Making the Case for War with Iran?

From the early days of the Iraq (war?) I had seen t-shirts that jokingly stated that the US should get out of Iraq, and into Iran – a play on the peace activist’s request to abandon the military actions of the region. For many years during the Bush administration, and now as we well into Obama’s second year, the US Government seems to be building a case that would appease the witty t-shirt designers.

From nuclear development to supporting insurgents in Iraq, Iran has been in the crosshairs of the United States for some time. I recall the Strait of Hormuz incident in which Iranian speed boats were ‘harassing’ the US war ships, an incident which incited saber rattling by the pro-war groups while equally evoking memories of the ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ from the anti-war league. It seems that ne’er a day goes by in which I, as a citizen of the US, am not being pressed by my government to believe that ‘I want to go to war with Iran’.

This week's leading story, just under the BP oil FUBAR in the Gulf of Mexico, has been that Osama Bin Laden is living the high life just north of Tehran – enjoying falconeering, high lifestyle, and surrounded by his wives and children. Even the President of Iran was asked the question, to which he responded ‘I don’t know – hey, he could be in D.C., too’.

If I am following the carrot stick correctly, the entire purpose for Obama to surge in Afghanistan, bring a drone war to Pakistan, and leave Iraq was to bring the fight to Osama Bin Laden and destroy his Al Qaeda network of terror from the top down.

If it is found that Bin Laden is not in Pakistan, rather, in Iran, doesn’t that give Obama the same authority to enter THAT country in the name of justice, the same way that he entered into Pakistan? And doesn’t this provide a convincing final piece to the puzzle for building a case for war against Iran?

I am finding myself compelled to join forces with the anti-war crowd, calling for an end to this perpetual Orweillian war in which the war remains the same, but our enemies and allies mysteriously change on any given day. I must ask the question regarding our role as the 'world police' and if there is any correlation to us being THE world target... increasing the likelihood that our soldiers become targets within the countries that we currently occupy (which STILL include Germany and Japan from WWII). I am at a point where I have to stop the propaganda, and raise some serious questions about when and how these continuous wars will ever end.

Sadly enough a brief look at the history of the United States shows a country continuously at war since before its inception. From fighting the native tribes for conquest of their lands and resources, to the invasion of foreign countries in an imperial effort, the United States has known no time of peace – and it is most certain that the United States has no intention of ending nearly 250 years of aggression – even against her own people. (Has anyone seen the stories on the Pennsylvania ‘we will find you’ television tax ads?)


In closing, when one citizen unplugs from the propaganda bombardment long enough to piece the true history of this nation together and recognizes the habitual pattern, it is little wonder why there is a rising disdain for our nation both from outside sources and from within. With this in mind, I have to raise the red flag on the perpetual war drums from DC, the continued case for war against Iran, and the lengths that the US is going to convince me that ‘war is peace’, and that my ‘ignorance’ is the US’ ‘strength’…