Your donations make In These Times affordable for all readers, including students and readers with low incomes. Please donate today.

The Accidental War

The Bush administration might not deliberately launch a war with Iran, heightened U.S.-Iran tensions could push some minor incident into a major conflict.

By Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium

It’s become fashionable in conservative Washington circles—among commentators with extraordinary access to the Bush administration—to suggest that people concerned about the threat of war with Iran are howling at phantoms. As the New York Times’ David Brooks wrote in a Nov. 6 column, “The Bush administration is not about to bomb Iran (trust me). It’s using diplomacy to build a… return to article

  • subscribe to print magazine

  • Zoom OutZoom In Reader Comments (1)

    Page 1 of 1 pages

    The US is NOT going to war with Iran, for better and for worse. We clearly do not have either the troop strength or the popular support for such an endeavor.

    Sanctions remain a possibility, however.

    .

    United States Posted by wolf on Nov 15, 2007 at 3:00 PM
    Page 1 of 1 pages
  • register a new account »Posting Security

    To participate in our forums, please register for a free account.
Also by Brian Beutler, The Media Consortium
  • Avoiding the Torture Taint: Advice from Military Lawyers
    Even as they worked out details of how interrogation techniques widely regarded as torture would be used on detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Pentagon officials sought to keep the blood off Defense Department hands
  • ‘If the Detainee Dies, You’re Doing it Wrong
    When former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of harsh techniques, he did so over the objections of senior military attorneys from all branches of the armed services
  • The Friendship Offensive
    Peace activists on Capitol Hill hope to stave off war with Iran through cross-cultural contact between ordinary citizens
  • A General’s False Testimony
    Will the Pentagon correct Major Gen. Jerome Johnson's tainted testimony on the contaminated water KBR provided to the troops?
  • Byron Dorgan’s Contracting Fraud Crusade
    The North Dakota senator has made investigating contractor corruption his mission, but will he succeed in creating a congressional committee devoted to it?
  • Heat-Seeking Missives
    A Senate Committee looks to rein in one of the FBI's favorite tools: the national security letter
Popular Discussions