Conservative Junkies Jonesing For Next War

Those wacky Republicans are getting totally impatient for their next war- hurry up, George, our bombs aren't getting any younger! With their massively impressive foreign policy track-record, it's understandable why they're looking forward to having another quagmire victory under their belt.

NY Times: Some in G.O.P. Say Iran Threat Is Played Down

Some senior Bush administration officials and top Republican lawmakers are voicing anger that American spy agencies have not issued more ominous warnings about the threats that they say Iran presents to the United States.

Some policy makers have accused intelligence agencies of playing down Iran’s role in Hezbollah’s recent attacks against Israel and overestimating the time it would take for Iran to build a nuclear weapon.

The complaints, expressed privately in recent weeks, surfaced in a Congressional report about Iran released Wednesday. They echo the tensions that divided the administration and the Central Intelligence Agency during the prelude to the war in Iraq.

The criticisms reflect the views of some officials inside the White House and the Pentagon who advocated going to war with Iraq and now are pressing for confronting Iran directly over its nuclear program and ties to terrorism, say officials with knowledge of the debate...

We should totally listen to these wise voices... after all, we don't want the smoking gun to come in the form of a mushroom cloud! Wait, that sounded familiar. Nah, nevermind. Let's roll!

Note that they are attempting to use Iran's connections to Hezbollah, in light of the recent war, as one possible reason to justify action. Yes, the connections are real and concern is legitimate, but we've known since the 2002 State of the Union that the administration wanted to go to war with Iran and that was long before the recent war and before the election of Ahmadinejad (their current boogeyman). As with Iraq, we are seeing a preset agenda being pushed using current events, fearmongering, and other emotional appeals to sell it. That the intelligence communities are all in agreement that the threat from Iran is likely exaggerated (and Iran may be allowing it to be exaggerated, as tensions with us help Ahmadinejad domestically)- not to mention that we do not have the resources to finish the two wars we have, let alone start a new one- is merely an annoyance to them, and not of any interest. Let's look at a few articles on this point-

-The Guardian (UK): 'Significant gaps' in American intelligence on Iran
-Think Progress: Experts Speak: No Good Military Options in Iran

And this one too- US interventions have boosted Iran, says report.

As before, the conservatives won't let facts get in the way of marketing this product.

A commenter at Wonkette also makes this important note- "I just hope SOMEONE in the administration reads a little and realizes that Iranians are Persians, not Arabs. I don't recall any Shia in Al Queda. The only countries we KNOW didn't directly support 9/11 via citizens or actual financial support are Iraq and Iran. Ummm...Damn."

The bottom line- Iran is not an imminent threat. They are a situation that should be monitored closely by the international community, and acted upon where needed. But this consistent warmongering by the right-wing (of which we have numerous examples in the past several months) is insanity. They don't merely believe we need to act; they want this war. They may not even fully realize why, but they want it. Wars may be necessary in our country's future, but no responsible citizen or politician must allow this crowd to start another one. Period. The neocons have done this country incredible harm and yet they still claim to know what it best for us; no accountability at all. Two quagmires in and they're itching for a third. They have proven their inability to lead. They need to focus on diplomacy- easier said than done, I fully understand; but if they cannot even succeed at that, then they sure as hell can't try bombing another country into democracy.

The scariest part is that as the road to war heats up, the media will lap it all up again and the people may soon follow. Learning lessons is apparently not something Americans do very easily.