Neocons Beating Iranian War Drums

It's getting serious. On Sunday it was John Bolton speaking to AIPAC about "consequences" for Iran, today it was "meaningful consequences" from Dick Cheney. The buildup to war with Iran is in full swing.

UPI Cheney warns Iran of 'consequences'
Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday warned of "meaningful consequences" if Iran continued to pursue its nuclear programs.
"The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course, the international community is prepared to impose meaningful consequences. For our part, the United States is keeping all options on the table ...," he said.

"And we join other nations in sending that regime a clear message: We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
...

Cheney's speech was terrifying. He vaguely linked "terrorism" worldwide to Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. He received so many standing ovations that by the end, each of his vile sentences was punctuated by cheers and whistles from the warmongering lobbyists in the audience. After Cheney retreated to his undisclosed location for a beer and a shooting, Steny Hoyer, (D-MD) arrived at the podium to slightly less enthusiastic applause. Alluding to the anti-climax the audience clearly felt he said, "As you know, I was scheduled to speak before the vice president...my schedule is more flexible than his." Big Time has big plans, there are detention centers to build and raping and pillaging to be done. The audience warmed up in a hurry as Hoyer reiterated Cheney's warmongering and fierce themes. "Israel is not alone in this fight, nor will she ever be." By the time he was finished, he too was receiving delighted cheers. Steny put our money where his mouth is.

Party leaders pledge support for Israel trips
Leaders of both major U.S. parties are making sure that educational trips to Israel for legislators are not affected by lobbying reforms.

Vice President Dick Cheney addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2006 Annual Policy Conference in Washington, Tuesday, March 7, 2006. During his remarks the vice president commented on the unwavering allied relationship between the US and Israel in the global war on terror and discussed the development of democracy and need for security throughout the Middle East.

Catapulting the propaganda: Donald Rumsfeld and Peter Pace, held a suppress conference today.

Iranian troops in Iraq?
Both officials said Iran, a largely Shiite nation, is trying to exert its influence on its neighbor to the west.
Rumsfeld claimed Iran was sending "Iranian Quds-force type people," or a division of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, into Iraq.
"They're currently putting people into Iraq to do things that are harmful to the future of Iraq," he said. "And we know it. And it is something that they, I think, will look back on as having been an error in judgment. "
Rumsfeld said he suspected Iran was backing the military forces. Revolutionary Guard-type forces don't "go milling around willy-nilly, one would think," he said.
Pace added the U.S. military believes some of the homemade bombs used in Iraq "are traceable back to Iran."

What's next? Yellowcake and centrifuges? Drawings of supposed WMDs? We can expect some fabricated "evidence" of Iranian involvement in Iraq any day now. And possibly the outing of another CIA agent. But wait, Valerie Plame had been working on Iran at the time Rove and Cheney outed her. There was far more to her "outing" than previously suspected. A double whammy for Cheney.
When asked a question about today's DoD press release Pace and Rumsfeld both joked that they hadn't seen it yet. They declined to answer specific questions and the press corps is clearly unable to elicit answers. Rumsfeld said at one point, "Life will go on, not to worry. It'll all be fine." Arrogant lying bastard.

Good Overview from The Guardian