-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: September 2, 2007 7:19:14 PM PDT
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],
[EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Latest in the Countdown to War with Iran
Will President Bush bomb Iran?
The Telegraph (UK), September 2, 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/02/
wiran102.xml&page=1
Mr Bush's escalation of the rhetoric was deliberate. A former White
House aide said that the reference to a "nuclear holocaust" was a
precisely worded attempt to [conflate] Ahmadinejad's stated desire
to wipe Israel off the map with Hitler's destruction of the Jews.
"By using the word 'Holocaust', Mr Bush has provided a moral cover
for the Jewish state to do what it needs to do," said the former aide.
"He is invoking the notion of 'never again'. If you believe there
could be another Holocaust, it becomes morally indefensible to
stand back. It is a powerful and loaded term. The people who
believed that the neo-cons have gone away and shrunk under a rock
had better wise up fast."
...
In a nondescript room, two blocks from the American Capitol
building, a group of Bush administration staffers is gathered to
consider the gravest threat their government has faced this
century: the testing of a nuclear weapon by Iran.
The United States, no longer prepared to tolerate the risk that
Iranian nuclear weapons will be used against Israel --or passed to
terrorists-- has already launched a bombing campaign to destroy
known Iranian nuclear sites, air bases and air defence sites. Iran
has retaliated by cutting off oil to America and its allies,
blockading the Straits of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf bottleneck, and
sanctioned an uprising by Shia militias in southern Iraq that has
shut down 60 per cent of Iraq's oil exports.
The job of the officials from the Pentagon, the State Department,
and the Departments of Homeland Security and Energy, who have
gathered in an office just off Massachusetts Avenue, behind the
rail terminus, Union Station, is to prevent a spike in oil prices
that will pitch the world's economy into a catastrophic spin.
The good news is that this was a war game The less happy news, for
those who fear war with Iran, is that the officials participating
in the game were the same officials who would be doing the same
thing if the event were REAL.
The simulation, which took four months, was run by the Heritage
Foundation, a conservative think tank with close links to the White
House. Its conclusions, drawn up last month and seen by The Sunday
Telegraph, have been passed on to military and civilian planners
charged with drawing up plans for confronting Iran.
---------------------
"We Are Going To Hit Iran. Bigtime"
CAVEAT LECTOR
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/1/183018/1527 <LINK
PULLED: See below>
I have a friend who is an LSO on a carrier attack group that is
planning and staging a strike group deployment into the Gulf of
Hormuz. (LSO: Landing Signal Officer- she directs carrier aircraft
while landing) She told me we are going to attack Iran. She said
that all the Air Operation Planning and Asset Tasking are finished.
That means that all the targets have been chosen, prioritized, and
tasked to specific aircraft, bases, carriers, missile cruisers and
so forth.
I asked her about the attack, how limited and so forth.
"I don’t think it’s limited at all. We are shipping in and
assigning every damn Tomahawk we have in inventory. I think this is
going to be massive and sudden, like thousands of targets. I
believe that no American will know WHEN it happens until AFTER it
happens. And whatever the consequences -- whatever the
consequences, they will have to be lived with. I am sure if my
father knew I was telling someone in a news organization that we
were about to launch a supposedly secret attack that it would be
treason. But something inside me tells me to tell it anyway."
I asked her why she was suddenly so cynical.
"I have become cynical only recently. I also don’t believe anyone
will be able to stop this. Bush has become something of an
Emperor. He will give the command, and cruise missiles will fly
and aircraft will fly and people will die, and yet few of us here
are really able to cobble together a great explanation of why this
is a good idea."
She had to hang up. She left by telling me that she believes the
attack is a done deal.
"It’s only a matter of time before their orders come and they will
be sent to station and told to go to Red Alert."
