Stop the Ride, Please

Let me off!

Because there just can't be enough instability in the world, the Bush Administration has authorized covert ops against Iran, with the aim of overthrowing the government there. ABC News broke this story yesterday, and it's the sort of thing that should end Bush's presidency. Check out the story here.

The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions.

"I can't confirm or deny whether such a program exists or whether the president signed it, but it would be consistent with an overall American approach trying to find ways to put pressure on the regime," said Bruce Riedel, a recently retired CIA senior official who dealt with Iran and other countries in the region.

You won't be surprised to find out that Iran-Contra figure Elliott Abrams has both arms in this, right up to the elbows.

Wow. Now, I assumed that there were all sorts of covert ops in progress WRT Iran, but this constitutes proof. You also can safely assume that the Iranians were, if not aware of these programs, certainly under the impression that the US would engage in these and other black ops. So the mad dance around the Persian Gulf continues.

However, if you really wanna know why this is so disheartening (which is a fancy way of saying "we're fucked"), look at the comments people have left regarding this story. Start with the first one:

If it was a secret, it isn't any longer. I will turn off ABC News and never watch again.

I consider ABC News Traders to the United States

Posted by: David Reid | May 22, 2007 6:36:30 PM

Whoa. That's pretty ballsy, to call them out for being Traders. And people said there wouldn't be any adverse effects from the systematic de-funding of public schools.

The lion's share of the rest of the comments are along similar lines, and only occasionally display correct grammar.

So let's wrap up. The US has authorized covert ops aimed at destabilizing another country's government. Someone lets ABC know about this story. ABC News, doing what it's supposed to do, tells the public about this program. And many people react by condemning the organization that broke the story. I guess that's a case of shooting the messenger. Sigh. Stop the ride, please.