Early this month, the George W. Bush administration's plan to create a new crescendo of accusations against Iran for allegedly smuggling arms to Shiite militias in Iraq encountered not just one but two setbacks.
We generally know when someone attached to this administration is lying: they open their traps and they speak, particularly when it comes to Iran.
With Bush in Israel this week, you can be certain that he is getting his marching orders about mounting a US-led military attack against Iran before he leaves office. - M. R.
Sheldon Adelson flew with Pres. Bush this week on his trip to Israel. I wondered what promises or threatens were given to Bush, motivating him to follow the Likud/Labor/Kadima lines that, Iran is next on the agenda.
Now is the time to attack Iran...
Posting a reminder as to just WHO is pushing for the US to enter yet another war in the Mideast!
- M. R.
Early this month, the George W. Bush administration's plan to create a new crescendo of accusations against Iran for allegedly smuggling arms to Shiite militias in Iraq encountered not just one but two setbacks.
"We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage . . . and then sit down and talk with them," Gates said. "If there is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too. We can't go to a discussion and be completely the demander, with them not feeling that they need anything from us."
What Gates is talking about doing is logical and reasonable.
Gate's only problem with this approach, however, is that Bush is in Israel, listening to his current round of instructions about who we should be bombing next (read: Iran) rather than with whom we should be negotiating in the Middle East. - M. R.
May 14, 2008
US victims of attacks in Israel and their families are suing Swiss bank UBS for 500 million dollars, alleging it financed terrorism by doing business with Iran, their lawyer told AFP Tuesday.
"Ooooooh, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, money, MONEY!!!!"
Whet ever happned to earning your money by making good products? Where did we lose that connection and decide gaming the system was the highest and noblest purpose of life? - M. R.
May 13, 2008
U.S. war plans targeting Iran are all about "protecting" Israel
Iran played a prominent role in a deal struck by Iraqi Shi'ite factions to end seven weeks of fighting in the Baghdad stronghold of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a senior Shi'ite Iraqi legislator said on Monday.
May 12, 2008
Yes the war is over and we have a winner - Iran. Iran is calling all the shots in Iraq and the US is propping up and supporting Iran's proxy government there. Perhaps it's time to let Iran prop up their government with their blood and treasure. So the US toppled Iran's chief nemesis in the area, Saddam, and then placed in power and continue to prop up an Iranian friendly junta. It would appear the Bush administration is a pretty good enemy to have.
History will probably characterize this American administration as the policy makers most deserving of the geopolitical booby prize for unintended consequences in the 21st century. - M. R.
While the reality is and according to Jordanian newspaper al-Ghad, the tribal chiefs probably were asking for water:
The Council of Arab tribes in Mosul reported that the government cut off water supplies from the right side of the city for two days as part of collective punishment policy against Arabs who refused to deny their pan-Arabism, and reject the campaign of "Kurdishization" of the city
Using food and water as a weapon is as old as the hills.... but no less despicable in the 21st century. - M. R.
May 10, 2008
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated his warning that the Jewish state will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran, but expressed hope the international community would be successful in checking Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Were I a betting person, I would almost be willing to bet that the Palestinian/Israeli negotiations will be at the bottom of the agenda for talks between Olmert and Bush when Bush comes to Israel this week.
The highest priorities will be the Hezbollah coup in Lebanon, and how to "sell" an American-lead attack against Iran.
But it appears that reporters at the Washington Post, interviewing Olmert, are equally gutless as those interviewing Bush, McCain, Obama, or Clinton on one particular issue.
If the US and/or Israel attack Iran, what is Russia going to do?
Russia has a long history with its neighbor Iran in terms of trade.
If the US and Israel think for one moment that Russia will simply stand by and allow such an attack to proceed with impunity, they had better not get this horribly wrong. - M. R.
Plan to show Iranian explosives to journalists ......
... canceled after US realized none of them was from Iran - M. R.
There was something interesting missing from Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner's introductory remarks to journalists at his regular news briefing in Baghdad on Wednesday: the word "Iran," or any form of it. It was especially striking as Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman here, announced the extraordinary list of weapons and munitions that have been uncovered in recent weeks since fighting erupted between Iraqi and U.S. security forces and Shiite militiamen.
Neither the United States nor Iraq has displayed any of the alleged arms to the public or press, and lately it is looking less likely they will. U.S. military officials said it was up to the Iraqis to show the items; Iraqi officials lately have backed off the accusations against Iran.
If the US had irrefutable proof of Iranian weapons being used against US soldiers, they would be showing it and screaming, it from the rooftops.
What they have are.....accusations. - M. R.
May 9, 2008
The US demanded that Iran admit that it has been interfering in Iraq and also commit itself to taking steps to end the support of various militant groups. There was also a warning about interfering in Lebanon. The Iranian government reportedly responded quickly, restating its position that it would not discuss the matter until the US ceases its own meddling employing Iranian dissident groups. The perceived Iranian intransigence coupled with the Lebanese situation convinced the White House that some sort of unambiguous signal has to be sent to the Iranian leadership, presumably in the form of cruise missiles.
It is to be presumed that the attack will be as "pinpoint" and limited as possible, intended to target only al-Qods and avoid civilian casualties.
Do policy makers in this country think that Iran will not retaliate?
This potential attack can plunge the region into a wider war (if not a world war), and will put our military in Iraq far more deeply in harm's way than they are already.
And let's talk about the five thousand pound elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about: Russia.
Russian diplomats have said, and continue to say, that an attack against Iran will be perceived as an attack against Russia.
Is the leadership of this country so insane as to think that war with Russia (which does have nukes) is a really good idea??
For the sake of the survival of this country, one would hope not. - M. R.
A Secret Afghanistan Mission Prepares for War with Iran...
World powers will in the coming days offer a revised package of incentives to Iran but Washington has refused to send its own envoy to help present the deal, diplomats and a U.S. official said on Thursday.
"Dammit, we wanna INVADE, not pussyfoot around with this 'negotiatins' crap!!!" -- Official White Horse Souse - M. R.
