Hawks In Doves Clothing
Rupert Murdoch's Jerusalem Post has to keep finding its daily quota of Iranian fearmongering and war hype. No other Israeli newspaper keeps, as a permanent and prominent section right after Headlines and before those for other Missle East or international news, one entitled "The Threat From Iran". Today, it reported anonymously sourced claims that Israel is ready to go it alone in attacking Iran, after the US has repeatedly refused to co-operate in airstrikes.
It is, of course, an insane notion -- one designed to keep up the pressure of bellicose rhetoric aimed at Iran in the mistaken idea that the Iranian regime will thus become less entrenched and enjoy less domestic support. Even some conservative commentators know this (Ed Morrissey for one):
Israel would have a difficult but not impossible task in hitting enough sites in Iran to make a difference. The most direct route would take then through Iraqi air space, which would also require the IFF codes to avoid getting attacked by US forces. Otherwise, they’d probably have to fly around the Arabian Peninsula, refueling along the way and making their presence known well ahead of the attack. They’d have to hope that they got the actual nuclear sites, as the Iranians decentralized the program as a result of Israel’s attack on Osirak.
What effect would an attack have on the region? If they violate Iraqi air space to do it, we can kiss our position [is that what neocons are calling troop's lives nowadays? - C] in Iraq goodbye. The Iranian regime would be immeasurably strengthened in the short run; it’s hard to imagine a more unifying event than an attack from Israel on the Iranian populace. Iran would almost immediately order its proxy armies of Hezbollah and Hamas into action against Israel, touching off a war on the Lebanon border and in Gaza.
Would all of that be worth ridding the world of Iranian nukes? You bet it would — but only if it could completely destroy the Iranian nuclear program. That’s a long shot on the order of hitting the lottery, even with US cooperation.
Ed was doing so well up until that last paragraph, where he manages to deny the last NIE on Iran and all of the IAEA's findings to date so glibly and without showing his workings, but at least he realizes that even a US-led attack would be unlikely to accomplish any mission.
That's not true for all the neocon rump, however, and they have allies in some of the Obama administration's officials, who have signed off on a hardline neocon think tank's policy prescriptions for Iran.
Several top advisers to Obama - including Tony Lake, United Nations ambassador-designate Susan Rice, Tom Daschle and Dennis Ross, along with leading Democratic hawks like Richard Holbrooke, close to vice president-elect Joe Biden or secretary of state-designate Hillary Clinton - have made common cause with war-minded think-tank hawks at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and other hardline institutes.
Last spring, Tony Lake and Susan Rice, for example, took part in a WINEP "2008 Presidential Task Force" study which resulted in a report entitled, "Strengthening the Partnership: How to Deepen US-Israel Cooperation on the Iranian Nuclear Challenge". The Institute, part of the Washington-based Israel lobby, was founded in coordination with the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and has been vigorously supporting a confrontation with Iran.
Maybe we could be generous and assume that Susan Rice and others weren't aware that the neocons they agree with are determined that Obama's diplomacy fail, and fail fast, when it comes to Iran. Then the bombs would fall.
The report of the Coats-Robb task force - "Meeting the Challenge: US Policy Toward Iranian Nuclear Development" - went far beyond the WINEP task force report that Lake and Rice signed off on. It concluded that any negotiations with Iran were unlikely to succeed and should, in any case, be short-lived. As the report put the matter, "It must be clear that any US-Iranian talks will not be open-ended, but will be limited to a pre-determined time period so that Tehran
does not try to 'run out the clock'."
Anticipating the failure of the talks, the task force (including Ross) urged "prepositioning military assets" coupled with a "show of force" in the region. This would be followed almost immediately by a blockade of Iranian gasoline imports and oil exports, meant to paralyze Iran's economy, followed by what they call, vaguely, "kinetic action".
