Bush Will Never Pull Trigger on Iran Bombings

But Salon says vice prez could still 'engineer' a war

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 19, 2007 6:04 PM CDT

(Newser) – Most pundits say Bush will knock out Iran's nuke plants by spring, but months of not pulling the trigger prove he'll never do it - though someone else might, argues Steven Clemons in Salon. Advisers pushing for the military option have lost ground to moderates, and a coterie of neocons penning op-ed pieces hasn't swayed Bush to open another war front in the Middle East.

The White House plays good cop/bad cop to make Iran fear a strike, but Bush knows his Iran intel is thin and post-attack chaos would be vast. So he isn’t going in unless someone whips up an “engineered provocation.” Who would do such a thing? "The two people who would see their political fortunes rise through a new conflict -- Cheney and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."

[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

Vice President Dick Cheney looks on at left as President Bush, right, arrives at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, to speak to Military Support Organizations. (AP... (Associated Press)

President Bush pauses while speaking to Military Support Organizations, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (Associated Press)

U. S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burn speaks to the media after his meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007. Burn called Wednesday for U.N.... (Associated Press)

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, smiles as he leaves the parliament after delivering a report of his activities on Iran's fourth development plan, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007.... (Associated Press)

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former U.S. national security adviser, seen here at a regional conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Saturday, July 7, 2007, insists that the Bush administration will launch a military... (Associated Press)

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Keith Olberman addresses the possibility of War with Iran. (DigitalWarriorMedia (YouTube))

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Bush Will Never Pull Trigger on Iran Bombings