ADMINISTRATION AND NATO DISAGREE ON IRAN ARMS TO AFGHANISTAN

"... a State Department official publicly accused Iran for the first time of arming the Taliban forces last week, but the U.S. commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan rejected that charge for the second time in less than two weeks... Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns declared in Paris Jun. 12 that Iran was "transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan"... But the NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Dan McNeill... (said) that he did not agree with the charge...."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38244

DOGS OF WAR

"... Iran's puppies of war in Gaza and their counterparts in Lebanon are a mixed blessing for their sponsors in Tehran. In Western capitals, the case for military action of some kind against Iran has become far more compelling... The Hamas putsch in Gaza strengthens the position of American hawks who favor a military strike against Iran... Wars start because no one wants to disown his dog... Tehran may have Hamas and Hezbollah on a leash, but it is the master that is dragged forward now, rather than the dog dragged back... The logical result is continued escalation until America and Iran stand off in earnest..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IF19Ak03.html

AL QAEDA TO BLEED U.S. BY PROVOKING WAR WITH IRAN

"... Al Qaeda... has made the U.S. military occupation in Iraq its primary recruiting ground... (and is) today is a global operation — with a well-oiled propaganda machine based in Pakistan, a secondary but independent base in Iraq, and an expanding reach in Europe”... (Al Qaeda) would likely set up new operations in northern Lebanon and Gaza and eventually try to provoke “all-out war” between the U.S. and Iran as part of a “grand strategy” aimed at “bleeding” Washington in much the same way that U.S.-backed mujahadin and their Arab allies bled the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38202

U.S. SECDEF AND NATO COMMANDER ON IRANIAN ARMS TO TALIBAN

One media says this:
"... Mr Gates said he had seen recent intelligence which made it "pretty clear there's a fairly substantial flow of weapons" into Afghanistan... Mr Gates said it was difficult to believe the Iranian government was unaware... "Given the quantities that we're seeing, it is difficult to believe that it's associated with smuggling or the drug business or that it's taking place without the knowledge of the Iranian government..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6750785.stm

Another media says this:
"... Defence Secretary Robert Gates and the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Dan McNeil, issued unusually strong denials.. (to) a media campaign portraying Iran as supplying arms to the Taliban guerrillas fighting U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan... Both Gates and McNeill denied flatly last week that there is any evidence linking Iranian authorities to those arms..."
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38121

RELIGIOUS AUTHOR SAYS IRAN MUST BE ATTACKED BEFORE END OF BUSH PRESIDENCY

"... Iran is the biggest threat to the United States and to peace in the Middle East, and it should be confronted militarily no later than the end of the George W. Bush presidency. Under no circumstances should U.S. troops be withdrawn from Iraq before the mission is accomplished -- the mission being the disarming of Iran. The U.S. public has been dumbed down by the secular left and the liberal media. And god has been removed from the public square in the U.S., resulting in Christians being systematically "stripped" of their rights... the recommendations in the bipartisan Iraq Study Group (ISG) report, issued in early December 2006, are a "call to appeasement -- just like Chamberlain's in the face of Nazi aggression in 1938."
--Mike Evans, author of "The Final Move Beyond Iraq: The Final Solution While The World Sleeps"
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38156

NEW ISRAELI SATELLITE TO GUIDE ROCKETS TO IRAN

"(With the) successful launch Monday of Ofeq-7 imaging satellite, Israel acquires an essential intelligence asset for any war contingency... (and) reflects wide expectations of a Middle East war this summer... the new platform fills the gap in the coverage of distant high-priority areas in the Middle East including Iran.... The military importance... as a deterrent to Iran’s missile threats cannot be overstated. It means that Israeli rockets can be relied on to reach any part of Iran..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), June 11, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

IRAN THREATENS GULF BLITZ IF U.S. ATTACKS

"Iran has threatened to launch a missile blitz against the Gulf states and plunge the entire Middle East into war if America attacks its nuclear facilities.... Gulf states providing the US with military cooperation would be the key targets of a barrage of ballistic missiles.... missiles would be launched not only at US military bases but also at strategic targets such as oil refineries and power stations.... The attacks on Arab states would be in addition to airstrikes on Israel... An Iranian foreign ministry official said: “The objective would be to overwhelm US missile defence systems with dozens and maybe hundreds of missiles fired simultaneously at specific targets..."

