Joe Lieberman has an Op-ed in the Opinion Journal advocating for war with Iran:
Our objective here is deterrence. The fanatical regime in Tehran has concluded that it can use proxies to strike at us and our friends in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine without fear of retaliation. It is time to restore that fear, and to inject greater doubt into the decision-making of Iranian leaders about the risks they are now running.
I hope the new revelations about Iran’s behavior will also temper the enthusiasm of some of those in Congress who are advocating the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Iran’s purpose in sponsoring attacks on American soldiers, after all, is clear: It hopes to push the U.S. out of Iraq and Afghanistan, so that its proxies can then dominate these states. Tehran knows that an American retreat under fire would send an unmistakable message throughout the region that Iran is on the rise and America is on the run. That would be a disaster for the region and the U.S.
The threat posed by Iran to our soldiers’ lives, our security as a nation and our allies in the Middle East is a truth that cannot be wished or waved away. It must be confronted head-on. The regime in Iran is betting that our political disunity in Washington will constrain us in responding to its attacks. For the sake of our nation’s security, we must unite and prove them wrong.
I don’t know what tickles me more- the fact that Lieberman’s agitation is based solely on the words of one individual, or the fact that the right wing is already swallowing this up and gearing up the rhetoric. Captain Ed busts out the old tried and true gibberish:
In truth, the Iranians have been at war with us since 1979, a fact that Jimmy Carter ignored for 444 days and almost every President since did for the entirety of their terms. Now the Senate wants to take up the ISG’s recommendations and pass them into law, based on the notion that we can negotiate for good terms with a nation that has done nothing but attack our interests for a generation. It moves American denial from the absurd to an art form — and Lieberman seems to be the only statesman in Washington pointing out the obvious.
Got it? We have been at war with Iran for three decades, we just didn’t know it or were not MAN ENOUGH TO ADMIT IT. Fortunately, we have brave men of the blogosphere to push us towards war. This whole bullshit about us being at war with Iran is little more than a PR push towards war, and you should not be fooled.
Chad N. Freude
I’m sure glad we have friends in those countries, who are so willing to rush to our aid when we need them and so eager to support us and stand by us when we need their help.
Wilfred
He’s just pimping the Likud line, like he always does. The Israelis are getting nervous that the neocons will end their run without getting enough Americans kids killed for Israel. Al Gore should thank God he wasn’t given Florida, he wouldn’t have made it through his first year. Imagine what President Lieberman would have done.
Dreggas
Captain Ed should be extremely pissed at St. Ronald of Raygun. After all he sold weapons to a nation who was at war with us!
These people need to all have a nice big cup of shut the fuck up, hell I say we let them go over and we give them all guns, yeah it will be a bay of pigs fiasco but at least they’ll be out of our hair.
grumpy realist
Considering what the probable effect is of a war with Iran, you wonder if Lieberman has ever considered how this might boomerang on Israel’s support in the US.
He actually probably is that clueless that he thinks an obvious shilling of US into a disastrous war in the Mideast “on Israel’s behalf” won’t ever have any blowback.
Memo to Lieberman and all the other Jewish neocons: you think you’re being supported by the wacko Christianists, but you aren’t. They’ll be perfectly happy to see Israel get flattened in some nuclear cataclysm at some point in the future.
grumpy realist
And Israel is being far more pragmatic and realistic about what a US attack on Iran would mean. At present, they don’t want it. It’s the coo-coo neo-Likudniks here in the US who are the ones pushing for an attack.
scarshapedstar
We have always been at war with Iran. Iran war doubleplusgood.
Mr Furious
I like how Carter is the only guy called out by name, when I would argue he’s the only guy whose hands were actually tied.
Let’s not mention how twenty of those years were Republican Presidents and how they helped create what is now in Tehran.
Jake
Neither is the fact enough poor fools tapped the screen beside J. Lieberman during the last election.
Fixed.
I swear, if they ever re-instate the draft every left-leaning blog would become a RedState Freeper Refugee Camp.
Zifnab
Cream? Sugar?
Yes, it is curious that we’ve been at War with Iran for three decades and yet our Presidents – Carter, Clinton, other guys – never once mentioned this fact in their State of the Union addresses. Stranger still that Clinton spent all his time bombing Iraq, when the real enemy was right next door. And what’s with all those rising oil prices? Something tells me the fix is in, and the real culprit is a certain tie-less tyrant of Tehran.
RSA
Three decades, hell. We’ve been at war with Iran since 1953, when the CIA helped overthrow their government. Captain Ed and company just want to go back for seconds.
cleek
so when Cheney was arguing in 1996 that we should lift the sanctions on Iran, he was working to subvert the war effort ? awesome, when do we hang him ?
Ed’s a fucking retard
Dreggas
Yeah, no shit. Was watching a program on the history of what is now Iran and how it got that way. I mean we all know history has a liberal bias so it’s not suprising that it was our actions that led to the rise of the mullah’s.
croatoan
the real enemy was right next door
Right next door and only one letter different, so you can understand the confusion. In fact, the bombings and invasion and occupation were supposed to be of Iran all along, we just got lost along the way.
carpeicthus
I keep hearing people whose opinion I generally respect say that Captain Ed is not an idiot. I don’t get it.
