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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
By Muhammad Cohen http://www.informationclearinghouse....ticle19991.htm 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the source, but their projected New York Times op-ed piece has yet to appear. The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously, said last week that that the US plans an air strike against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The air strike would target the headquarters of the IRGC's elite Quds force. With an estimated strength of up to 90,000 fighters, the Quds' stated mission is to spread Iran's revolution of 1979 throughout the region. Targets could include IRGC garrisons in southern and southwestern Iran, near the border with Iraq. US officials have repeatedly claimed Iran is aiding Iraqi insurgents. In January 2007, US forces raided the Iranian consulate general in Erbil, Iraq, arresting five staff members, including two Iranian diplomats it held until November. Last September, the US Senate approved a resolution by a vote of 76-22 urging President George W Bush to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization. Following this non-binding "sense of the senate" resolution, the White House declared sanctions against the Quds Force as a terrorist group in October. The Bush administration has also accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program, though most intelligence analysts say the program has been abandoned. An attack on Iraq would fit the Bush administration's declared policy on Iraq. Administration officials questioned directly about military action against Iran routinely assert that "all options remain on the table". Rockin' and a-reelin' Senators and the Bush administration denied the resolution and terrorist declaration were preludes to an attack on Iran. However, attacking Iran rarely seems far from some American leaders' minds. Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain recast the classic Beach Boys tune Barbara Ann as "Bomb Iran". Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton promised "total obliteration" for Iran if it attacked Israel. The US and Iran have a long and troubled history, even without the proposed air strike. US and British intelligence were behind attempts to unseat prime minister Mohammed Mossadeq, who nationalized Britain's Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Company, and returned Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power in 1953. President Jimmy Carter's pressure on the Shah to improve his dismal human-rights record and loosen political control helped the 1979 Islamic revolution unseat the Shah. But the new government under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned the US as "the Great Satan" for its decades of support for the Shah and its reluctant admission into the US of the fallen monarch for cancer treatment. Students occupied the US Embassy in Teheran, holding 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. Eight American commandos died in a failed rescue mission in 1980. The US broke diplomatic relations with Iran during the hostage holding and has yet to restore them. Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's rhetoric often sounds lifted from the Khomeini era. The source said the White House views the proposed air strike as a limited action to punish Iran for its involvement in Iraq. The source, an ambassador during the administration of president H W Bush, did not provide details on the types of weapons to be used in the attack, nor on the precise stage of planning at this time. It is not known whether the White House has already consulted with allies about the air strike, or if it plans to do so. Sense in the senate Details provided by the administration raised alarm bells on Capitol Hill, the source said. After receiving secret briefings on the planned air strike, Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat of California, and Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, said they would write a New York Times op-ed piece "within days", the source said last week, to express their opposition. Feinstein is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Lugar is the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. Senate offices were closed for the US Memorial Day holiday, so Feinstein and Lugar were not available for comment. Given their obligations to uphold the secrecy of classified information, it is unlikely the senators would reveal the Bush administration's plan or their knowledge of it. However, going public on the issue, even without specifics, would likely create a public groundswell of criticism that could induce the Bush administration reconsider its plan. The proposed air strike on Iran would have huge implications for geopolitics and for the ongoing US presidential campaign. The biggest question, of course, is how would Iran respond? Iran's options Iran could flex its muscles in any number of ways. It could step up support for insurgents in Iraq and for its allies throughout the Middle East. Iran aids both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Israel's Occupied Territories. It is also widely suspected of assisting Taliban rebels in Afghanistan. Iran could also choose direct confrontation with the US in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, with which Iran shares a long, porous border. Iran has a fighting force of more than 500,000. Iran is also believed to have missiles capable of reaching US allies in the Gulf region. Iran could also declare a complete or selective oil embargo on US allies. Iran is the second-largest oil exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and fourth-largest overall. About 70% of its oil exports go to Asia. The US has barred oil imports from Iran since 1995 and restricts US companies from investing there. China is Iran's biggest customer for oil, and Iran buys weapons from China. Trade between the two countries hit US$20 billion last year and continues to expand. China's reaction to an attack on Iran is also a troubling unknown for the US. Three for the money The Islamic world could also react strongly against a US attack against a third predominantly Muslim nation. Pakistan, which also shares a border with Iran, could face additional