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Report: US Preparing for an Israeli Strike on Iran
Iran: We have proof US behind assassination
Iran is looking at "punishing" those behind the assassination of one of its nuclear scientists, a senior military official said, pointing the finger at the United States, Israel and Britain.
Thousands of mourners chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012 as they carried the flag draped coffin of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan , a chemistry expert and a director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, who was killed in a brazen daylight assassination on Wednesday in Tehran. "We consider committing a terrorist act of killing a scientist to be a threat to the nation... We are looking at punishing those who were behind the scenes of the martyrdom (assassination) of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan," the deputy chief of Iran's joint armed forces, Masoud Jazayeri, was quoted as saying by several media.
Iran's response will be "tormenting" for those responsible, he said, adding: "The enemies of the Iranian nation, such as the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime, should be made accountable for their actions."
The Wall Street Journal is reporting today:
WASHINGTON—U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel is preparing to take military action against Iran, over U.S. objections, and have stepped up contingency planning to safeguard U.S. facilities in the region in case of a conflict.
President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have delivered a string of private messages to Israeli leaders warning about the dire consequences of a strike. The U.S. wants Israel to give more time for the effects of sanctions and other measures intended to force Iran to abandon its perceived efforts to build nuclear weapons.[...]
Despite the close relationship between the U.S. and Israel, U.S. officials have consistently puzzled over Israeli intentions. "It's hard to know what's bluster and what's not with the Israelis," said a former U.S. official.
Inside the Israeli security establishment, a sort of good cop, bad cop routine, in which Israeli officials rattle sabers amid a U.S. scramble to restrain them, has assumed its own name: "Hold Me Back."
Some American intelligence officials complain that Israel represents a blind spot in U.S. intelligence, which devotes little resources to Israel. Some officials have long argued that, given the potential for Israel to drag the U.S. into potentially explosive situations, the U.S. should devote more resources to divining Israel's true intentions.
* * *
Two US Aircraft Carriers Opposite Iran, 15,000 Troops in Kuwait
DEBKAfile, the Jerusalem-based English language Israeli military intelligence website, is reporting:
US President Barack Obama is busy aligning Middle East allies with the next US steps on Iran. Contributing to the mounting sense in Washington of an approaching US-Iranian confrontation, the Pentagon is substantially building up its combat power around Iran, stationing nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait - two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit – and keeping two aircraft carriers the region. The USS Carl Vinson, the USS John Stennis which was to have returned to home base and their strike groups will stay in the Arabian Sea.
* * *
Iran has Proof?
A worshipper holds an anti-U.S. President Barack Obama poster and portraits of killed Iranian nuclear scientists during the funeral for nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, who was killed in a bomb blast in Tehran on January 11, after Friday prayers January 13, 2012. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)Meanwhile, Israel's YNET news service is reporting that Iran has proof that the US was responsible for last week's assassination:
Who's behind the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist? According to an Iranian statement broadcasted on the Islamic Republic's official TV Channel, Tehran has conclusive evidence that the United States plotted the assassination of Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan last week.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said his country has obtained "credible documents that prove the terror attack was planned, supervised and supported by the CIA," adding that he has filed an official complaint with the Swiss Embassy in Iran, which is also handles US affairs in the area.
A similar denunciation was addressed to Britain, claiming that the assassination took place shortly after the British themselves declared "the commencement of intelligence operations against Iran."[...]
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the United States "had absolutely nothing to do" with Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan's death. Vietor added that the US condemns "all acts of violence."
(Israeli) President Shimon Peres also commented on the incident, telling CNN Spanish that 'to the best of his knowledge' Israel was not involved in the assassination.
DEBKAfile adds:
Friday, Ayatollah Khamenei accused the United States and Israel of a CIA-Mossad master plan, which Iranian sources claimed bore the title "Red Windows" and focused on training Iranian dissidents for hit and sabotage operations in Iran.
