Saturday, April 08, 2006

Sy Hersh agrees

(Updated below)

US considers use of nuclear weapons against Iran - Yahoo! News
The administration of President George W. Bush is planning a massive bombing campaign against Iran, including use of bunker-buster nuclear bombs to destroy a key Iranian suspected nuclear weapons facility, The New Yorker magazine has reported in its April 17 issue.

The article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said that Bush and others in the White House have come to view Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential Adolf Hitler.

"That's the name they're using," the report quoted a former senior intelligence official as saying.

A senior unnamed Pentagon adviser is quoted in the article as saying that "this White House believes that the only way to solve the problem is to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war."
...
One former defense official said the military planning was premised on a belief that "a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government," The New Yorker pointed out.
...
One of the options under consideration involves the possible use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, to insure the destruction of Iran's main centrifuge plant at Natanz, Hersh writes.

In recent weeks, the president has quietly initiated a series of talks on plans for Iran with a few key senators and members of the House of Representatives, including at least one Democrat, the report said.

But the former senior intelligence official said the attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the military, and some officers have talked about resigning after an attempt to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans in Iran failed, according to the report.

"There are very strong sentiments within the military against brandishing nuclear weapons against other countries," the magazine quotes the Pentagon adviser as saying.

The adviser warned that bombing Iran could provoke "a chain reaction" of attacks on American facilities and citizens throughout the world and might also reignite Hezbollah.

"If we go, the southern half of Iraq will light up like a candle," the adviser is quoted as telling The New Yorker.

OMFG.

I sat here in my sweatpants two weeks ago and prophesied Armageddon, wondering aloud if the assholes driving the bus are really that batshit insane. And now Seymour Hersh confirms that they really are.

Nota bene: When Sy says the insane clown posse includes "at least one Democrat," he means that it includes "at least one Joe Lieberman." His inclusion among the co-conspirators for the nuking of a Muslim country will do wonders for the Mideast peace process. Oh, hell. If we go nukular over there, I guess it really doesn't matter, does it? Immediate casualties in the hundreds of thousands or more, a regional shitstorm that will kill millions more.... and that's the rosy scenario.

Despite the good news -- the fact that the number of Americans who buy the nonsense Team Dubya is selling continues to shrink -- the bad news is that they think still they can get away with starting World War III. The worse news is that they're probably right.

Are people going to wake the fuck up in time?

Update: Ned Lamont, Joemental's primary opponent, drew the same conclusion I did from the passage quoted above. And here's the link to the original Hersh piece -- thanks, reader Randy.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't know what to say now. Since I read the Armageddon piece I have been just waiting for someone credible who has connections, like Sy Hersh to come out and give us a story like this.

From the article, a great piece of rhetoric:

A government consultant [Republican PR Consultant, no doubt] with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was “absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb” if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do “what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do,” and “that saving Iran is going to be his legacy.”

COURAGE? Insanity does not equal courage.

SAVING Iran? Sounds a little Pat Robertson-esque to me. What, we're saving them by killing them?

This bit should work on the "conservative base."

I'm so disgusted.

12:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh- another comment about the quoted bit above -
"...if elected in the future..."

And that's quoted, so it should be the actual words of that "consultant."

Do they mean to suggest that we may not have any elections in the future?

Putting on my tin-foil hat for comfort now...

12:29 PM  
Blogger Captain Quahog said...

Jesus F***ing h Christ!!
I just spent way too much time over at Americblog reading the comments on his posting the same article from Hersh. Are these people insane? This cabal of criminals needs to go now! Before they blow us all to smithereens!

1:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Quiet everyone. The lady that leads the choir is blowing on her pitch pipe. We're just getting warmed up here. Now its time for real cynicism. Know what I mean? Imagine yourself in Germany in the thirties. Now think about what will happen in your "future", just up ahead. Did you anticipate what actually happened? Can you transfer that thirties "prediction" to today? Try harder. Add nuclear weapons. Add crazed religious people from ALL sides. Finally, add an Amerikan publik that just doesn't give a fuck. The destruction of Washinton D.C by amerikans getting screwed should have started 6 years ago. Did you help tear down the privilege that passes for democracy in the U.S.? Will you EVER? Get real. Get cynical. Stop WAITING. There is nothing more to wait for.

5:30 PM  
Blogger Eric Soderstrom said...

I remember reading about these nuclear bunker busters a couple of years ago and thinking, "What could they possibly need those for?" I can't remember where I read it but it was the fact that they somehow thought "tactical nuclear weapons" were somehow OK and wouldn't violate any treaties or anything.

This is nuts. Fucking nuts.

12:53 AM  

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