pressure from Islamic parties to end its cooperation with the US to fight al-Qaeda and hunt for Osama bin Laden. Turkey, another key ally, could be pushed further off its secular base. American companies, diplomatic installations and other US interests could face retaliation from governments or mobs in Muslim-majority states from Indonesia to Morocco. A US air strike on Iran would have seismic impact on the presidential race at home, but it's difficult to determine where the pieces would fall. At first glance, a military attack against Iran would seem to favor McCain. The Arizona senator says the US is locked in battle across the globe with radical Islamic extremists, and he believes Iran is one of biggest instigators and supporters of the extremist tide. A strike on Iran could rally American voters to back the war effort and vote for McCain. On the other hand, an air strike on Iran could heighten public disenchantment with Bush administration policy in the Middle East, leading to support for the Democratic candidate, whoever it is. But an air strike will provoke reactions far beyond US voting booths. That would explain why two veteran senators, one Republican and one Democrat, were reportedly so horrified at the prospect. Former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen told America's story to the world as a US diplomat and is author of Hong Kong On Air (www.hongkongonair.com), a novel set during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Threat of NeoCon War on Iran for Israel Zionist Agenda (click on the picture at the following URL): http://neoconzionistthreat.blogspot....or-israel.html Here is a tiny URL for the above one: http://tinyurl.com/3w2ok7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://NEOCONZIONISTTHREAT.BLOGSPOT.COM http://NOMOREWARFORISRAEL.BLOGSPOT.COM |
#2
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
On Tue, 27 May 2008 17:11:23 -0700 (PDT), NOMOREWARFORISRAEL
wrote: 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August' Won't work. Bush had stated that he will attend the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony (Aug 8). He hasn't got the smarts to juggle that kind of scheduling conflict by doing a new war at the same time. But then again he may do so a few days later and steal the headlines from the Olympics. On the balance? Nah. |
#3
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
In article ,
PaPaPeng wrote: On Tue, 27 May 2008 17:11:23 -0700 (PDT), NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote: 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August' Won't work. Bush had stated that he will attend the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony (Aug 8). He hasn't got the smarts to juggle that kind of scheduling conflict by doing a new war at the same time. But then again he may do so a few days later and steal the headlines from the Olympics. On the balance? Nah. FOAD, troll. |
#4
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote in news:3ff150f0-
: Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August' Thanks for the warning. Should give me time to polish up the old Plasma TV screen and lay in a goodly supply of refreshements. IBM |
#5
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
In article ,
Don Ocean wrote: Steve Hix wrote: In article , PaPaPeng wrote: On Tue, 27 May 2008 17:11:23 -0700 (PDT), NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote: 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August' Won't work. Bush had stated that he will attend the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony (Aug 8). He hasn't got the smarts to juggle that kind of scheduling conflict by doing a new war at the same time. But then again he may do so a few days later and steal the headlines from the Olympics. On the balance? Nah. FOAD, troll. Truth **** you off? Not at all. That post wasn't "truth", to any reasonable value, though. Bush never could meet any kind of a Military deadline. Hell, he couldn't even keep up reserve flight status in a unit that was slated never to see combat even. Ignoring the fact that said unit was transitioning to a different aircraft and mission, and that he had insufficient time remaining in his commitment to be trained for the new mission. Not to mention that he gained more than enough points during his service to more than fulfill his required commitment. No more damned civilians or draft dodgers in the first chair! Or goofy peanut farmers! It's odd, really, that so many fulminate at near infinite length about how Bush is too stupid to walk and chew gum simultaneously, yet at the same time go on as if he must totally control in the tiniest detail all of the nefarious plots that they believe him to be juggling. And they never can see the inconsistency. |
#6
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
The Bush ******* cannot make a war without the approval of the American people. The pack of AIPAC bought fools in the Senate and Congress will not bypass the opinion of the citizenry. Hell, most of America would either aid or look the other way while the Bu****es were being hung for such crimes. Do keep in mind that Russia made it clear that an attack on Iran would be an act of war on Russia also. Let the Damned Jews commit suicide on their own. When American boys die in conflict.. it should be for damned good American reasons. I wonder if McCain is any saner? NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote: Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August' By Muhammad Cohen http://www.informationclearinghouse....ticle19991.htm 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the source, but their projected New York Times op-ed piece has yet to appear. The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously, said last week that that the US plans an air strike against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The air strike would target the headquarters of the IRGC's elite Quds force. With an estimated strength of up to 90,000 fighters, the Quds' stated mission is to spread Iran's revolution of 1979 throughout the region. Targets could include IRGC garrisons in southern and southwestern Iran, near the border with Iraq. US officials have repeatedly claimed Iran is aiding Iraqi insurgents. In January 2007, US forces raided the Iranian