The United States, which is involved with major powers in the negotiations, has made clear it will not join the mission to present the offer, which is expected to be given to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
Of course, we're not going to Tehran; you don't start talking with a government you're probably about to attack militarily.
And attacking militarily is probably just what we're going to see this administration doing, in the not too distant future.
This is only a grand gesture, just barely enough so that this administration can say "Honestly, we did try diplomacy, and it failed", right before green-lighting a military attack. - M. R.
The initiative was said to cover the country's nuclear program, the security of energy supplies in the Middle East, counter-terrorism and joint efforts to control the drugs trade.
The ambassador said Iran's proposal would address western concerns that the rapidly developing nuclear project could be used to make weapons, but insisted his country would not surrender the right to enrich uranium.
Watch the US dismiss this proposal before almost before it has the chance to be heard. - M. R.
The five major nuclear-armed powers said on Friday the Non-Proliferation Treaty was under threat and cited Iran's uranium enrichment campaign in a rare joint call for action to shore up the NPT.
I hate to be the one to point this out, but under the NNPT, Iran has a legal right to build nuclear power stations and to make the fuel rods for same, as long as Iran allows inspections to prove that weapons are not being built. Well, Iran HAS allowed inspections, and all 16 of the US Intelligence agencies are in total agreement that Iran is NOT building nuclear weapons.
The threat to the NNPT is Israel, which has never signed the treaty, has admitted it has nuclear weapons, and does not allow inspections. - M. R.
Iran on Friday accused the United States and Israel of fueling the deadly sectarian fighting in Lebanon between its Shiite militant Hezbollah ally and the Western-backed ruling majority.
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"Adventurous efforts and interventions by the United States and the Zionist regime are the main cause of the continuous chaotic situation in Lebanon," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.
May 8, 2008
ElBaradei: 'Good progress' in Iran talks"To verify Iran's past and present activities, we have made good progress," the UN nuclear watchdog chief said Wednesday in a joint conference with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.
IAEA boss Mohamed ElBaradei says recent talks with Iran about its 'alleged studies of weaponization' have resulted in 'good progress'.
Unfortunately, for all the good work El Baradei and his team are doing, it will most probably be skeptically dismissed and denied by the US and Israel. - M. R.
McCain's "Spiritual Guide" Wants America to Destroy Islam...
Iran supply problems add to fears of oil hitting $200 a barrel...
"Let's invade. That will fix everything and we'll have OODLES of oil ... just like we did in Iraq." -- Official White Horse Souse - M. R.
May 7, 2008
Iran has hardened its position towards the West by suspending talks with the U.S. on Iraq and rejecting incentives offered by six major powers to halt its uranium enrichment programme.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Monday talks with the U.S. would "make no sense" because of the bombardment of civilians in Iraq. "The focus of discussions with the U.S. is Iraq's security and stability. We are witnessing indiscriminate bombardment of Iraqi residential areas by the U.S. forces," said Mr. Hosseini.
May 6, 2008
Lying Our Way to Tehran...
John Bolton, America's ex-ambassador to the United Nations, has called for US air strikes on Iranian camps where insurgents are trained for war in Iraq.
Here he goes again, our very own "broken-record Bolton", the alleged diplomat with all the charm of a piranha, clamoring for a military strike against Iran.
Here's a thought, John; please make sure that any and all of your children of appropriate military age immediately join the US military, and volunteer to be part of the forces tasked to strike Iran.
Of course, that's not ever going to happen;your kids have money and education, so it's always got to be other people's kids, right?
Have I got this right??
Absolutely. - M. R.
Recent language from Teheran is "unacceptable" and, contrary to its repeated denials, Iran is developing a nuclear bomb and wishes to rule the Mideast, President Shimon Peres told a meeting of the Foreign Press Association yesterday.
This is the quintessence of the "big lie"; say it often enough, and people just might believe it. - M. R.
An Iranian envoy said Monday his government will not submit to extensive nuclear inspections while Israel stays outside the global treaty to curb the spread of atomic weapons.
Tehran says stringent IAEA inspections unfair as Israel not partner to non-proliferation treaty, claims western countries practice 'nuclear apartheid'
On Sunday, 5,500 sailors and Marines left San Diego on a six-ship convoy, though no one would say where they were headed, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Ooooo, big mystery! Nobody knows where these ships and all these Marines are going.
But I'll bet it isn't Bali. - M. R.
Bolton: Striking Iran 'Is Really The Most Prudent Thing To Do'»...
"Okay John, if you insist; here's your parachute. Here's some bullets, here's a gun ... DON'T POINT THAT THING AT THE CAMERAMAN, DAMMIT! Now then, just climb into this airplane and we'll drop you over Teh... What's that? You want US to send OUR kids to strike Iran? You don't want to go? Yeah, I guess form the point of view of your own selfish ass, that's the prudent course, but frankly, the rest of America thinks it sucks." - M. R.
May 5, 2008
An Iranian envoy said Monday his government will not submit to extensive nuclear inspections while Israel stays outside the global treaty to curb the spread of atomic weapons.
"The existing double standard shall not be tolerated anymore by non-nuclear-weapon states," Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh told a meeting of the 190 countries that have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
You have to admire this guy's calling it like it is in terms of Israel not being a signatory to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. - M. R.
US says talks with Iran 'meaningless' without change in behavior...
The US has adopted a classic Israeli dodge, demanding that the other side accede to demands prior to any discussion of those demands. If the other side refuses, Israel puts the blame for the failure of talks on them. If the other side agrees, then Israel has no reason to actually talk because they already have what they want. - M. R.
A top Iraqi official said Sunday there was no conclusive evidence that Shiite extremists have been directly supplied with some Iranian arms as alleged by the United States.
"Did I say 'direct?' What I meant is that Iraqi terrorists are buying screwdrivers from a mail order company in Egypt that buys their screwdrivers wholesale from a company in Sudan which has them manufactured in Iran. So that Iranian screwdriver is being used to assemble bombs that kill our troops in Iraq, and this is the link that proves we are just and honorable in bombing Iran's children." -- Official White Horse Souse - M. R.
