It looks like I might have been wrong when I predicted that President Bush would attack Syria first. The warmonger definitely has his scope pointed toward Iran.
The president is so concerned about Iran having a nuclear weapon, on top of his debacle in Iraq, that he simply can't think straight _ or certainly not with any clear logic.
If they asked me, which they won't, I think the world is more dangerous with Bush as commander in chief and the U.S. having all its weapons of mass destruction. After all, what world leader is responsible for the most deaths during the last five years?
That's right. The same wacko who was throwing around talk of World War III last week in his latest verbal assault against Iranian leaders.
Indeed, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich had doubts about Bush's mental health after the president's remarks about a nuclear Iran causing World War III.
Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, said in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board Tuesday that there are a lot of ``people who need care. He might be one of them. If there isn't something wrong with him, then there's something wrong with us. This, to me, is a very serious question."
Yes, there's something wrong with somebody _ he was actually elected president the second time around _ but I don't want to start pointing fingers at voters, who should not allow themselves to be duped again into backing an attack on another country.
The president doesn't even have the imagination to come up with different lies this time, figuring that everybody fell for his weapons of mass destruction and nuclear fuel rhetoric on Iraq.
Asked about the alleged secret nuclear weapons program under way in Iran, Mohamed El Baradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said this week, "We haven't seen any concrete evidence to that effect."
It's hard to believe that Bush and Cheney would really have the gall to use the same rap sheet on Iran. Well, we have the same players, and this time, they are speaking clearly.
Remember Hans Blix, the former head of the U.N. inspectors in Iraq before the invasion? He has pointed out the similarities, saying the White House is making accusations that run counter to the evidence of inspectors.
Unfortunately, a Zogby America poll this week found that 52 percent of Americans would support a U.S. military strike to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. A majority also thought it likely that there would be such a strike before next year's election.
What can you expect with the president talking about World War III and Cheney threatening ``serious consequences.''
Maybe the European Union should warn of serious consequences if Bush doesn't stop vetoing legislation that would offer health insurance coverage for children. He'd go nuts.
What if Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad threatened to toy with oil markets if we didn't stop making bombers and bombs? Cheney would have to be sedated.
Meanwhile, with a sideways glance at Iran, Democrats in Congress are facing another Bush request for more money for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. They're trying to decide whether to approve $50 billion to $70 billion, which is less than half of the $196 billion the president wants.
The real question of money boils down to how much longer we're willing to keep the troops in Iraq. The lesser mainstream Democratic amount would be enough to keep the wars afloat for a few more months.
Fortunately, the numbers of lawmakers who want to pay only for bringing the troops home are growing and have to be reckoned with.
The Democrats elected a year ago with a mandate to end the war have failed miserably and need to stop wimping out on the president's demands for cash. It's as if Bush keeps saying, ``this will be my last monetary demand,'' but repeatedly comes back for more. And Congress continues to appease him.
And now Sen. Hillary Clinton, who made the mistake five years ago of voting to allow Bush to wage war against Iraq, is under fire from other Democratic presidential contenders for her vote last week to authorize sanctions against Iran.
Clinton, for some reason, really has a problem with getting fired up whenever the president cries wolf.
How many starving dogs are we going to beat to death before Hillary and other lawmakers get the message that Bush doesn't know what he's talking about?
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Cary Brunswick is managing editor of The Daily Star. He can be reached at (800) 721-1000, ext. 217 or cary@thedailystar.com.
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