War on Iran – Page 3

Ooops! Apocalypse.

Published on September 5, 2007

B-52 carried nuclear armed cruise missiles by mistake : US
Published: Wednesday September 5, 2007

A B-52 bomber flew the length of the United States last week mistakenly loaded with as many as six nuclear armed cruise missiles last week, a US military official confirmed Wednesday.

The mix-up was reported to President George W. Bush after the nuclear warheads were discovered when the aircraft landed at Barksdale Air Force Base Louisiana, the official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said as many as six cruise missiles loaded on to the plane were found to have nuclear warheads on them by mistake.

The B-52 was flying from Minot Air Base in North Dakota.

The incident was first reported by Military Times newspapers, which said the air launched cruise missiles can carry nuclear warheads of five to 150 kilotons.

The official said the discovery was reported to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace, “and higher.” The official said the notification goes as high as the president.

“There are procedures in place and they kicked in and worked,” the official said.

I’m sure the Us public is mightily reassured. But ‘By mistake’? My ass – practicing for Iran, more like.

The Silent Coup

Published on July 16, 20072 Comments

Just when we think Cheney’s out for the count he’s back, like the Terminator popping back up out of the molten metal tank.

Thiis is what I wrote about Cheney back in May:

Interesting Times

This is getting scary now – Steve Clemons at the Washington Note says that Cheney is planning an ‘end run’ around Bush to bomb Iran, that he doesn’t trust Bush, and he thinks he should take over as the ‘presidents hands’, colluding with Israel to attack Iran. He’s sent his minions out to various lobby groups and thinktanks to effectively seek support ifor a palace coup.

Good grief, Dr. Strangelove is actually playing out in real time and all the media act as though nothing was happening.

How far is the rest of the sane world going to let this go?

Well, now we know. It seems that Cheney’s War with Iran Show is back on. Here’s this morning’s top headline in the Grauniad:

Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran

· Military solution back in favour as Rice loses out
· President ‘not prepared to leave conflict unresolved’

The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month. Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: “Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo.”

‘Internal review’ my ass. Cheney has taken advantage of Bush’s current weakness and used it against him to carry out a silent coup.

Tehran here we come!

Bush Offered To Kiss Blair’s Ass

Published on July 9, 20072 Comments

.. or so it was said on the BBC lunchtime news. There are more sordid revelations from the diaries of Alistair Campbell (Tony Blair’s very own Karl Rove/Tony Snow combo, but with added arrogance) to come.

The BBC is having a wonderful time reviewing his memoirs, finding as many ways as possible to damn it without sounding as it is (and fooliing no-one) while still featuring excerpts on its tv channels.

But who can blame the beeb after Dr David Kelly’s death, when the resulting Blair-appointed Hutton enquiry gave the BBC such an unjustified hammering that its chair Greg Dyke had to resign?

In a thirty- minute radio interview this morning Campbell showed he has absolutely no sense of probity or indeed any of the principles that most of us would consider a virtue in government. He also showed he has no concept of history other than that he understands that history is written by the winners, and he plans to be a winner – so he’s making his own retrospective reality, rewriting history in his own favour, just as he once rewrote the present on the orders of Bush as transmitted by Blair.

Campbell did so much damage to the country I hate to see him make money out of it. The diaries have apparently been filleted of all the interesting stuff but the bare bones and a few shreds of salaciousnesss. Cherie threatend to sue if he mentioned her children, and the diary’s been vetted by government before publication, so it’s hardly goihg to be revelatory.

Nevertheless I intend to read it, but I’ll wait. I’ll watch the tv version and it’ll be online soon enough. Why should I add to that slimeball’s profits?

A Turn of The Screw

Published on May 30, 2007

I take it yesterday’s talks did not go well.

Tehran officials charge three Americans with spying

Robert Tait in Tehran
Wednesday May 30, 2007
The Guardian

Iran charged three Americans with spying and national security offences yesterday in a move that intensified suspicion surrounding intellectuals with US ties.

A day after US and Iranian officials held their first formal talks in 27 years in Baghdad, Iran’s judiciary branch announced charges had been brought against Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and Parnaz Azimi. The three, all joint US-Iranian citizens, are suspected of fomenting a “velvet revolution” intended to topple Iran’s Islamic government.

The charges against Ms Esfandiari, Middle East director of the Woodrow Wilson Centre, a Washington-based thinktank, follow her arrest this month after a period under virtual house arrest.

Ali Reza Jamshidi, a judiciary branch spokesman, said Ms Esfandiari, 67, was charged with “endangering national security through propaganda against the system and espionage for foreigners”.

Similar charges are faced by Mr Tajbakhsh, an urban planning expert tied to the George Soros Open Society Institute, a New York-based pro-democracy organisation accused by Iranian officials of backing opposition groups. The Soros Institute announced last week that it believed Mr Tajbakhsh has been arrested but dismissed allegations of spying.

More…

Every Pre-Apocalyptic Hiatus Needs Daft Cat Pics

Published on May 25, 2007

Iraq’s drowning in blood, Lebanon is drifting into a US-supplied civil war, a new armada is readying itself in the Gulf off Iran and worst of all Cheney’s plotting and conspiring a coup to usurp Bush’s powers as C-in-C and bomb Iran. Portents are bad, to say the least.

Now Rove’s been seen scuttling around Washington’s corridors of power like a headless chicken, allegedly attempting to strongarm Republican senators into some plan or other. Something big is up; could it be that rival forces are rallying for the final Bush v Cheney power struggle? If so, hold on tight for a bumpy political ride.

You know, they said we leftist bloggers were nuts when we predicted that this would happen, a attempted modern fascist coup in the supposed bastion of liberal democracy, and we were called crazy and paranoid by the sensible media and the centrist liberals. Oops. Their bad.

Never mind though – whatever happens, while we still have lolcats, there’s still reason and sanity in the world. For certain values of reason and sanity, granted, but at least not the kind that’s inclined towards triggering armageddon, just because it can.