i no doubt exceeded the "fair use" guideline for raw story and perhaps even the original source, the wall street journal, in posting this excerpt... however, such a baldface declaration of one person's belief in destruction, violence, and death as a primary solution to whatever world problems we face, a belief no doubt shared deep in the bones of his fellow neocons, deserves a fuller treatment...[T]he plain and brutal truth is that if Iran is to be prevented from developing a nuclear arsenal, there is no alternative to the actual use of military force--any more than there was an alternative to force if Hitler was to be stopped in 1938.
[...]
Since a ground invasion of Iran must be ruled out for many different reasons, the job would have to be done, if it is to be done at all, by a campaign of air strikes. Furthermore, because Iran's nuclear facilities are dispersed, and because some of them are underground, many sorties and bunker-busting munitions would be required. And because such a campaign is beyond the capabilities of Israel, and the will, let alone the courage, of any of our other allies, it could be carried out only by the United States. Even then, we would probably be unable to get at all the underground facilities, which means that, if Iran were still intent on going nuclear, it would not have to start over again from scratch. But a bombing campaign would without question set back its nuclear program for years to come, and might even lead to the overthrow of the mullahs.
[Bush] intends, within the next 21 months, to order air strikes against the Iranian nuclear facilities from the three U.S. aircraft carriers already sitting nearby....If this is what Mr. Bush intends to do, it goes, or should go, without saying that his overriding purpose is to ensure the security of this country in accordance with the vow he took upon becoming president, and in line with his pledge not to stand by while one of the world's most dangerous regimes threatens us with one of the world's most dangerous weapons.
It now remains to be seen whether this president, battered more mercilessly and with less justification than any other in living memory, and weakened politically by the enemies of his policy in the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular, will find it possible to take the only action that can stop Iran from following through on its evil intentions both toward us and toward Israel. As an American and as a Jew, I pray with all my heart that he will.
Norman Podhoretz
look at that face... he should be bouncing a grandchild on his knee or volunteering to read stories to a kindergarten class, not urging our president to bomb another country...
try as i might, i simply cannot get into this guy's head to gain an appreciation of his thinking... first of all, i am unable to relate to being an advocate for bombing ANYTHING... violence and destruction are never a solution, never have been, and never will be... moreover, in the case of iran, regardless of the rationale for bombing, there is no question in my mind that such an action would only serve to add to the growing conflagration in the middle east, and guarantee that the world war IV podhoretz believes is already underway will engulf the entire region for years to come...Although many persist in denying it, I continue to believe that what Sept 11, 2001, did was to plunge us headlong into nothing less than another world war. I call this new war World War IV, because I also believe that what is generally known as the Cold War was actually World War III, and that this one bears a closer resemblance to that great conflict than it does to World War II.
i am at a loss to imagine how one's thinking, particularly over the course of a lifetime, where we supposedly gain the wisdom of age, can become so darkly twisted... i also fail to comprehend how such a man, a man who is passionately urging that bombs be dropped, continues to influence those in power... never mind... obviously, the ones in power HAVE their power because they think the same way... it's just us bystanders who are left scratching our heads...
p.s. describing bush as being "battered more mercilessly and with less justification than any other in living memory, and weakened politically by the enemies of his policy in the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular", is so deliciously delusionary, it would be hard to top... but then, podhoretz, as a member of the council on foreign relations, one of the groups responsible for installing bush as president in the first place, would, i suppose, be naturally defensive of his choice...Labels: George Bush, Iran, Iran war planning, Iraq, Middle East, Norman Podhoretz, nuclear weapons, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal
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