Chris Herz: Obama would be forced to show his hand prematurely, before his election, as just another war-monger

VHeadline commentarist Chris Herz writes: The British Reuters news service have reported the resignation of the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, General Michael Moseley. Also reported on the way out is the civilian head of that agency, Secretary Michael Wynne.

The ostensible reason for these dismissals, and that is what they really are, is the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates' anger at two accidents recently involving the Air Force.

The first was the accidental transportation across the USA of a functional nuclear bomb in a B-52 aircraft. The second was the mistaken shipment of two fuses for nuclear bombs to Taiwan. I do not know if these were or were not, actual plutonium "pits".

Serious as were these matters, the resignation of two such senior officials on such grounds is quite unusual. In fact, these two officials are no more culpable in these two incidents than Secretary Gates. Or President Bush himself, for that matter. Usually some lower level officers would take the fall.

We are left to speculate if some other disagreement at high levels might be the real motive for this bureaucratic shake-up.

Recall: The forced departure on the eve of the Iraq take-over of several high Army and civilian officials whose experience had led them to advise the President for several of what now seem very good reasons against launching that war. And right now, the rumblings are still reverberating about town suggesting an air attack on Iran might come sooner rather than later.

Personally I think it not likely; all this is noise to frighten the Iranians into obedience, but that opinion is based upon logical analysis and our top officials have been known to operate on some higher level of consciousness -- perhaps revelation. They are always capable of anything so long as God, speaking through President Bush orders it. Maybe these two guys were not sufficiently supportive of the divine inspiration undergirding the planning for new and bigger murder rampages.

When Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama spoke to the American-Israeli Political Action Committee the other day, his tone was very stridently anti-Iranian, anti-Palestinian too.

Should there be a large-scale air assault on Iran by the USA and/or its proxy Israel, Obama would be forced to show his hand prematurely, before his election, as just another war-monger. One whose major policy positions are in reality much more like those of his Republican opponent than they are different. This could go far toward neutralizing the enthusiasm he enjoys among the rankers in his party membership who do their level best to ignore the militarism of both their major Democratic leaders. And this total exposure of Obama could really help tip the scales against a Democratic win in the coming election.

So not only could Bush manage to keep the permanent Oil War going, even expanding it into Iran's Khuzestan Province, but it would be less likely that any succeeding administration, either conservative or reactionary, could find a way out of what the British Independent newspaper has revealed today will be permanent occupation of the northern end of the Persian Gulf littoral. The Democrats would be weakened. And another useful experiment will have been launched in forcibly separating an oil-producing district from the remainder of its country. From Bush's viewpoint all very good outcomes.

I may have a nasty and suspicious mind, dear reader. But I have lived here in Washington all of my adult life and I know full well no event of this sort is ever quite what is reported to the booboisie.

Truth in this town is so precious it must be preserved by a vanguard of lies.

From the imperial capital,

Chris Herz
cdherz44@yahoo.com