Will Cheney get his way....again?

[Cuchulain]

We know that Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz bullied the US intelligence community to support the administrations' claim that Iraq had wmds - claims that have since been proven false. We also know that Cheney has had his black little heart set on attacking Iran for some time now. Dick was in Saudi Arabia recently for a high level pow-wow. After his visit, the major (state controlled) Saudi newspaper published assurances to the populace that precautions were being taken to minimize the effects of any nuclear fallout that might drift across from Iran.

Dubya has some shiny new nuclear 'bunker busters' that he would love to try out. Will these maniacs actually drop nuclear weapons on Iranian nuke facilities? Estimates suggest up to 3 million Iranians will die from radiation if this happens.

Will Bush wait until Ocotber to attack, then declare a national emergency and cancel elections? Sounds far-fetched to me, but I don't trust these clowns as far as I could throw a buick.......

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/25/22549/8916/451/483635
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/13650

Btw, check out this weeks 'Frontline' on PBS for an excellent account of the lies and manipulations that led to the Iraq occupation.

[trish]

3 million Iranians and few more architectural features of the American landscape. I don't think he'll cancel elections but it would make mccain a shoo-in.

is attacking Iran a likely scenario? the administration and especially cheney sure have itchy trigger fingers. but don't they still have to get authorization from congress? and for that wouldn't they need one hell of an excuse and the backing of the joint chiefs?

[Cuchulain]

There have been rumors that Bush is planning a strike against Iran for a couple years now. Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hirsch has been the loudest voice warning of this.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/10/hersh.access/index.html

Whether or not Dubya has the authority.....well, it depends who you ask. Under the loony 'unitary executive' theory that Cheney is so fond of (remember, the thing about Watergate that pissed Cheney off so much was his fear that it weakened the power of the presidency), they may well believe they have the power to do pretty much anything:

'The Bush Regime has made it clear that it is convinced that Bush already has the authority to attack Iran. The Regime argues that the authority is part of Bush's commander-in-chief powers. Congress has authorized the war in Iraq, and Bush's recent public statements have shifted the responsibility for the Iraqi insurgency from al-Qaeda to Iran. Iran, Bush has declared, is killing US troops in Iraq. Thus, Iran is covered under the authorization for the war in Iraq.

Both Bush and Cheney have made it clear in public statements that they will ignore any congressional opposition to their war plans. For example, CBS News reported (Jan. 25) that Cheney said that a congressional resolution against escalating the war in Iraq "won't stop us." According to the Associated Press, Bush dismissed congressional disapproval with his statement, "I'm the decision-maker."

Everything is in place for an attack on Iran. Two aircraft carrier attack forces are deployed to the Persian Gulf, US attack aircraft have been moved to Turkey and other countries on Iran's borders, Patriot anti-missile defense systems are being moved to the Middle East to protect oil facilities and US bases from retaliation from Iranian missiles, and growing reams of disinformation alleging Iran's responsibility for the insurgency in Iraq are being fed to the gullible US media.'
http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=10411

'Those who control the Bush administration do not believe that they need Congressional approval to wage wars, or even that Congress has any power to prevent such wars once the President decides war is necessary for American security.'
http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2007/01/presidents-power-to-attack-iran.html

"The Bush administration is planning to use nuclear weapons against Iran, to prevent it acquiring its own atomic warheads, claims an investigative writer with high-level Pentagon and intelligence contacts....

Hersh claims that one of the plans, presented to the White House by the Pentagon, entails the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites. One alleged target is Iran's main centrifuge plant, at Natanz, 200 miles south of Teheran...

This newspaper disclosed recently that senior Pentagon strategists are updating plans to strike Iran's nuclear sites with long-distance B2 bombers and submarine-launched missiles. And last week, the Sunday Telegraph reported a secret meeting at the Ministry of Defence where military chiefs and officials from Downing Street and the Foreign Office discussed the consequences of an American-led attack on Iran, and Britain's role in any such action'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/09/wbush09.xml

I dunno. The whole thing seems like 'tinfoil hat' time, but the Saudi newspaper story about possible radioactive fallout from Iran after Cheney's visit is definitely scary. And Cheney IS nuts.....

[hippifried]

They ran out of time.

[qeuqheeg222]

they will wait til the election and decide if they want to fuck over the next president or not........personally i believe if the dems win the election the repugs and dcheney will do everythin in their powers to create a jimmy carter type "impotent" prez situation so romneys ass can ride in like a cowboy reagan in 2012.........

[tstv_lover]

Just a question.

I understand that a US President is constitutionally unable to stand for more than 2 elections but does this also hold true for Vice-Presidents? Is Dick Cheney able to continue as Vice President should John McCain get elected?

Seems to me that he's been the most powerful Vice President in living memory - why not continue?

[hippifried]

There's no law to stop Dick Cheney from running as Vice President as many times as he can get chosen as someone's running mate. Well... Except for the laws of time & the rule that says the heart has to keep beating in order keep someone alive.

Other than that, I think he'd probably be more of a liability than an asset in November.

[q1a2z3]

Bush attacking Iran!!! Haaaaaaaa! If that really happened It would redeem him in my mind and in the minds of all real American for whom I speak.


Could they possibly cancel the electrons too! Wow it must be Christmas!!! Perhaps the administration could give every liberal and pervert a bus ticket to europe.

Damn! I can't let this get my hopes up...as radioactive fallout, well... it would be falling in the middle east so by definition there could be NO collateral damage!

[hippifried]

It would redeem him in my mind and in the minds of all real American for whom I speak.
Really? Both of them?

BTW: That's a great picture of you. Is the guy in the turban your only friend?

[eggbert]

HF- c'mon. That's a real insult to that donkey. Q1 is the guy with the turban.

[hippifried]

Ok. My apologies to the jackass.