Strike On Iran Still Possible, U.S. Tells Israel

(BuzzFlash.net) - Bush administration officials reassured Israel’s defense minister this week that the United States has not abandoned all possibility of a military attack on Iran, despite widespread Israeli concern that Washington has begun softening its position toward Tehran. In meetings Monday and Tuesday, administration officials told Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the option of attacking Iran over its nuclear program remains on the table, though U.S. officials are primarily seeking a diplomatic solution. At the same time, U.S. officials acknowledged that there is a rare divergence in the U.S. and Israeli approaches, with Israelis emphasizing the possibility of a military response out of concern that Tehran may soon have the know-how for building a nuclear bomb. “Is there a difference of emphasis? It certainly looks as though there is,” said a senior American Defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity when discussing the sensitive talks. U.S. and Israeli officials believe Iran is enriching uranium with the aim of building nuclear weapons. Tehran says that it is engaged in a peaceful enrichment program for civilian energy purposes.

» original news

Obama Warns Dems: Israel May Strike Iran…

(BuzzFlash.net) - Obama told the caucus, according to an attendee, "Nobody said this to me directly but I get the feeling from my talks that if the sanctions don’t work Israel is going to strike Iran." » original news

CNN Interview With Ret. Col. Sam Gardiner Iran War Underway

Iran to US, Israel - Sending our love with Missles

The love in the middle east has never been more - hot. And what better way to say I love you than with the gift of long range missles. Check out the latest news missle news flying out of Iran below.

TEHRAN, Iran (Associated Press) - Iran test-fired nine missiles Wednesday, including ones capable of hitting Israel, making a dramatic show of its readiness to strike back if the United States or Israel attacks it over its nuclear program.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Associated Press, ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer ]

Can Bush Attack Iran With Oil at $140 per Barrel?

(Alternet.org) - Forswearing military action against Tehran would ease the upwards pressure on world oil prices.

If U.S. President George W. Bush wants to boost Republican chances of holding on to the White House and keeping Democratic gains in Congress to a minimum in the November elections, he might consider taking an attack on Iran before the end of his administration "off the table."

READ MORE HERE [ Source: Alternet.org, Jim Lobe, IPS News  ]

ABC News: Pentagon Warns of Israeli Attack on Iran

The official identified two "red lines" that could trigger an Israeli offensive. The first is tied to when Iran's Natanz nuclear facility produces enough highly enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon. -- "The red line is not when they get to that point, but before they get to that point," the official said. "We are in the window of vulnerability." -- The second red line is connected to when Iran acquires the SA-20 air defense system it is buying from Russia. The Israelis may want to strike before that system -- which would make an attack much more difficult -- is put in place.

READ MORE HERE

Iran in the Crosshairs

Now the same people that gave us Iraq, and remain just about the only supporters of their own failed policy there, are signaling that it is necessary to destroy the Iranian nuclear threat. And again, one problem is that this threat may not exist. READ MORE HERE

Pentagon Official Warns Of Israeli Attack On Iran

Senior Pentagon officials are concerned that Israel could carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of the year, an action that would have enormous security and economic repercussions for the United States and the rest of the world. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/US/story?id=5281043&page=1 READ MORE HERE

Russia’s foreign minister strongly warns against use of force on Iran

By Vladimir Isachenkov
ASSOCIATED PRESS
5:23 a.m. June 20, 2008

MOSCOW – Russia’s foreign minister on Friday warned against the use of force on Iran, saying there is no proof it is trying to build nuclear weapons.

Sergey Lavrov said Iran should be engaged in dialogue and encouraged to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency.

Lavrov made the statement when asked to comment on an Israeli Cabinet member’s statement earlier this month that Israel could attack Iran if it does not halt its nuclear program.

READ MORE HERE

The Coming Catastrophe?

We are fast approaching the final six months of the Bush administration. The quagmire in Iraq is in its sixth painful year with no real end in sight and the forgotten war in Afghanistan is well into its seventh year. The “dead enders” and other armed factions are still alive and well in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan again controls most of that country. Gas prices have now reached an average of $4.00 a gallon nationally and several analysts predict the price will rise to $5.00-$6.00 dollars per gallon at the pump by Labor Day. This, despite assurances by some major supporters of the decision to invade Iraq that the Iraq war “will pay for itself” (Paul Wolfowitz) or that we will see “$20.00 per barrel” oil prices if we invade Iraq (Rupert Murdoch).

One thing the Pentagon routinely does (and does very well) is conduct war games. Top brass there are constantly developing strategies for conducting any number of theoretical missions based on real or perceived threats to our national security or vital interests. This was also done prior to the invasion of Iraq, but the Bush administration chose not to listen to the dire warnings about that mission given to him by Pentagon leaders, or for that matter, by his own senior intelligence officials. Nevertheless, war gaming is in full swing again right now with the bullseye just to the right of our current mess -Iran.

