Via Digby, a warning about the Bush Ad­min­is­tra­tion trying to gin up a case for war against Iran. Arthur Silber and Scott Ritter have things to say.

I just sent the following letter to my Senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, my Rep­re­sen­ta­tive, Jim McDermott, and to Senator Russ Feingold.

Senator:

It is quite apparent that the Bush Ad­min­is­tra­tion is working up to provoking a war on Iran. We went through this before, in the leadup to the Iraq war in 2002.

I hold no brief for Iran. They are bad actors in the region. Clearly, they have worrisome nuclear ambitions. And they have little love for the U.S.

But somehow, we survived more than 40 years of Cold War against a far greater threat, without ever going to war with the Soviets.

As Scott Ritter points out at http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070205/ritter a De­mo­c­ra­t­i­cal­ly-controlled Congress will share re­spon­si­bil­i­ty with Bush should we start an un­nec­es­sary war with Iran. Only Congress can declare war; do not forfeit that right to the president again.

Let there be hearings. Let a real case be made for war with Iran. And if our national security is indeed at stake, then do what you must. But if it is not, then shut this down now.

There is a great moral question at stake here. (Never mind the logistical dif­fi­cul­ties of starting another war when the Army is already stretched too thin.) We cannot, must not, silently acquiesce to another war.

Go, thou, and do likewise.