Whiter Iran?

(crossposted at The Blue Herald)

Many a news story, many an expert interview, and of course many a neocon op-ed (for several months now) indicate that the Bush administration wants to go to war with Iran.

Regardless of what one thinks about the rationale of going to war with Iraq, it would be almost impossible to argue that the Bush administration did not want to go to war with Iraq. It was obvious they did.

And thus it is with Iran. If we avoid war with Iran – and possibly Syria as well – it will not be because of the Bush administration. It will not be due to wisdom or sound judgment or common sense on their part. It will only be due to another behind-the-scenes revolt by the top military brass or some external factor the Bushies don’t choose to dismiss as is their usual wont.

The Bush administration is stupid. It is mean. And it is powerful. Those three factors make for an absolutely deadly combination. Their learning curve is almost non-existent, worse than a long-time crack addict who is not even close to trying to kick the habit, let alone in the last throes of struggling to recover. But what else can we expect from an untreated, dry drunk (Bush) and a power-mad bastard (Cheney) who has been unerringly wrong about virtually everything for the past six years? What can we expect from an administration that always wants to act tough but cannot be bothered with thinking through even the most elementary consequences of its actions? (Beyond their political ramifications, of course.)

It would be nice to think that “cooler heads will prevail.” And perhaps they will. But it seems highly unlikely those “cooler heads” will come from inside Bush’s inner circle. The Bushies will act out of macho insecurity, or a desire for more power, or because God spoke to them, or because they are assured they are right and good and true. But they will not act with the best interests of America or the world in mind.

Between the Bush administration’s “diplomacy” with Iran, and the very real possibility of the suspension of habeas corpus - Whither America?