would have to calculate the other ‘military’ powers response to an invasion of iran. look circumspectly at how bush/cheny understood the geopolitical implications of their iraq strategy ?
yeah, exxon will make more money in one quarter then they’ve made since they became an oil company when the price of oil hits 500 dollars a barrel and gold’s hovering around $2500 an once.
a strike against iran effectively creates a scorching hot war (which could errupt in s america as well) w/ real ramifications. somebody would go nuke. period. in fact, tactically it would be impossible for the hawks to achieve their objectives w/out patently threating offensive use of nukes (as bush already has done - remember the bunker busters).
we’re at 5 minutes to midnight (according to the BAT), what event in the past pushed us to 4 minutes to midnight?
http://www.thebulletin.org/minutes-to-midnight/timeline.html
“IT IS 5 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
2007 — The world stands at the brink of a second nuclear age. The United States and Russia remain ready to stage a nuclear attack within minutes, North Korea conducts a nuclear test, and many in the international community worry that Iran plans to acquire the Bomb. Climate change also presents a dire challenge to humanity. Damage to ecosystems is already taking place; flooding, destructive storms, increased drought, and polar ice melt are causing loss of life and property.”
(same source)
“IT IS 4 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
1981 — The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan hardens the U.S. nuclear posture. Before he leaves office, President Jimmy Carter pulls the United States from the Olympics Games in Moscow and considers ways in which the United States could win a nuclear war. The rhetoric only intensifies with the election of Ronald Reagan as president. Reagan scraps any talk of arms control and proposes that the best way to end the Cold War is for the United States to win it.”
notice the parallels/ olympics-presidential elections-bellicose repub commander-international crises in central asia?
something else the bulletin had posted at their site, the recent US success of shooting down the satellite from space, the chinese are a little concerned about this - a us first strike capability that would knock out opponents guidance/communications satellites. the war in iran will also be a war in space. (btw remember when we targeted the chinese embassy in yugoslavia using old maps.)
http://www.thebulletin.org/columns/eric-hagt/20080306.html
“China does suspect the system is useful against missiles, and more importantly, its satellites; softer targets with predictable orbits and no countermeasures (See “China’s Military Experts Analyze U.S. Plan to Down the Uncontrolled Satellite” [in Chinese].)”
america has always been planning for these events, the project for a new american century crew is just cashing in the chips while they still can. yet they fail to recognize you can’t trade money with dead people…
one more point, as troubling as it seems, one city disappearing in 5 minutes on CNN, could be the catalyst for a global revolution and demand for universal disarmament. yes there would be marshal law, yes we ‘those who read articles here’ would be shot.
….peace…..
Daniel david: you are quite correct to point out, that Admiral Fallon is far more use out of the armed forces, where he can be free to comment and criticize. I believe that he along with many, is sick of the mad surge towards armed conflict, which this present administration has been guilty of.
We cannot compare these people to ourselves, because they do not think like us, so we are unable to tell how mad they really are, and what they are capable of, though the Iraq debacle should give us a pretty good idea.
I would ask what the reaction of a million or so Iranian ex pats in the US would be to an attack? Would they simply accept it, and carry on with their daily lives?
The reaction on Iranian soil would be far removed from the Iraq war, because there is not the ethnic/religious divide which we see in Iraq. I am guessing that the whole of Iran would come together, much the same as they did in the Iran Iraq war. We are talking about a huge land mass of 70 million people, with a very distinct and varied terrain. The Iranians also have a lot of high-tech weaponry, supplied by Russia and China.
I think it would be absolute madness to attack Iran - but what do I know.
If we attack Iran, the price of oil will rise to $300+ a barrel, that will cause a depression for certain, we’re close to having one already. If a depression hits and we’re in a war with Iran, (and you can bet it will be a war if we bomb them,) then Bush will declare Martial law.
