I agree with the Pakistan worries. They already have the bomb, and more than 1.

True thyat and I have seen a figure as high as 30 warheads.

Obviously Musharraf is a dictator. Obviously he is oppressing his people. Shouldn't bush be considering an invasion instead of speaking glowingly of this guy when he announces elections in February?

What is wrong with this picture? Why if I didn't know better, I would think he is a Saudi or something.

Since I am an old fart I remember 1979 and Iran and I see a bunch of similarities.

Read this and weep.


WASHINGTON - U.S. defense officials have signaled that up-to-date attack plans are available if needed in the escalating crisis over Iran's nuclear aims, although no strike appears imminent.

The Army and Marine Corps are under enormous strain from years of heavy ground fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, the United States has ample air and naval power to strike Iran if President Bush decided to target nuclear sites or to retaliate for alleged Iranian meddling in neighboring Iraq.


LINK

Can Congress stop Bush if the attack comes?


In the past month, President Bush and his allies in the Congress have set Washington once again buzzing with speculation about the administration's end game for Iran. But as everyone from antiwar activists to military insiders wring their hands over the White House's intentions, a lonely handful of Democratic legislators are working to wedge Congress between the administration and Tehran.


LINK

It is totally scarey that a man with 0 tolerance and near 0 intellect is making a decision as to whether we go to war again. And standing right behind him is "waterboarding is fun" DICK Cheney.

If we can make it through the next year without another bush atrocity, I will be very happy.

It will depend if the Congress grows cajones and makes the admin toe the line.

Ex-UN Ambassador wieghs in and it is not too good.


The two remaining options for the U.S. to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons are to force a regime change or use military force to take out suspected weapons locations, the White House's former representative to the United Nations said yesterday.

"Our options now are, unfortunately, limited," said John R. Bolton, the ex-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who now faults the Bush administration for "failed diplomacy" toward Iran and North Korea.


LINK

The two remaining options for the U.S. to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons are to force a regime change or use military force to take out suspected weapons locations, the White House's former representative to the United Nations said yesterday.

That doesn't sound like very good options.

Bolton is a hawk and he would say attack if hang nails were question.

If you recall, John Bolton was a recess appointment by bush. So his opinion mean nothing to me. If he were in charge, we would be battling in Iran at this very moment.

And yet again --we be smart!


WASHINGTON — Massive, devastating air strikes, a full dose of "shock and awe" with hundreds of bunker-busting bombs slicing through concrete at more than a dozen nuclear sites across Iran is no longer just the idle musing of military planners and uber-hawks.

Although air strikes don't seem imminent as the U.S.-Iranian drama unfolds, planning for a bombing campaign and preparing for the geopolitical blowback has preoccupied military and political councils for months.

No one is predicting a full-blown ground war with Iran. The likeliest scenario, a blistering air war that could last as little as one night or as long as two weeks, would be designed to avoid the quagmire of invasion and regime change that now characterizes Iraq. But skepticism remains about whether any amount of bombing can substantially delay Iran's entry into the nuclear-weapons club.


LINK

Scarey

Bolton, the guy that we had representing the US at the UN, he is a scary piece of work.


A grippingly topical nightmare unfolded in a television drama last week. Iran had secretly built a nuclear bomb, transforming the balance of power in the Middle East. All the United States could do was cut a deal and hope for the best as Tehran demanded a seat on the security council of the United Nations.

John Bolton snorts with derision at the scenario. But the only bit that he finds remotely funny is the prospect of Iran getting a seat on the security council; to him, long-time hawk and former American ambassador to the UN, the rest is a very real and global danger. Scientific experts and intelligence agencies are divided on when Iran might be able to build a bomb: it may be one, two, five or more years away from completion. For Bolton, this uncertainty misses the vital point.


LINK


BTW, he is basically calling Americans cowards for not wanting to attack Iran.