"Iran is five to ten years away from developing operational nuclear weaponry; strike 'em now.
"Sure, there will be a firestorm of blowback coming our way when we bomb Iran's nuclear labs and facilities, but everyone hates us already so nothing new there. No need for our enemies to love us as long as they fear us. Other regimes in the area, and elsewhere -- North Korea, Syria and Venezuela, for example -- will get the message and comport themselves more to our wishes. And the Democrats will be angry but essentially toothless to prevent our foreign/military actions. Maybe they'll pass another post-facto non-binding resolution expressing their distress about our attack; oooh, ouch!
"Besides, much of the political and military fallout from both the escalation in Iraq and an attack on Iran will not take place on our watch. A new President, likely a Democrat, will struggle unsuccessfully for four years to try to undo the damage we've done in eight; he or she will be blamed for the failure, which will ease the way for a GOP restoration in 2012."
BACK TO THE FUTURE
So that's the situation as CheneyBush's war with Iraq enters its fifth year. We've been here before in Vietnam, and now, so to speak, we're stuck on the landmass of Asia again. Quagmire City, and, under CheneyBush, with more catastrophes (and treasury-busting expenditures) to come.
That's why the Democrats and moderate Republicans must do whatever they can to disrupt the Administrations' plans, however they can. Yes, it appears to be an insurmountable task for us tiny Lilliputians trying to tie down the powerful Gulliver giant, but our opposition is stronger these days, and, thanks to the November-2006 election results, exercises at least some levers of power.
And with the internet as a strong organizing and educating tool, we activists, both veterans and newcomers, likewise have more power to help galvanize citizen opposition into gearing up for more effective dissent, including creative civil disobedience.
In addition, there is a growing movement inside the military -- generals and colonels and lower officers and troops speaking out against this senseless war escalation -- with the aim of helping restore some sanity to U.S. foreign/military policy. Impeachment momentum against CheneyBush is progressing in a number of states, even bubbling beneath the surface in Congress, and rising in poll after poll.
In short, there is some clear light amidst the darkness spread by the CheneyBush Administration. It's our job to increase that clarity and keep the momentum building. # -------
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at various universities, worked as a writer/editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently is co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org). To comment: crisispapers@comcast.net .
First published by The Crisis Papers 2/20/07. www.crisispapers.org/essays7w/dejavu.htm
Bernard Weiner, Ph.D. in government & international relations, has taught at universities in California and Washington, worked for two decades as a writer-editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, and currently serves as co-editor of The Crisis Papers (www.crisispapers.org).
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