Building the case for war: U.S. State Department labels Iran “most
active state sponsor of terrorism” – a case of the pot calling the
kettle black
By Kenneth J. Theisen
The Bush regime has kept up its latest string of verbal attacks on Iran
in a report issued by the U.S. State Department on April 30th. In the
report entitled “Country Reports on Terrorism 2007”, the Bush regime
stated, “Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism.
Elements of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were directly
involved in the planning and support of terrorist acts throughout the
region and continued to support a variety of groups in their use of
terrorism to advance their common regional goals. Iran provides aid to
Palestinian terrorist groups, Lebanese Hizballah, Iraq-based militants,
and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.”i
The charges contained in the report are similar to accusations made constantly by top Bush regime officials who accuse Iran of destabilizing the region. The report goes on to state that, “Iran remains a threat to regional stability and U.S. interests in the Middle East because of its continued support for violent groups, such as HAMAS and Hizballah, and its efforts to undercut the democratic process in Lebanon, where it seeks to build Iran’s and Hizballah’s influence to the detriment of other Lebanese communities.”
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We are told that it is Iran, and not the U.S. and its ally Israel, which prevents a Bush regime peace in the area. Once again according to the report, “Iran is a principal supporter of groups that are implacably opposed to the Middle East Peace Process, and continues to maintain a high-profile role in encouraging anti-Israel terrorist activity – rhetorically, operationally, and financially.”
In one of the most ironic parts of the report, Iran is accused of destabilizing Iraq. The report claims, “Despite its pledge to support the stabilization of Iraq, Iranian authorities continued to provide lethal support, including weapons, training, funding, and guidance, to some Iraqi militant groups that target Coalition and Iraqi security forces and Iraqi civilians. In this way, Iranian government forces have been responsible for attacks on Coalition forces.” There you have it folks – the U.S. invasion and five-year occupation are not responsible for the chaos, death, and destruction in Iraq. It is the Iranian’s fault.
And who is responsible for similar death and destruction in Afghanistan? You guessed it – the Iranians. The report spells it out, “Iran’s IRGC-Qods Force continued to provide weapons and financial aid to the Taliban to support anti-U.S. and anti-Coalition activity in Afghanistan.” Once again those dastardly Iranians are doing their best to reverse all the freedom and democracy brought to Afghanistan by the Bush regime when it invaded the country in 2001.
And do not forget the Iranian connection to 9/11 and Osama bin Laden. The report does the link with al-Qa”ida by stating, “Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qa”ida (AQ) members it has detained, and has refused to publicly identify those senior members in its custody. Iran has repeatedly resisted numerous calls to transfer custody of its AQ detainees to their countries of origin or third countries for interrogation or trial. Iran also continued to fail to control the activities of some AQ members who fled to Iran following the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.”
In just a few paragraphs the State Department blames Iran for being a state sponsor of terrorism throughout the world; for blocking peace in the entire region; for the Israeli – Palestinian conflict; and all the problems in Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan; and of course being tied in with Osama’s people. In short, the U.S. which is the number one terrorist nation in the world is putting the country and people of Iran on its target list. You would almost think the Bush regime was making the case for removing Iran as an impediment to all the great things that the Bush regime wants to accomplish in the Middle East for the people of that region.
Iran is an obstacle to the Bush regime’s plans and that it why it is the continuing focus of heated rhetoric from the criminals in the Bush administration. These plans have nothing to do with peace, democracy, or freedom. But they do involve dominating the Middle East to achieve and maintain U.S. hegemony in the world. The Bush regime has an official policy of regime change in Iran, just as that was the policy in regard to Iraq before the 2003 invasion. As I have stated repeatedly in other articles on this site, the military option is on the table for the Bush regime. Only you, and millions of others like you, can take that option off the table by driving the Bush regime from power before it exercises that option. Tomorrow maybe too late!
Ken
Theisen is a veteran activist of movements opposing U.S. imperialism,
its wars and domination of countries throughout the world, and an advocate
against domestic violence in the San Francisco Bay Area.