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Saber-Rattling, Then And Now
by Dale Brown, 2007

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT TheBigFiveOh.com Blog @ Yahoo.Com, Monday February 26, 2007

Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that the United States is getting ready to go to war with Iran? Read these red-hot inflammatory war-mongering remarks and judge for yourself:

"...Almost every Middle Eastern leader, Arab and Israeli alike, have told me that Iran represents one of the greatest, if not the greatest, threats to peace and stability in the region.

"With that in mind, our policy toward Iran has been consistent from the start; that is, to use our diplomatic and economic measures and our military deterrent [I added the emphasis] to contain Iran and to pressure it to cease its unacceptable actions.

"We have had some successes working with our G-7 partners and other nations, but it is clear now that more must be done. Iran is an outlaw state. Its repugnant behavior has not changed. Let me be clear about what our main concerns are.

"First, Iran is the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Second, through its support of particular terrorist enterprises, Iran seeks to undermine the Middle East peace process.

"And third, Iran is a major proliferation threat and is pursuing a determined course to acquire nuclear weapons.

"Iran's backing for international terrorism is pervasive. It has supported violence across the Middle East: in Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, and now in Gaza. Its terrorist reach is also global, extending to Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe as well.

"We estimate that Iran, a country that is now in the throes of a severe economic crisis, nevertheless spends several hundred million dollars a year to provide radical groups with weapons, equipment, training and financial support.

"Iran is the primary patron of terrorists trying to derail the Arab/Israeli peace process. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, Ahmed Jabril's Popular Front, each of those organizations receives funds, training and political support from Iran, support which they have used to leave a trail a carnage from Beit Lid to Buenos Aires.

"A regime with this kind of a record simply cannot be permitted to get its bands on nuclear weapons. Based upon a wide variety of data, we know that since the mid-1980s, Iran has had an organized structure dedicated to acquiring and developing nuclear weapons.

"We know that Iran is seeking a capability to produce both plutonium and highly enriched uranium, the critical materials for a nuclear bomb. For years, Iran has been trying to purchase heavy water research reactors that are best suited to producing weapons-grade plutonium, not electricity.

"We know that Iran is devoting resources to various uranium-enrichment technologies focusing on the gas centrifuge.

"Iran has been frustrated so far in its efforts to produce weapon-grade material at home. Therefore, it has aggressively sought to buy them abroad. Its agents have scoured the former Soviet Union in search of nuclear materials, technologies and scientists. In 1992, for example, Iran unsuccessfully approached a plant in Kazakhstan for substantial quantities of enriched uranium.

"In terms of its organization, programs, procurement and covert activities, Iran is pursuing the classic route to nuclear weapons which has been followed by almost all states that have recently sought a nuclear capability.

"If the international community does not take strong action to counter its efforts, Iran will achieve its goal. When that might happen, no one can predict with certainty; but what we do know is that if Iran gets substantial foreign help, it will be able to build nuclear weapons sooner rather than later.

"That is why we will continue to oppose any Russian or Chinese cooperation with Iran on nuclear matters. We are convinced that the expertise and technology gained, even from cooperation that appears to be strictly civilian in nature, that cooperation will be used to advance Iran's nuclear program. For that reason, all the leading industrialized democracies of the world have rejected nuclear trade with Iran because they recognize that it is simply too dangerous to do so.

"With its proven record of terrorism and aggressive ambitions, Iran cannot be given the benefit of the doubt. Increased international pressure must be applied to Iran to bring about a change in its policies.

"That is exactly the goal of the president's Executive Order. It sends an unmistakable message to friend and foe alike: we view Iran's action as a major threat to U.S. interests and international security, and we're determined to stop them...."

Or how about this...?

"The new test of the "Shahab-3" missile should occur in the next few months, according to [a senior U.S. military officer--I'll tell you who in a moment].

"He predicted the test would leave no doubts as to its success, unlike an earlier test-firing.

"[He] said Iran is anywhere from one to seven years away from developing a nuclear bomb, depending on whether it can acquire certain materials abroad or has to develop its own.

"Either way, it's just a matter of time before Iran has a nuclear bomb and the rocket that can deliver it to faraway nations..."

Or this...

"The Vice President also said Iran continues to be a "major" sponsor of terrorism and a seeker of weapons of mass destruction - what he termed a "deadly and unnacceptable combination."

And this...?

"...Following the imposition of these restrictions with regard to the development of Iranian petroleum resources, