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 Chris Hedges: Bush’s Nuclear ApocalypsePosted on Oct 9, 2006
By Chris Hedges Editor’s Note: The former Middle East bureau chief for The New York Times and author of the bestseller “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” reports on Bush’s plan for Iran, and how a callous war, conceived by zealots, will lead to a disaster of biblical proportions. The aircraft carrier Eisenhower, accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio, guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage, guided-missile destroyer USS Mason and the fast-attack submarine USS Newport News, is, as I write, making its way to the Straits of Hormuz off Iran. The ships will be in place to strike Iran by the end of the month. It may be a bluff. It may be a feint. It may be a simple show of American power. But I doubt it. War with Iran—a war that would unleash an apocalyptic scenario in the Middle East—is probable by the end of the Bush administration. It could begin in as little as three weeks. This administration, claiming to be anointed by a Christian God to reshape the world, and especially the Middle East, defined three states at the start of its reign as “the Axis of Evil.” They were Iraq, now occupied; North Korea, which, because it has nuclear weapons, is untouchable; and Iran. Those who do not take this apocalyptic rhetoric seriously have ignored the twisted pathology of men like Elliott Abrams, who helped orchestrate the disastrous and illegal contra war in Nicaragua, and who now handles the Middle East for the National Security Council. He knew nothing about Central America. He knows nothing about the Middle East. He sees the world through the childish, binary lens of good and evil, us and them, the forces of darkness and the forces of light. And it is this strange, twilight mentality that now grips most of the civilian planners who are barreling us towards a crisis of epic proportions.
These men advocate a doctrine of permanent war, a doctrine which, as William R. Polk points out, is a slight corruption of Leon Trotsky’s doctrine of permanent revolution. These two revolutionary doctrines serve the same function, to intimidate and destroy all those classified as foreign opponents, to create permanent instability and fear and to silence domestic critics who challenge leaders in a time of national crisis. It works. The citizens of the United States, slowly being stripped of their civil liberties, are being herded sheep-like, once again, over a cliff.
The hypocrisy of this vaunted moral crusade is not lost on those in the Middle East. Iran actually signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It has violated a codicil of that treaty written by European foreign ministers, but this codicil was never ratified by the Iranian parliament. I do not dispute Iran’s intentions to acquire nuclear weapons nor do I minimize the danger should it acquire them in the estimated five to 10 years. But contrast Iran with Pakistan, India and Israel. These three countries refused to sign the treaty and developed nuclear weapons programs in secret. Israel now has an estimated 400 to 600 nuclear weapons. The word “Dimona,” the name of the city where the nuclear facilities are located in Israel, is shorthand in the Muslim world for the deadly Israeli threat to Muslims’ existence. What lessons did the Iranians learn from our Israeli, Pakistani and Indian allies? Given that we are actively engaged in an effort to destabilize the Iranian regime by recruiting tribal groups and ethnic minorities inside Iran to rebel, given that we use apocalyptic rhetoric to describe what must be done to the Iranian regime, given that other countries in the Middle East such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia are making noises about developing a nuclear capacity, and given that, with the touch of a button Israel could obliterate Iran, what do we expect from the Iranians? On top of this, the Iranian regime grasps that the doctrine of permanent war entails making “preemptive” and unprovoked strikes. Those in Washington who advocate this war, knowing as little about the limitations and chaos of war as they do about the Middle East, believe they can hit about 1,000 sites inside Iran to wipe out nuclear production and cripple the 850,000-man Iranian army. The disaster in southern Lebanon, where the Israeli air campaign not only failed to break Hezbollah but united most Lebanese behind the militant group, is dismissed. These ideologues, after all, do not live in a reality-based universe. The massive Israeli bombing of Lebanon failed to pacify 4 million Lebanese. What will happen when we begin to pound a country of 70 million people? As retired General Wesley K. Clark and others have pointed out, once you begin an air campaign it is only a matter of time before you have to put troops on the ground or accept defeat, as the Israelis had to do in Lebanon. And if we begin dropping bunker busters, cruise missiles and iron fragmentation bombs on Iran this is the choice that must be faced—either sending American forces into Iran to fight a protracted and futile guerrilla war or walking away in humiliation. “As a people we are enormously forgetful,” Dr. Polk, one of the country’s leading scholars on the Middle East, told an Oct. 13 gathering of the Foreign Policy Association in New York. “We should have learned from history that foreign powers can’t win guerrilla wars. The British learned this from our ancestors in the American Revolution and re-learned it in Ireland. Napoleon learned it in Spain. The Germans learned it in Yugoslavia. We should have learned it in Vietnam and the Russians learned it in Afghanistan and are learning it all over again in Chechnya and we are learning it, of course, in Iraq. Guerrilla wars are almost unwinnable. As a people we are also very vain. Our way of life is the only way. We should have learned that the rich and powerful can’t always succeed against the poor and less powerful.” An attack on Iran will ignite the Middle East. The loss of Iranian oil, coupled with Silkworm missile attacks by Iran on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, could send oil soaring to well over $110 a barrel. The effect on the domestic and world economy will be devastating, very possibly triggering a huge, global depression. The 2 million Shiites in Saudi Arabia, the Shiite majority in Iraq and the Shiite communities in Bahrain, Pakistan and Turkey will turn in rage on us and our dwindling allies. We will see a combination of increased terrorist attacks, including on American soil, and the widespread sabotage of oil production in the Gulf. Iraq, as bad as it looks now, will become a death pit for American troops as Shiites and Sunnis, for the first time, unite against their foreign occupiers. The country, however, that will pay the biggest price will be Israel. And the sad irony is that those planning this war think of themselves as allies of the Jewish state. A conflagration of this magnitude could see Israel drawn back in Lebanon and sucked into a regional war, one that would over time spell the final chapter in the Zionist experiment in the Middle East. The Israelis aptly call their nuclear program “the Samson option.” The Biblical Samson ripped down the pillars of the temple and killed everyone around him, along with himself.