"... the “retaliation plan” claimed it would be launched within an hour of a US attack and would be accompanied by increased support for terrorist groups. “The US will be as surprised with Iranian military capabilities as the Israelis were with Hezbollah in last summer’s war in Lebanon...”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1909896.ece

IRAN AND SYRIA ANTICIPATE U.S. AND ISRAELI ATTACKS THIS SUMMER

"... Iranian leaders foresee the next UN Security Council in New York at the end of June or early July ending with an American announcement that the sanctions against Tehran are inadequate... Therefore, the military option is the only one left on the table.... Bush is determined to bow out of office on the high note of a glittering military success against Iran to eclipse his failures in Iraq... According to the Iranian scenario, the timeline for hostilities has already been fixed... The US will strike Iran first, after which Israel will use the opportunity to go for Syria..."
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1279

BOTH CHENEY AND AL QAEDA WANT U.S. TO BOMB IRAN

"Could al Qaeda Attack Trigger War With Iran?... Bush administration policy (is) to hold Iran responsible for any al Qaeda attack on the U.S. that could be portrayed as planned on Iranian soil... Zbigniew Brzezinksi warned last week that Washington might use such an incident as a pretext to bomb Iran... (Brzezinksi said) an al Qaeda terrorist attack in the United States intended to provoke war between the U.S. and Iran was a possibility that must be taken seriously, and that the Bush administration might accuse Iran of responsibility for such an attack and use it to justify carrying out an attack on Iran... Although most elements in the Bush administration appear to oppose military action against Iran, Vice President Dick Cheney has reportedly advocated that course. He has also continued to raise the issue of al Qaeda officials in Iran... "
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38050

I.A.E.A HEAD SAYS "CRAZIES" WANT TO BOMB IRAN

"... Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, described those wanting to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities as "new crazies"... Dr ElBaradei said a nuclear-armed Iran would be terrible but the jury was still out as to whether the country even wanted nuclear weapons..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/nuclear_detectives/6707457.stm

U.S. SPYING AND TERRORISM IN IRAN

"A senior Iranian intelligence official... (said) the CIA and British intelligence were involved in spying, but Iran had destroyed several of their networks that were trying to set off bomb blasts, conduct terrorism and kidnappings and also film and photograph sensitive sites.The official complained spy networks were also targeting ethnic minorities and attempting sabotage in areas on Iran's western borders... Iran lodged an official protest on Sunday against the US government for allegedly sending spies to Iran."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6704987.stm

WHY IRAN WILL FIGHT RATHER THAN COMPROMISE

"... Iran's economy is so damaged that it is impossible to tell how bad things are... overall unemployment at 30% and youth unemployment at 50%. Government subsidies sustain a very large portion of the population; 42% of the non-agricultural population is employed by the Iranian state... The present inflation rate of about 20%, driven by a 40% rate of monetary expansion, suggests that government resources are already exhausted... the country exports nothing but oil, carpets and dried fruit... and manufactures nothing the world will buy. Its most pressing problem, unemployment among the 60% of its population now under the age of 30... "

"What strategic consequences ensue from Iran's economic misery? Broadly speaking, the choices are two... (break down like Russia) under the pressure of America's military buildup... (or) gamble on... an imperial adventure... Ahmadinejad and his generation of Revolutionary Guards will fight, and cautious old men like Rafsanjani will not be able to stop them."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IE30Ak03.html

CHENEY CONSPIRACY AGAINST BUSH ON IRAN WAR

"... The AEI (American Enterprise Institute) is conspiring with Vice President Cheney to foment war with Iran... Cheney is working with the AEI warmongers to short-circuit the efforts of Bush’s secretaries of defense and state to find a diplomatic solution... one former high-level national security official describes the Cheney-AEI conspiracy as possibly an act of "criminal insubordination" against President Bush... Cheney and the neoconservatives would likely succeed in convincing Bush to nuke Iran. Cheney... already changed US war doctrine to permit preemptive nuclear attack against non-nuclear powers..."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts211.html

