Iran, in Today's News 10.02.09

Iran. The United States-Israel hype about Iran's potential for nuclear weapons is all a ruse, of course. The real goal of these two powers is to bring Iran to its knees so that Israel has predominant power in the middle east. The nuclear-weapons accusation is just the best way of covering the real aim.

But, since the accusation is false, it is relatively easy for Iran to defuse the propaganda. They just stick to the facts and its disarms the opposition.

Case in point is today's reported events. Iran has agreed to allow inspectors to visit the now famous 'secret' new nuclear facility that got Obama and his buddies so excited a few days ago. Because there is no nuclear weapons production or potential at the site, the inspection should go moderately well and Iran will have undermined the recent widely trumpeted charges of secret facilities.

One can almost hear the frustration of the war planners. Here they had a perfectly nice little justification for war building up, and Iranian President Ahmadinejad goes and spoils everything.

Another case in point. Iran has agreed to transfer the bulk of its nuclear fuel to other countries to enrich it. This decision so upset the war-planners that the Wall Street Journal couldn't help editorializing that Iran was faking it. Here's a first-paragraph quote from the page one WSJ article, "The officials said the surprise move could temporarily reduce Tehran's potential to make bombs, but analysts cautioned that the Iranians merely may be seeking to defuse pressure for sanctions while continuing their nuclear program."

Translated: they completely out-maneuver us, but we are  going to keep saying the same things anyway.

Iran, in Today's News 09.26.09

Iran. Many newspapers today ran major stories on President Obama's statement on Iran. He and the leaders of France and Britain charged that (in the words of the Wall Street Journal) "Iran has built a secret nuclear facility designed to give the Islamic republic the ability to build an atomic weapon..." The Wall Street Journal comments that this revelation "significantly raises the stakes in the West's intensifying face-off with Tehran."

Revelation it isn't. The US has known about this reactor for a few years, according to the WSJ. So, why is the US now making a big deal about this?

Well, once again Obama got caught in an awkwardness. He too had been keeping the reactor secret so he could use it to convince the 'allies' of the danger of Iran. But then Iran decided to report the construction to the world nuclear regulatory bodies. Suddenly Obama's little secret would be public knowledge and it would be ruined as tool to convince others.

So, what to do? Simple, Obama decided to beat Iran to the punch. He made his dramatic statement before Iran could explain itself.

By the way, the reactor in question is a typical reactor for producing energy. It has no immediate capacity for weapons production.

The US says that the fact that Iran was hiding the facility and heavily reinforcing it indicates its non-peaceful intended use.

Well, gee, it that so hard to figure out? If major military powers in the world were threatening to bomb my nuclear facilities, I'd certainly go out of my way to protect a new one under construction.

This commentary is not to minimize the growing danger of a military attack on Iran. Obama, not wanting to attack now without preparation, has tried to buy time by projecting negotiations and setting deadlines far off in the future. This little maneuver has grown thin as time runs out on his deadlines. Thus he is brought back to Israel's plan to attack now.

The differences between Israel and the US never really existed. The 'differences' were just the media playing along trying to convince everyone that the US is really an independent force on this question. But now we are beginning to see that the US is once again supporting fully the foreign policy of Israel.

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Today's Wall Street Journal has a major, major article, "The Iran Attack Plan." The article details who should attack what in Iran, when, and by what means. The article has a map of the Iranian facilities and individual descriptions of each plant.

The publication of such an article underlines the growing danger of an attack on Iran by the US and Israel. The publication indicates that the US and Israel are very close to taking this decisive step that would seriously and permanently disrupt world relations and world peace, such as it is.

Iran, in Today's News 07.08.09

Iran. President Obama over the weekend gave interviews in which he, in effect, rebuffed Vice President Biden's remarks on July 5 that indicated a change in US policy toward military action against Iran. 

Obama's statements seem to be pro forma, and nothing more. It is the old game of asserting something baldly, and then 'retracting' it via a more reasoned statement that still supports the original. Biden has an inability to state things without causing controversy, and so Obama had to 'clarify' the US position.

The United States still is not ready to militarily attack Iran, but it is proceeding with preparations behind the scenes and in cooperation with Israel. This is shown by a statement made by the top US military officer, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday.

Adm. Mullen, according to today's Wall Street Journal (page A9)"...told a Washington think tank that Iran was likely just one to three years away from successfully building a nuclear weapon, which means that U.S. and its allies are running out of time to persuade Iran to abandon it nuclear program."

Further WSJ: "In his remarks Tuesday, Adm. Mullen said that the U.S. is keeping all options on the table as it worked to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, 'including certainly military options.'" [Emphasis added.]

WSJ: "Still, Adm. Mullen made clear that an Israeli strike was far more likely than an American one."

Clear enough? Be prepared at any time for any option from the current diplomatic busywork, to an Israeli military attack, to a US military attack.

And now for the double-standard and a full dose of hypocrisy. All this hullabaloo is over Iran and nuclear weapons.  And yet, (WSJ) "Earlier this week, an Israeli submarine believed to be carrying nuclear-tipped missiles returned to the Mediterranean after crossing the Red Sea and moving towards Iran. An Israeli official said in an interview that the maneuver was meant to show Iran that 'they are not beyond our reach.'" [Emphasis added.]

So, it is forbidden for Iran to try to produce nuclear weapons, but not only is it okay for Israel to have nuclear weapons, but is also okay for them to sail around the mideast threatening to actually use them.

This is the double-standard epitomized. And it is also more than alarming that Israel is so close to using nuclear weapons. (See Michael Collins Piper's book, "The Golem," published by American Free Press, for background on Israel's nuclear threat.)