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Alert: Bush planning war against Iran, soon, using nuclear weapons!

Submitted by MTOLincoln on April 10, 2006 - 11:16am.

News is now out that President Bush and his administration have begun seriously planning war against Iran, using nuclear weapons!

Plans are being developed to hit over 400 targets in Iran, including 13 airfields, and using nuclear bunker busters needed to get at underground facilities.

And there's no serious talk about diplomacy.

Re "diplomacy," keep in mind that when the Bush administration uses this term, what they actually understand by that term involves bullying, warning, threatening, and demanding unconditional compliance to their terms and point of view. Virtually demanding upfront the unconditional submission of the other side. Of course, that will not work. And the Bush administration knows it won't work. They know that "diplomacy"--as they practice it--will only lead quickly to war anyway. So why bother talking, why not just move to the business of waging war?

Hopefully, most folks would recognize that what Bush views as "diplomacy" is not really that at all. What he considers "diplomacy" could more accurately be described as simply imperialism, bullying, or warmongering. It's certainly language and behavior that can be expected to lead to war, and not to any non-violent resolution of their conflict.

I've pulled together some references on Bush's war preparations:

Check out this article in Sunday morning's Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/08/AR200604...

And Seymour Hersh's article in the New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060417fa_fact

And this excellent blog on it: http://www.docstrangelove.com/2006/04/09/saving-iran/#comments.

Sy Hersh was interviewed Sunday on CNN's Late Edition. I can't recommend highly enough the online videoclip of this interview, labeled Sy Hersh on the "Iran war plans." You'll find it on http://www.crooksandliars.com.

Hersh was on top of this story, and handily answered the criticisms of his reporting voiced by Wolf Blitzer.

Especially of concern was what Hersh said near the end of his interview, about the Bush administration's inability to "talk" and negotiate over the issues before turning to a military solution:

Quote:
Here's the real, critical point. The critical point, it seems to me, is that we're not talking. This president is not talking to the Iranians. They are trying very hard to make contact, I can assure you of that, in many different forms.

And he's not talking. And there's no public pressure on the White House to start bilateral talks. And that's what amazes everybody.

When I was in Vienna, seeing officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the one thing they all said is everybody knows Iran is trying to do something. They're cheating. They're not near. There's plenty of time. And instead of talking about bombing, let's talk about talking.

Let's see if we can do something to begin a bilateral conversation. And it's amazing to me, not only that the president doesn't but there's no pressure on him from Congress or anybody else.

We must realize that the real problem is that Bush and his administration are all so narcissistic that they really don't have the ability to hold a productive conversation with people firmly on the other side of any issue. Mutual dialogue and problem-solving require a baseline of respect and humanitarian concern for the group on the other side of the issue. The Bush administration cannot bring such qualities to the table. Once they have "demonized" the other side as simply "evil," they have, in their minds, stripped the other side of any legitimacy or good intentions at all.

At this point our representatives have no more interest in any legitimate issues or concerns of the other side than they would as Bible belt Christians have respect for dialogue with the Devil.

President Bush and his administration are fundamentally incompetent when it comes to resolving serious international conflicts through any means but intimidation or violence--violence, or the threat of it. As I hope we have seen and learned from their handling of bin Laden, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Saddam Hussein.

We have to realize the Bush administration is incompetent to handle international conflict any way but the way it already has. We need not only to call for something better in our leaders, but to call for better leaders. Otherwise, we will all soon be caught up into much more war and violence than we already are. We have to be realists about this.

Iran's response to the kind of attack Bush is now planning would, most experts think, likely take primarily the form of domestic terrorism against ordinary citizens, not a frontal attack on US military forces.

The Bush administration is thus rushing headlong and absolutely foolishly into putting all American citizens, not just our military, at risk for our lives and fortunes. It will be bringing a terrible war to our own shores. And it will be doing so absolutely needlessly.

Bush is not even looking for, or even contemplating the possibility of, win/win solutions that would not only not threaten either side, but that would positively benefit both sides. The Bush approach is fundamentally irrational, and will only bring increased destruction upon the both countries and much of the rest of the world. Bush and his policies are the most serious threat to peace that the world now knows.

Some in this country have learned a great deal, ever since World War I and World War II, about peaceful and non-violent approaches to conflict resolution and conflict transformation. Bush is ignoring all of it. His crew all think they know what they are doing, yet they are demonstrably so fundamentally incompetent at any kind of conflict resolution that it is absolutely mind-boggling! They are best at polarizing--this country, and the world. For them, all conflict is a struggle between Good and Evil. Naturally they see themselves as Good, and therefore on the side of God. Those who disagree with them, even here at home, are, by default, on the side of Evil. And even we, if we work for peace and nonviolence at home and abroad, will merely be seen by them as on the side of Evil.

Theirs is a very destructive attitude, not only toward those less powerful than us abroad, but it is equally destructive to us at home. Theirs is a very distorted and inadequate world view. How they see what they see is arguably more psychologically-based than reality-based. We must come to recognize this, and to find effective ways to "take our country back".

Think of our country as being currently led by kids, who really don't know what they are doing. We need adults with maturity who can step in, take control, reframe the issues, and re-structure our national response. But first we need to realize the situation is fundamentally out of control, and headed on a disastrous course.

It has thus suddenly become much more urgent than ever that we and the general public start to speak out and demand a better leadership from our own leaders.

I hope you'll seek out and listen to Hersh's comments in the interview on CNN, and read his article.

And do what you can. Certainly speak of your concerns not only to those in power, but to those all around you. If you want peace, there is little time left to alter our country's course toward another war, and toward a nuclear war.

Respectfully,

MTO