boom

just weeks ago Bush was speaking of a "holocaust" due to Iran's nuclear ambitions. but the day before he made that speech

The International Atomic Energy Agency...reported "significant" cooperation from Iran with its nuclear probe...
IAEA Deputy Director-General Olli Heinonen highlighted the importance of Tehran's increased readiness to answer questions about former nuclear activities...
"We have an important step for the first time," he said. "We have been able to agree ... on how to resolve the outstanding issues...This is not an open-ended timeline."
VIENNA, Austria (AP)

so, if the rationale for bombing Iran is fading, no worries, find another one: Iran is helping Iraq - lets bomb them anyway.

ITEM: "The Pentagon is preparing to build a military base near the Iraq-Iran border to try to curtail the flow of advanced Iranian weaponry to Shiite militants across Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday in its online edition."
Reuters.com

ITEM: U.S. Officials Begin Crafting Iran Bombing Plan-Fox News
"...according to a well-placed Bush administration source, "everyone in town" is now participating in a broad discussion about the costs and benefits of military action against Iran, with the likely timeframe for any such course of action being over the next eight to 10 months, after the presidential primaries have probably been decided, but well before the November 2008 elections."

ITEM: Lieberman to Petraeus yesterday: "Is it time to give you authority, in pursuit of your mission in Iraq, to pursue those Iranian Quds Force operations in Iranian territory, in order to protect Americas troops in Iraq?" Petraeus didn't exactly say no: "...any kinds of operations outside the borders of Iraq would rightly be overseen by the Central Command."

ITEM: the British troops that you heard were withdrawing from Basra - they're headed for the Iran border:
"British forces have been sent from Basra to the volatile border with Iran amid warnings from the senior US commander in Iraq that Tehran is fomenting a "proxy war".
In signs of a fast-developing confrontation, the Iranians have threatened military action in response to attacks launched from Iraqi territory while the Pentagon has announced the building of a US base and fortified checkpoints at the frontier." - The independent (UK)

ITEM: "Reports that the Bush Administration will put Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the terrorism list can be read in one of two ways: it's either more bluster or, ominously, a wind-up for a strike on Iran. Officials I talk to in Washington vote for a hit on the IRGC, maybe within the next six months. And they think that as long as we have bombers and missiles in the air, we will hit Iran's nuclear facilities." - Robert Baer, Time.com

the democrat majority in congress has pussied out on any real troop withdrawal in Iraq. they have been dazzled by the shiny objects on the general's coat and are merely racking up sound-bites for future use in primary ads. Bush will throw them a bone tomorrow night and announce a possible troop cut - but the most optimistic estimates put the number of troops in Iraq in January, 2009 at 135,000 - the same number that we started with. (estimates of the number of non-uniform mercenaries there add another 100,000.)
now, a third war is brewing, hawks like Lieberman and McCain are fanning the flames, and the dems are barely awake.
want more bad news?
"Dollar hits fresh 15-year low" - Financial Times
and this:

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- The Russian military has successfully tested what it described as the world's most powerful non-nuclear air-delivered bomb, Russia's state television reported Tuesday...
The statement reflected the Kremlin's efforts to restore Russia's global clout and rebuild the nation's military might while the ties with Washington have been strained over U.S. criticism of Russia's backsliding on democracy, Moscow's vociferous protests of U.S. missile defense plans, and rifts over global crises.
The U.S. Massive Ordnance Air Blast, nicknamed the Mother Of All Bombs, is a large-yield satellite-guided, air-delivered bomb described as the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in history.
Booming oil prices have allowed Russia to steadily increase military spending in recent years, and the Kremlin has taken a more assertive posture in global affairs.
Last month, President Vladimir Putin said he ordered the resumption of regular patrols of strategic bombers, which were suspended after the 1991 Soviet breakup.

didn't i tell you that the dvtv astrologer is usually right?