next stop iran

[Guest guest]

1,200 Targets in 3 Days?

A Look at Bush's Iran War Plans

By MARJORIE COHN

 

The Sunday Times of London is reporting that the Pentagon has plans

for three days of massive air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran.

Last week, Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security

at the Nixon Center, told a meeting of The National Interest, a

conservative foreign policy journal, that the military did not intend

to carry out " pinprick strikes " against Iranian nuclear facilities. He

said, " They're about taking out the entire Iranian military. "

 

Bush has already set the wheels in motion. With Rovian timing, Alberto

Gonzales' resignation was sandwiched between two Bush screeds - one

aimed at ensuring Congress scares up $50 billion more for the

occupation of Iraq, the other designed to scare us into supporting war

on Iran. As Gonzales rides off into the sunset, the significant

questions are who will take his place and how that choice will

facilitate Bush's occupation of Iraq and attack on Iran.

 

One name that's been floated for Bush's third attorney general is Joe

Lieberman, the " independent " senator from Connecticut. Lieberman, who

advocates the use of military force against Iran, was the only person

Bush quoted in his August 28 speech to the American Legion. Bush

called Iran " the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism " and

pledged to " confront Tehran's murderous activities. "

 

Gonzales greased the Bush/Cheney wheels for torturing in violation of

the Geneva Conventions, illegally spying on Americans, and purging

disloyal Bushies.

 

Similarly, Lieberman would ensure the Justice Department mounts a

vigorous defense of a war of aggression against Iran. And Bush would

get a two-fer: Connecticut's Republican governor would appoint a

Republican to fill Lieberman's seat, returning control of the Senate

to the GOP. A Republican-controlled Senate would direct the agenda,

thereby furthering the Bush/Cheney plan.

 

Lieberman is closely affiliated with American Israeli Public Affairs

Committee. " AIPAC leverages its power by an alliance with the

Christian Right, which has adopted a bizarre ideology of 'Christian

Zionism,' " according to University of Michigan professor Juan Cole.

" It holds that the sooner the Palestinians are ethnically cleansed,

the sooner Christ will come back. Without millions of these Christian

Zionist allies, " Cole added, " AIPAC would be much less influential and

effective. "

 

During the 2004 election, a 100% " AIPAC voting record " was Lieberman's

litmus test for an acceptable presidential candidate. As the House of

Representatives was on the verge of passing a resolution that would've

required Bush to consult Congress before attacking Iran, the AIPAC

lobby stopped it in its tracks.

 

Bush's WMD-hyping against Iran is déja vu in the run-up to Operation

Iraqi Disaster, where he played loose and fast with the truth about

Iraq's alleged WMDs. His statement that a nuclear Iran could put the

region " under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust " conjures up his

images of a " mushroom cloud " in the hype-up to Iraq.

 

How inconvenient for Bush that the UN International Atomic Energy

Agency (IAEA) just found Iran's uranium enrichment program is

operating well below capacity and is nowhere near producing

significant amounts of nuclear fuel. The IAEA report says Iran " has

been providing the agency with access to declared nuclear materials,

and has provided the required nuclear material accountancy reports in

connection with declared nuclear material and facilities. "

 

Iran and IAEA agreed on a plan with a step-by-step timetable of

cooperation to settle unresolved issues. The agreement said there were

" no other remaining issues and ambiguities regarding Iran's past

nuclear program and activities, " and characterized the accord as " a

significant step forward. "

 

" This is the first time Iran is ready to discuss all the outstanding

issues which triggered the crisis in confidence, " said IAEA director

general Mohamed ElBaradei. " I'm clear at this stage you need to give

Iran a chance to prove its stated goodwill. Sanctions alone, I know

for sure, are not going to lead to a durable solution "

 

In 2003, when Dr. ElBaradei reported there was no evidence that Iraq

was reconstituting its nuclear program, the White House was not

pleased. And as Saddam Hussein became more cooperative with the

weapons inspector, Bush became " infuriated, " according to Bob

Woodward.

