Essential Estrogen

Two days ago -- although I only read it today -- a post was made to the official blog of former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel on the Democratic National Committee's party builder network that reads as a direct message to Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards.

In the post, Gravel (or perhaps an official in the campaign) urges Edwards and Obama to continue "to upbraid Hillary Clinton for going along with Bush's impending attack on Iran." In the next sentence the media is accused of "not doing it's job, once again."

The post quickly discusses Seymour Hersh's expose that claimed the Pentagon plans to attack Iran and the media's lack of attention to the issue. After that, the post centers directly on Clinton:

"Despite what Hillary claims, Congress gave Bush the green light to attack Iran when they labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) a terrorist organization. Bush can now attack the IRG as a counter-terrorism measure. All he needs is a "Gulf of Tonkin incident" in Iraq that can be tied to the IRG, and he will begin bombing IRG facilities in Iran. Of course Bush will disregard Hillary's resolution demanding he check with Congress before attacking Iran. No president since James Polk has felt the need to check with Congress before "defending" American troops.

"What makes Hillary believe a congressional resolution will prevent Bush from doing anything? A war on Iran has been a neocon dream for decades and Bush sees himself as a modern-day messiah ridding the world of evil-doers. Throughout his presidency, Bush has consistently disregarded checks and balances. He defied a Supreme Court decision banning torture simply by ordering his Justice Department to secretly issue a go-ahead. (The MSM also dropped this story.)

"After Bush launches the planned strikes on the IRG, Iran will hit our naval forces in the Persian Gulf and our troops in Iraq. Within an afternoon, we will be at war. Bush might later ask our rubberstamp Congress for a show of support. But by then any opposition will be moot. The Iranian navy will cut the oil supply of the European economies and a worldwide depression will hit American markets. Other regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Israel, might be drawn into the war. Within weeks tens of thousands will be dead and that's only the beginning."

Gravel suggests two action items:

1. Challenge Bush and Clinton on the stump -- and challenge Clinton directly during the debates
2. Inform the American public and encourage public outcry

And, just in case my Iowa friends have been so busy chasing presidential candidates that you've missed the latest news, be aware that General Dan McNeill is saying that a shipment of hi-tech roadside bombs intercepted in Afghanistan were from Iran. The drums of war are beating loudly in the United States as Bush issued a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying Iran having the knowledge to create a nuclear weapon could cause World War III.