This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran
is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the
table, Bush said in Brussels last February.
---
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,392783,00.html
International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
December 30, 2005
THE US AND IRAN
Is Washington Planning a Military Strike?
Recent reports in the German media suggest that the United States may
be preparing its allies for an imminent military strike against
facilities that are part of Iran's suspected clandestine nuclear
weapons program.
REUTERS
Following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent anti-Israel
statements, reports are increasing that Washington may be preparing
its allies for a military strike against Iran.
It's hardly news that US President George Bush refuses to rule out
possible military action against Iran if Tehran continues to pursue
its controversial nuclear ambitions. But in Germany, speculation is
mounting that Washington is preparing to carry out air strikes
against suspected Iranian nuclear sites perhaps even as soon as early
2006.
German diplomats began speaking of the prospect two years ago -- long
before the Bush administration decided to give the European Union
more time to convince Iran to abandon its ambitions, or at the very
least put its civilian nuclear program under international controls.
But the growing likelihood of the military option is back in the
headlines in Germany thanks to a slew of stories that have run in the
national media here over the holidays.
The most talked about story is a Dec. 23 piece by the German news
agency DDP from journalist and intelligence expert Udo Ulfkotte. The
story has generated controversy not only because of its material, but
also because of the reporter's past. Critics allege that Ulfkotte in
his previous reporting got too close to sources at Germany's foreign
intelligence agency, the BND. But Ulfkotte has himself noted that he
has been under investigation by the government in the past (indeed,
his home and offices have been searched multiple times) for
allegations that he published state secrets -- a charge that he
claims would underscore rather than undermine the veracity of his
work.
According to Ulfkotte's report, western security sources claim that
during CIA Director Porter Goss' Dec. 12 visit to Ankara, he asked
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide support for a
possibile 2006 air strike against Iranian nuclear and military
facilities. More specifically, Goss is said to have asked Turkey to
provide unfettered exchange of intelligence that could help with a
mission.
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DDP also reported that the governments of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman
and Pakistan have been informed in recent weeks of Washington's
military plans. The countries, apparently, were told that air strikes
were a possible option, but they were given no specific timeframe
for the operations.
In a report published on Wednesday, the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel
also cited NATO intelligence sources claiming that Washington's
western allies had been informed that the United States is currently
investigating all possibilities of bringing the mullah-led regime
into line, including military options. Of course, Bush has publicly
stated for months that he would not take the possibility of a
military strike off the table. What's new here, however, is that
Washington appears to be dispatching high-level officials to
prepare its allies for a possible attack rather than merely implying
the possibility as it has repeatedly done during the past year.
Links to al-Qaida?
AP
Members of the People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan (ARGK) who are
the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in mountain
hideout in northern Iraq near the Turkish border.
According to DDP, during his trip to Turkey, CIA chief Goss
reportedly handed over three dossiers to Turkish security officials
that purportedly contained evidence that Tehran is cooperating with
Islamic terror network al-Qaida. A further dossier is said to contain
information about the current status of Iran's alleged nuclear
weapons program. Sources in German security circles told the
DDP reporter that Goss had ensured Ankara that the Turkish government
would be informed of any possible air strikes against Iran a few
hours before they happened. The Turkish government has also been
given the green light to strike camps of the separatist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) in Iran on the day in question.
The DDP report attributes the possible escalation to the recent
anti-Semitic rants by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose
belligerent verbal attacks on Israel (he described the Holocaust as a
myth and called for Israel to be
