The Iran Question

I’ve wondered for a while now why many people are so shocked and appalled that Iran is currently operating inside of Iraq’s borders. I know the easy answer to that question is that nobody is actually surprised, and the right wing just needs as many threats as possible to parade in front of the American people. Of course it is all part of the climate of fear; unfortunately for conservatives, nobody really buys it anymore, except Democratic candidates for president.

The more difficult question is, why do we keep hearing supposedly progressive democrats who claim to understand the issues, repeatedly rail against the Iranian government for its participation in the Iraq war. Now, the most damning argument against the Iranians is that they are operating inside of Iraq and killing Americans while they are there. One way to tell that there is not a shred of evidence to support this is that we have not yet attacked Iran. There is not a person on this earth who could convince me that the Bush crime family would not hesitate to militarily confront Iran if it had credible evidence of Iranian state-sanctioned attacks against American troops. Peter Pace dashed all the administration’s hopes of ratcheting up the conflict when he shot down their claims of widespread Quds force operations and Iranian EFP imports (his punishment is not to be asked back to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs).

Any Democrat who repeats the empty rhetoric against Iran is no better than the stenographers at Fox News or the Weekly Standard. They’re doing Bush and Cheney’s bidding. This is all a result of a massive PR effort that has been ongoing for years by the right. Their messages have become so ingrained in our foreign policy discourse that even opponents of war against Iran seem to spew dire warnings unconsciously. Hillary Clinton has gone as far as to say that using tactical nuclear weapons against the country is not off the table. Any talk of an Iraq withdrawal from the top Democratic contenders for president almost always includes proclamations that we must leave some forces in the region to “deal with Iran.” Longtime senator Mike Gravel, a man who has never been beholden to wild right-wing allegations summed it up when he said of the other candidates in a CNN debate, “these people frighten me.”

Mike Gravel is frightened because the very candidates who claim to stand up to the administration repeat their nonsense when they think it is popular with Americans. That nonsense tends to take the form of “the Iranians are arming and directing militias and sectarian groups that are killing Americans.” The convenient omission of course is that WE, too, are arming and directing militias and sectarian groups that are killing Americans. Just because high-powered people say something over and over again, that doesn’t mean it’s true. Sure, Iran is probably operating on some level inside of Iraq, but it’s because they share a border, and it would be against Iranian interests NOT to be involved in this war. You can be sure that the U.S. would be heavily involved in any war taking place along our borders.

So don’t be surprised that Iran is inside of Iraq. But be surprised when the people we are forced to vote for buy just about everything that Bush is selling on some level. It began with the Iraq war and it’s continuing with the Iran argument.

The World According to Bush

From today’s front page of the Washington Post, a lengthy synopsis on the mental state of GW.  In case you were worried, he’s ok, don’t worry about him.  I assure you, Mr. President, we’re not worried about you.  We’re worried about our G.I.s getting blown up; about three attempted terrorist strikes in the UK; about 4,000,000 Iraqis who have fled their homes; about 47 million Americans without healthcare; about our own government spying on its citizens; about genocide in Darfur; about new intelligence of a “spectacular” terrorist attack on the way, and so on and so forth.  Nobody’s really worried about your mental state, or your legacy except you, and maybe a portion of the 27% of Americans who still approve of the job you’re doing. 

A troubling excerpt:

Much of the discussion focused on the nature of good and evil, a
perennial theme for Bush, who casts the struggle against Islamic
extremists in black-and-white terms. Michael Novak, a theologian who
participated, said it was clear that Bush weathers his difficulties
because he sees himself as doing the Lord’s work…

The most troubling passage comes in the paragraph above, in which the author outlines the President’s black-and-white worldview; oh, and that’s not to mention the fact that he still believes he’s doing the Lord’s work.  If you’re wondering why we’re still in Iraq and not any safer from terrorism than we were before 9/11, it is because the man making all of the decisions assumes the viewpoint of a third-grader:  we’re good, they’re bad.  Al Qaeda was established because of our military presence in Saudi Arabia.  This is not good-and-evil, this is a complex issue that must be addressed with a level head and an informed response, and we’ve had neither in the last 5 1/2 years.  This simplicity smacks of the CNN republican debate, when Ron Paul approached the issue sounding like someone who has read an article or two about what motivates extremists.  But what was the result?  He was almost booed out of the room until Rudy Giuliani tried to force him to apologize.  This type of rhetoric and blind emotion out of people possessing power unimaginable to any normal person is what worries me the most.