Why I am skeptical we are attacking Iran [UPDATED]
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/2/194714/9801
by DemMarineVet
Sun Sep 02, 2007 at 04:47:14 PM PDT
Maccabee's diary written yesterday talks about an impending attack
on Iran. While I do worry about what this administration is
capable of, while reading his diary I became very skeptical about
his claims.
I've spent four years in the Marine Corps as a machinegunner, some
of which was on ship. I have a lot of friends who are in the
navy. In addition military history, military tactics, and military
equipment (especially our carriers) greatly interests me.
Why I am skeptical around the turn.
From Maccabee's diary: (emphasis from me)
"She started in the Marines and after 8 years her term was up. She
had served on a smaller Marine carrier, and found out through a
friend knew there was an opening for a junior grade LSO in a
training position on a supercarrier. She used the reference and the
information and applied for a transfer to the United States Navy.
Since she had experience landing F-18Cs and Cobra Gunships, and an
unblemished combat record, she was ratcheted into the job,
successfully changing from the Marines to the Navy. Her role is
still aligned with the Marines since she generally is assigned to
liason with the Marine units deploying off her carrier group.
First off, the Marine Corps has no carriers. Our airwings which
have F-18s do deploy off of United States Navy Carriers. We also
deploy off of "smaller Marine carriers," however that label is
incorrect. Those ships are amphibious ships. There are LHAs and
LHDs which have flat decks and resemble carriers, however they are
still navy ships which marines simply deploy off of.
Secondly, the Marine Corps does not launch F-18s off of LHDs or
LHAs. We only launch AV-8B Harrier jumpjets, Cobra Gunship
Helicopters, CH-46 Cargo Helicopters, and CH-53 Cargo Helicopters.
The characteristic these platforms all have in common is that they
take off vertically. All the F-18 variants need the steam
catapults off the super carriers. So there is no way Maccabee's
friend has experience launching F-18s from "smaller Marine carriers."
Another quote:
"I don’t think it’s limited at all. We are shipping in and
assigning every damn Tomahawk we have in inventory. I think this is
going to be massive and sudden, like thousands of targets. I
believe that no American will know when it happens until after it
happens. And whatever the consequences, whatever the consequences,
they will have to be lived with. I am sure if my father knew I was
telling someone in a news organization that we were about to launch
a supposedly secret attack that it would be treason. But something
inside me tells me to tell it anyway."
This sort of information does not leave the VERY secure
environment of the Combat Information Center onboard of any ship.
It is assigned on an extremely need to know basis. The guy working
on the engines doesn't need to know where the Tomahawks are going.
The woman landing and sending off airplanes doesn't even need to
know where that airplane is going. Let alone where the Tomahawks
are going on different ships in a carrier battle group. When I was
on a couple of Navy Ships as a grunt I tried really hard just to
see inside one of these combat information centers on our ship (the
ships only purpose was carrying us around for amphibious missions),
but they would never ever let me.
Also from Maccabee's diary:
She had to hang up. She left by telling me that she believes the
attack is a done deal. "It’s only a matter of time before their
orders come and they will be sent to station and told to go to Red
Alert. She said they were already practicing trapsFARP and FAST."
Trapping is the act of catching the tension wires when landing on
the carrier, FARP is Fleet Air Combat Maneuvering Readiness
Program- practice dogfighting- and FAST is Fleet Air Superiority
Training).
This one I am not completely sure about. The Marine Corps
practices TRAP missions. I do not know if the Navy has a different
abbreviation for it, but TRAP is Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and
Personnel). I think being on a carrier this would be a widely
practiced mission. (The Navy has its own rescue helos as well). I
do not know for sure if they have a different usage of this, but it
makes me skeptical because TRAP is a widely practiced mission
across the military.
All of this being said I still don't trust President Cheney and we
do need to be diligent about making sure they do not try to widen
the AUMF given for Iraq in order to attack Iran (we should be
repealing it but thats a different story).
So please everyone calm down and lets not lose our minds. (I
know... Its hard with Bush in office)
Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com.
www.ctrl.org
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/
<A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
