Brzezinski: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, their western allies orchestrated Syria crisis

Last Update: July 02 - 2013 5:00 PM EST

 

Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former US national security adviser

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/06/29/311339/ksa-qatar-orchestrated-syria-crisis/

The former US national security adviser says the ongoing crisis in Syria has been orchestrated by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and their western allies.

“In late 2011 there are outbreaks in Syria produced by a drought and abetted by two well-known autocracies in the Middle East: Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” Zbigniew Brzezinski said in an interview with The National Interest on June 24.

He added that US President Barack Obama also supported the unrest in Syria and suddenly announced that President Bashar al-Assad “has to go -- without, apparently, any real preparation for making that happen.”

“Then in the spring of 2012, the election year here, the CIA under General Petraeus, according to The New York Times of March 24th of this year, a very revealing article, mounts a large-scale effort to assist the Qataris and the Saudis and link them somehow with the Turks in that effort,” said Brzezinski, who was former White House national security adviser under Jimmy Carter and now a counselor and trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a senior research professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Criticizing the Obama administration’s policies regarding Syria, he questioned, “Was this a strategic position? Why did we all of a sudden decide that Syria had to be destabilized and its government overthrown? Had it ever been explained to the American people? Then in the latter part of 2012, especially after the elections, the tide of conflict turns somewhat against the rebels. And it becomes clear that not all of those rebels are all that ‘democratic.’ And so the whole policy begins to be reconsidered.”

“I think these things need to be clarified so that one can have a more insightful understanding of what exactly US policy was aiming at,” Brzezinski added.

He also called on US officials to push much more urgently to draw in China, Russia and other regional powers to reach some kind of peaceful end to the Syrian crisis.

“I think if we tackle the issue alone with the Russians, which I think has to be done because they’re involved partially, and if we do it relying primarily on the former colonial powers in the region-France and Great Britain, who are really hated in the region-the chances of success are not as high as if we do engage in it, somehow, with China, India and Japan, which have a stake in a more stable Middle East,” Brzezinski said.

Brzezinski also warned again any US-led military intervention in Syria or arming the militants fighting government forces there.

“I’m afraid that we’re headed toward an ineffective American intervention, which is even worse. There are circumstances in which intervention is not the best but also not the worst of all outcomes. But what you are talking about means increasing our aid to the least effective of the forces opposing Assad. So at best, it’s simply damaging to our credibility. At worst, it hastens the victory of groups that are much more hostile to us than Assad ever was. I still do not understand why -- and that refers to my first answer -- why we concluded somewhere back in 2011 or 2012 -- an election year, incidentally that Assad should go.”

Foreign-sponsored militancy in Syria, which erupted in March 2011, has claimed the lives of many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel.

the New York Times said in a recent report the CIA was cooperating with Turkey and a number of other regional governments to supply arms to militants fighting the government in Syria.

The report comes as the US has repeatedly voiced concern over weapons falling into the hands of al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups.

Al-Nusra Front was named a terrorist organization by Washington last December, even though it has been fighting with the US-backed so-called Free Syrian Army in its battle against Damascus.
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Update: July 02 - 2013 5:00 PM EST

Zbigniew Brzezinski on Syria

Video Source:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPiZF0RGwv8

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3 killed, six injured in Israeli onslaught on Gaza

Israeli tanks fire at targets in the Gaza Strip. (file photo)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/24/268406/3-killed-in-israeli-onslaught-on-gaza/

At least three Palestinians have been killed and six others injured in attacks on the Gaza Strip by Israeli aircraft and tanks, as the wave of aggression on the besieged territory continues unabated, Press TV reports.

Two Palestinians were killed and four others injured when Israeli tank fire struck the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening.

And one Palestinian was killed and two others injured in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on the same day.

The attacks came hours after an Israeli army officer was wounded by a bomb on the Gaza Strip's northern border.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestinian claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Hamas security officials said the bomb attack was carried out as Israeli troops were mounting an incursion into Gaza.

Four rockets were also fired from Gaza into southern Israel, but they caused no casualties or significant damage.

