Gulf of Tonkin Redux and the Coming Wider War

So MSN is reporting that because tensions are so high between the US and Iran that some small "accident" could suddenly flare into a direct conflict between the two countries. According to some unnamed military officer, we could find ourselves back in 1914 all over again. But he assures us that he "really believe[s] neither side wants a fight.”

And earlier this week, Bush said as much to a reporter. He literally laughed off the suggestion that America would go to war with Iran, while in the same breath reaffirming that, like always, "all options are on the table."

It's Deja Vu all over again. Tonight, Olbermann spliced together Bush speeches from 2002 and 2007 about Iraq and Iran, respectively. His argument was that the rhetoric in both speeches was the same. Bush claims to seek diplomatic resolution to the Iraqi situation months after Special Forces are already in country prepping for the war that has already been decided upon. At that point in late 2002, he is still trying to make the argument for legal justification for a war that is already happening. Meanwhile, back in 2007, Bush makes similar noises about diplomacy and freedom and loving the people but hating the leaders, in Iran this time.

And now, for those who still aren't paying attention, the rhetoric reaches a painfully idiotic tenor today. With entirely unfounded claims and admittedly baseless speculation, administration personnel are claiming that Iranian agents might have planned or carried out the raid on the security office in Karballah the other day. Apparently, it was much too sophisticated for the Iraqi militias to have carried it out (and what that sentiment says about the level of training we have imparted to the Iraqi Army in the 4 years we've been there is disheartening at best). And apparently it would be easier for Iranians to get ahold of American military uniforms, weapons, vehicles, and communication equipment than for the Iraqis to have done it themselves.

And with the number of US Navy vessels in the Gulf region growing at an alarming rate, admittedly in a show of force against Iran, it becomes harder to believe that Bush is not willfully trying to provoke action.

And then, back to that anonymous military officer where we started:

"Iranian coast guard vessels recently veered into territorial waters on the Arab side of the gulf, an event that could have been viewed as either a mistake or a provocation, the officer said. Both sides are on tenterhooks. “A boat crosses a line ... but what does it mean? You’ve got to be very careful about overreacting,” the officer said."

Which brings us to the Gulf of Tonkin. For those of you long on reactionary impulses and short on brains, I'll remind you what, to the best of anyone's knowledge, happened that day.

Nothing. Nothing at all of any significance happened that day. That's what really kicked off the Vietnam war. A sonar tech who thought he heard something. Everyone was worried it was a torpedo fired by a NV patrol boat. So, naturally, word got sent back to Washington that the NV were definitely firing torpedoes on our ships, even though there was pretty solid evidence by the next day that there were no torpedoes, as evidenced by the thorough lack of explosions in the Tonkin Gulf. You can read about this here. And please don't bring up how the US patrol boats were only 11 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam. That makes people uncomfortable.

Which brings us to Havana, late 19th century. "Remember the Maine" they would all shout. Those dirty Spaniards blew up our ship. Kill, conquer, death, colonize! To this day, no one is really sure what blew up the USS Maine, but historians are pretty sure it WASN'T the Spanish setting bombs. Leading theories involve a mechanical failure in the boiler or sabotage by the sailors on board.

Which brings us to Bush. He claims that he has no plans of escalating the situation or leading us into a wider war. He assures us that he has no plans to start a war with Iran.

Which brings us to a song by Phil Ochs. It goes like this.

We Seek No Wider War