Are We Going to War with Iran?

Several months ago I did a little presentation on BushCo’s drive to go to war with Iran. At the time, there was plenty of circumstantial evidence to support the existence of that drive, but I was pretty well convinced that even BushCo wasn’t nuts enough to go through with it.

Since that time, though, I have seen too many articles about “evil Iran” in the newspapers and on television to completely discount the idea that they might still be planning to bomb Iran. Now come the articles below to stir up those fears once again. I don’t know David Swanson, but I do know Ray McGovern, and I trust what he says. He has been on this story like a bulldog from the beginning, and now that BushCo is nearing the end of its reign and its influence it may be that they will act in desperation. Please give these stories a careful read and reach your own conclusions.

Report: US Has Plans to Attack Iran
Posted on AfterDowningStreet.org - By David Swanson

Detailed Pentagon plans for a military attack on Iran are far more extensive than has been reported in the U.S., according to top British military analysts. There have been occasional news reports on various strategic bombing options - both conventional and nuclear - but this is the first comprehensive look at the full range of Pentagon plans.

A new report obtained by RawStory.com concludes that the United States has made major preparations to attack Iran, and that such an attack will likely target much more than just weapons or nuclear facilities.

Raw Story's article breaking this story and including expert responses to the report is HERE.

The report as a PDF is HERE.

The authors are Dr Dan Plesch and Martin Butcher. Dr Plesch is Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies’ Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy. Martin Butcher is an international consultant on security politics.

Excerpts:

The study concludes that the US has made military preparations to destroy Iran’s WMD, nuclear energy, regime, armed forces, state apparatus and economic infrastructure within days if not hours of President George W. Bush giving the order. The US is not publicizing the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely. The US retains the option of avoiding war, but using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.

Any attack is likely to be on a massive multi-front scale but avoiding a ground invasion. Attacks focused on WMD facilities would leave Iran too many retaliatory options, leave President Bush open to the charge of using too little force and leave the regime intact.

• US bombers and long range missiles are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours.
• US ground, air and marine forces already in the Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan can devastate Iranian forces, the regime and the state at short notice.
• Some form of low level US and possibly UK military action as well as armed popular resistance appear underway inside the Iranian provinces or ethnic areas of the Azeri, Balujistan, Kurdistan and Khuzestan. Iran was unable to prevent sabotage of its offshore-to-shore crude oil pipelines in 2005.
• Nuclear weapons are ready, but most unlikely, to be used by the US, the UK and Israel. The human, political and environmental effects would be devastating, while their military value is limited.
• Israel is determined to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons yet has the conventional military capability only to wound Iran’s WMD programmes.

Article posted:
www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/26199

Sign the Petition - DontAttackIran.org

Think this is impossible? Read Ray McGovern’s analysis of the likelihood of war in Iran: http://www.alternet.org/story/60493/?page=3 Springfield area readers will remember when Sue Skidmore brought Ray to Springfield to speak and debate with Joe Passinise and Vince Jericho at the Library Center a year ago. Ray is a very credible, ex-CIA analyst whose depth of understanding of the inner workings of our government is immense.

Finally, here is a story that corroborates all that has been referenced above. Some prominent people are already taking decisive action. Should some of us less significant others do the same?

Infowars.net | August 27 , 2007
Steve Watson

A group of former government officials along with current Congressional candidates, authors and activists has issued an urgent
warning that a faction of the US government allied with Dick Cheney is planning to stage a terror event or provocation as a pretext for launching military attacks against Iran and implementing emergency powers in America.

Former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, along with former US Diplomat and Colonel in the US Army reserve Ann Wright have put their names to an open letter warning that massive evidence points to an upcoming event.

Current Congressional candidates Cindy Sheehan and Craig Hill are also among the signatories to the letter.

Here is the letter in full:

To the American people, and to peace loving individuals everywhere:

Massive evidence has come to our attention which shows that the backers, controllers, and allies of Vice President Dick Cheney are determined to orchestrate and manufacture a new 9/11 terror incident, and/or a new Gulf of Tonkin war provocation over the coming weeks and months. Such events would be used by the Bush administration as a
pretext for launching an aggressive war against Iran, quite possibly with nuclear weapons, and for imposing a regime of martial law here in the United States. We call on the House of Representatives to proceed immediately to the impeachment of Cheney, as an urgent measure for avoiding a wider and more catastrophic war. Once impeachment has begun, it will be easier for loyal and patriotic military officers to refuse illegal orders coming from the Cheney faction. We solemnly warn the people of the world that any terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction taking place inside the United States or elsewhere in the immediate future must be considered the prima facie responsibility of the Cheney faction. We urge responsible political leaders everywhere to begin at once to inoculate the public opinion of their countries against such a threatened false flag terror operation.

(Signed) A Group of US Opposition Political Leaders Gathered in
Protest at the Bush Compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, August 24-25,
2007

CYNTHIA MCKINNEY, FORMER US CONGRESSWOMAN, GEORGIA CINDY SHEEHAN,
CANDIDATE FOR US CONGRESS, CALIFORNIA CRAIG HILL, CANDIDATE FOR US
CONGRESS, VERMONT GREEN PARTY BRUCE MARSHALL, CONVENOR, PHILADELPHIA
PLATFORM JAMILLA EL-SHAFEI, KENNEBUNK PEACE DEPARTMENT WEBSTER G.
TARPLEY, AUTHOR ANN WRIGHT, COLONEL US ARMY RESERVE, FORMER US
DIPLOMAT DR. DAHLIA WASFI, WWW.LIBERATETHIS.COM GEORGE PAZ MARTIN
JOHN KAMINSKI , PRESIDENT MAINE LAWYERS FOR DEMOCRACY

The letter was signed by the group at an anti war protest this weekend which saw four thousand march near the Bush family residence on Walker's Point in Kennebunkport.

The warning comes on the heels of a spate of recent news stories and reports indicating that "chatter" about a terror event is at an all time high.

Further evidence that some form of event is imminent has emerged with strange stock market activity occurring just as did in the weeks and days preceding 9/11.

A mystery trader risks losing around $1 billion dollars after placing 245,000 put options on the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 index, leading many analysts to speculate that a stock market crash preceded by a new 9/11 style catastrophe could take place within the next month.

The Kennebunkport group have demanded the immediate impeachment of dick Cheney in order to prevent any such activities coming to fruition.

Be the change you wish to see in the world. -- M. K. Gandhi

Individually we have little voice. Collectively we cannot be ignored.
But in silence we surrender our power. Yours in Peace -- BR