The Israeli military frequently carries out airstrikes and other attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying the actions are being conducted for defensive purposes. However, disproportionate force is always used, in violation of international law, and civilians are often killed or injured.

Gaza has been blockaded since 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

The apartheid regime of Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.

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Ethnic cleansing continues as Tel Aviv approves building 800 new settlements in East al-Quds

 

A file photo shows a construction site in the Israeli settlement of Gilo in southern East al-Quds (Jerusalem). (File photo)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/18/267424/israel-oks-800-settlement-units-in-wb/

Israel has approved a plan to build 800 new illegal settlements in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) with tenders for construction expected to be announced within a few months, an NGO says.

The plan received final approval from the Israeli interior ministry on Thursday after it had been published for validation in a newspaper, AFP quoted an official for Peace Now as saying.

"It means that now, a tender can be issued to begin to build 800 housing units west of Gilo," said Hagit Ofran, referring to a large settlement in the southern part of East al-Quds.

"Two weeks from the publication of the ad in the newspapers, the plan is valid and contractors may apply for a construction permit from the Municipality," Ofran wrote on her blog.

"In the case of Gilo’s western slopes plan, which was initiated by the Israel Lands Administration, the contractors should win the bid in order to buy the rights to build, through a tender. Such a tender may be published in a few months," she explained.

More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and illegally annexed East al-Quds.

The Israeli settlements are considered illegal by the UN and most countries as those territories were captured by Israel in a war in 1967, and are hence seen as being subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied lands.

In his address to the UN General Assembly on September 27, Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel’s “catastrophic” settlement expansion as part of Tel Aviv’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians and its attempt to change the historic demography of the region.

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UK police accused of dirty trick campaign

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/18/267305/uk-police-accused-of-dirty-trick-campaign/

A British MP says a senior counter-terrorism officer with the London Metropolitan police has illegally entered his house and sent emails under a fake identity in a “dirty trick” campaign.

Bradford West MP George Galloway said in a parliamentary motion that the officer even slept in his house while he sent fake emails to deceive organizations including a British newspaper about his identity.

"The House of Commons expresses its concern at the involvement of a very senior officer in the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism branch SO15 in an apparent dirty tricks operation against the honorable member for Bradford West (Galloway),” the motion said.

"It notes that the officer entered Galloway’s London home without his knowledge or consent, [Galloway] never having met or heard of him, and he slept in [Galloway’s] home." It added.

The MP from the socialist Respect party also explained that the officer had “operated under an alias against [him] on Facebook and elsewhere, all the while concealing that he was a senior serving officer at Scotland Yard.”

The London Metropolitan Police said it has temporarily placed the officer, who is understood to be a detective inspector, on restricted duty adding they have referred the case to the Police Complaints Commission for further investigation

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Press TV ban tantamount to human rights violation

 

By: Dr. Ismail Salami

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/16/267054/press-tv-ban-human-rights-violation/

The recent EU move to take Press TV off the air is to be seen as part of a continued process of media violation against this alternative channel.

On Monday, UK-based Eutelsat, which is run by Michel de Rosen, a Zionist Israeli-French, stopped carrying Press TV and some 18 other channels from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), a move which Gary Follows, Arqiva Head of Public Relations, says is a “result of reinforced EU Council sanctions and repeated requests by France's broadcasting authority for the permanent switch-off of the Iranian channels.” UK-based Arqiva is the service supplier which held the IRIB contract.

The first attempts to deprive ever-increasing European audience of accessing Press TV started in the UK when British office of communication (Ofcom) initiated a shrewd ruse to get of rid of the channel and technically put an end to an alternative critical voice once and for all. To this end, they needed a political tool. And who could be a better choice than Maziar Bahari who had already filed a lawsuit against the channel for airing a 10-second sound bite, which was part of an interview with him in 2009.

In October 2011, Ofcom said Press TV had violated its broadcasting codes by airing the interview. The ruling led to the imposition of a 100,000-pound fine on the channels and its subsequent removal from the Sky platform. This was while in a number of future interviews with other media outlets, Bahari had readily confirmed what he had said in the 10-second sound bite, i.e. he was the person who had sent the footage.

