MARS ASCENDING?

According to my friend Chris Hedges, war with Iran in the near future is more likely than we realize. The forces of mars and thanatos are on the march and it may ironically be only our military leaders-- Robert Gates, George Casey, and William Fallon--who are able to resist the final push. Here is his analysis. He writes:

"The last, best hope for averting a war with Iran lies with the United States military. The Democratic Congress, cowed by the Israel lobby and terrified of appearing weak on defense before the presidential elections, will do nothing to halt an attack. The media, especially the electronic press, is working overtime to whip up fear of a nuclear Iran and tar Tehran with abetting attacks against American troops in Iraq. The American public is complacent, unsure of what to believe, knocked off balance by fear and passive. We will be saved or doomed by our generals.

Hedges concludes: "We live now at the mercy of events. A provocation by Iran, aided by a bellicose White House, could plunge us into another war. It could unleash the primitive chant for violence and revenge that rises up from a population that feels vulnerable, uncertain and afraid. There are forces in our society ready and willing to fan the blood lust for a wider circle of war and mayhem."

As Reformed Christians we know about the fallenness of human nature. If this is true should we be so fatalistic about, "the mercy of events?" What beyond prayer is our responsibility as Americans? As Christians? I think we should educate ourselves on the subject through study of scripture and tradition, social analysis, dialogue and experience. But at the end of the day one must, as Dr. King said, break out of "the paralysis of analysis." If a war with Iran with modern weaponry begins and "unintended consequences" ensue, it will be a radical evil. By naming and unmasking it now, we may be able to avert it by the skin of our teeth.