133 Comments so far
Show AllWell, our state Department has emphatically denied any involvement in the assassination. That should be proof enough, to anyone who is aware of US history--that we were the perpetrator.
"Vietor added that the US condemns "all acts of violence."
WOW. A White House spokesman actually made that statement?? I just...WOW.
"the US condemns "all acts of violence." Mind blowing statement.
Just like the US is not a nation that tortures, it is not a nation that commits acts of violence or terrorism.
Imperial Officialese is very strict about it's definition of torture, bombing and cold blooded murder. By definition when the US commits actions resemblin these heinous acts, they are defined as enhanced interrogation, defensive action and elimination of terrorist threats.
And this is your brain on drugs...Any questions?
Thank you very much and God less America.
Wow, yeah. Blown and boggled. A cup of doublethink anyone?
Yeah, too bad MLK isn't around to reiterate his vey,very true statement that America is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. On the other hand, maybe Mr. Vietor just hasn't had a chance to condemn the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan yet!
The deadly hypocrisy from the war criminals in warshington continually reaches higher levels of absurdity !
I think we all had the same reaction!
I'm guessing that the subtext is found in this definition of "acts" :
"perform a fictional role in a play, movie, or television production"
The USA only condemns fictional violence (or that carried out to overthrow dictators), while also clearly acknowledging the seriously profitable (short term for a very few - only) nature and corporatist benefits of real violence …
Within one week the gas prices have increased here from $ 2.99 to $ 3.24. That is mostly due to the aggressive legislation, support of terrorist acts in and provocative language of the Obama administration directed at Iran. While rising gas prices are a boon for the environment, they are potentially catastrophic for still employed people. Today the administration has confirmed what most of us suspected all along namely that its goal for Iran is "regime change". A successful regime change/support shows two results. One: a new regime that is at least no longer an enemy. Two: a new regime that is supported by most of its citizens, hence stable. I cannot remember any regime change/support by our nation after WW2 that has been successful in that sense. Perhaps Panama? Here is the list of failures: China (Mao won), Cambodia (Pol Pot!), Vietnam (the North won), Iraq (far from stable; bombings every day), Iran (Shah gone), Cuba (Fidelistas still in charge), Chile (murder, murder), Nicaragua ( murder, murder), Haiti (U.S. kidnap of its president), Venezuela (he is still in the saddle!). Afghanistan will become a failure too. I am sure that I have left a few out (Peru? Colombia?). Now what makes these idiots in the White Hose believe that "regime change" in Iran will be a success? Given the track record it is bound to become another disastrous failure which only results in the suffering of the Iranian people.
I remember several months ago, having a conversation with a young USAF Lt. who was already talking about Iran denying that they are developing a nuclear weapon, so it would seem our military members were already being fed the propoganda and spreading it among civilians.
I wonder how they would feel if another country decided we needed a "regime change" or killed our top scientists and drone bombed our citizens.
I have always wondered why the US thinks it is ok to do regime change in other countries for their corporation buddies.
I would think that would be called terrorism or war crimes if another country tried it here.
I wouldn't mind though if some other country came in and OBL'd Bush or Cheney.
The arrogance of the US is astounding.
People are upset that the Marines pissed on dead people.
I am upset that the Marines killed those people.
NMLib,
great comment. i've often harbored the same thought.
"I wonder how they would feel if another country decided we needed a "regime change" or killed our top scientists and drone bombed our citizens."
or if another country sent 3 carrier task force groups to patrol waters off our coast to protect their 'national security interests'. american exceptionalism (gunboat diplomacy) is out of control; it saddens me that the general public fails to recognize that the iranian people are people who experienced years of US sponsored dictatorial rule under the shah, or that these people have historical continuity that's 4-5000 years old.
regime change in the US sounds like a great idea - fingers crossed.
...peace...
Please, not more of this price-of-gasoline ranked right up there with human blood shed by the Iranian people. The price of gasoline is a vile reason to oppose US/Zionist aggression.