Besides, Ofcom had come under intense criticism on the part of the British Royal family who had taken umbrage at Press TV for reporting and criticizing them for their extravagant lifestyle and support for the regional autocratic regimes. The office of the Royal Family had even sent letters to Press TV office on several occasions and urged them to stop criticizing the Queen. Therefore, the wound was an old one and far from healing and they had to prick their deadly venom into those whom they considered thorns in their sides.

On the other hand, Ofcom later claimed that the move was largely motivated by ministers. However, a Wikileaks cable reveals how the Foreign Office told an American diplomat in 2010 that the government was "exploring ways to limit the operations of … Press TV".

At the time, the department warned the US that, "UK law sets a very high standard for denying licenses to broadcasters. Licenses can only be denied in cases where national security is threatened, or if granting a license would be contrary to Britain's obligations under international law. Currently neither of these standards can be met with respect to Press TV, but if further sanctions are imposed on Iran in the coming months a case may be able to be made on the second criterion."

At all events, Germany followed suit and a court in Germany ordered the removal of the channel off a satellite platform despite two previous rulings issued in favor of the alternative channel.

So, the Munich media regulatory body, BLM, took Press TV off the satellite platform in April.

And third came French media regulator, the Conseil Superieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA) which kept repeating calls for removing the channel.

Press TV says, “This is not the first time that the West is trying to silence the alternative media and stop Iranian broadcasters from commenting on what is going on truly across the world. But this time what is most surprising is that the latest instance of media crackdown comes from the new Nobel Peace laureate.”

Sanctions against the Islamic Republic and exerting brutal pressures on people are per se illegal in the light of international laws. However, muzzling a media outlet and justifying this act in the name of sanctions is a source of shame for the EU. In fact, the EU’s incoherent perception and poor handling of truth is a move enormously to be deplored.

Needless to say, this is an egregious instance of the violation of human rights which the West moralizes about so vehemently. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” It is long since the intelligent international community has come to discern the paradoxical attitude of the West in defining the concept of freedom of speech and they have figured out for themselves how tolerant the West may be when the sanctities of the Muslims are shamelessly violated and how intolerant they can be when the truth is daringly thrown into their faces.

Only recently the West kept silent on the anti-Islam movie and caricatures and even justified the blasphemy in the light of freedom of speech but when it came to Press TV, they were not only intolerant towards the alternative channel but they also put all their efforts into a seemingly long-entertained plot to silence the voice.

This is how freedom of speech is defined for the benefits of a privileged few and how the tentacles of Zionist imperialism are by slow gradation spread over an entirety beyond which hope is desperately turned into but a flickering ray for those who wish to hear the truth.

BUT truth will prevail.

-----------------------------

About: Dr. Ismail Salami

AKA Ali Salami, Dr. Ismail Salami is an internationally published author of several books and hundreds of articles. In his articles, Salami examines the historical developments that impact national relations today, and the way western people view Iran. He holds a PhD in Shakespeare Studies and is the author of Human Rights in Islam and Iran, Cradle of Civilization. His writings have been translated into dozens of languages. More Press TV articles by Ismail Salami

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Zionists to blame for EU Press TV ban: American analyst

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/16/266962/eutelsat-is-not-european-it-is-israeli/

Iran is a controversial nation to some. To others, be they the 120 nations of the Non-Aligned Movement or nations that believe Iran is targeted for its failure to bow to the will of a very real worldwide conspiracy, Iran is an ancient empire that has reached for greatness under the most difficult of circumstances.

In a world of lies, and we are lied to, not just by the “pop culture press” but by armies of seemingly friendly faces who pour poison in our ears, today is a “big win” for many. Iran will be silenced to the people of Europe.

The choice, we are told, is one of a company, Eutelsat Communications. It claims that Iran, 19 news and information sources, some clearly among the best, most dependable and trustworthy in the world, will be silenced.

This is not all.

First of all, the reason given, that Eutelsat is following sanctions is a lie. There are no sanctions against Press TV or other news sources, no UN vote supports it and I would like to see the issue taken before the General Assembly.