Rome Again
Yes, we’ve always been at war with
drugs (Persian rugs to be exact).Wilfred
I keep hearing people whose opinion I generally respect say that Captain Ed is not an idiot. I don’t get it.
Well, sometimes he’s not, maybe. This time he is. in fact, he mostly is, except when he isn’t. Generally, I don’t respect anyone, and I never respect Captain Ed, who is an idiot. Does that help?
ThymeZone
I repeat, if they start a war with Iran, I’m marching on Washington, and I hope to have a couple hundred thousand friends with me.
Enough of this is enough.
Dreggas
I new we shouldn’t have taken that left turn at albuquerque.
Dreggas
Ditto.
Teak111
Doubt we will actually attack Iran, but those four mega bases in the Iraqi dessert speak of aggressive containment policy if you ask me. Attacks are exactly what the Iranian crazies want. When security is an issue, people get very conservative, see 911. I’m really beginnning to hate religion.
caustics
I can only guess that Lieberman was under the impression that since his immortal soul was already fucked, why not come out ahead on the deal. In for a penny, in for a pound as they say.
One can only imagine what Ol’ Scratch (Cheney) promised him.
Aaron
And lets remember those evil traitorous sons of bitches who dealt with Iran:
Major traitor Ronald Reagan- sold advanced american weapons technology-TOW missiles to the evil Iranians.
and traitor Dick Cheney who’s company, Halliburton was having commercial dealings with Iran as late as 1999.
God damned traitorous republican sons of bitches.
Zifnab
Fixed, for hotness.
Dreggas
yes fuck her gently.
HyperIon
mosey over to WaPo and check out their PostGlobal & On Faith (?) column by good old Chuck Colson where he wrote:
because those are CULTS.
the moron does not even know what a deist believes.
i came away thinking that there should be no chaplains of any type in the military.
Dreggas
Come say that to my face and I will gladly stick my pagan foot up his sorry ass.
rachel
Armageddon is 2000 years late by their reckoning and they’re getting impatient.
jake
I tried to make myself read that but the first sentence sounded like it was written by some snotty 12 year old at Bible Camp.
Sure. “I think we should bring back slavery, but lest this sound discriminatory, I would note our founding fathers also owned slaves…”
WTF is up at the Post? Different opinions are one thing, but this shit doesn’t even make sense. Sometimes I think they get a bit too cocky because the only other game in town is the Washington Times.
Zifnab
Death is scary. If I’m going to pay a man to walk through IED infested, sniper-ridden streets 5000 miles away from home so I can pay less than $3/gallon for gas, he can have his superstitions. A cup full of holy water and an “Our Father” is a small price to pay for getting a guy to catch a bullet in his teeth for my benefit.
That said, if the same guy asks me to do whatever wiccan thing people expect when they die, I can’t reasonably begrudge him that either. Still, chaplains are as often as not the only psychological/emotional therapy-esque person the active duty soldier is liable to meet. Chaplains serve a very important purpose in the armed forces, even if its not the purpose they were originally envisioned for.
merlallen
Somebody needs to dig up Reagan and try his corpse for treason if we’ve been at war with Iran since 1979.
And his administration, including Poopy Bush need to be tried also.
One other thing, when are Lieberman’s kids going to enlist to fight this war?
I’d ask him but he won’t accept emails from out of state anymore. Maybe because I used to call him on his bullshit almost daily.
RSA
The only thing saving those Colson pieces is his bio, which includes this line:
Not that I judge a book by its cover, but it’s nice to see that such sanctimonious drivel has an appropriate wrapping.
Chad N. Freude
Doesn’t have to be nuclear, fire raining down from Heaven will do, or “Knock, Knock!” “Who’s there?” “Angel of Death,” at every door. The only real requirement is that all the Jews of the world assemble in Israel, kind of like a fire drill on the quad outside the dorm.
IanY77
Merlallen: can’t we go one blog post without digging up a corpse? /Quimby
Seriously, I’m surprised that Ed brought that little talking point up. Most people thought it was dead after it was pointed out that Michael Ledeen and Oliver North would have to be executed if we were at war with Iran since 1979. Although, I might consider that a fair trade.
/I’m going to hell for that last line, aren’t I?
bernarda
as some earlier posters imply, Lieberman is an Israel-firster. His first loyalty is to Israel. His Likudnik “friends” wanted his support for the attack on Iraq and now they want it for an attack on Iran. He doesn’t care how many Americans die as long as he thinks it will benefit Israel. Home is where the heart is.
r€nato
So, since Reagan and Bush I sold arms to Iran in the 80s…
…that means they were arming our enemy at war with us…
…which would make them…
…someone help me here, it starts with a ‘T’ and ends with the death penalty…