As we begin 2013, the War Party and its ally, the Israel lobby, are pushing hard to make sure that they get their wish for the New Year, namely, a devastating war with Iran. To them, it is not enough that the illegal unilateral sanctions that the United States and its allies have imposed on Iran are ruining the lives of tens of millions of ordinary Iranians. It is not enough that the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iranians are being threatened with life-threatening illnesses, who cannot get the medicine they need, partly because of economic sanctions. It is not enough that the arts and culture of Iran, particularly a renowned movie industry, are seriously threatened by a lack of funds brought about by the sanctions. The War Party and Israel lobby will be satisfied only if Iran is attacked and destroyed, which will inevitably lead to a much wider war in the entire Middle East.
The push is coming from several fronts. The Party and the Lobby have staged an all-out attack to sabotage the possible nomination of former senator Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. His “sin”? Among other things, Hagel has stated in the past that “I am a United States senator, I am not an Israeli senator,” and that when the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) comes knocking with a pro- Israel letter, “you’ll get 80 or 90 senators on it. I don’t think I’ve ever signed one of the letters” because they were “stupid.” But, most importantly, the unforgivable “sin” of Hagel has been opposing sanctions on Iran and advocating diplomacy and negotiations, which Likud-led Israel rejects. A top Senate Republican aide has threatened, “Send us Hagel [as the nominee for defense secretary], and we will make sure every American knows he is an anti-Semite.” Even gay Republicans got into the act. In a full-page ad in The New York Times, Log Cabin Republicans proclaimed that Hagel “is wrong on gays’ rights, wrong on Iran, wrong on Israel.” Documents released by WikiLeaks indicate that Kerry wants to resolve the dispute with Iran through negotiations. Many Iranian-Americans supported his bid for the presidency in 2004. He has said in that past that, “his own intention, had he been elected president [in 2004], was to pursue front channel and back channel contacts with the Iranian regime.” He also told Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Qatar’s king, that “the United States recognizes Iran’s ambitions to be a regional player, and wants a dialogue about what sort of power it will be.” http://original.antiwar.com/muhammad-sahimi/2012/12/30/the-war-party-and-the-israel-lobby-wish-for-war-with-iran-in-2013/ On May 9, 4:24 pm, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > The Long History of Lies about IranIf the lies about Iraq taught us anything, > it is that we must pay attention to the massive campaign of lies about > IranbyMuhammad Sahimi, April 03, 2013 > There was a flood of articles and analyses on thetenth anniversary of > invasion of Iraqon March 19, most of which focused on the lies, > exaggerations, and half-truths that the War Party told the American people > and the world in the run up to the war. Hundreds of thousands of innocent > people in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq have died as a result of the lies. > Tens of thousands of people have also died as a result of the NATO aggression > against Libya, as well as the war in Syria that is backed by the United > States and its allies in that region, namely, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and > Turkey, with the carnage still continuing with no end in sight. > If the lies about Iraq have taught us anything, it is that we must pay due > attention to the massive campaign of disinformation and lies that has been > waged against Iran for over three decades, in order to “justify” a war with > that nation. The campaign began with the hostage crisis after theU.S. Embassy > in Tehran was overrunby Islamic leftist students on November 4, 1979, and is > still continuing. There are still disinformation and one-sided stories about > the hostage crisis, the latest of which isthe film Argo.The biggest lie about > Iran, which has been perpetuated sinceat least 1984, is that Iran is only a > few months or a year or two away from a nuclear bomb, whichhas not > materializedafter nearly 30 years. > The campaign is separate from thesecret warthat has been waged on Iran for at > least a decade, consisting ofassassinationof Iran’s top nuclear scientists, > killing of many innocent people by terrorist groups,such as the Jundallah, > and waging a cyberspace war against Iran’s nuclear facilities that even a > recent NATO studyrecognizedas being tantamount to the use of force and > illegal. The campaign of lies about Iran is much deeper