Another first-class article by Deniz Yeter! MUST READ!
Quiz question: What was the reason Saddam gave for attacking Iran?
Friday, February 16, 2007
Former Bush Officials Accuse White House of Trying To Provoke First Strike from Iran
Warn public that Bush is looking for a pretext to justify a broader, regional conflict
Deniz Yeter, Truthout.org
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Hillary Mann Leverett, the former National Security Council Director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Affairs under the Bush Administration from 2001 to 2004 until she left the Administration, has issued a sober warning to the public concerning Bush's intentions with Iran.
Five days ago in an interview on CNN(1) she accused the Bush Administration of "trying to push a provocative, accidental conflict" from Iran as a pretext to justify "limited strikes" against the country’s crucial nuclear and military infrastructures, as opposed to "an all-out invasion like what happened with Iraq."
Her warning comes a day after sources revealed to Newsweek(2) that "a second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf" and "that a third carrier will likely follow" to replace one of the strike carriers already in the Gulf.
In retaliation, "Iran shot off a few missiles in those same tense waters last week in a highly publicized test."
Hillary Mann joins a growing consensus of current and former US Government, Military, and Intelligence Officials who accuse the Bush Administration of trying to spark another unnecessary and unfounded war in the Middle East for their own self-interests.
Bush came up with the same plan for Iraq, to be used in case he wanted to garner more support for the legitimacy of a grossly illegitimate war, two months before the invasion of Iraq.
The plan is detailed in a leaked memo confirmed by both the Independent(3) and the Guardian(4), which is not contested by either the Bush or Blair Administrations.
One plot, among others, consisted of "flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in UN colors" in the hopes that Saddam Hussein would have it shot down.
Tony Blair and George Bush at a press conference in the White House. Washington DC. January 31, 2003
When asked what the Bush Administration should do in its confrontation with Iran, Hillary Mann suggested that "we should do what Nixon and Kissinger did with China in the early 1970s."
"We should respond positively, [and] constructively to Iranian overtures, to enter into comprehensive talks with Iran and to strike a grand bargain.
"A grand bargain would mean we would have to make some concessions, and it would mean the Iranians would have to make some important concessions.
"But at the end of the day I think there is a path.
"The Iranians have put this on the table before.
"There is a path to go forward to resolve the outstanding differences between the two countries, and eventually normalize the relationship, like the US and China, like with what we did at the end of the Vietnam War in opening China to the United States."
"A grand bargain would mean we would have to make some concessions, and it would mean the Iranians would have to make some important concessions.
"But at the end of the day I think there is a path.
"The Iranians have put this on the table before.
"There is a path to go forward to resolve the outstanding differences between the two countries, and eventually normalize the relationship, like the US and China, like with what we did at the end of the Vietnam War in opening China to the United States."
Confronted with the question of why the Bush Administration is seeking to lure Iran into attacking, Hillary Mann responded vaguely that it is a part of Bush's broader agenda for the Middle East to bring about a "democratization... peace and stability", to the region.
Of course, Iran is only one piece in the puzzle of a broader, century-long struggle by the US, Britain and its Western allies to colonize the Middle East to secure its oil reserves.
The Bush Administration is only picking up where others left off on this quest for global US hegemony.
1951 - Iran Nationalizes Oil Industry(5)
Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh succeeds in leading a movement to nationalize Iran's oil industry.
He becomes Iran’s first Prime Minister, the country’s first democratically elected leader, in the proceeding elections primarily as a result from this central issue.
This ends the immensely profitable monopoly that Britain controlled through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company since 1909, which becomes the British Petroleum Company in 1954, more commonly known today as BP.
He becomes Iran’s first Prime Minister, the country’s first democratically elected leader, in the proceeding elections primarily as a result from this central issue.
This ends the immensely profitable monopoly that Britain controlled through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company since 1909, which becomes the British Petroleum Company in 1954, more commonly known today as BP.
1953 - Operation Ajax(6)
The CIA conducts a series of covert actions under the name "Operation Ajax"(6) (TP-AJAX), aimed at overthrowing Mossadegh to replace him with a friendlier US dictator.
