How ironic then, to learn that our president, the loony George W. Bush, personally ordered our troops in "sovereign" Iraq to attack and overrun the Iranian consulate in Irbil, arrest and take as hostages six Iranians there, and confiscate consular equipment such as computers, as well as documents.
How predictable that days later, the U.S. embassy in Greece was hit with a rocket-fired grenade--an action which was immediately denounced by the U.S. as an "act of terror," though thankfully no one was hurt.
We don't know who fired the RPG at the U.S. embassy, but if it was the Iranians, or if it was a Greek leftist acting on behalf of the Iranians, they'd be well within their rights, under the internation rules of war, which include the doctrine of reciprocity. It would be, not terrorism, but an act of war.
In authorizing the attack on Iran's consulate in Irbil, President Bush was okaying an act of war--an attack on the sovereign territory of Iran. What did he expect to happen? What's war for the goose is war for the gander.
Now with all the preparations the administration has under way for war with Iran--a second carrier battle group ordered to the region, a Naval carrier commander placed in charge of the "Iraq War," and air force general put in charge of the "Afghan War," and forces inside Iraq already selecting hundreds of targets--it is likely that the attack on the Irbil consulate was a deliberate provocation, intended to push Iran into a retaliatory action that would allow Bush to unleash the bombers. But even if the president has such a hidden agenda, the American people need to know what's going on here.
If the U.S. goes to war against Iran--a mad scheme if there ever was one at a time when the Army and Marines are stretched to the limit and are already losing in Iraq--Iran will fight back in ways that will be hard to defend against. The U.S. embassy in Greece is a clue about what will happen. If we attack Iran, no target in the U.S. will be safe. No American or American facility in the world will be safe.
This is not what the American people want.
These are the actions of a madman.
It's time for Congress to stop dithering. Impeach this loon an put him in an asylum. And bring the troops home where they belong.
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
Dave Lindorff, a columnist for Counterpunch, is author of several recent books ("This Can't Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy" and "Killing Time: An Investigation into the Death Penalty Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal"). His latest book, coauthored with Barbara Olshanshky, is "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office (St. Martin's Press, May 2006). His writing is available at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
