In 2007, former Senators Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and
George Mitchell established their Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC)
imperial project front group.
Among other issues addressed, warmaking's prioritized. Its board of
directors include:
Norman Augustine, former Lockheed Martin chairman and CEO;
General Charles Wald, USAF (ret.);
John Rowe, Exelon chairman and CEO, the nation's largest
proliferator of dangerous nuclear power plants;
Frances Fragos Townsend, Baker Botts partner; James Baker's a senior
partner;
former FAA head Jane Garvey, BPC chairperson;
former National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP) head Jason
Grumet, BPC president;
Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the right leaning,
pro-corporate Aspen Institute; formerly he was CNN chairman/CEO and
Time managing editor; and
former Senators Charles Robb and John Danforth, as well as five
former senators and General James L. Jones (ret.), former Supreme
Allied Commander Europe and National Security Advisor, serving as
senior fellows.
BPC's new report, released February 1, is titled "Meeting the
Challenge: Stopping the Clock on Iran's Nuclear Development."
Previous Iran reports included:
"Meeting the Challenge: US Policy Toward Iranian Nuclear
Development" (September 19, 2008);
"Meeting the Challenge: Time is Running Out" (September 15, 2009);
"Meeting the Challenge: When Times Runs Out" (June 23, 2010); and
"Iran's Nuclear Program: Status and Breakout Timing" (September 12,
2011).
They all urged a robust US response "to prevent Iran from acquiring
nuclear weapons capability" even though BPC and Obama officials know
Tehran's development is entirely peaceful, commercial, and legal
according to Nuclear Non-Proliferating Treaty provisions.
Signed on July 1, 1968, NPT became effective March 5, 1970. Notably,
Iran was one of its first signatories in 1968. It permits uranium
enrichment for peaceful, commercial purposes.
Iran's program is entirely non-military. Nonetheless, it's
maliciously targeted unfairly and illegally even though it fully
cooperates with IAEA inspectors. Monitoring is constant, directly or
through installed surveillance cameras operating round-the-clock.
In contrast, India, Pakistan, Israel and America are nuclear
outlaws. Their policies endanger humanity. BPC's unconcerned.
On January 24, its press release headlined, "Stopping the Clock on
Iran's Nuclear Development: Bipartisan Policy Center's New Report
Recommends More Credible Threat of Military Action Against Iran,"
saying:
Iran's program "fast approach(es) a volatile threshold."
"Preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability is one of
the most urgent national security challenges facing the US."
BPC's new report "argues that to prevent a nuclear Iran, the US must
demonstrate its resolve to do whatever is necessary, including
taking military action."
Despite no Iranian threat whatever, BPC promotes war. At issue is
replacing its independent leaders with servile pro-Western ones. As
a result, anything ahead's possible, including intervention against
Syria.
America's business is war. Permanent war's its longstanding agenda.
When enemies don't exist, they're invented. Washington pushes the
envelope aggressively. Pretexts serve as justification. Imperial
madness for unchallenged global dominance follows. As a result,
humanity's threatened, today more than ever.
On February 1, Reuters headlined, "Group urges credible US military
threat to Iran," saying:
BPC urged harsher war threatening rhetoric, covert operations, and
stronger US regional military presence to stop Iran's alleged
nuclear weapons development.
Obama affirms "all options are on the table."
BPC's "central thesis is that to persuade Iran to address questions
about its nuclear program via negotiations (and) economic sanctions,
(they) must be accompanied by a credible threat of military attack
against Iran's nuclear facilities."
It bluntly stated:
"The United States needs to make clear that Iran faces a choice: it
can either abandon its nuclear program through a negotiated
arrangement or have its program destroyed militarily by the United
States or Israel."
Relevant Background
In the 1950s, Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" program encouraged and
financed Iran's nuclear power program. Despite substantial oil
revenues, the Shah wanted a modern energy infrastructure, built
around nuclear power.
As a result, by 1978, Iran had the world's fourth largest program,
the largest among developing nations, and plans were for 20 new
reactors by 1995.
Washington's support continued until November 1978. Carter's task
force recommended replacing the Shah with Ayatollah Khomeini, then
living in France.
At the time, his BP oil negotiations broke down. BP demanded
exclusive future output rights but refused to guarantee oil
purchases. As a result, the Shah sought other deals. Eager German,
French, Japanese and other buyers showed interest.
Washington and Britain were alarmed. Destabilization followed,
including reduced Iranian oil purchases and other economic
pressures. US/UK agitators fanned religious discontent and turmoil.
Oil strikes occurred. Production was crippled.
Regime change was planned. In January 1979, things came to a head.
The Shah fled the country. Khomeini returned and proclaimed an
Islamic republic. In May, he cancelled further nuclear development.
It was peaceful then and now.
