Do we have the courage to stop a war with Iran?

I’ve started blogging in mid-January. Starting on January 23rd, I’ve been posting about the issue of whether or not Bush is going to attack Iran here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

I’m convinced that we’ve gone from the possibility to a probability to the likelihood that Bush will launch at attack on Iran. If it’s now more likely than not, what do we citizens do?

This past Labor Day weekend, Ray McGovern, who served 27 years as an analyst for the CIA, wrote Do We Have the Courage to Stop War with Iran?: “I fear our country is likely to be at war with Iran-and with the thousands of real terrorists Iran can field around the globe.

“It is going to happen, folks, unless we put our lawn chairs away on Tuesday, take part in some serious grass-roots organizing, and take action to prevent a wider war-while we still can.”

Ray McGovern has been actively working for impeachment of Bush and Cheney for months. He, Elizabeth de la Vega, author of United States v. George W. Bush, et al., and David Lindorff, co-author of The Case of Impeachment - The Legal Argument for Removing George W. Bush from Office, appeared on an impeachment panel last February in Olympia, Washington.

All three of these proponents for impeachment see the risk of an attack on Iran if Bush and Cheney aren’t impeached.

Here’s Elizabeth, speaking last January in Santa Rosa. California:

And here’s David Lindorff’s latest post at Smirking Chimp, Beware the Wounded Beast: Bush Has Lost the Iraq War: “Numerous reports, including most credibly one in The Times in London (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.), suggest that a plan has already been laid out for a three-day massive bombardment on over 1200 targets in Iran, which would attempt to destroy not just that country’s nascent nuclear processing capability, but also its government, communications, and military facilities, essentially leaving the country of 70 million a smoking ruin.

“Such an attack, with no international support, no UN sanction, no threat, imminent or otherwise, and no provocation, would be, pure and simple, a war crime of the first order. It would also put the US at war, not just with Iran, but also with virtually the entire Islamic world.”

So what do we citizens do? We support impeachment. I’ve been urging readers whose Congressional representatives haven’t signed on to House Resolution 333 to call them and ask them why they aren’t supporting the impeachment of Vice President Richard Cheney, who appears to be the driving force behind the plan to attack Iran. Go to Congress.org to find out who represents you.

Also, you can go to StopWaronIran and sign a petition which will be sent directly to the White House, selected members of Congress, and the media. It may take a little courage to send your contact information to the White House, but we all need to draw on all the courage we possess during these perilous times.

(cartoon: Tom Toles for the Washington Post, published on July 26, 2007)

George, George, why did you wait so long?

Yesterday’s post, Condi, Condi, how could you?, covered the White House’s response to George Tenet’s accusation that Bush planned to attack Iraq well before 9/11. There doesn’t appear to be any doubt that even before Bush became president, he wanted to take out Saddam Hussein. Tenet gets a “plus” for telling the truth on this issue.

However, I can’t let former CIA director George Tenet off the hook because in his new book, At the Center of the Storm, Tenet accuses the White House of trying to shift blame to the CIA by falsely asserting that he told President Bush finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq would be a "slam dunk."

It’s pretty amazing to watch George Tenet try to wiggle out his “slam dunk” comment to President Bush. It is definitely the height of hypocrisy, resulting in a big “minus” for George that outweighs his plus.

On April 28, six former CIA officials, including top terrorism experts, sent a letter to Tenet, accusing him of hypocrisy for not speaking out earlier. The letter opens with “…You are on record complaining about the ‘damage to your reputation.’ In our view the damage to your reputation is inconsequential compared to the harm your actions have caused for the U.S. soldiers engaged in combat in Iraq and the national security of the U.S.”

The rest of the letter is a humdinger: “By your silence you helped build the case for war…Instead of resigning in protest…you…allowed the Bush Administration to cite your participation in these deliberations to justify their decision to go to war.” The last paragraph makes an unusual request: “…we encourage you to donate at least half of the royalties from your book sales to the verterans and their families, who have paid and are paying the price for when you could have made a difference.”

One of the letter’s signers is former CIA official, Ray McGovern. He was interviewed on Democracy Now! by Amy Goodman Tuesday morning. You can watch a short clip of his interview here or a longer clip here, which also includes a transcript of the interview. McGovern describes what Tenet said he meant when he used the words “slam dunk.” I think you’ll agree that Tenet’s flim-flam excuse is worse than the truth.

(photo of George Tenet receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom – NoQuarter.com)