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The Bush who Cried Wolf

It’s a sad day when two car bombs generate such little public anxiety.  The bombs discovered in London the other night were met by a collective “here we go again” by many Londoners, from reports that I’ve read.  I fear we might be used to these kind of threats, or even worse, jaded.  We’ve all seen the montages of news reports in the weeks after 9/11 of cows being targeted, small towns on alert, etc.  And don’t forget in the run-up to the 2004 election, when our government issued alert after alert, just to remind us that in a former life, John Kerry sported a beard and praised Allah. 

This is in addition to the most recent announcements of terrorist threats. Remember the six goons who were planning to attack Fort Dix, a fortified military base with hundreds of armed soldiers; even if they had carried it out, who do you think would have come out on top in that battle?  Then the jet-fuel pipeline bombers, thwarted in their attempt to carry out a bombing on JFK airport; a plot that most experts said would be nearly impossible to accomplish with sophisticated technology, loads of money, and intricate knowledge of the secretive pipeline network.  Oh, by the way, the potential bombers had none of these.  The prosecutor who thwarted the plot came on TV and dramatically quoted one of the suspects saying that hitting the JFK airport would almost be like killing the man twice.  Huh?  JFK was a man; JFK airport is an airport.  These people were fools.

Finally, think way back to that group of “terrorists” in Miami, who had nothing except a place to get together and talk about how they hate America.  I seem to remember a report that they didn’t even have boots to go with their uniforms.  Well, maybe a couple of more paydays and they could have purchased a few pairs of shit  kickers from Fleet Farm.

What all of this tells us is that there has never really been a viable threat in the U.S. since 9/11.  Why else would Bush & co. roll out these half-witted schemes with no real reason to believe they could even have been carried out.  Even the London plane bombers were in nascent stages of planning.  Could they have even gotten bombs onto an airplane?  Doubt it. Believe me, if ever there were that “Jack Bauer” fantasy situation that is even on the Supreme Court’s mind, our government would certainly let us know.  Not for our own good, but just to remind us that we owe our lives to the Republicans.

Lesson learned?  Address terrorism like the Londoners; if we see a car driving erratically that begins filling with smoke, call the authorities; if an abandoned car reeks of gasoline, report it; if it appears that the weirdo next door is stockpiling fertilizer, when he hardly has any grass, whether he looks like Timothy McVeigh or Khalid Sheik Mohammed, let someone know.  The rest of the time, go about your business, ignore the noise machine, and vote democratic.

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Foreign Policy Tip #357 for P. Bush

Don’t condescend the very people you’re trying to coax into agreeing with your policies. 

Today, during a speech in Czech Republic today, Mr. Bush said the following:

The Cold War is over.  It ended.  You don’t have to choose between being a friend of the United States and a friend of Russia.

Really?  I’m sure the news came as quite a shock to the citizens of Prague; you know, because they’re stuck so far in the past and spend their days cowering under Russia’s shadow.

He really needs to be advised to not be a prick when he travels the world.  I am looking forward to a gaffe-montage from the Daily Show when this whole trip is over though.

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Atta boy

Norm Coleman has voiced ‘no confidence’ in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. It’s a nice step, although, since the ‘06 elections, Mr. Coleman has appeared to be gradually distancing himself from the cookie-cutter republican stance on several issues. He’s more like a child slinking out the back door while someone else takes the blame for breaking mom’s vase.