If you are sure you will be raptured into heaven, your clothes left behind with the nonbelievers, then this news should cheer you up. If you are rational, however, these may be some of the last few weeks or months in which to enjoy what is left of our beleaguered, dying republic and way of life.
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By rabblerowzer, October 15, 2006 at 5:48 am # Bush and every republican I have ever known or heard about are trouble makers. They are vicious aggressors who use fear and hate-mongering to demonize others for their own advantage. At one time or another, they have demonized blacks, and all other minorities, women who have abortions, labor unions, the poor, the French, liberals, democrats, welfare mothers, environmentalists, intellectuals, and virtually anyone who has had the courage to question their selfishness and greed, their motives, methods and never ending hate campaigns. Most of their hatred is directed at those who object to their “survival of the fittest” mentality. They see compassion and tolerance as weakness, and yet they pretend to be the most devout of Christians.
By The Old Hooligan, October 15, 2006 at 4:53 am # “It is a good day to die.” I’m sick and tired of this shit. Let ‘em go ahead and blow things up, get it out of their systems once and for all. “We The People” supposedly get the kind of Governance we -deserve-, and those who put this Band of Lunatics in charge should be proud of what they’ve wrought. Maybe once the world is a collection of radioactive slagheaps we will see the final disbanding of the criminal Republican Party once and for all in (what’s left of) this once-great Country. Thank God I voted for John Kerry. I saw a bumpersticker the other day which read: “Don’t blame me, I voted for Kerry.” Amen to that....
By Gandersen, October 14, 2006 at 8:05 pm # Comment 28228 by Gordon Francis. Bla Bla Bla. You sound like a drunk teen age valley girl describing the prom. We Americans are proud of our country, just not of our leaders. We support our troops, just not their orders. This is possible regardless of what the fear mongers in Washington DC tell you. The USA has historically done many good things. But in the last 6 years we have changed direction and become a bully on the world scene. Maybe you should quit listening to the radical Muslims and listen to our leaders (which is almost as scary). Everything they do is ordained by god. Our leadership is as fanatic about spreading Christianity (conveniently camouflaged as democracy) as the radical Muslims are about spreading Islam. No difference. The problem you do not seem to understand is our administrations lie to us. We never know when we are being lied to or not. This makes it hard to support your leaders especially when common pukes like us can see the error or our ways but our Ivey league genius leaders do not. Simply backing your leaders with “blind faith” is what got the followers of the Jim Jones cult in trouble. If you think that disagreeing with bad leaders and bad policy and immoral behavior on the part of our leaders is helping the enemy, then go to hell. You are falling for the spin from the current admin. Every time anyone disagrees with anything, they are labeled a traitor, helping the enemy, unpatriotic, democratic, anti-Christian…… This gets very old. It is our job to carefully watch our leaders, analyze what they do and say and call bull shit when necessary. If we do not, we are not true patriots. If America is not careful, it will fall. Not by radical Islamic fundamentalists, not by nuclear bombs, not by terrorists, but by our own belief in our god given superiority and sense of entitlement. Sincerely, Proud to be an American, but lately, embarrassed to be an American.
By dave, October 14, 2006 at 4:59 pm # As REP R-Ron Paul stated in his brief and hes probalbly one of only a hand full of honest men in Washington (Ron Paul Republican)My understanding of the matter comes to the same conclusion. they have contingency plans to strike all of the above I would add to those israel and lebanon as outside posibles Bush is playing hardball and to all that chalenge there is no compromise and no talking We all agree
By Geoman, October 13, 2006 at 8:35 pm # It now appears to be an “interdiction exercise” http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=po liticsNews&storyID=2006-10-11T223021Z_01_N11427154_RTRU KOC_0_US-SECURITY-GULF-EXERCISE.xml&WTmo;WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facing nuclear disputes with Iran and North Korea, the United States, Bahrain and other states will hold their first naval exercise in the Gulf this month to practice interdicting ships carrying weapons of mass destruction and missiles, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. But don’t forget, things could go wrong. It’s all about perception. http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Secu rity&loid=8.0.348809585&par=0 IRAN: TEHRAN FEARS U.S. ATTACK
By Bukko in Australia, October 13, 2006 at 5:09 pm # Hello Kibble! Isn’t it ironic how this staunch American patriot who says “I’ll kill you and stand over your body until the police arrive” is proposing to do the EXACT SAME THING A MUSLIM TERRORIST DID? By that, I mean the whackjob who stabbed and shot Theo van Gogh two years ago in Holland. (He’s been convicted, imprisoned and is probably smoking some Amsterdam medical hashish now...) He was upset about the film van Gogh made about Muslim oppression of women. Murder to suppress free speech—finally something that can unite hardcore Muslims and Christians! Is it cyberstalking to say I’d like to give this guy 40 mg of Prolixin decanoate IM? Failing that, I’d like to point him to the Truthdig thread about the rise of fascism. He’d be encouraged…
By Leonard Gore, Jr., October 13, 2006 at 3:19 pm # The main focus should be on the Project For A New American Century’s (PNAC), Rebuilding America’s Defenses. It is a public document and available at the following site: http://www.newamericancentury.org/ Anyone can read it for themselves & come to your individual conclusion on how it affects current foreign policy.
By Disgusted with Israel, October 13, 2006 at 2:49 pm # Regarding Comment #28656 by Gijsbert Brandeveld: Yes; isn’t it amazing how easily Israel coopts even the BBC in its propaganda drive to justify the upcoming US/Israeli war against Iran? I’m really sick of living inside Israel’s right-wing propaganda bubble. Even the Israelis hear more contrasting opinions on this matter than we do. We’re not allowed to have a grownup discussion about this. We’re just supposed to cough up the funds and deliver our sons, no questions asked.
