There already are a lot of other people who are focusing on the Bush regime's alleged policy justifications for an attack on Iran. This blog can add to the debate by focusing on areas that are not getting adequate coverage in the corporate media or in the alternative media, for that matter.

Even if Iran does not retaliate after being bombed by the Bush regime, that will not protect us from dramatically higher gas prices. Iran may not be a major oil supplier to the US, but the Iranians sell a lot of oil to other countries. Those countries would bid up the price of oil if an attack on Iran were to cut off oil exports. Even business reporting in the corporate media sometimes catches onto this.

Will Iran dispute push oil to $130? (CNN Money 2/2/06)

And, many foreign policy experts expect Iran to live up to threats to retaliate. Iran and Saudi Arabia already have terrible relations. The civil war in Afghanistan was partly a proxy war between the two countries with Iran siding with the warlords (a.k.a. "The Northern Alliance") and Saudi Arabia siding with the Taliban and Al Qaida. The Saudis are arming the Sunnis in Iraq while the Iranians are arming the Shi'ites. (And both sides are getting plenty of arms and training from the US military as their members also pose as Iraqi military and police.)

Saudi oil facilities would be a tempting target for Iran under any circumstances. If Iran's oil production is shut down during an attack, the narrow Straights of Hormuz would be a tempting target for mining. (If the Iranians cannot sell petroleum, why would they allow anyone else too either.) There are plenty of other targets which could cut off oil production and transport for a time, pushing oil and, in turn, gas prices higher.

The US economy is based on petroleum. Any massive increase in oil prices would raise the prices of nearly everything we buy, not just gasoline, since nearly everything we buy is imported and then transported in trucks across the country. Our nation's environmentally unfriendly dependence on plastics also would be problematic, since the vast majority of them are made with petroleum.

A rapid increase in oil prices also would increase the already huge trade deficits we are running, which in turn would make our current credit squeeze even worse. Our country cannot afford an additional borrowing binge. The dollar is in free fall, and an oil shock could make things much worse.

The economy already sucks for middle class and poor Americans. How much more can we take?