Of course, it might be taken before the UN Security Council, five real members and five “keep quiet and don’t bother anyone” members, who make all decisions for the UN. Two members, Russia and China vetoed sanctions against Syria.

We ask them to support freedom of speech for Iran by voting sanctions against any nation that uses services from Eutelsat, a company that has decided to stop acting as a satellite provider and now decides who and what can be heard.

Thus far, Europe is silent; no one has said a word. Is Europe a continent of errant children who must be coddled? Of course it is, where nation after nation in the name of political correctness and “war guilt” have formed petty socialist police states in order to take care of populations long deemed incapable of discernment or any sign of self-realization and adulthood.

There are more lies.
Eutelsat is a person, not a company. Eutelsat says it is European, but it is actually Israeli. French sounding “Michel de Rosen” runs Eutelsat, an Israeli citizen, company with Israeli stockholders, a company long dictated to by extremist groups within Israel, the militant ultra-nationalists of the Likudist regime of Netanyahu.

Eutelsat is an intelligence operation as are most communications billing companies, mobile phone providers and the infamous “choke points” that make sure all communication, all progress, all privacy is subject to what is allowed. Most of such “chokepoints,” companies like “Google” for one, are Israeli owned. Call it a coincidence.

When Eutelsat chose to choke off Iran and end free speech in Europe, many spoke up but none pointed a finger at Israel and their desire to paint Iran with a “black brush.” The armies of “shills” were sent out to complain about violations of free speech.

One organization after another, all controlled opposition, part of Israel’s “game theory warfare,” rose in self-righteous anger and, as usual, pointed in the wrong direction.

Though you can tell the truth in America, the chances of doing it in the “pop culture press” or on the “mainstream media” are about as likely as meeting a dinosaur on Mars. This is a private joke with fellow writer and good friend Kevin Barrett.

Iran, however, lets me say things that aren’t always tame, aren’t always favorable but are true just the same. I am thanked for telling the truth.

Today, I saw a television show. American radio host, Mike Harris, former candidate for governor of Arizona, spoke out on the company, Eutelsat and its Israeli ownership and management. As soon as he mentioned Israel and began a factual presentation based on advanced research of corporate governance and the company’s previous history of silencing free speech in other nations, Harris was subjected to attack and disruption by a fellow guest.

I recognized the tactics employed by those tasked with ending free speech when they aren’t in a position to have those who tell the truth jailed or murdered. They simply babble, make fools of themselves, anything to take the focus off the real criminals.

However, though those who tell the truth may be killed by evil men, destroyed by the wealthy and powerful, the truth, at least today, isn’t illegal and censorship can’t be imposed without a whimper, without a whisper, unnoticed, unseen, the truth, the right to free speech hardly missed.

Know your enemy. Recognize him or her for their weapons. Know we are fighting a war of deception and many who claim to be a voice of freedom and justice are very much the opposite.

When information is twisted and withheld, by a hooting bigot or a Mossad thug in corporate attire, it is for one reason and one reason only, the spread of evil.

We resist.

About: Gordon Duff

Gordon Duff is a Marine Vietnam veteran, a combat infantryman, and Senior Editor at Veterans Today. His career has included extensive experience in international banking along with such diverse areas as consulting on counter insurgency, defense technologies or acting as diplomatic representative for UN humanitarian and economic development efforts. Gordon Duff has traveled to over 80 nations. His articles are published around the world and translated into a number of languages. He is regularly on TV and radio, a popular and sometimes controversial guest. More Press TV articles by Gordon Duff

 

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Press TV viewers slam EU move to ban Iran channels as illegal, hypocritical

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/16/266951/viewers-slam-eu-ban-on-iran-channels/

Press TV viewers have condemned as illegal and hypocritical the ban imposed by the European officials on the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels, saying that the move throws into question the West’s freedom of speech claims.

“Where is the freedom of speech and press in Europe? Hypocrites! When it is against Islam then it is freedom of the press and speech in Europe. Lift the ban now. Double hypocrites. This is the reason why God is punishing Europe with Economic crisis. It will NOT end soon until they acknowledge the truth,” a reader said.