Has Iran invaded and occupied any of its neighbors? Nope. Has Iran traveled halfway around the world to invade another country? No way. Has Iran's criminal invasion and endless occupation of a country that never threatened it unleashed a series of events that have led to the slaughter of more than a million innocent people, and made four million additional people refugees? No, sir. Does Iran keep threatening the United States by saying that "all options are on the table"? Does Iran threaten to attack the United States because the U.S. actually has a huge nuclear arsenal?
A huge nuclear arsenal that, by the way, the U.S. and all its leading politicians keep threatening to unleash on Iran -- keeping in mind that all of this happens as the signs continue to mount that a U.S. attack on Iran becomes more certain and more imminent by the day?
No.
Across the world, a dangerous rumor has spread that could have catastrophic implications. According to legend, Iran's president has threatened to destroy Israel, or, to quote the misquote, "Israel must be wiped off the map." Contrary to popular belief, this statement was never made.
The US military in Iraq says Iran continues to aid militants, but Iraqis now say that they want their own evidence.
One of the common arguments used by the anti-drug agenda is that nbo drug is safe, that relatively harmless drugs like marijuana must be banned because they are the "gateway" to harder drugs.
Iraq has just realized they are the "gateway" war. The US indulgence in the war in Iraq has set the stage for a "Harder" fix in Iran! - M. R.
THE head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett, is to visit Israel later this month as Britain forges closer links with Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Iran's nuclear programme is expected to be high on the agenda in an intelligence-sharing process described by Israeli officials as a "strategic dialogue". It is building on long-standing cooperation between MI6 and Mossad, both of which have extensive spy networks in the Middle East.
"Strategic dialogue", my astrolabe! This is about the practical matter of when, where, and who will coordinate some kind of military attack against Iran, period, end of discussion. - M. R.
Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who was among the original experts to question Bush Administration claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, now says he believes an attack on Iran is a "virtual guarantee."
The problem is a simple one. The US (the Neocons) embarked on this program to conquer the Middle East's oil and to shatter any and all threats to Israel. They bet the entire country on this project, and they are in too far to simply quit. If they walk away, the US will collapse not only from the economic strain but from the political strain of having lost yet another war, this one of our own making. The only option available to our so-called leadership is to keep throwing money and other peoples' children into the desert and hope for the best. In another 7 months, it will be someone else's war to lose. As for Israel, they have no problem at all with destroying the US in service to their wars. Better our kids than their own. Even better if the two remaining threats to Israel's domination of the Middle East, the US and Russia, should blow each other up in a mutually destructive nuclear war. And if the US economy collapses, Israel, grown fat on US tax dollars, will simply come back in and buy up the country at fire-sale prices. Such a deal!
- M. R.
The Iraqi Government seemed to distance itself from U.S. accusations towards Iran Sunday saying it would not be forced into conflict with its Shiite neighbor. And Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki ordered the formation of a committee to look into foreign intervention in Iraq.
May 4, 2008
Iraq said on Sunday it has no evidence that Iran was supplying militias engaged in fierce street fighting with security forces in Baghdad.
This issue of "...no evidence" presented by Iraqi Spokesperson Ali Al Dabbagh, will not deter the US or Israel from attacking Iran, unfortunately.
They can't make anything else stick, so they are going to run with that, no matter what. - M. R.
he US military is drawing up plans for a "surgical strike" against an insurgent training camp inside Iran if Republican Guards continue with attempts to destabilise Iraq, western intelligence sources said last week. One source said the Americans were growing increasingly angry at the involvement of the Guards' special-operations Quds force inside Iraq, training Shi'ite militias and smuggling weapons into the country.
To paraphrase Gertrude Stein "An attack on Iran is an attack on Iran is an attack on Iran">
And let me break down precisely what will happen if the US does yield to the urge of this madness
1. The Persian Gulf will shut down completely, cutting us off from much of our oil.
2. This attack will leave our soldiers ever more in harm's way in Iraq, because all the various factions will unite against us.
3. As much as most Iranians don't like Ahmedinejad, they will rally around him in the face of a foreign attack.
4. Russia (which does have nukes - lots of them) may well defend Iran, as their diplomats have stated in no uncertain terms that an attack against Iran will be perceived as an attack against Russia..
5. This could well erupt into a much larger regional war.
Anyone in the state department, or executive of the US would even begin consider this a rational move should be collectively be removed from office, per the 25th amendment to the Constitution. - M. R.
The Times reports, Israel has made a breakthrough in intelligence-gathering within Iran, and now fears that Iran has in fact made significant advances towards attaining nuclear power.
A source quoted by the Times said the new information was "on a par with intelligence that led Israel to discover and then destroy a partly constructed nuclear reactor in Syria last September."
Notice that this alleged "source" is not named.
If Israel truly had proof, it would not be secretly discussed in the US, the UK, and Israel: it would be trumpeted to the world as absolute proof positive.
This is simply an accelerando and crescendo in the war drums section of US and UK foreign policy makers, looking to "sell" this upcoming war to their countrymen.
The problem is, after the lie upon lie that was the basis for the invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, it's going fly (in public sentiment) just about as well as a pig can. - M. R.
May 3, 2008
Israel has tacitly aligned itself with Washington, raising the specter of a war on Iran even if it has to go 'alone with the problem'.
In a Friday interview with the Yediot Aharonot, senior Israeli minister Ehud Barak made his newest accusations against Iran, claiming that Tehran is attempting to develop a nuclear bomb in two years.
Even if there is an election for prime minister in Israel because of Olmert's corruption scandal problems (an election in which Barak may well run for the job), this will not slow down the timetable for a US/Israel-led attack against Iran very greatly.
And Barak certainly demonstrates a penchant for the melodramatic.
He understands very clearly, that if an attack against Iran goes forward (at least during the current US administration's watch), Bush has pledged to support Israel militarily - no matter who starts the shooting.
Therefore, it is imperative for Israel to get an attack against Iran moving forward just as quickly as possible. - M. R.
The US and its allies are worried that the sanctions regime against Tehran is under threat from a possible new wave of European investment in Iran's strategically important gas sector.