Another thing that will very possibly occur, is Russia and China will threaten to assist Iran. So put those things on one page. A war with Iran and a possible world war, with tensiions of the super powers at the max. Gasoline at $11+ a gallon, the price of food suddenly almost doubling, a depression here and rioting in all of the cities and major metro areas. Any president would HAVE to declare Martial Law.
Under Martial Law, the following things commense: All bank accounts are frozen, all credit cards are frozen, all government checks stop. ___ The government takes control of all transportation, including movement of personal vehicles.___ The government takes full control of ALL food supplies, includng small farms.___ The government controls all hospitals, clinics and medical personnel. ___ The government has the authority to place anyone in work gangs.____ The government Controls the sale of all fuel, including home heating, bottled gas, etc.___ Personal weapons may be siezed.___ People will not be allowed to congregate in large numbers or be out after hours of darkness.
Essentially, Martial law is total dictatorship and the president has the authority to do that and now has a civilian army to enforce any commands he or she may order.
Would it be anarchy, with civil wars breakng out all over the country? Think about it, what will transpire if we have a depression, even if we aren’t at war with Iran. If we do have a war with them, a depression is almost a certanty. It’s gonna be interesting, to say the least. Be well prepared, ___ or go hungry.
Somebody please tell me that this is the story line of a new movie and not the new reality.
Anybody?
It would’t sell if it were fiction ~AIITHUMZ~. It’s not beleiveable. Of course reality is reality, ___it is real.
… it is already happening !!
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/news-desk/2008/3/11/6-signs-the-us-may-be-headed-for-war-in-iran.html
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/30856
I miss those good old, innocent, bright sunny days when abortion, gay marriage, and gays in the military were the top “News” on World “News” Tonight. Where have you gone Joe Dimagio indeed.
I was struck by captn72’s comment that initially he thought perhaps the commenters here were over-reacting, and that Fallon was just gone for “speaking out of turn.” That’s the view I’ve seen all over the MSM today–”nothing to see here, just to be expected — and oh, wrap your imagination around this, Spitzer with a $5,000 whore!” Had to come to CD, as usual, to get the wake-up call.
I’m with Lindorff that Obama supporters should be beseiging his website and office, but I’d add to that that Hillary supporters should do the same. Here in our presidential race we have Obama looking smaller every day by portraying innocuous statements as racist so as to play the insider in the disadvantaged among the black community. And Hillary, who’s always hampered herself by voting fearfully to protect her political status, being crunched into the ground by a misogynist or Clinton-hating media and Obama bloggers who lost all perspective months ago. BUT they’re all we’ve got, for now. And while I’m starting to doubt whether Obama has the breadth of vision to take his focus off himself and his ambition for even a moment, and while I wonder if Hillary, who beyond all doubt loves children and I think has the capacity to imagine children devastated by war, nevertheless is still blinded by corporatism and AIPAC — I don’t think EITHER of them is outright nuts, like the ones running the country right now. They’re what we’ve got.
Once again, after seven years of having this image and thinking it had been dealt with, I realize it’s still there: this veil of illusion protecting Bush and Cheney, and all it would take to shred it is a handful of highly visible, very powerful figures being willing to say without compromise, “this would be an impeachable act.” Lindorff’s essay presents a very possible, terrifying scenario, and all it might take to prevent it is finding a handful of people to break the spell that, apparently, still holds. Just a handful, or maybe even just two presidential candidates.
Its time to brush up on my spanish or my chinese….lets hope they are taking in Americano refugees when the shit really hits the fan.
To the Spanish speaking countries AYUDA ME POR FAVOR YO VOY A IR ARGENTINA!
To the Chinese: Wo shi ni de pengyou wo yao chu Zhonguo wo hen xihuan Zhonguorenmin!
2 prophetic songs i just listened to from the 1979 album the raven by the stranglers.
seems our fates we’re sealed long ago.
