December Surprise?

[bigtree]

November 14, 2006

Official Says U.S. May Mull Pre - Emptive Iran Strike

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States or other countries will one day be forced to consider pre-emptive action if Iran and North Korea continue to seek nuclear weapons, a senior U.S. government official said on Tuesday.

If North Korea refused to renounce its nuclear program and Iran developed a nuclear weapons capability, it would lead other countries in their regions to seek nuclear weapons, said the U.S. official, speaking on condition he was not identified.

``We, the United States, and others who might be threatened by these developments will have to look at how to respond and inevitably I think people will have to look at the question of pre-emption,'' the official told reporters.

``I think it's inevitable that any American administration, not just this administration but future administrations, will have to look at pre-emptive strategies,'' he said.

He was not saying that the United States was going to launch a pre-emptive strike ``tomorrow,'' he said.

more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-nuclear-iran-usa.html


will they take action BEFORE our new members are sworn in?



http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree

[Earth_First]

1. I'm convinced of it... n/t

[Kelly Rupert]

2. mmm...unlikely.

Israel might, but still unlikely.

[MannyGoldstein]

3. I Don't Think So

Frankly, I don't think their control of the military is tight enough at this moment - like during Nixon's final days.

[Tace]

4. I've Been Reading Analyses That Suggest Iran Invasion Before Jan.

Here's one:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15568.htm

[porphyrian]

5. Why would they do that?

What would they stand to gain?

[bigtree]

6. distraction is their game

solving the Iran 'problem' was never their aim. All they wanted was a wedge and a vehicle for their continued militarism in the region. A military strike would allow Bush to remain in his ideological tank, continuing to roll over our democracy, pretending to 'protect' us.

[porphyrian]

9. Everything changes January first.

There are much less costly ways to distract us until the microscope is shoved up their asses and half of them go to court. If anything, I would say that the rumors about going into Iran are the distraction, and that we should be watching their other hand.

[Hippo_Tron]

13. I'm loving the visual of the microscope up their asses

[readmoreoften]

7. It doesn't have anything to do with the Democrats from what I understand.

I admit that I am passing along gossip. But in a way, without a responsible media, what else is there these days?

A friend of mine who was at Clinton's 60th BD party (he is an ex-political prisoner, writer, professor, involved in various national peace processes) was speaking to various people in the know (M15, CIA, NYT reporters) and they said that the Bush Admin is immovable in their desire to go to war with Iran. Hopefully they will fail at that goal, but from what they are saying it is, in fact, a goal.

That's the buzz floating around my tiny, inconsequential ears. Take it for its worth.

Frankly, I'm not sure there's much we can do about it at this point, other than speak our disgust at the very notion.

[mmonk]

8. I think December will be too fast even for them.

Then again, I won't put anything past them. They are determined in everything they do and stubborn even when things aren't working.

[Cobalt-60]

10. They want to

It's standard Bushco procedure to inflict a war on their successors.
Poppy Bush ensured that bombs were falling in Iraq during Clinton's inauguration.
And let's not forget that lovely Somalian excursion. Poppy got that round off in the last hours of his reich.
They'll want to permanently foul the waters between us and Iran while they still can.

[Ignacio Upton]

11. The December "Surprise" will be that Hillary announces her candidacy

n/t.

[Norrin Radd]

12. Will the missiles have "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" written on them?

:sarcasm:

Peace on Earth.

[Erika]

14. Ding dong, the neo cons and pre emptive strikes are dead

We don't have the $ or military to fight the fights we are now fighting.