and broader than the > Iraq campaign, far better organized, and much better funded, with the funding > provided by not just the American administrations – such as$400 > millionprovided by the GW Bush administration for destabilizing the Iranian > regime – but alsothe Israel lobbyand the War Party. The campaign also > includes demonization of Iran by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who > haslikened Iran to the Nazi regime, our era to 1938, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad > to Adolf Hitler, anoutrageous claimthat has beencriticizedeven in certain > pro-Israel circles. > Stephen Walt has already listedtop ten media failuresabout Iran. Here is a > list of some of the most outrageous lies about Iran, but the list is by no > means complete.1981:One of the most brazen lies is that the U.S. does not > interferein Iran’s internal affairs. From the CIA coup of 1953 that overthrew > the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad > Mosaddegh and installing and supporting the dictatorship of Shah Mohammad > Reza Pahlavi for 25 years, to the aforementioned Bush budget for > destabilizing Iran, the U.S. has always tried to interfere in Iran. On > January 19, 1981, Iran and the U.S. signed theAlgiers Accordto end the > hostage crisis. In the Accord the U.S. promised that “it is and from now on > will be the policy of the United States not to intervene, directly or > indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran’s internal affairs,” and that > it will remove all of its sanctions against Iran. Not delivering on > legally-binding promises is by itself a terrible lie.1984:Jane’s Defense > Weeklyreported that West German intelligence believed that Iran could have a > nuclear bombwithin two years. Twenty-nine years later, that bomb has not been > produced.1988: An Iranian passenger airliner carrying 290 people was shot > down over the Persian Gulf by the cruiser USSVicennes, killing all the > passengers and crew, including 56 children. To cover up the crime, the U.S. > lied twice. It claimed that its cruiser was in the international waters, and > that the airliners had been mistaken with a jet fighter. The International > Civil Aviation Organizationputthe cruiser in Iran’s territorial waters, and > Admiral William J. Crowe, then Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, > alsoadmitted laterthat the cruiser was in Iran’s territorial > water.Newsweekmagazine accused the U.S. of a“sea of lies”about mistaking a > passenger airliner with a fighter jet.1996: TheKhobar towersin Saudi Arabia > were bombed, killing 19 U.S. servicemen. For years the U.S. accused Iran of > sponsoring the terrorist attack. But,in his book,The Secret History of > Al-Qaeda,Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London-basedAl Quds Al > Arabi, detailed the involvement of Al-Qaeda in the attack. The9/11 > Commissionreported that Osama Bin Laden was seen being congratulated on the > day of the bombing. William Perry, who was Defense Secretary at that time, > said in 2007 thathe believesal-Qaeda, rather than Iran, was behind the > attack, and Saudi Arabia’s interior minister Prince Nayefabsolved Iranof any > role in the attack.1998: In its indictment of Bin Laden, the U.S. declared > that Al-Qaeda, “forged alliances . . . with the government of Iran and its > associated terrorist group [the Lebanese] Hezbollah for the purpose of > working together against their perceived common enemies.” The allegation of a > working relation between Iran and Al-Qaedawas repeatedby Steven Emerson and > the infamous Islamophobe Daniel Pipes in May 2001.2001: There were > allegations that Iran played a role in the September 11 terrorist attacks. > But, the fact is that the Sunni/Salafi Al-Qaeda hates the Shiite Iran, and > aside from rabid anti-Iran figures, such asKenneth Timmermanand Pipes, no one > believes that Iran had any role in the terrorist attacks. Then Iranian > President Mohammad Khatami was one of the first heads of state to send a > message of condolences to the American people. Even George W. Bush and his > then Acting CIA Director John McLaughlinsaid that, “There was no direct > connection between Iran and the attacks of September 11,” and Western > intelligence agencies believe that there is zero chance of Iran helping > Al-Qaeda to stage the terrorist attacks. In fact, in 2003 Iranoffered to > exchange membersof Bin Laden family, who had fled to Iran after the U.S. > attacked that nation in the fall of 2001, with the leadership of the > Mojahedin-e Khalgh (MEK), an Iranian dissident cult who were in Iraq at that > time, but the U.S. rejected the offer because the Pentagon wanted to <a... > > read more » -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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