He’s probably realized that Al Franken is going to be one tough opponent in ‘08, especially considering his newly minted endorsement from the United Steelworkers District #11, via Minnesota Monitor.

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Neo-cons; emphasis on the latter

This link will take you to a letter from a bunch of neo-conservatives to Bill Clinton, written in the beginning of 1998. It is the most remarkable document I have read since I started paying attention to politics. It bases the claim more than 5 years before the eventual invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein was a mortal threat to the United States, possessed weapons of mass destruction and that the only way the U.S. can possibly deal with him is through military forced regime change. How, then, was 9/11 a considerable rationale for the invasion of Iraq three years later? It wasn’t, it was an excuse, which is the most disgusting fact of this entire controversy considering how many thousands have been maimed and killed. Make sure you look at all the names of those who signed the letter and think about what has become of most of them (they have all failed!).

Notice a glaringly absent name: Dick Cheney. Could it be that the authors of this letter knew that they would install Cheney as the vice presidential candidate in 2000 and that he could not be associated with these kinds of ideas in that position? They’ve had all of this mapped out for more than a decade.

The most frightening aspect of this entire letter is that it is now 100% clear that we will not be leaving Iraq until Bush leaves in January 2009. This group quite obviously dictates our entire policy (along with the Saudi royal family) and regime change in Iraq is not just a policy to them, IT’S THEIR REASON FOR EXISTENCE. The problem is that if this war is ever finished, the next targets on their list are Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, etc. All of this death will never stop until these madmen are snuffed out and sane, logical people shape our foreign policy again.

Why we need a gas tax

From the Strib:

Gas consumption has gone up every year since 2000, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. During the first week of May, when prices jumped to $3.05 a gallon, demand for gasoline dipped only slightly — by about two-hundredths of a percent, the energy administration reported…

…Metro Transit’s express bus ridership is up 5.4 percent so far this year. Minnesota Valley Transit, serving the southern suburbs, has had an increase this year of 8 percent.

“Definitely, we are seeing the effects of higher gas prices with our ridership growth,” said Beverley Miller, director of the suburban service.

People walk and bike more, use more public transit, and emit less pollution. Can we make a better case than that?

Klobuchar in the mix

From the Star Tribune today:

After learning that the department considered firing at least 26 U.S. Attorneys between 2005 and 2006, Klobuchar spoke in support of Heffelfinger on the Senate floor this morning.

As a former Hennepin County prosecutor, she and Heffelfinger often worked together. She said their two offices came to see each other as “partners in justice.”

“That is why I am so appalled that Tom Heffelfinger was targeted for firing,” she said. “I take Tom at his word, and we’ve talked many times in the past few months that he had made a decision to leave the office and never knew he was on such a list.”

Both Keith Ellison and Ms. Klobuchar are now involved in this process. Hopefully their attention to this matter will bring the issue to top-of-mind status for the rest of the state.

Heffelfinger is yet another example of a U.S. Attorney from a battleground state targeted for removal for reasons that are yet unknown. Was he possibly in the midst of an important investigation? Hopefully we will find out soon.

Override the Veto

We need to get started improving our public transit in Minnesota. I listened to Jim Oberstar talking to Kerri Miller this morning on MPR and the optimism with which he spoke was encouraging. His most notable point was that the Bloomington-Minneapolis light rail eclipsed its 10 million rider goal nine months ahead of schedule. It’s now carrying about one million riders a month. It’s one of the fastest growing modes of public transportation in the country. People are hungry for transportation options and Minnesota does not have them right now.

As the Strib notes today, the DFL controlled House passed legislation containing a 5 cent gas tax increase with exactly enough votes to override a veto. But of course, several loyalists say they will reverse their votes if it comes to an override. To me, that sounds wildly unrepresentative of conviction. To vote for a bill, which the Governor has vowed to veto, and then reversing your vote after he has done so is simply childish. These are your republican reps everyone. And don’t get me wrong, the same goes for the DFL; a couple members voted no, but said they would reverse it for a veto vote. Why wouldn’t you vote yes in the first place?!

