Disturbing

The recent provocations of Iran by the Bush administration should disturb us all. President Bush scared us into the Iraq quagmire with visions of mushroom clouds in the American heartland. Iran, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency and other experts, is believed to be five to 10 years from having an atomic weapon. The recent arrest of Iranian diplomats in Iraq and the new deployment of a carrier strike force in the Gulf region are signs of this provocation. The planned deployment of Patriot missile batteries in Gulf Cooperation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) can only signify the looming air attack of Iran. Iran has a weak air force and its retaliatory efforts would be through ballistic missile strikes at our allies in the Gulf. Are Americans going to be steamrolled and conned into a larger quagmire in the Middle East? At what extraordinary price of blood and treasure? U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is onto this diabolical scheme. "When you set in motion the kind of policy that the president is talking about here," he warned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, "it's very, very dangerous." Contact your congressman and senators and demand they rein in the ongoing madness of this administration. Roy Lehman, Woolwich - January 20, 2007