Same old song and dance: Ratcheting up the Rhetoric on Iran

The following comment over in a thread on DailyKos caught my eye tonight:

He was in Kansas City tonight

Dick said:

"Not everyone understands the threat of nuclear proliferation, in Iran or elsewhere," Cheney told members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "But we and our allies do understand the threat, and we have a duty to prevent it."

Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change. - Tennyson

by bumblebums on Fri Dec 07, 2007 at 11:15:24 PM EST

Why? I'd just seen a press conference by Dick Cheney from August 26, 2002. He said nearly the exact same sort of thing, only about Iraq. I responded to the comment quoted above with this:

WH lawyers: Bush can order Iraq attack.¹ Here's essentially what Cheney said:

"I am familiar with the arguments against taking action in the case of Saddam Hussein," Cheney said in his speech delivered before a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Nashville, Tennessee. (Full story)

"Some concede that Saddam is evil, power hungry and a menace, but that until he crosses the threshold of actually possessing nuclear weapons, we should rule out any preemptive action. That logic seems to me to be deeply flawed."

It's a scary flockin' article.
_____________________

^1. Did you catch the main title? "WH lawyers: Bush can order Iraq attack" -- there was a condescending subtitle, too: "Fleischer: 'Congress has an important role to play'"

Now check out MLDB's top of the Rec list diary Sheldon Whitehouse: Proof Bush Believes he is the Law.

Essentially, what I've been saying for a very long time: regardless of what Congress says or believes, Bush has everything he believes he needs -- supported by the WH legal gymnastics -- to order a strike on Iran (or essentially anywhere) provided he believes he can sell it to the people. Congress would be "informed" but wasn't seen as crucial to the role.

[In my initial response, I'd left out the subtitle; I included it here for clarity. The remainder of the comment is intact and exact.] These folks are incorrigible, unoriginal and never tire of using the same lies if they believe they'll keep on working.