CNN.com
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Bush administration has launched a “significant escalation” of covert operations in Iran, sending U.S. commandos to spy on the country’s nuclear facilities and undermine the Islamic republic’s government, journalist Seymour Hersh said Sunday. Hersh told CNN’s “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer” that Congress has authorized up to $400 million to fund the secret campaign, which involves U.S. special operations troops and Iranian dissidents.
President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have rejected findings from U.S. intelligence agencies that Iran has halted a clandestine effort to build a nuclear bomb and “do not want to leave Iran in place with a nuclear program,” Hersh said. “They believe that their mission is to make sure that before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program,” Hersh said. The new article, “Preparing the Battlefield,” is the latest in a series of articles accusing the Bush administration of preparing for war with Iran. Hersh said U.S. efforts were staged from Afghanistan, which also shares a border with Iran.
He said the program resulted in “a dramatic increase in kinetic events and chaos” inside Iran, including attacks by Kurdish separatists in the country’s north and a May attack on a mosque in Shiraz that killed 13 people. The United States has said it is trying to isolate Iran diplomatically in order to get it to come clean about its nuclear ambitions. But Bush has said “all options” are open in dealing with the issue. Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at providing civilian electric power, and refuses to comply with U.N. Security Council demands that it halt uranium enrichment work.
So are they saying that our Intelligence experts are inept? If so, where does this Administration get their information to convince them otherwise?
I am SO ready to get rid of the twin disasters of Bush and Cheney (he is such a Dick.) How much more harm will they cause? Impeachment would be too good fo the likes of these morons.
hmm sounds familiar, some people are incapable of learning from their mistakes
Wait…let me find me shocked face…I know it is around here somewhere. Crap…it has been used so much in the last 8 years I think it is broken.
#2 – jlm – some people are incapable of learning from their mistakes
Bush’s regime didn’t start the war in Iraq by mistake. They willfully ignored the evidence presented by Scott Ritter, Hans Blix and the CIA.
Problem is not so simple. “Intelligence” services of US Govt. to me appear to be in a civil war with the executive branch and this goes far further than mere disagreements. Bush indeed wants nuke’ program confirmed no matter what but the “intelligence” wants it denied no matter what…
From scientific point of view: there is absolutely no need for Iran to do what they are admitting to be doing with nuclear facilities if all they want is indeed just power generation. And that is just self-admitted part…
Maybe we need some AI automation to replace obsolete “intelligence” humans.
Do you want to know why gas is so high? This disasterous duo’s threats against Iran is the driving force behind the oil inflation.
If we attack Iran, watch oil skyrocket 200% or more. I for one believe that is exactly what these two oil men want!
But its not the Bush Administration alone. Congress wants to approve a BLOCKADE OF IRAN!!! See House concurrent resolution 362, and matching Senate resolution 580. If this passes it would be an endorsement of war against Iran, and so far there has only been minimal opposition from Ron Paul and a few Anti-War Democrats.
http://tinyurl.com/6kr63u
If AIPAC gets this bill passed, it will be the #1 cause of $6 by December.
Wow, that post was ahead of schedule. I’m too laxy but someone should do a search of Seymour Hersh on this site, and see how many of his articles that you guys parroted came true.
If Iran has so much oil, why do they need nuclear power? Why did Pres Rafsanjani say the world had to fear if they took their program underground? Why do they say Israel will disappear?
#8 That’s an old and tired question.
If Iran has nuclear power, they will not need to generate all their electricity with oil, meaning they can sell it to China who will pay good euros for it.
It was Donald Rumsfeld himself who sold Iran on the idea of nuclear power in the first place.
P.S. I’m tired of being the neo-con infested Israeli governments butt monkey!
Iran was VITAL to our success in the initial invasion of Afghanistan. Their intelligence agents worked with ours to cobble together the Northern Alliance (Iran HATES THE TALIBAN).
Later, with the invasion of iraq, Iran has taken in 1 million iraqi refugees. The usa has taken 750 refugees to date.
This is how we reward them, by hopping over to the israeli side and saying iran is the problem.
Even israel in the past has helped Iran, only to stab them in the back later. During the Iran-Iraq war, israel illegally funneled 250,000 FN-FAL rifles to Iran to arm their struggling army, and Israel was the conduit to the Iran-Contra arms deal, where Ronald Reagan authorized the again illegal transfer of advanced antitank weapons and antiaircraft missiles as well as F-14 parts and supplies. The C-5 Galaxy landed in israel before going to its final destination somewhere in iran to drop off its weapons.
