Israel: Forging NATO Missile Shield, Rehearsing War With Iran

Arrow-2 Anti-Ballistic Missile

(The Intelligence Daily) — “This is the most complete air missile defense system we’ve ever done anywhere in the world.”

The distance between Tel Aviv and Tehran is 993 miles [1,598 kilometers), so the U.S. missile radar overshoots the mark by almost 2,000 miles. Enough to cover all of eastern and most of southern Russia where the bulk of that nation's strategic missile forces are stationed.

The United States and Israel have just completed the largest joint interceptor missile exercises ever conducted by the two nations and, in terms of scope and sophistication, possibly the most comprehensive joint live-fire anti-ballistic missile drills held by any combination of countries.

Operation Juniper Cobra 10 began on October 21 and ended on November 3. During those two weeks over 1,000 U.S. and an equal number of Israeli troops participated in an integrated series of missile maneuvers whose main objective was "testing five different missile defense systems...and creating the infrastructure that would be necessary in the event that the Obama administration decides to deploy US systems here in the event of a conflict." [1]

The five missile interception system components employed for the exercises were:

The high-altitude Arrow 2 theater anti-ballistic missile system jointly developed by the U.S. and Israel – Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing – and supervised by the Israeli Ministry of Defence and the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency.

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), designed for destroying on impact short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, developed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) guided missiles with seven times the range of earlier Patriot models.

The ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System equipped with the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) and AN/SPY-1 radar with 360 degree coverage. The SM-3, which was used to shoot a U.S. satellite out of orbit in February 2008 to give an idea of its range, is to be modified for ground deployment as part of the new interceptor missile system announced by U.S. President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates on September 17.

This year’s fourteen-day Juniper Cobra was “the largest joint exercise ever held by the countries,” [2] which included seventeen U.S. warships, and represented “the first time that all these systems have been deployed in Israel together”. [3]

A U.S. Army colonel participating in the operation stated that it was “the first major exercise integrating THAAD and Patriot ground-to-air missiles and the ship-launched Aegis system” and added “This is the most complete air missile defense system we’ve ever done anywhere in the world.” [4]

An Israeli new source wrote that “An unprecedented number of American generals, along with 1,400 U.S. army soldiers, are participating with top IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] brass in the high-level Juniper Cobra military exercise that one U.S. Navy commander said is aimed at ’specific threats.’” [5]

The last day’s drills were attended by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham, and another major American official, James Stavridis.

The drills received limited coverage in the world press and the fact that Admiral Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), arrived in Israel on November to inspect their final stages was only reported in the Israeli press.

During the visit, Stavridis met with “the Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Gantz and several other commanders. The Admiral [was] accompanied by other EUCOM commanders.” [6]

A BBC report of November 2, “The shadow behind US-Israeli war games,” quoted a U.S. Navy commodore on one of the main objectives of Juniper Cobra: “We’re here for some very specific reasons, some specific threats that the Israelis are interested in, that we’re interested in. And that’s as far as I want to go down that road.”

The same report mentioned a scenario that American military personnel interviewed by the BBC wouldn’t discuss:

“Israel bombs Iranian nuclear facilities – and Iran hits back.

“In that case, Israel would definitely need the missile shield – sophisticated long-range radars and Patriot anti-missile devices – being tested in joint war games this week.

“Operation Juniper Cobra involves some 2,000 American and Israeli personnel. It is a regular event, taking place every two years, but this year speculation is more intense than ever that Israel is prepared to bomb Iran to stop its supposed nuclear weapons programme.” [7]

Shortly before and during the course of the exercises – which were scheduled to begin on October 12 and postponed without explanation the day before, although U.S. warships were docked in the port city of Haifa – several other reports surfaced that lend credence to the above suspicion.

In late October it was announced that Raytheon Missile Systems “was awarded two contracts worth in excess of $100 million by [Israel's] Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. to design and develop the David’s Sling Weapon System [DSWS].

“The DSWS is a joint program between the Missile Defense Agency and the Israel Missile Defense Organization. The system will defeat short-range ballistic missiles, large-caliber rockets and cruise missiles in their terminal phase of flight.

“The first contract was awarded to codevelop the Stunner Interceptor, the missile component of the DSWS. Stunner is an advanced hit-to-kill interceptor designed for insertion into the DSWS and allied integrated air and missile defense systems.” [8]

Five weeks earlier Germany delivered two U212 Dolphin-class submarines, which “can launch cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads,” to Israel ahead of schedule. They were initially to have arrived in 2010.

“Including the new subs, Israel has five German submarines – the most expensive weapon platforms in Israel’s arsenal.

“Israeli media have written that the Dolphin submarine could be key in any attack on Iran’s controversial nuclear sites.” [9]

On October 15 the Jerusalem Post ran a story that included the following alarming information:

“Israel is planning to carry out military attacks in Iran after December, a French magazine reported….According to a report in Le canard enchainé quoted by Israel Radio, Jerusalem has already ordered from a French food manufacturer high-quality combat rations for soldiers serving in elite units and also asked reservists of these units staying abroad to return to Israel.”

The French magazine was also cited as claiming that “in a recent visit to France, IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told his French counterpart Jean-Louis Georgelin that Israel is not planning to bomb Iran, but may send elite troops to conduct activities on the ground there [which] may involve sabotage to nuclear facilities as well as assassinations of top Iranian nuclear scientists.” [10]

On November 2 Arabic language news sites reported that “The US military has finished erecting an advanced radar system in Iraq to monitor the border with Iran, Syria and Turkey….” [11]

Iran and its neighbors are not the only nations in the gun sights of the layered, integrated missile killer system premiered in Israel over the past two weeks.

In addition to the “specific threats” motif that ran through reports of Juniper Cobra, another theme was repeatedly stressed: That what the exercises focused on was a trial run for a NATO missile system to encompass the entire European continent.

The American and Israeli press in unison highlighted that plan. For example:

“It’s a very prompt and sizable demonstration of what the new administration’s missile defense plans are.” [12]

“A major air defense exercise launched with Israel this week will help the United States craft its European missile shield, a U.S. commander said….Featuring in the three weeks of maneuvers is Aegis, a U.S. Navy anti-missile system that the administration of President Barack Obama plans to deploy in the eastern Mediterranean as the first part of a missile shield for Europe announced last month.” [13]

“A U.S. military officer said Tuesday that a major missile defense exercise staged by American and Israeli forces will help the development of a planned NATO missile shield for Europe.”

The officer in question, U.S. Army Col. Tony English, explicitly stated, “We’re going to learn a lot of lessons here that will definitely apply to that later system.” [14]

“On a wider perspective, what the Americans learn from these complex exercises will help shape a NATO defense shield for Europe.” [15]

“Results of the Juniper Cobra missile defense exercise staged by Israeli and American forces…will be used by the US Defense Department to help formulate a new NATO missile shield for Europe, senior defense officials said….The drill was also relevant for a potential European missile shield, since the Americans would need to test their systems in different weather conditions.

“[A] new plan under consideration will include the deployment of US navy ships equipped with Aegis missile defense systems to form a front line in the Mediterranean Sea alongside a few land-based missile systems in Europe.

“The Americans are currently considering which land-based system to use. NATO is pushing for the SM-3, the missile that is the backbone of the Aegis ship-based system, but the US military will likely review other systems as well, including Israel’s Arrow and Arrow 3, development of which began recently and which is being funded by the administration. ” [16]

In late August, weeks before the announcement that Washington was going to abandon previous plans for ground-based interceptor missiles in Poland and an X-band missile radar installation in the Czech Republic, the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza revealed that “Washington is now looking for alternative locations including in the Balkans, Israel and Turkey….” [17]

A previous article in this series explored this development before the September 17 revelations. [18]