———————–
Stranglers - Nuclear Device
First And Last Men Walk This Earth
But Only A Few Survive
I’m The Wizard Of Aus
And I’ve Got It All Planned
For My First Nuclear Device
I Don’t Really Care About Which Way You Vote
Cos My Gerrymander Works Out Fine
I Sell Desert Stretches Like A Big Rubber Glove
To Japan For A Nuclear Device
Nuclear Device
Nuclear Device
Nuclear Device
If I Could Get Lucky I’d Secede From The States
I’d Buy The Country At An Incredible Rate
Brisbane Men Stay At Home At Night
Cos I Outlawed All Of The Vice
I’m The Wizard Of Aus
And I’ve Rolled Up The Streets
Dreaming Of A Nuclear Device
If I Could Get Lucky I’d Go Out On My Own
And Sell Australia The Rice (Rest Of Aus There Rice)
Nuclear Device
Nuclear Device
Nuclear Device
If I Could Get Lucky I’d Secede From The States
I’d Buy The Country At An Incredible Rate
If I Could Get Lucky I’d Secede From The States
I’d Buy The Country At An Incredible Rate
If I Could Get Lucky I’d Secede From The States
I’d Buy The Country At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
At An Incredible Rate
Way Down Under Australia
Very Different From Over Here
Getting Rid The Strangles One By One
Buy Cheap Land For Uranium
It Reminds Me Of Sweden
Got The Same Sort Of Freeze On
All The Animals Look So Strange
All Victims Of A Testing Range
Of A Testing Range
Of A Testing Range
Of A Testing Range
Of A Testing Range
——————————————–
Stranglers - Shah Shah A Go Go
Did You Hear About The Man
Used To Live Out In Iran
He Was Luxury’s Greatest Fan
People Ate Out Of His Hand
People Ate Out Of His Hand
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Sold The English All Their Oil
Made The People Work The Soil
Thought His Kind Had Got It Made
But His Kind Just Had To Pay To Fade
But His Kind Just Had To Fade
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Then A Priest In Paris France
Made The People Get Up And Da Da Dance
Sold Cassettes For 60p
Said He’d set The People Free
We Shall See We Shall See
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
Shah Shah A Go Go
What I wonder is:
Did Fallon cooperate with the Esquire article and resign to gtive us all a hint of what has already being set in motion (in which case he is doing advance work for Bushco) or is he trying to warn us of something yet to come that is not yet a “done deal”.
Of course if we had a press corps with anything approaching curiosity they would either confront adminstration officials about the matter or run stories anouncing an imminent attack on Iran and by so doing force the administration to either confirm or deny the allegation.
In the absence of a responsible press it is good once again to see Dave Lindorff boldly going where others fear to tread.
Dakotalin–Excellent concluding comment–A “veil of illusion” is as apt a description of Bushco as I could ever imagine.
I hope Fallon writes a really good tell-all book soon….But that might come too late.
All through 2007, I was keeping my eye on Fallon’s resistance. I felt he was our prime protector from invading Iran.
I would like to note that the BBC Front Page News website has had the Fallon resignation news as the #1 story last night and most of today. On CNN tonight, it’s more horse race for Clinton/Obama and Spitzer call girl stuff.
Thank goodness for the net to get some perspective and keep my sanity. Plus keep me from getting a bit too scared/pissed about what might happen with Iran this year.
Poet - “Of course if we had a press corps with anything approaching curiosity they would either confront adminstration officials about the matter or run stories anouncing an imminent attack on Iran and by so doing force the administration to either confirm or deny the allegation.” Excellent point. Another option for a “handful of people” with power to shred the veil - funny, I’d forgotten about them….
“This is what you get when you have oil men running the country who will stop at nothing to further enrich themselves and their cronies as a parting shot before leaving office.”
I couldn’t agree more with this statement except one little detail. These are NOT men, in fact they are far from it. Didn’t Bu$h get some strings pullled by Poppy in order to avoid going to Nam, and didn’t the Dick Cheney get four deferrments to avoid Nam? What we have here is a pair of first degree cowards who happen to double as parasites. If this attack occurs…well, I know of a hardware store that runs specials on rope frequently.