While the US government blusters and refuses meaningful engagement, Ahmedinejad is scoring some great financial deals. - M. R.
Six weeks ago, President Bush signed a secret finding authorizing a covert offensive against the Iranian regime that, according to those familiar with its contents, "unprecedented in its scope."
All this costs money, which in turn must be authorized by Congress, or at least a by few witting members of the intelligence committees. That has not proved a problem. An initial outlay of $300 million to finance implementation of the finding has been swiftly approved with bipartisan support, apparently regardless of the unpopularity of the current war and the perilous condition of the U.S. economy.
In classical Greek drama, there is a concept of "hubris", which translates as overweening pride.
.The hubris of a potential overt attack against Iran by this administration is astonishing in the extreme.
But of course, getting things constantly, horrifically wrong, on both domestic and international policies, has been the hallmark of this administration.
Remember: attempted destabilization of another country's governmental structure is generally followed by some kind of overt attack.
What an overt attack will do, in all likelihood, will be to paralyze the Persian Gulf, preventing the flow of oil.
It will also unite the people of Iran around a very unpopular leader (the unpopularity being due to Ahmedinejad's inability to deliver on domestic economic promises.)
It will also put our troops in Iraq into even greater danger than they are facing now.
And last, but not least, Russia may feel it has no option but to enter this conflict on the side of Iran.
Russian diplomats have said, and are continuing to say, that any attack against Iran will be considered an attack on Russia.
It appears that this administration, in trying to deflect from its abysmal failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, are willing to throw this country off a cliff with a strike against Iran, which is apt to be the start to a greater regional - or world - war.
And apparently,. those in congress who signed off on the money necessary for this potential grand military misadventure have forgotten: those are our tax dollars they're ready to do this with; not theirs. - M. R.
A senior Iranian official said on Saturday Tehran saw no need for more talks with the United States about Iraqi security until what he described as U.S. attacks on Iraqis stopped, Iran's Fars News Agency reported.
Although unsourced, what Tehran has done has been to focus the spotlight of regional and world opinion on the American occupation of Iraq, and what the horrendous price has been paid by the Iraqi people, no matter what the American propagandists have declared. - M. R.
May 2, 2008
I would tend to think that the reason that the terms of the agreement are so confidential is that there will be at least one if not more "no-go" provisions which will make the offer untenable to Tehran.
And right after this is rejected, you'll hear the group say "we tried diplomacy, but it failed".
And then, we may well be off to a larger war in the Middle East.
May 1, 2008
The U.S. military has drafted and won approval for attack plans in response to an Iran attack.
BULL BISCUITS!
Iran is not going to attack the US. Like Iraq, they are trying to figure out a way to avoid war, not start one. - M. R.
Secretary Rice doesn't want negotiations with Iran to succeed: she wants the absolutely opposite outcome to happen.
Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister and military chief, said in a speech Wednesday at Yale University in the United States that Iran could have the knowhow to build nuclear arms within months, his spokeswoman Talia Somech said Thursday. Despite international sanctions meant to persuade Iran to stop the program, Tehran is steadily progressing with its pursuit of nuclear technology, Somech cited Mofaz as saying.
A small memo to Former Defense Minister Mofaz and Ms. Somech: The Iranians, the Russians, and US intelligence resources have all stated, very clearly, that Iran is building a power station.
But I have to ask: even if Iran was developing nuclear weapons, who could blame them, after having had such a strong object lesson in what happens to countries without a nuclear deterrent, as with what has happened to Iraq?
And by the way: when will the IAEA have the chance to inspect your nuclear facility at Dimona?
Never?!?!?
Just checking. - M. R.
With 200-300 nuclear weapons in its arsenal, the Israelis enjoy a nuclear monopoly in the Middle East. They mean to keep that monopoly and are pressing for the U.S. to obliterate Iran's fledgling nuclear program.
Acting secretary of Russian Security Council Valentin Sobolev here on Wednesday expressed Russia's commitment to complete the Bushehr nuclear power plant in due time.
In a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki, Sobolev said Russia is determined to improve its relations with Tehran to the highest level.
Translation: if Russia completes the Bushehr reactor and the US bombs it, this act will create deadly radiation poisoning over the entire region. - M. R.
Reliable sources in Baghdad and Washington trace the provocation against al-Sadr back to Vice President Dick Cheney's recent visit to Baghdad, during his ten-day tour of the region. In his meetings with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, according to the sources, Cheney pressed for a military assault on the Madhi Army, even though a ceasefire between rival Shi'ite factions had been recently extended. U.S. intelligence sources report that the combined Iraqi-American-British military operations aim to crush al-Sadr's militia long before the scheduled provincial elections in October. Al-Sadr's forces are in control of Basra, and by all projections, would likely win the provincial vote, further undermining the Bush Administration-backed al-Maliki coalition, which also includes the al-Hakim SCIRI (Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) group. All three Shi'ite factions-al-Maliki, al-Hakim, and al-Sadr-enjoy the backing of Iran.
CIA director says Iran wants to kill Americans in Iraq...
I could comment that since the US wants to kill Iranians AND Iraqis in ... well, ut doesn;t matter just where.
But what is really going on here is the old double-shuffle. Bush/Neocons/Israel can't sell you a new war with Iran. The lies abut 'nookular' bombs didn't work this time. So the plan is clearly to try and sell you the idea that we are ALREADY at war with Iran, and of course it is Iran's fault the US is doing so poorly in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that driving over the border and bombing the crap out of Iran is just a formality in an already ongoing conflict.
Those that argue against a new war with Iran will be accused of being cowards; of wanting the US to "surrender" in a war already underway.
- M. R.
Iran will likely have nuclear bomb technology in 2008, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said Wednesday, citing an updated Israeli intelligence assessment.
"So, you should go kill them for us!" - M. R.
Iran strongly condemned Wednesday U.S. presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton for threatening to destroy the country, vowing to respond to any attack.
April 30, 2008
With Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, shifting its crude trading to the euro and the yen, instead of the US dollar, treasury managers feel that this could well be the first challenge to the US dollar's dominance as currency of global trade.
Hamas are Iran's proxy warriors: Rice...