By Gijsbert Brandeveld, October 13, 2006 at 1:39 pm # About Israel, Iran and the BBC:
By paul kibble, October 13, 2006 at 9:26 am # Re Comment #28244 by chuck kroll: PUBLISH THIS AS A WARNING TO ANYONE THINKING ABOUT COMMITTING A SIMILAR CRIME: You, Chuckie, as someone who’s spent some time studying cybercrime, news flash, knuckle-dragger---you just broke the law!: “If anything happens to one of those kids, I’m coming after you. And I’m putting it in writing, I don’t care. God help your fagot [sic] communist ass if something happens to even one of those brave kids. I know where you work, it can’t be that hard to find someone as ugly as you. . . You had better pray (opps sorry bad word for you darwinist’s [sic])that nothing happens to even one of those kids on our ships or I will take you out myself, and stand over your body to the police arrive. No jury in this nation would convict me I’m sure. You Bastard.” You’re wrong about that jury, by the way. See, legally, Chuckie baby, it’s OK to engage in name-calling, even on an illiterate-yahoo level like yours. (No grammar and spellcheck function on the ole PC there, bud?) Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names, etc. What you can’t do is exactly what you did here: threaten people with physical violence. Having worked as a psych nurse, I know your type all too well: a True Believer (a “Christian, too, of course) who will use any pretext to (in your own words) take out someone who challenges your rigid world view with an “unacceptable” idea or “subversive” opinion. You fit the profile of the authoritarian personality to a blood-spattered “T.” Since you’re clearly disturbed and since it’s obviously too late to have your meds upped, I’m going to report you to the authorities. Cyberstalking is a crime. Scheer and Hedges may take the high road here, but I’m not following their lead. (Like most attack poodles, you’re probably an armchair chickenhawk like your hero Dubya and are hiding behind a false ID. We’ll soon find out.) Hear those cell doors closing? Get ready to feel your own version of Gitmo, asshole.. . . FYI, trog-boy: “Threatening or harassing email should NEVER be excused as a prank. Although it is rare for a person’s behavior on the Internet to spill over into the real world, threats should ALWAYS be taken seriously. It is DANGEROUS to dismiss threatening email, believing the threats will never be acted upon. Even a slim chance of being hurt should be considered too risky to ignore. Remember that threatening or harassing someone through e-mail IS JUST AS ILLEGAL AS DOING SO IN AN OFFLINE FORM.” Want my address, too? Let’s double your sentence.
By JIM, October 13, 2006 at 9:14 am # Yes, a wider war in the middle east is most likely, but it is a tempest in a teapot compared to what’s coming. The real international conflicts will be over water, not oil, and they will be desperate battles of survival, not lifestyle. The fittest will survive and the weak will perish. There is no God, there is no Jesus and there is no apocalypse.
By Putting in my 2 cents, October 13, 2006 at 8:11 am # We must first of all be aware that if the state of Israel would come out firmly against starting a war with Iran, Bush would quickly drop his war plans. It is a sad but unavoidable fact that because of our internal politics, the US would never doing such a thing unless it were consistent with what Israel wants. In fact this war is fervently desired by Israel’s most prominent “supporters” here. Therefore, we should concentrate our energies on persuading not Bush but AIPAC, and the government of Israel itself, that such a war would be a complete disaster for Israel. This shouldn’t be too hard to do, since many sane people who are very pro-Israel believe that such a war WOULD be a disaster for Israel. (Never mind that it would be a disaster for the USA, of course; that’s not even worth consideration...). George Soros has plans to start a liberal alternative to AIPAC soon. Perhaps this group can help save America from committing national suicide for AIPAC’s right-wing “pro-Israel” agenda.
By rhon, October 13, 2006 at 7:31 am # Comment #27937 by Bingbataboom on 10/09 at 10:07 pm The confidence that Iran displays makes me think they already have deployable nuclear weapons purchased from the former Soviet Union garage sales in Belarus and Kahzakstan. Like the ones Lebed spoke of before he got choppered out. I have always believed that Iran has nukes and that the west is about to step on a hornet’s nest. As a Vietnam vet, I am wondering when America will protest. I attended tha “World Can’t Wait” protest in San Francisco and I was amazed that the people who will be most affected, by the next war, were clueless and going about their mundane lives....pitiful!
By jayson whitmore, October 13, 2006 at 7:24 am # what can we do to stop it?
By Jay, October 13, 2006 at 6:52 am # I don’t remember Jesus stating ‘man’ should start the Armegeddon(sp) for the purpose of him coming back whenever ‘man’ feels the time is right. Anybody else remember reading that?
By Ishmael, October 13, 2006 at 6:09 am # I posted the following on a related thread here. It is just as apropos here. Remember that their are other units and forces being deployed in conjunction with this that I address in the post. Here’s another link to aircraft carrier locations and deployments: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/gonavy/atsugi/gonavy604.html As a Navy veteran, what is most alarming to me are three key facts. 1. The deployment of mine sweepers and mine LAYERS to the Gulf. 2. The report that the Carrier groups are deploying to the west coast of Iran. 3. The Marine amphibious force deployment to the Gulf. Add to this another key bit of info I remember: A caller to the Rhodes show in June reported that her son-in-law’s Air Force Mid-air refueling wing was deploying to Iraq in June. mid-air refueling is not needed for local air operations in Iraq as the refueling capability exists at the US bases there. The only need for such a capability is to refuel naval strike aircraft and Air Force Bomber wings coming from the US. The deployment of mine layers to the gulf has no reasonable purpose unless mines are to be laid. The question then is where & why? The deployment of Carriers into the enclosed waters of the Gulf makes them sitting ducks for Iranian anti-ship missle capabilities as well as bringing them in range of Iranian submarine forces. The standard doctrine would have the carriers in the Arabian sea with more maneuvering room/warning time of an attack against the fleet. The amphib force would only be needed if we were putting troops into Iran at some of the facilities as forward observers or as commando teams to destroy what air assets can’t. These thugs do everything for political gain. They know now they are going to lose Congress and be held accountable for their actions. This they will not allow. So the following is my nightmare scenario of what is to take place: 1. Minelayers lay shipping mines off of all Iranian oil ports to trigger an Iranian response. Meanwhile Marine recon forces are dropped into Iran near nuclear facilities as forward observers for the air strike forces. 2. The Iranians preditably respond to the minelaying by sinking the minelayers. This gives the Busheviks the pretext for a retaliatory attack on Iran’s nuclear, defense and oil infrastructure. 3. The Iranians respond with a huge attack on the fleet with subs and anti-ship missles. Because the carriers are in the enclosed waters of the Gulf, they cannot maneuver and the response time for defense is considerably shortened. 4. We lose one or two carriers plus other escort ships. Loss of American life is in the thousands. Iranians or a false flag operation stages a mass casualty terrorist attack in the US, probably in a blue state city like Los Angeles. 5. Bush uses this as an excuse to suspend the elections, declare martial law and round up all of us pesky Democrats for internment in their DHS concentration camps. Thus the new Reich and the permanent Republican majority is acheived. The long night of Tyranny is at our door.
