IS BUSH DISCUSSING ATTACK AGAINST IRAN WITH NEO-CON JOURNALISTS?

Dan Froomkin writes today in his blog for washingtonpost.com that Bush has been inviting conservative journalists and bloggers into the White House for private talks and briefings, and that there are signs Bush has been talking about bombing Iran.

Writes Froomkin:

"Charles Krauthammer was among the conservatives invited to the White House Wednesday for a roundtable interview with the president. (See yesterday's column.) Another attendee, The Weekly Standard's William Kristol, wrote afterwards that Bush's "most interesting comments and reflections he put off-the-record."

"In today's Washington Post, Krauthammer writes that he sees "ominous implications for the Middle East" in Syria's apparent attempt to build a nuclear facility with North Korea's help. Behind it all, Krauthammer sees the specter of Iran, and its nuclear ambitions.

""This is an extremely high-stakes game," he writes. "The time window is narrow."

"And talk about ominous: Krauthammer writes that "rival elites" should stop President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear program "before the volcano explodes," in recognition that "the one certain result of such an eruption is Iran's Islamic republic buried under the ash."

Froomkin asks:

"Is Krauthammer echoing Bush? Did the president say something about the possibility of a nuclear attack on Iran? Could the attack on Syria be a precursor to American military action? Is that the reason for all the secrecy?"

An attack on Iran would be disastrous. It would set back Middle East relations with the West and especially with the United States for at least 100 years and probably longer. It would create constant war without peace among the countries in the Middle East. It would blow the price of oil sky high, to $200 per bbl. or higher. It would cause innumerable civilian casualties. It would foment acts of terrorism here in the U.S. It would not prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, rather it would spur Iranian nuclear development if only for a weapon to be used against the Americans and their allies and supporters. And this is only a partial list of bad things that would result from a U.S. attack.