In mid-October Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak was in Poland, still slated to be a central location for U.S. and NATO missile shield plans and to host Patriot missiles and SM-3s on ships in the Baltics, on land or both. While in Warsaw he applauded the “US move to create a sea-borne anti-missile shield” and stated:

“The new approach really provides more flexibility and, in a relatively short time, a much more effective, economical way to deal effectively with the challenge of missiles from Iran.” [19]

Polish Radio reported that “According to a statement by the Israeli defence ministry, Barak will be having talks in Poland and the Czech Republic on a common approach to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and further developing defence industry contacts….” [20]

At the same time Israeli sources confirmed that the nation’s navy will join NATO’s Operation Active Endeavor, the eight-year-old naval surveillance and interdiction program which has comprehensively policed the entire Mediterranean Sea and all entrances into it (the Strait of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, the Dardanelles) under the aegis of the Alliance’s Article 5 collective military assistance provision.

Discussions have been common in leading Western circles on extending the Article 5 clause – “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all” – to NATO partners as well as to full member states. In all some 60 nations.

Israel is a case in point. And so are Iran’s neighbors in the Persian Gulf.

NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was in the United Arab Emirates on October 29-30 to attend and address an international conference called NATO-UAE Relations and the Way Forward in the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative along with “NATO Permanent Representatives on the North Atlantic Council, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and high level NATO officials with government representatives, opinion leaders, academics and senior scholars from countries in the Gulf region….” [21]

The Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was launched at the NATO summit in Istanbul, Turkey in 2004 to upgrade the bloc’s Mediterranean Dialogue partners (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia) to a level comparable to members of the Partnership for Peace program, used to promote ten new nations into full membership over the past decade, and to forge a military alliance with the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet is headquartered, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

An article in an Emirati newspaper featured the title “NATO will defend UAE if attacked: Rasmussen” and quoted the NATO chief on an agreement that was signed between the bloc and the UAE:

“The agreement was signed to deepen cooperation on security matters….There is another angle…that we agree with the GCC countries on the security and safety of each other and sound cooperation. So, in case anything happens, we would collectively defend it.” [22]

During his stay in the UAE Rasmussen also said in regards to ties with that nation that “We share an interest in helping countries like Afghanistan and Iraq to stand on their feet again, fostering stability in the Middle East more broadly, and preventing countries like Somalia and Sudan from slipping deeper into chaos….We all are seriously concerned about Iran’s nuclear ambitions….” [23]

Along with escalation of troop deployments to Iran’s eastern neighbor, Afghanistan, NATO’s expansion into the Persian Gulf is an integral component of the encirclement of Iran preparatory to any future military attack on that country.

Another aspect of the campaign to neutralize Iranian military capabilities and thus prevent retaliation in the event of a first strike assault on it was started in September of 2008, a year before the announced changes in U.S. plans for the European flank of its global missile interception system.

The U.S. Senate voted to allot $89 million for the deployment of a Forward Based X-Band Transportable Radar, now Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY-2), to Israel. According to an American armed forces publication at the time, “The radar [is] reportedly capable of tracking a baseball-size object from a distance of 2,900 miles [4,300 kilometers]….” [24]

The distance between Tel Aviv and Tehran is 993 miles [1,598 kilometers), so the U.S. missile radar overshoots the mark by almost 2,000 miles. Enough to cover all of eastern and most of southern Russia where the bulk of that nation's strategic missile forces are stationed. Moscow is 2,641 kilometers from Tel Aviv. An Israeli newspaper estimated the range of the radar to be 4,800 kilometers, another 310 miles. [25]

U.S. European Command (EUCOM), which is in charge of the project and whose top military commander, Admiral James Stavridis, is also NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, in late September of 2008 listed American military units assigned to set up and staff the missile radar deployment:

-357th Air Missile Defense Detachment, U.S. Army

-21st Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army

-Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team, U.S. Marine Corps

-86th Contingency Response Group, U.S. Air Force

-31st Logistics Readiness Squadron, U.S. Air Force

-5th Signal Command, U.S. Army

-Missile Defense Agency

120 personnel from the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps were involved and according to a EUCOM spokesman, “[The radar] was provided at the request of the Israeli government to improve their defensive capabilities.” [26]

This represents the first formal deployment of American troops, of any foreign soldiers, to Israel in the nation’s 61-year history. Although not formally a permanent assignment, there is no reason to believe that the radar installation will ever be withdrawn. It is located at the Nevatim airbase in the Negev Desert where Israeli nuclear weapons are assumed to be stored.