Pawlenty plans to veto the bill because he wants to borrow the money for our roads, bridges and transportation. He’s appalled at any mention of a tax, yet, as Oberstar pointed out this morning, we don’t see Mr. Pawlenty stomping his feet over out of control gas and oil companies. Why not grab a piece of those profit storms and keep it here for ourselves? If people want to drive and pay exorbitant prices on gas, make them fund the very roads they drive on with their personal transportation choices.

This is all about reflecting the true cost of gasoline, which we happen to be about $6/gallon below at this point. As Lester Brown writes in his book Plan B 2.0, in order to begin shifting our habits away from a car and driver society, we need to reflect the true cost of gasoline. Because oil industries are so heavily subsidized, we are able to keep the price of gas low (yes, $3.30/gallon is still low comparatively), but if we were to factor in all of the subsequent costs associated with the use of gasoline such as fixing roads, plowing roads, building roads, cleaning our air, and paying health costs for respiratory problems, the price of a gallon of gas would probably be around $9 a gallon.

We need to begin phasing in a gas tax that by 2015 reaches at least a dollar if not two. All of the tax revenue collected from the gas tax needs to go toward extending our light rail system to St. Paul and several other lines that extend south to Lakeville, North to Lino Lakes, West to Monticello and East to Stillwater. We also need to help redesign our neighborhoods in the inner-ring suburbs and the inner-cities that are far more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. This not only has environmental benefits, but would encourage a more neighborly culture, where someone actually has to walk down their street to the grocery store, rather than drive 5 miles to Cub Foods or Rainbow. Additionally if we create more incentives for small businesses to add to our redesigned urban areas, the middle class will be strengthened.

We also need to reorganize our taxing system so that people pay for the way they live their lives, not for how much money they make. Anybody who makes less than $30,000 a year should not have to pay a dime in income taxes, but should have to pay higher taxes on heating a large home with natural gas, or lighting a large home with incandescent light bulbs. If people began to see the cost of their lifestyles reflected in their taxes, reckless lifestyles would change. The way our system is set up now, we’re penalized for working hard and earning more money, and we’re not rewarded enough by our government for living responsibly.

This type of change is immense and can only happen over a long period of time, but it will never happen as long as our governor rewards private interests with our public projects. One thing we can do to start is OVERRIDE THE VETO, giving us a platform from which to implement more progressive policies.

Holy Crap

One would expect an examination of one’s relationship with a country from which 15 of 19 terrorists responsible for murdering almost 3,000 of its citizen came from, wouldn’t one? Not us. No way. Instead, we’re drawn closer! And I don’t mean that we not only didn’t hold them AT ALL responsible, we let them direct our Middle East policy. And for some reason, we’re scared of them. Why else would we not respond in any way to King Abdullah’s chastisement of Bush’s Iraq policy?

David Ignatius’ column yesterday alarmingly alleges that President Bush has made it clear to the Saudis that we will not be leaving Iraq before his term is up. Is it just me, or does this explain a lot? At times it seems as if the Bushies intentionally try to draw this thing out. There have been so many instances where the Bush crowd has advocated for things the fly directly in the face of common sense, such as not requiring any sort of benchmarks for progress. Isn’t this a no-brainer? If Ignatius’ allegations are true, the implications are tremendous. In simple terms, it would mean that our soldiers and contractors and Iraqi civilians are dying by the thousands for the sake of a country that is in no direct way involved in the conflict.

I know the Saudi point is beat to death by us on the left, but I think the point has been largely discredited due to Fahrenheit 9/11.   The film took so much heat following its release that the point was largely missed by the general population:  the Saudis determine what we do in the Middle East.

If true, this point is not only dangerous, but it’s also puzzling.  More to come…