Tactics employed by the CIA include:
- Controlling the countries newspapers to scare and mislead the public with false propaganda
- Bribing and funding government and military officials to gain allies against Mossadegh
- Funding opposition parties with money and weapons
- Infiltrating, controlling, and organizing mobs and protests
- Distributing fake flyers saying "UP WITH MOSSADEGH", "UP WITH COMMUNISM", and "DOWN WITH ISLAM"
After an initial failed coup attempt, a mob organized by the CIA is successful in ousting Mossadegh.
Tactics employed by the CIA include:
- Controlling the countries newspapers to scare and mislead the public with false propaganda
- Bribing and funding government and military officials to gain allies against Mossadegh
- Funding opposition parties with money and weapons
- Infiltrating, controlling, and organizing mobs and protests
- Distributing fake flyers saying "UP WITH MOSSADEGH", "UP WITH COMMUNISM", and "DOWN WITH ISLAM"
After an initial failed coup attempt, a mob organized by the CIA is successful in ousting Mossadegh.
1953 to 1979 - CIA Puppet Government(7)
After their successful coup, the CIA re-installs Iran's exiled Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
In exchange for giving him power over Iran, the Shah pleases his allies in the West by once again ensuring them a monopoly over Iran's oil fields.
Under the Shah's bloody reign, thousands of political opponents and innocent people suspected of being dissidents are rounded up by the Shah's CIA trained secret police, SAVAK, and put into their secret prison to be extensively tortured.
SAVAK also assassinates countless political opponents and government officials to ensure the Shah's, and ultimately the West's, control over Iran.
In exchange for giving him power over Iran, the Shah pleases his allies in the West by once again ensuring them a monopoly over Iran's oil fields.
Under the Shah's bloody reign, thousands of political opponents and innocent people suspected of being dissidents are rounded up by the Shah's CIA trained secret police, SAVAK, and put into their secret prison to be extensively tortured.
SAVAK also assassinates countless political opponents and government officials to ensure the Shah's, and ultimately the West's, control over Iran.
The Iranian Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, meeting with Zbigniew Brzezinski, US President Jimmy Carter, Arthur Atherton, William H. Sullivan, Cyrus Vance. Tehran, Iran. 1977
1979 - Iranian Revolution(8)
The Shah becomes increasingly oppressive, further deteriorating his public image along with his close relations with the West.
Accusations that the US, UK and Israel are actively conspiring against the Iranian public start to flourish in the country, helping fuel an already angry public to support Islamic Fundamentalists' call for revolution.
The CIA is caught completely off guard when the Shah leaves Iran on January 16 amidst sharp disapproval at home, followed by Ayatollah Khomeini and his Islamic Revolutionary Party seizing power on February 11.
Accusations that the US, UK and Israel are actively conspiring against the Iranian public start to flourish in the country, helping fuel an already angry public to support Islamic Fundamentalists' call for revolution.
The CIA is caught completely off guard when the Shah leaves Iran on January 16 amidst sharp disapproval at home, followed by Ayatollah Khomeini and his Islamic Revolutionary Party seizing power on February 11.
1980 - Failed Nojeh Coup(9)
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the National Security Adviser under the Carter Administration from 1977 to 1981, meets with King Hussein, the ruler of Jordan, in July to discuss plans for a coup d'etat to topple the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran.
Saddam Hussein in Iraq is chosen to lead the coup, largely due to the fact that he views Islamic Fundamentalists as a threat to his regime, and, with the backing of the US, CIA and its Western Allies, Saddam leads the failed Nojeh coup d'etat to remove Khomeini on July 9.
After failing to overthrow Khomeini, Saddam invades Iran under the disputed pretext that Iran tried to assassinate his Foreign Minister, Tariq Aziz, on September 22.
Saddam Hussein in Iraq is chosen to lead the coup, largely due to the fact that he views Islamic Fundamentalists as a threat to his regime, and, with the backing of the US, CIA and its Western Allies, Saddam leads the failed Nojeh coup d'etat to remove Khomeini on July 9.
After failing to overthrow Khomeini, Saddam invades Iran under the disputed pretext that Iran tried to assassinate his Foreign Minister, Tariq Aziz, on September 22.
1980 to 1988 - Iran-Iraq War(10)
The US initially funds Iraq in the beginning of the war.
