Bush, The Schoolyard Bully

By Number Six

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 at 03:21 PM

As if we didn't need to be told, but bless those independant souls at The Guardian for reminding us of The President Who Cried Wolf....

Oh, Chimpy, Chimpy, why dost thou lie, when verily, we, the people know...you're a liar?

US officials in Baghdad and Washington are expected to unveil a secret intelligence "dossier" this week detailing evidence of Iran's alleged complicity in attacks on American troops in Iraq. The move, uncomfortably echoing Downing Street's dossier debacle in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, is one more sign that the Bush administration is building a case for war.

Nicholas Burns, the senior US diplomat in charge of Iran policy, says Washington "is not looking for a fight" with Tehran. The official line is that Washington has made a conscious decision to "push back" against Iran on a range of fronts where the two countries' interests clash. Primarily that means Tehran's perceived meddling in Iraq, where its influence with the Shia-led government and Shia majority population appears to be increasing as Washington's weakens.

Of course, the "secret" doohickey is probably as authentic and genuine as Vanna White's talent...

But as was also the case in the days before Saddam Hussein fell, powerful external forces, ranging from exiled Iranian opposition groups to leading Israeli politicians, appear intent on stoking the fire - and winding up the White House.

Yeah, like PNAC, Exxon, Halliburton....

The US "push back" against Iran comprises many other elements beyond Iraq. Unconfirmed reports suggest Vice-President Dick Cheney has cut a deal with Saudi Arabia to keep oil production up even as prices fall, to undercut Iran's main source of foreign currency. Washington is pursuing expanding, non-UN global financial sanctions against Tehran; encouraging and arming a "new alignment" of Sunni Arab Gulf states; and highlighting Iran's role in "supporting terrorism" in Palestine, where it helps bankroll the Hamas government, and Lebanon, where it backs Hizbullah. The US is also deploying powerful naval forces in the Gulf that are of little help in Iraq but could more easily be used to mount air strikes on Iran.

Almost any one of these developments might produce a casus belli. And when taken together, despite official protestations, they seem to point in only one direction. The Bush administration, an American commentator suggested, is "once again spoiling for a fight".

Meaning, trumped-up intel based on "experts" (former Iranians who are angry, biased and probably very wrong, sound familiar?), politics as usual, pressure from the Saudis, pressure from Israel, the usual traitors at PNAC, pressure from Exxon-Mobil, gee, and yes, a president in dire need of Thorazine.

I know, yeah, I'm buying this round.