While everybody was watching the Oscars and kvetching about
Brokeback Mountain not winning best picture or
Good Night and Good Luck getting overlooked - something else was happening around the world. UN Ambassador John Bolton made clear military threats directed towards Iran. Speaking with British MPs, Bolton said that the United States could shut down the Iranian nuclear program by interdicting numerous points in the production process.
Here's the article in The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/...
Now, John Bolton has never been known for tact. His appointment to the UN ambassadorship is akin to the Brownie appointment to FEMA and or Lester Crawford at the FDA. But to have the person who represents the United States and its foreign policy at the United Nations make such a threat does little to defuse the situation and only accelerates the arms race. How many red-state Americans would end a weapons program when threatened with an armed attack?
Somehow, this ignorant fool believes that one or two surgical strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities will do the trick. Such logic has dominated the Bush administration. Did Condi Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, or Paul Wolfowitz ever consider the Intifadah when planning the Iraq invasion? Did they consider the regional implications or the collapse of the Saudi monarchy or a coup against Musharraf in Pakistan? I think the answer is a clear. The foreign policy of this nation is under the direction of people who either lack the ability or the willingness to consider broader issues and long-term ramifications.
Nothing - I repeat - nothing is beyond the realm of the possible in the Bush administration. "Wag the Dog" logic of a decade ago suggested that administrations might use a local conflict somewhere on the globe to deflect negative publicity and poll numbers. This is something radically different. An attack on Iran has the very strong possibility of going nuclear since our conventional forces are stretched beyond capacity already. Bush is looking for an excuse to attack Iran. He wants the mullahs to continue their nuclear program. What better way to have them do it than to have the UN ambassador threaten them?