More war?

In a piece written more than a year ago, I discussed the grave possibility of America going to war with Iran. With a portion of Iran’s military recently being labeled an official “terrorist” threat, these words from President Bush become chilling (all emphases mine):

Bush threatens to confront Iran over alleged support for Iraqi insurgents

· US president accuses Tehran of arming militants
· Speech aimed at shoring up support for ’surge’

Ed Pilkington in New York
Wednesday August 29, 2007
The Guardian

George Bush yesterday ramped up the war of words between the US and Iran, accusing Tehran of threatening to place the Middle East under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust and revealing that he had authorised US military commanders in Iraq to “confront Tehran’s murderous activities”.In a speech designed to shore up US public opinion behind his unpopular strategy in Iraq, the president reserved his strongest words for the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which he accused of openly supporting violent forces within Iraq. Iran, he said, was responsible for training extremist Shia factions in Iraq, supplying them with weapons, including sophisticated roadside bombs. Iran has denied all these accusations.

…

The blunt terms in which Mr Bush portrayed the Iranian threat, and his threat of military confrontation with Tehran involving US troops based in Iraq, elevated the tense standoff between Washington and Tehran to a new level.

The speech also contained the implicit desire on Mr Bush’s part for regime change, calling for “an Iran whose government is accountable to its people, instead of to leaders who promote terror and pursue the technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons”.

Equally disturbing is the economic news that the housing bubble has now “popped”:

Economy starting to feel housing market’s pain

Home prices take a second-quarter plunge, reports show, and consumer confidence is also falling. Stocks close sharply lower.

By Annette Haddad, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
2:18 PM PDT, August 28, 2007

U.S. consumer sentiment took its sharpest plunge in nearly two years in August, and home prices declined at their fastest pace in two decades in the second quarter, according to reports that show the housing slump starting to weigh on the economy.

The weak economic news triggered a sell-off on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 280.28 points, or more than 2%, to 13,041.85. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and other major financial indexes also closed sharply lower.

Home prices dropped 3.2% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, according to the S&P/Case-Schiller quarterly index, which tracks price trends among existing single-family homes in key U.S. markets. It was the worst decline in the 20 years since the index was inaugurated.

The housing boom was the force behind the stability of the American economy: ever increasing property prices allowed people and companies to obtain cheap credit, which they then invested in risky enterprises (high risk mortgage buyers, for example). The enterprises collapsed, people and companies are now realizing that they have taken out too much credit, and there is a resulting panic in the market.  If uncontrollable fear breaks out amongst the investment class, economic turmoil would increase considerably.

If and when the economy sputters, war becomes more inevitable. It will be a distraction from the complete meltdown of the American financial and economic system, brought on by near decades of pillaging of the land, of people’s labor, of the treasury — from the common good itself. War prevents accountability by making people afraid.

I wrote this a year back talking about the context of an attack against Iran:

In any iteration, it is hard to see the Americans walking away with a victory, no matter how thorough the bombing. But the chief aim of the Bush Administration is not victory in the Middle East — it is the protection of their power. And an attack against Iran would force the American people to make that choice which up till now has been permeating beneath the surface of the war on terror but has yet to be asked openly: “Whose side are you on?”

Reason’s eyes do not yet comprehend the outcome of these trends. This country cannot afford — in any sense of the word — another war. Could this really be happening?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 at 6:24 pm and is filed under Fear and Tyranny, Government Accountability, Structure and System, World War III. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.