Washington, 8 January (WashingtonTV)—The top US military officer warned on Thursday that a military strike on Iran could be “very destabilizing” and have unintended consequences for the region, but said that the U.S. was still preparing its military for that possibility.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he believed Iran was “on a path that has a strategic intent to develop nuclear weapons, and have been for some time.”
“I think that outcome is potentially a very, very destabilizing outcome. On the other hand, when asked about striking Iran, specifically, that also has a very, very destabilizing outcome,” he said in a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think-tank.
Mullen said he worried about the “unintended consequences” of both of those scenarios, adding “that part of the world could become much more unstable, which is a dangerous global outcome.”
The United States and Israel, which suspect Iran is seeking nuclear arms, have not ruled out a military strike against the country, if diplomatic measures fail to curb Tehran’s nuclear drive.
Iran, which insists that its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful, has threatened to strike Israeli sites if attacked by the Jewish state.
Asked whether the US military was stretched too thin to take further action beyond Iraq and Afghanistan, Mullen said the U.S. has “looked to do all we can to ensure that conflict doesn’t break out there while at the same time preparing forces, as we do for many contingencies that we understand might occur.”
He stressed that diplomacy was crucial to prevent both Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb and a military strike on the country.
“One of the things that I think is so important is that we continue internationally, diplomatically, politically – not just we, the United States, but the international community – continue to focus on this to prevent those two outcomes,” he said.
Source: Joint Chiefs of Staff website
© WashingtonTV 2010. All rights reserved.
2.
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Inevitable War With Iran
Middle East piece by J. D. Longstreet A war with Iran is “a given.“ It is as some say: “a “fait accompli.“ Just exactly who the combatant nations will be remains to be seen, however. My crystal ball is a bit cloudy in that area of prophecy.
We are fairly sure Israel will be one of the combatants and even though the US protests that it does not want a fight with Iran, I don’t see how it can be avoided. Even if the current US Presidential Administration will not assist Israel in a war with Iran the Obama Regime WILL assist Saudi Arabia!
We never seem to learn, here in the “good ole USA.” We still insist on getting more people killed on both sides of a conflict than is necessary to settle the dispute. That is especially true when we have the misfortune to have a liberal/socialist/communist/progressive in the White House and those with the same political philosophy control the national legislature.
“How is that?” you may ask.
Well, those of the President’s political persuasion believe they are smarter than anyone else on the planet and this self-deception leads them to be made fools of EVERY SINGLE TIME! They simply cannot accept that ANYONE is smart enough to deceive them… ever. And therein lies their Achilles Heel. Our enemies simply use political jujitsu on liberal American politicians and “statesmen” and they “roll” our guys every time.
To tell you the truth, folks, it is downright embarrassing!
President Teddy Roosevelt set the gold standard for dealing with that part of the world back in 1904. When Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli, the commander of a band of Berber insurrectionists, kidnapped a middle-aged American man and his stepson, who, by the way, were not harmed, Teddy issued a statement and sent a copy of it to Raisuli which said: “Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead!“ – and sent an invading force of US Marines to back it up. The hostages were released unharmed. Even then the “diplomats”, the “statesmen” were advising Teddy not to do that. They, as today, wanted to talk to Raisuli.
Today we have two wars raging in the Middle East and a third country, Iran, doing everything they can to bait the US and Israel into war.
Now, here’s the thing: IRAN REALLY DOES WANT WAR! They long for the return of the Third Immam. But their belief insists upon great devestation in the world before the Third Immam will return. Their national leadership is dedicated to this and they will continue their drive to create a nuclear bomb some are already calling the “Islam Bomb.” They are rapidly developing missiles capable of striking Israel, some of the eastern European countries and, of course, US military bases in the region. The minute they have the bomb, have it strapped to one of those missiles, they WILL fire it at Israel. There is absolutely no question about that. If thay have more than one, the second will be targeted at US military bases around Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Saudis are scared witless of the Iranians. US politicians believe we need the Saudi oil so we have, whether we admit it publicly, or not, agreed to help protect Saudi Araba from an attack by Iran.