 

Bush's vow, " We will confront this danger before it is too late, "

is

the Iran incarnation of his illegal preemptive war doctrine, which he

inaugurated in Iraq. In a clear signal he is seeking regime change in

Iran, Bush called for " an Iran whose government is accountable to its

people, instead of leaders who promote terror and pursue the

technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons. "

 

Barnett Rubin reported on Global Affairs blog that one of the leading

neo-conservative institutions has " instructions " from Dick Cheney's

office to " roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after

Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise

Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary,

Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on the

airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from

which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don't think they'll ever

get majority support for this - they want something like 35-40 percent

support, which in their book is 'plenty.' "

 

Bush/Cheney created the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) to lead a

propaganda campaign to bolster public support for war with Iraq. The

White House decided to wait until after Labor Day of 2002 to kick off

WHIG's mission. Chief of staff Andrew Card explained, " From a

marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August. "

Five years later, they're marketing a new and even more dangerous

product - war with Iran. British military historian Corelli Barnett

says " an attack on Iran would effectively launch World War III. "

 

Our military spending has reached $1 billion every 2-1/2 days and we

are borrowing $2-1/2 billion per day. Bush is mortgaging our

children's future security and wealth. We have lost more than 3,700

soldiers in Iraq and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died.

 

We have already seen how easily Congress caves in to AIPAC. It's up to

the people. As Noam Chomsky said, " The most effective barrier to a

White House decision to launch a war [on Iran] is the kind of

organized popular opposition that frightened the political-military

leadership enough in 1968 that they were reluctant to send more troops

to Vietnam. "

 

Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and

president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of Cowboy

Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law.

[Guest guest]

Sigh. They have been wanting an excuse for many years, and if they

don't have one they invent one. Shock and Awe all over again - never

any intention of anything other than mass killing and destruction.

 

Jo

 

, fraggle <EBbrewpunx wrote:

>

> 1,200 Targets in 3 Days?

> A Look at Bush's Iran War Plans

> By MARJORIE COHN

>

> The Sunday Times of London is reporting that the Pentagon has plans

> for three days of massive air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran.

> Last week, Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security

> at the Nixon Center, told a meeting of The National Interest, a

> conservative foreign policy journal, that the military did not

intend

> to carry out " pinprick strikes " against Iranian nuclear facilities.

He

> said, " They're about taking out the entire Iranian military. "

>

> Bush has already set the wheels in motion. With Rovian timing,

Alberto

> Gonzales' resignation was sandwiched between two Bush screeds - one

> aimed at ensuring Congress scares up $50 billion more for the

> occupation of Iraq, the other designed to scare us into supporting

war

> on Iran. As Gonzales rides off into the sunset, the significant

> questions are who will take his place and how that choice will

> facilitate Bush's occupation of Iraq and attack on Iran.

>

> One name that's been floated for Bush's third attorney general is

Joe

> Lieberman, the " independent " senator from Connecticut. Lieberman,

who

> advocates the use of military force against Iran, was the only

person

> Bush quoted in his August 28 speech to the American Legion. Bush

> called Iran " the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism " and

> pledged to " confront Tehran's murderous activities. "

>

> Gonzales greased the Bush/Cheney wheels for torturing in violation

of

> the Geneva Conventions, illegally spying on Americans, and purging

> disloyal Bushies.

>

> Similarly, Lieberman would ensure the Justice Department mounts a

> vigorous defense of a war of aggression against Iran. And Bush would

> get a two-fer: Connecticut's Republican governor would appoint a

> Republican to fill Lieberman's seat, returning control of the Senate

> to the GOP. A Republican-controlled Senate would direct the agenda,

> thereby furthering the Bush/Cheney plan.

>

> Lieberman is closely affiliated with American Israeli Public Affairs

> Committee. " AIPAC leverages its power by an alliance with the

> Christian Right, which has adopted a bizarre ideology of 'Christian

> Zionism,' " according to University of Michigan professor Juan Cole.