Civil dissent, peaceful protest will be immediately broken up by the newest toy on the block - the RAY GUN, which was rolled out infomercial style on 60 Minutes two weeks ago. My blood literally turned cold when I saw it. It can create a “taser” type microwave blast from a mile away that can affect hundreds of people at once. I’m being told that I’m becoming paranoid. Uh-huh. How many people know about Presidential Directive 51? Not many.
Anybody here know about InfraGard? Feb Progressive issue, Matthew Rothschild (I don’t know anything about the magazine or the author) says that the FBI has organized a group of business people, currently 23,000 in 42 states to be “watchdogs” and report suspicious behavior in their local areas. There are reps from 350 of the Fortune 500. You have to be screened by FBI to join. Rothschild says a whistleblower claims that at one meeting they were told by FBI that they could use lethal force when martial law was declared. When it is declared. Not if. The FBI has refuted this. But this, along with Fallon leaving and the friggin Spitzer distraction and Cheney in Mideast, along with Ray Gun, along with Directive 51, along with Halliburton detainment centers, along with repeal of Posse Comitus…. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!….I had to have my vital signs read today and my heart was beating at a rate of 101. It’s all making me sick. My friends tell me to just stop, stop reading, stop being ‘aware’ and it will be alright, that it’s just CNN drama/trauma and if I’d just turn it off it’ll all be ok. I grew up in an abusive household and my hyper-vigilant antennae are whirling around without stop. Something is in the making and I must find the courage and ability to leave before getting out is not possible. And my 21 year old daughter. I feel so sorry for the young people, just starting out. Seven years of Bush and it’s getting worse, not better. In 5th grade I wrote an essay about why the people in Germany didn’t just leave. Or just say no to Hitler. I feel like I’m living it right now. Leave or not. Where to go. How do I live. Just live without this nightmare.
If anyone does know any more about InfraGard, please educate me.
magikpowerwoman March 12th, 2008 8:18 pm,
Matthew Rothschild writes for the progressive magazine…
Poet March 12th, 2008 7:42 pm,
a few journalist have pointed out the ongoing escalation… including seymour hersh
unfortunately their voices aren’t disseminated amongst the masses (hum.. wonder why). one of these journalist, seymour hersh, was interviewed last february on democracy now.
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/2/28/investigative_reporter_seymour_hersh_us_indirectly
{”AMY GOODMAN: Seymour Hersh, can you talk about the planning group within the Joint Chiefs of Staff?
SEYMOUR HERSH: That is nothing new, really. It’s just the same old story. That’s all contingency planning. There’s been no execute order. In other words, there’s no order to bomb Iran. The President has now—a lot of the planning was done at a place in Virginia, a very secret joint staff facility, where the services would get together and discuss what to hit. And they moved it within the last three months. They’ve set up a special cell inside the Joint Chiefs, very secret. That’s sort of normal. Everything is secret in there.
And they’ve been giving a number of—at least two new developments have taken place. One is the President or the White House has asked for a bombing raid that can be put on within twenty-four hours. What can we hit if the President wakes up one morning and scratches something and says, “I want to go”? What can you do in the next twenty-four hours? They’ve done that, or they are doing that.
The other significant change is, the debate all along about bombing internally, with the Air Force being very much for it, and a lot of the other services being very much against it—there’s been tremendous dissension about this in the Joint Chiefs—the initial targeting was what they call counter-proliferation—that is, against the Iranian nuclear targets. As you know, Iran is a member of the nonproliferation regime and has released or made public all of its facilities, at least all of—it’s declared many facilities, perhaps not all, but they say it’s all, to the International Atomic Energy Agency. So, using what we know from the IAEA, we’ve targeted a lot of things that we would destroy in case of a major assault.
