Ray St. Louis
9/16/07
BETWEEN THE LINES
“It is increasingly apparent to both coalition and Iraqi leaders that Iran … seeks to turn the Iraqi Special Groups
into a Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests and fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in
Iraq.”
“These elements have assassinated and kidnapped Iraqi government leaders, killed and wounded our soldiers
with advanced explosive devices provided by Iran, and indiscriminately rocketed civilians in the International Zone
and elsewhere.”
“ It is not just intelligence. It rises to the level of evidence, particularly what we captured when we got the hard
drives of the computers from the individuals that we picked up in Basra.”
General David Petraeus testifying before Congress Sept. 10/11
Here we go again. Why does all this conjure up visions of weapons of mass destruction, yellowcake uranium from
Africa, and smoking guns in the shape of mushroom clouds?
Watching General Petraeus’s presentation to Congress this past week, complete with graphs and charts, took me
back. If I squinted, I could almost see Colin Powell before the United Nations with his blown-up photos of aluminum
tubes and mobile chemical weapons labs.
Hard to believe it’s all happening again. Except now it’s Iran instead of Iraq, and EFP’s instead of WMD’s. How
else to describe it but utter madness?
Bush, Cheney, and their cohorts are drumming up support for yet another war, and the establishment media are
once again acting as enablers. Questionable intelligence pushed as incontrovertible evidence, dubious links to
the global war on terror repeated ad nauseum, news media neglecting to ask the hard questions—the whole crazy
nightmare is repeating itself.
“Recently, coalition forces seized 240-millimeter rockets that had been manufactured in Iran this year and that
had been provided to Iraqi extremist groups by Iranian agents. The attacks on our bases and our troops by
Iranian-supplied munitions have increased…”
President George W. Bush, Aug. 28
Does the President think we as a nation so gullible as to fall for this rot again?
There’s no question this is a concerted effort, a planned propaganda campaign mounted by Bush and company.
They even employ the old Karl Rove trick of using the same terminology to pound home the message.
This past week General Petraeus, Secretary Rice, and Bush’s Iraq ambassador Ryan Crocker all said Iran would
“fill the vacuum” if we pull out. When the talking points are delivered word for word, it’s not coincidence, it’s
rehearsed.
“And I would note that (Iranian) President Ahmadinejad said if the United States leaves Iraq, Iran is prepared to fill
the vacuum. That is what is at stake here.”
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sept. 12
What a piece of work this line of thinking is.
It solves all their problems, doesn’t it? Not only does it shift the blame for our country’s failure in Iraq to the
meddling of the Iranian government, it also provides a new reason for why we can’t leave Iraq. If we pull out, Iran
will take over. It’s the Vietnam-era domino theory in reverse.
It simply astounds me that there are any out there—Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives—who will
buy this line of garbage from the Bush administration. How many times have they lied to Congress, the press, and
the American public about their reasons for going to war?
This administration has completely run out ideas. The only idea they have left is to widen the conflict. They don’t
like diplomacy. They don’t like working with the United Nations or whatever allies we may have left. All they know is
the unilateral use of force.
Furthermore, Bush and company have only a little over a year left to implement their plans. So, if they are going
to plunge the nation into yet another major war, they’ve got to do it soon. That’s why the propaganda deluge is
coming now and will likely increase in the coming weeks.
“Iran’s leaders … cannot escape responsibility for aiding attacks against coalition forces … The Iranian regime
must halt these actions. And until it does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops. I have authorized our
military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran’s murderous activities.”
President George W. Bush, Aug. 28
The President said the other day that he was looking forward to his retirement. No doubt puttering around the
ranch in Crawford is beginning to look pretty good. I just hope he’s not conflating his foreign policy duties with his
coming retirement activities.
Someone needs to tell George Bush that addressing complex problems in the Middle East is not like clearing
brush at the ranch. You can’t just go in with chainsaws and weed whackers and hack away.