Another viewer said, “Shame on the European Commission. They who have just been awarded the Nobel Price for peace are now suppressing freedom of speech and expression which are essential tools to report on breach of peace and the warmongers!”

“This European's illegal, illogical, uncivilized measure indicates its serious desperation and panic in facing the growing influence of Press TV across the world,” another comment read.

“Never there was freedom of expression in US or EU, only selective loose talk is branded as Freedom of Expression,” wrote a viewer.

European satellite provider Eutelsat SA has stopped the broadcast of several Iranian satellite channels, including Press TV, al-Alam, Jam-e-Jam 1 and 2, Sahar 1 and 2, Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, Quran TV, and the Arabic-language al-Kawthar following an order by the European Commission.

In a flagrant violation of the freedom of speech, the company ordered media services company, Arqiva, to take the Iranian satellite channels off one of its Hot Bird frequencies on Monday.

Following the move by the European company, Press TV launched a Facebook petition to protect the news channel across Europe.

The EU is claiming that the move is aimed at punishing Iran for violating human rights. However, experts believe that Press TV has raised the anger of certain European countries for covering thorny issues including anti-austerity protests.

The decision follows months of jamming of Iranian channels by European satellite companies.

Iranian news channels affected by the decision only sought to break the West’s monopoly on news broadcast by reflecting the voice of the oppressed people to the world.

The illegal move by Eutelsat SA, therefore, is a step to silence all alternative news outlets representing the voice of the voiceless.

Observers believe that the European Union does not respect freedom of speech, and spares no efforts to silence the voice of alternative media outlets.

Technical experts say the jamming was carried out by British technicians.

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Koch brothers threaten to fire employees if Obama wins

 

David H. Koch (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / AFP)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/usa/news/koch-brothers-obama-vote-501/

The billionaire Koch brothers this month threatened to fire many of their more than 50,000 employees if they dare to vote for President Obama or any other Democrats in the 2012 elections.

The Kansas-based Koch brothers, who run a multi-national group of companies called the Koch Industries, sent a voter information packet to 45,000 of its Georgia Pacific subsidiary this month, threatening that “many of our more than 50,000 US employees and contractors may suffer the consequences” if they vote for Democrats. The packet also included an op-ed by David Koch endorsing Mitt Romney and one by Charles Koch slamming Obama, reported the monthly magazine, In These Times.

The brothers also warned that electing Democrats would also lead to other consequences, including higher gasoline prices, runaway inflation and “other ills.”

“This is true regardless of what your political affiliation might be,” reads the cover letter to the packet, written by Koch Industries President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Robertson.

The brothers have already donated millions to Republican candidates and conservative causes, including an $18 million fundraiser for Romney at a beachfront home this summer.

Their threat has created a culture of fear among their employees, who worry they could lose their jobs for expressing their opinions. In September, a group of unionized employees at Georgia Pacific posed for a photograph with Democratic state Senate candidate Arnie Roblan. After the packet arrived in the mail, they grew worried that if the picture fell into the hands of the Koch brothers, it could cost them their jobs – especially since the Georgia Pacific plant is in the background.

But Koch Industries is not the only company seeking to control the votes of its employees. Florida billionaire David Siegel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, recently sent out an e-mail to 7,000 employees describing possible consequences of an Obama win.

“I can’t tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn’t interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose,” Siegel wrote in an e-mail first published by Gawker. But the billionaire CEO then warned that Obama’s reelection would cost some of his employees their jobs.

“So where am I going with all this?” he asked.“It’s quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.”

This e-mail is not the first attempt Siegel has made to keep Republicans in power. Earlier this year he claimed to have been “personally responsible” for former President George W. Bush’s 2000 win, even though his methods may “not necessarily have been legal.”

The largest privately held US coal company, Murray Energy, was also found to have pressured its employees to donate money to Republican candidates, The New Republic found.

“We have been insulted by every salaried employee who does not support our efforts,” CEO Robert Murray wrote in a letter to employees, which listed names of those who had not yet attended fundraisers.