If the price of gasoline rises and car-commuting is unavoidable, then the worker might have to get a spine and insist on a raise - or better yet, organize a union. The bosses can insist on better public transit (a new bus route can be planned, equipment bought, and put in place in a few days) and move the workplace to a convenient transit-served location, preferably in the largely-abandoned centers of many US cities and towns.
Yes, pjd412.
Also, it irks me that the "price of GAS" crowd worries about their fill-up and seems oblivious to all the other things OIL is used for, much less, as you said, the blood shed to feed our addiction.
Oh yeah its just that easy. Insist to your boss on a raise? What if your boss is struggling to keep the doors opdn. Most people don't work for the corptocracy. And what bosses are going to insist on better public transit access. Who are these bosses? What does insisting comprise of? What if an owner of a small business says no, can't afford it? What are you going to do to people like me?
Ever think that if gas gets expensive as hell that will happen naturally? Maybe if we got rid of debt based money and ended the wars we could afford it. You sound like such a totalitarian sometimes.
those who cheer the rise in gas prices are doing the Rockefelleers work for them, conditioning the masses to accept being ripped off by giant energy corporations.
Not to mention support for high gas prices is incredibly anti-populist, but then the "we know what's best for you" Left never seems to worry that much about their superior policy positions screwing over the average worker.
Good points, Crowsnest. War is the great destabilizer, and Washington has no interest in stability. Genuine popular democracy is the most stable form of government, and Iran, to cite one example, had that in 1953 when the US CIA overthrew their leader and installed the Shah. Corporate tyranny is what Washington wants everwhere, and that is always unstable, violent, exploitative, and hence inherently unstable. The notion that Washington wants "stability" is one of the great myths perpetrated by the corporate media.
The defintion of American stability is when a foreign government aquiences to our hegemonic wishes. Much like a business, that is willing to pay a mafia for protection. That would be what the mafia would call stability!
Crowsnest notes that "Within one week the gas prices have increased here from $ 2.99 to $ 3.24." That is practically dirt cheap as the price on unleaded regular gas at my nearby gas station here in the Pacific Northwest runs at $3.61 a gallon.
True, that gasoline price should be the least of the reasons to oppose war. But, if the purpose of war is to get cheap gasoline, then increasing prices is reason, maybe, to not make war, or even threaten war. Another fact, is that we have subsidized gasoline, exceptionally cheap gasoline actually, In Europe, it is $8 to $10 per gallon.
As for gas prices, people on the East Coast are headed for problems as more refineries close. These subthread postings tell a sad tale:
"We also have a looming refinery problem in the U.S. and Europe coming up this summer. As demand for gasoline has dropped, refining has become less profitable, causing refiners to shutter or if possible sell some of their less-profitable refineries -- some 2.6 million barrels a day (b/d) of refining capacity has been closed in the advanced economies. In Europe, the continent's largest independent refiner is shutting down three refineries halting about 250,000 b/d of refining. In the northeastern U.S. however, the situation is much worse. Three large Pennsylvania refineries, which can refine 550,000 b/d and which constitute half the refining capacity on the East coast, are for sale. Two have already been shut down and the third is due for closure if a buyer cannot be found. While this loss of US refining capacity can be made up by increased shipments of refined products from Europe and the Gulf Coast, there will likely be added costs and delays that could result in shortages and higher prices."
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/8839/863883
Regardless of what happens to oil price, transportation fuels are going to be more expensive, and could break the highs set in 2008.
Good! Maybe our frack-loving govenor Corbett will stop his war on public transit.
Time to nationalize then in the US! Public, after all. Less expensive.
Has President Obama suggested stopping U.S. funding to Israel, or Sanctions if they attack Iran? ..........dream on. Wage Peace...
The more loudly the United States Gov denies its involvement, the more it issues outrageous lies such as the claim that it condems "all acts of violence," the more guilty it looks.
