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Political Commentary
  
The US & Iran--Tale of the Three Stooges
It has become painfully obvious that the war cabal (aka "neocons") now in control of the executive branch of the government of the United States is foaming at the mouth with desire to attack Iran. In the words of Yogi Berra, it's deja vu all over again. "President Bush's tough new stance on Iran and his military buildup in the Persian Gulf recall some of the drumbeats that preceded the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. As then, the Bush administration is making allegations about Iran without providing proof." Daily Herald. The following is a sample of the tea leaves pointing toward a US instigated war with Iran:
- For the first time since 2003, Bush ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to the gulf;
- Bush authorized the military to kill or capture Iranian agents in Iraq;
- US special forces stormed an Iranian diplomatic consulate in the northern Iraqi town of Irbil and seized Iranian diplomats lawfully stationed in Iraq, See BBC story;
- "Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms seized an Iranian diplomat as he drove through central Baghdad, officials said Tuesday. Iran said it held the United States responsible." USA Today story (Updated 2-6-2007).
- British sailors were seized by Iran. Britain claims its sailors were on patrol in Iraqi waters while Iran claims the sailors were boarding ships in Iranian waters. George Bush and Tony Blair have called the situation a crisis while demanding an immediate release of the sailors. Remind anyone of two famous cold war incidents--the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin and the USS Pueblo in North Korea? (Updated 3-27-07)
- The administration has armed Iran's Arab neighbors with Patriot missiles (a similar move was made during Gulf War I);
- Gen. George Casey, the incoming Army Chief of Staff and former ground commander in Iraq, testified before Congress that Bush's 21,000 troop "surge" in Iraq consists of more combat troops than he requested, See article;
- Bush's proposed budget seeks funds for 65,000 more army soldiers and 27,000 new Marines indicating that the so-called "surge" in Iraq is intended as a long-term deployment, See Article;
- Reports from various military sources have suggested that US special forces are already operating inside Iran, See story and Kucinich letter.
This game is getting so old and tired. The Bush administration is putting the pieces into place for an attack against Iran while, at the same time, denying it has any intention of undertaking such an attack. See comments of Sec. of Defense Gates: "Nobody is planning, we are not planning for a war with Iran." Article. In an attempt to creat a pretense for invading / bombing Iran, the war cabal has commenced small scale military operations against Iran in the hope that Iran will react militarily. That's how the Vietnam War got underway, see Gulf of Tonkin scam. The war cabal will claim we are under imminent threat from Iran's nuclear program and that our troops in Iraq (who should never have been there in the first place) are now being attacked by Iranian agents.
For his part, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has played into the Neocon hands. He has challenged the reality of the Holocaust and said that Israel must be “wiped off the map.” His government has also "vowed to defy a resolution by the United Nations Security Council ordering it to freeze uranium enrichment." Story. But might not the actions of Ahmadinejad and the Iranian clerics seemingly goading the US into bombing further their own interests as well? The Iranian clerics are hugely unpopular among their own people. But a heavy handed US bombing campaign will certainly tilt Iranian public opinion in favor of the clerics who can then posture as defenders of the homeland against the US threat. Repressive regimes need an enemy. Bush / Cheney & Ahmadinejad / the Iranian clerics need each other.
One final thought: what's the Neocon endgame? If they are just going to try and bomb Iran back into the stone age (ala Israel's recent foray into Lebanon), why import all the extra combat troops into the theater? Something tells me that the Neocons intend to grab a chunk of Iranian territory boarding Iraq and hold it. A possible motive would be access to the oil rich Caspian Sea. 2007 shall be a dangerous year for our nation. Hopefully the US people and the members of Congress will stiffen their backs and demand an end to the war in the middle east or, at a bare minimum, prevent its further escalation.
JJR
2-5-2007
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Update 1: In a wide-ranging article by Seymour Hersh on a shift in the Bush Administration's middle east policy, the following comment is found: "Two carrier strike groups—the Eisenhower and the Stennis—are now in the Arabian Sea. One plan is for them to be relieved early in the spring, but there is worry within the military that they may be ordered to stay in the area after the new carriers arrive, according to several sources." "Redirection", New Yorker magazine (March 5, 2007). The upshot: Bush will have four carrier battle groups briefly at his disposal in the Arabian Sea this spring. Gee, you don't think he'd try and use those four carriers to bomb Iran? Naw, I'm sure the carriers are just there on maneuvers.
Update 2: "Several small blasts hit the British embassy in Tehran during a demonstration yesterday, after Iran said it was waiting for a 'change of behaviour' from Britain over the detention of 15 sailors and marines. One witness said there were eight blasts from small, home-made explosive devices as scuffles broke out between police and part of a 200-strong crowd outside the embassy." Link. The Iranian clerics have taken the neocon bait and are pushing back in response to the low level aggression from the west. (4-1-2007).
Update 3: Two interesting points came to light today. First, it looks like the Brits surely knew that their sailors were in disputed waters when they were seized by the Iranians. Were the British sailors sacrificial lambs? Link. Second, according to a new report, the aim of the US raid on an Iranian consulate in Irbil (northern Iraq) was more ambitious than originally thought. The target of the raid was two high ranking Iranian security officers rather than the low level diplomats who were actually captured and are still held by the US. Link. Clearly, the facts point to the intention of the USA and Britain to provoke a war with Iran. (4-2-2007).
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