Bush lies about Iran provide support to Al Qaeda

By Nancy Jane Moore

Despite the Bush administration's efforts to blame Iran for the ever-increasing violent attacks in Iraq, a report by McClatchy Newspapers indicates that fewer than 10 percent of the attacks on U.S. service members occurred in Shiite areas.

Since it is extremely unlikely that Iran is providing weapons to the Sunni groups that are the heart of the insurgency in Iraq, it appears that Bush is once again trying to lie us into an unnecessary war.

A detailed report by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker also points out that "in Iraq, most of the insurgent violence directed at the American military has come from Sunni forces, and not from Shiites."

But not only is the Bush administration rattling sabers at Iran, they are also funding other Sunni organizations and governments. Hersh says:

To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has cooperated with Saudi Arabia's government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

Pay attention to those last four words: "sympathetic to Al Qaeda." This latest Bush administration "strategy" plays right into the hands of the one group that has actually attacked the United States.

I feel so much safer.

Hersh explains why the Bush people are taking these actions:

[F]rom the Administration’s perspective, the most profound -- and unintended -- strategic consequence of the Iraq war is the empowerment of Iran.

(And, indeed, as Juan Cole says this morning, Iran is doing a lot of business in Iraq: Their 2006 non-oil exports to Iraq topped $1 billion, he reports.)

Let's see if we understand the progression here: Al Qaeda attacks the U.S. on Sept. 11. The U.S. mounts a half-hearted attempt to deal with Al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, then minimizes that effort so it can invade Iraq, which had nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks. The war in Iraq deteriorates into the current civil war and general mess, so now the U.S. wants to take on Iran, which is certainly not backing the hardcore Sunni insurgency in Iraq.

In other words, we keep attacking the people who aren't attacking us, instead of going after our real enemies.

Does this make sense to anybody besides Dick Cheney?

[corrected to fix typo at 3:46 PM]

Join the Army and become a US citizen

By Nancy Jane Moore

The Boston Globe reports that a recent change in US law allows the Pentagon to bring immigrants from other countries to serve in the military "if it determines it is vital to national security."

Right now the only non-citizens serving in the US military are those who were already legal immigrants living here, but the Globe says the Pentagon is considering setting up recruiting stations in foreign countries.

The incentive? Fast-track to US citizenship.

Now I certainly don't object to giving immigrants who have served in the armed forces extra points toward citizenship. And, in fact, there is a bill pending in Congress that would give permanent resident status to illegal immigrants who moved to the US before they were 16 and then serve in the military. The Arizona Daily Star reports that this bill, called the "DREAM Act," stands a good chance of passing the new Congress. It will also give these immigrants legal residency if they attend college.

But actual recruiting in foreign countries seems extreme. And it raises a big question: Why can't we get enough US citizens to join up?

There are those who would say that Americans are just too selfish to serve -- or, to put it more politely, that most citizens, like Dick Cheney during the Vietnam years, have "other priorities."

But while there are always people like Cheney who put self interest first, most of us are willing to make sacrifices for our country -- especially to keep ourselves and our families and neighbors safe. However, I suspect most of us are unwilling to put our lives on the line for Big Oil and a pigheaded president who can't admit he made a major mistake.

Bush is abusing the idealism of those who joined the armed forces to serve the country and keep it safe by sending them off to die in an unnecessary and unwinnable war. Many people of military age have figured that out, and they're not joining up.

Instead of setting up recruitment stations in foreign countries, the Pentagon needs to recognize that they won't ever get enough people to serve so long as they keep fighting wars that aren't in our country's best interest.