"Can we invade them now? Can we? Huh? Huh? Can we?" -- Official White Horse Souse
Why can't we have a shortage of THIS Rice? - M. R.
President Vladimir Putin has told Iran's president that there will be continuity in Russia's relations with Tehran, RIA news agency quoted a senior Russian official as saying on Wednesday.
Translation: War with Iran means war with Russia. - M. R.
The commander of the Israeli Air Force says the regime's decision makers have been preparing plans to take out Iran's nuclear facilities.
Between noises coming from the US and Israeli military, it appears to be a case of "when" rather than "if" some kind of coordinated attack against Iran will happen. - M. R.
A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran.
Having botched the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan so abysmally thoroughly, you have to wonder what the Pentagon thinks they have left to throw at Iran.
This is an election year, so I would doubt that there would be a call for a draft (that is, unless there is another "false flag", staged incident upon which US citizens were supposed to focus their fury).
We are overstretched and over-committed, using multiple troop rotations and stop-loss orders to try to keep troop strength up in both countries.
And yet, what we have are two industrial-strength quagmires.
So what's left?
US sea and air-power, both formidable.
But remember: a very high -ranking Russian delegation just met with their counterparts in Iran to discuss "regional security".
I think those people frothing at the mouth for an attack against Iran had better ask themselves this question: what will Russia do if we attack Iran?
Does any sane person in the Pentagon really want to go to war with Russia over Iran?
Let's sincerely hope not. - M. R.
Iran had totally removed U.S. dollars in the country's oil transactions, an Oil Ministry official said on Wednesday.
One has to wonder if this is the reason we've got a second carrier group in the Gulf right now. as a "reminder" to Iran.
I seem to remember that Saddam Hussein (formerly, "our thug" in Iraq) was about to do the same thing when we invaded Iraq. - M. R.
Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer, has completely stopped conducting oil transactions in U.S. dollars, a top Oil Ministry official said Wednesday, a concerted attempt to reduce reliance on Washington at a time of tension over Tehran's nuclear program and suspected involvement in Iraq.
Gates says 2nd carrier in Gulf is 'reminder' to Iran...
Iran knows we are here, I am sure. - M. R.
A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that the planning is being driven by what one officer called the "increasingly hostile role" Iran is playing in Iraq - smuggling weapons into Iraq for use against American troops.
"What the Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen and -women inside Iraq," said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
"And they have a Death Star! Honest!" -- Official White Horse Souse - M. R.
April 29, 2008
Iran is frequently portrayed as a backward and fanatically fundamentalist tyrannical outpost. As a result of constant repetition, most of us believe that we have a fairly accurate image of Iran. But, do we really?
This week, with his three-nation tour of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad will fortify Iran's regional ties and thus achieve a milestone in his administration's "Look East" foreign policy orientation.
Too bad for the US, which now places the lion's share of the blame for its quagmire in Iraq on Iran's "destructive influence", two key US allies in the sub-continent, India and Pakistan, are now poised to deepen their economic, political, cultural and even geostrategic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, irrespective of Tehran's defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for a halt in Iran's uranium-enrichment activities.
Pakistan and Iran on Monday resolved all issues regarding the $7.5 billion gas pipeline project, paving way for inking an agreement soon at a mutually agreed date in Tehran.
The US is making threats; meanwhile, Iran is making deals in the region, and there's nothing the US can actually do to stop them., short of a massive military intervention. - M. R.
April 28, 2008
A shrill cacophony of Washington voices is once again attempting to ratchet up pressure on Iran over its "malign influence" in Iraq and its suspect nuclear activities. Although military options remain on hold, Bush administration officials have been briefing for the first time on possible targets inside the Islamic republic.
The North Korea Syria claim is based on no evidence and yet the press carried it anyway. Israel was Beta testing its invasion of Iran the same way they tested both the PR of kidnapped soldiers and the targeting of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip just before they invaded Lebanon.
Israeli president Shimon Peres claims that the Golan Heights will be returned to Syria if Damascus cuts ties with Iran and Hezbollah.
And how does Syria know that Israel won;t just steal the Golan back again? - M. R.
A top Russian official is arriving in Tehran on Sunday to discuss security, topical international and regional issues, the Supreme National Security Council of Iran said on Sunday.
Translation: Russia is telling Iran about what kind of assistance Iran can expect from Russia should there be a US/Israeli-led military attack against Iran. - M. R.
The shooting has already started in the Persian Gulf - and chances are we'll be at war with Iran before President Bush's term is up. An American ship under contract with the U.S. Navy - the Western Venture - claims it was in international waters when Iranian speedboats approached and failed to answer radio calls. Shots were fired on the American side. Iran denies the whole thing. Yet you'll recall that in the last incident, involving the capture of British sailors, the story about being in international waters was the same - except, it turns out, they weren't in international waters, but in disputed waters, just as we speculated in this space. There's no reason to expect anything different this time. Clearly, the U.S. and Britain are trying to trigger a new conflict with the most brazen provocations, and they don't really care how it happens - only that it does.
It is possible that the speed boats in this latest incident were not Iranian, but provided by a "third party" for the express purpose of manufacturing an incident. - M. R.
April 27, 2008
Perhaps without realising that he has let a great, big cat out of the bag, Joel Gilbert has provided the answer. He says (my empasis added): "Even without attacking Israel, the mere capabilty of Iranian missiles to lay waste to Tel Aviv would create a 'strategic umbrella,' preventing Israel from using its superior strategic assets in a conventional war. With Israeli missiles neutralised, Muslim countries could overwhelm Israel with their superior numbers, conventional armor and short range missiles."
And that's the real point. Israel's military leaders and their political yes-men don't believe, and never have believed, that Iran, if it possessed nuclear weapons, would unleash them in a first strike against the Zionist state. The real problem for its leaders is that the moment Israel ceased to be the only nuclear-armed power in the region, would be the moment it lost its ability to impose its will on the region. And actually the world.