And last year, Delta Airlines offered free Washington, DC-bound flights to flight attendants who agreed to lobby for a Federal Aviation Administration bill that would make it more difficult for employees to unionize.

The Koch brothers threats are just the latest in a series of intimidation tactics by billionaire employers trying to encourage their large number of employees to vote like them.

 

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Financial Warfare: Destabilizing Iran’s Monetary System

By: Nile Bowie

Source: Global Research

http://www.globalresearch.ca/financial-warfare-destabilizing-irans-monetary-system/

Dramatic fluctuations of the Iranian rial triggered small protests among merchants in Tehran’s grand bazaar on October 3rd, 2012. In an attempt by authorities to prevent further devaluation, Iran’s central bank recently issued new limits on the amount of USD available for purchase at a subsidized rate, leading many to panic as the rial fell 40% against the dollar since the start of October. Although the demonstrations were economic in nature, many took advantage of the moment to voice their grievances against the political system, with many crediting President Ahmadinejad with overseeing fiscal mismanagement that has exacerbated Washington’s unceasing barrage of economic sanctions. Ahmadinejad’s political opponents also blame his administration for economic mismanagement, sentiment that is appearing more frequently among Iranian society.

While combating the challenges that economic sanctions represent is an arduous task for any government, it is important to recognize that these sanctions are not aimed against Iran’s government, but at its poor and merchant population. An unnamed US intelligence source cited by the Washington Postclaims:

”In addition to the direct pressure sanctions exert on the regime’s ability to finance its priorities, another option here is that they will create hate and discontent at the street level so that the Iranian leaders realize that they need to change their ways.”

Washington has long engaged in psychological operations that aim to foment the kind of “hate and discontent” among Iran’s factory workers, merchants, shopkeepers, students, and manufacturers – as part of a series of measures taken to coax widespread social discontent and unrest throughout the country to topple the government.

For the average Iranian business owner and worker, US-led sanctions and currency devaluation have affected everyday transactions that provide paychecks and economic viability for millions of people. From urban shopkeepers to rural restaurant owners, many have been forced to close their businesses because they are unable profit from reselling imported goods purchased with dollars. Isolation from the global banking system has made it increasingly more difficult for Iranian students studying abroad to receive money from their families. Sanctions targeting Iran’s central bank aim to devastate the Iranian export economy, affecting everyone from oil exporters to carpet weavers and pistachio cultivators. By crippling people’s livelihoods and hindering their ability to pursue education and afford necessities such as food and medication, the Obama administration believes such measures will erode public confidence in the government and challenge its legitimacy.

Such policy is not only immoral, but exhibits the fraudulence and dishonesty of the United States toward the values of liberty and the pursuit of happiness it claims to represent. Although western media has gone to great lengths to depict Obama as being reluctant to endorse a tough stance on Iran, it is clear that Washington is quietly pursuing belligerent policy against Tehran – one that has alienated Iranians that seek reconciliation with the United States and greatly escalated tensions and the possibility of war. As demonstrated by the covert measures being taken against Tehran – including sabotage, cyber warfare, and targeted assassinations – Washington is fully committed to preventing Tehran’s independent technological, economic and political development. While US-led sanctions are intended to target all mechanisms necessary for international oil transactions, Iran continues to show defiance by pursuing diplomacy and mutually beneficial economic development with its energy hungry allies across Asia.

China has continued to purchase larger amounts of Iranian oil despite the sanctions regime. While the fledging European Union cuts its ties with Tehran, Beijing has moved closer with Iran to provide credit lines and consumer goods. Additionally, nations such as India, Malaysia and Japan have continued their energy imports from Iran – making efforts to internationally isolate Tehran increasing more difficult. Iran has actively engaged in the modernization of its energy infrastructure, including the construction of fifteen domestic pipelines throughout the country. Furthermore, Iranian firms are planning to construct an electrical power plant and a pipeline to provide energy to Pakistan. In the interest of pursuing mutually beneficially economic development, Tehran has sought further cooperation with its neighbors in Pakistan and Turkmenistan. Iran’s domestic investments emphasize the importance of developing the kind of trade and energy infrastructure needed to continue resistance to hegemony without being internationally isolated.