There’s also been something called regime change targeting. The wonderful word they use inside in the system is “decapitation.” You go after leadership nodules. You hit the leaders where they live, where they work. And you get rid of the top player, the mullahs running the government, and presumably in the fantasyland that exists among the neocons, the people then rush and take over, and they set up a democratic Iran that’s secular and pro-American.”}
it was an excellent interview, i’d encourage you to listen to the entire segment.
another article from hersh called ‘the iran plans’ from 2006
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/17/060417fa_fact
and an interview w/ spiegel from 9/2007
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,508394,00.html
…….peace……
Obviously recent events in Colombia/Ecuador/Venezuela were just to “test the waters” and that got solved real quick. Latin American leaders not so willing to play sacrificil pawns in the NEO CON Chess game. So back to Iran and Fallon out. This is not good, time to contact a congressman/woman, of course my rep is a GOP Kool Aid yes man, but still gotta send notice. I guess GWB really does “follows the advice of the commanders” but only if he agrees with them (a la Betrayus or whatever that Keitel bootlicker’s name is).
Keitel(Spelling) the willing yes man General, aka Hitler’s Lap Dog.
Thank you, COMarc, for your excellent post.
You are absolutely correct. The problem is not simply the Republicans but also the fact that the Democrats are clealry *enabling* the Republicans.
Your post should be required reading for any liberal, including David Lindorff, who mistakenly thinks that an Obama presidency will be any different from what’s gone on before.
The Bush administration does what it does because it knows full well that the Democratic Party WILL LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!
I’ve heard so many times that “the Democrats are cowards not to stand up to the Republicans.” This is nonsense. The Democrats don’t stand up to the Republicans because they, as you point out in your post, are PROTECTING and otherwise enabling the Republicans to do what they do.
Think about what the Clinton Administration has “accomplished” –
– The Terrorist Act, the precursor of the Patriot Act.
– The Telecommunications Act. The 1996 Telecommunications Act put more and more power into fewer and fewer hands; giving away to a handful of media giants 50 billion dollars worth of digital spectrum rights; digital rights being a *public* asset.
– The dramatic “upward shift” of wealth during the Clinton administration from the poor and the middle classes to the wealthy. … so that today 45% of all US wealth is in the hands of 1% of the adult American population; the next 40% being in the hands of the next 19% of the population.
– Clinton’s sellout of labor, and subsequent catering to the whims and demands of Wall Street. “The best president the Republicans ever had!”
– Clinton’s so-called “Welfare Reform Bill” (enthusiastically shepherded through Congress by Al Gore). The so-called “Welfare Reform Bill” was so ruthless that no Republican Administration could have possibly passed it. This was a bill that threw overboard, into poverty, hundreds of thousands of needy individuals, many of them children — the US rate of childhood poverty now being 22%, the highest, by far, of any advanced industrial country.
– The fact that the Clinton-Gore record on the environment is worse — WORSE! — than the Bush record on the environment!!!
– The 8 years of economic sanctions during the Clinton-Gore administration — resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, many of them children, the infirm and the elderly.
– The indiscriminate bombing of Kosovo.
… The “accidental” (collateral damage) bombing of a Sudan pharmaceutical plant, all to try to kill one man: Obama Bin Laden. This “Wag the Dog” move by Clinton destroyed the only pharmaceutcial plant in the Sudan and due to the resulting lack of medicine was the direct cause of tens of thousands of deaths. … NOTE: We don’t know exactly how many deaths this bombing caused because the US blocked the United Nations’ efforts to find out just what the death count, in fact, was.
I could go on and on. But what’s clear is that these are not the actions of party that should it regain presidential power in November will fundamentally change ANYTHING in terms of American militarism abroad or corporate dominance at home. … The Democratic Party is an “indispensable partner” as far as the Bush Administration is concerned.
The Democratic Party will always be slightly better than the Republican Party, but “slightly better” is still fatal to democracy. … If one doctor is slightly better than another doctor but both doctors are quacks, what do you imagine the prognosis is for the patient?
If the Democratic Party was anything other than a Bush administration enabler, they would have impeached Bush and Cheney by now. WHAT MORE EVIDENCE CAN THERE BE OF CLEARLY IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES? … HOW MUCH MORE OF A PUBLIC OUTCRTY CAN THERE BE FOR IMPEACHMENT?