By tom, October 13, 2006 at 5:16 am # You know, I just sold my guns to pay my mortgage (thanks George). After this article I’m positive I just made the worst mistake of my life. P.S. Who elected these sons-of-bitches anyway?
By dan stewart, October 13, 2006 at 5:07 am # The carrier group in the Straits of Hormuz, among other things, is probably there to provoke a Tonkin Gulf type “incident,” which would be the final event-enabler.
By GADDAFI ABUBAKAR, October 13, 2006 at 4:39 am # A persuasive analysis centred on the US God’s own foreign policy in the Middle East. Chris Hedges have inded present the truth of the neo cons and evengelist
By yehuda cohn, October 13, 2006 at 4:22 am # I’ve been trading crude oil for 25 years and am head an international hedge fund that invests in the energy products and derivatives markets. Mr. Hedge’s seriously underestimates the price of oil in the event of a U.S. war with Iran. Begin by thinking, at least, $200/ barrel—and allow for event-driven price surges higher. Our pricing models predict a $110+ baseline price with only the threat of war. We have no predictions for the actual onset of war itself, or thereafter – it’s impossible to quantify. For objective testimony one need look no further than the New York Mercantile Exchange where crude oil futures and options trade in the U.S. There traders conservatively assess the price volatility of oil at 30% to 40%—and trade the right to buy/sell crude oil in the next year at $140+, and unleaded gas and heating oil at $5.00+/ gallon. Again, that’s without war. Conversely, traders also know that if the U.S. were to quit its Middle East “democratization” project, crude would immediately drop to ~$25/ barrel.
By TS, October 12, 2006 at 6:58 pm # while this article is quite informative, and i whole heartedly believe the current administration is hell bent on a preemptive attack against iran i also believe those in the know have no idea what they’re doing which is evident from their current war(s) of aggression. i have little pity for the state of israel. they’ve put themselves in this position. on the other hand i do feel for the jewish people who realize their zionist government is in cahoots with amerikan forces, but both them and the zionist forces in israel need to realize that these war mongers have only one group in mind when they set into motion their final solution, and sad to say it doesn’t include them. this whole scenario could have been easily avoided if and only if those sitting in the white house are taken from power by any means necessary. they are out of control, and are taking the whole of this country with them. prepare for the worst.
By James Woroble Jr, October 12, 2006 at 6:20 pm # No American blood and treasure for NO JEW WAR!
By patrick, October 12, 2006 at 6:05 pm # Geez....talk about ignorant.....A perfect example of someone who does *zero* research. ALL carriers have to pass within 20 miles of Iran when transiting the Straits of Hormuz. ALL carriers make there station either in the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf. I’ve been there 5 times. Nothing new. Move along.
By Jumpin Jack, October 12, 2006 at 4:19 pm # On the other hand, if our leaders expect that Israel may attack Iran, it would be prudent to have our own forces in place to handle the blowback. This would be the case even if our leaders wish Israel wouldn’t atack Iran. Israel may accept tribute from us, but that hardly makes us their boss. When it comes to the requirements of survival, the Israelis will not compromise, perhaps.
By Jack, October 12, 2006 at 11:29 am # Cry Havoc and Let Slip the Dogs of WAR!!!! BTW, Liberals, Progressives and Demoncrats do not look at Irans Pronouncements of genocide and thier hatred of the Great Satan and thier coming Mahdi to Islamasize the WORLD! get a grip Iran and Islam are a clear and present Danger to Humanity....
By JC Whitted, October 12, 2006 at 11:10 am # It is little comfort to know that the Eisenhower carrier group is heading to the Gulf to relieve another such group as pointed out in remark #28049, but it would have been cool if Chris Hedges had been more circumspect in his otherwise insightful article, as Paul John points out. Let’s leave the scaremongering to the Republicans.
By yours truly, October 12, 2006 at 9:48 am # It’s countdown to Doomsday now, since in two weeks the aircraft carrier Eisenhower strike force will be in position to nuke Iran and, once this happens, any time thereafter we can expect to hear “Will the last one out please turn off the lights.” Unless, of course, we the peope rise up and save the world. Ready everyone?
By lennybruce, October 12, 2006 at 2:14 am # I spoke too soon I admit. Just did some more digging and found conflicting stories about the Eisenhower group: From NBC affiliate http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=5492934 “The ships will head to the Mediterranean Sea and eventually will relieve the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier U-S-S Enterprise strike group. The Enterprise is in the Arabian Sea supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.” This indicates a normal deployment to relieve another group. The Virginia Pilot reports the same: http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=1 12076&ran=121835&tref=y Only Dave Lindorff of The Nation is ‘claiming’ this deployment is in preparation for action against Iran as opposed to the official line that the strike group is relieving the Enterprise to support action in Iraq and Afghanistan: I would be the last to be surprised at such a desperate move by Bush to influence the midterms although the prospect truly frightens me. I see one glimmer of possible hope. There are many signals over the past month and a half of a possible growing rift between the Pres and the civilian leadership on the one hand and the military leadership of the Pentagon on the other hand. Given the improbability of the US winning Iran without nuclear weapons seeing as we are all tied down in Iraq gives me hope that the military would in no uncertain terms put its foot down and say, sorry Mr Pres, but no way in the interest of the country and our sworn duty to truly protect the American people and the constitution.
