Fool Me Once

Uh…fool me once, uh…shame…shame on, you. Fool me twice (insert idiotic fumbling noises and the image of a man so dense that he doesn’t even know to turn red with embarrassment), uh…don’t get fooled again.

This inexact Bush quote is a staple of liberal talk radio, and why not. It sums up the bad deal we have in an Executive Branch. It also sums up the rest of the nation. We can’t get fooled, or bulldozed by neocon cock-sureness, again.

This morning’s Bush interview about Iran’s “meddling” in Iraq is déjà vu for anyone who was paying attention during the last four years. In short, more bullshit designed to pull tattered, moth-eaten wool over our eyes. Fool me once…

What is so irritating is how stupid this administration must think we are. As they gin up to make war on Iran, they assume they can lead us blindly into the meat grinder. Bush as the Pied Piper, and us as the gullible rats, following the tune blindly to war. It’s bad enough that we put up with the continuation of the first time – death, debt, maimed veterans and a complete loss of credibility around the world, and the destabilization of the world’s richest oil-producing region. It’s bad enough that Congress has sat idly by, and abdicated all oversight responsibility. This next time, we could be neck deep in shit.

First, let’s state the obvious:

1. Our President and his administration have absolutely zero credibility. They simply cannot be trusted. (Insert lawyer joke here – “Q, how can you tell if a Bush Administration member is lying? A, His/her lips are moving!) They lied us into war, criminally and intentionally.
2. Their ability to effectively wage war is non-existent. Iraq is a disaster, and it is clear they have no clue what they are doing.
3. The war is a financial disaster! Sure, it is only 5 to 10 percent of our annual GDP (and yet we can’t provide health care…don’t get me started), but we are financing the war, with interest payments alone in the hundreds of billions per year.
4. This war was another neoconservative attempt to privatize the functions of government, with private contractors bleeding resources from our treasury, and our troops on the ground.
5. This was a war waged not in the national interest, but for the benefit of a few large corporations.
6. The news media, and both parties on Congress sat by and allowed this to happen to us, and to the Iraqi people. Bastards!

How could we, seriously, as a great nation, allow this to happen? Maybe we are stupid and deserve what we get. Or, maybe we are victims of crimes by people in power, crimes of at least Watergate proportions. Congress is right to challenge troop increases, even if they doing it as meekly as possible.

But what would an Iran adventure mean? Here are some very realistic scenarios:

1. Zero credibility means we assume the Prez is lying about the explosives found in Iraq being used “on orders from top Iranian leaders.” The only reasonable assumption is that the President is lying. Remember, fool me once…
2. Even if (and this is a Godzilla on steroids sized if) some bombs in Iraq came from Iran, does this really surprise anyone? They’re next door for cryin’ out loud. And, they have strategic interests in what happens next door! How many bombs do we sell a year? How many people do they kill? How many kids in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Viet Nam, etc. are killed by US made land mines each year? Ones that cost $5 to sell, and $1000 to dispose of?
3. Iran is not Iraq! Better army, more soldiers, bigger fight. Forget being shocked at 3000 dead, make it times ten!
4. Forget 5% of GDP. Iran war will be way more expensive.
5. Regional destabilization will be intense. Can you say $10 per gallon gas?
6. In international circles, we will have to sit at the table with Kim Jong Il, the table for countries run by messianic lunatics. And he will seem the more stable of the two!
7. There is absolutely no reason to go to war with Iran. None. It makes no rational sense at all in terms of the national interest.

Now, war plans told to Seymour Hersch tell how Bushco™ plans to do it on the cheap: Nuke ‘em. Make no mistake folks, the nuclear option is on the table. And this crew is crazy enough to use it. Can you imagine the consequences of dropping a nuke in the Middle East? Can you say Armageddon?

Only an absolute IDIOT would use nuclear weapons in the Middle East.

And you see the danger: “Oh, shit…we have an absolute idiot in control of our nuclear weapons!” This is why we need heroes in Congress, right now!

When Senator Obama feels he has to apologize for stating the obvious, that our troops were being “wasted” in Iraq, we are doomed to another terrible war. Popular White House hopefuls who can’t speak the obvious truth and defend it cannot protect us against the ruthless neocon oligarchs. We need the presidential contenders, not just the Dennis Ks and the Feingolds, to tell it like it is. We need Democrats to put forth binding resolutions that cut off funding for this maniacal doomsday baiting that our President is engaged in. We can’t shake our heads, even our fists, and say “here we go again.” We have to shout, “fuck no, never again!”

If the President defies the wishes of the Congress, start with the subpoenas. There should be no shortage of them, and no shortage of rats ready to jump the neocon Titanic as it steams towards the big ice. The stink of corruption is so thick around this administration that you could put slices of it on a sandwich. And, when the rest of the White House aides watch Scooter head for prison, they will be ready to cut deals quickly.

Email your reps! Tell them “no way in Hell, no, no, NO IRAN WAR! Not until they are piloting bombers across the Atlantic. Tell them to face up to the truth that this war was an attempt to steal another country’s oil, and we fucked it up. Shut down this White House! They must play nice, or be indicted. Tell them you will remember in the primary next time if they don’t grow some balls right now! (Like that’ll work!)

Tell ‘em you don’t like being fooled. Fool me once…