That "kinetic action" - a US assault on Iran - should, in fact, be massive, suggested the Coats-Robb report. Besides hitting dozens of sites alleged to be part of Iran's nuclear research program, the attacks would target Iranian air defense and missile sites, communications systems, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps facilities, key parts of Iran's military-industrial complex, munitions storage facilities, airfields, aircraft facilities, and all of Iran's naval facilities. Eventually, they say, the US would also have to attack Iran's ground forces, electric power plants and electrical grids, bridges, and "manufacturing plants, including steel, autos, buses, etc".
The D.C. establishment is preparing the ground for diplomacy's failure when it comes to Iran and some indiscreet neocons are openly telling listeners at think-tank discussions that they're happy to pretend that plans for attacking Iran have been shelved for now -- until the supposedly inevitable collapse of negotiations enables the US to claim that everything else was tried before military action. The big question, I suppose, is - is all this intended to undermine Obama's policy or is it telling the truth about what that policy truly is?
Crossposted from Newshoggers
Fuck Rupert Murdoch too!
a Freudian slip, or just wordplay?
Sementics?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Good one!
What about Obama and his (LMFAO) cabinet and advisors?
all of them hawks.
even Henry Kissinger and Lieberman approve of his picks.
and Obama has telegraphed his support for redirecting the (phony, but profitable) War on Terror to Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan.
Developing....
It is unconstitutional for Sen. Hillary Clinton to become Secretary of State. (Which is undoubtedly why she has not resigned her Senate seat).
Here's the link:
http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2008/dec/ju...
constitutionally-ineligible-serve-secretary-s
Here's the best part of all this. Every Senator who will be voting for her to be confirmed KNOWS it's un-Constitutional and they have already taken an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution."
Ha!!!!!!!!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
these things simply must not be uttered here if obummer is to be the next war criminal well then well just have to support him, war means profits and buisness is good!
China will fix it so nothing can be done.
You must read the Market Ticker...can you imagine the horror as China and another Asian US investor devalues their currency?
this is going to be very ugly. and there is nothing we can do about it.
http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-ww...
Even after Bush leaves office.
WTF people what about pakistan? If we can live with that threat, we can live with Iran's "threat".
I think everyone would agree that pakistan is much less stable, more vehemently anti-american and, oh yeah THEY ALREADY HAVE NUKES!
Are we attacking them? No. Because we know it is something force cannot fix.
We are not preparing to attack Iran because of NUKES. It is for another reason.
American Israeli Political Action Committee and oil explain much of what is covered above.
AIPAC and Israel. Enough said.
Government + the Federal Reserve = organized crime
Beastial transvestisism?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/in_than...
How bout a hawk in a turkey suit?
Dove in turkey suit?
http://www.morethings.com/music/paul_simon/si...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
YouTube Video(6:19) of Iran Background
Also: Algiers Accord / Agreement
Thanks for focusing on this critical issue. Scott Ritter, Juan Cole and Flynt Leverett are the folks who I read if I want to know about what is really happenning in regard to U.S. policies and Israel's policies having to do with Iran.
Micheal Ledeen, James Woolsey, Bill Kristol, Aipac, Aipac Aipac and so many more have been beating the war drums in regard to Iran for at least five years. Most of these people have been allowed by the MSM to constantly repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran. The last example of this in a big way was when Neil Conan of NPR's Talk of the Nation repeated again the false claim that the Iranian President said "wipe Israel off the map" Neil Conan repeated this claim within five minutes of a recent program on Iran with both Brzinski and Ted Koppel (who named his program on Iran "Most Dangerous Nation" several years ago..just a bit biased. Also Ted is Kenneth Pollacks (allegedly U.S. Gov1) in the U.S. Vs. Aipacs Rosen and Weissman espionage case that the MSM will not report anything about).
The screener on Talk of the Nation that day only allowed questions through bashing what Brezinski said. Listen for yourselves. This program on Iran is a clear example of just how our media works when it comes to middle east policy and coverage.
