Understanding the Past and Future

The Bush administration continues to attempt to stir up a fight with Iran and MSNBC seems inclined to help out. MSNBC reports here that:

U.S. military and intelligence officials tell NBC News that American soldiers intercepted a large shipment of high explosives, smuggled into northeastern Iraq from Iran only last week.

The officials say the shipment contained dozens of "shaped charges" manufactured recently. Shaped charges are especially lethal because they’re designed to concentrate and direct a more powerful blast into a small area.

However, a British General is not so convinced, as reported in this article:

"We don't know exactly where that came from," he said. "We are keen to find out and investigations are ongoing. There have been suggestions that they could have come from Iran, but I certainly can't prove that."

And they wonder why less that 50% of the people now this Bush is honest.

MSNBC shows particularly poor judgment by quoting Michael Leeden, who states:

"They are desperate to get us out of Iraq” says Michael Ledeen, author of "The War Against the Terror Masters" and resident scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute. “If we succeed in Iraq they will be surrounded by elected governments.”

I think they only desperate ones are the neocons, who are desperate for us to bomb Iran.

It is always worth pointing out that Ledeen was denied tenure at Washington University because the staff found he had committed plagiary. Why he is accorded any stature whatsoever, by MSNBC or anyone else, is completely beyond me.