Responding with understatement to a question in the British House of Lords, the foreign minister responsible for Asia, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, said of Clinton's implication of a mushroom cloud over Iran: "While it is reasonable to warn Iran of the consequences of it continuing to develop nuclear weapons and what those real consequences bring to its security, it is probably not prudent in today's world to threaten to obliterate any other country and in many cases civilians resident in such a country."
Petraeus promotion an ominous sign of possible war with Iran...
"We think it would be unlikely the Americans would take the decision to get themselves into a new fiasco, the consequences of which they themselves have acknowledged would be painful for the region and the world," spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.
Memo to Iranian spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini: what you say would be the intelligent outcome if we were dealing with rational, logical policy makers in the US and Israeli governments.
The critical problem, sir, is that we are not dealing with logical, rational people in both governments.
Logical and rational people would never have attacked Iraq and Afghanistan, not would they have ever laughed General Shinseki out of the room when he told them it would take several hundred thousand to begin to do the job adequately in Iraq.
I am sure that thinking Iranians are watching just as nervously as are thinking Americans here as the US media "ramps up" to desperately try to "sell" an attack on Iran as a way to take public attention off the tragedies of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Just because a military action against Iran is insane, unfortunately, is no reason to bet that this administration won't do it. - M. R.
According to roger howard, the reason the jews-only state in palestine is opposed to iran getting nuclear weapons isn't the military threat posed by such weapons but their political consequences for mutual disarmament. "It seems likely, then, that there are other, more convincing, reasons why Israel is concerned about an Iranian bomb. One possibility, for example, is that Tel Aviv is deeply concerned that such a development could potentially create deep splits in the U.S.-Israel alliance. Consider, for example, what would happen if Tehran, having developed a warhead and withdrawn from the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty, offered to reduce the size of or even eliminate its own nuclear arsenal in return for similar moves - all UN-monitored - by Tel Aviv." (Roger Howard 'Why Israel Really Fears Iranian Nukes' http://www.antiwar.com/orig/howard.php?articleid=4065);
April 26, 2008
Five British hostages who were kidnapped in Iraq almost a year ago are being held inside Iran by Revolutionary Guards, according to two separate sources in the Middle East and London.
The US and UK are desperately and furiously attempting to conjure up anything, anything at all to use as the justification for moving forward with a military attack against Iran.
It's almost as though they have embraced the the "Old Shoe" moment from the movie "Wag the Dog." for public consumption in order to get some traction going for an attack. - M. R.
Questions Linger on Scope of Iran's Threat in Iraq...
Translation: "We couldn't sell that Iran was a threat to th eUS, and we'r enot sure we can sell Iran being a threat to Iraq, but we'll keep trying until we find a good excuse to bomb the crap out of Iran, and any other Mideast nation Israel doesn't like, which is of course pretty much all of them." -- Official White Horse Souse - M. R.
The more likely explanation for the US invasion of Iraq is the neoconservative Bush Regime's commitment to the defense of Israeli territorial expansion. There is no such thing as a neoconservative who is not allied with Israel. Israel hopes to steal all of the West Bank and southern Lebanon for its territorial expansion. An American colonial regime in Iraq not only buttresses Israel from attack, but also can pressure Syria and Iran from giving support to the Palestinians and Lebanese. The Iraqi war is a war for Israeli territorial expansion. Americans are dying and bleeding to death financially for Israel. Bush's "war on terror" is a hoax that serves to cover US intervention in the Middle East in behalf of "greater Israel."
April 25, 2008
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the Pentagon is planning "potential" military actions against Iran, reports The Washington Post.
Mullen criticized Iran's "'increasingly lethal and malign influence' in Iraq," writes Ann Scott Tyson for the Post.
Addressing concerns about the US military's capability of dealing with yet another conflict at a time when forces are purportedly stretched thin, Mullen said war with Iran "would be 'extremely stressing' but not impossible for U.S. forces, pointing specifically to reserve capabilities in the Navy and Air Force," Tyson notes.
The war drums appear to be beating ever more loudly.
But you have to wonder: if the US and/or Israel strike, what is Russia going to do to protect its interests here?
And please remember: Russian diplomats have stated repeatedly that any attack against Iran will be considered an attack against Russia.
War with Russia, which does have nuclear weapons, anyone?
Let's hope some sane heads in the US military say, absolutely not. - M. R.
International Atomic Energy Agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming divulged no details in a brief statement about the deal. But IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei called the agreement "a milestone" that -- if successful -- should signal the end of his organization's years of attempts to probe Tehran's secretive nuclear program.
Expect the US and Israel to reject this out of hand, and watch out for El Baradei to get "Blixed" (i.e. have some elements in both governments try to slander his personal and professional reputation, right before the moment of the release of this report. - M. R.
More than one Iranian "fast boats ... were approaching this vessel at a high rate of speed," in the Persian Gulf, MSNBC's Pentagon correspondent said. US military personnel on board fired eight .50-caliber rounds and three warning shots from M-16s when the boats got within 100 yards of the cargo ship. After the shots were fired, the ships veered off, according to MSNBC.
Itching for a confrontation, are we? - M. R.
April 24, 2008
Hardening position towards Iran, the US Secretary of State Gates says Iran may be to blame for the killing of US servicemen in Iraq.
And his proof of this can be backed up by .....?!?!?!?!?!? - M. R.
Petraeus has proved himself willing to cooperate closely with the White House policy lines on Iraq and Iran, arguing against any post-surge reduction in troop strength policy and blaming Iran for challenges to the U.S. military presence. Along with the deference to Petraeus in Congress and the media, his pliability on those issues made him the obvious choice to replace Fallon.
The big question, here, is that of timing.
One has to wonder just how close to the November election date Cheney would be willing to "bomb, bomb, bomb....bomb, bomb Iran." once Petraeus is in place.
And what happens if the attack goes horrendously wrong, or Russia decides to join forces with the Iranian military to protect its investments and assets there? - M. R.
April 23, 2008
Hillary Wants To Obliterate Iran...
Granted that if Iran's leaders were, for some crazy reason, to decide to launch an unprovoked nuclear attack on Israel, it would require some kind of response by the US and other nations, but is the appropriate response the slaughter of tens of millions of innocent Iranian citizens?
Of course not.
Has the war with Iran been called off?...
India rejected U.S. ``guidance'' on what to tell Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he visits the South Asian nation this month.
``India and Iran are ancient civilizations whose relations span centuries,'' India's External Affairs Ministry said in a statement yesterday. ``Both nations are perfectly capable of managing all aspects of their relationship.''
Memo to Tom Casey: the US has absolutely no business telling India what to say, or not to say, when Ahmadinejad visits.
In fact, the chill you have managed to place on US/India relations by your bungled lecturing may take quite some time to thaw.
Is there no US state department official capable of making of making a public statement where they are not tap-dancing on their tonsils? - M. R.
What gets lost in all the saber rattling and bellicosity concerning Iraq is the WHY of the impending war. Because the Iraqis "hate our freedom?" No, obviously not. Because they are too evil to exist? Come on. Because they have used awful weapons, still possess them and will use them again? Give me a break - on the basis of that rationale, we should be marching on every member of NATO.
April 21, 2008
From an analytic perspective, attacking Iran would be such an irrational course of action that only a hatch full of boobies would contemplate taking it.
Sadly, "a hatch full of boobies" precisely describes the people in charge of the United States just now.
April 20, 2008
Iran on Sunday rejected claims presented to the UN atomic watchdog that it may have been studying how to develop a nuclear weapon, a day ahead of a visit by a top International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) official.
And while we're at it, just when is the Israeli nuclear facility at Dimona (which, thank you very much
really does exist) open its doors for inspection by the IAEA?
Any bets on never? - M. R.
The long and porous border between the two countries is used by smugglers to traffic drugs into Iran. Many Afghans also cross illegally into Iran from the area. Border clashes are common.
Given that entering Afghanistan might well have provoked a confrontation with US troops, why would Iranian police make a potentially dumb move which could have escalated into a large-scale military engagement?
Sorry, but this one doesn't quite pass the "smell test". - M. R.
April 18, 2008
"I don't intend to meet the Iranians, that is not in the plan," Rice told reporters in Washington. "The Iranians will be at the meeting ... but, no, I don't have any plans to meet them."
"Hell no, she's not talking to them: that just might forestall our planned attack!" - official White Horse Souse. - M. R.
U.S. President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown say they are working to extend sanctions against Iran's nuclear program.
President Bush says Iran's leaders can not be trusted to maintain a uranium enrichment program that they say is intended only for generating electricity.
What
are these people thinking, if one can describe their collective foreign policies as having come from any logical or sober discussions?
They both know that this is a non-starter at the UN, where Russia and China will veto any further attempts at sanctions.
April 17, 2008
Six-nation talks looking to revive nuclear negotiations with Iran fell short on Wednesday of agreeing on a new package to present Tehran, while Iran's president said he was open to talks within limits.
One has to wonder to what degree these talks were engineered to fail, under the US mantra of "we tried diplomacy, and it didn't work". - M. R.
Iran's progress in developing uranium enrichment is slow and recent additions to its nuclear fuel production complex have only been older-model centrifuges, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog chief said on Thursday.
Could Israel use submarines against Iran?...
Israel has three Dolphins, with two more on order from Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, a German shipyard custom-building them at a steep discount as part of Berlin's bid to shore up a Jewish state founded in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust.
The submarines are a subject of deepest secrecy given speculation that they carry nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.
Many analysts believe the Dolphins are Israel's "second strike" weapons, referring to the Cold War theory that a country can deter foes from launching nuclear attacks by maintaining the ability to retaliate, even after its own territory has been laid waste. A nuclear "platform" out at sea is the best guarantee.
- M. R.
Fifteen British troops who were held by Iran for two weeks last year were in disputed waters when they were captured, not in Iraqi waters as the government had publicly claimed, The Times reported Thursday.
Remember how ABCNNBBCBS kept insisting the British sailors were "kidnapped?"
- M. R.
April 16, 2008
Hadley's agenda included talks with senior Israeli officials ahead of a Washington meeting of the bilateral strategic cooperation forum in two weeks.
Translation: the US and Israel understand that they're not going to get traction on any further sanctions. This is not about "using diplomacy".
This is about the US and Israel figuring out how they're going to justify an attack against Iraq.
The window is closing on Bush's presidency, and Israel understands that if there will be any kind of an attack on Iran, it has to be soon, as the there is no guarantee just how carnage-prone for Israel the next administration will be. - M. R.
Visiting US national security advisor Stephen Hadley was to discuss Iran's nuclear programme with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday night, public radio said.
"Our biggest problem is making it look like Iran started it!" -- Official White Horse Souse - M. R.
April 15, 2008
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he is satisfied with progress Iranian authorities have made with IAEA in their nuclear program.
Now then, about Dimona! - M. R.
Several Reasons Why it isn't about Oil...
Satellite locates Iranian missile site...
While the Bush administration has maintained a consistent policy supporting rigid sanctions against Tehran, a bill currently making its way through the Senate may potentially further undermine the international support Washington seeks to confront Iran and "change its behavior."
Dick Cheney knew about peak oil back in 1999 when he spoke to the London Petroleum Institute as Halliburton CEO. He predicted it would come in 2010. After that it's just a matter of years before it runs out. Whoever controls the remaining oil determines who lives and who dies.
Sixty percent of this oil is under a triangular area of the Middle East the size of Kansas. In that speech Cheney said: "The Middle East with two thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies."
Iran: We'll 'eliminate Israel' if it launches attack...
Solution? Don't attack! - M. R.
On the other hand, there is considerable evidence to suggest iran had nothing to do with the attacks on the green zone. Firstly, it would have meant that one set of iranian allies was attacking another i.e. the iraqi government. "Suleimani's role in reducing the violence in Basra underlines the reality that Iranian power in Shi'ite Iraq is based on its having worked with and provided assistance to all the Shi'ite parties and factions. Iran's determination to stay on good terms with all the Shi'ite factions has made it the primary arbiter of conflicts among them. Iran has no reason to look for a small splinter group to advance its interests when it already enjoys a relationship of strategic cooperation with the government itself."