By lennybruce, October 12, 2006 at 1:45 am # Although I agree with the premise of the article and much of the specific points of view, the openeing statement of the movement of US warships and tying that to an imminent strike on Iran needs some documentation. Where did he get this info? Otherwise it could be just another unsubstantiated claim which the blogosphere is known for. The misquote of Polk’s speech doesnt help to lend credibility. The speech was given on Sept 1, obviously not on Oct 13 which hasnt happened yet and he said, “As a people we are very forgetful.” (http://www.fpa.org/topics_info2414/topics_info_show.h tm?doc_id=404719) Not ‘enormously forgetful’ which of course sounds better in this context. So anyone know of any confirming sources regarding the movement of the US warships?
By Lindsay, October 12, 2006 at 1:18 am # Unfortunately for us, there still aren’t enough people who can see through all the bullshit. I have to agree with most everything I’ve read here tonight and want to ad this hypothetical senerio to the discussion. Or should I say probable? The m.o. is to familiar if you ask me. P L A N R E V E A L E D S I N K I N G O F U S S E N T E R P R I S E I M M I N E N T Updated Saturday, September 30, 2006 3:04 PM EDT IRAN WAR PLAN EXPOSED! PREPARE FOR THE SINKING OF A U.S. AIRCRAFT CARRIER – The USS Enterprise - CVN-65! The existence of a hideous plan to sacrifice a U.S. Aircraft Carrier as a pretext for war with Iran is presently being uncovered! The Hal Turner Show has been told that within the next five (5) weeks, the United States will “suffer” a missile attack upon the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, presently on patrol near the Persian Gulf. This attack will appear to be from numerous “Silkworm” and/or “Sunburn” missiles which will sink the vessel and kill most of the 5,000 crew onboard. The “attack” will be blamed on Iran and thus provide the Bush Administration with an excuse to go to war with that nation. The Hal Turner Show has learned that the missiles used to attack the USS Enterprise will not be fired from or by Iran, but rather will be a “false flag operation” made to LOOK as though Iran carried out the attack! The USS Enterprise is the worlds first nuclear powered aircraft carrier. It was Commissioned in 1961 and is due to be decommissioned in 2014 or 2015. The ship was selected to be the “victim” of this “attack” due to its age. THOSE PLANNING THE ATTACK ARE INSIDE THE U.S. AND ISRAELI GOVERNMENTS and view the loss of the Enterprise crew as a necessary sacrifice to induce Americans to support war against Iran. Put bluntly, the ship and crew are to be cannon fodder. I am being fed more information and expect to be able to name names as to who is behind this plan. Check back often. LIBERTY REDUX | Homepage | 10.01.06 - 10:09 am Found on Rawstory message board Here is the DRESS REHEARSAL for the sinking of the USS Enterprise: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-05-17-ship-re ef_x.htm Aircraft carrier sunk in Gulf of Mexico to create artificial reef Updated 5/17/2006 4:38 PM ET N THE GULF OF MEXICO (AP)—As hundreds of veterans looked on solemnly, Navy divers blew holes in a retired aircraft carrier and sent the 888-foot USS Oriskany to the bottom of the sea Wednesday, forming the world’s largest deliberately created artificial reef. Clouds of brown and gray smoke rose in the sky after more than 500 pounds of plastic explosives went off. The rusted hulk took about 45 minutes to slip beneath the waves, about four hours faster than predicted. VIDEO: Navy ship sunk to create reef Korean and Vietnam War veterans aboard charter boats watched from beyond a one-mile safety perimeter as the “Mighty O” went down in 212 feet of water, about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach. Lloyd Quiter of North Collins, N.Y., who served four tours on the ship in Vietnam, wept. “I’m a little stunned. It’s a little hard to take,” he said. AND WHY DID THEY FEEL THE NEED FOR THE DRESS REHEARSAL? BECAUSE WHEN THEY TRIED IT A YEAR EARLIER, IT TOOK 25 DAYS TO SINK THE USS AMERICA WITH HIGH EXPLOSIVES! http://www.cdnn.info/news/industry/i050522a.html USS America 1048-ft aircraft carrier sunk off North Carolina Powered by CYBER DIVER News Network NORTH CAROLINA (22 May 2005)—The retired aircraft carrier USS America is on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, sunk by the Navy in a series of explosive tests that upset some veterans. The 84,000-ton, 1,048-foot warship that served the Navy for 32 years rests about 60 miles off the coast and more than 6,000 feet down, according to Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command. She did not give a location, but the Navy previously said the explosions would take place off North Carolina. Dolan said the America went down May 14, finally flooded after the series of explosions over 25 days. No announcement was made at the time. . Posted by PLUNGER 10/01/2006 @ 11:19am | ignore this person
By Patrick Sullivan, October 11, 2006 at 10:03 pm # The plan to destroy the human race with nuclear weapons is an old one. The decision was made in April of 1947. We would all be nuclear waste if not for the intervention into our world by this still unknown high level power that we refer to as “ET.” It is not something that can be understood easily, rather it took this writer nearly 5 years of research to come to that conclusion. The intervention is aimed at the “Minds” of the human race. The “ET” are attempting to tell us how truly fake are our nuclear war fighting elite. Believe it; our nuclear war fighting elite are planning to sit it out in the underground, while we are all put to the nuclear torch. The president of Iran, Ahmadinejad is employed by the same group of London bankers that put Bush into office. Ahmadinejad is playing “Counterpoint,” to help get a full blown nuclear war underway. There is a similarity between Bush and Hitler before WWII began. Hitler was on the edge of being toppled by German Military leaders, the English bankers stepped in and gave Hitler Czechoslovakia, helping to prop their boy Hitler up. If for any reason Bush fails to get WWIII underway very soon, he will face off with the mass of the American people. This is the deciding point on whether or not the Decider ever again decides anything more important than to brush his teeth or not. .
