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Phase III
of Bush's War
By Patrick Buchanan
09/05/07 "CS" -- - Those who hoped that — with the
victory of the antiwar party in 2006, the departure of
Rumsfeld and the neocons from the Pentagon, the rise of
Condi and the eclipse of Cheney — America was headed out of
Iraq got a rude awakening. They are about to get another.
Today, the United States has 30,000 more troops in Iraq than
on the day America repudiated the Bush war policy and voted
the GOP out of power. And President Bush, self-confidence
surging, is now employing against Iran a bellicosity
redolent of the days just prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
What gives Bush his new cockiness? The total collapse of the
antiwar coalition on Capitol Hill and the breaking of the
Congress.
Last spring, Bush vetoed the congressional deadlines for
troop withdrawals, then rubbed Congress' nose in its defeat
by demanding and getting $100 billion to support the surge
and continue the war.
Before the August recess, Democrats broke again and voted to
give Bush the warrantless wiretap authority many among them
had said was an unconstitutional and impeachable usurpation
of power. They are a broken and frightened lot.
Comes now evidence congressional Democrats have not only
lost the pro-victory vote, but forfeited the peace vote, as
well.
According to a Zogby poll the last week in August, just two
weeks before Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker report,
Americans, by 45 percent to 20 percent, give this Democratic
Congress lower grades on handling the war than the
Republican Congress it replaced.
Fifty-four percent of the nation believes, contra Harry
Reid, the war is not lost. That is twice the support that
Bush enjoys for his war leadership, a paltry 27 percent.
But, by nine to one, Bush's leadership on the war is
preferred to that of the Congress of Nancy Pelosi and Harry
Reid.
Incredibly, only 3 percent of the nation gives Congress a
positive rating on its handling of the war. Congress has
lost the hawks, and the owls, and the doves. No one trusts
its leadership on the war.
And George W. smells it. He no longer fears the power of
Congress, and his rhetoric suggests he is contemptuous of
it. He is brimming with self-assurance that he can break any
Democratic attempt to impose deadlines for troop withdrawal
and force Congress to cough up all the funds he demands.
Confident of victory this fall on the Hill, Bush is now
moving into Phase III in his War on Terror: First,
Afghanistan, then Iraq, then Iran.
Do not take this writer's word for it. Hearken to the
astonishing rhetoric Bush used at the American Legion
Convention in Las Vegas against Tehran:
"Iran ... is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.
... Iran funds terrorist groups like Hamas and the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which murder the innocent and
target Israel. ... Iran is sending arms to the Taliban. ...
Iran has arrested visiting American scholars who have
committed no crimes. ... Iran's active pursuit of technology
that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region
already known for instability and violence under the shadow
of a nuclear holocaust.
"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere.
... We will confront this danger before it is too late."
Bush has repeatedly warned Iran to cease supplying Iraqi
insurgents with arms and enhanced IEDs for attacks on our
troops in Iraq.
How has Tehran responded to Bush's virtual ultimatums?
"The attacks on our bases and our troops by Iranian-supplied
munitions have increased in the last few months — despite
pledges by Iran to help stabilize the security situation in
Iraq. ...
"Iran's leaders cannot escape responsibility for aiding
attacks against coalition forces and the murder of innocent
Iraqis."
This is a case for war. Indeed, it's an assertion by
President Bush that Iran is colluding in acts of war against
the soldiers and Marines and allies of the United States.
What does he intend to do?
"I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to
confront Tehran's murderous activities. ... We've conducted
operations against Iranian agents supplying lethal munitions
to extremist groups."
This suggests that U.S. forces may already be engaged in
combat operations against Iranians.
Who or what can stop this drive to war?
Last spring, Nancy Pelosi herself, after a call from the
Israeli lobby, pulled an amendment that would have forced
Bush to come to Congress for specific authorization before
attacking Iran. Before the August recess, the Senate voted
97 to zero for a resolution sponsored by Joe Lieberman to
censure Iran for complicity in the killing of U.S. soldiers
in Iraq.
The resolution explicitly rejected authorization for
immediate military action, but the gist of it declared that
Iran is participating in acts of war against the United
States, laying the foundation for a confrontation.
What is to prevent Bush from attacking Iran and widening the
war, at a time and place of his choosing, and sooner than we
think?
Nothing and no one.
To find out more about Patrick Buchanan, and read features
by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit
the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.
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