consulate general in Erbil, Iraq, arresting five staff members, including two Iranian diplomats it held until November. Last September, the US Senate approved a resolution by a vote of 76-22 urging President George W Bush to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization. Following this non-binding "sense of the senate" resolution, the White House declared sanctions against the Quds Force as a terrorist group in October. The Bush administration has also accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program, though most intelligence analysts say the program has been abandoned. An attack on Iraq would fit the Bush administration's declared policy on Iraq. Administration officials questioned directly about military action against Iran routinely assert that "all options remain on the table". Rockin' and a-reelin' Senators and the Bush administration denied the resolution and terrorist declaration were preludes to an attack on Iran. However, attacking Iran rarely seems far from some American leaders' minds. Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain recast the classic Beach Boys tune Barbara Ann as "Bomb Iran". Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton promised "total obliteration" for Iran if it attacked Israel. The US and Iran have a long and troubled history, even without the proposed air strike. US and British intelligence were behind attempts to unseat prime minister Mohammed Mossadeq, who nationalized Britain's Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Company, and returned Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power in 1953. President Jimmy Carter's pressure on the Shah to improve his dismal human-rights record and loosen political control helped the 1979 Islamic revolution unseat the Shah. But the new government under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned the US as "the Great Satan" for its decades of support for the Shah and its reluctant admission into the US of the fallen monarch for cancer treatment. Students occupied the US Embassy in Teheran, holding 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. Eight American commandos died in a failed rescue mission in 1980. The US broke diplomatic relations with Iran during the hostage holding and has yet to restore them. Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's rhetoric often sounds lifted from the Khomeini era. The source said the White House views the proposed air strike as a limited action to punish Iran for its involvement in Iraq. The source, an ambassador during the administration of president H W Bush, did not provide details on the types of weapons to be used in the attack, nor on the precise stage of planning at this time. It is not known whether the White House has already consulted with allies about the air strike, or if it plans to do so. Sense in the senate Details provided by the administration raised alarm bells on Capitol Hill, the source said. After receiving secret briefings on the planned air strike, Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat of California, and Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, said they would write a New York Times op-ed piece "within days", the source said last week, to express their opposition. Feinstein is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Lugar is the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. Senate offices were closed for the US Memorial Day holiday, so Feinstein and Lugar were not available for comment. Given their obligations to uphold the secrecy of classified information, it is unlikely the senators would reveal the Bush administration's plan or their knowledge of it. However, going public on the issue, even without specifics, would likely create a public groundswell of criticism that could induce the Bush administration reconsider its plan. The proposed air strike on Iran would have huge implications for geopolitics and for the ongoing US presidential campaign. The biggest question, of course, is how would Iran respond? Iran's options Iran could flex its muscles in any number of ways. It could step up support for insurgents in Iraq and for its allies throughout the Middle East. Iran aids both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Israel's Occupied Territories. It is also widely suspected of assisting Taliban rebels in Afghanistan. Iran could also choose direct confrontation with the US in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, with which Iran shares a long, porous border. Iran has a fighting force of more than 500,000. Iran is also believed to have missiles capable of reaching US allies in the Gulf region. Iran could also declare a complete or selective oil embargo on US allies. Iran is the second-largest oil exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and fourth-largest overall. About 70% of its oil exports go to Asia. The US has barred oil imports from Iran since 1995 and restricts US companies from investing there. China is Iran's biggest customer for oil, and Iran buys weapons from China. Trade between the two countries hit US$20 billion last year and continues to expand. China's reaction to an attack on Iran is also a troubling unknown for the US. Three for the money The Islamic world could also react strongly against a US attack against a third predominantly Muslim nation. Pakistan, which also shares a border with Iran, could face additional pressure from Islamic parties to end its cooperation with the US to fight al-Qaeda and hunt for Osama bin Laden. Turkey, another key ally, could be pushed further off its secular base. American companies, diplomatic installations and other US interests could face retaliation from governments or mobs in Muslim-majority states from Indonesia to Morocco. A US air strike on Iran would have seismic impact on the presidential race at home, but it's difficult to determine where the pieces would fall. At first glance, a military attack against Iran would seem to favor McCain. The Arizona senator says the US is locked in battle across the globe with radical Islamic extremists, and he believes Iran is one of biggest instigators and supporters of the extremist tide. A strike on Iran could rally American voters to back the war effort and vote for McCain. On the other hand, an air strike on Iran could heighten public disenchantment with Bush administration policy in the Middle East, leading to support for the Democratic candidate, whoever it is. But an air strike will provoke reactions far beyond US voting booths. That would explain why two veteran senators, one Republican and one Democrat, were reportedly so horrified at the prospect. Former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen told America's story to the world as a US diplomat and is author of Hong Kong On Air (www.hongkongonair.com), a novel set during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Threat of NeoCon War on Iran for Israel Zionist Agenda (click on the picture at the following URL): http://neoconzionistthreat.blogspot....or-israel.html Here is a tiny URL for the above one: http://tinyurl.com/3w2ok7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://NEOCONZIONISTTHREAT.BLOGSPOT.COM http://NOMOREWARFORISRAEL.BLOGSPOT.COM |