In November 1987, Congress concludes in their report over the Iran-Contra affair that the US had sold "arms to Iran through Israel", beginning "in the summer of 1985, after receiving the approval of President Reagan."(11)
The US sold approximately $2-4 billion worth of arms to Iran through Israel, including 2,008 BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles and 235 parts kits for MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missiles.(12)
In November 1987, Congress concludes in their report over the Iran-Contra affair that the US had sold "arms to Iran through Israel", beginning "in the summer of 1985, after receiving the approval of President Reagan."(11)
The US sold approximately $2-4 billion worth of arms to Iran through Israel, including 2,008 BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles and 235 parts kits for MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missiles.(12)
Last April Seymour Hersh, a writer for "The New Yorker", detailed in his report about the Bush Administration’s covert actions inside Iran(13), stating:
"The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack.
"Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups."
"Current and former American military and intelligence officials said that Air Force planning groups are drawing up lists of targets, and teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups."
Larisa Alexandrovna, a writer for "The Raw Story", expands on this in her report(14) also published last April, stating:
"The Pentagon is bypassing official US intelligence channels and turning to a dangerous and unruly cast of characters in order to create strife in Iran in preparation for any possible attack, former and current intelligence officials say.
"One of the operational assets being used by the Defense Department is a right-wing terrorist organization known as Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), which is being ‘run’ in two southern regional areas of Iran.
"They are Baluchistan, a Sunni stronghold, and Khuzestan, a Shia region where a series of recent attacks has left many dead and hundreds injured in the last three months."
"One of the operational assets being used by the Defense Department is a right-wing terrorist organization known as Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), which is being ‘run’ in two southern regional areas of Iran.
"They are Baluchistan, a Sunni stronghold, and Khuzestan, a Shia region where a series of recent attacks has left many dead and hundreds injured in the last three months."
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner also appeared last April on CNN in defense of Seymour Hersh’s claims(15), saying he thinks that "the decision has been made and military operations are under way."
He also stated "the Iranians have been saying American military troops are in there, [and] have been saying it for almost a year."
"I was in Berlin two weeks ago, sat next to the ambassador, the Iranian ambassador to the IAEA."And I said, ‘Hey, I hear you're accusing Americans of being in there operating with some of the units that have shot up revolution guard units.’
"He said, quite frankly, ‘Yes, we know they are. We've captured some of the units, and they've confessed to working with the Americans.’"
Jim Webb, the freshman Senator from Virginia, whose Election Day victory in '06 tipped the power in the Senate in the Democrats favor, appeared on "Hardball with Chris Matthews"(16) last week echoing the same warning given by Hillary Mann.
"If you look at the framers of the constitution, they wanted to give the president as commander in chief the authority to repel sudden attacks."That is totally different than conducting a preemptive war.
"And you know one thing, if you look at where we are in the Persian Gulf right now, when I was secretary of the Navy and until very recently, we never operated aircraft carriers inside the Persian Gulf because, number one, the turning radius is pretty close, and number two, the chance of accidentally bumping into something that would start a diplomatic situation was pretty high.
"We now have been doing that, and with the tensions as high as they are, I'm very worried that we might accidentally set something off in there and we need, as a Congress, to get ahead of the ball game here."
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the man who masterminded the failed Nojeh Coup in 1980 to topple the current Iranian government, came out on February 1 to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee(17), blasting the Bush Administration's handling of the war.
He called the War on Terror a "mythical historical narrative" used to justify a "protracted and potentially expanding war," and accused them of trying to spread the conflict in Iraq to other parts of the Middle East by "deepening [a] quagmire eventually ranging across Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan."
"A plausible scenario for a military collision with Iran involves Iraqi failure to meet the benchmarks; followed by accusations of Iranian responsibility for the failure; then by some provocation in Iraq or a terrorist act in the U.S. blamed on Iran…"
"To argue that America is already at war in the region with a wider Islamic threat, of which Iran is the epicenter, is to promote a self-fulfilling prophecy,"
"To argue that America is already at war in the region with a wider Islamic threat, of which Iran is the epicenter, is to promote a self-fulfilling prophecy,"
He also made note of the Bush Administration’s ludicrous cronyism, saying, "I am perplexed by the fact that major strategic decisions seem to be made within a very narrow circle of individuals—just a few, probably a handful, perhaps not more than the fingers on my hand.
