The Cakewalk Nuclear Apocalypse Will Be Welcomed With Rose Petals

He feels the warm flush of pride, for the grand thrilling spectacle of his triumphant victory in Iraq. And he is showered daily by the fawning hero-worship he richly deserves. His towering magnificence is universally celebrated, by eternally grateful people around the globe. And now George Bush has plans well underway to launch his second rousingly successful "cakewalk" war for "regime change" - this time in Iran. A mountain of a patriotic warrior, he is blessed with the astounding powers of several manly gods. And he possesses overwhelming confidence, inspired by the Winning-Guaranteed Spirit of noble movie legends John Wayne, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris. Supreme President Bush, it has been learned, is preparing to rectify the wicked wrongs of the world by his enlightened and generously benevolent - and omnipotent - hand, steady on the trigger of tactical nuclear weapons. The rose petal welcome from a joyfully gratified - and deeply indebted - Iranian populace awaits. I'm guessing that would be about the way he sees it, anyway. Seriously. It has actually now come to this. --- via John Aravosis at AMERICAblog The WaPo reports "U.S. Is Studying Military Strike Options on Iran." On page 3 of the article by Peter Baker, Dafna Linzer and Thomas Ricks, there's this: "Pentagon planners are studying how to penetrate eight-foot-deep targets and are contemplating tactical nuclear devices." --- Sy Hersh reports in The New Yorker:"THE IRAN PLANS, Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?" One former defense official, who still deals with sensitive issues for the Bush Administration, told me that the military planning was premised on a belief that “a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government.” He added, “I was shocked when I heard it, and asked myself, ‘What are they smoking?’ ” … In recent weeks, the President has quietly initiated a series of talks on plans for Iran with a few key senators and members of Congress, including at least one Democrat. A senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, who did not take part in the meetings but has discussed their content with his colleagues, told me that there had been “no formal briefings,” because “they’re reluctant to brief the minority. They’re doing the Senate, somewhat selectively.” … Speaking of President Bush, the House member said, “The most worrisome thing is that this guy has a messianic vision.” … One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites. … He [A former high-level Defense Department official] went on, “… These politicians don’t have a clue, and whenever anybody tries to get it out”—remove the nuclear option—“they’re shouted down.” … The attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he added, and some officers have talked about resigning. Late this winter, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sought to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans for Iran—without success, the former intelligence official said. … The adviser added, however, that the idea of using tactical nuclear weapons in such situations has gained support from the Defense Science Board, an advisory panel whose members are selected by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. --- Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.