Attacking Iran: A Pending Mistake (Part II)

By Ruqayyah Shamseddine

August 3, 2010

Since the year 1945, the United States of America has attempted to overthrow at least 50 foreign governments - including most recently that of Iran. This variety of political play-making is not just bad diplomatic policy; when US President Obama signed into law, on July 1st 2010, sanctions against Iran he was not making a careless mistake. The United States of America’s foreign policy is comparably similar to that of a cold, calculated killer.

Economic Strangulation And Military Aggression Against Iran

Sanctions are silent but terribly deadly, killing assumed ‘combatants’ and noncombatants in one cowardly sweep - take for example US sanctions against Iraq: Researcher Richard Garfield estimated that "a minimum of 100,000 and a more likely estimate of 227,000 excess deaths among young children from August 1991 through March 1998" from all causes including sanctions.

The Obama Administration has casually passed off US sanctions against Iran as “peaceful” measures - a “peaceful” economic asphyxiation meant to heavily impact Iran’s response. Moreover, in late June some 12 US warships and at least one Israeli corvette crossed through the Suez Canal accompanying three naval squadrons - blatant military intimidation coupled with aggressive imperialist rhetoric.

On August 1st, Admiral Mike Mullen - chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said that the US does have a plan to attack Iran. Speaking on Sunday's "Meet the Press" programme broadcast on US channel NBC, Mullen stated that "...military options have been on the table, and remain on the table". "I hope we don't get to that, but it's an important option and it's one that's well understood," he added.

A variety of qualified and unqualified journalists have been turning the latest US resolution, one HR 1553, into a petulant recreational game; lacing what should be a challenging cascade of repudiation with empty rhetoric meant to ease the sting of an unquestionably toxic policy maneuver.

The mainstream body of foreign correspondents are no longer concerned with civilian casualties, the abiding poverty levels stemming out of the occupied territories or the grotesque complicity of Western regimes - no. The coverage of the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq began with subtle uproar which soon declined and fell apart only to rise from the ashes during vulgar anniversaries.

When, or if, there shall be a military strike against Iran - it shall be no different.

House Republicans Call For War

Resolution 1553 puts on no mask and contains no covert intention; their motive is delivered conspicuously, upfront and very ‘in your face’:
“Expressing support for the State of Israel’s right...to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the use of military force.”


House Republicans have given Israel a carte blanche drenched in venom and soon to be soaked in blood; The Zionists State has the green light and US Representatives are screaming, “GO”.

Regardless of what the mainstream body of pseudo-intellectuals and politicians want you to believe, Israel does not care about public opinion when it comes to defying international law. Time and time again Israel has proven that their agenda is above the law and no one has yet come close to holding the Zionist regime accountable for its laundry list of war-crimes against the people of Palestine and Lebanon. Israel has eroded the rule of law with help from its partner in crime, the United States of America.

Israeli Occupation Forces Training For Strike Against Iran

On July 30th it was reported by Israeli news media that the Israeli Occupation Forces were conducting military drills on “precipitous cliff caves similar to the mountain tunnels in which Iran has hidden nuclear facilities” in Romania. Six Israeli airmen died in a Sikorsky "Yasour" CH-53 helicopter crash over the Romanian Carpathian Mountains Monday, July 26th. The crash occurred in the last stage of a joint Israeli-US-Romanian exercise for simulating an attack on Iran.

PressTV reported on August 1st that Israel has openly threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear installation for years and that “the likelihood of such an attack has significantly increased due to Tel Aviv's growing impatience with the United Nations Security Council sanctions and similar unilateral measures adopted by the US and EU, which have failed to change Tehran's stance on its peaceful nuclear issue.”

The drumbeats of war are getting louder and the signs are becoming clearer.

US Senators have stated, in unison, that the sanctions against Iran will not deter the Islamic Republic from continuing with its “nuclear ambitions” - in layman's terms, US lawmakers are demanding Iran stop what it has stated over and over again to not be doing. If Iran does not therein stop what it isn’t doing (i.e. manufacturing nuclear weapons etc) there will be consequences, including an Armageddon-esque scenario, all of which of course is for Israel.

US Senator Joseph "Bomb Iran" Lieberman:
“I think it's deeply important that the fanatical leadership in Iran understands that we are very serious about their nuclear weapons program, and when we say it's unacceptable for Iran to go nuclear, we mean it -- that we can and will do everything to stop Iran from going nuclear.

The next step is tough sanctions, economic sanctions. Frankly it's a last chance for Iran to avoid giving the rest of the world, including the United States, a hard choice between allowing Iran to go nuclear and using military power to stop them from doing that.”

US Senator Evan Bayh:
“We have to contemplate the final option, the use of force to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”

CIA Director Leon Panetta:
“I think the sanctions will have some impact.... Will it deter [Iran] from their ambitions with regards to nuclear capability? Probably not.”

At the G8 Summit meeting held in July President Barack Obama stated that Iran has until September to comply with international proposals aimed at stopping the Islamic Republic from developing nuclear weapons. That is the deadline.

The US will not act alone in instigating a war against Iran nor does it looks like the United States will be the one to spur a war. Israel, having proven its unwavering support of imperialistic terrorism, will be the one to ignite the match. Afterall, who’s to stop the illegal Zionist entity from doing to Iran what it has done to Lebanon, Gaza and every other precious inch of Occupied Palestine?

Iran has been very candid as of late; Iranian Ambassador to UN, Mohammad Khazai, stated that "If the Zionist regime commits the slightest aggression against the Iranian soil, we will set the entire war front and Tel Aviv on fire."

September is but a short time away and we shall soon witness whether or not Israel and the United States will make good on their threats. Every war Israel has taken part in during its perverse historical existence has been preemptive; time will tell if Iran will be another to add to its curtain of others. If it is, I assure you, it will be the last.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian