Despite the fact the United States and Iranian governments have recently engaged in the first diplomatic talks with each other in almost three decades, Senator Joe Lieberman joins Vice President Richard “Dick” Cheney in calling for military attacks against Iranian targets. This serves to clearly demonstrate exactly why neither man belongs in a leadership position of any sort in our Government despite the fact that one of them currently presides over the U.S. Senate while the other one came dangerously close in the 2000 race for the Oval Office. The word “irresponsible” comes immediately to mind…
From CBSNews:
Lieberman: Bomb Iran If It Doesn’t Stop
Conn. Senator Says The U.S. Should Strike If Tehran Keeps Helping Anti-U.S. Forces In Iraq(CBS) The United States should launch military strikes against Iran if the government in Tehran does not stop supplying anti-American forces in Iraq, Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday on Face The Nation.
“I think we’ve got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq,” Lieberman told Bob Schieffer. “And to me, that would include a strike into… over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers.” …”
So, we must ask if Ole’ Joe is right; if Iran is, indeed, supplying weapons to our enemies in Iraq, or if he and his neocon brothers are ignoring some other important sides of the story much like they did when they all banged the drums of war against Saddam Hussein for his non-existant WMD’s. I suppose it COULD depend a bit upon where one gets one’s “news” and “evidence”…
For example, let’s take a look at a snippet from a recent report from a Lebanese news source, Monday Morning, for another side of the story:
“The United States and Iran traded accusations last week over the bloodshed in Iraq during the first high-level direct official talks between the arch-foes in 27 years.
Ryan Crocker, US ambassador to Iraq, accused Iran of fomenting unrest in the country by funnelling weapons and training to extremist militias, and called on Teheran to live up to its promises to support stability.
His Iranian counterpart, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, however, accused the US military of not doing enough to arm Iraqi government forces and said the Islamic republic was prepared to step in and do this itself.
The first such encounter since the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1980 lasted four hours, and afterwards Iran’s envoy sounded keener on holding further talks than his US counterpart.
Crocker said he had insisted that Iran must back up its stated support for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s beleaguered government by halting its backing for armed factions fighting in Iraq.
“The purpose of our efforts in this meeting was not to build a legal case; presumably the Iranians know what they were doing. Our point was simply to say what we know as well; this is dangerous for Iraq”.
The Iranians proposed creating a trilateral security commission involving Iraqis and US representatives — a suggestion the ambassador appeared to dismiss.
“What we are doing today effectively was a security committee because on the level of policy there isn’t a great deal to argue about”, he said.
Crocker said the Iranians did not address specific American complaints, but instead criticized the American occupation as a whole and complained that US efforts to train Iraqi security forces were inadequate.
Kazemi Qomi described the meeting as positive but blamed the violence in Iraq on the American military presence. He also offered to arm the Iraqi government.
“The Iraqi government is in need of strong military and security structure to confront its security problems and we have offered all forms of assistance such as weapons, training and equipment”, he told reporters. …” [emphasis, mine]
Hmm… why isn’t the so-called “left-wing Mainstream Media” reporting these developments? Why must one turn to a Middle Eastern publication (of a U.S. ally, by the way) to learn that the Iranian GOVERNMENT, who has been constantly accused by the neoconservatives in our country of arming the “bad guys” in Iraq moaning and complaining about the inability of the United States to adequately supply the Iraqi government with proper weaponry to fight their resistance?
Here we have Iran telling the United States, in effect:
“Either you guys arm the Iraqis properly to defeat the “bad guys”, or WE WILL”
And here we have the U.S. neocon leadership saying:
“Iran’s arming the “bad guys” and if they don’t stop it, we should conduct military strikes against their country”
See the dilemma we face here? The so-called “left-wing MSM” is supposedly, portraying a slightly-raised eyebrow while amplifying the talking points of neocon leaders in our country while failing to convey what SHOULD HAVE been the “huge breaking news” of Iranian government leaders calling out for the U.S. to start doing more — a LOT more — to stomp out the resistance in Iraq.
Is it too much to ask for the WHOLE truth to be laid out upon the table this time, so as to better avert another military disaster in the Middle East?
Folks, this is why we have blogs, and this is why the MSM is going down HARD, and deservedly SO. With another disasterous war comes “sales”, which might explain why they seem to be largely in favor of a huge escalation of death and violence in the region. Why are blogs having so much success? Perhaps, it is because these are the places Citizens must now turn to read the truth; both sides of a SERIOUS, VERY IMPORTANT story nowadays. Fine; we thank the MSM for sending us 50,000-PLUS of their monthly readership (and growing, thank you very much again).
“Left-wing”, my BUTT. Shame on the MSM and shame on the neoconservative jackasses in Washington for seeking war over peace in the name of “Increased MSM Sales”, “Big Oil”, “Nation Building”, and FORCED “Western-Style Democracy”.