The US is INSISTING upon talking with Iran. The ego of our “Dear Leader” is of such imensity that he appears to actually believe that no one can resist his oratorical charm and once he vibrates his Golden Tonsils in the direction of the Iranians they will immediately fall into line and no war will ensue. There is only one thing wrong with that. And that is—it won’t work. The President will only come off lookimg foolish, amatuerish, and as weak as he actually is.
In the meantime, while the diplomats jaw-jaw, the Iranians will be building up their strength and, unfortunately, getting that Islam Bomb ready to drop in on Israel. As a result of all the foot dragging on the part of the Obama Regime, when the killing begins lots and lots more Israelis will be killed than was necessary, and an infuriated Israel will, very likely, nuke the living daylights out of Iran from one end of the country to the other. The blame for the deaths of those Israelis will rightfully be laid at the door to the Obama Oval Office.
A single warning to the Iranian governemt sould be sufficient. At the same time (as Teddy Roosevelt did) send every available warship in the US Navy’s fleet(s) to stand off shore of Iran, lob a few cruise missiles into Iran—to get their attention—and assure them we DO mean business.
Yes, the US State Department would probably have apoplexy and a few of the “striped pants crowd” would most likely swoon from massive anxiety attacks.
If Iran persists, after the unmistakable warning from the US, then tactical nukes should be used on their nuclear facilities and a few of their government buildings including their command and control centers.
Then go silent.
Not a word.
Not one word should be spoken to Iran.
Of course, there will be caterwauling from the limp-wrists at the UN and certain European countries. They should be brushed off without a single word from the US in reply.
If Iran persists after the warning… then send in the stealth bombers and wreak havoc in their Persian Paradise and repeat as often as necessary. When Iran finally pleads for talks, ignore them. No reply should be our reply. One of the most effective ways to “contain an enemy” is to keep him “hunkered down” in bunkers.
Now I’m not foolish enough to believe the Obama Regime will do any of this. No, they are committed to making fools of themselves and embarrassing the rest of us… and in the end, as we said above, a lot more lives wil be lost in Israel AND in Iran. A President afflcted with an uncontrolable ego and suffering from narsicissim and a good dose of grandiosity can be a real danger to peace. And, like a bull in a china shop, he can do a lot of damage.
We are fairly sure Israel will be one of the combatants and even though the US protests that it does not want a fight with Iran, I don’t see how it can be avoided. Even if the current US Presidential Administration will not assist Israel in a war with Iran the Obama Regime WILL assist Saudi Arabia!
We never seem to learn, here in the “good ole USA.” We still insist on getting more people killed on both sides of a conflict than is necessary to settle the dispute. That is especially true when we have the misfortune to have a liberal/socialist/communist/progressive in the White House and those with the same political philosophy control the national legislature.
“How is that?” you may ask.
Well, those of the President’s political persuasion believe they are smarter than anyone else on the planet and this self-deception leads them to be made fools of EVERY SINGLE TIME! They simply cannot accept that ANYONE is smart enough to deceive them… ever. And therein lies their Achilles Heel. Our enemies simply use political jujitsu on liberal American politicians and “statesmen” and they “roll” our guys every time.
To tell you the truth, folks, it is downright embarrassing!
President Teddy Roosevelt set the gold standard for dealing with that part of the world back in 1904. When Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli, the commander of a band of Berber insurrectionists, kidnapped a middle-aged American man and his stepson, who, by the way, were not harmed, Teddy issued a statement and sent a copy of it to Raisuli which said: “Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead!“ – and sent an invading force of US Marines to back it up. The hostages were released unharmed. Even then the “diplomats”, the “statesmen” were advising Teddy not to do that. They, as today, wanted to talk to Raisuli.
Today we have two wars raging in the Middle East and a third country, Iran, doing everything they can to bait the US and Israel into war.
