Something similar is happening over Iran: the same syncopation of government and media “revelations”, the same manufacture of a sense of crisis --- some don't forget
Obama has promised his prayer partners in Israel that he will do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It's interesting to think that he might have the power to fulfill that promise. On Oct 1, 2:05 pm, "M. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote: > The lying game: how we are prepared for another war of aggression30 Sept > 2009In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger compares the > current drum-beating for war against Iran, based on a fake "nuclear threat", > with the manufacture of a sense of false crisis that led to invasion of Iraq > and the deaths of 1.3 million people.In 2001, the Observer in London > published a series of reports that claimed an “Iraqi connection” to al-Qaeda, > even describing the base in Iraq where the training of terrorists took place > and a facility where anthrax was being manufactured as a weapon of mass > destruction. It was all false. Supplied by US intelligence and Iraqi exiles, > planted stories in the British and US media helped George Bush and Tony Blair > to launch an illegal invasion which caused, according to the most recent > study, 1.3 million deaths. > Something similar is happening over Iran: the same syncopation of government > and media “revelations”, the same manufacture of a sense of crisis. “Showdown > looms with Iran over secret nuclear plant”, declared the Guardian on 26 > September. “Showdown” is the theme. High noon. The clock ticking. Good versus > evil. Add a smooth new US president who has “put paid to the Bush years”. An > immediate echo is the notorious Guardian front page of 22 May 2007: “Iran’s > secret plan for summer offensive to force US out of Iraq”. Based on > unsubstantiated claims by the Pentagon, the writer Simon Tisdall presented as > fact an Iranian “plan” to wage war on, and defeat, US forces in Iraq by > September of that year – a demonstrable falsehood for which there has been no > retraction. > The official jargon for this kind of propaganda is “psy-ops”, the military > term for psychological operations. In the Pentagon and Whitehall, it has > become a critical component of a diplomatic and military campaign to > blockade, isolate and weaken Iran by hyping its “nuclear threat”: a phrase > now used incessantly by Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, and parroted by the > BBC and other broadcasters as objective news. And it is fake. > On 16 September, Newsweek disclosed that the major US intelligence agencies > had reported to the White House that Iran’s “nuclear status” had not changed > since the National Intelligence Estimate of November 2007, which stated with > “high confidence” that Iran had halted in 2003 the programme it was alleged > to have developed. The International Atomic Energy Agency has backed this, > time and again. > The current propaganda-as-news derives from Obama’s announcement that the US > is scrapping missiles stationed on Russia’s border. This serves to cover the > fact that the number of US missile sites is actually expanding in Europe and > the “redundant” missiles are being redeployed on ships. The game is to > mollify Russia into joining, or not obstructing, the US campaign against > Iran. “President Bush was right,” said Obama, “that Iran’s ballistic missile > programme poses a significant threat [to Europe and the US].” That Iran would > contemplate a suicidal attack on the US is preposterous. The threat, as ever, > is one-way, with the world’s superpower virtually ensconced on Iran’s borders. > Iran’s crime is its independence. Having thrown out America’s favourite > tyrant, Shah Reza Pahlavi, Iran remains the only resource-rich Muslim state > beyond US control. As only Israel has a “right to exist”in the Middle East, > the US goal is to cripple the Islamic Republic. This will allow Israel to > divide and dominate the region on Washington’s behalf, undeterred by a > confident neighbour. If any country in the world has been handed urgent cause > to develop a nuclear “deterrence”, it is Iran. > As one of the original signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, > Iran has been a consistent advocate of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle > East. In contrast, Israel has never agreed to an IAEA inspection, and its > nuclear weapons plant at Dimona remains an open secret. Armed with as many as > 200 active nuclear warheads, Israel “deplores” UN resolutions calling on it > to sign the NPT, just as it deplored the recent UN report charging it with > crimes against humanity in Gaza, just as it maintains a world record for > violations of international law. It gets away with this because great power > grants it immunity. > Obama’s “showdown” with Iran has another agenda. On both sides of the > Atlantic the media have been tasked with preparing the public for endless > war. The US/Nato commander General Stanley McChrystal says 500,000 troops > will be required in Afghanistan over five years, according to America’s NBC. > The goal is control of the “strategic prize” of the gas and oilfields of the > Caspian Sea, central Asia, the Gulf and Iran – in other words, Eurasia. But > the war is opposed by 69 per cent of the British public, 57 per cent of the > US public and almost every other human being. Convincing “us” that Iran is > the new demon will not be easy. McChrystal’s spurious claim that Iran “is > reportedly training fighters for certain Taliban groups” is as desperate as > Brown’s pathetic echo of “a line in the sand”. > During the Bush years, according to the great whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, > a military coup took place in the US, and the Pentagon is now ascendant in > every area of American foreign policy. A measure of its control is the number > of wars of aggression being waged simultaneously and the adoption of a > “first-strike” doctrine that has lowered the threshold on nuclear weapons, > together with the blurring of the distinction between nuclear and > conventional weapons. > All this mocks Obama’s media rhetoric about “a world without nuclear > weapons”. In fact, he is the Pentagon’s most important acquisition. His > acquiescence with its demand that he keep on Bush’s secretary of “defence” > and arch war-maker, Robert Gates, is unique in US history. He has proved his > worth with escalated wars from south Asia to the Horn of Africa. Like Bush's > America, Obama's America is run by some very dangerous people. We have a > right to be warned. When will those paid to keep the record straight do their > job?http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=549 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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