Other reactions to Senator Lieberman’s irresponsible behavior in this matter (hand-picked, in part, from MemeOrandum’s blogger roundup): The Moderate Voice; The Reaction; Think Progress; Talking Points Memo; Democratic Underground (Adult language warning); Crooks and Liars; The Newshoggers
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Thanks to RealClearPolitics for including this article in their Real Clear Blogs – Monday Morning Edition feature -
Thank you to our friend and co-blogger Ron Beasley of The Middle Earth Journal for quoting this article -
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4:37 pm on June 10th, 2007 1
The criminally insane…
Well there can be very little doubt now that Joe Lieberman has joined the ranks of the criminally insane neocons, likudniks and Cheneyites….
6:52 pm on June 10th, 2007 2
The hypocracy of these times is in need of change. I am sincerely sorry the democrats have not yet recognized their place in history, and that republicans cling to a sinking ship looking for nascient words from a captain who is insane.
9:25 pm on June 10th, 2007 3
Nearing the end of an eight-day trip, Bush got a hero’s reception in this desperately poor country, still struggling to recover from being cut off from the rest of the world for four decades under the harsh rule of dictator Enver Hoxha. Hoxha died in 1985, and Albania emerged from isolation in 1990 but still is one of Europe’s most impoverished lands.
Cannons boomed salutes from mountains overlooking the capital. Huge banners proclaimed “Proud to be Partners,” and billboards read “President Bush in Albania Making History.”
At home, Bush’s job approval rating stands at its all-time low. But here, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said Bush was Albania’s “greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times.”
Throngs of people grasped Bush’s hands, arms and fingers on the streets of Fushe Kruje, a small town near the airport where he stopped to chat in a cafe with business owners. Unused to such adoring crowds in America, Bush reveled in the attention. He kissed women on the cheek, posed for pictures and signed autographs. Someone reached out and rubbed his gray hair.
“Bushie, Bushie,” people shouted. Some of the business people have received small loans under U.S. government programs.
The scene was uncharacteristically wild for a presidential crowd. Bush spokesman Dana Perino said later that the
Secret Service assured Bush’s safety, as always. “If they didn’t think the president was safe, obviously they wouldn’t have put him in that position,” she said.
While the United States supports Albania’s bid for membership in
NATO, Bush said this country still has to make more political and military reforms and crack down on corruption and organized crime.
“We are determined to take any decision, pass any law and undertake any reform to make Albania appropriate to receive the invitation” to join the western military alliance, Berisha said at a news conference with Bush.
Albania has eagerly embraced democracy and idolizes the United States. Three stamps have been issued featuring Bush’s picture and the Statue of Liberty, and the street in front of parliament has been renamed in his honor.
The president spent just eight hours here and then flew to Bulgaria, another Cold War Soviet ally turned pro-American. The two stops gave an upbeat ending to Bush’s six-country trip after big protests earlier in Rome and at the summit of industrialized nations in Heiligendamm, Germany.
Kosovo has been run by the
United Nations and NATO since 1999, when Serbian leader
Slobodan Milosevic’s forces were ousted after a NATO air war ended his crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo’s population.
The
U.N. Security Council has been divided over Kosovo’s independence. The United States and key European countries support Kosovo’s statehood while Russia, traditionally a Serbian ally, opposes it. Moscow says it would set a dangerous precedent for other breakaway regions.
Bush said diplomats from the United States, Russia and
European Union will try to find common ground on a formula for independence.
“But if it’s apparent that that’s not going to happen in a relatively quick period of time, in my judgment, we need to put forward the (U.N.) resolution,” Bush said. “Hence, deadline.” He did not specify a date.
Negotiations must result in “certain independence,” Bush said. “That’s what’s important to know.”
Bush said the summit in Heiligendamm had tried to determine whether there was a way to make Kosovo independence acceptable to Russia. French President Nicolas Sarkozy unexpectedly called for a delay on the issue, and the summit failed to reach agreement.
Bush urged Albania to help maintain peace and calm in Kosovo as the independence talks move forward.
Predominantly Muslim, Albania has 140 troops in
Afghanistan and about 120 troops in
Iraq — a presence that President Alfred Moisiu says will not end as long as the Americans are engaged there. Bush met here with some of the troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Albanians know the horror of tyranny,” the president said. “And so they’re working to bring the hope of freedom to people who haven’t known it. And that’s a noble effort and a sacrifice.”
In saluting Albania’s democracy, Bush praised it as a country that has “cast off the shackles of a very oppressive society and is now showing the world what’s possible.”
During his visit, the president had lunch with the prime ministers of Albania, Macedonia and Croatia, which hope to join NATO.
1:33 am on June 14th, 2007 4
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