No more encores
The nuclear program is not the reason
February 27, 2007
iranian.com
The word déjà vu is on everybody’s mind and lips these days as an attack on Iran seems imminent. Washington’s uncanny creation of Iran as the WMD ogre du jour is all too reminiscent of the Iraq invasion; while the Administration’s latest deceptions remind some of Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia claiming it would reduce the Vietnam casualties. What escapes peoples’ memory is that the real déjà vu is the case of Iran herself. For the second time in little over 50 years, Iranians are about to witness yet another assault on their country by the United States.
Iranians have a vivid memory of 1953, whether they witnessed it or it was passed down to them. It was the year when they fell victim to the first CIA-backed coup which destroyed their democracy. A coup which emboldened America to embark on many more such operations leaving behind it a trail of blood, tears and destruction while making a full circle – back to Iran.
True that there is only a quasi democracy in Iran at best, but the prize that brought the savagery of the ’53 coup is the same – oil. Today, while Mr. Bush asks Americans to ‘make sacrifices’ and die for their country to fight the ‘war on terror’, our tax dollars are ‘keeping’ the terrorist group MEK in Iraq and there are those in Washington who are contemplating using them in order to cause chaos in Iran and topple the regime in Tehran. Using terrorists to topple a regime came to power as a result of a revolution brought about by the oppressions of the man put in power by an American coup to get rid of democracy – how audacious!
In April 1951, the Iranian parliament under the leadership of Mossadeqh who thought that nationalization was the only way to preserve the sovereignty of Iran, unanimously passed a bill to nationalize the oil industry. He was elected Prime Minister. Not content with having to deal with Iranian sovereignty, the British navy enforced a blockade around Iran closing its export markets. Iran, a developing nation, took its case to the International Court of Justice at The Hague and lost against the mighty British Empire. Today, in an eerie resemblance of the past, Executive Order 12957 given by Mr. Clinton specifically banned any "contract for the financing of the development of petroleum resources located in Iran." [1]
This order has been extended and further restricted by Mr. Bush, and many countries such as Japan have been forced to back out of deals with Iran under pressure from the US.[2] Furthermore, Iran, wanting to develop its civilian nuclear technology to compensate for its finite resources and under the watchful eyes of the IAEA, and in accordance to the NPT, has once again lost its case in the UNSC against the mighty American Empire. Truly a case of Déjà vu.
Similar to the oil industry which belonged to the people, Iran is refusing to give up its inalienable right, giving the perfect excuse to the United States to attack Iran. But the nuclear program is not the reason – the regime is the real thorn in their side.
Mossadeqh was replaced with the Shah and Iran lost a chance to be a democracy. The invasion of Iran was not obvious to the naked eye, but to the people it was. Today, America’s partner in crime is Israel. The second assault, a far bloodier one than the first, has long been planned. The same planners that are responsible for the death and destruction in Iraq - AIPAC and AEI, Israel’s representatives in Washington are now pushing for an attack on Iran. The planners, in their zest to destroy Iran, are supporting our enemies – the perpetrators of 9/11.
According to a CNN late Edition interview with Wolf Blitzer aired on 2/25/07, the renowned Sy Hersh shared his concerns with the audience: "I am quite concerned that my government is aware that money is being funneled to Al-Qaeda operatives to attack Shiites and they are being silent and are allowing this to take place. This is the same group that has been accused of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and my government knows about this". Simply put, the Administration is sporting a bloody policy that not only will engulf the region, but will spill over to unimaginable boundaries. Arms are being sold to boost the bloodshed.
In 2006, the US sold $11 billion arms to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE which control some 45 percent of world oil reserves, with the Pentagon notifying Congress of possible arms sales to Saudi Arabia -- the biggest spender of the six -- totaling well over nine billion dollars. [3] According to The New York Times (2/23/07), Kuwait has reportedly bought 24 Apache Longbow helicopters, while the United Arab Emirates has continued to take delivery of 80 F-16 Block 60 fighters, with plans to buy air tankers, missile defense batteries and airborne early warning systems. Bahrain has ordered nine UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters in an estimated $252 million deal, while Oman has reportedly bought 30 antitank rocket launchers in a $48 million purchase and is planning a naval overhaul.
Perhaps it is to deliver these to Al-Qaeda to destroy the ‘Shiites’? Is it any wonder that so many helicopters are being shot sown in Iraq? After all, the enemy does benefit from the best technology the world has to offer!
So while the Gulf States go on a shopping spree, the Bush Administration, bowing to AIPAC and taking advice from the AEI and other neo-cons is setting the stage to attack Iran by planning and sending more carriers to the Persian Gulf in preparation for war. Dick Cheney wasted no time in announcing the inevitable with a nudge and a wink to the arms dealers that they can make a killing out of this one - the oil-rich, Al-Qaeda supporters are in a spending mood. Iran’s history is going to be repeated and without knowing it, the Arabs will be doing the fighting. That is what the Sunni-Shiite divide was about.
What is incomprehensible to this writer is that in a recent poll which surveyed six Arab nations and was commissioned by the Washington-based Arab American Institute (AAI), the overall approval ratings of the US ranged between an unprecedented low of two per cent in Egypt and a high of 20 per cent in Lebanon. Those holding a favorable view of the US in Saudi Arabia were four per cent, 11 per cent in Morocco, 14 per cent in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 15 per cent in Jordan. [4] These figures are particularly alarming because they are ‘allies’ and recipient of arms! It seems peculiar that that so many American presidents insist on arming the very people who hate them. If indeed 9/11 was the work of al-Qaeda, we are on a suicide path - unless ‘they’ know something the public does not.
So, again, Iran is to become the victim of America’s greed -- with Israel pushing the ‘DESTRUCT’ button. If we stop Iran’s history from being repeated, perhaps we can stop the next tragedy that may follow. Comment
Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich has lived and studied in Iran, the UK, France, and the US. She obtained her Bachelors Degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She is currently pursuing her education in Middle East studies and Public Diplomacy. Soraya has done extensive research on US foreign policy towards Iran and Iran’s nuclear program. She can be reached at sorayau@earthlink.net
Notes
[1] Global Energy Sanctions
[2] U.S. targets Iran's vulnerable oil
[3] Biggest Mideast Arms Fair Opens In UAE
[4] Arab Opinions
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