An Obama presidency, if that happens, will remedy nothing; will quickly revert to form. Why? Because Obama is as beholden to his corporate paymasters as McCain, the Clintons and the rest of the bought and paid for political apparatchik.
Don’t kid yourself, David Lindorff, et al, your guy Obama, if elected, will be more of the same. … Same soup, warmed over. … See the following article by Ralph Nader’s running mate, Matt Gonzalez: “The Obama Craze: Count Me Out” — http://newsblaze.com/story/20080302075722tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html
iowablackbird–
You are right. Sy Hersch is one of the very few writing the “alternative history” of this past 7 years and is to be commended for doing so. Also to be commended are those “not quite Ellsbergs” who leak some important information to corroborate some of what is actually going on in this crazy world of farcical illusion.
>> curmudgeon99 March 12th, 2008 4:32 pm
I just heard about an interview made yesterday with a Slovenian citizen. If anyone else knows more - please clarify.>>
It was Democracy Now on 3-11-08:
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/11/everybody_in_the_world_except_us
Daniel David, iowablackbird, and AndyUK, I have to disagree with your optimistic projection that Fallon will be of greater service to the anti-war cause now that he has quit. We have lots of retired generals against the Iraq war. What good has it done? Fallon is now officially a has-been with no power, none whatsoever. He is free, as each one of us is free, to speak his conscience. But he was free before, too, and if he was such a patriot and opponent of the war, he could have spoken his conscience before quitting *and suffered the consequences*. He could have forced a show-down.
Saying that an Iran attack won’t “happen on his watch”, then quitting when insider knowledge indicates that an attack is imminent (if indeed it is so), without even claiming that he is resigning in protest (many diplomats, but no generals, resigned in protest at the time of the Iraq invasion), sends a clear message: “I don’t want the dirt on me” . Fallon will retire to a nice pension and a few minutes of fame as a pundit if he desires it, until the MSM decide that he is now “out of the loop” and thus irrelevant. I would say that he has become irrelevant already.
Not even the ICC can save the asses of these madmen.
“#
claudius March 12th, 2008 4:24 pm
The concept to understand is that no one can effectively take on and defeat the Establishment (MIC). Nor can they overthrow corporate influence. These two entities are too powerful and control politics. You can put anyone you want in the Oval Office and they will not be able to successfully take on these two powerhouses. The only way to stop them is through mass protest including giving up shopping (except for the bare essentials). I understand what Dave Lindorff is saying about the Obama movement, but it needs a leader who, come hell or high water, will LEAD the movement ALL the way. Given the recent history of those who tried to take on the Establishment, we all know what happened to them. This one is entirely up to the people, not the politicians. We need to take back our country.”
I agree wholeheartedly, and have been saying the same about the People’s responsibility in all of this. If we do nothing, then put us all in the “complicit” column with the Democratic Party.
I will give Lindorff this: We need allies. While Obama is a party player, he’s talked a tough game and may actually follow through with the proper amount of popular pressure (by every means possible).
As for aligning with corporate interests: I’m awfully dubious. While corporate heads of state may revolt against the current neo-con madness, they will only do so to save their hides, then it’s back to “screw the little people.” Corporate control of damn near everything is what got us into this mess!
I don’t disagree. Putting one’s faith in one part of the corporatocracy to protect us against the other part is a slender reed. On the other hand, we’d be nuts at this dire point not to try it.
But the way to do it is to develop mass pressure.
I wrote a piece earlier making the point that while Obama is no radical, he has called forth a mass of people who could propel him in directions he’d never go on his own. In this, he could end up, if elected, being like Roosevelt in 1932, who ran as no great progressive, but who created a movement for change and progressive reform that both propelled him and enabled him to move the country far more in a progressive direction than it had ever moved before.
