Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, today we learn via Sy Hersh's latest article in The New Yorker that the Bush administration is quietly briefing selected members of the House and Senate on its plans for Iran. Those plans are said to include the possiblity of employing tactical nuclear weapons against Iranian targets. The planners are quoted as saying "It’s a tough decision. But we made it in Japan.â€
The administration has clearly lost its last shred of sanity. As if the folly of the Iraq war weren't enough, they're now set on compounding the error. According to Hersh:
One former defense official, who still deals with sensitive issues for the Bush Administration, told me that the military planning was premised on a belief that “a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government.†He added, “I was shocked when I heard it, and asked myself, ‘What are they smoking?’ â€
Who will stop the insanity? Hersh reports that the carefully chosen Senators and Congressmembers who were briefed raised no objections to the war plans.
The administration will likely begin launching its PR campaign for the new war soon. How will the public respond this time, after the Iraq WMD hoax? Let's hope they'll oppose Bush and his loony vision, even if Congress won't. In the immortal words of George Bush, "fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."
