Everything Old is New Again:

Our generation's Gulf of Tonkin is about to drag us further into

endless war

by Daniel Patrick Welch

Synopsis--US writer Daniel Patrick Welch reports on the war fever now

being whipped up for an attack on Iran, and fears unimaginable

consequences if the war is not stopped--if it is not already too late.

I'm putting my mother into bed and the high-pitched urgency of

MSNBC's 'this just in' crisis reporting cuts through evening calm.

Same on CNN, and I don't even bother to check the other channels.

Iran, we are being told, is to blame for the Kerbala attack. We have

always been at war with Eastasia. I can't believe it is happening so

neatly, so on cue and so cutely bundled in such a familiar package.

There is absolutely nothing credible about anything that comes out of

Iraq either through the administration or the mainstream press. War-

weary Americans, who spoke loudly and clearly about the question of

more war, are known suckers for official lies. In the aftermath of the

Cold War, two long-term adversaries were waxing nostalgic about their

governments' respective propaganda. "Yes, but the difference," said

the Russian, "is that your people believed yours." And now, having

been lied to by a stream of shameless governments, having swallowed

their leaders' crap about our 'destiny' and 'greatness,' is it even

possible to imagine that we are going to let ourselves get sucked in

again?

Aside from the shrieking of the press echo chamber tonight, the other

relevant headlines of the day include a report that the US is poised

to attack Iran from Bulgarian bases (Turkish Daily News), or that a US

Navy strike group is steaming through the Suez canal to join the

general buildup of US forces in the Middle East (Jerusalem Post). The

Guardian reports that Bush is 'spoiling for a fight with Iran.'

Leave aside the fact that the US government recently tried to fund a

project that admitted--admitted, mind you--to planting fake news

stories to achieve national policy ends. This, of course, would be in

addition to myriad black ops projects denied over the years. Never

mind that the Israeli right wing has been openly clamoring for war

with Iran, leaking stories about how it was prepared to go it alone.

Don't compare the timing of this story with the pending--albeit

nonbinding--anti-escalation resolution now being prepared or 'rigorous

debate' in Congress.

Just look at Cheney's smug Untouchable smirking face as he tells Wolf

Blitzer that Congress "won't stop us," even as Scooter Libby is

throwing everyone in his Blackberry under the bus. Do pay attention,

too, to Blitzer's complete inability to perform his function as a

journalist. That is a very bad sign. Also notice the $10 billion joint

project announced today between Iran and a Spanish concern for

development of energy resources, and the multi-billion dollar arms and

energy agreements Iran already has with Russia and China. Are the

neocons completely crazy? Never mind--we already know the answer.

And what the hell is wrong with us? Are we really going to let

ourselves be lied into yet another war, a much bigger one, with a much

more dangerous opponent and with even farther reaching consequences?

The answer seems to be yes. The Democrats and the press will not save

us from this one. They didn't before, and they won't now--they're in

on the game, and they will do nothing without an enormous shove. The

fact that they are getting ready to debate a toothless solution while

the ships are sailing is chillingly out-of-touch. Our lives and our

future are at stake, and they are looking for sound bites.

The made-in-USA tinderbox is unstable and about to blow, and the war

profiteers and their puppets lighting the fuse have no concern for us.

The enormous and dangerous forces against them only means more war,

more contracts, and more profits. There is no way the world is going

to sit back and let the US have its way with world energy resources

without a fight, and we stand warned that we are being dragged into a

virtual Armageddon. The antiwar movement made a good show this weekend

demanding an end to the Iraq war. It will be too little, too late

unless the people wake up and demand a halt to the war already under

way against Iran.

and link to http://danielpwelch.com. Writer, singer, linguist and

activist Daniel Patrick Welch lives and writes in Salem,

Massachusetts, with his wife, Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. Together they

run The Greenhouse School http://www.greenhouseschool.org.

Translations of articles are available in up to 20 languages. Links

to the website are appreciated at http://danielpwelch.com.