Iranifghanistan All Over Again

Now that Dear Leader's winged his way back from the cheering Undead in Transylvania, it's time to get his War on Terra back on again.

The meth helps Commander Codpiece feels back into clean-limbed fighting trim (if a somewhat hungover one after his latest liason with the Iron Frau).

But back in the U.S. of A., it's once more Mars, Beotches!. Remember General Pace, the (former) head of the Joint Chiefs who said he'd resign before we went to war in Iran? He's history, but you had to be paying attention to get the context. Attytood catches the drift:

...The official explanation for why Pace would not be asked to serve another term were patently ridiculous. Here is how Defense Secretary Robert Gates explained the move to replace Pace with Admiral Michael Mullen:

``I think that the events of the last several months have simply created an environment in which I think there would be a confirmation process that would not be in the best interests of the country,'' Gates said. ``I wish it were not necessary to make a decision like this. But I think it's a realistic appraisal of where we are.''

This is an administration that is currently holding onto an attorney general who just received a "no confidence" vote from a majority of the U.S. Senate, including six Republicans [not- Bu$hCo won that one today], and has sent that very same Alberto Gonzales to Capitol Hill to testify under these brutal conditions. So, can anyone believe they really care about a few tough questions for Peter Pace?

It's getting harder to believe that Pace's dismissal was about anything else other than the Cheney administration's agenda for war with Iran. It's been increasingly acknowledged that the Joint Chiefs, with Pace at the helm, had been a leader in steering Bush away from half-baked Iran attack schemes.

In April 2006, Seymour Hersh reported in the New Yorker:

[A] Pentagon adviser on the war on terror…confirmed that some senior officers and officials were considering resigning over the {Iran] issue. “There are very strong sentiments within the military against brandishing nuclear weapons against other countries,” the adviser told me. “This goes to high levels.” The matter may soon reach a decisive point, he said, because the Joint Chiefs had agreed to give President Bush a formal recommendation stating that they are strongly opposed to considering the nuclear option for Iran.

This March, Pace embarassed the Bush White House by knocking down an administration claim about Iranian weapons shipments into Iraq:

Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, said today he has no evidence the Iranian government has been sending military equipment and personnel into neighboring Iraq.

That came just a couple of weeks after award-winning journalist Robert Parry reported this on his Web site:

"One intelligence source told me that Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Peter Pace, has explored the possibility of resigning if Bush presses forward with air attacks against Iran..."

Now Pace doesn't have to resign... he's out, unexpectly, in a move that was announced at an hour that was guaranteed to receive as little media scrutiny as possible...

[thanks to Nicole Belle for the link]

Even though the wonks are all convinced we couldn't possibly be planning to nuke Iran, because it would make no sense, I'm with the Onion and Arianna on this.

If the DINOcrats keep devoluting into invertebrates, the Reptilicans will rule the earth. Again.