Now, here’s the thing: IRAN REALLY DOES WANT WAR! They long for the return of the Third Immam. But their belief insists upon great devestation in the world before the Third Immam will return. Their national leadership is dedicated to this and they will continue their drive to create a nuclear bomb some are already calling the “Islam Bomb.” They are rapidly developing missiles capable of striking Israel, some of the eastern European countries and, of course, US military bases in the region. The minute they have the bomb, have it strapped to one of those missiles, they WILL fire it at Israel. There is absolutely no question about that. If thay have more than one, the second will be targeted at US military bases around Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Saudis are scared witless of the Iranians. US politicians believe we need the Saudi oil so we have, whether we admit it publicly, or not, agreed to help protect Saudi Araba from an attack by Iran.
The US is INSISTING upon talking with Iran. The ego of our “Dear Leader” is of such imensity that he appears to actually believe that no one can resist his oratorical charm and once he vibrates his Golden Tonsils in the direction of the Iranians they will immediately fall into line and no war will ensue. There is only one thing wrong with that. And that is—it won’t work. The President will only come off lookimg foolish, amatuerish, and as weak as he actually is.
In the meantime, while the diplomats jaw-jaw, the Iranians will be building up their strength and, unfortunately, getting that Islam Bomb ready to drop in on Israel. As a result of all the foot dragging on the part of the Obama Regime, when the killing begins lots and lots more Israelis will be killed than was necessary, and an infuriated Israel will, very likely, nuke the living daylights out of Iran from one end of the country to the other. The blame for the deaths of those Israelis will rightfully be laid at the door to the Obama Oval Office.
A single warning to the Iranian governemt sould be sufficient. At the same time (as Teddy Roosevelt did) send every available warship in the US Navy’s fleet(s) to stand off shore of Iran, lob a few cruise missiles into Iran—to get their attention—and assure them we DO mean business.
Yes, the US State Department would probably have apoplexy and a few of the “striped pants crowd” would most likely swoon from massive anxiety attacks.
If Iran persists, after the unmistakable warning from the US, then tactical nukes should be used on their nuclear facilities and a few of their government buildings including their command and control centers.
Then go silent.
Not a word.
Not one word should be spoken to Iran.
Of course, there will be caterwauling from the limp-wrists at the UN and certain European countries. They should be brushed off without a single word from the US in reply.
If Iran persists after the warning… then send in the stealth bombers and wreak havoc in their Persian Paradise and repeat as often as necessary. When Iran finally pleads for talks, ignore them. No reply should be our reply. One of the most effective ways to “contain an enemy” is to keep him “hunkered down” in bunkers.
Now I’m not foolish enough to believe the Obama Regime will do any of this. No, they are committed to making fools of themselves and embarrassing the rest of us… and in the end, as we said above, a lot more lives wil be lost in Israel AND in Iran. A President afflcted with an uncontrolable ego and suffering from narsicissim and a good dose of grandiosity can be a real danger to peace. And, like a bull in a china shop, he can do a lot of damage.
Posted by J. D. Longstreet on 1/8/10 at 05:08 AM
3.
The US to turn up heat on Iran
8 January 2010
The US administration is already signalling aggressive new moves against Iran, following the expiry of President Obama’s December 31 deadline for a negotiated deal over Tehran’s nuclear programs. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared on Monday that “the door to dialogue” was still open, but warned that the US would not “stand by” while Iran took “steps towards the possible production of nuclear weapons”.Preparations for the imposition of further tough sanctions on Iran are well underway. Representatives of the so-called P5+1—the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany—are due to meet within the next fortnight to discuss punitive measures against Iran in the UN Security Council. While China this week publicly ruled out more sanctions, the US and its allies are ready to proceed—with or without UN approval.
The immediate steps were laid out in a New York Times article last Sunday. Unnamed White House officials noted that domestic unrest inside Iran and technical difficulties with its uranium enrichment could make Iranian leaders “particularly vulnerable to strong and immediate new sanctions”. In a bid to exploit political tensions inside Iran, the Obama administration wanted to target the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which had been involved in suppressing anti-government protests.
An article in the Washington Post on December 30 noted that the administration had been taking “a dramatically harsher tone on Iran” even before unveiling new sanctions. The measures would probably be imposed in three ways—at the UN Security Council, in conjunction with allies and unilaterally by the US—more or less simultaneously. The first move in the UN was likely to be delayed until February, when France, which backs punitive measures against Iran, replaces China as chairman of the Security Council.
