16 August 2005

Is Iran next?

Having heard rumblings that the neo-cons in power are unsatisfied with the debacle in Iraq and want to also invade Iran, one wonders where the troops for that are supposed to come from.

Via Justin Logan, American Conservative magazine has a disturbing answer.

The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing --- that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack --- but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections.
Several senior Air Force officers are apparently cowards who are failing their country.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please no. This is worse than I thought. I do keep saying "With whose Army?"

But now I'd *almost* rather not know.

Kamran and Tori said...

I cannot stress enough what a mistake it would be to attack the MOST American-friendly country in the Islamic world.

Do we want to create a new enemy? Didn't Japan make a similar mistake when they attacked Pearl Harbor? Does anyone anywhere think that Iranians would welcome an attack on their cities? Or that that attack would make us safer? Tell me.

I am not saying that Iran does not pose a threat, what I am saying is that that threat can be contained with a bit of creativity. I heard (but cannot find a link to this) that some pundit is suggesting sports travel sanctions.