It certainly wasn't surprising to hear former (thank God) President Bush call Maddow and Olbermann sick puppies. Even though he's dead wrong, it's kind of a takes one to know one thing. But since we're talking about sick puppies, let's take a look at the real deal. The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI).
According to Wiki, the AEI is "a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign policies, political accountability, and open debate." AEI is an independent non-profit organization supported primarily by grants and contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C."
Like PNAC and CNAS, AEI is filled with the neocons we've come to detest. And to make sure we detest them even more, they've gone ahead and "defended the principles and improved the institutions of American freedom" by holding a conference yesterday with the theme "Should Israel Attack Iran"! Can I get a WTF!
http://www.aei.org/...
These bastards never stop do they. Featured were John Bolton, who unapologetically says "Hell yes, do it now", John Yoo, the torturemeister himself, and Martin Indyk of the Brookings Institution and former Ambassador to Israel.
According to the agenda,
"The speakers in Panel I will consider the international legal aspects of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear installations. What treaties are relevant? How might Iran retaliate against Israel, the United States, or other countries? Would an Israeli attack violate international law? Or would it be legitimate self-defense?"
Now that is actually kind of funny. They bring in John Yoo to discuss whether an attack on Israel would violate international law! I wonder what his opinion on that was?
"The speakers in Panel II will consider strategy and policy. What role will the United States play in supporting its ally Israel? Can military action taken by Israel effectively deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons?"
I haven't seen a report on the outcome of this special little conference, but my guess is the consensus for those questions were: total support, and you betcha.
Man, these thinktanks. What would we do without em? What a bunch of sick puppies.