Iran

UPDATED

A reporter just asked Bush what evidence there is that high officials in the Iranian government are involved in sending weapons into Iraq.

The president says, either they knew, or they didn't know. What's worse, that they knew or they didn't know? The implication being that it really doesn't matter. All that matters is the fact that the weapons are there.

Well, Mr. president, it's worse if they knew and ordered it to be done. That would be the fundamental question with regard to whether we are justified in attacking Iran over this matter.

He just said it again (obviously, I'm live-blogging this). This must be the new talking point on Iran - that it doesn't matter if they know about it or not. Either they know about it and are responsible, or they don't know about it and are failing to stop it. As talking points go, it's one of the worst I have ever heard. It makes the case for the invasion of Iraq look like... well... a slam dunk.

If this is the best Bush can do, and he tries to take us to war against Iran based on this ludicrous and frightening rationale, he must be removed from office.

UPDATE

The Washington Post leads with Bush's ludicrous assertion/admission about Iran's involvement in sending weapons into Iraq.

President Bush said today he has no doubt that Iran has supplied weapons used against U.S. forces in Iraq, but he stressed that he does not know whether the top leadership in Iran ordered the activity and he denied that he is using the issue as a "pretext" for war against Iran.

[...]

Bush said the Quds Force, a component of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, has been "instrumental in providing these deadly IEDs [improvised explosive devices] to networks inside of Iraq" and that the Quds Force "is a part of the Iranian government."

He added, "What we don't know is whether or not the head leaders in Iran ordered the Quds Force to do what they did." He then asked, "What's worse? That the government knew or that the government didn't know?"

He said in reply to a subsequent question, "There are weapons in Iraq that are harming U.S. troops" because of smuggling by the Quds Force. "Whether [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad ordered the Quds Force to do this, I don't think we know. But we do know that they're there. And I intend to do something about it. And I've asked our commanders to do something about it. And we're going to protect our troops."

Bush cut off a follow-up question, asserting, "There's no contradiction that the weapons are there and they were provided by the Quds Force."

This is outrageous. There are two U.S. Naval carrier groups in the Persian Gulf, with another on the way, based on the suggestion that Iran is supplying weapons to Iraq's Shia. At the same time, Bush acknowledges he has no idea if the Iranian government knows about its own alleged involvement in the supplying of said weapons. Meanwhile, Bush rejects the suggestion that the presence of those carrier groups indicates any intention on his part to engage Iran militarily. I don't know how the reporters in that room resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Maybe they were too horrified by the realization that our president is deranged.

As I wrote above, if Bush tries to take our country to war against Iran based on this insane rationale, he should be removed from office for malfeasance.