CelticBear’s Musings

I didn’t think they would be crazy enough to do it, but they just may be. When the National Intelligence Estimate came out last December, where a dozen U.S. intelligence agencies agreed that the Iranian nuclear development program has been shut down since 2003, it put a pretty massive roadblock in Bush/Cheney’s increasingly fired-up anti-Iranian rhetoric which was surely leading to open war with the country.

• U.S. Says Iran Ended Atomic Arms Work

After that assessment came out, I lowered my expectation of war with Iran down to about 20%. Bush seemed appropriately put down by this definitive conclusion from the intelligence community.

But it seems, once again, that intelligence is never an issue in Bush’s decisions.

According to one investigative journalist who has gotten information from Washington insiders, the White House has been escalating covert operations in Iran to spread chaos and disorder with an objective of bringing down Iran’s mythical nuclear program, or instigate war. Because apparently Bush and Cheney “don’t believe” the consensus intelligence assessment. Hey, what’s years worth of data gathering and professional intelligence analysis when you have belief to guide you when leading an empire?!

• Report: U.S. ‘preparing the battlefield’ in Iran

I guess this really shouldn’t surprise me. When Bush declared the Iranian Revolutionay Guard Corp (part of their regular army) a terrorist organization, he set the stage for open war: Using Patriot Act imposed powers, he can now wage war on the Iranian army without asking for permission from Congress as set down by the Constitution. Although, it appears that even if he asks he’d get permission considering this supposedly new check-and-balance Congress gave Bush $400 million to wage this covert war prep within Iran’s borders.

After having spent all that time selling the US public and the United Nations on war with Iraq over fictional WMD’s, I guess they decided to skip all that and just go to war without bothering to try to convince us they need to.

I’m pretty certain again that before they leave office, King George and Viceroy Cheney will start a war with Iran. Goodness knows Israel and the neo-cons are itching for for one. There’s just the question over what the domestic plan will be:

A) They believe this will bolster McCain’s chances as a war-hero Presidential nominee and he’ll get elected, thus ensuring a virtual 3rd Bush term; or,

B) Using National Security Presidential Directive NSPD-51 / Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-20, Bush will declare a national emergency which will redirect all federal powers to the Executive Branch (him) at which time he will suspend national elections (which he “legally” can do) making him the American dictator (only until such a time as the emergency has ended, I’m sure. Which is what Julius Caesar said, as I recall).

This former is most likely, but the later is possible. If situation B happens, that’s it. You can kiss the United States of America goodbye. It’ll be the end of the empire. The dollar will crash and the euro will take over as the currency of international trade; Russia, China, and very likely a few European nations will turn on us; we’ll suffer from severe embargoes and tariffs at least and military hostility at worst. Internal strife and turmoil will tear the nation up as surely as external pressures. It’s happened before, it’ll likely happen again. The beginnings of the ends of all empires started with the rise of economic woes followed by increased military actions as empty and destructive show of strength and power, which ultimately turn against the empire.

These next several months will determine the fate of the US, I have no doubt. If we can avoid an all-out US/Middle East war and elect a non-war monger for President with a Congress with domestic rebuilding agendas, we can continue as a free nation and maybe become a respected world leader once again. If the World War Bush and Cheney want happens, we’re done for. Simple as that.