Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly.
He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
and where does congress stand in all of this? certainly not on the side of the majority of the citizens.
mario cuomo comments on their continuing abdication of the constitution, via hardball:
Let’s not do what we did before and wind up apologizing for our resolutions and saying we’re sorry. Now remember, the Founding Fathers gave the powers to declare war to the Congress. That power cannot be delegated to the President. You can’t adopt a resolution and say well, the Founding Fathers wanted us to do it, but it’s too heavy a lift for us, so we empower you, Mr. President, if you feel like doing it, to do it.
And my goodness, the President you’re talking about is the president who started a war with a mistaken context-assuming he was telling the truth, and I will-he was wrong about the reason for it, he was wrong about complicity, he was wrong about how many troops we needed, he was wrong about how we would be greeted when we got there, he was wrong about the civil war, wrong about how much it would cost, wrong about how long it would last and now you’re saying maybe he can start another war. It’s a mistake; this an opportunity for Democrats to show real leadership. And the presidential candidates should lead the way. And if they don’t, then the question is going to be when it comes to improvident war-making, why are you any better than Bush?
Do Bush, Cheney & Co. indeed intend to attack Iran?
I don’t know, but my suspicion that they might is getting stronger.
Why? Because George Bush is nearing the end of his term of office. If it ends the way things look now, he will be remembered as a very bad – if not the worst – president in the annals of the republic. His term started with the Twin Towers catastrophe, which reflected no great credit on the intelligence agencies, and would come to a close with the grievous Iraq fiasco.
There is only one year left to do something impressive and save his name in the history books. In such situations, leaders tend to look for military adventures. Taking into account the man’s demonstrated character traits, the war option suddenly seems quite frightening.[.]
Would this indeed be such an easy operation, a “piece of cake” in American parlance?
I doubt it.
Even “smart” bombs kill people. The Iranians are a proud, resolute and highly motivated people. They point out that for two thousand years they have never attacked another country, but during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war they have amply proved their determination to defend their own when attacked.[.]
One thing I am ready to predict with confidence: whoever pushes for war against Iran will come to regret it.
Some adventures are easy to get into but hard to get out of.
The last one to find this out was Saddam Hussein. He thought that it would be a cakewalk – after all, Khomeini had killed off most of the officers, and especially the pilots, of the Shah’s military. He believed that one quick Iraqi blow would be enough to bring about the collapse of Iran. He had eight long years of war to regret it.
Both the Americans and we may soon be feeling that the Iraqi mud is like whipped cream compared to the Iranian quagmire.
h/t thinkprogress
and where does congress stand in all of this? certainly not on the side of the majority of the citizens.
mario cuomo comments on their continuing abdication of the constitution, via hardball:
lTMF’sA
Cuomo is a wise man.
and since it’s an open thread…and l just found “the point” on utube…there’s
No POINT:
“All you got to do is open your mind, along with your eyes.”
play it easy, and remember…
“Ain’t necessary to possess a point to have yourself a point.”
the rockman
harry nillson’s “the point”, in 8 parts. c.1971. recommended
be cool
later
lTMF’sA
The “wise man” was sure telling the truth also. That was a great interview with Cuomo on Hardball.
I meant to tell you that last week on my birthday I received my long awaited Froggy tshirt and coffee cup..so I’m a extra happy Tribber this week.
go read this essay by Uri Avnery, an Israeli writer:
How to Make Iraq Look Like Whipped Cream
So What About Iran?