D'oh - let's not forget "all options are on the table"!
"A worshipper holds an anti-U.S. President Barack Obama poster and portraits of killed Iranian nuclear scientists during the funeral for nuclear scientist Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, who was killed in a bomb blast in Tehran on January 11, after Friday prayers January 13, 2012. (REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl)"
Why is she called a 'worshipper' and not a 'protestor?' This is trying to prod anti-Muslim hysteria.
"Why is she called a 'worshipper' and not a 'protestor?"
Because she was attending a funeral, of course. A funeral is a religious exercise to believers of any faith and photographs of the dead person are usually displayed at their funerals, whatever the faith or denomination thereof. I don't see any "trying to prod anti-Muslim hysteria" in that. It's not as though anyone on earth, even ignorant Americans, wouldn't know that the deceased was a Muslim!
Good point. Why not "mourner?"
Good observation, cpotts; "mourner" is obviously the best term-- certainly more accurate and appropriate than "worshipper".
Although funerals may be solemn religious rituals, like weddings they are relatively open, public events; attendance is not an indicator of piety or religious affiliation. "Worshipper" connotes piety and religious devotion.
This was either clumsy writing and editing, or a deliberate attempt to impute religious fervor into an ambiguous image by choosing a loaded descriptor.
The US and Israel have been waging a covert war against Iran for years. Plans for war on Iran have been drawn up for years.
The sanctions represent a de-facto act of war. The Iranians will not be allowed to expand their oil bourse (that is not priced in US dollars). The dollar must remain the only currency in the intl. petroleum market. If the USD ceases to be the reserve currency the Empire Inc. is finished. Unless Iran cooperates with banking, finance and oil markets they will be bombed to stone age.
Possible scenario: Israel launches a false flag attack against a US warship (disguised as Iranians) and the US is presented with an excuse for war on a silver platter. The USS Liberty attack is an historical precedent for Israeli false flag attacks with US coordination.
Iran and China are already using their own currencies for commerce. China and Japan just made a similar agreement to bypass the dollar. Russia is doing the same with its energy sales. The SCO members will also begin to bypass the dollar this year. And Chavez's Bank of the South and South America's trade bloc will soon do the same. OPEC will soon require oil purchases be made with a basket of currencies. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/ML22Ag02.html
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30108.htm
Russia and China have both announced that an attack on Iran will be considered a "direct threat" to their own security. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/13/us-iran-russia-nato-idUSTRE80C1BI20120113 Both have stated that NATO plans to invade Syria as a way to get at Iran http://www.presstv.ir/detail/220857.html And in an interview, Russia's Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s National Security Council (and former head of the FSB, the successor organization to the KGB): " He was specific. “The main strike forces will be supplied not by France, Britain and Italy, but possibly by neighboring Turkey.” He said that the first step will be to create a no-fly zone over Syria in order to create a sanctuary on Syrian soil close to the Turkish border for mercenaries who can be labelled as Syrian rebels. In sum, it is a “Libya”-type western intervention charioted by Turkey. Patrushev said military escalation is also likely over Iran and there is “real danger” of a US strike, pointing out that tensions over Syria are actually related to the Iran question. “They want to punish Damascus not to much for the repression of the opposition but rather for its refusal to break off relations with Tehran.” http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2012/01/13/russia-sees-middle-east-drifting-to-war/
There are many actions afoot being blacked out by the Propaganda System, but they are being reported in other venues. The currency arrangement between Japan and China is really big, and Japan is very unlikely to refuse Iranian oil given the dire straits it's in energy-wise after Fukushima. India has also stated it will continue to purchase Iranian crude, too. And if the EU wishes to self-destruct, it can attempt to embargo Iranian oil and witness many of its members fleeing. I would say the US Empire is checkmated but doesn't know it yet.