The radar station became fully operational last December and in April of 2009 U.S. troops participated in a trial of the system. “Israel conducted a test of an upgraded version of the Arrow anti-missile system that involved shooting down a rocket…This was the first Israeli test to include the U.S. radar.” [27]

The 2,900-3,200-mile range missile radar system was put to far more extensive use over the past two weeks in the Juniper Cobra exercises, and was integrated into not only a pilot project for layered, joint land and sea, missile interception, but also served as the prototype for the new American and NATO “stronger, smarter, and swifter” (Barack Obama on September 17) missile system that will take in the entire European continent and extend into the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf and points further south and east.

A system that will render potential victims of a first strike military onslaught incapable of threatening retaliation – the deterrence capability – or of effectively responding after the fact.
Rick Rozoff has been involved in anti-war and anti-interventionist work in various capacities for forty years. He lives in Chicago, Illinois. Is the manager of the Stop NATO international email list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato/

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At least 29 people, including senior military officers and tribal leaders, were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a meeting of the elite Revolutionary Guards in southeastern Iran on Sunday, the interior ministry said.

“Based on the information… as a result of today’s terrorist action… so far 29 people have been martyred and 28 have been wounded,” the ministry said on its website.

“The martyrs include several innocent Shiite and Sunni people, tribal chiefs and commanders of Guards (including senior officers in the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps including deputy chief of the ground forces Brigadier General Nour Ali Shushtari). Very soon we will catch the perpetrators of this terrorist action and punish them.”

The explosion took place in the city of Pisheen in the south eastern province of Sistan-Bluchestan near the border with Pakistan and at least 20 people were killed.

The strike took place when officers from the Guards were preparing to stage a meeting between local leaders of Shiite and Sunni communities.

Some local tribal heads and several senior officers of the Guards were among the slain.
“In this terrorist act, General Nur-Ali Shushtari, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards ground forces, General Mohammad-Zadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Sistan-Baluchestan province, the Guards’ commander for the town of Iranshahr and the commander of the Amir al-Momenin unit died,” the Fars news agency reported.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed to strike back at the “criminals” behind a suicide bombing that targeted the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guard, the official IRNA news agency reported.

“The criminals will soon get the response for their anti-human crimes,” IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. The Iranian leader also accused unspecified foreigners of involvement.

Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani confirmed the officers’ death in an announcement to parliament which was broadcast on television.
Larijani said the United States was implicated in Sunday’s bomb attack.
“We consider the recent terrorist attack to be the result of US action. This is a sign of America’s animosity against our country,” Larijani said.
“Mr. Obama has said he will extend his hand towards Iran, but with this terrorist action he has burned his hand,” he added, referring to US President Barack Obama.

Iran has previously accused shadowy group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) of launching regular attacks in the province, which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

US CONDEMNS BOMBING, DENIES INVOLVEMENT
Meanwhile, the United States condemned the suicide bombing that struck Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, and denied any involvement in the attack.

“We condemn this act of terrorism and mourn the loss of innocent lives,” State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.

JUNDULLAH IS BEING FUNDED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Ahmadinejad: Zionists Aim to Destroy Civilizations in Region

“Zionists intend to destroy regional civilizations in an effort to build their own foundations on the ruins,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday, after revelations that construction work by the Zionist regime near the Muslims’ holy Al-Aqsa mosque has inflicted damage on the holy site.