By Gonnuts, October 11, 2006 at 8:59 pm # There is no way bush&co;will allow their control on power to slip. If we were talking rational people here we wouldn’t be talking about the bombing of Iran - not only is buch&co;not rational they’re not close to sane. With the house of cards falling down all around bush&co;there is no other way they can respond and hope the “rally around the flag” ploy plays one more time. After that they won’t need to rig elections ever again and the 800 detention camps Haliburton and KB&R;have built across this country will finally be put to use. And this fragile republic will be destroyed, not from without, but from within. Who’s going to stop them? Look what happened this past week. With all the scandals breaking and bush at record lows this congress still gave complete dictorial powers to this madman. Think we’re not going into Iran? I can remember saying we were going into Iraq and being ridiculed.
By bohdan yuri, October 11, 2006 at 8:42 pm # !!!! - 3 WEEKS - !!!!! Just in time for the election --- wag it well, George.
By Banjo Norman, October 11, 2006 at 8:03 pm # It remains to be seen if the majority of the military staff will in fact obey an order to invade Iran. Perhaps they will, but I beleive that it is just as likely that they will find ways,perhaps very discreetly, to inform the Boy King, that the U.S. Military is a part of the Constituion, that if an unconstitional order of such magnitude is given by Boy King, then the general staff will simply not obey. Had the German general staff not obeyed Hitler’s 1941 order to invade Russia, Germany would never have been occupied,among other major historical tragedies of the period. As it is, the military is up to its ass in gators in Baghdad, with only about 24-25 million Iraqis. With at least double that population in Iran, the idea of occupation becomes ludicrous. That is why the election of the Democrats to the Congress is so important. With a Democratic House and/or Senate, this might give the general staff enough intestinal fortitude, to stand up to Boy King. A real act of fortutide by Congress, would send Boy King home by October 2007.
By NightFire, October 11, 2006 at 4:46 pm # Some version of “this administration, claiming to be anointed by a Christian God to reshape the world” seems to find its way into everything Hedges writes. It’s odd that the only cites Google coughs up are Hedges and others insisting that the Bush Administration has made this claim, when it appears that it hasn’t.
By jjohnjj, October 11, 2006 at 4:32 pm # Nuclear bombs are not weapons. They’re chess pieces. No national leader would be mad enough to sneak a bomb into America (which has about 10,000 bombs) and hope we couldn’t figure out where it came from. (nuclear detonations leave a “fingerprint” of isotopes that can be used to identify the reactor that the plutonium orgininated in) Even if we couldn’t ID the perp… It’s a safe bet that we’d reduce both Tehran and Pyongyang to radioactive puddles out of pure spite. So what good are nuclear chess pieces to small nations? Well, they’re a very good way to sink American aircraft carriers. An A-missle doesn’t have to be very accurate and the damage takes place far out at sea - free of collateral damage. An American nuclear response would have to hit targets on dry land… with lots of collateral damage and ugly political repercussions. Iran and Korea wouldn’t actually attack our carriers with their brand-new bombs, they just want to alter the balance of power for advantage at the negotiating table… ...unless you believe W’s claims that our enemies are all ruthless fanatics. Personally, I don’t beleive anything he says.
By carlos, October 11, 2006 at 4:23 pm # You guys must be off your meds.
By saintknowitall, October 11, 2006 at 2:43 pm # My sources indicate that Elvis is also on board one of the ships in the battle group and that he will be the one who launches the first missle while singing “Aint Nothin But a Hound Dog”. This vesion of his famous song will be released by a subsidary of Haliburton and Dick Cheney will also get 10% of the royalties. Of course, this is the evil plan of Karl Rove to steal the next elections.
By Randy Thompson, October 11, 2006 at 1:41 pm # Put the Amish in charge of our War on Terror. Try their methods, our’s has not worked for years, and years, and years. Peace.
By Dave, October 11, 2006 at 1:21 pm # Reading all this panic by you chicken littles means a solution to the entire world problem is in order. Of course, it must fit with your image of what is good and just, so here it is: everybody join hands and we can make a big ring around the world holding hands with each other, rock back and forth and sing kum-by-yah. Then all those moon worshipping muslims will look at us and say, “Awwwwww.” and everyone will be happy and we can all live in peace and harmony, and there will be no more strife. This’ll work. I know it will.
By Dunadan, October 11, 2006 at 11:30 am # What a bunch of scaremongering, leftist rubbish. Bush is every bit the loser you claim him to be but not for the reasons you state. He is a loser because he would rather sacrifice Americans than win a very winnable war. Let’s reduce the entire Middle East to rubble. Then sit back and watch what is left of Isalm fight among themselves for camel meat.
By CAP, October 11, 2006 at 11:25 am # Do the research...this is not a plot by fanatical Christians. Ever hear of Nero? Its obvious you haven’t a clue what biblical prophecy regarding the last days are all about.This, if it is a plot at all, is a Luciferian operation. The people who want a NWO are Luciferians who belong to Luciferian organizations, have taken Luciferian oaths and worship Lucifer ( who they consider the GOOD god and ultimately the winner in all this). Look up the Black Nobility, the Black Pope and the International Banksters on the www. Read up on Albert Pike, the only Confederate General (who happened to be a Luciferian and who wrote Morals and Dogmas for the masons)to have a statue erected to him in DC. By the way, he authored the plan for three world wars to bring us the Satanic NWO world government. Read Ezekial 36,37 and 38...Iran will not be alone and likely will be provoked into attacking first along with its allie...Magog (which of course is the ancient name of Russia). If you only knew what was coming...don’t take my word for it ...do the research for yourself. Why would you trust the opinions of a former NYT reporter anyway...or anybody for that matter. You are resonsible for seeking out the truth wherever that may lead. Turn over every rock and then turn them over again until you figure it out. Seek the truth and you will find it....
