Cassandra Says So
Oct 7th, 2007 at 11:27 am by Susie
While I’m occasionally wrong, I’m right often enough on the big things that I find it frustrating to be disbelieved. (And not just about politics, either. As long as I can remember, I knew which bands, which TV shows, which trends would take off - and I know the difference between my own taste and that of others, wishing I could change things but knowing I can’t, John from Cincinnati being a recent case in point.)
But I’m happy to have David Ignatius explain that silly me is simply imagining the plans to bomb Iran. how does he know? Why, he talked to “senior administration officials,” of course!
Glenn Greenwald responds:
That is so very responsible and honorable of these anonymous Bush officials. They are, say they and therefore Ignatius, stalwart protectors of America, deeply concerned that they may have to reluctantly wage a war against Iran for America’s security, but are desperately doing everything in their power to avert that tragic outcome — just like these reluctant warriors did prior to oh-so-reluctantly starting the Iraq War. Ignatius mindlessly believed them then and, four years later, he mindlessly believes them now.
Do you suppose it’s Alzheimer’s, or some other neurological disorder, a kind of tabula rasa syndrome? Every day is a clean slate, and every day we believe everything the administration tells us, in a complete vacuum.
How reassuring that must be.
How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray’r accepted, and each wish resign’d…
– Alexander Pope
There is a movie called “Momento”. The hero is trying to solve a crime while hindered with short term memory loss. He cannot always remember what the notes he wrote mean.
These “recorders” are just like that guy, but without the excuse.
There is absolutely no doubt that what is happening now, is exactly like what was happening in the lead up to the invasion of Iran. However, it may just be that other forces are operating to short circuit what shrub and Cheaty (sic) really do want to do so badly, attack Iran. I don’t know that I ever heard shrub say anything quite this stron in denying his plans for Iraq:
Bush says possible US Iran attack ‘empty propaganda’
10/07/2007 @ 12:19 pm
Filed by John Byrne and David Edwards
In an interview with the Arab language broadcasting network al-Arabiya Friday, U.S. President George Bush called reports of a planned attack on Iran “empty propaganda” and “baseless gossip.”
The al-Arabiya questioned asks Bush about reports in the Arabic press which have alleged theUnited States has detailed plans to strike military sites in Iran.
“There are some leaking to the press and particularly the Arabic press,” the questioner asks. “Is it true that you’ve issued orders Mr President to your senior generals in the American military to prepare for a major and precise strike that could happen in the middle of January or February.”
“Empty propaganda,” Bush replied. “Ah, evidently there is a lot of gossip in parts of the country… the world, that’s trying to scare people about me personally, my country, and what we stand for. That kind of gossip is just what it is. It’s gossip. It’s, uh, baseless gossip.”
According to a New Yorker story last week by veteran intelligence journalist Seymour Hersh, the Bush Administration is all but set to authorize a campaign of limited, surgical airstrikes against Iranian targets. In his piece, Hersh writes, “During a secure videoconference that took place early this summer, the President told Ryan Crocker, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, that he was thinking of hitting Iranian targets across the border and that the British ‘were on board’… Bush ended by instructing Crocker to tell Iran to stop interfering in Iraq or it would face American retribution.”
The sites in Iran being targeted, however, reflect the change in the White House’s selling of armed conflict with Iran.
“Instead of… hitting the various [nuclear] facilities we know that exist, instead they’re going to hit the Iranians as payback for hitting us [in Iraq],” Hersh told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in a recent interview.
Such targets, Hersh says, would include Iran’s Revolutionary Guard headquarters and other sites of Iran’s alleged support for the insurgency in Iraq.
Also Friday, Bush told reporters, “This government does not torture people.”
On the other hand, he also said, “this government does not torture people.” Only his daughter believes that. Well, her and a few million Kool-Aid sipping Republicans.
Gug
“Enemy combatants” are not people.
It’s simple….
Ignatius is lazy.
Ignatius is stupid.
Igantius enjoys being in an almost masochistic relationship with people in authority.
Ignatius worries about people that have his career, and possibly more, by the short hairs in somesuch way.
Ignatius is a media whore.
I suspect more than one option is in play.