It's All About Iran: The Bombing (Probably) Starts in the Fall

Just the other day, I wrote:

Given the depths of the irrationality repeatedly demonstrated by the Bush administration, it is impossible to predict what they will do with regard to Iran, or anything else. But here is one prediction that I offer nonetheless: if, come September or early October, Bush's political advisors think it likely that the Democrats will take over the House and/or the Senate, and if they seriously fear the investigations that the Democrats might pursue, I think it very likely that an attack on Iran will occur before the election. It may be preceded by a phony international "incident" of some kind involving an attack on U.S. forces or U.S. "interests" more generally, and responsibility will quickly be laid at Iran's door. Or, it might be another terrorist attack here in the U.S. itself.

Will our servile media or any prominent politician challenge the propaganda in the atmosphere of hysteria and phony "patriotism" that will be immediately unleashed? Of course not. The Bush administration has been laying the groundwork, carefully, repeatedly, and without interruption, for almost a year, and they have been met with no significant opposition at all.

Enjoy your summer. Come the fall, the bombs and missiles may well start flying.

If for whatever particular combination of reasons the attack on Iran doesn't come before the November elections (and perhaps even as early as this summer), it will certainly come before the end of Bush's term.

Because now, it's all about Iran:

The Bush administration is lobbying to prevent Venezuela from securing an open seat on the U.N. Security Council because of concern that its leading South American rival could confound plans to step up pressure on Iran.

Under United Nations rules, Latin American governments are entitled to pick a country from the region to fill the rotating seat that comes open next year. Venezuela has been campaigning for the post.

But the Bush administration is urging Latin American countries to vote for a U.S. ally, Guatemala, instead, warning that the populist government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cannot be trusted on crucial issues such as Iran's nuclear program, given its "disruptive and irresponsible behavior" in international organizations.

Behind the scenes, U.S. officials have been applying pressure, even to close allies, Latin American diplomats say. For example, Washington has agreed to sell F-16 fighter jets to Chile, but are warning that Chilean pilots will not be trained to fly them if the government supports Venezuela's Security Council bid, the diplomats said.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top State Department officials have been taking part in lobbying efforts.

...

As those tensions [between the U.S. and Venezuela] have increased, Latin American neighbors have worked hard to avoid taking sides. The Security Council issue, however, is making that impossible.

"No one wants to choose between the United States and Venezuela, but that's what it's come down to," said a diplomat from one Western Hemisphere country, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. The Americans "have made it quite clear this is a top priority."

As I say, it's all about Iran now. The Bush administration is suffocating under the punishing weight of the catastrophic failures of its policies in every area, and it can only be saved by another major crisis, even an entirely invented one. They hope that such a crisis will serve to unite the country behind them once again, at least to the extent required to save them from the equivalent of political death.

I also repeat what I asked with regard to the impending "crisis" with Iran at the end of the earlier entry:

And isn't there even one national figure who will identify this monstrousness and lunacy for what it is? Just one person who will call this administration on its total, unmitigated bullshit? Just one?

At the moment, it would appear not. What a pitiful, pathetic, vengeful, murderous giant we have become.