Monday, June 30, 2008

We're getting ready to attack Iran.

Could be weeks, could be days away. Seymour Hersh:

Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources. These operations, for which the President sought up to four hundred million dollars, were described in a Presidential Finding signed by Bush, and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership. The covert activities involve support of the minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchi groups and other dissident organizations. They also include gathering intelligence about Iran’s suspected nuclear-weapons program. ...

“The Finding was focussed on undermining Iran’s nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change,” a person familiar with its contents said, and involved “working with opposition groups and passing money.” The Finding provided for a whole new range of activities in southern Iran and in the areas, in the east, where Baluchi political opposition is strong, he said.

Although some legislators were troubled by aspects of the Finding, and “there was a significant amount of high-level discussion” about it, according to the source familiar with it, the funding for the escalation was approved. In other words, some members of the Democratic leadership—Congress has been under Democratic control since the 2006 elections—were willing, in secret, to go along with the Administration in expanding covert activities directed at Iran, while the Party’s presumptive candidate for President, Barack Obama, has said that he favors direct talks and diplomacy.

The request for funding came in the same period in which the Administration was coming to terms with a National Intelligence Estimate, released in December, that concluded that Iran had halted its work on nuclear weapons in 2003. The Administration downplayed the significance of the N.I.E., and, while saying that it was committed to diplomacy, continued to emphasize that urgent action was essential to counter the Iranian nuclear threat. President Bush questioned the N.I.E.’s conclusions, and senior national-security officials, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, made similar statements. (So did Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee.) Meanwhile, the Administration also revived charges that the Iranian leadership has been involved in the killing of American soldiers in Iraq: both directly, by dispatching commando units into Iraq, and indirectly, by supplying materials used for roadside bombs and other lethal goods. (There have been questions about the accuracy of the claims; the Times, among others, has reported that “significant uncertainties remain about the extent of that involvement.”)

This follows on the heels of this, last week:

Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen leaves Tuesday night on an overseas trip that will take him to Israel ... The trip has been scheduled for some time but U.S. officials say it comes just as the Israelis are mounting a full court press to get the Bush administration to strike Iran's nuclear complex.

CBS consultant Michael Oren says Israel doesn't want to wait for a new administration.

"The Israelis have been assured by the Bush administration that the Bush administration will not allow Iran to nuclearize," Oren said. "Israelis are uncertain about what would be the policies of the next administration vis-à-vis Iran."

Israel's message is simple: If you don't, we will. Israel held a dress rehearsal for a strike earlier this month, but military analysts say Israel can not do it alone.

"Keep in mind that Israel does not have strategic bombers," Oren said. "The Israeli Air Force is not the American Air Force. Israel can not eliminate Iran's nuclear program."

Cheney wants to strike, Mullen and Defense Secretary Gates do not.

How are we going to stop a third war in the Middle East, which will quickly send oil to $200 a barrel and beyond and gasoline past $5 the week the attack commences?

For starters, contact Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi -- they're on their Independence Day break, if you recall from my many FISA postings -- and tell their staff to pass on along your exhortation to stop the Bush administration's rush to another war.

You can also spread the word about it. E-mail this post to your list. Talk about a third war with Iran out loud, in public, with people where others can overhear you. You can also contact your locals, but for now start at the top, and speak out forcefully and clearly.

This shit has got to stop, and we're the only ones who can make them.

The Weekly Wrangle

Time for yet another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly blog round-up. Posts included in the round-up are submitted each week by Alliance member blogs, and compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.

Maybe PDiddie at Brains and Eggs was wrong about Obama and Texas. Decide for yourself.

Off the Kuff has one last belated interview from the state Dem convention, with CD32 candidate Eric Roberson.

There is a new email scandal in Harris County. XicanoPwr writes about the offensive emails discovered at the Harris County sheriff's office by a local media undercover investigation. One email has Osama bin Laden urging folks to vote Democratic. In another, a top commander suggested that alligators should be put in the Rio Grande to cut down on illegal immigration.

Big Drunk at McBlogger points out, again, the flaws in the R's "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" strategy. Which really isn't hard to do since the R's don't excel at critical thinking, are in love with fantasy and are (to a large extent) willfully ignorant.

refinish69 of Doing My Part For The Left is delighted to announce that the Texas Medical Association rescinded their endorsement of Senator Box Turtle, and shares Rick Noriega's response to Big Bad John.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the cracks forming in the Texas Republican base in A Cooling Off Period For The Texas GOP.

Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Texas Supreme Court's recent opinion declaring, essentially, that if you are injured by a church, you are screwed, which stems from the case of -- get this -- an exorcism gone horribly wrong.

North Texas Liberal reports on the charge that John McCain and his wife Cindy have defaulted on four years of back taxes for their La Jolla, Calif. residence.

The Texas Cloverleaf helps expose the fact that oil companies are not drilling on 3/4 of the land they already lease, because it will cost them too much. Corporate greed, anyone?

Over at Texas Kaos, it is Kenneth Foster all over again, as it looks like Texas' law of parties is fixing to execute another man, Jeff Wood, who didn't kill anyone.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes John McCain shows his true colors by choosing Phil 'Enron' Gramm as a close associate.

NyTexan at BlueBloggin tells how the Bush administration has hit the pinnacle of security chaos. We can rest easy now, knowing that we have outsourced the outsource: Department of Homeland Security Outsources National Security.

Bay Area Houston writes about state senator Kim Brimer keeping campaign cash for himself.