If the U.S. and Israel take their bogus dismay over the "secret" Iranian nuclear site at Qom to the next, insanely stupid level - and either with draconian sanctions or military strikes against the Persian "republic" prompt yet another regional war - we can thank the tattoo of war drums thumping at Foggy Bottom.

Proving C.L. Montague's wry observation, "hell hath no fury like a noncombatant", Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has become the central hawk in the Obama Administration, and the Democrats' own steely Athena told CBS yesterday that Iran must present "convincing evidence as to the purpose of their nuclear program. We don't believe that they can present convincing evidence that it's only for peaceful purposes, but we are going to put them to the test on October 1st."

Why go through the mockery of a sit-down at all? Thursday's meeting is a foregone conclusion, Clinton seems to be saying; we're going to spit in their face, slap on the much-threatened "make 'em bleed" sanctions and go bowling.

And all this over a supposedly secret facility, years from coming on-line, that the U.S. has known about since the early Bush era. A CNN report on Friday noted:

The United States was aware of Iran's unfinished uranium enrichment site for several years, (according to senior U.S. officials)... (They) have known about the facility since President George W. Bush's administration, according to the officials who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations... Iran came to realize fairly recently that the facility was no longer secret, so Washington found itself in a race with Iran to reveal the facility to the international community, the officials said.

So, our peerless leaders have kept this little bon mot in their hip pocket all these years, waiting for a juicy moment. With Russia momentarily placated by us junking the exorbitant East-European missile shield, and Israel telling everybody (but really not telling anyone) they're not interested in attacking, this may be the moment; the door is open to hostile escalation, and Israel and a "conciliatory" U.S. can always claim they did "everything" for peace short of relocating Everest. You won't hear any suspicions of duplicity from American media, CNN included, as it transforms itself, yet again, as megaphone for the Washington warmakers.

But there's an unavoidably public stink of phoniness about this whole "crisis": The "secret" nuclear facility  being readied by those dastardly Iranians portends advantages for all the usual suspects:

American efforts to marshal worldwide pressure against Iran have gained traction since the revelation last Friday that Iran was operating a clandestine nuclear site. Even Israel, which has long warned that a military strike might be the only effective response to Iran's ambitions, now seems satisfied to let President Obama play out his strategy of offering to talk while threatening to impose painful measures if those talks go nowhere. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel telephoned the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and five other influential lawmakers on Thursday and Friday to urge the United States to pursue "crippling sanctions" against Iran, according to Israeli officials and people close to the lawmakers.

The sanctions will bar all refined petroleum products from reaching Iranian ports; for an oil rich country, Iran has few refineries, and the prospect of an outright blockade sent it to the missile ranges this weekend to fire off a few warning shots in the form of "test" rockets. That's the untimate aim of this nonsense - to push Iran to belligerence so the hammers can fall.

The same gambit at work here was successfully employed in Iraq, albeit we want Iran to strike the first blow, since the American people want another Mideast war the way they want another Spanish Flu pandemic.

Clinton, who so blithely threatened Iran with "annhilation" in a Presidential primary debate 18 months ago, may yet get her wish, along with Ariel Sharon, now comatose and out of the fray. In 2003, he famously counseled completion of the neocon blueprint for the region, urging the war spread from Iraq to Syria and Iran. Hmmm... all Israel's regional enemies in a pack.

Hillary Clinton and Ariel Sharon. Armchair amazon and sleeping prophet.

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