In the 1980s, America encouraged Saddam's war against him. Around a
million on both sides died. Iran was too strong to defeat. Other
measures short of war followed, including vicious anti-Iranian
propaganda.
It portrays the Islamic Republic as uncultured, uncivilized, and
dangerous. Forged documents and other materials suggest an Iranian
nuclear weapons program. Western media scoundrels regurgitate the
lie. They've been doing it for years, despite no corroborating
evidence whatever.
Nonetheless, Washington, Israel and rogue Western allies spuriously
accuse Iran of covertly developing a nuclear weapons capability.
BPC urges combating it aggressively, including:
strengthening America's "declaratory policy" to use force;
escalating disruptive covert operations and intelligence;
bolstering Washington's Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman presence by
deploying another carrier battle group, conducting regional military
exercises with allies, and pre-positioning supplies for possible
aggression;
building the military capabilities of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and
UAE;
"quarantin(ing)" Iran if other measures fail; it's diplomatic
language for blockading, constituting an act of war under
international law; and
as a last resort, launching "an effective surgical strike against
Iran's nuclear program."
BPC recommends several weeks of air attacks against key military and
nuclear targets combined with Special Forces on the ground, saying:
"A military strike would delay Iran's acquisition of nuclear
capability but not eliminate it."
"Still policymakers need to consider whether delaying Iran's program
in the short term would allow Washington to take advantage of that
space to stop Iran's nuclear program altogether."
"It is also possible that the delays and increased costs that a
devastating strike would impose on Iran's nuclear program might be
followed by a different set of dynamics that would cause or compel
the Iranian leadership to change course."
More likely, it would encourage an Iranian nuclear weapons program
to deter future attacks. America strikes soft targets. Nuclear armed
ones can retaliate.
Former Senator Charles Robb said BPC tried to prepare a "reasoned,
thoughtful approach," not a "bombs away" one. The above
recommendations suggest otherwise.
A Final Comment
Previous articles discussed America's media war on Iran, notably by
The New York Times in print. On January 31, Mondoweiss headlined, "
'NYT' gives Israelis its magazine to make an attack on Iran normal,"
saying:
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth analyst Ronen Bergman headlined,
"Will Israel Attack Iran?" saying:
The New York Times Magazine "published a landmark in warmongering
journalism, a huge article predicting and justifying an Israeli
attack on Iran...."
Have all measures to contain Iran's "nuclear threat been exhausted,
bringing Israel to the point of last resort," Bergman asked?
Some of Israel's "most powerful leaders" believe it and want more
decisive action before "it will no longer be possible to act."
Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of
Strategic Affairs stressed Israel's resolve, saying:
"Our policy is that in one way or another, Iran's nuclear program
must be stopped. It is a matter of months before the Iranians will
be able to attain military nuclear capability. Israel should not
have to lead the struggle against Iran."
"It is up to the international community to confront the regime, but
nevertheless Israel has to be ready to defend itself. And we are
prepared to defend ourselves in any way and anywhere that we see
fit."
Other influential Israeli policymakers share his view. Bergman's
complicit by promoting them. So is The New York Times for providing
feature space instead of taking a principled anti-war stand.
Mondoweiss contributor Matthew Taylor called his article
"Megalomania on high," saying The Times piece "cheerleads an Israeli
attack on Iran."
Former Carter/Ford administrations National Security Council
member/Middle East analyst Gary Sick condemned the article as
"sensationalist" hype adding more "hysteria" to current US/Israeli
Iranian relations.
He also caled Bergman's conclusion "at odds with virtually
everything he produce(d) as evidence, but there are some omissions
in his analysis that regrettably have become predictably routine in
talking about" Iran's nuclear program.
Like other anti-Iranian writer/analysts, Bergman ignores facts to
hype fear. Israel benefits by "keeping the pot near the boiling
point" to portray possible planned aggression as justified.
Bergman ended his article saying, "I have come to believe that
Israel will indeed strike Iran in 2012." Obama (so far) hasn't gone
beyond saying "no options (are) off the table."
The National Interest's Leon Hadar believes Israel and Republican
candidates, not Obama, lead the war offensive and won't tolerate "a
deal with Iran that would be acceptable to the regime there."
Other feature Times articles and editorials unfairly demonize Iran.
They barely stop short of endorsing war, but smooth the way if
planned by repeated baseless accusations.
If Israel and/or Washington use nuclear bunker-buster munitions
against underground Iranian nuclear facilities, millions of lives
will be risked. Retaliation will follow. The entire region will be
inflamed. General war may follow, or as this writer explained
several times in on air interviews:
At issue is possible WW III, the first nuclear war, potentially
endangering humanity's survival.
Hawkish policymakers, Bergman, others like him, and NYT editors
mindlessly ignore the threat.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
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