Ahmadinejad reminded Iran’s anti-Zionist stances, and stressed that the Iranian people and government would continue support for the Palestinians against the Israeli regime. “The Iranian people always chant the motto of ‘Death to Israel’,” Ahmadinejad said on the sidelines of a forum dubbed as ‘psychological operations and media’ here in Tehran.

Meantime, Moshir al-Mesri, a member of the Palestinian parliament, warned on Sunday that Israelis should wait for the Palestinians crushing response after their adventurism in the mosque, referring to the regime’s construction works near the holy site. “Any adventurism by the Zionists will receive a crushing response from the resistance (movement),” Mesri told FNA.

“Zionists aggression against the Al-Aqsa mosque is a kind of crime. Now Zionists are seeking to perform their plans on the mosque,” he said, and added, “The Israelis claim that the Al-Aqsa mosque is built in the site of Solomon’s temple and want to rebuild the temple again.”

“Palestinians accompanied by other Muslim and Arab nations are opposed to the destruction of the Al-Aqsa mosque and building of the temple claimed by the Zionists and for this reason they have risen in support of the Al-Aqsa mosque and the holy Qods,” Mesri reiterated. He also warned that Palestinians will never allow the Zionists to enter the mosque. Otherwise, they will have to face the dire consequences of their aggressions, the Palestinian lawmaker concluded.

[via Al Manar]

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Disinformation about the Iranian “Threat”

Friends,

Middle East scholar Juan Cole has an excellent piece, “Top Things you Think
You Know about Iran that are not True,” on his blog, “Informed Comment.”
http://www.juancole.com/2009/10/top-things-you-think-you-know-about.html
As he shows, all the claims about the much-ballyhooed Iranian “threat” are
fallacious.  Iran is not developing any covert nuclear arsenal.  It has not
threatened to launch a war to destroy Israel.  Iran is not a militarized
society.  Its leaders are not war-hungry maniacs.

As Cole clearly demonstrates, there is no justified reason for the U.S. to
even threaten Iran with war.  So why is the U.S. doing this?  Quite
obviously, the major impetus for an attack is coming from Israel and
Israel’s powerful lobby in the U.S.  It should be recalled that these same
two entities were also behind the U.S. attack on Iraq-though Israel has
become more vociferous in the call for military action on Iran.  And, of
course, all their claims about Saddam possessing vast quantities of WMD and
being a grave threat to the U.S. and the world were totally false. (To
refresh your memory of the propaganda build-up for the 2003 war on Iraq,
consult my book “The Transparent Cabal.” http://tiny.cc/zNV06 )

Since the U.S. occupation of Iraq in 2003, an effort has been made to deny
that Israel wanted the U.S. to go to war with Iraq, but there is plenty of
evidence that Israeli officials had pushed for war in 2002-2003 and that
Israel was providing spurious intelligence information to justify war.
(”Transparent Cabal,” pp. 169-172) Benjamin Netanyahu himself was spreading
stories about Saddam’s alleged nuclear weapons threat and claiming that the
Iraqi dictator was scheming to have terrorists carry nuclear bombs to the
U.S. inside satchels.  (”Transparent Cabal,” p. 171).

Now what is the significance of the Israeli promotion of war?  Let’s make a
simple syllogism.  Israeli officials have spread false stories that no
intelligent, knowledgeable person would actually believe as true to
encourage the U.S. to launch wars first on Iraq and now Iran.  Israeli
officials are intelligent, knowledgeable people, especially regarding the
Middle East, with the Mossad often regarded as the best intelligence
gathering organization in the world.  One must conclude that Israeli
officials have not really believed the propaganda stories that they have
promoted to get the U.S. into wars.