> " It holds that the sooner the Palestinians are ethnically cleansed,

> the sooner Christ will come back. Without millions of these

Christian

> Zionist allies, " Cole added, " AIPAC would be much less influential

and

> effective. "

>

> During the 2004 election, a 100% " AIPAC voting record " was

Lieberman's

> litmus test for an acceptable presidential candidate. As the House

of

> Representatives was on the verge of passing a resolution that

would've

> required Bush to consult Congress before attacking Iran, the AIPAC

> lobby stopped it in its tracks.

>

> Bush's WMD-hyping against Iran is déja vu in the run-up to

Operation

> Iraqi Disaster, where he played loose and fast with the truth about

> Iraq's alleged WMDs. His statement that a nuclear Iran could put the

> region " under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust " conjures up his

> images of a " mushroom cloud " in the hype-up to Iraq.

>

> How inconvenient for Bush that the UN International Atomic Energy

> Agency (IAEA) just found Iran's uranium enrichment program is

> operating well below capacity and is nowhere near producing

> significant amounts of nuclear fuel. The IAEA report says Iran " has

> been providing the agency with access to declared nuclear materials,

> and has provided the required nuclear material accountancy reports

in

> connection with declared nuclear material and facilities. "

>

> Iran and IAEA agreed on a plan with a step-by-step timetable of

> cooperation to settle unresolved issues. The agreement said there

were

> " no other remaining issues and ambiguities regarding Iran's past

> nuclear program and activities, " and characterized the accord as " a

> significant step forward. "

>

> " This is the first time Iran is ready to discuss all the outstanding

> issues which triggered the crisis in confidence, " said IAEA director

> general Mohamed ElBaradei. " I'm clear at this stage you need to give

> Iran a chance to prove its stated goodwill. Sanctions alone, I know

> for sure, are not going to lead to a durable solution "

>

> In 2003, when Dr. ElBaradei reported there was no evidence that Iraq

> was reconstituting its nuclear program, the White House was not

> pleased. And as Saddam Hussein became more cooperative with the

> weapons inspector, Bush became " infuriated, " according to Bob

> Woodward.

>

> Bush's vow, " We will confront this danger before it is too late, "

> is

> the Iran incarnation of his illegal preemptive war doctrine, which

he

> inaugurated in Iraq. In a clear signal he is seeking regime change

in

> Iran, Bush called for " an Iran whose government is accountable to

its

> people, instead of leaders who promote terror and pursue the

> technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons. "

>

> Barnett Rubin reported on Global Affairs blog that one of the

leading

> neo-conservative institutions has " instructions " from Dick Cheney's

> office to " roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after

> Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise

> Institute, the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary,

> Fox, and the usual suspects. It will be heavy sustained assault on

the

> airwaves, designed to knock public sentiment into a position from

> which a war can be maintained. Evidently they don't think they'll

ever

> get majority support for this - they want something like 35-40

percent

> support, which in their book is 'plenty.' "

>

> Bush/Cheney created the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) to lead a

> propaganda campaign to bolster public support for war with Iraq. The

> White House decided to wait until after Labor Day of 2002 to kick

off

> WHIG's mission. Chief of staff Andrew Card explained, " From a

> marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in

August. "

> Five years later, they're marketing a new and even more dangerous

> product - war with Iran. British military historian Corelli Barnett

> says " an attack on Iran would effectively launch World War III. "

>

> Our military spending has reached $1 billion every 2-1/2 days and we

> are borrowing $2-1/2 billion per day. Bush is mortgaging our

> children's future security and wealth. We have lost more than 3,700

> soldiers in Iraq and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died.

>

> We have already seen how easily Congress caves in to AIPAC. It's up

to

> the people. As Noam Chomsky said, " The most effective barrier to a

> White House decision to launch a war [on Iran] is the kind of

> organized popular opposition that frightened the political-military

> leadership enough in 1968 that they were reluctant to send more

troops

> to Vietnam. "

>

> Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and

> president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of Cowboy

> Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law.

>