If I Were A Winger

I'd be very upset that the President is denying all of these Iran reports. What did Hersh's article really say? That there are battle plans for Iran. There are battle plans for probably 120 countries sitting around at the Pentagon. Why not just say that yes, we have plans to attack Iran if they fail to comply with the international community's wishes?

President George W. Bush on Monday ruled out any bilateral negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme but dismissed as "wild speculation" reports that the US was preparing for military action, including a nuclear strike, if diplomatic efforts failed [...]

On the question of military action against Iran, Mr Bush was responding to an article published at the weekend by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker magazine, which said the administration was stepping up planning for military strikes on Iran, including the possible use of nuclear weapons to destroy underground targets.

The Washington Post also reported the administration was considering two possible options: a limited air strike against nuclear facilities, and a more prolonged air campaign that would include non-nuclear-related targets.

The FT reported in February that the intelligence wing of the US marines was examining the extent of grievances against Tehran in an attempt to determine whether Iran would be prone to a violent ethnic fragmentation similar to that occurring in Iraq.

Mr Bush on Monday emphasised the diplomatic efforts, even trying to redefine the concept of "pre-emption" of emerging threats that was first laid out in the White House's 2002 national security strategy prior to the war with Iraq. He said the doctrine of prevention was "to work together to prevent the Iranians from having a nuclear weapon".

He said it "doesn't mean force, necessarily. In this case it means diplomacy."

I know many on the right have criticized the President for not having the will to "do what it takes" in Iraq. Now he won't even admit to planning to "do what it takes" in Iran! Were I of the "clash of civilizations" view I would find this deeply disappointing.

Of course, those who wish we'd just out-and-out nuke the Middle East and be done with it have a point (though that's not it). Clearly the President doesn't have the will to "do what it takes": he never calls for shared sacrifice in the war effort from those of us at home, and he deliberately put far less troops in Iraq that what was necessary to finish the job. It made the whole thing seem like "this thing we're doing on the side, pay no attention to it, we'll go in with a few troops and have 'em home by Easter." That failure to level with the American people is damaging.