It’s no secret that the U.S. is currently putting the finishing touches on several contingency plans for attacking Iranian nuclear and military facilities. With our ground forces stretched to the breaking point in Iraq and Afghanistan, none of the most likely scenarios involve a ground invasion. Not that this administration wouldn’t prefer to march into the seat of Shiite Islam behind a solid, moving line of M1 Abrams tanks and proclaim the country for democracy. The fact is that even the President knows we can’t pull that off any more so he and the neo-cons will have to settle for Shock and Awe Lite.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: GlobalResearch.ca ]

Iran ready for all military possibilities, says speaker

Tehran - Iran would be ready for all military possibilities including an Israeli attack on the country’s nuclear facilities, IRNA news agency quoted parliament speaker Ali Larijani as saying Sunday. “We are ready for all possibilities but if they (Israel) really planned to take such an unwise action, then they would face much more damage than us,” Larijani told IRNA.

The New York Times reported Friday that Israel had conducted a major air force exercise earlier this month that United States officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

READ MORE HERE

Congressional Approval Before Attacking Iran Is No Longer Required: Ron Paul Claims Pelosi Spiked Iran Bill

Representative Ron Paul says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed a section from a bill passed by Congress which would have barred the U.S. from going to war with Iran without a congressional vote, claiming she did so at the behest of the leadership of Israel and AIPAC. Paul, a former Republican presidential contender who formally removed himself from the party’s nomination race last week, makes the allegation on C-SPAN during a recently held foreign policy conference in Virginia. Paul says Pelosi’s first act as House Speaker in 2006 was to “deliberately” remove a portion of a legislative spending bill which said the United States “can't go to war with Iran without getting approval from Congress.”

READ MORE HERE

Oil: The Weapon of the New World Order

For China, the biggest prize in the Middle East is Saudi Arabia, home of a quarter of the world’s reserves. Since September 11, tension in U.S.-Saudi relations has provided the Chinese with an opportunity to win the heart of the House of Saud. To Washington’s dismay China has also set its sights on Iran, announcing that it will not support sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council. No doubt that as China’s oil demand grows, so will its involvement in Middle East politics. China is likely to provide the region’s energy exporters not only with diplomatic support but also with weapons, including assistance in the development of WMD. NOTE: Aside from some "propagandistic" language, this article does a good job of explaining the whole oil picture.

READ MORE HERE

Bomb Iran? What’s to Stop Us? by Ray McGovern

IMPEACH - IMPEACH - IMPEACH - IMPEACH - IMPEACH! - - - It’s crazy, but it’s coming soon — from the same folks who brought us Iraq. Unlike the attack on Iraq five years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox — in the form of air and missile attacks — begin. This time it will be largely the Air Force’s show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy. Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details. Emerging from a 90-minute White House meeting with President George W. Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the two leaders were of one mind: “We reached agreement on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. I left with a lot less question marks [than] I had entered with regarding the means, the timetable restrictions, and American resoluteness to deal with the problem. George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter before the end of his term in the White House.” Does that sound like a man concerned that Bush is just bluff and bluster?

READ MORE HERE

Bomb Iran? What’s to Stop Bush?

It's crazy, but it's coming soon. The armed forces are working out details. Impeachment may be the only way to stop it.

Unlike the attack on Iraq five years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox -- in the form of air and missile attacks -- begin.

This time it will be largely the Air Force's show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy. Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details.

READ MORE HERE

Iran Attack ‘Rehearsal’ in Israeli War Game

More than 100 fighter jets. A fleet of rescue copters. Refueling tankers flying more than 900 miles, the distance from  Israel to Iran’s atomic plant at Natanz. 

"Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities," the New York Times is reporting. And the giant spectacle was designed to send a message: "that Israel was prepared to act militarily if diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from producing bomb-grade uranium continued to falter."

READ MORE HERE

House Resolution Calls for Naval Blockade against Iran

A US House of Representatives Resolution effectively requiring a naval blockade on Iran seems fast tracked for passage, gaining co-sponsors at a remarkable speed, but experts say the measures called for in the resolutions amount to an act of war.

H.CON.RES 362 calls on the president to stop all shipments of refined petroleum products from reaching Iran. It also “demands” that the President impose “stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran.”

READ MORE HERE [ Source: GlobalResearch.ca ]

Help us mobilize NOW to Stop War on Iran!

We are writing because of the new and immediate danger of a U.S. attack on Iran, either directly by the Pentagon or through Israel.

In the next few weeks and months, we need your help to organize and mobilize a grassroots movement in opposition to another illegal U.S. war predicated on lies about “weapons of mass destruction.”

The real threat of such an attack was made clear last week, when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, addressing a convention of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington DC, said that Iran’s nuclear program must be stopped by “all possible means.” Democrats and Republicans seemed united as they lined up to express unequivocal support for this position, presenting Iran’s totally legal development of nuclear energy as a dire threat to “world peace.

READ MORE HERE [ Source: GlobalResearch.ca ]