The most menacing signs of a looming confrontation are to be found in the mounting media campaign to vilify Tehran. The New York Times published a lengthy article on Wednesday purporting to reveal that Iran had “hidden an increasingly large part of its atomic complex in networks of tunnels and bunkers across the country”. The story, republished and reported around the world, conjured up “a maze of tunnels” that “further obscured” Iran’s “notoriously opaque nuclear effort”. This “cloak of invisibility” was itself “something of a stealth weapon” for Tehran.
Despite its length, the article was remarkably short on facts. It pointed again to the underground uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom that was “revealed” by Obama at the G-20 summit in September. Iran had already declared the Qom plant to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA subsequently visited the site and found that it was still under construction with no equipment installed. That did not prevent the Times from commenting breathlessly on the large number of tunnels in Iran, the presence of foreign companies selling tunnelling equipment and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s “abiding interest in tunnels” due to his professional career as a transportation engineer—none of which is surprising given the country’s mountainous character.
The article placed considerable weight on recent claims by an Iranian exile opposition group—the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)—that Iran had “a group of factories” buried in mountains east of Tehran that specialise in “manufacturing nuclear warheads”. It noted that the NCRI had exposed the existence of Iran’s underground enrichment plant at Natanz in 2002 and claimed that the “discovery” of the Qom plant verified its other allegations. The article dismissed comments by former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei that most of the NCRI’s claims had proved to be “bogus”.
Promoting the NCRI’s propaganda as good coin recalls the way in which the Bush administration and media used “intelligence” provided by Iraqi exiles on so-called weapons of mass destruction to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The NCRI is connected to the People’s Mujahideen or MEK, a petty bourgeois nationalist formation that has carried out terrorist attacks inside Iran. Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter pointed out in his book Target Iran that the NCRI’s exposure of Natanz was not based on its own sources but was fed to it by Israeli intelligence, which no doubt continues to provide information—and disinformation.
The New York Times article is just the latest in a string of stories that have the hallmarks of articles planted by intelligence bodies. Last month the British-based Times published dubious leaked Iranian documents, supposedly showing the regime had been researching a trigger device for a nuclear weapon. Last week, the Associated Press cited an intelligence report from an unnamed country claiming that Iran had a secret deal with Kazakhstan to purchase 1,372 tonnes of purified uranium ore or “yellow cake”. Iran, which has repeatedly denied having a nuclear weapons program, has dismissed these claims as fabrications. The obvious purpose of this steady drip of scare stories is to manufacture a climate of public uncertainty and fear to justify punitive measures against Iran.
The most sinister aspect of the New York Times article was its open discussion of the feasibility of attacking Iran’s “maze of tunnels”. After noting that Israel did not have the conventional weapons needed to destroy underground facilities, the newspaper added that “the Obama administration has been careful to leave the military option on the table, and the Pentagon is racing to develop a deadly tunnel weapon”. Initial testing of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator took place in 2007, the program was accelerated last year and the huge 13.6 tonne bomb is due to be ready for use later this year.
While the Obama administration may have no immediate plans for a military attack, there is a remorseless logic to its actions. If hefty sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard fail to bring Tehran to heel, the US Congress is debating legislation to empower the Obama administration to enforce a crippling embargo on refined petroleum exports to Iran. All the time, the “military option” is kept in play, further inflaming tensions and heightening the danger of a slide into another US-led neo-colonial war.
Obama’s preparations for confrontation with Iran dovetail with the escalating US-led war in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the extension of the “war on terrorism” to Yemen. Washington’s threats against Iran have no more to do with its alleged nuclear weapons programs than Obama’s Afpak war is about eliminating Al Qaeda. The overriding US aim is to establish its economic and strategic dominance in the energy-rich areas of Central Asia and the Middle East—regions in which Iran has historically been a vital linchpin. Like Bush, Obama is recklessly pursuing a strategy aimed at shoring up America’s waning power at the expense of its rivals, despite the obvious danger that a conflict with Iran would not only convulse the Middle East but threaten to draw in other major powers.
Peter Symonds World Socialists Website
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