Firedoglake has been opening up their blogs on the I/P conflict/ issue a bit more the last six months. This is a heated issue and trolls often show up when the issue is brought up to attack commenters. Another example of how this issue has been shut down in the blogosphere for the last six years. Go check out this blog and also Muzzle Watch for issues that the MSM and much of the so called progressive blogosphere will generally not touch
http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/04/chicks-with...
WE SHOULD CALL OUR REPS...NO SUPPORT OF ISREAL IF THEY PRE-EMPTIVELY ATTACK IRAN BASED ON UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS. NO SUPPORT
ISRAEL SHOULD BE PUSHED TO SIGN THE NON PROLIFERATION TREATY AND WE SHOULD CUT FUNDING TO ISRAEL
don't forget it was Cheney's idea to have US commandos dress up as Iranians and with mock-ups of Iranian patrol boats and shoot up some US warships to blame it on Iran.
And then their is also the idea of BushCo to paint up a U2 spyplane in UN colors to entice Iraq to shoot it down, giving the US the needed pretext to attack.
Thank goodness, for Scott Ritter, Jimmy Carter Flynt Leverett, Juan Cole, Justin Raimando, Profesor Finkelstein(his website is one of the best)Robert Fisk, Larissa Adrovna at Raw Story, Amy Goodman and so many more who help deliver challenges and facts about Iran. Amy interviewed the Iranian President when he was visiting and they were great interviews.
If Israel continues to provoke other nations in the middle east (Ariel Sharon at the Aipac conference when he was well was outrageous, along with Richard Perle and others who lie about Iran) they should have funding cut or reduced. People like Daniel Pipes of Campus Watch have been successful at shutting down the dialogue on College Campuses to Israel's detriment
This is the latest Talk of the Nation program on Iran. Listen to Neil Conan repeat the hogwash and debunked by Juan Cole that the Iranin President said "wipe Israel off the map" in the first five minutes. listen to the question the screener allows through ( I know including myself two other people who sent in questions about why the Bush administration and Aipac have been refusing to ignore the latest NIE on Iran) and I was on line holding with the screener objecting to Neil Conan repeating the often repeated and false statement about Israel. The screener only allowed two questions that challenged Brezinski and nothing that challenged Koppel who in the past has supported stronger responses towards Iran (has definitely softened a bit)....no challenges let through for Neil's false statement.
Listen to the program
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?...
Over a year ago Neil Conan had John Bolton on and allowed him to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran endlessly. Neil did not challenge Bolton once not once
This is how our alleged "liberal" media works. No challenges
I believe this is the program where Neil allows Bolton to repeat one unsubstantiated claim about Iran after the next. Neil seems to have an agenda
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?...
Here is Bolton ripping up the NIE on Iran
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?...
WATCHING AND LISTENING TO OUR MEDIA AND HOW LITTLE WAS LEARNED FROM THE ENDLESSLY REPEATED LIES ABOUT WMD'S IN IRAQ GO UNCHALLENGED.
OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS I HAVE HEARD NEIL CONAN, TERRI GROSS, CHRIS MATTHEWS, GEORGE STEPHANAPOLOUS, BOB SCHIFFER, TIM RUSSERT (SO MANY TIMES I LOST COUNT) AND SOMETIMES EVEN DIANE REHMS (EARLY ON AFTER THE INVASION OF IRAN, SHE HAS GOTTEN BETTER AT CHALLENGING THESE UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS ABOUT IRAN) ALLOW ONE PERSON AFTER THE NEXT REPEAT UNPROVEN CLAIMS ABOUT IRAN.
SELDOM VERY SELDOM DO YOU EVEN HEAR THE NIE ON IRAN OR WHAT EL BARADEI STATES ABOUT IRAN FOCUSED ON. ALWAYS THAT ALLEGED STATEMENT BY THE IRANIAN PRESIDENT.
