We really are already at war with Iran. Its a behind the scenes, behind the lines covert war and regime change is what’s for dinner. There is only one place for 1,500 miles that America doesn’t have a base (outside Russia) – that’s Iran. And you’re going to hear more about in the coming days, weeks and months.
Its a covert war, a psychological war. Its interesting the way that mini-shadow governments within our government use the system, media influence to “mainstream war”. You’ll see generals and “experts” speak on TV – write in op-ed articles and other respected newspapers and magazines about the necessities for going to war; they will undoubtedly forget to mention how much money they’re receiving from special interest groups to have that opinion. We’re an imperialist country – I am sad to say…and unfortunately – the tail does tend to wag the dog as our history has shown time and time again. You need to understand how you will be manipulated in the coming months. The psych-ops campaign is in full swing and make no mistake – YOU are the target. Because NOTHING gets done without some semblance of support from the American people.
On the other hand – Iran’s mullahs are clearly illegitimate in the eyes of the Iranian people. The Iranian people want real democracy like had in the pre-1953 when the U.S. and Britain led a coup d’etas to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. Unfortunately – the Prime Minister who was elected chose to nationalize his country’s oil resources and sell those resources to the highest bidder on the open market i.e. free market capitalism. Enter Operation Ajax (look it up); and in 1953 Prime Minister Mossadegh was overthrown. As the saying goes – you don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.
The question is…should America continue to be the police of the world, and can we even afford it?
Politically – its a very good wedge issue for Republicans:
#1 – This gives the party the chance to reclaim the mantel of “national security” that they have worked hard to lose over the past decade with a string of poor foreign policy decisions that only isolated America in the world. During the Bush years – we were considered a pariah in the world intent on global dominance. They’re trying to claw back having fallen so far down the mountain. They will simply make Iran THE SCORECARD for foreign policy success or failure. Anything else that has happened over the past 3 years – doesn’t matter anymore….they’ve moved on.
#2 – Being tough on Iran is synonymous with being pro-Israel. And being pro-Israel is very important in social conservative circles for after all – it is foretold in the Bible that the Jewish people will control Israel. So – to assist Israel is to further reinforce their own religious beliefs…not to mention bringing on the end times. Yeah organized religion!
#3 – Being tough on Iran is synonymous with being pro-Israel. (I already said that). Except – in addition to making Christians cream their pants over the End Times prophecies – this is very important in many Jewish communities as well. After all – even the most moderate of people – religious or not – do not wish to see Israel’s destruction or demise. Not only are pro-Israel groups like AIPAC tremendously powerful within Washington – they have a lot of money…they have a lot of influence and the Jewish constituency is an important constituency in key swing states like Florida. And even though Jews tend to vote for Democrats in large majorities – Republicans have been working hard to appeal to that demographic.
“If you talk about going to war often enough and for long enough, people get used to the idea and some will even begin to think if it is bound to happen sooner or later”
~Stephen M. Walt
#4 – This puts the Democrats in a very tough place politically. On one hand – you have a very important constituency in the Jewish community for the reasons already mentioned in #3. And because they tend to vote Democrat at a 65 to 70% clip – Democrat politicians tend to (rightfully) want to vote in the interests of their constituencies. And because the Jewish community – for historical and practical purposes – is concerned about the security concerns of Israel (especially from an overly aggressive Iranian President)…there is tremendous pressure among Democrats to support Israel at all costs through foreign aid, military and intelligence information sharing – any means possible.
But on the other hand – while the drum beat of war plays in the background – you have a very vocal and passionate anti-war, liberal base who does NOT want to go to war with Iran. Having been fatigued after 10 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq with thousands of dead Americans, countless tens of thousands injured, even more innocent victims in both countries killed or maimed….there is a large swath of Americans not interested in going to war let alone when we are the AGGRESSORS in said war.
And of course – the third front in this discussion is the independent voter who may be concerned about the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Because – despite the bogus information on Iraq’s nuclear program – Iran is actively trying to develop a nuclear weapons program. Recent history has shown that once a country has a nuclear weapon – the Western imperialists tend not to fuck with them. One must only look at America’s foreign policy with Pakistan, North Korea, Russia, and China and then juxtaposed with a country like Iraq or Libya to understand…having a nuclear weapon PROTECTS you from being invaded and from neo-con hawks who call for “regime change”. So – its a race to see who beats who to the punch first.
#5 – To support military aggression (war – covert or otherwise) with Iran is to actively court millions in donations from the military industrial complex and oil and gas companies that will only further profit off any military incursion with Iran. Whether we win or lose this war – they win either way. And these industries make billions and billions – they have learned how to profit off the system.
If we fight a country for a decade – defense contractors get the opportunity to sell more merchandise – YEAH! If we control Iran – we will be able to start privatizing Iranian resources and build an oil and gas pipeline from the Caspian Sea to the Gulf of Oman (the ocean) where oil and gas companies will be able to efficiently transport their product to customers all around the world. If we fail to control their assets and are either stuck in a quagmire or “lose” – oil prices skyrocket due to the instability of oil futures and the higher the price of oil – the more money an oil company stands to make. That’s what we call a win-win. And in the proliferation of political fund-raising…politicians in both major parties tend to try to support the policies that will raise the most cash.
And all of this war has real costs. Every dollar spent on missiles or troop deployment is a dollar not being spent on Social Security, Medicare or public schools. The national defense budget is approximately $1 trillion a year….how much more should we spend “protecting” ourselves and the world by attacking other countries both covertly and directly?
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