In your name

Seymour Hersh's recent article, "Preparing the Battlefield," raises a number of worrisome issues:

• Last December, Congressional leaders went along with a request from the Bush administration for up to $400 million for covert operations in Iran, including "defensive lethal action." Where is Congressional oversight? Why are Democrats going along with this?
• Since then, violence has increased significantly in Iran: bombings, assassinations, etc. Are U.S. military or CIA members responsible?
• While U.S. public opinion has strongly been in favor of using diplomacy rather than military force in Iran, support for military action jumped after an incident in January when Iranian patrol boats allegedly threatened a U.S. warship. The source of the beligerent radio communication has not been conclusively identified, and there is speculation that the message came from a prankster who is known to operate in the area in question. Would the U.S. repeat the Gulf of Tonkin incident and stage a situation to justify a military attack?

What is being done in our names?

Hersh was recently interviewed about the article by Terry Gross on Fresh Air.