A Journey To Hell

There are many reasons to go to the T-Nation site, which I frequently do to read about men's health issues, bodybuilding tips which have virtually no impact on anything I do since I spend way too much time sitting behind a workstation plunking on a keyboard (like right now), and a wide variety of other matters which impact the site's predominantly male audience. Also, if you venture to the site, you will probably see some clip art which has appeared from time to time at this location (with the proper attribution in the popup, of course).

I went to the site a few days ago and came across a post by Doug Herman, a USAF veteran, about the war with Iran which I pray to God will only be theoretical, though I am anxious a bit on that because both of the leaders involved (Bush and Ahmadinejad) are, for my money, crazed cowards stoked by their own kind of perverse fervor.

Herman's post is, I think, a tour de force of what we would be looking at in the event of this horrifying development. It is followed by a good deal of thoughtful commentary, mixed in with the requisite Clinton bashing for no particular reason (and some Dubya bashing also, which I believe is completely deserved).

The one area where I disagree with Herman is the aftermath of what he envisions as the assassination of President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan (probably the scariest possibility for me in that entire region - I think the guy's a thug, but the alternative is far worse...a little similar to the situation in Iraq with Hussein before we launched the war - funny that many people saw that but Dubya didn't).

Let's say Pakistan is taken over by al Qaeda (yes...it gives me a chill also). Who do you think they go after first? My guess would be India, since that feud has been churning for at least 60 years and probably much longer. Can you imagine what would happen to the computer software industry in that event, to say nothing of the human and environmental horrors?

So Pakistan and Iran unite, taking the Shiite-controlled regions of Iraq with them and what's left of India. How do you think Russia and China will respond? My guess is that the two countries form a pact, then move in and take over everything, launching their own aggression against each other after the rest of Asia is controlled by Beijing. And in that scenario, my money is on the Chinese, making THEM the next great superpower with the U.S. officially relegated to permanent third-world status.

I've read that, traditionally, presidential administrations conjure up scenarios such as these as part of foreign policy risk analysis. I have no clue about what Bushco is doing or not doing on this front, and their horrific performance on other matters doesn't make me feel like they're doing what they should here either. I truly pray that there is some pragmatist somewhere in that bunch who doesn't think nuclear war will initiate The Rapture, lifting everyone out of their clothes and onward to Heaven, or whatever other hokum it is that they believe.

As you read Herman's post, I would ask that you keep all of this in mind, as well as the fact that Bushco (restating what I said in the "Boots" post below, I know) will be trying to frighten us with this into November. However, even with these highly unnerving possibilities "on the table," it is still up to us to act with reason and courage and not panic. And as others have pointed out, Bush's staggeringly juvenile reference to Iran as part of the "Axis of Evil" some years ago alienated moderates who supported us in the region and hastened the rise of nationalistic nut cases like the one presently fronting for the mullahs who are really in charge.