This is the story everyone is reading.
THE COMING WARS
by SEYMOUR M. HERSH — Ok, the way I read this is that we are going to attack Iran, no matter what. You voted for Bush so that means, according to him, that he can do whatever he wants. Also it’s believed that they — the Iranians — will welcome us with open arms and parades, just like in Iraq. Ok, fabulous. Also, the CIA is being dismantled and Rumsfeld is now in charge of everything. Read it and see what you think. I guess we can just borrow the money for all this and call up every known reservist and boyscout to go over there.
The question that comes to mind that with sudden emergence of open warfare on everyone we don’t like and covert operations set in place to kill whomever we feel like killing, why we maintain these open borders allowing them to waltz in and kill us too!! This makes no sense to me. They could blow up Washington some fine day. Then what? How about closing the borders for starters?
A former senior C.I.A. officer depicted the agency’s eclipse as predictable. “For years, the agency bent over backward to integrate and coördinate with the Pentagon,” the former officer said. “We just caved and caved and got what we deserved. It is a fact of life today that the Pentagon is a five-hundred-pound gorilla and the C.I.A. director is a chimpanzee.”
There was pressure from the White House, too. A former C.I.A. clandestine-services officer told me that, in the months after the resignation of the agency’s director George Tenet, in June, 2004, the White House began “coming down critically” on analysts in the C.I.A.’s Directorate of Intelligence (D.I.) and demanded “to see more support for the Administration’s political position.”
Speaking as someone with kin and friends who have spent a sizeable amount of time — in business and politics in Iran — you ain’t seen nuthin’ if you think the “welcome” we enjoy in Iraq will be any better in Iran.
While the Iraqis spent decades in struggle to finally kick the Brits out of their land, Iranians have spent an equally dedicated number of generations trying to get shed of the United States. From CIA gangsters overthrowing the democratically-elected Mossadegh government in the 1950’s — on and on through our local political hacks kissing the collective butt of the Pahlavi clan in southern California — the Iranian nation has every reason to consider the United States a legitimate enemy on every possible front. That this hasn’t transferred to contempt for an electorate that continues to suborn regal imperialism is simply amazing.
When will Americans learn that most folks who hate our nation as a political entity — have damned good reasons?
What open borders are you talking about? You’ve obviously never seen the US/Mexico border at El Paso, Tijuana, Laredo, etc.; been given the third degree at the US/Canada border; or heard of entire flights (Cat Stevens) being turned around. If anything, the borders have become tighter.
The only way to run a land of fanatical monotheistic fundamentalists is by giving them what they want: an omnipotent, wrathful father who will protect them and rule them with an iron fist in the image of their God. Suddam was wise enough to know this. People who will believe in only one book have only the knowledge and capacity to be treated with someone who has read only one book– that one. Winning the War on Terrorism will never be won unless we win the War on Igorance.
>> The only way to run a land of fanatical monotheistic fundamentalists is by giving them what they want: an omnipotent, wrathful father who will protect them and rule them with an iron fist in the image of their God.
Oh! You are talking about Saddam! Whew… for a second there I thought you were talking about a different self-styled messianic national leader who many of us voted for.
Marty —
I think that SlimFast is affecting your brain… you’re sounding like Dr. Strangelove!
Switch to salads.
Hank
There may not be open borders in the few places mentioned in the above post. Unfortunately, most illegals don’t come in through ports of entry. I live 50 miles north of the border in Arizona and the Border Patrol caught approximately 145,000 illegals in our sector last quarter. That’s more than the entire population of the county I live in. I see 5 to 10 Border Patrol vehicles every day on my way to work. The people they catch have already made it past our supposedly secure border. John, is dead right on this one. What good is all this other security nonsense if the border is a sieve?
As soon as we have our defence budget approved next month, we will go after Iran, Syria, and N. Korea to spread democracy, liberty, and freedom to the dark world.
Iran is worse than Iraq with religious leader. They are willing to die and have great interests in Iran.
It will be on-going struggles with so much money and more casualties to burn.
Who do you think is worse — Saddam or Kim Jong?
Bush had to RUSH OFF TO WAR to depose Saddam but Kim Jong?
Diplomacy seems to be fine.
Hmmm. What’s the difference between the two countries? I wonder…