Also, like Anon says, one cannot ignore that regardless of the political weather in Washington or the US, there are those who stand to make millions and have made millions from this preemptive aggression policy. In fact, I’d say that the entire preemptive strike language, the Patriot Act, shuttling of the Geneva Conventions have all been in preparation of the Grand Scheme which is to over run the oil dominions of the Middle East — and to be enabled to do so without public consent or dissent.

It is very difficult to not waiver into the world of conspiracy theories when history tells that most tyrants run by conspiracy of one kind or another. They call it strategy.

I’d also like to add that the class divisions in the country are so absolutely stark that the upper classes regard the masses as nothing more than fodder for their own gain. Conveniently removed from the daily grind of the average citizen, they can easily ignore the price others pay for their gain. In addition, class separation and economic priviledge tend to lend to most of the upper echelons and highly connected, the misquided notion that their actions are guided by an almost divine, god given intelligence that us lowers haven’t the ability to grasp. Therefore, regardless of the churnings among the masses, they press on, convinced that they alone, know what’s best.

Bush has indeed encapsulated within his two terms the closest I think this country has ever seen to an Imperial Presidency, not only evident by what he and his administration chooses to do, but how they do it, when and why. The intentional dysfunctional public education system in America has led to a population of nodding donkeys, most of whom don’t have the slightest notion of how this government is supposed to work, how tenuous their ‘freedoms’ really are, or how to make critical assessments of the most rudimentary civic activities, including their own. Now we all shall pay the piper.

And like Anon, I think often these days about the impending disaster of our country without basic infrastructure such as gas and electricity, where currency has no value and refugees clamour and fight for every morsel of survival possible. It would be a certain nightmare that too few people even bother to consider possible.

Obviously 9/11 did great things for Bush – he was well on his way to becoming a national joke on September 10th and it pretty much saved his presidency. But the situation these days is considerably different. The American people have grisly evidence of his gross incompetence – Katrina, Iraq – and I think a terrorist atrocity on US soil would be viewed as emblematic of his government’s – and his party’s – failure rather than a reason to unite behind the commander-in-chief. That said, I’m not an American and you guys frequently surprise me…

I was all set to say something like that, but then I realised that I absolutely agree with you.

Really, I can’t think of any other way to read this then as a poke in the eye directed at Iran.

There’s no way even George W. Bush is dumb or ignorant enough not to realise the ramifications of attacking a consulate.

It is possible, though, that he (And the rest of the goons running things) is dumb enough to think that Iran will pretty much roll over, and if he keeps fucking with them in little increments, that they’ll go completely where he wants them to without actually putting up a fight.

And if they do, hey, that’s their fault for being evil, not his.

Honestly, I think that that’s the most likely interpretation; He had to know that it could be considered an unprovoked act of war, and he had to have been at least semi-concious of possible Iranian responses.

It’s possible there was a really bang-up, airtight reason to attack the embassy, but given his administrations past record in regard to… everything, really, that’s an exceedingly small possibility.

And even if true, his thinking is still probably along the lines outlined above; the only difference is how flimsy his rationale is and what the underlying motives are.

But for your overall article here, there’s one aspect of the analysis that might prove you wrong (I hope)…consider that your analysis takes as an assumption the goal here is political power. As in hanging on to political power.

See, I don’t think that is this administration’s goal (partly why, I think, we are seeign more republican politicians not in the administration itself starting to break away). If they were really interested in hanging on to power, Cheney would never have been VP for the second term. The designated political successor would have been the VP. That Bush did NOT choose someone to succeed him tells me that they don’t care about hanging on to the political power base.

Therefore, the political power they have/had was a means to an end in of itself. What end? I think it’s clear enough — this admin has been about lining pockets with as much money as possible, using the neocon’s gibbering nonsense to propel us into war whereby contracts, worth $$ and lasting for years regardless of who is in power in Washington, seems to have bee much more the focus.

Just a thought.

The neocons’ve been itching for Iran since the beginning, and Bush has blind faith that by ever more desperately going double down with all of America’s chips, he’ll eventually hit the jackpot. He knows he will. After all, he’s due. This losing streak can’t go on forever, can it? It’s gambling addiction, plain and simple. Or, perhaps better put, war addiction of the sickest kind: in which the perpetrators get off on the rush and don’t have to pay the price.

This time they’re not going to go through Congress to get permission for their illegal war. No, personally speaking, when I put on *my* tinfoil hat, I’m with Arthur Silberman ( http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2006/10/final-act.html ): the neocons have already decided to attack Iran, and they will do it by hook or by crook while they still retain power of the executive branch.

It doesn’t matter that the Democrats control the Congress. They won’t go through Congress this time.

You know the rest: endless war, America descends into blatant tyranny…

Not to get too Riddley Walker or anything, but between this, global warming and the impending energy crisis, I’m seriously thinking of enlisting myself in a crash course post-civilization survival skills.

Now, I’m wondering if my tinfoil-hat-thinking was, even its admittedly overly paranoic ramblings, somewhat close to the truth. I know I wouldn’t be surprised, in the least, for the fuckers in charge to allow a terrorist attack on the USA in order to reaffirm and settle their hold on power. This attacking the consulate stuff is … insane. Absolutely, positively without any kind of legal or moral rationale. And it can only lead to more death and destruction.

Ye gods, it’s enough to make me want to scream.