The Neocons’ Next Project
I’ve always thought that Republican foreign policy had the opposite effect than what was intended. George W. Bush pushed us into war with Iraq to make sure they didn’t have WMDs (so he said anyway). They didn’t have WMDs and they were cooperating (kinda) with inspections. Countries with nuclear weapons – Pakistan, India, North Korea – always get a pass or at least get to the negotiating table. I don’t know what incentive a country would have to cooperate (we’ll bomb you anyway) but huge incentives to build nuclear weapons.
The neocons never, ever quit. It doesn’t matter how wrong they are, they just keep pushing. Their newest project is war with Iran. Yes, because the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan have been so beneficial to world peace. I figure it’s about the only spending that Republicans like. Let’s call it their stimulus program.
In September, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) declared, “It is time to retire our ambiguous mantra about all options remaining on the table,” and tell the Iranians that we will prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability “with military force if we absolutely must.” Lieberman restated this view in a Wall Street Journal op-ed this morning.
Last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took it upon himself to make U.S.-Iran policy, insisting that “containment is off the table,” and saying that the U.S. should go to war with Iran “not to just neutralize their nuclear program,” but to “neuter that regime.”
Speaking in New Orleans last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added his voice to the pressure effort, saying, “If the international community, led by the U.S., wants to stop Iran without resorting to military action, it will have to convince Iran that it is prepared to take such action.”
Even the font of the most conventional of conventional wisdom, David Broder, has been pushing for a war with Iran. Luckily for us, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is not susceptible to the neocons, saying that war with Iran won’t deter their nuclear arsenal and will bring together a divided Iran.
Also, I’m really amused at the lead-in to Lieberman’s WSJ op-ed: “Back to a Bipartisan Foreign Policy”
Success in Afghanistan requires the president and the new leadership in Congress to stand together against antiwar Democrats and isolationist Republicans.
Warmongers unite! So, Lieberman is admitting there’s already a bipartisan consensus against war. He’s trying to gather together the pro-war Democrats and Republicans. Unfortunately for him, a lot of those pro-war Democrats were defeated in November. Lieberman must be feeling lonely.
I would think the huge deficit “problem” could be the trump card played, in the final analysis, against funding another war.
The AMERICAN century is over.
We have been going downhill on the roller-coaster since we went ALL-OUT as the keeper and promoter of Democracy throughout the world.
Everyone else poured their best minds into commerce.
We built better and better weapons systems.
All money and minds down the drain.
Globalresearch.ca…..737 US military bases around the world. Here is where all our money is going.
If you believe that Sec. “Defense” is not too keen on war with Iran, well consider back in August 2010 “There is no question in anybody’s mind that we are going to begin drawing down troops in July of 2011,” Gates told the Los Angeles Times last week.” Right. Two months later, Obomba says 2014 we start to withdraw.
I would not put much stock in anything Robert Gates says.
The Democratic compromise position will be to declare war on Christmas.
The Left’s newest project is permitting the nuclear destruction of Israel by the Iranians. Unfortunately, the Obama Regime is buying.
I am in the middle of reading Tom Rick’s book Fiasco about the adventure in Iraq. Every member of Congress should be forced to read it (Lieberman should read it twice). On virtually every front, the neocons played the people that are supposed to be in positions of power. And they played them for fools.
Reading the book has re-enraged me about the stupidity and hubris of the Bush administration. But it has some lessons in there, once you get past being pissed off at Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith and the rest of the incompetent buffoons that were making the decisions and playing schoolyard bully afterwards.
I hope someone pulls Lieberman aside in the cloakroom and threatens to bust him down to corporal if he opens his goddamn trap on Iran again. Unfortunately, Carper will jump in to save him.
Isreal has nuclear weapons. Iran has none. If Israel feels the need to attack Iran, let them have at it. Just as long as we stay out of it.
I heard Senator Kaufman do an exit interview with Allan Loudell and he spoke frankly about the US having carried the world for far too long on defense. This President has to put an end to these wars and take another tack.
Lieberman needs to move to Israel and man the barricades for the coming final conflict. His Israel first, America back of the bus mentality disgusts me.