Sy Hersh:

A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was “absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb” if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do “what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do,” and “that saving Iran is going to be his legacy.”

One former defense official, who still deals with sensitive issues for the Bush Administration, told me that the military planning was premised on a belief that “a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government.” He added, “I was shocked when I heard it, and asked myself, ‘What are they smoking?’ ”

Holy crap. This article is terrifying. I heard Drudge debunking it by overplaying the bit where Hersh notes that some plans call for tactical "bunker busting" nukes, but that's a bit of a red herring. In fact, it scares me all the more that no one really denies that there's a good chance that some attack will happen.

Attacking Iran would almost certainly have catastrophic consequences. However, if the debate is between "they're going to get the bomb!" and "well, maybe they won't get it for another six years," I think the war pigs will win. It seems like both sides are spoiling for conflict. Hope I'm misreading everything.