Is Iran Next?

As shown in my previous post, Bush announced in his “New Way Forward” speech of January 10th, 2006, that Iran was next on his list. My first reaction was that this couldn’t possibly happen. There is no way that there could be enough support to warrant attacking another country on another front. But as I began to think deeper about it, I started dreading that it could happen. So after listening to some progressive talk radio, I did a little research.

On January 3rd, crazy Evangelical Pat Robertson said that GOD told him of a terrorist attack on the United States in 2007. Any normal person would be committed. This guy has a television show.

A couple of days before Bush’s speech, there was a strange odor in parts of New York and New Jersey that smelled like a gas leak... or at least the chemical additive to natural gas so you could smell it. I don’t believe as of this point the source of the smell was ever found.

At the same time, parts of downtown Austin, TX were closed off due to the finding of 63 dead birds in the downtown area. The cause of was not immediately known.

And in Miami, “For the second time in two days at the Port of Miami-Dade, a terrorism scare proved unfounded. This time, a bomb squad found no explosives in a suspicious package.”

Now I’m getting a little antsy here. Why is it that every time Bush plans a speech to the nation, there is some scare like this? Is my conspiracy antenna going up again? Here’s what I’ve found in the press. No, not the American press. We all know we can’t get real information from the American press except for the latest Britney Spears story or why Justin Timberlake broke up with Cameron Diaz. The real press… the WORLD PRESS.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. Not a left winger by any stretch of the imagination.
He writes in CounterPunch:

On January 7 the London Times reported that it has learned from "several Israeli military sources" that "Israel has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied the report.

…On January 7 the Jerusalem Post reported that Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told the Israeli newspaper that "Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable" and that "the use of force against Teheran remained an option." The Jerusalem Post notes that "Hoyer is considered close to the Jewish community and many Israeli supporters have hailed his elevation in the House." Hoyer was the Israel Lobby's first victory over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who preferred Rep. John Murtha for the post. Murtha was the first important Democrat to call for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

On November 20 the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported that President Bush said he would understand if Israel chose to attack Iran.

Bush showed that he was in Israel's pocket when he blocked the world's attempt to stop Israel's bombing of Lebanese civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Then I came across the story in a cross link from the previous story in Today.AZ from January 2nd, 2006:
Isreali Brigadier General Oded Tira said, "We must clandestinely cooperate with Saudi Arabia so that it also persuades the US to strike Iran. For our part, we must prepare an independent military strike by coordinating flights in Iraqi airspace with the US. We should also coordinate with Azerbaijan the use of airbases in its territory and also enlist the support of the Azeri minority in Iran. In addition, we must immediately start preparing for an Iranian response to an attack."

But the real kicker was written by Philip Giraldi way back in August, 2005 in The American Conservative:

In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran.

The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option.

As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing—that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack—but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections.

Oh my God… they’re going to do it. They are going to attack Iran… with nuclear weapons.

Also read: Robert Parry's article at Consortium News