Amatuer Hour for Iran Speculations

People of all political stripes are jabbering about Iran. The general consensus is vague – something is probably happening – nobody knows exactly what.

One of the people scratching their heads is Michael Earl Patton, an indie media type who appears to be involved in some capacity with the Cincinnati Beacon, our local bastion of leftward thought and ad hominem anonymous commentary. In a post that highlights the joys of sort-kinda-maybe speculative blogging, Mike sees three things that seem to suggest trouble’s a brewing:

1. Oil prices are rising – but gas prices are not.
2. Vague reports that the Russians have packed up and left some site in Iran – all of a sudden.
3. The United States Senate voted 92 to 3 to continue funding the efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, despite the purported public mandate for immediate troop withdrawal.

The first item is explained in the article to which Patton links – refineries are switching to “winter blend” fuel, ramping up for home heating oil, and they have recently seen the end of the summer driving season. Price as a function of supply and demand is the simplest explanation for many, many, things - but who wants to fiddle about with tedious old microeconomics when there are conspiracies that explain everything?

To be fair, Patton didn’t specifically haul out the petro-military cabal bogeyman in his post – I suppose I’ll need to root around at antiwar.com or Democracy Now to have those dots connected. But he did punt everything downfield with an open-ended insinuation that will really help the tin-foil brigade take everything home.

As to the vamoosing Ruskies … well, who knows? It’s entirely possible that they tipped off through diplomatic channels that it’s a bad idea to stay in-country. Or it could be possible that they simply haven’t been paid lately. Or the story – which isn’t exactly from an authoritative news source – is simply wrong. The moral equivalency crowd likes to pretend that it’s equally hard to know the truth in America and places like Iran – but the stubborn fact is that our society is free, and theirs isn’t (a fact that is underscored by the mere existence of outfits like Patton's Beacon).

The last item – ho, ho. Isn’t that funny. You mean to tell me the United States Senate – which is, according to the Constitution, up to speed on 99% of all goings-on when it comes to behind the scenes international intelligence – you mean they’re still voting to fund the war despite the loud rhetoric from Democrats who want to satisfy George Soros? Isn’t that curious. And, what’s more, the Democrat front-runners steadfastly won’t commit to a complete withdrawal from Iraq before 2013?

Could it be possible that our politicians know something we don’t? Let me jump on the bandwagon of insinuation: Something may indeed be happening behind the scenes, and our political leaders (Republican and Democrat alike) have indeed read the tea leaves, and they’re afraid that despite everything, despite how you feel about Iraq or Bush. Maybe we are actually in a very dangerous position relative to world threats, and we are truly war, and those who have sworn to lead and defend this country have some sobering obligations and immediate challenges.