Scary Gossip
By Tara McKelvey at Tapped is hearing military gossip that soldiers have been told to expect being sent to Iran:
Soldiers in three separate units in Fort Stewart have been saying they are now being informed that they will soon be deployed for 12 to 18 months — and they should plan on going to Iran. At least that’s what I heard from an army wife in Hinesville. I didn’t really believe her.
Still, I mentioned it at a recent NYU Law School symposium, “The Mirage of the State: Fragmentation, Fragility, and Failure and the Implications on Law and Security.” (We just called it the “Failed States” event.) A woman sitting next to me said she had heard the same thing from a lieutenant colonel she knows. “He has been told that they are going to Iran,” she recalled.
I haven’t heard anyone seriously argue that attacking Iran would be a good idea. I’ve seen plenty of people argue that it would be an absolutely terrible idea. Gossip like this, which gives the impression that we’re inevitably sliding toward war despite the fact that there’s no sane justification for it, frightens me unspeakably.
There may be nothing at all to this; and I may be worried about nothing. But worrying about nothing is harmless — letting a gradual movement toward another insane war go forward without comment is a terrifying idea. (also at my home blog Unfogged.)