Tribune editorial title change displays their war mongering desperation

The Chicago Tribune apparently wasn't satisfied with its hysterical print edition editorial title: 'Iran's nuclear taunts' (January 15) so the even more incendiary title 'Iran claims a nuclear victory over the West' was used on its website version. The Trib editorial board, already fully in bed with the war party and the Israel Lobby to help Senator Mark Kirk torpedo the Obama administration and the five power Joint Plan of Action détente with Iran, simply cannot permit diplomacy to take its peaceful course. How dare the Trib support Kirk's mischievous bill that not only will likely prevent a deal with Iran from being achieved, it essentially ties the US to supporting Israel should they launch a pre-emptive, criminal war against Iran. Aside from Trib, most major media outlets and most sensible government officials want Senator Kirk to withdraw his bill which promotes increased sanctions on Iran, besides pledging US support to Israel in their lust to eliminate a rival for hegemony in the Middle East. The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and USA Today all condemned Kirk's bill. Although the first two are normally neo conservative war hawks, Kirk's war fanaticism was apparently too much even for them. Over sixty organizations, including the sane Israel lobbying group J Street and the American Baptist Churches sent a joint letter to the Senate arguing Kirk's law "sets insurmountable demands for a comprehensive nuclear deal...and would critically endanger the possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear standoff with Iran, increasing the likelihood of...an unnecessary war." The normally pro military Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair, termed Kirk's bill "a march to war" and said she deeply believes "that a vote for this bill will cause negotiations to collapse." She took the Israel Lobby head on stating, "While I share Israel's concern, we cannot let Israel determine when and where the US goes to war. By stating the US should provide military support to Israel should it attack Iran, I fear that is exactly what this bill will do." Ten Senate committee chairs warned that "new sanctions would play into the hands of those in Iran who are most eager to see the negotiations fail." Fortunately, Illinois' senior senator Dick Durbin, has joined with a number of others in opposing Kirk's legislative march to war.

It is impossible to determine what madness has prompted the Trib editorial board to join reckless senators, led by the junior senator from Illinois, to undermine the first opportunity for détente with Iran since the 1979 hostage crisis. Possibly, the Trib, having failed to succeed in getting a victory from the first two criminal Middle East wars it supported, believes that the third time will be a charm.