Excellent points. It seems by targeting Iran, the US may be hastening the demise of USD reserve status (what is left of it)
Another tidbit: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007275648
"Iran, Russia Replace Dollar with National Currencies in Trade Exchanges"
The way I understand it the basket of currencies that OPEC talked about will include the dollar, but the role of the dollar is on the decline. One way or the other, the intl. USD system is unsustainable and intl. finance and balance of payments system will have to be renegotiated in a new "Bretton Woods" type conference.
In the meantime, it seems the US will use reckless and desperate military aggression to prop up the vestiges of the dollar system. I hope this does not end up in a WWIII situation, I really wish this could be peacuful however the bloodthirsty oligarchs always have clean fingernails.
Yes, the basket includes the dollar, but its use announces the end of the Petrodollar and Dollar Hegemony. How fast this slows down the velocity/churn of the dollar is unknown; but as fewer countries buy US debt and reject the dollar for commerce, at some point US interest rates must rise for it to get buyers for its debt--even if it's just the FED, as has increasingly been the case at Treasury Auctions. Rising rates will ensure the Depression deepens, although there is a way out as I described on the Stiglitz thread. As with Hitler being the Allies best general, US Imperial hubris will be the best ally of those seeking the defeat of the US Empire and that hubris is being acted upon right now.
The US GOvernment openly stated that the Goal of its sanctions is to destroy Irans Central bank.
Only 7 Countries in the world had a Central Bank that could not be considered "privately owned".
Three of them WERE.Afghanistan , Iraq and Libya. This has since been "corrected".One of the first moves by the Libyan Rebels was to Privatize that countries Central Bank.
Others on the List are Iran (The only other Oil exporting country on said list) The Sudan, Cuba and North Korea.
Underneath the pretense wrapped in disingenuousness whitewashed over with deceit, one finds the same transparently concocted excuses used to sell the war on Iraq. It's deja vu all over again. The only new wrinkle this time around is the more overt participation of Israel.
"Hold me back" indeed! With the Vinson and Stennis carrier groups moving into position and brigades deployed to Kuwait, with Secretary Clinton and her poodle the IAEA spreading nuclear disinformation, with our drones and boots on the ground spreading terror, we are asked to believe that cooler heads in the White House are having a hell of a time restraining Netanyahu.
The powers-that-be regard the American public as boundlessly credulous, or else you wouldn't see such insults to the intelligence in the WSJ.
It is THREE carrier groups, the Carl Vinson, the John C Stennis and the Abraham Lincoln (which is outside the straits in the Indian Ocean within strike distance of 80% of so of Iran).
Of the three carriers, at least one will be sunk...
Possible, but unlikely. The Iranians just don't have the weapons, numerically or qualitatively to do it. More likely one would be damaged. The real losses to US forces will be in sabotage attacks in the region. Iran however will lose 100% of her airforce, rocket forces and navy. Oh... and all their oil trade for the foreseeable future. It will hit them a lot worse than it will hit us.
In that case, what happens when 10 million Iranians walk to Israel ?
You very sure about that? I think you know not what you talk about.....You r very typical arrogant response. The USA is the best blah blah blah......
There is a reason why there are three carries sent....
And I bet you dollars to doughnuts that the Chinese will not seat this one out.....as much as you like to believe so.....
The carrier does not have to be sunk by Iran. Any carrier sunk will be blamed on Iran.
See the USS Liberty.
excerpts from....
The Geo-Politics of the Strait of Hormuz: Could the U.S. Navy be defeated by Iran in the Persian Gulf? - by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya - 1/8/12
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28516
{Despite its might and shear strength, geography literally works against U.S. naval power in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. The relative narrowness of the Persian Gulf makes it like a channel, at least in a strategic and military context. Figuratively speaking, the aircraft carriers and warships of the U.S. are confined to narrow waters or are closed in within the coastal waters of the Persian Gulf. [See map above]
This is where the Iranian military’s advanced missile capabilities come into play. The Iranian missile and torpedo arsenal would make short work of U.S. naval assets in the waters of the Persian Gulf where U.S. vessels are constricted. This is why the U.S. has been busily erecting a missile shield system in the Persian Gulf amongst the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the last few years.