IRAN UNCOVERS U.S. SPIES SUPPORTED BY IRAQI FACTIONS

"Iran says it has uncovered several spy networks run by the US and its allies - the occupying forces in Iraq... The intelligence ministry said it had "succeeded in uncovering, identifying and striking blows" at infiltrators organised by those forces. The statement said the networks had been detected in western, south-western and central parts of Iran... These spy networks were operating under the guidance of the occupiers' intelligence services and with the support of some influential Iraqi groups and factions..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6695653.stm

U.S. ARMADA ASSEMBLES OFF IRAN'S COAST TO BACK UP CHENEY'S PLEDGE

"Nine US military ships enter Persian Gulf Wednesday, assembling off Iran’s coast in largest American naval move since 2003... The vessels carry around 17,000 combat and marine personnel. They include the two aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz and USS Stennis, as well as the USS Bonhomme Richard LHD 6 Group, the world’s biggest amphibious strike force. Iran was not notified of the planned arrival.... Its presence backs up Cheney’s pledge... Cheney visited the region (two weeks ago) and informed ... Gulf rulers that... if Iran refuses to waive a nuclear weapon capability, the US will attack its nuclear, military and economic infrastructure..."
--DEBKAfile (Israel), May 23, 2007
http://www.debka.com/index.php

CHENEY PLANNING FOR ISRAEL TO START WAR FOR U.S. TO ENTER

"... Cheney does not support President Bush's tack towards Condoleezza Rice's diplomatic efforts... Cheney believes that Bush can not be counted on to make the "right decision" when it comes to dealing with Iran... The thinking on Cheney's team is to collude with Israel, nudging Israel at some key moment in the ongoing standoff between Iran's nuclear activities and international frustration over this to mount a small-scale conventional strike against Natanz using cruise missiles (i.e., not ballistic missiles). This strategy would sidestep controversies over bomber aircraft and overflight rights over other Middle East nations and could be expected to trigger a sufficient Iranian counter-strike against US forces in the Gulf..."
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/002145.php

BUSH AUTHORIZES NEW COVERT ACTION AGAINST IRAN

"The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert “black” operation to destabilize the Iranian government... Bush has signed a “nonlethal presidential finding” that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran’s currency and international financial transactions..."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/05/bush_authorizes.html

U.S. ADMIRAL TRIED TO VETO BUILD UP TO THREATEN IRAN

"... the deployment of a third carrier group... would have brought the U.S. naval presence up to the same level as during the U.S. air campaign against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq... The deployment of three carrier groups simultaneously was not part of a plan for an actual attack on Iran, but was meant to convince Iran that the Bush administration was preparing for possible war if Tehran continued its uranium enrichment programme..."

"(But) Admiral William Fallon... Bush's nominee to head the Central Command (CENTCOM), expressed strong opposition in February to an administration plan to increase the number of carrier strike groups in the Persian Gulf from two to three and vowed privately there would be no war against Iran as long as he was chief of CENTCOM..."

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37738

UNSEEN WAR ON IRAQ HAS BEGUN

"Bush doesn't want detente. He wants to attack Iran... Silently, stealthily, unseen by cameras, the war on Iran has begun. Many sources confirm that the US has increased its aid to armed movements among the ethnic minorities that make up about 40% of Iran's population. ABC News reported in April that the US had secretly assisted the Baluchi group Jund al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam), responsible for a recent attack that killed 20 Revolutionary Guards..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2079648,00.html

STRIKE FORCES ASSSEMBLE, WINDOW TO ATTACK IRAN NEAR

"... the Nimitz is rapidly approaching the Persian Gulf, where it will join two other U.S. aircraft carriers and the French carrier Charles De Gaulle in the largest concentration of naval firepower in the region since the launching of the U.S. invasion of Iraq four years ago... the Nimitz is on its way to the Gulf to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower... But the U.S. Central Command... refuses to say when the Eisenhower will actually depart... For a time, at least, the United States will have three carrier battle groups in the region. The USS John C. Stennis is the third. Each carrier is accompanied by a small flotilla of cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and support vessels, many equipped with Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles (TLAMs)... with the arrival of the Nimitz battle group, the Bush administration will be — for an unknown period of time — in an optimal position to strike Iran with a punishing array of bombs and missiles.."
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/04/970/