War Planning by the Obama Administration

In the latter months of the Bush Administration, the liberal mainstream media outlets and Democratic politicians liked to repeat RUMORS that Bush and Cheney were planning to attack Iran before leaving office to assure that Iran's nuclear program would be stopped. When John McCain broke into an impromptu song of "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" during the 2008 Presidential election campaign, the YouTube video of his brief attempt at poorly chosen musical humor was replayed by left wing media types over and over to suggest that, if elected, McCain would also be inclined to start war with Iran, if Bush did not follow through with the rumored attack before he left the White House.

Well, it is now clear that neither Bush, Cheney nor McCain have the ability to start war with Iran; so the left wing can now rest easy that they helped elect a President who would never do such a terrible thing! However, even though many of President Obama's domestic policies are clearly far left wing (and have become the pride and joy of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and other Democratic officials, as well as MSNBC and other liberal media outlets) when it comes to national security, he has apparently learned through regular national security briefings that he gets, as well as the Fort Hood shooting, the failed Christmas Day bombing and the Times Square bombing attempt, that there really is a serious terrorist threat to the country.

This week there have been reports of two significant developments in military preparations pursuant to Obama's approval that could actually lead to war, not only with Iran, but also with our apparent ally in the war in Afghanistan: Pakistan.

On May 24, 2010, the New York Times reported that:

"[A] secret directive, signed in September by Gen. David H. Petraeus, authorizes the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa to gather intelligence and build ties with local forces. Officials said the order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.....

The seven-page directive appears to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about the country’s nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for a future military offensive. The Obama administration insists that for the moment, it is committed to penalizing Iran for its nuclear activities only with diplomatic and economic sanctions. Nevertheless, the Pentagon has to draw up detailed war plans to be prepared in advance, in the event that President Obama ever authorizes a strike." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/world/25military.html

In today's Washington Post, it is reported that:

"The U.S. military is reviewing options for a unilateral strike in Pakistan in the event that a successful attack on American soil is traced to the country's tribal areas, according to senior military officials. Ties between the alleged Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, and elements of the Pakistani Taliban have sharpened the Obama administration's need for retaliatory options, the officials said. They stressed that a U.S. reprisal would be contemplated only under extreme circumstances, such as a catastrophic attack that leaves President Obama convinced that the ongoing campaign of CIA drone strikes is insufficient."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/28/AR2010052804854.html?hpid=topnews

Whether these two reports get more attention in the coming days than they would have if George W. Bush were still in the White House depends on how much these developments are even noticed in view of other pressing news, including the continuing oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico (being handled so incompetently by the current Administration), the recent admission by the White House Counsel regarding Congressman Joe Sestak that he was indeed offered some type of position to drop out of the US Senate race in Pennsylvania and the ongoing controversy over the Arizona immigration law that President Obama continues to inflame with unfounded claims that the law encourages racial profiling. See my post of May 23, 2010 for a discussion of the bogus nature of these claims of discrimination. Sphere: Related Content