Anti-war group calls actions as
U.S. & Israel prepare for attack on Iran
By
Dustin Langley
Published Jul 20, 2008 9:03 PM
President George W. Bush has given the Israeli military the go-ahead to prepare
for an imminent attack on Iran. Israel is also using U.S. bases in Iraq to
prepare for the attack.
The British Sunday Times of July 13 reported: “Despite the opposition of
his own generals and widespread skepticism that America is ready to risk the
military, political and economic consequences of an airborne strike on Iran,
the president has given an ‘amber light’ to an Israeli plan to
attack Iran’s main nuclear sites with long-range bombing sorties, [a
Pentagon] official told The Sunday Times.
“‘Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate
attack and tell us when you’re ready,’ the official said. But the
Israelis have also been told that they can expect no help from American forces
and will not be able to use U.S. military bases in Iraq for logistical
support.”
No U.S. support? The Jerusalem Post reported on the same day: “On Friday,
sources in the Iraqi Defense Ministry told a local news network that IAF
[Israeli Air Force] war planes were practicing in Iraqi airspace and were
landing on U.S. airbases in the country as a preparation for a potential strike
on Iran.”
Once again the most powerful forces of U.S. corporate power—the
military-industrial-petroleum complex—are using Israel as their proxy to
threaten war on surrounding countries in the region. Israel is armed, financed
and politically and diplomatically supported by Washington. It cannot act on
its own or without explicit permission from Washington.
At the same time that the White House is giving the Zionist military a go-ahead
to bomb Iran, the U.S. Congress is moving ahead to escalate tensions in the
region and possibly provoke an incident that would “justify” U.S.
military action. House Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580 both require
that the president begin a blockade of Iran.
The House resolution “demands” that the president impose
“stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships,
planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran.” Enforcing this
would require a U.S. naval blockade of the Straits of Hormuz, which is an act
of war according to international law. Approximately one-fourth of the
world’s oil, including that from Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar
and Bahrain, passes through the Straits of Hormuz, which are 21 miles wide at
their narrowest point.
These two resolutions have received widespread bipartisan support from members
of both houses of Congress, and are expected to pass without debate or vote. A
staffer in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office said that once the House
resolution hits the floor, it will “pass like a hot knife through
butter.” Some have speculated that the bill will be put on the floor
“under suspension”—meaning it will pass without even a
vote.
Both resolutions accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons, despite the fact
that Washington’s National Intelligence Estimate report last December
made it clear that every major U.S. intelligence agency believes Iran does not
have a nuclear weapons program.
Nor do the resolutions refer to the real nuclear threat in the region: the
U.S., the only country that has used nuclear weapons and currently has a
massive nuclear-armed naval armada in the region. It also does not mention the
apartheid settler state of Israel, which is thought to have at least 200
nuclear weapons.
At the same time, two leading senators announced on July 15 that they had
reached a bipartisan agreement to expand economic sanctions targeting Iran.
Senators Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chair of the Senate Banking Committee,
and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) called Iran “a threat to U.S.
interests.” Dodd, a former candidate for the Democratic Party nomination
for president, said: “This bipartisan bill strengthens economic sanctions
against Iran, and authorizes divestment from companies that do business with
Iran’s key oil sector.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. is involved in “covert operations”—acts
of terrorism—inside Iran. In the July 7 New Yorker, Seymour Hersh
revealed that Congress has approved $400 million to fund covert operations in
Iran. These operations include providing support to armed groups opposed to the
Iranian government, kidnapping members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and
taking them across the border to Iraq for interrogation, the manipulation of
Iran’s currency, and other acts intended to destabilize the regime.
Hersh reports that these types of operations have been ongoing at least since
last year, but the recent congressional appropriation signals a significant
expansion of these actions.
It is clear that the Bush administration is determined to push forward with its
agenda of endless war to control the oil reserves of the Middle East. It is
equally clear that members of Congress—both Democrats and
Republicans—are on board, just as they collaborated in authorizing the
invasion and occupation of Iraq.
It is imperative that progressive activists and organizations, particularly in
the U.S., mobilize to stop another brutal war and demand an end to the illegal
sanctions and covert operations targeting Iran.
Stop War on Iran, an international grassroots campaign, has issued an Emergency
Call for protests, marches and other actions on the weekend of Aug. 2. Local
organizers are planning events in more than 50 cities, including Los Angeles,
Tucson, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis,
Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Jersey City, Albuquerque, Buffalo, New
York, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Cleveland, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia,
Houston, Salt Lake City, Virginia Beach, Washington and more. An updated list
is available at www.StopWarOnIran.org.
Now is the time to take to the streets. Only a massive grassroots mobilization
can stop another bloody and illegal war. To get involved, or for more
information, see www.StopWarOnIran.org.
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