The Bush administration has ruled through fear, making us believe (well, some of us at least) that there are terrorists around every corner, brandishing Ricin and Anthrax and nukular weapons. We discovered this was not the case in Iraq, and now it seems, all those people being held at Guantanamo fit into the same category:
Most of the alleged al Qaeda and Taliban inmates at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are likely to be freed or sent to their home countries for further investigation because many pose little threat and are not providing much valuable intelligence, the facility’s deputy commander has said.
The remarks by Army Brig. Gen. Martin Lucenti in yesterday’s edition of London’s Financial Times appeared to conflict with past comments by U.S. military commanders who have stressed the value of the information obtained from the detainees and the danger many would pose if released.
How much more evidence will begin to come out about the political fearmongering and the human cost?
Meanwhile, while Dick Cheney continues to insist — despite all evidence to the contrary — that Saddam Hussein was a threat to us, Iran (a nation that does support terrorists, that does possess a nuclear weapons program) now has missiles capable of reaching Europe, unlike Saddam’s missiles that fizzled on the ground.
Iran has increased the range of its missiles to 1,250 miles, a senior Iranian official was quoted as saying on Tuesday, putting parts of Europe within reach for the first time.
Military analysts had estimated Iran’s missile range at 810 miles, which would allow it to strike anywhere in Israel. But Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the country’s influential former president and the head of a government oversight body, as saying: “Now we have the power to launch a missile with a 2,000-kilometer range. Iran is determined to improve its military capabilities.”
“If the Americans attack Iran, the world will change. . . . They will not dare to make such a mistake,” Rafsanjani was quoted as saying in a speech at a national security exhibition.
Okay, George: you’re the consistent, strong leader who wants to keep us safe. When are you invading Iran?