"And these are the individuals, all of whom but one, who made the original decision to go to war, and used the original justifications to go to war."
Texas House Republican Ron Paul also had harsh words for the Bush Administration and Congress, giving an alarming speech before the US House of Representatives(18) on January 11.
He accused them both of using "the talk of a troop surge and jobs program in Iraq" to "distract Americans from the very real possibility of an attack on Iran."
"Our growing naval presence in the region and our harsh rhetoric toward Iran are unsettling."Securing the Horn of Africa and sending Ethiopian troops into Somalia do not bode well for world peace.
"Yet these developments are almost totally ignored by Congress.
"Rumors are flying about when, not if, Iran will be bombed by either Israel or the U.S. - possibly with nuclear weapons.
"Our CIA says Iran is ten years away from producing a nuclear bomb and has no delivery system, but this does not impede our plans to keep 'everything on the table' when dealing with Iran.
"We should remember that Iran, like Iraq, is a third-world nation without a significant military.
"Nothing in history hints that she is likely to invade a neighboring country, let alone do anything to America or Israel.
"I am concerned, however, that a contrived Gulf of Tonkin- type incident may occur to gain popular support for an attack on Iran.
"Even if such an attack is carried out by Israel over U.S. objections, we will be politically and morally culpable since we provided the weapons and dollars to make it possible.
"Mr. Speaker, let's hope I'm wrong about this one."
When governments fail in their attempts at baiting their enemy into attacking them first, they usually resort to a false flag operation, much like the "contrived Gulf of Tonkin-type incident" that Congressman Paul mentioned in his speech.
The Bush Administration's plan to provoke a first strike from Iran is nothing new, but one of many commonly used strategies with a lot of historical precedent used by many in government including US Presidents, the Nazis and the Soviets.
1846 - Mexican-American War(19)
President James K. Polk meets with his Cabinet at the White House on May 8 and tells them that war should be declared in three days even if Mexico doesn't attack.
Polk sends 3,500 American troops to the Mexican border along the Nueces River, ordering General Zachary Taylor to cross over into disputed territory, successfully baiting Mexico into striking the first blow.
Newspapers mobilize public support for the war with headlines like: "'Mexicans Killing our Boys in Texas", allowing Polk to get Congress to declare war on May 13.
Polk sends 3,500 American troops to the Mexican border along the Nueces River, ordering General Zachary Taylor to cross over into disputed territory, successfully baiting Mexico into striking the first blow.
Newspapers mobilize public support for the war with headlines like: "'Mexicans Killing our Boys in Texas", allowing Polk to get Congress to declare war on May 13.
1898 - Sinking of the USS Maine(19)
On February 15, the US sinks its own battleship, the USS Maine, near Havana after storing the ship's weapons and explosives right next to its coalbunker.
Newspapers accuse Spain of being behind the attack citing a fake telegram from Spain that they created to bolster public support for war, allowing President William McKinley to get Congress to declare war on April 19.
Newspapers accuse Spain of being behind the attack citing a fake telegram from Spain that they created to bolster public support for war, allowing President William McKinley to get Congress to declare war on April 19.
The USS Maine after the explosion
1915 - Sinking of the Lusitania(19)
The United States baits German U-boats into attacking the Lusitania, a British ocean liner carrying a shipment of US ammunition headed towards Great Britain.
President Woodrow Wilson used the passengers on board the Lusitania merely as human shields, or possibly with the intention of them being sacrificed in an effort to find a pretext for US involvement in WWI and to bolster the Isolationalist public to support entering the war.
President Woodrow Wilson used the passengers on board the Lusitania merely as human shields, or possibly with the intention of them being sacrificed in an effort to find a pretext for US involvement in WWI and to bolster the Isolationalist public to support entering the war.
1931 - Manchurian or Mukden Incident(20)
Japanese officers fabricate a pretext for annexing Manchuria, which was under Chinese control at the time, by blowing up a section of their own railway and blaming it on the Chinese on September 18.
A brutal invasion followed the incident, claiming 10 to 37 million Chinese lives during the span of WWII.