If we on the left and in the anti-war movement try to work with that movement, as the left did under Roosevelt, we may achieve much the same thing.
But it has to be done with eyes open…
fresh1 March 12th, 2008 9:16 pm
clearly the tension in iran is being ratcheted up. the president has only 10 more months of rule. if he attacks it undoubtedly will be before the general election (probably w/in 30 days of the election actually - if we listen to naomi wolf or naomi klein). will it happen? i don’t know (i bet rove knows), i do know that the conditions are perfect for the unfolding of the scenarios noted above. (martial law/civil insurrection/extended US military aggression to offset perceptions of domestic economic crisis).
will fallen be an asset to the peace movement??
i think he just helped us by stepping down and telling the world he’s concerned about the bush administrations plans for iran. i don’t believe he could have forced a showdown. i do know that his opinion will be listened to by officers that are still serving in the military, he was our best strategic go player that’s why he originally received the post.
——————————————
i just read the original esquire article
http://www.esquire.com/features/fox-fallon-4
how does fallon’s approach differ from bush/cheney? one believes in negotiation the other doesn’t.
(esquire 3/11/08)
{”You start down low, says one of Fallon’s senior intelligence officials. For example, there’s the shared interest in stemming the flow of narcotics from Afghanistan to Iran. “Iran has a huge drug problem,” so that’s “a potential cooperative area.” More recently, the Iranians promised to stop the flow of munitions into Iraq, arguably contributing to the dramatic decrease in U. S. casualties from roadside bombs. After three sets of talks with the Iranians last summer that went nowhere, another round is being teed up. To Fallon, this sort of engagement is crucial, given America’s overall lack of experience in dealing with Iran.
“I don’t know as much as I’d like about Iran,” he says. “You’ve got to go elsewhere, to people in other countries. There aren’t many Americans who’ve had extensive experience with these guys. So that puts us both at a disadvantage. Plus they’re secretive–intentionally so–about us. It makes it more of a challenge.”}
i just learned 2 things. 1.) the cia is probably flooding the streets of teheran w/ heroin (as in baghdad and europe) and 2.) clearly the US leaders are not ready for a ground war (logistically they’re less prepared to deal w/ iran then they were w/ iraq). fallen knows this and has disassociated himself.
he was probably going to be fired anyway.
last sentence from the esquire article yesterday…
(esquire 3/11/08)
{”Admiral William Fallon shakes his head slowly, and his eyes say, These guys have no idea how much worse it could get for them. I am the reasonable one.And time will tell whether being reasonable will cost Admiral William Fallon his command.”}
ahmanidijad is working w/ the iraqi government, obama has pledged to talk w/ iranian leadership. talking is the first step. obama needs to be held to his pledge to negotiate.
…..peace……
When this happens, I will no longer be able to live in this country. I will also probably not be able to leave. God have mercy on my Republican neighbors, for I won’t.
Why don`t we ask the United Nations to have an inspection team check and see if the US has any weapons of mass destruction? I suppose it would be a waste of time to see if we had any nukes around, being a Christian nation and all, but they could have a look anyway.
If any were found, an embargo would surely be put on the US and that would solve the problems of Nafta and the exporting of our labor as everything would have to be made here again. After all we should be glad to be held to the same standards the rest of the world is as we are very fair-minded.
I was pretty sure it was going to happen last year and was humbled a bit when it did not, but thankful. Admiral Fallon resigning is certainly not a good sign, yet it seems it is a bit obvious. Why tip your hand?.
That said, anything is possible. If Bush wanted to destroy this country he could not have done a better job if he tried. My bet is that was his mission, and Mission Accomplished, but just one more job.
Israel is now on high alert at its Lebanese, Syrian and Gaza borders.
http://www.debka.com/
Cheney has been despatched to the Middle East to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Turkey to spread his vision for peace (when Cheney says peace he means war).
Israel is floating a rumour that Tehran, Damascus and Hizballah are determined to inflict a terrorist attack on Israel whom they accuse of liquidating their key agent, Imad Mughniyeh. This could support a 9/11 event on Israel and provide the justification to defend our pal against Syria and Iran.
