Some updates on the potential for a U.S. strike against Iran:
- The U.S. has 277 warships currently deployed worldwide. Nearly half of those are presently within striking distance of Iran. Iran meanwhile has a fleet of 140 naval surface ships and 6 submarines. The Persian Gulf is getting dangerously crowded. [ www.latimes.com ]
- The Senate recently passed, by a vote of 97-0, Senator Lieberman’s Amendment to confront Iran over its alleged proxy attacks on American soldiers in Iraq. [ lieberman.senate.gov ]
- According to a recent U.S. military estimate, nearly half of all foreign fighters in Iraq come from neighboring Saudi Arabia, not Iran. An additional 25% come from Syria, Lebanon, and North Africa. [ www.latimes.com ]
I don’t know that the Bush administration will decide to strike Iran, but there are lots of indicators that they might. And if they do, it will not be to improve the situation in Iraq or to ensure American safety and security. It will be to rally American patriotic fervor behind a President who has failed in everything he’s done. They’re trying to fool you into blaming Iran for the failure in Iraq, rather than placing the blame where it belongs, on the heads of Bush, Cheney, and their cohorts. Don’t fall for it.