The Chinese would come to refer to the day as 9/18, similar to the way American's refer to the attacks of September 11 as 9/11.
A brutal invasion followed the incident, claiming 10 to 37 million Chinese lives during the span of WWII.
The Chinese would come to refer to the day as 9/18, similar to the way American's refer to the attacks of September 11 as 9/11.
1933 - Reichstag Fire(21)
On February 27, Nazis burn down the Reichstag, the German capital building, and leave Marinus van der Lubbe inside the building where police find him naked and drugged.
The Nazis accuse Marinus of being communist terrorist, and charge him of being a part of a larger Jewish communist plot to take over the Fatherland to coax the German public into fear, helping spread anti-Semitism and anti-communist sentiment like wildfire.
The next day in the aftermath of the attacks, Hitler gets President Hindenburg to sign the 'Reichstag Fire Decree' into law, suspending most civil liberties in Germany and uses it to go after political opponents and dissidents much like Bush’s USA PATRIOT Act.
On March 5, the Nazis and their allies' fall short of the two-thirds majority they wanted in their outcome on Election Day.
The Nazis coerce and bribe officials to get the votes they needed to pass the 'Enabling Act of 1933' on March 23, which allows Hitler and his Nazi party to rule by decree.
The Nazis accuse Marinus of being communist terrorist, and charge him of being a part of a larger Jewish communist plot to take over the Fatherland to coax the German public into fear, helping spread anti-Semitism and anti-communist sentiment like wildfire.
The next day in the aftermath of the attacks, Hitler gets President Hindenburg to sign the 'Reichstag Fire Decree' into law, suspending most civil liberties in Germany and uses it to go after political opponents and dissidents much like Bush’s USA PATRIOT Act.
On March 5, the Nazis and their allies' fall short of the two-thirds majority they wanted in their outcome on Election Day.
The Nazis coerce and bribe officials to get the votes they needed to pass the 'Enabling Act of 1933' on March 23, which allows Hitler and his Nazi party to rule by decree.
The Reichstag burning
1939 - Gleiwitz Incident(22)
During the night of August 31, the Nazis seize the German Gleiwitz radio station and broadcast a message in Polish that seemed authentic, urging the Polish to attack Germans.
The next day German police find Franciszek Honiok, a man the Nazi's dressed up and killed by lethal injection, shooting him repeatedly to make it look like an authentic Polish attack.
The next day German police find Franciszek Honiok, a man the Nazi's dressed up and killed by lethal injection, shooting him repeatedly to make it look like an authentic Polish attack.
1939 - Shelling of Mainila(23)
On February 26, the Soviet Union fires artillery shells at its own village of Mainila on the Finnish border, faking casualties and blaming the attack on Finland to justify the Winter War.
1941 - Pearl Harbor(19)
The US military decodes a message they intercepted from the Japanese, outlining their plans to bomb Pearl Harbor weeks before the attack.
The message was a response to an insulting ultimatum the US sent Japan in attempts to provoke an attack.
The US gets its intended response, an attack on Pearl Harbor.
"The question was: how we should maneuver [the Japanese] into the position of firing the first shot." - Henry Stimson, Secretary of War under FDR
The message was a response to an insulting ultimatum the US sent Japan in attempts to provoke an attack.
The US gets its intended response, an attack on Pearl Harbor.
"The question was: how we should maneuver [the Japanese] into the position of firing the first shot." - Henry Stimson, Secretary of War under FDR
1948 to the 1980s - Operation Gladio(24)
Italian secret service agencies, under the training and direction of the CIA, British MI6, and NATO forces, launch countless staged terror attacks that kill thousands that are used to blame leftist opposition groups and scare the public into supporting the right wing government.
Although the efforts were most heavily concentrated against Italy through the 70's and 80's, many other countries throughout Europe experienced similar black ops by the same secret service groups throughout the Cold War.
Although the efforts were most heavily concentrated against Italy through the 70's and 80's, many other countries throughout Europe experienced similar black ops by the same secret service groups throughout the Cold War.
1950 - Korean War(19)
South Korean President Syngman Rhee suffers a terrible election defeat, forcing him to ally himself more closely with the US, and to bait North Korea into war as they requested.
On June 25, the North Korean military moves three miles into South Korean territory.
