By Kenneth J. Theisen
In this last week top Pentagon officials have upped the Bush regime’s
verbal attacks against Iran in what may be a prelude to actual military
attacks. On April 21, 2008 Secretary of War Robert Gates delivered a
speech at the West Point military academy where he accused Iran of
being a rogue nation that supports “terrorism; that is a destabilizing
force throughout the Middle East and Southwest Asia and, in my
judgment, is hellbent on acquiring nuclear weapons.”
He went on to say, “Another war in the Middle East is the last thing we need. And in
fact, I believe it would be disastrous on a number of levels. But the
military option must be kept on the table, given the destabilizing
policies of the regime and the risks inherent in a future Iranian
nuclear threat – either directly or through nuclear proliferation.”
On Friday, April 25th, to emphasize how real the “military option” is, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, stated he is “increasingly concerned about Iran’s activity, not just in Iraq, but throughout the region. I believe recent events, especially the Basra operation, have revealed just how much and just how far Iran is reaching into Iraq to foment instability. Their support to criminal groups in the form of munitions and training, as well as other assistance they are providing and the attacks they are encouraging continues to kill coalition and Iraqi personnel.” Mullen said that General David Petraeus is preparing a briefing that details these activities and that the report is expected in the next couple of weeks. We can expect that this report will be used as further justification for a possible attack on Iran. The report is expected to detail the discovery in Iraq of weapons that were very recently manufactured in Iran, according to Mullen.
Mullen. while stating “I have no expectations that we’re going to get into a conflict with Iran in the immediate future,” emphasized the U.S. military has reserve capability, particularly in the Navy and Air Force and based in other regions. “So it would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability.” Mullen did not define what he meant by “immediate future.”
The same day Mullen was launching his verbal attack at Iran, a U.S. military official reported that a U.S. military contracted cargo ship on Thursday fired several “warning” shots at two boats that approached it off the Iranian coast. This is similar to other incidents in Iranian coastal waters. Will such an incident be used as the “trigger” to justify war against Iran in the future?
These recent verbal assaults are a continuation of previous rhetoric aimed at Iran by the Bush regime. They do not necessarily mean that war is imminent, but they also do not mean that the Bush regime will remain content only to fire verbal shots at Iran. The White House and its military machine have done everything possible to keep tensions high in the region. Iran is regularly linked to terrorism and accused of supplying weapons and training to those fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. The accusation that Iran is attempting to obtain nukes has been levied by just about every top official in the Bush regime.
Keep in mind that similar charges were made by the Bush regime before it invaded Iraq. We can not afford to be complacent in the face of this latest round of attacks. The only guarantee that the Bush regime will not be able to launch another war that will be devastating to the people of the world is if we drive the regime from power. As long as it remains, it is a threat to not only the Iranian people, but to all of the world’s people.