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Catastrofuck, Part Deux
By Ned | January 12, 2007
I disregarded the part in Bush’s speech a couple nights ago about Syria and Iran, because it seemed to me like pretty much the same tough-guy posturing that the administration has always done in regards to those two countries. There’s been buzz before about gearing up for war with Iran, but I’ve always figured that the American military is so entrenched in Afghanistan and Iraq right now that if we can barely muster up 22,000 more troops to put in that mass the administration has to know that we would never be able to sustain a prolonged war in Iran. Besides, Congress would never approve military action in Iran. Hell, I don’t think even the previous Congress would have.
But Steven Clemons, who I tend to defer to on all matters of foreign policy, seems to think that its credible that the Bush administration may be trying to provoke Iran into going to war. That wouldn’t be the first time something like that has been attempted, even in recent history - in December 2002, the administration jacked up airstrikes in Iraq, presumably in an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussein into kicking off the war.
And here’s a scary thought: as Glenn Greenwald, whose excellent How Would a Patriot Act? I just finished reading, points out, the Bush administration might very well go to war with Iran without congressional approval.
I’m choosing to remain skeptical of this. For one thing, I don’t think Ahmadinejad would take the bait. For another thing, if Congress does successfully block funding for escalation (which I think is likely), that would pretty much nix any other crazy invasion ideas Bush was having. And for yet another thing, going to war with Iran without congressional approval is a huge, obscene leap, even for this White House.
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