Fall Offensive

The Washington Post reports (Aug. 29) that the Bush -- or rather the more than ever Cheney -- administration is going to ask Congress for an addidtional $50 billion, just as soon as the hapless General Petraeus makes his weasely “report” on how well the “surge” is going. According to the Post, they believe that they can get the request through the Democratic controlled Congress. That is one of the few beliefs of theirs that is not unreasonable.

Meanwhile, the Cheney-Lieberman strategy for going to war against Iran, by escalating provocations until an acceptable pretext for war can be manufactured, is underway. All the U.S. could manage yesterday was to detain an official delegation from the Iranian Energy Ministry on its way to meeting with Iraqi officials. The excuse was that they were carrying “unauthorized” (by Michael Chertoff?) weapons. For all but the likes of Fox News, that’s a bit over the top. But be sure that they’ll try and try again. Cheney and the neocons are not easily deterred from starting disastrous wars they have no idea how to finish.

What will the Democrats do about it? The short answer is: most likely, Nothing. Even if they can’t find it within themselves to rise to their Constitutional obligations by defunding Bush’s wars, and even if there aren’t enough votes to remove Cheney and Bush from office, they could at least distract the perpetrators by launching impeachment proceedings against the real (though officially only “vice”) commander-in-chief. Instead, they hem and haw – as, for example, in yet another shameful performance by the “progressive” icon John Conyers on “Democracy Now” (Aug. 28). Conyers evidently believes, again not unreasonably, that flattery and prevarication trumps logic every time, when, in good Pelosiite fashion, the task is to disarm “progressive” dissent. Fortunately, Amy Goodman wasn’t fooled. But will Democratic voters?