So why have the Israelis wanted the U.S. to go to war with Iraq and Iran?
(Since the end of the Gulf War in 1992, most Israeli officials regarded Iran
as the far more dangerous enemy, but the neocons presented Saddam’s Iraq as
a weak link, the destruction of which would pave the way for the elimination
of the Islamic Republic of Iran and other Middle East enemies of Israel).
In more recent years, Israeli leaders have not viewed the threat posed by
their external enemies to be primarily military, in the sense that Israel’s
enemies actually possessed the capability to conquer Israel by a direct
military attack.  Armed with nuclear and cutting-edge conventional weaponry,
Israel is many times more powerful than its Middle East adversaries.

Rather, as I have brought out in my book, “The Transparent Cabal” and in a
recent article, “Israel’s Missile Shield, the Iranian Threat, and the
Palestinians,” [http://tinyurl.com/ygx86a7] the leaders of Israel,
especially those on the Right, are fundamentally concerned about the aid,
moral and material, that their enemies provide to the Palestinians, whom
they perceive as the real threat to Israel’s existence-that is, a
demographic threat to the exclusivist Jewish state.  Such outside aid,
Israeli leaders believe, enables the Palestinians to continue their
resistance.  Both Saddam’s Iraq and the current Islamic Republic of Iran
have been leading providers of such moral and material aid the Palestinians.
It would seem, therefore, that the Israeli government and its American
supporters have distorted and hyped the danger of Saddam’s Iraq and the
Islamic Republic of Iran for the purpose of war propaganda.  Obviously, far
more Americans are willing to engage in war to protect the United States
from attack or the Jewish population of Israel from a nuclear holocaust than
are willing to guarantee continued Jewish dominance over the Palestinians.

A detailed discussion of this subject is provided by my book, “The
Transparent Cabal: The Neoconservative Agenda, War in the Middle East, and
the National Interest of Israel”

Website:  http://home.comcast.net/~transparentcabal/

Amazon: http://tiny.cc/zNV06

My recent article “Afghanistan: Back Door to War on Iran” has been edited
and posted at: http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/sniegoski_back_door.htm )

