"Folks, We Are Being Set Up Again!" - By JUAN COLE

[kpete]

"Folks, We Are Being Set Up Again!"
Iran's Nuclear "Threat"
By JUAN COLE

Here is what the professionals are saying about the Republican-dominated Subcommittee on Intelligence Policy report on Iran that slams US intelligence professionals for poor intelligence on Iran: The report demonstrates that these Republicans have poor intelligence . . . on Iran. What follows is summaries of things I've seen from other experts but I can't identify them without permission..

First of all, former CIA professionals Larry Johnson and Jim Marcinkowski point out that the Republicans have a lot of damn gall. It was high members of this Republican administration who leaked to the Iranians and the whole world the name of Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA operative who spent her professional career combatting the proliferation of WMD and was, at the time she was betrayed by Traitor Rove and his merry band, working on Iran. Had it not been for these Republican figures, none of whom has yet been punished in any way for endangering US national security, we might know more about Iran.

It is being said that the staffer who headed the report is Frederick Fleitz, who was a special assistant to John Bolton when Bolton was undersecretary of state for proliferation issues. Fleitz was sent to the unemployment line when Condi wisely exiled Bolton to the United Nations, where there is a long history of ill-tempered despots who like to bang their shoes on the podium. So this report is the long arm of Bolton popping up in Congress. It is Neoconservative propaganda.

I repeat what I have said before, which is that John Bolton is just an ill-tempered lawyer who has no special expertise in nuclear issues or in Iran, and aside from an ability to scare the bejesus out of young gofers who bring him coffee and to thunderously denounce on cue any world leader on whom he is sicced, he has no particular qualifications for his job.

more at:
http://www.counterpunch.org/cole08252006.html

[annabanana]

1. Second verse, same as the first

A little bit louder and a little bit worse.

Surely they aren't going to get away with the exact same song and dance as they did the first time. Aren't enough people onto them yet... or doesn't it matter?

Can anyone stop them?

Or is November the last, best hope?

[midnight]

2. We use their secret senator crap and block all funding for this

war, and no more national guard.

[necso]

3. The neocons have wanted

to "take out" Iran (and Syria) for some time. And they're steaming at the idea that Iran (Syria, al Qaeda, etc) have profitted -- and will profit -- from the fiasco in Iraq and from other neocon military/political misadventures in the theater.

Indeed, the neocons are obsessed with "doing something" about Iran, and in their delusional minds, more military action -- including the use of nuclear weapons (which they're just jonesing to use, to show everybody that they're "real men" (read as "psychotic, over-compensating morons")) -- is the solution.

And whether they envision going through some farce of trying sanctions first, or going straight to a "strategic" strike, the neocon's objective is to attack Iran -- consequences be damned.

But further, broader attempts at coercion promise only more failure. And if we can start meaningful negotiations with Iran, then perhaps other negotiations in the theater can more easily follow.

[Loge23]

4. The liquid threat

The recent liquid threat is just one of the building blocks for the upcoming Great Iranian Invasion, IMO.
What utter BS.

[farmboxer]

5. I expect Bush to bomb Iran before the elections and

use his media for cover. Who knows what else will happen?

[bananarepublican]

6. Can we all fit into Cheney's bunker? n/t