Did Pelosi foil Bush's plan to attack Iran?

[garybeck]

this is pure speculation. go ahead and shoot me down... but I can't help but wonder.

the signs have been pointing towards an attack on Iran. rumors have been flying. even the average joe has been thinking it's coming soon.

Many have been expecting a "spark event" to be an "excuse" to go into Iran. whether fabricated, provoked, or otherwise, some kind of "incident" would spark the conflict. Many of us have just been waiting for it to happen.

When I saw the British soldiers were captured, being called hostages, Blair's ominous rhetoric, I figured this was it. Before it happened, there was even a statement by Russians at the UN that there was a pending US attack on Iran, scheduled for yesterday 4/6. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Nothin' like a good hostage crisis to get your country feeling all supportive and patriotic again, right? And what better time to drop a few bombs, kill a few thousand innocent people, and rally your country behind a new war....

Pelosi took a trip to the middle east, met with some folks in Syria, and by coincidence or not, the hostages were freed and the looming confrontation seems to be avoided, at least for now.

Perhaps Pelosi spoiled their spark incident, and now they're going to need to find another excuse to start a war.

Cheney and many Republicans critizied Pelosi for her trip, even though we all know that several Republicans have also traveled to the same area. And since then Bush's attacks on Congress have become even more hypocritcal, ludicrous, and personal.

Maybe Pelosi knew this was the breaking point and if it didn't get resolved we'd be in another war that would be the final stake in the heart of our economy and we'd probably need a military draft that would last far beyond the 08 election (i'm not implying it was a political move).

I can't help but wonder, if she had something to do with resolving the situation, to the dismay of those planning the war. And the real reason all the pissy pants in the Repubnik party are all mad at her now is because their little "incident" has been resolved and they didn't get to start a war with Iran. Whether purposely or not, I think the warmongers were hoping the "hostage" situation was not going to be resolved peacefully and this was their big excuse to start another war.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. If so, my hat's off to her

She is already an American hero and patriot--her actions in the Middle East only add to her luster.

[pocoloco]

3. If only she wouldn't take so much stuff "off the table"...........

[Lerkfish]

2. it would certainly explain how viciously they swiftboated her

I think your speculation explains observable data

[orleans]

16. it would. HOWEVER, i think it had something to do with the U.S. releasing

an iranian diplomat

TEHRAN, Iran - The sudden release of an Iranian diplomat missing for two months in Iraq raised new hope Tuesday that 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran may soon be freed. It also suggests the standoff over the captive Britons may end with a de facto prisoner swap — something both Tehran and London have publicly discounted.

snip


Iran alleged the diplomat had been abducted by an Iraqi military unit commanded by U.S. forces — a charge repeated by several Iraqi Shiite lawmakers. U.S. authorities denied any role in his disappearance.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070403/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_britain

i'd love to give nancy credit, but this little piece in this article makes me think it wasn't her. it mystifies me, however--i really thought we would use those 15 sailors as an excuse to hit iran. instead, we gave up an iranian diplomat, they released the 15 sailors, and we don't attack iran. go figure.

[bluerum]

4. I think the poodle told him to back the fuck off while Iran held the

British soldiers.

I am sure the shrub offered to go in there with six shooters blazing in the night.

Actually, he would have sent our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, wives and husband.

Poodle told him to fuck off.

[Old and In the Way]

5. This makes as much sense as anything I've heard.

If this is true, we'll never hear either Pelosi or this administration admit it.

[sutz12]

6. It's tempting....

It's tempting to call all of that a :tinfoilhat: kind of moment.

But your analysis and timeline make sense. When you only have one tool, all of your problems start to look like nails. Shrub only aknowledges one tool in his arsenal, the troops, so all of his problems look like wars to him.

The more I see of Nancy, the more I like what I see. After all of the RW scare rhetoric about her being a shrill, San Fran liberal bitch, what she has shown is a lot of legislative leadership. She can be a bitch when she needs to be, but what's the harm in that? She's our bitch. :)

[ContraBass Black]

7. I doubt it.

With all of the arrogance and stupidity this administration has already shown, if a war was planned they probably would have gone ahead and done it regardless of what else was happening.

[garybeck]

10. or, they just started plan B....

they certainly are pissed off at her, and it wasn't just because she took a vacation in Syria.

we'll never know for sure exactly what she did and who she talked to.

[Canuckistanian]

8. I think you're right, judging by the reaction

They NEVER turn on the "Mighty Wurlitzer", unless it's perceived to be a genuine threat to their political survival.

[OHdem10]

9. When I heard Bashar Assayd was active

in the release of the Sailors, I admit I could
not help but wonder.

[liberal N proud]

11. What else would cause all the republicons to have a mass tantrum?

She has become the new poster child for republcon hate groups

[Peace Patriot]

12. It would explain how pissed off they are at her.

It would have been best for them to keep quiet, let her do her thing, not draw attention to it, and not make fools of themselves by criticizing her for going to Syria while saying nothing about the Republicans who were also visiting Syria.

But the kind of response they gave speaks volumes about SOMETHING (or at least it would with sane people) and this could be it. Good guess, garybeck!

I've been thinking about that Pelosi trip, too. I heard her speech to the Knesset and was really steamed at her fairy tale picture of Israeli history--and what she didn't say: not even a hint of a nudge toward justice for the Palestinians or toward less rightwing, war profiteering militarism by the Israeli government. I wouldn't expect her to be rude. But I didn't hear steps toward peace. She has been consistently pro-Israel--so the content was not that surprising. What was surprising was her just lavishing all this affection and unreal narrative on the Knesset and the Israeli people.

And I got to thinking. They must be feeling really, really scared right now. They've allied themselves with the despised Bush Junta, and, for the first time in the last five decades, there is the threat of public opinion in the US turning against our massive and unquestioning support for Israel. Further, the Bush Junta has made their position in the Middle East even more perilous than it was. And people who are scared can act rashly, can precipitate wars, can ignite otherwise tamable situations, out of fear, out of jitteriness. Maybe what she was doing was calming them down. Her speech really was like a children's story, a bedtime story: brave little Israel struggling to green the desert, and establishing a democracy in the Middle East against all odds. The kind of story we were told as kids about the pioneers or the founders of our republic. An inspiring story. For children. Leaving the bad parts out. Not even hinting at them.

It would fit with a strategy of calming everything down in the Middle East, helping to defuse the UK sailor situation, opening diplomatic relations with Syria. Interesting. Now that I think about it. Here she is practically at ground zero of Cheney's WW III--with the Iranians holding the UK sailors, and everybody poised for war. She put herself right there. Right at that moment. Making peace overtures all around. Flying from country to country, in a potential war zone. Carrying messages. Speaking softly, soothingly to the Israelis. Visiting a mosque. Visiting an Arab marketplace. Coincidence?

I'm thinking not.

[garybeck]

13. aipac

i'm jewish. i'm a pacifist. i know there are people in isreal who want peace, even though their government is acting against their wishes. just like here. but i am just starting to wonder what is this aipac thing, someone sent me a video to watch about it but I haven't checked it out yet. i will be doing so sometime soon

[paparush]

14. Pelosi, and the fact that the 15 Brits didn't resist being taken prisoner..

Bush was counting on the Brits defending themselves and getting themselves slaughtered, thus justifying massive air strikes, cruise missile strikes, and tactical nukes, gas at $7/gallon and a RECORD Q2 for Exxon...

[Catherine Vincent]

15. That's why * had this reaction...

:)