Stephen Sniegoski

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Obama Makes Up IAEA Rules for Iran
Posted: 2009/10/04 From: Mathaba
By Ardeshir Ommani The occasion of Tehran’s report to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on September 21, 2009 that it is in the process of building a low-capacity second uranium enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom provided President Barack Obama with a new opportunity to backtrack on one of his outstanding presidential campaign promises of engagement and normalization of diplomatic relations with Iran. Such a report by a nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatory to the IAEA board, 18 months prior to the injection of gaseous nuclear material into the centrifuges, which are not installed in the new site yet, should have been welcomed by the IAEA Board and seen as a sign of sincerity and transparency. On the contrary, at the G20 Economic Summit in Pittsburgh, instead of offering solutions to the world economic crisis, Obama, flanked by two junior lieutenants, French President Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Brown, exploited the old news of Iran’s new uranium enrichment site to show off his newly-forged united front, not against the resistant forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but for “putting Iran on notice.” On the basis of his arbitrary and misleading statements of the facts and the rules and regulations of the NPT and IAEA, as to the length of the period reporting in advance and the completion of a new nuclear enrichment facility, Obama, who is incapable of getting a public option healthcare proposal passed in a Congress with a so-called “democratic” majority, had the arrogance to condemn Iran for “concealing” the construction of the site, when in fact it was Iran which presented its report of the site to the UN watchdog agency on Monday – three days before Obama’s announcement of a “secret discovery!” But what are the rules and regulations of the IAEA in regards to constructing a new facility for enriching uranium for non-military application by NPT-member states?  Under the currently valid IAEA safeguard agreement reached with Iran, the latter is obligated to report to the agency 180 days before the first introduction of nuclear materials into the system of centrifuges, rather than being obligated to report, as it is claimed by the U.S. government, any new nuclear installation 180 days before the start of construction work, the condition which was imposed on Iraq by the U.S. and its allies before the invasion. Accordingly, Iran’s new uranium enrichment plant in Qom, which is still under construction, cannot be labeled “secret” and therefore Iran could not be charged with violation of its safeguard agreement with the IAEA or disregard for the fundamentals of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) for beginning to build such a low capacity plant, with a maximum housing capacity of 3000 centrifuges. It is imperative to underscore that the U.S. and the European “democracies” have never charged Israel with violation of international nuclear norms and never brought to the attention of the United Nation’s Security Council that Israel is not a signatory of the NPT and has never made Israel’s nuclear stockpiles to be inspected by the IAEA.  Is it because the Jewish State of Israel is considered to be above “international laws” of the “world community”? How is it that these leaders of the “free world” purposefully misrepresent the articles governing the relations between the nuclear agency and the NPT-member states, and believe they can misinterpret international laws to suit their aggressive national policy goals?  These three gentlemen, headed by President Obama, tried to lead the international community to believe that their intelligence agencies “just discovered a secret underground plant” in Iran, (they had known about its existence for several years), but hoped to diplomatically “pre-empt” Iran, who had already publicly announced Iran’s report about the facility to the IAEA.  In their assertions, there was nothing farther from the truth. G20 Theatrics a Flat Out Lie The scenario outlined by these three “honorable” statesmen was that Iran has had a secret nuclear weapons facility that they as leaders of the mighty and intelligent nations knew all about for years and they even shared their findings with the Zionist leaders of Israel.  This scenario played out on all the major western news media can only work with an ignorant and uninformed populace.  Their scenario is a flat out lie, and will be proven wrong when the IAEA inspectors verify that there are neither working centrifuges nor radioactive materials on the site. Apparently, American, British and French intelligent political leaders and scientists have been wasting their human and material resources watching an underground tunnel that they now call a “secret nuclear weapons” facility.  The ultimate objective of the U.S. government and its partners in deceit is to convince the American working class that Iran cannot be trusted because it has no respect for international covenants and only deserves to be treated savagely and/or subjected to the harshest regimes of sanctions and mistreatment. In the short-run, there is a calculated effort by Obama to mount pressure against Iran days before a multi-national orchestration over its lawful and legitimate plans on Thursday, Oct. 1, in Geneva, Switzerland. For weeks, if not months, Obama borrowing a page or two from George Bush’s ghastly playbook, worked hard to create a “coalition of the willing.”  1) The post-election unrest and its aftermath involvement of security forces in Iran provided a golden opportunity for Obama’s administration to rally a united front of the imperialist nations against Iran’s nuclear program and at its center the uranium enrichment industry.  2) In Eastern Europe, Obama scrapped the plans for a ballistic missile defense system with an eye to attract Russia to the coalition and finally, 3) he slapped tariffs on Chinese tires to pressure them to remain a silent opposition. Whether Obama and company would be able to keep Russia and China immobilized with regard to the Iranian issue, remains to be seen.  Put together, all this is one side of the equation.  On the other side, stand the determined and revolutionary people and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran with its own logic and actual and potential forces domestically and internationally. The U.S. vast propaganda juggernaut coupled with George Soros’ financial backings and the innumerable funds made available by the National Endowment for Democracy have made the U.S. establishment in the eyes of especially some beneficiaries of these funds as untrustworthy and unreliable, so much so that it has convinced an Iranian professor at Penn State University, Fariborz Ghadar, to express his own words of wisdom by saying that “This is a very clever way of doing it.  We have been taking baby steps.  Now we have the Oct. 1 meeting coming up and we have an ace in the hole, knowing that these guys have been cheating again.  He played the cheating card. They are making Iran look really bad.” Hopefully, this professor is not teaching literature or logic. –Ardeshir Ommani is an Iranian-born writer and co-founder of the American Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC), www.iranaifc.com which advocates dialogue and peace between the U.S. and Iran. His articles of analysis on Iran-U.S. relations, and the U.S. economy can be viewed at: www.mathaba.net/authors/ommani. The author may be contacted at: # htttp://www.iranaifc.com

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As Iran was grappling with the post-election unrest, Israel was reportedly preparing to strike the country’s nuclear facilities, a US diplomatic source says.