Tehran has pledged $25 billion to develop its Chabahar port, and an additional $4 billion of investment into several different ports around the country. The expanded trade and energy capabilities that would result from such investment would solidify Iran’s place in the global economy, and its seat among world powers. It is for this reason that “the threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons” is used as a stale pretext to enforce economic sanctions, despite a complete lack of evidence to implicate Iran with weaponizing its nuclear energy program. Tehran must be diligent in finding ways to manage its currency devaluation and economic growth – because of its natural resources and abundant energy wealth, the country is in a unique position to deflect international sanctions and use them to its advantage. By partnering with its international allies, Iran can bolster its domestic manufacturing industries and secure international markets for its products. Policy makers in Washington and Tel Aviv should remember that chess is an Iranian game.

Nile Bowie is a Kuala Lumpur-based American writer, video producer and frequent contributor to Global Research. He explores issues of terrorism, economics and geopolitics.

 

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Major Naval Deployment: War by Miscalculation, Mistake or Accident

 

By: Andrew Schoerke, member of “Veterans For Peace”

http://warisacrime.org/content/war-miscalculation-mistake-or-accident

The U. S. Navy is currently assembling four Carrier Strike Groups in the Arabian Sea and when in place it will be the most powerful carrier task force assembled since WW II. Although not yet announced, there is little doubt that the purpose of this sea power is to ride “shotgun” for a multi-nation countermining exercise to be held in the Gulf of Oman beginning September 24. Arguably, the exercise is also intended to show Iran that it should not attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz through which over a third of the world’s oil supply transits.

The origin of the escalating crisis with Iran goes back nearly thirty years to when it announced that it had begun a program to enrich uranium for medical research and for use as fuel for a nuclear reactor to generate electricity. Over time, and under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection, Iran’s program has advanced to the point where it has enriched significant amounts of uranium to a degree high enough that it would take very little to bring it to a high enough for a nuclear weapon. However, the international community isn’t buying the peaceful use of the material being put forth by Iran. Instead, it believes that Iran may be engaged in a rogue weapons program and has, therefore, placed more and more stringent sanctions on the country in an effort to force Iran give up its enrichment program. Because Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu believes a nuclear armed Iran is a threat to Israel’s very existence, he has vowed his determination to destroy Iran’s presumed capability to build a nuclear weapon.

However, Mr. Netanyahu has a problem. The American made F-15 and F-16 aircraft flown by the Israeli air force, have neither the range nor the bomb carrying capacity to take out Iranian air defenses or targeted enrichment facilities, most of which are deep underground. Since Israel does not have the strike force it needs, Mr. Netanyahu is trying to get the U.S. involved in his attack. But President Obama has stated, and the IAEA agrees there is no evidence that Iran has the capability to build a nuclear weapon nor is there evidence it even has one.

According to accounts being carried in Israeli newspapers and television stations, Prime Minister Netanyahu is determined to attack Iran before the U.S. national election on November 7. In response to this threat, Mr. Parviz Sarvari of the Iranian National Security Committee is quoted as saying:” If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure.” Compounding the crisis, President Obama, on July 27, signed into law the United States-Israel Enhanced Cooperation Act which, among other things, mandates that the U.S. governmentprovide Israel aerial refueling tankers, missile defense capabilities, and special munitions.

It would be a gross miscalculation on Mr. Netanyahu’s part to launch an attack on Iran believing that the U.S. would come to his rescue using the firepower of the four Carrier Strike Groups in the Arabian Sea as well as other U.S. forces. Further, it would be a mistake on the part of the Iranians to strike at an American or multinational warship thinking that they had joined Israel in attacking their country. The most troubling circumstance, however, would be for some Israeli, Iranian or American, to accidentally begin shooting for no reason or without authorized command. Another Mideast war with the resulting human and economic costs for both the region and the world would be catastrophic.

Whether it is a war by miscalculation, mistake or accident, war is not the answer to this escalating crisis.

 

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