Hawks of
a feather

With the tools of propaganda failing to earn the Bush administration and its Israeli co-recidivists their desired war on Iran, one might have thought there’d be some let-up in the gnashing of teeth. Instead, the nefarious cowpoke has used his recent visit to Israel to assure America’s key allies in Middle-East conquest that he won’t be swayed by reports saying Iran poses no threat and, if Benjamin Netanyahu is to be believed, to promise that the U.S. is open to hitting Iran with a pre-emptive nuclear strike.

Following a 45-minute snuggle with the American president, former PM and current Likud opposition chair Netanyahu spoke to Israeli State radio, saying “I told (Bush) my position, and he agreed with me.” Netanyahu’s position is that Iran’s alleged nuclear aspirations can only be stopped through nukes.

Prime Minister Olmert offered more toned-down rhetoric to his cabinet following Bush’s visit, saying Bush openly distanced himself from a recent National Intelligence Estimate on Iran and made clear that the U.S. is “well-aware that the Iranian threat must be eliminated.” A senior administration official on tour with the President said Bush assured Olmert that the NIE’s conclusions “don’t reflect his own views.”

by Scott Saxon