Pacific Views

You should know that the poster on Kos that the Boorman Report links to seems to have quite the reputation as a storyteller. Kos even comments on it. I am not saying the idiots in the White House are not capable of something, nor that other more reliable sources have come out with Iran attack concerns, but the Kos diary appears to be a less than credible diarist.

I did see that, but BooTrib quotes first from the Times of London. We've also been hearing from a lot of sources over the years that they want to, and I suspect that if the Iraq war had been going any better, they'd have been at it already.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I completely agree that the Bushies are capable of attacking Iran, most likely hitting key sites with air power. I also agree that had Iraq gone even remotely well, we would have left that country the same way, and with the same result, that we left Afghanistan, so that we could move on to Iran.

Nothing about any kind of attack on Iran would surprise me. Sadly, or is it pathetically, when one thinks of the most dangerous governments in the world, a list must include North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, and ... the United States.

The horses are already out of the barn on this situation, but it should not have required a bit of thought to consider this Labor Day long weekend as an optimal time for getting parents of families to come to Washington DC. The 15th is a lousy time, by comparison, for turnout, if you want to get typically non-political people who, however, have a strong desire to make their opinion against the war known visibly.

But then, frankly, we could bring ten million people to this demonstration and it would still be ignored by this administration and minimized by the media. Further, if a sufficient level of violence takes place, or is perceived by the media to take place, the Bush administration will simply use that as a pretext to ratchet down on our remaining freedoms that much more severely.

And yet we have to make it clear that a majority of American citizens are against the existing war in Iraq and the desired war in Iran.

I think Scott Ritter has a point when he says that most Americans prefer being American consumers over being American citizens. So I think that’s where we show our displeasure first.

I think we need to declare “war through consumption”. I think we need to ask those who are against the war in Iraq and the planned war in Iran to minimize their purchase of all goods and services to only those they absolutely need for the duration, as a sign pf protest. No lattes, no weekly trips to Target, and especially minimize your use of gas. For me, that means walking to and from work, minimizing use of the car to groceries (and a two-week slot where I have to transport my daughter to and from a temporary site for swim team practice that doesn’t have bus service readily available), minimizing groceries such that “treats” are off the menu for the duration, and reviewing all other purchase activity to remove “frills”. It’s a decentralized activity, yet its effects can be both measured and noticed over time, and with the right set of messages to promote it, it’s an easy way for the folks who won’t put themselves in the line of fire to do something useful. (For those that have the cash and are willing to do it, selecting a specific day for us to collectively sell off, say, a minimum of $10K each in our present investments or to transfer them into money market funds or other “safe” options, simultaneously, would also give some of the folks that fuel this administration pause.)

I think we need to go to our Congressional representatives in force, especially those of Democrats who don’t seem to comprehend why they were elected into office in 2006, and we need to get them to sign whatever we consider a straightforward, standardized, valid argument that they will no longer fund or support further action in Iraq or any new military action within Iran. It’s already becoming painfully obvious that the outrageous $50 billion US that the Bush Administration wants tacked on to the existing budget for Iraq is actually a $200 billion offer, and that some of that money may go towards war with Iran. Any Republican and any Democrat that won’t sign off on such a statement will be challenged in the 2008 primaries, if a recall petition campaign cannot take place immediately. I also think we need to get the DNC to immediately also make a vocal stand against the current and potential military situation, and make it clear through our donations to them that we will only give money to those willing to support the statement, and no one else.

These are just off the cuff ideas – I don’t pretend to have a guaranteed way to resolve this horror show of a situation for the better. But the usual ways of shutting down deplorable actions by those in power don’t apply to an administration that has no sense of shame, and I think we’d better start coming up with ones that they can’t respond to with ever more force.

Sept. 15 is the day they'll be doing the dog-and-pony show with the report. And it's Labor Day weekend in DC, the last weekend of the congressional recess. There's no one here watching from among our Very Important People, except a few staffers who deeply regret not having gotten out of town but are partying hard to make up for the indignity.

I hear you on the feasibility of travel for a lot of people, but keeping old style bankers' hours would be a step down for congressional sessions. (I know that they then go back to their districts and do other things the rest of the time, it's just that if you want to catch them in DC, it isn't exactly convenient.)