I RECENTLY HEARD BOB SCHIFFER ALLOW (BEFORE THE ELECTION) ALLOW OBAMA TO GET AWAY WITH SAYING "IRAN IS DEVELOPING NUCLEAR WEAPONS". NOW THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD HEARD OBAMA USE THE WORD "IS" BUT IT WAS DISTURBING AND SCHIEFFER DID NOT CHALLENGE HIM. OUR MEDIA ALONG WITH MANY HAVE SET THE STAGE FOR AN EXCUSE TO ATTACK IRAN
... is not 'alleged'. He did make a statement referring to Israel, but it's the translation that is disputed, and in true conservative talking-head style, you can't get that incorrect translation out of the dialogue for love nor money.
Unless we keep pounding. Have been able to directly correct Chris Matthews, Diane Rehm and on C-span's Washington Journal. Unless we apply pressure nothing will CHANGE
"http://www.juancole.com/2007/06/ahmadinejad-i-am-not-anti-semitic.html
"As most of my readers know, Ahmadinejad did not use that phrase in Persian. He quoted an old saying of Ayatollah Khomeini calling for 'this occupation regime over Jerusalem" to "vanish from the page of time.' Calling for a regime to vanish is not the same as calling for people to be killed. Ahmadinejad has not to my knowledge called for anyone to be killed. (Wampum has more; as does the American Street)"
"vanishing from the pages of time" is a far cry from "wiping Israel off the map."
The screener at Talk of the Nation said "isn't that equivalent" Hell no! The screener at TOTN obviously had an agenda if she could not see/hear the difference
it has become conventional wisdom. but not just for conservatives. and the fake translation's repetition is dangerous, and anyone who repeats, knowing full well that it is a flawed translation, is merely rattling sabers, which is not helpful.
obama's speech to AIPAC:
"The Iranian regime supports violent extremists and challenges us across the region. It pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race and raise the prospect of a transfer of nuclear know-how to terrorists. Its president denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off the map. The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?...
Obama has been complicit by reapeting this hogwash. Hillary for sure. Edwards, Kucinich, Nader, Ron Paul challenged these false statements and did not pledge their allegiance to Israel and look what that got them. Well Edwards also screwed himself.
Can you believe the U.S. Vs. Rosen/ Weissman espionage investigation and trial has been successfully shut down in the MSM and the blogosphere. No I lobby influence there. Not even a whisper
Obama also repeats the MSM lie about the Russian-Georgian conflict.
he is nothing but a front-man for the Military Industrial Complex.
his appointments are all connected and made members of the MIC.
i can definitely believe that this case is wholly ignored by the msm. and it sickens me.
imagine how this case would be different if it was spying on the behalf of venezuela or iran, instead of israel.
"alleged" ABSOLUTELY
What will eventually happen in the ME is a cold war between the Jewish and Islamic states. Like the US/USSR cold war this will end after a period of time when both sides realize the futility of mutual assured destruction. I don't believe there will ever be any foolish invasion for many reasons. Rupert Murdoch is a soulless, greedy asshole without scruples. Obama is smarter than we think I suspect, and the neocons won't be able to influence him.
Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity. Albert Einstein
With Dennis Ross as one of this middle east advisers not much will change with the I/P conflict. That is unless Obama has a counterbalance Flynt, Scott Ritter, Jimmy Carter to "Israel's lawyer" Dennis Ross directing the non negotiations. Dennis and others were successful at spinning the breakdown of the negotiations during the Clinton adminitration on Arafat in our media (not hard to do).
Professor Finkelsteins focus on the International World Courts decisions a few years ago seems like the wisest way to go for folks who really want to see this situation resolved. Finkelstein encourages folks to focus on those decision. Wall illegal, settlements illegal, go back to the 67 border Israel.
Finkelsteins site and talks are well worth the listen. This man took a serious hit by the I lobby for his honest, brave, factual stances on the conflict
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?...
Have you read Jimmy Carter's "Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid
Also Archibishop Tutu recent visit with Amy Goodman on this issue. Important listen having to do with Obama, foreign policy etc
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/21/south_...
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?...
