Cheney has long been pushing for war in Iran (see archive of this blog) apparently because the GOP needs a bogeyman to strike fear in the populace. He fought for at least 6 months to prevent the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran from being made public. But it has, and it puts the danger from Iran pretty low. True to form, Bush remained belligerent on Iran, which now looks to be one of his 3 standard ways of lying, this being the least convincing of the three. Does it matter? It shows that Bush's credibility is dropping. But even with no credibility, Bush still holds sway. No Democrat will call out the liar, nor praise the analysts (like Hans Blix who was proven right on WMD in Iraq) who produced reports proven to be balanced and correct because they don't want to be seen as weak on national security. Looking strong is more important that being fair and truthful. The opposite of a statesman.
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/12/hbc-90001857
Even though Cheney would love to bomb Iran, there is thankfully a reason to believe it isn't likely -- Robert Gates, Rumsfield's replacement at Defense, isn't a Bush lapdog (makes you wonder if Bush knew what he was getting). Though Gates isn't loud, he has been very firm in telling Bush and Cheney he won't support an Iran invasion because there isn't a need, it would do more harm than good, and because the military couldn’t support another front.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/73362
WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich on Tuesday mockingly questioned President George W. Bush's mental health for saying Iran's nuclear ambitions might trigger World War III.
ReplyDelete"I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich, a quirky, long-shot candidate in the race for his party's presidential nomination in the November, 2008 election. "There's something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact."
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN30205288
This seemed most relevant here, but I also wanted to show that there is a candidate questioning Bush...he's just seen as "a quirky long shot candidate." Despite being, in my opinion, the only candidate making consistent sense.
Also this.."The Administration has been dramatically increasing its efforts in the last several weeks to go to war with Iran," Kucinich said. "This latest stunt is nothing more than an attempt to deceive Americans into yet another war-this time with Iran."
ReplyDeleteAlso, Barbara Lee (my representative!)...And Cynthia McKinney who introduced articles of impeachment to the floor. Although she's green now, she was a democratic congress woman at the time she gave the speech.
I don't think there's enough media actually watching the Progressive caucus. And when there is, they're called quirky or made to look like nuts. Yet, the majority of Americans stand for their values...if not their policies.
I don't think no one is calling the President out. I think no one who is taken seriously is calling the President out. And if you do, there goes your credibility.