Other random comments - If we attack Iran from the air at the beginning, this isn't going to negate the need for engagement on the ground at some point. The Bush administration is all down with the smashing, but I feel fairly certain that they'll also want to get on with the grabbing part.

And whatever citizen actions are taken, don't expect the DNC to be part of them. They're not a policy setting organization, they're an electioneering organization. Don't think for a minute that Dean is going to break out on his own from his platform there. Not. Going. To. Happen.

I don't expect coordination with the DNC, but by our making it clear that we will only give money to those that make clear, succinct and firm statements regarding the wars in Iraq and perhaps Iran, we have a much better shot at effective reaction to the situation within the Democratic Party as a whole.

A statement made by Howard Dean on January 10th of this year:

"By choosing to escalate the crisis in Iraq, President Bush continues to ignore the lessons of history, ignore the advice of military experts, ignore the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group and the will of the American people. The President's plan will not make America more secure. It puts more American troops in the middle of a civil war and a situation reminiscent of Vietnam. Democrats in Congress have made it clear that they fully support our brave troops in combat, but will also hold the President accountable for a new direction in Iraq that turns the country over to the Iraqis and allows for our troops to come home. Our troops have already sacrificed enough for the President's mistakes."

So yes, he can make such statements regarding a possible war in Iran and the futility of it.

Any air attack on Iran will result in at least one downed pilot - they have very thick, if occasionally old-fashioned, air defense systems in place at key military installations where nuclear weapons development might be taking place. That pilot or multiple air crew members will be used as an excuse to send in standard military personnel into Iran itself, perferably in parts where they think ethnic division can take place. The Bush Administration wants that option, and the excuse for it, to be on the table, to be used as needed.

Furthermore, if reports about Special Forces units in southwest Iran are already true (militarily supporting separatists in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province, allegedly, which could inconveniently and inadvertently fund similar efforts for Balochi rebels in adjacent Pakistan), there's already a thought process within the Bush administration that ground troops can and are in use, just not for the usual sort of fighting we are used to. The sad thing about this is that we may try to foment rebellion, and instead get ethnic warfare within Iran and more adamant anti-American reactions by the majority Persian-Azerbijani population that makes up the majority of the country.

I guess what I would ask you Natasha, is that for those of us who don't have the ability to wing off to DC on the 15th, what kind of demonstration or action of any sort would result in an effective way of being both noticed and approved of by at least a large segment of our local community? Because while a majority of people hate the war in Iraq and hate this administration, I dunno what you do over a given day to flip them from angry and/or despondent to angry, despondent and acting out.

And that's why I'm throwing out the decentralized, longer-term actions I describe above.

hoping that the Army's well being won't have to be sacrificed to the war effort. Not because he realizes that the only way to prevent that is to get out

But that's not the only way, natasha.

After we're in a conventional war with Iran, BushCo will feel perfectly justified in recreating the military draft. After all, it'll be a national emergency, right?

My son is just seventeen years old. I'm starting to look for ways to get him out of the country.

palamedes - There's nothing to do except show up somewhere and say your peace, by your presence, possibly supplemented by a sign. Or just talk to someone who's on the fence.

If you're looking for some radical new thing to try, I can't help. I'm sorry. I know you, so I know you're already working to elect more and better Democrats. I know you already canvas and volunteer and talk to people. I have to say, other than that, I don't know what else to tell you to do.

Just consider that sometimes all someone needs to go from quietly simmering to taking action is to know that other people are on their side. Maybe a little demonstration out front of a grocery store parking lot in Redmond is exactly the thing that needs to happen out your way. If you reach even one other person and convince them that it would make a difference if they spoke up, too, that might be worth it.

joel - I laugh only out of bitterness. There are disturbing things happening in the world right now, or at least, plenty of disturbed people with their hands on all the wrong buttons. I can only encourage you not to let yourself be consumed and constrained by worry.

natasha - I hope I'm not consumed, but merely highly motivated. I guess we'll see.

But my concern here is informed by experience: I was one of the last men drafted for Viet Nam. In the event, the war ended before I got out of advanced training, but the draft is not an abstraction to me.