By Kanai, October 11, 2006 at 11:24 am # What is wrong with thinking for yourselves? All this whining and gnashing of teeth is really getting old. Just because GW does something YOU DONT UNDERSTAND doesnt automatically make it evil. I suggest educating yourselves as to the real threat out there (Islam) and stop boxing at shadows. Chris Hedges has an obvious bone to pick, fine, but really, you don’t have to get in lock step behind him without question.
By Benjamin Charters, October 11, 2006 at 9:28 am # I do not think there will be a war with Iran. The US have masses of troops in the middle-east already; I doubt they would put even more troops into that sinkhole then there are already. they would need to, because the troops already there don’t have the manpower to spare in an attack on Iran. In A war, not much would probably happen. the US and Iran would get into the occasional skirmish, America would air-strike Iran and get into fights with their airforce, ships would bombard things and be answered with missiles. perhaps a few would sink, but they would cause a lot of damage anyway. A nuclear war is basically impossible. If Iran gets a nuke at all it will be in quite some time, and they could not do much with them. They would be weak by America and it’s allies standards, they probably won’t have the range to hit America, and good luck smuggling a multi-ton nuclear weapon into america and setting it off. Even if they do, i can just imagine the result. the news: ‘Iranian nuclear weapons have struck america, many thousands dead’. five minutes later:’American nuclear weapons have turned Iran into a nuclear wasteland, many millions dead’. Great plan, folks!
By Jackie T. Gabel, October 11, 2006 at 9:24 am # RE:Comment #27965 by stephen L on 10/10 at 2:28 am Don’t look to the cave, bin Laden, the laptop; don’t look to the Axis of Evil. Look to Cheney and Cheney’s handlers!
By Martin Richard, October 11, 2006 at 7:33 am # IRAQALYPSE NOW! may the meme be spread…
By mparker, October 11, 2006 at 7:24 am # “Remember the Maddox!”
By chuck kroll, October 11, 2006 at 6:54 am # listen real close you moron, One I doubt you know the secrete troop movements of the United States Navy, and If you do, and wrote about them it is a felony. And Just so you know, my little brother is on one of the ships you wrote about. If anything happens to one of those kids, I’m coming after you. And I’m putting it in writing, I don’t care. God help your fagot communist ass if something happens to even one of those brave kids. I know where you work, it can’t be that hard to find someone as ugly as you. What kind of people are you? It is almost unimaginable that an American would seek to harm his own nation, with the bullshit you call writing, that is ment only to provide aid and comfort to the enemy. Well, I guess I’m one of the few people who remember sept 11, 2001. And how meek and mouse like all you socialist, communist, liberal, progressive (whatever name your calling yourselves these days)were back then. Not a peep out of you. You knew that the real America was awake listening, paying attention, and it was far to dangerous for you to be spouting out your anti American reteroic. Well I got news for you buddy, if any of those ships are attacked and sunk, you and your ilk had better think about a move to France, or maybe North Korea. Again I know your slow so I will say it again. You had better pray (opps sorry bad word for you darwinist’s)that nothing happens to even one of those kids on our ships or I will take you out myself, and stand over your body to the police arrive. No jury in this nation would convict me I’m sure. You Bastard. Yours, Chuck kroll
By papabryant, October 11, 2006 at 6:30 am # This author is wrong, dead wrong. Its hysterical anti-Bush, anti-Christian bigotry, plain and simple. The Left, both in America and Europe, fail to understand that each country except Israel in the Middle East falls under the catagory of a dyadic society. Most of the world lives in dyadic societies, and it is a very different animal than the individualistic society we Americans live in. People in a dyadic society view the world through the eyes of those around them. To give you an idea how this works imagine that you were accused of a crime, but you knew you were innocent. In America, you would be expected to protest your innocence to the end, working feverishly to prove your innocence to the world and exonerate your name. It wouldn’t matter that the rest of the world thought you were guilty, YOU knew you had not committed any crime and that would be all that was important. In a dyadic society, say Japan, if you were falsely convicted of a crime, you would take a short sword and cut open your own belly, spilling your intestines on the ground until you bled to death. Hari Kiri. Ritual suicide. Your innocence was not relevant to the fact that others viewed you with shame. You had dishonored yourself and your family even though you had done nothing wrong. In a dyadic society, a person’s self-worth is not determined by what they think of or know about themselves. It’s determined by what others think of them. Dyadic soceities are often refered to a group oriented societies, because your position within the proper social group determines your entire life. If your father was a Vietnamese pig farmer, you will be a pig farmer. If you were born into the Brahman Jat (the highest of the Indian Castes), you would be expected to marry another Brahman, only work at certain jobs, and spit upon those born into the Untouchable Jat. Such thngs are ordained by God/the Gods. There is no ‘’pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps’’ in a dyadic society. Where in life you were born is where you will die, and if you try to better yourself you are upsetting the social order. Upset the social order and chances are you will die where you are at sooner than later. In exchange the group offers protection, including earning divine protection. Knowing your place gives life stability that our modern Western, industrial world doesn’t have. But it comes at the price of loyalty. The group will protect you from outside threats but only if you will obey the rigid social conventions of the group and submit to the group’s leadership. So what does this have to do with a possible war with Iran? Lets look at the war in Iraq to find out. On April 14, 2003, the Bush Administration and the Joint Chiefs of Staff declared that military operations in Iraq were over and that we had achieved all of the operational objectives had been achieved. This was done when our troops were on the verge of entering the city of Fallujah. The military knew there were pockets of resistance in Fallujah, but by and large the city was quiet and peaceful. It was thought that stopping the advance would cause resistance leaders to realize the mistake of continuing to fight a hopeless war, and they would think of their men and surrender. This has proven to be the most colossal blunder