Now Israel is threatening to attack iran, even with nukes just because iran isn’t weak anymore.
Now wonder nobody trusts Americans and Israelis! Our alliances change with the winds. At least Russia tries to be consistent.
If I were head of a US intelligence agency, I’d be calling the news outlets fast, asking for air time and announcing my resignation live.
I’d come right out and say to the public that the President asked the CIA (or whatever agency he assigned the task) to find evidence of Iranian nuclear technology advances, that they did their very best after X number of years and found nothing, and the President shows no confidence in his own government agencies’ results. I’d then say straight out that “If the President does not believe the results of his own agencies, then the President himself can go and find out what Iran is doing, and shoulder the consequences and responsibility. I’m resigning effective immediately, in total disgust”.
#10 – Rick Cain
And Israel helped the Chinese with their J10 fighter, which is pretty much a Chinese version of F-16. Great pals.
This is one of the best arguments to start impeachment proceedings now:
to preoccupy this administration so they are less likely to stupidly blunder America into another needless, self-ruinous war.
These two go with their gut feelings. Facts/data are egnored or suppressed unless they support their views.
That is honest and fair as I know how to say it.
If I were still under the age of 38, or 43 or whatever is the age of liability for the draft, I’d be quite nervous between now and next January 20…
Apparently it’s not enough that they are trying to turn our country into Haiti, now they are also trying to turn our country into Sparta.
There’s an old saying in Tennessee … I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee … that says, fool me once, shame on … shame on you. Fool me … you can’t get fooled again.
This is not exactly the first time the Bush administration has ignored intelligence reports and done whatever they felt like. I could make the argument that they did so going into Iraq, but with modified intelligence reports it’s a tad harder.
So, I’ll just point out that we’re staying in Iraq despite intelligence reports showing that the Iraq war has made us less safe than we were before it, not that we are simply less safe, but that we are less safe as a direct result of the war. This is the opinion of 16 different U.S. intelligence agencies. Who even knew we had so many?
http://tinyurl.com/3u6pzg
http://tinyurl.com/6pslsm
# 12 Jägermeister
I usually do like your posts. I have to say on this one though that you might want to at least check for a reliable source. Strategy Page claims to get their news from other sources, but cite none for that particular article.
It seems plausible that Israel might have helped China. It just doesn’t seem well documented in that article. And, since Strategy Page is essentially a blog, I’m not putting much faith in an article with no supporting documentation.
The Bush/Cheney WAR MACHINE gets its “Information” or “Intelligence” from the RIGHT-WING “THINK-TANKS” THAT DON’T DO MUCH THINKING !!! They are just FANTASY FACTORIES that COOK THE INTELLIGENCE UNTIL IT COMES OUT THE WAY THEY WANT, AND DAMN ANY CORRELATION WITH THE TRUTH !!! The Pentagon/Halliburton/Blackwater WAR MACHINE NEEDS WARS AND IF THEY DON’T HAVE ANY, THEY WILL MAKE THEM !!! Their motto: “CONTINUOUS WAR FOR CONTINUOUS PROFITS” !!!
#18 – Misanthropic Scott
Global Security.
I say invade, but we are gonna need a draft and some trained soldiers to fight a third war. So draft now and invade later.
“Continuous war for continuous profit” Seems like americans sold their freedom and privacy for national pride, But got nothing in exchange.
I wonder if that is the same S Albert Hursh that used to go to John Burroughs junior high school in Los Angeles in the 60’s with the Baldwin’s? when the whole school was required to wear a blue sweeter and black paints which was the dress code, Like a Catholic public school and Mr. Wardel was vice principle and the he gave out swats, which was likely where the Swat Teams got there names, because that was when the rent~A~cops started being hired on campus. The knot head Nixon was at the Palladium introducing Charles Brown and I got a bunch of Republicans mad at me for pointing out the Who in the flower bed outside and emptied the main hall leaving that Numb cluck in the main hall with Mr. Brown because the sound was out and the show was outside. Wasn’t he like Presley doing the cocaine cop thing with kids snorting more than he was selling to children to get them busted back then?