Leaning on a Thin Reed

Is there anyone left who will save the world from the horrors that Bush and Cheney are lusting to unleash with a pre-emptive war on Iran? (Having watched the Democrats go 0-40 in their efforts to end, or even to modify, the war in Iraq, you are not allowed to pick the Congress.)

Chris Hedges, who has written several good books about the nature of war, weighs in today with his answer: the last line of defense, he writes in truthout.org, is the U.S. military:

The last, best hope for averting a war with Iran lies with the United States military. The Democratic Congress, cowed by the Israel lobby and terrified of appearing weak on defense before the presidential elections, will do nothing to halt an attack. The media, especially the electronic press, is working overtime to whip up fear of a nuclear Iran and tar Tehran with abetting attacks against American troops in Iraq. The American public is complacent, unsure of what to believe, knocked off balance by fear and passive. We will be saved or doomed by our generals.

Hedges then hedges his bet, and it's a sad testament to the state to which our republic has descended that we have to even consider whether our generals would resist an order from Bush, an action that could easily be classified as treason and result in court-martial and execution.

But there is an interesting historical precedent, within the lifetimes of some of you reading this comment (you geezers know who you are). In 1974, when it was increasingly clear that Nixon would be forced out of office one way or another by impeachment or resignation, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh reported that Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger took an extraordinary step. According to Hersh:

The notion that Nixon could at any time resort to extraordinary steps to preserve his presidency was far more widespread in the government than the public perceived in the early days of Watergate or perceives today....

In essence, Schlesinger asked [Joint Chief of Staff chairman General George S.] Brown for a commitment that neither he nor any of the other chiefs would respond to an order from the White House calling for the use of military force without immediately informing Schlesinger.....

Schlesinger knew that many might view his precautionary steps as the actions of an alarmist, but years later he remained proud of his decision: "First protect the country and then the Department of Defense."

So there you have it. Are the current Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and the current Joint Chiefs of Staff, as capable of placing the welfare of country above the welfare of the Bush presidency? I hope we never have to find out.