The American public is told that the invasion is part of a Communist plot for world domination, instead of retaliation against South Korean aggression.
On June 25, the North Korean military moves three miles into South Korean territory.
The American public is told that the invasion is part of a Communist plot for world domination, instead of retaliation against South Korean aggression.
1953 - Operation Ajax(6)
Refer to Iran timeline
1962 - Operation Northwoods(25)
A plot authored by the Joints Chief of Staff, the top brass of the Pentagon, that involved scenarios such as hijacking a passenger plane and other staged terror attacks and campaigns that would be used to blame Cuba to mobilize public support for a war.
It was never carried out since Kennedy refused to authorize the operation, which comes to light after the plan is declassified under the Freedom of Information Act in 1997.
It was never carried out since Kennedy refused to authorize the operation, which comes to light after the plan is declassified under the Freedom of Information Act in 1997.
1964 - Gulf of Tonkin(26)
President Lyndon B. Johnson goes on national television accusing North Vietnamese PT boats of attacking the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy; two strike carriers in the Gulf.
The US Government later releases documents and tapes due to the Freedom of Information Act showing that President Johnson clearly knew without a doubt that there was no North Vietnamese attack upon any US forces.
LBJ then decides to go ahead and lie to the American public about the entire fabricated incident on national TV to garner support for escalating the war in Vietnam.
The US Government later releases documents and tapes due to the Freedom of Information Act showing that President Johnson clearly knew without a doubt that there was no North Vietnamese attack upon any US forces.
LBJ then decides to go ahead and lie to the American public about the entire fabricated incident on national TV to garner support for escalating the war in Vietnam.
The USS Maddox firing at North Vietnamese PT boats to provoke them to attack first
1979 - Covert CIA War in Afghanistan(19)
In his book From the Shadows, current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reveals that the Soviet invasion is actually provoked by the United States giving military assistance and aid to the Mujahadeen in attempts to bog down the Soviets in their own Vietnam.
The CIA trains terrorists, like Osama bin Laden, in guerilla warfare tactics and show them how to make IED’s.
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri form the terrorist group al Qaeda, which trains the Iraqi Insurgency how to make IED’s just like the CIA originally taught them.
IED’s are responsible for killing a third of all US combat forces who have died in the current Iraq war,(27) as opposed to Iran, which the Bush Administration has been accused of killing 170 US soldiers(28) indirectly by funding Shiite militias.
Even though the smuggled weapons from Iran are overwhelmingly used to go after Sunnis and other rival factions in Iraq instead of US soldiers, the White House continues to lay all the blame for the chaos in Iraq upon the Iranian government.
Excerpt from a Boston Globe article published last week(29):
The CIA trains terrorists, like Osama bin Laden, in guerilla warfare tactics and show them how to make IED’s.
Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri form the terrorist group al Qaeda, which trains the Iraqi Insurgency how to make IED’s just like the CIA originally taught them.
IED’s are responsible for killing a third of all US combat forces who have died in the current Iraq war,(27) as opposed to Iran, which the Bush Administration has been accused of killing 170 US soldiers(28) indirectly by funding Shiite militias.
Even though the smuggled weapons from Iran are overwhelmingly used to go after Sunnis and other rival factions in Iraq instead of US soldiers, the White House continues to lay all the blame for the chaos in Iraq upon the Iranian government.
Excerpt from a Boston Globe article published last week(29):
Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East researcher with Congressional Research Service, the research arm of Congress, said that Shi'ite militias were believed to be responsible for less than 10 percent of the total American deaths.
He said most of the weapons Iran had been supplying the Shi'ite militias were believed to be for use against Sunnis.
"Shi'ite militias may be attacking US forces in retaliation for arrests of militia leaders," he said, "but their attacks pale in comparison to the deaths inflicted by Sunni insurgents who are not believed to get assistance from Iran."
"The Shi'ite militias are not the key threat to US forces in Iraq, so the overall question is why is the US military making a huge issue of this?" he said.
"I would say that it is part of broader strategy to contain Iran, to go after Iran's activities in Lebanon, in Iraq itself... It is part of a broader picture."
He said most of the weapons Iran had been supplying the Shi'ite militias were believed to be for use against Sunnis.
