Iraq was always about Iran

Now that even the administration is talking about a drawdown of forces in Iraq, the truth sneaks out: the big concern is not leaving Iraq in chaos, but the loss of an opportunity to confront Iran. Going after Iraq was never about WMDs or democracy or what-have-you, but was always intended as an intermediate step in going after Iran. The Neoconservatives and the rest of the so-called Pro-Israel Lobby have always been far more worried about Iran and its "mullahs" and "nuclear ambitions" and "terror masters" than Saddam Hussein. Iraq needed to be taken out to facilitate going after Iran. Actually, the truth is not fully out, but at least now it is being hinted at.

An article in The New York Times by Helene Cooper entitled "In Bush Speech, Signs of Split on Iran Policy" informs us that:

While scrutiny this week focused on the debate over troop strength, President Bush also used the occasion to turn up the pressure on Iran, using his speech on Thursday to stress the need to contain Iran as a major reason for the continued American presence in Iraq.

This may be the first time we are hearing this in public and the media with such stress, but this rationale was always there if you looked hard enough.

Two questions arise:

1. How much support does the administration have for doing much more than simply "harassing" Iran for the next 16 months?
2. Will the so-called Pro-Israel Lobby effectively strong-arm Hillary or whoever else wins the election next year, not to mentions members of Congress, into supporting a "strong" confrontation with Iran or maybe merely the kind of low-grade "cold war" that we experienced with Iraq under Bill Clinton?

Rather than all the focus on Iraq, it would be nice to the see the news media "harass" politicians about their prospective Iran policies should they win election next year. Failure of the American people and media to "confront" our own politicians about their "Iran ambitions" is a huge problem, potentially far worse than the Iraq "quagmire."

-- Jack Krupansky