Time to revoke to Bush's "war powers"

In 2003 Bush uttered those fateful 16 words that ultimately embroiled us in Iraq. Now almost exactly four years later, he again addressed the nation and drops 29 words that may embroil us in a larger, regional conflict in the Middle East.

"...we'll interrupt the flow of support from Iran and Syria. And we will seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq."

The similarities between the runup to Iraq and Bush's posturing on Iran are eerie and disturbing, especially coming from a guy that apparently still firmly believes he can fool all of the people, all of the time, by "repeating the propaganda" until he makes it stick. The good news is that this time Congress is not buying what he's selling without checking the warranty information. [Via Joe Gandleman who has an excellent post on the subject]

"If the president concluded he had to invade Iran ... or Syria in pursuit of these networks, I believe the present authorization granted the president to use force in Iraq does not cover that and he does need congressional authority to do that," said Biden.

Condi's response is less than comforting.

"Obviously, the president isn't going to rule anything out to protect our troops, but the plan is to take down these networks in Iraq," she said.

Considering Bush's record on taking unilateral action he deems necessary, Condi's remarks certainly lends an air of credibility to the rumor Steve Clemmons is floating that Bush has in fact already signed a secret executive order authorizing military action across the Iraq border into Iran and Syria. One to can't fail to remember her fateful words on mushroom clouds preceding the rush into Iraq in the first place.

Crooks and Liars has some video of Condi's testimony before the committee and she doesn't present like a person who is telling everything she knows. In my book, the testier the response, the more likely it is that it's a lie. I used to use the same righteous indignation when I lied to my mother about smoking cigarettes when I was sixteen.

I have a gut feeling that Clemmons is right and this is going to end up very badly, not just for America but for the entire planet. If Congress can't stop Bush right now, the consequences are too horrible to contemplate. I think it's time for the Democrats to drop everything else on their 100 hour agenda and immediately revoke his war powers.

Update: Glenn Greenwald weighs in with an comprehensive post that only underscores my anxiety about Bush going forward on this reckless path to mass destruction. However, it is heartening to see at least some media figures trying to hold the White House accountable for a change. Read the post if only for the transcript of Chris Matthews' exchange with Tony Snow.