The prelude to war with Iran: enter the MSM

I know that many of us have been waiting for that turning point when the undercurrent of rumors about a war with Iran that accompanies our feeling that something really bad is inexorably building up finally reaches the point when the MSM openly becomes part of the buildup. Something a la Judith Miller and NYT stories about Irak to attempt to affect public opinion in a campaign of disinformation.

I am afraid we are finally reaching that point after reading Michael Gordon's piece today in the NYT titled "Deadliest Bomb in Iraq Is Made by Iran".

Gordon begins by saying

The most lethal weapon directed against American troops in Iraq is an explosive-packed cylinder that United States intelligence asserts is being supplied by Iran.

Once again and reminiscent of the times when Judith Miller's articles and the alike filled the MSM with disinformation and twisted intelligence, the author mentions those abstract nebulous sources they always claim to have and tells us that

In interviews, civilian and military officials from a broad range of government agencies provided specific details to support what until now has been a more generally worded claim, in a new National Intelligence Estimate, that Iran is providing "lethal support" to Shiite militants in Iraq.

The article has a number of similarities with many of the stories that appeared in the buildup to the war with Iraq.

As others have mentioned here before, Congress urgently needs to step up onto the plate and try to stop Bush and Cheney from taking the country over the cliff.

I highly recommend reading the article Over the Cliff with George and Dick? written by Tom Engelhardt today in TomDispatch. It deals with the delusional world in which Bush and Cheney live, and how these delusions will soon lead us to a disastrous war with Iran.

Here is a premium quote from the article:

   Having long embraced a fantasy of victory, they (Bush and Cheney) now show every sign of wrapping their arms around their own Iraq defeat as if it were victory, and — with the enthusiasm of Thelma and Louise, trapped by all those cop cars — taking the only path that seems open to them. As the alternatives grow ever starker — surrender to all those "Democrat" electees, to the reporters and the critics, the cavilers and the antiwar demonstrators, the ragtag insurgents, the alien Mullahs, and even the panicked Republicans in their own ranks — what’s left but that liberating, exhilarating trip over the cliff?

Let's tell Congress and everyone that will listen that the time to act is NOW.

•  Call your Senators

  And your Congressmen. Tell them to start hearings on Iran and to take away the AUMF before Bush and Cheney nuke this country.

  by chechecule on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 10:06:16 PM PDT

  •  Despair

    I'm nearing despair.

    'Conventional wisdom' seems so entrenched and dissent is so marginalized.

    I know I'm prone to exaggerate the likelihood of adverse consequences. But big disasters (we ain't seen nothing yet) do happen from time to time.

    by Demi Moaned on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 11:09:27 PM PDT

•  The lie of "supply"

  The big lie in the article is the "supply" by Iran. The wikipedia entry makes the simple construction obvious:

  The charges are generally cylindrical, fabricated from commonly available water or oil pipe with the forward end closed by a concave metal disk known as the liner, of copper or steel to create a shaped charge. Explosive is loaded behind the metal liner to fill the pipe. Upon detonation, the explosive projects the liner to form a rod-like projectile at a velocity well over 1 km/s, depending on the design and type of explosive used.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/...

  The picture accompanying it make the essentially crude nature of the construction obvious.

  

  At its simplest you need only take a convention HE shell, cut off the "blunt end" and insert a suitably cut down metal mixing bowl secured but not sealed to the rest. Burying the shell means the fragmentation usually associated with them does not occur but the force is directed through the bowl and this forms the projectile.

  These are fairly simple home made devices using readily available material (apart one hopes from the explosive) so there is no necessity for the mass smuggling that the article implies.

  by londonbear on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 10:42:05 PM PDT

  •  So......

    .... you can go to the nearest Williams-Sonoma (or the housewares section of your favorite store) and get this "concave metal disk" to help with your bomb recipe?

    Sneaky. Those Iranians...

    by highacidity on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 01:21:01 AM PDT

    •  Copper is better

      Usually the sort of things you get for kitchen use are thin and made of steel which is not ideal as it has a high melting temperature. Copper is better as it deforms more easily and is easier to work. Having said that, there is no shortage in Iraq of artisans who are more than able to beat out such a shape from a disc of metal.

      by londonbear on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 01:48:44 AM PDT

      •  Copper...

        ... then you would have to go to Williams-Sonoma... they are high-end enough to carry nice heavy copper bowls, in case you are short on Iraqi artisans.

        Thanks for the info...

        by highacidity on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 01:52:04 AM PDT

•  Visited Freeperville lately?

  Not a pretty sight.

  by terafnord on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 10:47:37 PM PDT

  •  Freepers looooove war as long as they don't do

    the fightin' besides tappin' the keyboards and launching game boy missilles.

    So, that's one of the few things Bush can throw the base-- distract them from collossal failure by creating one gigantic Wagnerian ending.

    by doinaheckuvanutjob on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 11:08:44 PM PDT

•  I am going to repeat what I wrote

  on another post about this subject I have called and written (several times) to my Senator (Salazar) and receved an email from him that states that Iran is a threat blah,blah,blah will seek a political solution blah,blah,blah, as it turns out it is similar in content to an email sent out by Sen. Feingold.  To say I received a rather cool reception when I called Salazar's office with my concerns would be an understatement.  

  by Patricia Bruner on Fri Feb 09, 2007 at 11:11:57 PM PDT

•  Please stop with the MSM stuff

  We don't have a MSM we have a WSM; that's Wall Street Media and the WSM are either conservative or extremely conservative.  They like their own in power and they also like war.  It's good for GE and the defense industry, good for stock prices, and good for the private contractors.

  by nlacey on Sat Feb 10, 2007 at 03:31:16 AM PDT