And there were those mysterious internet cables in the region being cut last month.
Oh Sh*t. Hope we are wrong, but the elements seem to be in place.
Thank you earthian !!!
The betting pool is open for new dates of Iran strikes.
If the bombing comes to pass, we need to be prepared to strike. Not just
union members, not just for better wages and benefits(though, God knows, these are not unimportant), but for a better world. Shut the capitalist economy down! Make it better, make it fairer, make it our own. We have made
the wealth the capitalists have used to build things their way, let’s use that wealth for our own ends. The general welfare has been held hostage by
the general warfare for much too long.
Oh sh*t is right.
Will Bush invade Iran on the fifth anniversary of invading Iraq? His idea of an anniversary celebration?
See you at the demonstrations March 15 and 19.
And oil, which just bumped up against $110 a barrel, an all-time record, will double in price overnight, as the whole Persian Gulf becomes a war zone.
Seems a good enough motive in itself for the Oil President…
It’s time to start bridging the Gap and make some friends of the Ron Paul-voter/libertarian/survivalist type.
People on the left seem to be too worried about Marshal Law.
I think this is simply a consequence of an urban upbringing, and therefore a discomfort with firearms, general social anxiety because of stranger-to-friend ratios in cities and suburbs, and constant reminders of well organized and well armed police forces.
And also a lack of knowledge about many of their fellow citizens on the “right”, assumed to be everyone not on the “left”, when in reality many millions don’t fit either way, and so aren’t engaged, and so aren’t considered, but would still actively oppose any overt tyranny.
What I’m saying is before anyone gets too worked up about Marshal Law, think about who would have to impose it on the ground -our National Guard Iraq Veterans or Blackwater-types, either Veterans or Foreign- do you really see that happening?
What I’m saying is that some of this Fear is useful and motivating, but much of it is wasteful and distracting -and caused by a near-complete disengagement by ordinary people because of political polarization.
Next time you talk to someone “right wing” about the occupation of Iraq, talk about the waste of blood and treasure, talk about corruption and betrayal in the executive, talk about the excesses of bureaucracies and Taxation without Representation, the Bill of Rights, and “Don’t Tread on Me”.
We here seem to be able to understand, even when we don’t excuse, the bind many citizens feel when considering voting Non-Democrat, we should also realize many who vote Republican do so because of a similar bind, just differently wrought.
We also need to realize that many good-hearted people take “right wing” stances on the “issues” with the same assurance of their correctness as many feel when going “left” on these same issues.
More unites us than divides us, people are almost all looking to do good, they just can’t agree on what good and how.
Democracy might have been shot six times point-blank and dumped in a lake, but the cold water slowed the bleeding and friendly Townsfolk have nursed Democracy back to health, though now amnesia keeps Democracy lost. If we just assume Democracy is still alive we’ll find it sooner or later, and once it sees our face, every memory will come flooding back.
We have nothing to Fear but Fear itself, right?
-matti
Not knocking a good article, just got to thinking about some of the the response and the size of the response.
-matti
Does anyone know why The Iranians don’t simply just stop their uranium enrichment? — bbr-001 March 12th, 2008 5:47 pm
They did stop, for three years, while the Europeans negotiated for the U.S. Iran eventually decided the Europeans were just stalling, keeping them from getting on with their development while not negotiating in good faith.
Also, the Iranians really hate the American meddling in their country (1953 overthrow of Mossadegh, the Iraq invasion of Iran in the 80’s) - there is a lot of ‘f**k you’ in their position, now that the U.S. is a weakening empire.
Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful use, just as Brazil, South Africa, Japan, and 195 other countries do. The only countries that did not sign the NNPT treaty are Israel, Pakistan, India and Cuba. The U.S. hates that it lost their puppet the Shah, and with it the vast oil and natural gas reserves of Iran; *whatever* the Iranians do, the