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Down The Middle - Jan 23, 2005 - Printable Version
- Next Stop, Iran!
by Down The Middle
Even though I have known the "plan" from the beginning, and even though I said the "neo-cons" in this administration would never stop until their total victory has been realized, I kept hoping...wanting to believe that the lesson of Iraq was going to sink in. No such luck. It has now been reported by Seymour Hersh, in the New Yorker Magazine, that rel iable sources in the Pentagon have confirmed, U.S. Special Forces are staging covert missions inside Iran to map nuclear and chemical weapons sites for bombing and commando raids this summer.
"The planning for Iran is going ahead, even though Iraq is a mess." Hersh said. "They really think there's a chance to do something by this summer, to get the intelligence on the sites." He added, "The guys on the inside really want to do this." The "guys", of course are Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Doug Feith, Undersecretary of Defense. "The next stop is Iran. It's definitely there. They're definitely planning...but they need the intelligence, first."
Hersh said U.S. officials believe an attack on Iran might provoke an uprising by Iranians against the hard-line religious leaders who run the government. (Seems like I heard that before somewhere) Their deliberations did not include conflicting points of view, such as the noting of the Administration'ss failed prediction of the response of the Iraqi people, in our "liberation" there. They also seem to be ignoring the possibility of a wave of nationalism, which could occur upon any attack by the U.S.
I have acknowledged many times that Iran has been the chief source of state sponsored terrorism and I have become increasingly worried with the unveiling of their nuclear program during the last two years. I have even advocated the "possibility" that we might have to bomb out their research and weapons sites. However, I was never in favor of the neo-cons plan for "doing" Iraq and certainly not for "doing" the entire Middle East and beyond.
"The President assigned a series of findings and executive orders authorizing secret commando groups and other special forces units to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia.", Mr. Hearse reported. "Under the secret plans, the war on terrorism would be led by the Pentagon a nd the power of the C.I.A. would be reduced."
We are currently knee deep in Iraqi insurgency that has already strained our military resources beyond any reasonable position, and this Administration better think twice about "biting off more than they can chew". (Looks to me that their mouth is pretty full now.) Looking at this from a strictly military point of view, I am appalled at the lack of consideration these people (the neo-cons) give to the negative possibilities which may very likely occur.
I personally don't believe Iran will just sit by and watch us air-strike targets in their country, without a major retaliatory response. This could come as a full scale attack upon our forces in Iraq, putting us in a position of fending off the Persian hosts coming across the border with massive bombing strikes. If such strikes were to fail, we would have to deploy "battlefield nukes", in order to save our army in the field.
Another response, t he Iranians might consider, would be to use their nukes before they lose them. Even if we destroyed any "launch" capabilities, the Iranians could still "suitcase" devises to the battlefield or worse, yet...to the United States itself.
Given the radical nature of the Islamic regime, coupled with their proven hostility towards America, I have believed for a long time that we would have to someday deal with the Persians. Unfortunately, our civilian leadership in the War Department has already proven their lack of military prowess by involving us in an unnecessary war with Iraq, resulting in a quagmire of attrition which has stretched our fighting forces far too thin to deal with another war, warranted or not.
For those amongst us that don't believe this will happen, all I can say is, this administration has done everything it said it would do...and more. I doubt their reasoning, I doubt their honesty and I doubt their motives...but I do not doubt their intentions. Next stop...Iran!
For more on our plans for global domination, go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6832704
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