I think most decent people want peace in that region. I really hope the US can evolve past it's infamous warmongering reputation and really question being used by dark forces in Washington as cannon fodder.
Politics is for the present, but an equation is for eternity. Albert Einstein
Juan Coles direct translation. Not neoconese spoken by Perle, Ledeen, Woolsey, Bolton etc
http://www.juancole.com/2007/06/ahmadinejad-i...
Ritter has written so much about Iran . I trust this former UN weapons inspector. I do not trust, Kristol Cheney, BOlton etc on Iran
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Former_UN_weapo...
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/20080115...
http://www.democracynow.org/2006/10/16/scott_...
Also the one and only Seymour Hersh
"The Iran Plans"
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/04/17/0...
http://www.democracynow.org/2007/10/2/seymour...
fying_plans
HELL WE HAVE YET TO WITNESS ANYONE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE NIGER DOCUMENTS AND OTHER WMD FALSE INTELLIGENCE (SOME BELIEVE ISRAEL WAS ONE OF THE SOURCES FOR THIS WIDELY DESSIMINATED FALSE INTELLIGENCE) AND NOW ISRAEL SPEWING MORE FALSE INTELLIGENCE ABOUT IRAN.
Let's not forget the 16 agency NIE on Iran report that our leaders and the MSM ignore.
NIE on Iran. The folks in the MSM should read this so they can mention it
http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cache:BB6zyIhL...
Every time Larry King or Joe Lieberman or Daniel Pipes open their hard-line Arab hating mouths about Israel, their very first words are that "Israel is surrounded by enemies".
In fact you hear that from every other notable or influential person of Jewish descent whose loyalties are clearly with Israel first and America second.
But you also hear that from every Republican. John McCain loved pushing the other anti-Arab slogan "Iran wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth."
Since we all know Republicans don't really care about anyone personally - where's the connection?
Ask your Senatorial minds these very logical questions:
1. How many Iranians were part of 9-11?
2. In the 32 day long Israeli/Lebanon war, where Iran supposedly "backed Lebanon's Hizb'allah with stashes of money and weapons", why then is it that in 32 days Israelis killed well over a 1000 Lebanese - few of which were Hizb'allah- but the 'terrorists' only managed to 'destroy' about 100 Israelis, with "slow traveling homemade weapons capable of putting small potholes in the streets", weapons the reporters made jokes about because they "were so slow you could see and hear them coming" and were "fired from erratic shoulder fired missiles or broken down pick-ups".
We're going to war and/or are willing to kill more of our own people for that?? That's a worse excuse than Iraq's WMD's - coincidentally a war also pushed using faked inteeligence and photos by the Israelis.
3. How many other "border skirmishes" are going on around the world?
4. Other than border skirmishes, how many Iranians have invaded Israel?
4. How many other 'border skirmishes have we gotten involved in?
5. Does Israel have good relations with ANY of it's neighbors?
Think of the whole Arab hating propaganda as the usual scheme scheme: poor little white folks incapable of supporting themselves surrounded by evil dark skinned men -with lots of oil money.
6. Now ask, how many Israeli troops died, with ours, in the wars with Iraq or Afghanistan??
It's not the oil people!. It's the cash the oil generates, that both Republicans and Israelis covet.
When the ancient Chinese refused to allow those devious white traders in for a piece of the action, the whites didn't like it and invaded.
Now look where each is in history.
After the price of oil rose to $147 a barrel, the world's economy was ground to a halt. Now oil has fallen all the way to $43. The markets need a kick to get things rolling again, so what better than a little war in the Middle East. Oil would be at $100 overnight, and many trading accounts would be saved.
Murdoch is another frothingly insane cultist who hates Democracy, human rights, freedoms, and liberties. That insane cultist is as crazy as any of his Islamic colleagues he hates so much.
Sorry to break this, but Rupert Murdoch doesn't own the Jerusalem Post. I'm not a fan of Murdoch, but lets not give him more credit than he deserves for the antics of his empire.
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