in the history of warfare in the Middle East. Had this been a Western enemy we were facing, this would have been the correct thing to do! Western armies behave in this manner - battlefield leaders thinking of the lives of their men and not throwing them away indescriminantly. But Iraq is not a Western country. If an Iraqi commander had surrendered in that situation his men would have fragged him. Its “our” group versus the Americans, and either we have backed the right group, protected by God, or we deserve to lose. So why did so many Iraqis surrender, both earlier in this war and the First Gulf War? Because we didn’t stop pounding them to ask them if they wanted to quit. By our non-stop military pressure we showed them that their group could not protect them and did not have the blessings of God. By stopping outside Fallujah, we gave the Baathist leaders still left the chance to rally their forces, saying that even though they made mistakes, God was protecting them and giving them another chance to win. Had we not stopped, they couldn’t have made this appeal, and the war would be over by now. This doesn’t mean that Iraq would have adopted a Democratic Republic form of government any quicker or easier that our Founding Fathers did. But the problems of bombings in the streets wouldn’t be occuring. Also, since the old group affiliations obviously didn’t have the blessings of Allah, and the Allies - by virtue of the completeness of their victory - did have Allah’s blessing, the outsiders like al-Zarqawi would not have found any willing to join them in Iraq. By stopping outside Fallujah, we played right into their mindset. We failed to heed Sun Tzu’s warning. We did not know our enemy. Ann Coulter has proven prophetic in this regard. Not only did she spill the beans on the 500 WMD’s first, but she has hit upon one of the two ways to fix the mess we’re in. Convert them to a religion that teaches a form of individual responsibility. Convert them to Christianity. Do you want to know where the Western World was born? Pick up your Bible and turn it to the Gospel of John, Chapter 8, verses 1-8. While these verses are not in the oldest copies of the Bible we have, they do seem to represent an early tradition. In these passages Jesus confronts a group of Pharasees who found a woman committing adultery. Most traditional teachings on this passage correctly deduce that this was a trap laid out for Jesus, but I venture to say most ministers cannot say why this test was so potentially damaging to Jesus. This is because many do not appreciate that in a dyadic world, like the one Jesus lived in, honor means something very different than we’re used to. It was a finite thing, and in order to get more for yourself you had to take it away from someone else. What was happening here was an attempt to steal Jesus’ honor - making Him look bad to His followers. This was done through a verbal exchange called an honor/shame riposte. When the Pharasee’s came to Him, Jesus’ first reaction is to ignore them, drawing in the dirt as if they had not even spoken. Only social equals could issue a challenge. This was Jesus giving an insult to them, saying in effect “you are not even worth a reply. Now go away.” It was a warning to them not to try and challenge Him. As was their right, they pushed the challenge, in essence saying that they were of sufficient reputation as to not be dismissed. This changes the dynamic of the exchange, now forcing Jesus to respond or be shown to not be a social equal to His challengers, thus losing honor. Remember this is all a show for the benefit of those watching, whose opinion this was meant to influence. The Pharasees thought they had Jesus trapped by a no-win situation. Jesus had preached mercy for sinners, but that He was also the Son of God, equal to the Father in righteousness, which to a Pharasee meant observance of the Laws that righteousness was judged by. If Jesus forgave the woman, he was not observing the Law - which called for her stoning - and such He was not righteous. If Jesus called for observance of the Law, He was not as merciful as He claimed to be. Either way He loses face in front of His movement. He loses honor. Jesus’s next action is perhaps the most important He took outside of His death and Resurrection. He looked each of the accusers in the eye and said “He among you who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” What He was saying was it didn’t matter that the other people there looked upon you favorably. God knew what sins you committed and YOU knew what sins you committed, and that was the only “group” that mattered. You had better look inside yourself and get your own house in order before you condemn soneone else. Jesus, with one sentence and a dirty look, began the change in society from dyadic to individualistic. Oh, it took time, to be certain - 1800 years to be exact - for it to fully be realized. But remember, this change only occured to cultures influenced by Christianity; the Stoics, who are generally credited with the concept of individualism, didn’t come up with a simular concept until 150 years after Jesus. I haven’t seen any Stoic Churches lately; have you? Their society is out to destroy ours. Speaking to them in the language of the Left - diplomacy - isn’t working, and their culture interprets our “enlightened” ways as weakness. If we want to perminantly stop the Iraqi insurgent movement or the Afghan Taliban or Iran’s Nuclear ambitions of destroying Israel and the U.S., then we must expose them to this concept of individuality, which is at the heart of our own Constitution (hint, this is why we say the country is a Christian nation - the concept of an individual responsible for his own actions is a Christian concept). We must teach them to speak our language. Either that or we must respeak to them in their own language - resend in the Army and Marines, and finish pounding the Iraqi and al-Qaeda warriors, and the entire nation of Iran, into the sands of the desert - but this time without mercy. They have to get the message… one way or another, or the Left’s fear of mushroom clouds on the horizon really will come true.
By RT, October 11, 2006 at 6:25 am # I think you’re all nuts. You hate our government so much it blinds your vision. I know you’ll think I’m a “sheep” - that I just follow and do as I am told, maybe there’s a bit of thruth there, but I think you have lept from rational thought to near insanity. Do you actually believe that the “religious right” likes war? Do you really feel that all Christians follow blindly? Mr. Hedges asserts that to believe in heaven and that the followers of Christ will be taken there is irrational. What is his proof? The truth is we all live by faith. You have faith in you ability to unearth all the evil plots of man. You live by faith in your intellect. You have faith that man can override his selfish nature and actually be “good”. In oth |
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