Even the small Iranian patrol boats in the Persian Gulf, which appear pitiable and insignificant against a U.S. aircraft carrier or destroyer, threaten U.S. warships. Looks can be deceiving; these Iranian patrol boats can easily launch a barrage of missiles that could significantly damage and effectively sink large U.S. warships. Iranian small patrol boats are also hardly detectable and hard to target.
Iranian forces could also attack U.S. naval capabilities merely by launching missile attacks from the Iranian mainland on the northern shores of the Persian Gulf. Even in 2008 the Washington Institute for Near East Policy acknowledged the threat from Iran’s mobile coastal missile batteries, anti-ship missiles, and missile-armed small ships. [4] Other Iranian naval assets like aerial drones, hovercraft, mines, diver teams, and mini-submarines could also be used in asymmetrical naval warfare against the U.S. Fifth Fleet.
Even the Pentagon’s own war simulations have shown that a war in the Persian Gulf with Iran would spell disaster for the United States and its military. One key example is the Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC02) war game in the Persian Gulf, which was conducted from July 24, 2002 to August 15, 2002 and took almost two years to prepare. This mammoth drill was amongst the largest and most expensive war games ever held by the Pentagon.}
............................
{In Millennium Challenge 2002’s war scenario, Iran would react to U.S. aggression by launching a massive barrage of missiles that would overwhelm the U.S. and destroy sixteen U.S. naval vessels – an aircraft carrier, ten cruisers, and five amphibious ships. It is estimated that if this had happened in real war theatre context, more than 20,000 U.S. servicemen would have been killed in the first day following the attack. [6]
Next, Iran would send its small patrol boats – the ones that look insignificant in comparison to the U.S.S. John C. Stennis and other large U.S. warships – to overwhelm the remainder of the Pentagon’s naval forces in the Persian Gulf, which would result in the damaging and sinking of most of the U.S. Fifth Fleet and the defeat of the United States. After the U.S. defeat, the war games were started over again, but “Red” (Iran) had to operate under the assumption of handicaps and shortcomings, so that U.S. forces would be allowed to emerge victorious from the drill. [7] This outcome of the war games obviated the fact that the U.S. would have been overwhelmed in the context of a real conventional war with Iran in the Persian Gulf.}
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
{Hence, the formidable naval power of Washington is handicapped both by geography as well as Iranian military capabilities when it comes to fighting in the Persian Gulf or even in much of the Gulf of Oman. Without open waters, like in the Indian Ocean or the Pacific Ocean, the U.S. will have to fight under significantly reduced response times and, more importantly, will not be able to fight from a stand-off (militarily safe) distance. Thus, entire tool boxes of U.S. naval defensive systems, which were designed for combat in open waters using stand-off ranges, are rendered unpractical in the Persian Gulf.}
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"Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."
- Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
...peace...
When do we Americans get a regime change?
We've had to put up with same 1% bullshit since Nixon.
Where's our democracy?
You mean since Nixon was DDE's VEEP from 1953? How about HST's action in 1947, or FDR's in 1943?
Hey grandpa, I wasn't born until 1972. Your problems are your own. :D
Insane! That's what this kind of action is.
Furthermore, this fight between generations erupting here is just plain self defeating for those who want a progressive agenda implemented. We've had grandpas and grandmas out in strength backing the OWS movement. OK. Let's drop the infantile end fighting which only helps the neo cons.
"Your problems are your own."
THAT is where our democracy went. ;)
You made the mistake of asking where something was that we've never had: democracy. That proves you to be another ignorant prole. Furthermore, you seem blind to the fact that humanity faces a ****shared**** set of problems. And since you are younger than I, you will likely get to enjoy those problems longer than I. Ciao.