Just how close are Bush and Cheney to bombing Iran? [View All]

...I just read this piece by Arnaud de Borchgrave published in June 2007 saying that neocon giant Norman Podhoretz has been pushing the case hard on behalf of the neocons. Of course Dick Cheney has been pushing this line also and Bush is being constantly reminded of his "pledge" to neutralize Iran before he leaves office. I'd like to find more current stuff on what these people are saying and doing.

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Neocon Drum Beat
By Arnaud de Borchgrave
UPI Editor at Large

WASHINGTON -- World peace is now at risk because of "new crazies who say, 'Let's go and bomb Iran.'" So spoke Mohammed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He didn't mention names. But the latest "bombs away" clarion call came from no less a neocon giant than Norman Podhoretz, the original godfather of the movement that played a critical role in bringing down the Soviet empire.

"The Case for Bombing Iran," was the headline over Podhoretz's long piece in the June issue of Commentary, the magazine he edited for 35 years (until 1995) and where he serves as editor at large. "I hope and pray that President Bush will do it," Podhoretz wrote. His son-in-law Elliott Abrams is deputy national security adviser to President George W. Bush. His son John is editorial page editor of the New York Post.

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Even if Iran's Ahmadinejad did not yet have missiles with a long enough range to hit the United States, "he would certainly be able to unleash a wave of nuclear terror against us," said Podhoretz. And this time, citing Bernard Lewis, MAD, mutual assured destruction, that kept the superpowers' nuclear weapon sheathed throughout the Cold War, would not work. "We know already that Iran's leaders do not give a damn about killing their own people in great numbers ... they are giving them a quick free pass to heaven and all its delights."

Podhoretz also quoted Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the revolution and ruled from 1979 to 1989, as saying, "We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another word for paganism. I say this land (Iran) burn ... go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world."

The neocon concludes by reminding Bush of his pledge not to leave office before making sure Iran does not become a nuclear weapons power. Saving Israel from nuclear destruction would then become the president's historical legacy -- writ large. "As an American and as a Jew," concludes Podhoretz, "I pray with all my heart that he will (bomb)."
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http://wpherald.com/articles/5032/1/Commentary-Bombing-Iran/Neocon-drum-beat.html