So, George's plan is to strike at key Iranian nuclear installations and show the Iranian moderates that the mullahs are not all powerful.
Then the Iranian moderates will rise up and cast out the mullahs, welcoming reform with flower petals and candy. Well, George's plan is
working perfectly:
Khatami is widely recognized as a leader of a moderate faction in Iran. Indeed, Khatami himself indicated in his speech that the talk of a possible U.S. invasion was pushing him into a united camp with Tehran's hard-liners against foreign meddling.
Psst, George! The Iranians will welcome us just like the Iraqis did, but this time with better weapons and more resistance. Good plan.
"The Iranian nation is not looking for war, violence and confrontation," Khatami said.
"But the world should know that the Iranian nation won't tolerate any aggression and will stand united against aggression despite differences," he said, referring to the internal divide in Iranian politics between reformers and the more conservative clerics.
Last week, Bush accused Iran of being "the world's primary state sponsor of terror," and last month he said his administration won't rule out using military force against Iran over its nuclear program.
Until Khatami's statements, some had pointed to a possible softening in Iran's position in recent comments made by Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani, who said that his country wants to resolve its differences with the United States.
But in his speech Thursday, Khatami was adamant that Iran won't scrap its nuclear program. Iranian scientists worked hard to develop nuclear technology on their own and will not stop due to "the illegitimate demands of others," he said.
"We have decided to move toward scientific progress, including peaceful nuclear technology and we will continue this path," Khatami said.
Now maybe George (or Ahmed Chalabi) knows something we don't. Maybe he has the Iranian National Congress or some other ginned up government in exile, busily humming away in some DC basement, preparing to insert itself in the Iranian government as soon as the current regime collapses. That worked well in Iraq, too.
But Condi says, no, we aren't planning an attack on Iran:
The speech is the most recent volley in a war of words between U.S. and Iranian officials that did not seem to ease even after comments made by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week that a military strike against Iran is "simply not on the agenda at this point."
Rice, in Luxembourg for talks with European Union diplomats, again assured the Europeans that the United States has no plans to attack Iran, but warned that Washington will accept no foot-dragging in Tehran during nuclear talks.
But we all know Condi has a problem with prevaracation:
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Military calls Iran war plans routine
The U.S. military is updating its war plan for Iran, a senior officer said yesterday, but he called the planning routine and said pressure on Iran to curb a nuclear-weapons program remains a diplomatic rather than military effort.
"We are in that process, that normal process, of updating our war plans," said Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. forces across the Mideast, Central Asia and parts of North Africa. "We try to keep them current, particularly if ... our region is active," he said at a Pentagon news conference.
Just a little routine invasion prep, that's all.
I wonder if Dick gave Halliburton management a call recently:
Halliburton to pull out of Iran
The Iranian economy relies heavily on oil exports US energy services company Halliburton is to end its operations in Iran after existing contracts come to an end. Several American firms have been able to legally work in the country in the face of a US trade embargo, through foreign subsidiaries.
Halliburton, once run by US vice president Dick Cheney, said its Cayman Island unit secured revenues of $30m-$40m (£16-£21m) from Iran in 2003.
It said it was winding down its work due to a poor business environment.
Yes, raging oil field fires do make for a poor business environment.
The plan is coming together quite nicely. The US is succeeding in harrassing Iran to the point that moderates will become extremists. These will provide a nice demon for the justification of the invasion.