I noted the president playing antagonist to Iran in an earlier post. Now that I've read Glenn Greenwald, I'm reminded of the words of Admiral Josh Painter:
This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.
Greenwald:
As Think Progress notes, the White House took multiple steps yesterday to elevate dramatically the threat rhetoric against Iran. Bush included what The New York Times described as “some of his sharpest words of warning to Iran” yet. But those words could really be described more accurately not as “threats” but as a declaration of war.
[. . .]
I think there is a tendency to dismiss the possibility of some type of war with Iran because it is so transparently destructive and detached from reality that it seems unfathomable. But if there is one lesson that everyone should have learned over the last six years, it is that there is no action too extreme or detached from reality to be placed off limits to this administration. The President is a True Believer and the moral imperative of his crusade trumps the constraints of reality.
[. . .]
For all the pious talk about the need to be "seriously concerned" and give "thoughtful consideration" to what will happen if we leave Iraq, there is a very compelling -- and neglected -- need to ponder what will happen if we stay and if we escalate. And the need for "serious concern" and "thoughtful consideration" extends to consequences not just in Iraq but beyond.
Go read the whole thing. And then read Balloon-Juice's Tim's observations about Iran and its prior war with Iraq.
"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it."
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