From the UK Sunday Times:
THE Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive airstrikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days, according to a national security expert.
Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security at the Nixon Center, said last week that US military planners were not preparing for “pinprick strikes” against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “They’re about taking out the entire Iranian military,” he said.
Thanks to FranIAm for the link to the Times article.
My thought is that if Bush attacks Iran, he will not go to Congress for permission. Here's how the maladministration reasons they can do this.
From Barnett R. Rubin at Informed Comment Global Affairs:
The U.S. cannot mount a ground invasion or occupation of Iran, but it might be capable of an air attack and sea embargo. The administration has prepared a legal justification by floating its plan to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Since the IRGC is under the command of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, the administration, with its usual legal acuity, could claim legal authority for an attack on Iran under Senate Joint Resolution 23 of September 18, 2001,which authorized the use of military force against "those who plan, authorize, commit, or aid terrorist attacks against the United States and its interests -- including those who harbor terrorists."
....
Finally, where are the Democrats and sensible Republicans? It's time to amend the Authorization for the Use of Military Force to make clear that it does not authorize a pre-emptive war on Iran.
Indeed, where are the sensible people? FranIAm suggests that we write to our representatives in the House and the Senate to urge them to take action. She says it's best to write a real letter, rather than send an email. I have heard that because of security procedures, letters may take a while to get to the Congress. The best suggestion seems to be to send a letter through the mail, and, at the same time, fax the letter to the office of the senator or representative.
Are you getting tired of my Chicken Little postings on Iran? I will be very happy if those of us who keep talking about this are found to be wrong, but I fear the worst.
I was Chicken Little before the war with Iraq, and I take no pleasure in having been right.
but I fear the worst.
ReplyDeleteGiven the way things have been going, this seems pretty reasonable.
Yup. We foreigners can only pray, I guess, as no congressperson is obligated to listen to us.
ReplyDeleteI thought after the last US election that since the US president claims to be 'the leader of the free world', the entire so-called 'free-world' ought to have a vote in the election.
Chicken Little- I am Chicken Little of the NY branch of your family. May we both be very wrong.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do worry, as anyone who followed the link to my blog can see.
Thanks for noting me- I would rather be writing on topics more inspired than this.
I must say THANKS to tim chesterton... yes, with that moniker all should have a say. That said sir, this man has been known to steal elections.
Deep sigh. Many prayers.
Rowan, yep.
ReplyDeleteCanada Tim, how I wish you had a vote. He imperils us all, not just citizens of the US.
Fran, I'd rather be writing about other stuff, too, but this won't go away. I have three letters written, ready to mail, and I will fax them to the offices, too. No fax machine here, so I'll have to go find one.
Lord, have mercy.
Mimi--do you have a scanner? If you do, you can scan them and then fax them online. I'm not sure if you can do it through Microsoft software, or if you have to pay though....I use an eFax service for my business and can do it that way.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for the valuable service you do here. I simply cannot bear to read the paper anymore---a very sad commentary for a former political scientist. :-(
Doxy, I'm very low-tech, no scanner. We can go to a nearby bank or to the university where my husband used to work. Thanks for the info - in case we buy a scanner.
ReplyDeleteGrandmère, I am not tired of your "Chicken Little" postings on Iran or any other of your postings. We need to know.
ReplyDeleteAnd, over the last few days, I have been keeping up with your Katrina postings, but the whole Katrina situation and its aftermath has the ability to leave me dumbstruck with frustration and depression.
Boocat, the anniversary of Katrina and the flood and seeing what little has been accomplished and realizing that most of what's been done is a result of bootstrap operations, has put me in a funk that's not over yet.
ReplyDeleteMimi, He doesn't have the troops to get serious with Iran (or with Iraq, for that matter). You've seen the strategic planning capabilities of these folk, first hand and on the ground, in the wake of - not to mention the lead-up to - Katrina. At this point I don't think they can be trusted to tie their own shoe-laces, much less to juggle additional military adventures in the Middle East.
ReplyDeleteOn a brighter note, did you see that the British handed over their last base in Basra to the Iraqis over the weekend? Basra was the last of the four provinces the Brits had controlled to be handed back.
Bombs, Lapin, bombs. The planes are there. The carriers are there. Who knows if that marauding crew even thinks about the consequences that follow the bombing - the what next?
ReplyDeleteRemember that they expected sweets and flowers in Iraq. They probably have in mind some fanciful scenario that's completely divorced from the reality of the catastrophe that will follow.
It's a reasonable argument, Rabbit, but remember we are talking about this administration. Mimi's (and those others who join in) fears seem well-founded. Bombs, indeed.
ReplyDeleteTim,
our votes don't seem to have gotten us much; the only alternative seems to be a gutless Democrat: big whoop.
Lapin, I did see that the Brits have moved out of Basra to the airport. Good place to be if you have to make a quick get-away.
ReplyDeleteJohnieb, aren't the Democrats pathetic? With the exception of a few, they seem timid and scared.
I'm beginning to think of Hilary and Obama as Republican-lite.
I, for one, appreciate your posts on these matters. It's not Chicken Little if it's true, right? I mean, this Administration has given us every reason to fear that they will target Iran, with the media once again complicit in stirring up news stories about Iran to convince the public of the "threat" that country poses.
ReplyDeleteI hope you won't stop posting about this subject. One cannot rely on regular news sources anymore, and I think it's up to us Bloggers to examine the news with a critical eye that the mass media seems to lack.
Suzer, a few reporters are trying to do their jobs, but sometimes their stories don't make it into the papers or the newscasts. Sometimes the stories are buried in the inside pages. That's where the work of the bloggers is valuable, in calling our attention to what we might otherwise not see. I don't mean me, because my readership is small, but I do what I can, and it makes me feel better to write. It's a kind of venting, I suppose.
ReplyDelete