Well it was before. Now the Turks are bombing the north again (whether actually killing PKK members or not is in dispute) and war with Iran looms. Andrew Cockburn reports in Counter Punch Bush’s new “finding” authorizing more covert support for anti-Iranian and anti-Syrian terrorist groups like the MEK, Jundullah and - irony anyone? - the PKK-allied Pejak.

The Sunday Times says the military is renewing plans for strikes at Quds Force targets in Iran, a further irony since the Quds Force is the father organization of the Badr Corps (AKA: Bush’s “Iraqi Army”).

And Secretary Rice has laid down the gauntlet, accusing Iran of everything under the Sun.

Any strikes against Iran seem almost certain to escalate into full scale war in southern Iraq, Iran’s nuclear facilities and who-knows-what else.

One notable portion of Cockburn’s article:

Interestingly, despite the bellicose complaints, Petraeus has made little effort to seal the Iran-Iraq border, and in any case two thirds of U.S. casualties still come from Sunni insurgents. “The Shia account for less than one third,” a recently returned member of the command staff in Baghdad familiar with the relevant intelligence told me, “but if you want a war you have to sell it.”

Cross-posted at Antiwar.com.

has anyone checked the balloons lately?

“Hostile” Iran Sparks U.S. Attack Plan

“A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran.”

and then Gates trots out his they’re killing us in Iraq crock. Not to be outdone, Mullen drops this load…

No attacks are imminent and the last thing the Pentagon wants is another war, but Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen has warned Iran not to assume the U.S. military can’t strike.

“I have reserve capability, in particular our Navy and our Air Force so it would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability,” Mullen said.

Feeling left out, Maliki drops trou with his contribution…

Targets would include everything from the plants where weapons are made to the headquarters of the organization known as the Quds Force which directs operations in Iraq. Later this week Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is expected to confront the Iranians with evidence of their meddling and demand a halt.

And, if that isn’t enough, the shoe lady’s stepping in.

the State Department has begun drafting an ultimatum that would tell the Iranians to knock it off - or else.

Hope no one was planning on a vacation this summer.

props to Anders for putting this video together.

(xposted @ Random musings…)

Larry Chin, of Online Journal, flaunts the hollow facade of the neoliberal elite cadre and their complete dependency on the millisecond flashes of long-term memory of their audience.

Neoliberal elite Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the leading architects of the “war on terrorism” across the Middle East and the Eurasian subcontinent (and whose book The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives laid the groundwork for 9/11) has adopted a politically expedient wolf-in-sheep’s clothing role.

His much-publicized criticisms of Bush-Cheney’s “mismanagement” of Iraq (whose latest piece, The Smart Way Out, serves as a primer on the current neoliberal war policy) has garnered raves from those who are misguided or ignorant enough to believe that Brzezinski is, in any way, “antiwar.”

Are you feeling up to a Strangelovian wet dream?

The disaster unfolding in Washington is like nothing the earth has ever seen. The highest form of government ever produced by man is putting the final stages of planning on freedom’s demise, and yet the freest people in the history of the world believe that they are powerless to change anything, as they watch excitedly from the sidelines, screaming patriotic hymns to Clinton and McCain. The planners and their stooges ultimately believe in their own ability to carry forward the grand “success” stories of Iraq and Afghanistan into the rest of the Muslim world. The illusion that they can destroy select areas of the rest of the world without destroying us, helps to calm the delirious worry-free psyches of an immoral society, ready to kill the world to save their own sorry asses.

Juan Cole has an informative collection of translations that explain the fallout of the resulting mutiny in Basra of the Puppet Regimes inept matchstick men. I find it hard to believe that this wasn’t tucked away in the back of his mind somewhere before he decidifieded to embark on his first reign of terror on his own people.

The induction of Badr Corps fighters (the paramilitary of ISCI) and those of the Da’wa Party into security positions came in the wake of the firing of thousands of officers and troops who had refused to obey orders to fire on the Mahdi Army militiamen in Baghdad and the southern provinces. They were accused of mutiny.

One of the stories he notes, from McClatchy, deals with the coinciding Sadr City airstrikes and quotes one Sadrist as saying;

“We realized what kind of government we have: They are like foxes,” Abu Amir said. “The Americans are our enemies, not our friends. Maliki is an agent of the Americans. “

Not to worry though… the beacon of journalistik integrity has got the story covered.

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces fanned out into the suburbs and ports of Basra on Wednesday, as life in that southern city slowly began to return to normal, with government offices reopening and residents venturing more confidently into the streets.

Witnesses said that Iraqi forces now controlled central Basra and its northern border, and that they had begun moving into militia strongholds north of the city.

But sporadic violence continued three days after the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army to stop its armed resistance to the American-supported Iraqi assault, and demanded concessions from the government in return.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast.

First hour, renowned historian Gareth Porter on warring Shi’ite factions.

Dr. Porter is the author of Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam. Tomorrow, 12:15PM Eastern.

At 1:15PM Eastern, David Case will be discussing his recent Mother Jones article, The U.S. Military’s Assassination Problem.

Case, a freelance journalist, has written for Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and National Geographic Adventure. He was formerly the executive director of TomPaine.com. More of Case’s work can be found at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Tomorrow’s show can be heard live on KAOS 95.9FM or at Antiwar Radio by clicking “Listen to Scott Horton live (9-11am Pacific)” during the broadcast. Additional feeds and podcasts available at Antiwar Radio within 24 hours of air date.

Aaron Glantz has set up warcomeshome.org in a project with KPFA.org and they will have live video and audio of all three days of the IVAW:Winter Soldier gathering.

The three day live broadcast will be co-hosted by Aaron Glantz and former Army medic and KPFA Morning Show host Aimee Allison

It’s pretty funny.

Thanks to Christopher Manion.