#7
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
PaPaPeng wrote:
On Tue, 27 May 2008 17:11:23 -0700 (PDT), NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote: 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August' Won't work. Bush had stated that he will attend the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony (Aug 8). He hasn't got the smarts to juggle that kind of scheduling conflict by doing a new war at the same time. But then again he may do so a few days later and steal the headlines from the Olympics. On the balance? Nah. Besides that.. Do you think China will advance the hard cash needed for such a war? Obviously the little ******* has bankrupted America with his idiot adventures in the ME. |
#8
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
Steve Hix wrote:
In article , PaPaPeng wrote: On Tue, 27 May 2008 17:11:23 -0700 (PDT), NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote: 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August' Won't work. Bush had stated that he will attend the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony (Aug 8). He hasn't got the smarts to juggle that kind of scheduling conflict by doing a new war at the same time. But then again he may do so a few days later and steal the headlines from the Olympics. On the balance? Nah. FOAD, troll. Truth **** you off? Bush never could meet any kind of a Military deadline. Hell, he couldn't even keep up reserve flight status in a unit that was slated never to see combat even. No more damned civilians or draft dodgers in the first chair! Or goofy peanut farmers! |
#9
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
"PaPaPeng" wrote in message ... On Tue, 27 May 2008 17:11:23 -0700 (PDT), NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote: 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Bush 'plans Iran air strike by August' Won't work. Bush had stated that he will attend the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony (Aug 8). Interesting. Half the European leaders have already pulled out of that particular chance for a free dinner. It's possible he needs an excuse to get out of it and he thinks (yes, I know...) that bombing somewhere is preferable to appearing on a platform with the Chinese tyrants... -- William Black I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach Time for tea. |
#10
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Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August'
On 28 May, 07:02, Don Ocean wrote:
The Bush ******* cannot make a war without the approval of the American people. The pack of AIPAC bought fools in the Senate and Congress will not bypass the opinion of the citizenry. Hell, most of America would either aid or look the other way while the Bu****es were being hung for such crimes. Do keep in mind that Russia made it clear that an attack on Iran would be an act of war on Russia also. Let the Damned Jews commit suicide on their own. When American boys die in conflict.. it should be for damned good American reasons. I wonder if McCain is any saner? NOMOREWARFORISRAEL wrote: Bush 'Plans Iran Air Strike by August' By Muhammad Cohen http://www.informationclearinghouse....ticle19991.htm 28/05/08 "Asia Times" -- - NEW YORK - The George W Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Two key US senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition to the move, according to the source, but their projected New York Times op-ed piece has yet to appear. The source, a retired US career diplomat and former assistant secretary of state still active in the foreign affairs community, speaking anonymously, said last week that that the US plans an air strike against the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The air strike would target the headquarters of the IRGC's elite Quds force. With an estimated strength of up to 90,000 fighters, the Quds' stated mission is to spread Iran's revolution of 1979 throughout the region. Targets could include IRGC garrisons in southern and southwestern Iran, near the border with Iraq. US officials have repeatedly claimed Iran is aiding Iraqi insurgents. In January 2007, US forces raided the Iranian consulate general in Erbil, Iraq, arresting five staff members, including two Iranian diplomats it held until November. Last September, the US Senate approved a resolution by a vote of 76-22 urging President George W Bush to declare the IRGC a terrorist organization. Following this non-binding "sense of the senate" resolution, the White House declared sanctions against the Quds Force as a terrorist group in October. The Bush administration has also accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program, though most intelligence analysts say the program has been abandoned. An attack on Iraq would fit the Bush administration's declared policy on Iraq. Administration officials questioned directly about military action against Iran routinely assert that "all options remain on the table". Rockin' and a-reelin' Senators and the Bush administration denied the resolution and terrorist declaration were preludes to an attack on Iran. However, attacking Iran rarely seems far from some American leaders' minds. Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain recast the classic Beach Boys tune Barbara Ann as "Bomb Iran". Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton promised "total obliteration" for Iran if it attacked Israel. The US and Iran have a long and troubled history, even without the proposed air strike. US and British intelligence were behind attempts to unseat prime minister Mohammed Mossadeq, who nationalized Britain's Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Company, and returned Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power in 1953. President Jimmy Carter's pressure on the Shah to improve his dismal human-rights record and loosen political control helped the 1979 Islamic revolution unseat the Shah. But the new government under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned the US as "the Great Satan" for its decades of support for the Shah and its reluctant admission into the US of the fallen monarch for cancer treatment. Students occupied the US Embassy in Teheran, holding 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days. Eight American commandos died in a failed rescue mission in 1980. The US broke diplomatic relations with Iran during the hostage holding and has yet to restore them. Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's rhetoric often sounds lifted from the Khomeini era. The source said the White House views the proposed air strike as a limited action to punish Iran for its involvement in Iraq. The source, an ambassador during the administration of president H W Bush, did not provide details on the types of weapons to be used in the attack, nor on the precise stage of planning at this time. It is not known whether the White House has already consulted with allies about the air strike, or if it plans to do so. Sense in the senate Details provided by the administration raised alarm bells on Capitol Hill, the source said. After receiving secret briefings on the planned air strike, Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat of California, and Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, said they would write a New York Times op-ed piece "within days", the source said last week, to express their opposition. Feinstein is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Lugar is the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. Senate offices were closed for the US Memorial Day holiday, so Feinstein and Lugar were not available for comment. Given their obligations to uphold the secrecy of classified information, it is unlikely the senators would reveal the Bush administration's plan or their knowledge of it. However, going public on the issue, even without specifics, would likely create a public groundswell of criticism that could induce the Bush administration reconsider its plan. The proposed air strike on Iran would have huge implications for geopolitics and for the ongoing US presidential campaign. The biggest question, of course, is how would Iran respond? Iran's options Iran could flex its muscles in any number of ways. It could step up support for insurgents in Iraq and for its allies throughout the Middle East. Iran aids both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Israel's Occupied Territories. It is also widely suspected of assisting Taliban rebels in Afghanistan. Iran could also choose direct confrontation with the US in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, with which Iran shares a long, porous border. Iran has a fighting force of more than 500,000. Iran is also believed to have missiles capable of reaching US allies in the Gulf region. Iran could also declare a complete or selective oil embargo on US allies. Iran is the second-largest oil exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and fourth-largest overall. About 70% of its oil exports go to Asia. The US has barred oil imports from Iran since 1995 and restricts US companies from investing there. China is Iran's biggest customer for oil, and Iran buys weapons from China. Trade between the two countries hit US$20 billion last year and continues to expand. China's reaction to an attack on Iran is also a troubling unknown for the US. Three for the money The Islamic world could also react strongly against a US attack against a third predominantly Muslim nation. Pakistan, which also shares a border with Iran, could face additional pressure from Islamic parties to end its cooperation with the US to fight al-Qaeda and hunt for Osama bin Laden. Turkey, another key ally, could be pushed further off its secular base. American companies, diplomatic installations and other US interests could face retaliation from governments or mobs in Muslim-majority states from Indonesia to Morocco. A US air strike on Iran would have seismic impact on the presidential race at home, but it's difficult to determine where the pieces would fall. At first glance, a military attack against Iran would seem to favor McCain. The Arizona senator says the US is locked in battle across the globe with radical Islamic extremists, and he believes Iran is one of biggest instigators and supporters of the extremist tide. A strike on Iran could rally American voters to back the war effort and vote for McCain. On the other hand, an air strike on Iran could heighten public disenchantment with Bush administration policy in the Middle East, leading to support for the Democratic candidate, whoever it is. But an air strike will provoke reactions far beyond US voting booths. That would explain why two veteran senators, one Republican and one Democrat, were reportedly so horrified at the prospect. Former broadcast news producer Muhammad Cohen told America's story to the world as a US diplomat and is author of Hong Kong On Air (www.hongkongonair.com), a novel set during the 1997 handover about television news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------*-- Threat of NeoCon War on Iran for Israel Zionist Agenda *(click on the picture at the following URL): http://neoconzionistthreat.blogspot....of-neocon-war-... Here is a tiny URL for the above one: http://tinyurl.com/3w2ok7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------*------------- http://NEOCONZIONISTTHREAT.BLOGSPOT.COM http://NOMOREWARFORISRAEL.BLOGSPOT.COM- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Russia isn't going to go to war over Iran. Similar gibberish was spouted when Iraq was attacked and more recently about Russia coming to the aid of Serbia over Kosovo. TJ |
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