April 14, 2008
Help Tomas Young with his campaign to end the war:
Ron Paul lays out some tough questions, and only asks for an immediate response to one of them. The question was whether President Bush could bomb Iran without the approval of Congress. However, Petraeus avoids answering, even though surely a Four-Star General should know whether it is legal to bomb a country without the approval of Congress or not.
President Bush acts like a teenager with a credit card and rich parents. He never sees the bill, so he just buys what he wants and charges it. The problem is that instead of rich parents, this president has debt-ridden taxpayers and a gutted military.
The situation in Iraq seems to be deteriorating rapidly yet the Western mainstream media is keeping very quiet about it. Moqtada al-Sadr has said that he will not be part of any political process in Iraq that allows the US and their allies to remain in Iraq and has denounced US Defence Secretary Robert Gates as a 'terrorist'.
Both Democratic presidential candidates agree that the United States should end its combat mission in Iraq within 12 to 16 months of their possible inauguration. The Republican candidate has spoken of continuing the war, even for a hundred years, until "victory." The core issue of this campaign is thus a basic disagreement over the merits of the war and the benefits and costs of
If you live in the United States and want to start a war, the first step is to compare the foreign leader to Adolf Hitler. This technique was on display in a recent PBS NewsHour debate between Norman Podhoretz, a foreign policy adviser to Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, and Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International. At least four times during the debate, Podhoretz likened the clerical regime in Tehran to the Nazis. He argued that there is a danger that Iran may "replace [the existing global order] with a new order dominated by Iran and ruled by the religio-political culture of Islamofascism."
This is a ridiculous claim, and it exalts Iran to status it does not deserve. Podhoretz and his confreres have a sad and curious track record of crying wolf, seeing Hitlers and appeasement nearly everywhere. The danger of embracing the Munich analogy as a catch-all analytical tool for international politics is that it overstates the implications of each international conflict, and demeans the importance -- and uniqueness -- of the threat posed by Hitler. By invoking the Hitler analogy over and over, American leaders and intellectuals put us on a path to war, in many cases where we need not be, and risk numbing the American people to the since-unrivaled consolidation of power and evil under the Nazi party in Germany.
A senior diplomat had told the AP that IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei likely planned to use the meeting with Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, the head of Iran's nuclear program, to renew a request for more information on allegations Tehran had tried to make atomic arms.
Iranian diplomats understand that they're in a "no-win" situation with the IAEA, because no matter what they say or explain technically, the US and Israel will still come back with charges that they are now trying to to create nuclear weapons. - M. R.
Iran and the United States have been engaged in secret "back channel" discussions for the past five years on Iran's nuclear programme and the broader relationship between the two sworn enemies, The Independent can reveal.
This may be little more than image-building for the US, to claim they "tried" a peaceful approach before sending in the bombers. - M. R.
April 13, 2008
The American oil wars are being launched out of weakness, not strength. The American economy is teetering and without control of the remaining oil it will collapse. There will be massive chaos in any case, when only enough oil remains for the American elite and whomever they choose to share it with.
It's not about greed any more. It's about survival. Because the leadership of this country was initially too greedy to switch from oil to solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable alternatives, it may now be too late. Had the hundreds of billions of dollars poured into the invasion and occupation of Iraq been put into alternative energy the world might have had a fighting chance. Now that is far from certain.
And I still have to wonder: if the US and/or Israel do attack Iran, what is Russia going to do?
Sit back and do nothing, watching how it plays out?< p>I wouldn't bet on it. - M. R.
The chances of the United States "stumbling" into a confrontation with Iran through skirmishes in Iraq "are very low," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday.
Notice the very careful way in which SecDef Gates states that '.....The chances of the United States "stumbling" into a confrontation with Iran through skirmishes in Iraq "are very low,"
So we may not "stumble" into a military confrontation, but what about Israel attacking their nuclear facilities outright?
No mention is made of this, yet it is, absolutely, one of the "back door" ways of getting the US into such a military confrontation.
And remember: Bush has promised Israel our military support, no matter who has actually started the conflict.
With the re-distribution of supplies against chemical and/or biological attack, coupled with the recent preparedness drills in Israel, it is very clear that Israel is itching for a fight against any one - or perhaps several - of its neighbors in the region. - M. R.
A blast in a mosque in Iran that killed at least 12 people was an accident and not an attack, a senior official said on Sunday, but others cautioned the investigation into the cause was continuing.
PHOTO - Iranian people gather at the scene of a bomb explosion in a mosque on Saturday April 12 2008, in Shiraz some 700 kms (420 miles) south of Tehran....
Iran's official news agency says that police believe an explosion that ripped through a packed mosque in the city of Shiraz was not intentionally set. - M. R.
PHOTO - Iranians inspect the site of an explosion inside a mosque in the southern city of Shiraz....
April 12, 2008
The US government has been secretly supporting a Pakistani militant group that has staged a series of deadly attacks against Iran, ABC News reported, citing unnamed US and Pakistani intelligence sources.
See next story down. - M. R.
Bombings are unusual in Shiraz, a major draw for foreign tourists who come to see the ruins of nearby Persepolis, an ancient Persian kingdom that was a center for ceremonies and worship. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
A hand-made bomb exploded after evening prayers Saturday at a mosque in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz, and Iran's state-run television reported nine dead and 105 wounded.
I guess if we cannot provoke them enough on the sea, we can bomb their mosques on land....no doubt a deliberate attempt by western or Israeli intel to get some radical groups to retaliate. - M. R.
The US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has renewed allegations against Iran, claiming that Tehran's support for militias in Iraq has grown.
Asked what would be the response to the issue, Gates said the US will be as aggressive as possible to counter the increase in the Iranian activity in Iraq.
Precisely what Gates means by "aggressive as possible", one can only speculate.
This spring is feeling like that Yogi Berra-ism "deja-vu all over again", relative to the ramp-up, those 5 years ago, when this administration was getting ready to attack Iraq. - M. R.
Recent violence in Basra has convinced the administration of President George W. Bush that Iran and not Al-Qaeda is now the primary threat to US interests in Iraq, The Washington Post
