Preventing The Next War

In my entry yesterday, I said at the end that just as important for Democrats as crafting a way out of Iraq (if not more so in the immediate future) is preventing the next disaster. That next disaster is, of course, a potential war with Iran.

What had been dismissed in the last year or so as paranoia-- that the administration would like to confront Iran militarily -- is now becoming increasingly clear to many. The facts on the ground really haven't changed at all (and what we know isn't definite, but facts can be easily ignored), yet the familiar and escalating (pardon the pun) rhetoric suggests that the administration has more than just 'gunboat diplomacy' on its minds. It is not inevitable, of course.

Democratic leaders thus far have taken a "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it" approach to this matter. This is foolishness. If war happens, the administration will not declare it in any official manner, they will not ask Congress for authorization. Through a number of subtle moves and minor incidents, we could just wake up one day and realize that we are engaged in a new war (maybe similar to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon this past summer). But by that point, the Democrats will have missed their opportunity to tear up the tracks being laid for this.

They need to take action now to engage and investigate the administration's policy and plans toward Iran. Ask questions, hold hearings, force the White House out into the open on this. At the very least, adding some transparency to our foreign policy will be a welcome change.

On a related note, WashingtonPost.com's Dan Froomkin has a must-read post on his blog entitled "How the press can prevent another Iraq". What he outlines should be basic rules of journalism, but have for the most part been forgotten (especially in the pre-Iraq war period of jingoism and timidity). The press too can/should engage this issue and drag it out into the light. I am not sure whether I should be holding my breath on this one, though.

I'll end with this quote from The Atlantic's James Fallows: "War with Iran would be a catastrophe that would make us look back fondly on the minor inconvenience of being bogged down in Iraq."

If you're concerned, you can always contact your congressman and/or Senators about this.

[PS- While the Senate is stuck on the Iraq debate, the House intends to pick up the slack.

UPDATE (2/7): Sen. Webb seems to be on the ball with this issue.]