According to the US diplomat who is based in Jerusalem (al Quds), Israel asked the US administration for a green light to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and its other vital structures in the aftermath of the country’s post-election turmoil.

The call for the military strike came after the official announcement of the poll result in Iran prompted widespread protests across the country as opposition supporters took to the streets to protest “fraud” in the June 12 election.

Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida cited the diplomatic source as saying that the request was put forward by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, bearing President Shimon Peres’s signature as well.

The administration of President Barack Obama, however, did not take any notice of the Israeli request and consequently the operation was called off.

Tel Aviv put forward the request as it accuses Tehran — a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) — of pursuing a nuclear program with military objectives and argues that the use of military force is a legitimate option in halting Iran’s nuclear progress.

Iran denies the Israeli claim, insisting that its nuclear enrichment program is solely directed at the civilian applications of the technology.

The US intelligence community, which issued a new assessment on Iran’s nuclear activities on Friday, believes that a political decision is yet to be made in Iran for building a nuclear bomb.

The review by the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research also contends that despite Iran’s progress toward producing enriched uranium, Tehran will not be technically capable of producing weapons-grade material before 2013.

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‘The government of Iran arrested 9 members of the British Embassy accusing them of taking part in anti-goverment demonstrations after they were filmed by a secret camera that had been placed, unbeknownst to embassy members, inside the British embassy, Last week Iran and Britain each expelled two diplomats and Iran has recalled its ambassador to Great Britain, an act considered extremely serious in diplomatic circles.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah  Ali Khamenei issued a statement calling the British government the most treacherous in the world. According to sources at the Daily Mail, photos obtained by another British newspaper, the Evening Standard, showed pictures of British embassy staff taking part in the demonstrations. The camera, pictured here, was placed in an attic window and trained on the street.’

Read more…

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By Jeff Stein | CQ Politics

The ambassador in turn hosted several meetings of the cell that would carry out the Beirut attacks, which were overheard by the National Security Agency.

“We had a tap on the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon,” retired Navy Admiral James “Ace” Lyons related by telephone Monday. In 1983 Lyons was deputy chief of Naval Operations, and deeply involved in the events in Lebanon.

“The Iranian ambassador received instructions from the foreign minister to have various groups target U.S. personnel in Lebanon, but in particular to carry out a ’spectacular action’ against the Marines,” said Lyons.

“He was prime minister,” Lyons said of Mousavi, “so he didn’t get down to the details at the lowest levels. “But he was in a principal position and had to be aware of what was going on.”

Lyons, sometimes called “the father” of the Navy SEALs’ Red Cell counter-terror unit, also fingered Mousavi for the 1988 truck bombing of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Center in Naples, Italy, that killed five persons, including the first Navy woman to die in a terrorist attack.

Bob Baer agrees that Mousawi, who has been celebrated in the West for sparking street demonstrations against the Teheran regime since he lost the elections, was directing the overall 1980s terror campaign.

But Baer, a former CIA Middle East field officer whose exploits were dramatized in the George Clooney movie “Syriana,”  places Mousavi even closer to the Beirut bombings.

“He dealt directly with Imad Mughniyah,” who ran the Beirut terrorist campaign and was “the man largely held responsible for both attacks,” Baer wrote in TIME over the weekend.

“When Mousavi was Prime Minister, he oversaw an office that ran operatives abroad, from Lebanon to Kuwait to Iraq,” Baer continued.

“This was the heyday of [Ayatollah] Khomeini’s theocratic vision, when Iran thought it really could export its revolution across the Middle East, providing money and arms to anyone who claimed he could upend the old order.”

Baer added: “Mousavi was not only swept up into this delusion but also actively pursued it.”

Retired Adm. Lyons maintained that he could have destroyed the terrorists at a hideout U.S. intelligence had pinpointed, but he was outmaneuvered by others in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan.

“I was going to take them apart,” Lyons said, “but the secretary of defense,” Caspar Weinberger, “sabotaged it.”

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