Trying to go to Tehran

Kel's citation of Israel's Likudnik crazy Benjamin Netanyahu's stepped up actions against Iran, which call for economic isolation of that country, prompted me to link to the Raw Story article by Alexandrovna and Kane. They recount the long history of the neo-con's desire to attack Iran -- complete with timeline -- and especially of Cheney's crucial role in the unfolding portrait of the march to war with Tehran.

While Iran was named a part of President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” in 2002, efforts to ignite a confrontation with Iran date back long before the post-9/11 war on terror. Presently, the Administration is trumpeting claims that Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than the CIA’s own analysis shows and positing Iranian influence in Iraq’s insurgency, but efforts to destabilize Iran have been conducted covertly for years, often using members of Congress or non-government actors in a way reminiscent of the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal.

The motivations for an Iran strike were laid out as far back as 1992. In classified defense planning guidance – written for then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney by then-Pentagon staffers I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, World Bank Chief Paul Wolfowitz, and ambassador-nominee to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad – Cheney’s aides called for the United States to assume the position of lone superpower and act preemptively to prevent the emergence of even regional competitors. The draft document was leaked to the New York Times and the Washington Post and caused an uproar among Democrats and many in George H. W. Bush’s Administration.

All of this recalls the statement from 2003 by a senior White House official that "anyone can go to Baghdad. Real men go to Tehran." Yes, Iran has been on the board for a long time. Netanyahu's push is merely the latest effort in agitating the region, probably hoping to spark reaction from Tehran. Israelis and the White House may be hesitant to launch another preemptive strike -- Russian and China would not be pleased at all -- and are just aching for Tehran to take the first shot.