Reid Working to Hold Bush Accountable on Iran

Four years ago, I became aware that Bush was interested in something called the preemptive strike principle and his intended target seemed to be Iraq. I was skeptical, but I listened, because up to then American presidents had usually taken foreign policy seriously. I never imagined the level of dishonesty and ideological stupidity that was soon demonstrated by Bush and his advisers.

I was startled to find that Americans everywhere were subjected to a 24/7 public relations blitz based more on what would sell rather than what was true. A year later, we learned of the White House Iraq Group, a somewhat ad hoc group of political as well as national security types, who quite literally put together a plan to sell the war to the voters just in time for the midterms elections.

Maybe someday the historians will track down how many hundreds of millions were spent on a campaign designed to convince Americans that Iraq was an imminent threat when no such threat existed (yes, we all know the administration avoided using the phrase, 'imminent threat,' but there was never any question what the intent of the campaign was; 'mushroom cloud' is a powerful substitute for 'imminent threat'; case closed).

Of course, we discovered there were no WMDs and no nuclear program worthy of the name. There was just a sad broken country that Bush didn't know what to do with. And we are still there and Bush stilll doesn't know what to do. There are American deaths nearly every day and we are spending billions with nothing to show for it. And Bush is apparently thinking about attacking Iran.

Senator Harry Reid and other Democrats are saying, wait a minute—we've been down this road before and you've haven't even finished your first two wars. ABC News has the story:

Senate Democrats, saying they want to "avoid repeating mistakes made in the run-up to the conflict in Iraq," sent President Bush a letter Friday urging him to direct the nation's intelligence agencies to prepare an updated National Intelligence Estimate on Iran.

"We must have objective intelligence untainted by political considerations or policy preferences and a comprehensive debate in the Congress about the best short and long-term approaches to resolving the international community's differences with Iran," the Democrats' letter said.

(snip)

The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois, Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Armed Services Committee ranking member Carl Levin of Michigan and Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Joe Biden of Delaware.

If diplomacy fails, if the leadership of Iran does not change, there is a possibility that Iran will have nuclear weapons in another ten to fifteen years. And if Bush decides on another war, we will be told once again that dealing with Iran cannot wait. If people don't see the problem with this, they're not paying attention.

Iran is a serious problem but it is also a problem Bush has neglected for four years. If Bush is suddenly in a hurry to deal with Iran, it is likely his falling numbers are the real issue. The letter by the Democrats is a step in the right direction and is far more than the overly compliant Republicans are willing to do. But it is important to be clear that Bush cannot justify a war if he hasn't even bothered to engage in diplomacy. Americans better decide just how much incompetence and recklessness they are willing to accept from President Bush. There is no doubt that our military can inflict serious damage on Iran. But with Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld in charge, no one should fool themselves into believing there will be no damage to the United States.

Now right wing Republicans may find it satisfying to make all kinds of noise and boasts about Iran but I don't see them making a stampede to their local military recruitment offices to help Bush finish his first two wars and fight another war in Iran. That speaks volumes to all of us. If Bush goes to war in Iran, expect a draft and expect $5.00 a gallon.

It's time for cooler heads everywhere to start prevailing. So, yes, I very much applaud what Senator Reid and other Democrats are doing here and anyone still calling for an immediate war with Iran clearly doesn't know what they're talking about.