Krazy Kristol and Batty Bolton talk up Iran attack

By Michael J.W. Stickings

These two headlines from Think Progress sum it all up:

-- Kristol: Bush Might Bomb Iran If He 'Thinks Senator Obama's Going To Win'

-- Bolton: Israel Will Attack Iran After U.S. Election But Before Inauguration, Arab States Will Be 'Delighted'

So they both said on Fox News yesterday morning. (Of course.)

They and the warmongering neocons of their ilk have said much the same thing before, of course: There will be military action undertaken against Iran. What is new is the immediacy, in terms of the specific timing of an attack on Iran, of their warmongering rhetoric.

I don't know if either one is right, that is, that either the U.S. or Israel will bomb Iran -- the U.S. if Obama wins (and, presumably, if McCain wins, too), Israel after the election (supposedly with the approval of the monolith known as "the Arab states") -- but what is clear is that they are both pushing for war and talking about it as if it were a foregone conclusion.

What is also clear, according to Krazy Kristol's own admission, is that a McCain presidency would be Bush III (and worse). Here's Steve Benen's response: "As Bill Kristol sees it, if John McCain wins in November (or the White House believes McCain will win in November), Still-President Bush is content leaving a confrontation with Iran to the future. If Barack Obama wins, or appears poised to win, Bush may go ahead and force the issue... All of this is, of course, a friendly reminder that when it comes to sticking to the status quo, and offering more of the same on international relations, Bush is counting on John McCain delivering four more years just like the last eight."

And here's Andrew Sullivan's response to the possibility of a pre-election attack: "[C]ould it happen? Could Bush bomb Iran before the next election and create a sense of international crisis that could cause voters to swing back to McCain? From everything we know and Bush and Cheney, the answer, surely, is yes. His failed policies have left only one option to prevent Iran's going nuclear: war. And Bush must be chafing to see how his legacy could be dramatically changed if Obama wins. We could be facing the mother of all October surprises."

True enough.

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As if to prove just how krazy he is, Kristol also "raise[d] the prospect of Saudi Arabia and Egypt going nuclear in response to an Obama presidency," to quote Andrew again.

Remember, the Republicans campaign on fear (and the neocons live on it).

Nothing should surprise us.