"Shi'ite militias may be attacking US forces in retaliation for arrests of militia leaders," he said, "but their attacks pale in comparison to the deaths inflicted by Sunni insurgents who are not believed to get assistance from Iran."
"The Shi'ite militias are not the key threat to US forces in Iraq, so the overall question is why is the US military making a huge issue of this?" he said.
"I would say that it is part of broader strategy to contain Iran, to go after Iran's activities in Lebanon, in Iraq itself... It is part of a broader picture."
Mujahadeen fighters in Afghanistan with US, Israeli supplied missiles
1980 - Failed Nojeh Coup(9)
Refer to Iran timeline
1989 - Invasion of Panama(19)
On December 16, the US media reports that there was an "unprovoked attack on a U.S. soldier who did not return fire."
It later turns out that US soldiers were harassing the Panamanian soldiers, including one incident where US officers fired at a military headquarters, wounding a soldier and a one-year old girl.
The wounded soldier later confirms this account to US reporters.
It later turns out that US soldiers were harassing the Panamanian soldiers, including one incident where US officers fired at a military headquarters, wounding a soldier and a one-year old girl.
The wounded soldier later confirms this account to US reporters.
Some may argue that many of these wars or conflicts were inevitable, which can be agreed upon since the aggressing countries were seeking a pretext for a war they were already set on having.
The Bush Administration is now seeking to broaden an already costly, illegal, and illegitimate war from Iraq, to Iran and other parts of the region, employing many of the same lies and tactics used leading up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and throughout history.
The Administration’s actions against Iran will only succeed in exacerbating our already tarnished image and hurt US interests abroad.
Why, then, do President Bush, fellow Republicans in Congress and ‘Independent’ Senator Joe Lieberman keep accusing the Democrats of encouraging the enemy by simply talking about Iraq(30), as if Congress is expected to only talk about the inter-sectarian civil war that is going on in the country when it is convenient for the Bush Administration.
These types of foreign policy decisions only aid Islamic Fundamentalists recruit in the region as resentment spreads and grows among people in the Middle East.
This is clearly demonstrated in the failed 2006 Israeli-Lebanese Invasion where Israel was only successful at bolstering Lebanese support for Hezbollah.
History is doomed to repeat itself if Americans do not wake up to the shrewd methods being employed by the Bush Administration, and as a nation we have to stop doubting our government’s capability to commit such heinous actions.
Our democracy becomes just another dictatorship, guided by the agendas of a few elite in power, when there is an absence of a vigilant and informed citizenry.
This is a war with possible global nuclear consequences, with Bush even plotting to employ strategic mini-nukes to strike key nuclear and government targets.(31)
Write to your Congressmen and to presidential candidates, and tell them that they you won’t get your vote in the next election if they won’t support legislation that ends this war.
Petition Congress, they have the power to end this war, impeach Bush and Cheney and prevent future acts of aggression from this criminal administration.
Act before it’s too late.
We cannot stand to be remembered as the generation of Americans that did nothing.
Sources:
1 CNN. American Morning. Transcript: "Defense Department Offers Evidence High-Level Iranian Leader Is Supplying Arms to Shiite Insurgents in Iraq". February 12, 2007
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0702/12/ltm.03.html
2 Hirsh, Michael and Bahari, Maziar. "Blowup? America's Hidden War With Iran". Newsweek. February 11, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17086418/site/newsweek/
3 McSmith, Andy. "Bush 'plotted to lure Saddam into war with fake UN plane'". The Independent. February 3, 2006
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article342859.ece
4 Norton-Taylor, Richard. "Blair-Bush deal before Iraq war revealed in secret memo". Guardian Unlimited. February 3, 2006
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1700881,00.html
5 "History of Iran: Oil Nationalization". Iran Chamber Society
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/oil_nationalization/oil_nationalization.php
6 United States. National Security Archive. "The Secret CIA History of the Iran Coup"
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB28/index.html
7 "Ministry of Security SAVAK". Pike, John. Federation of American Scientists
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/iran/savak/
8 "History of Iran: Islamic Revolution of 1979". Iran Chamber Society
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php
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http://www.iranian.com/Pesar/2004/July/Nojeh/index.html
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http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20060222&articleId=2032
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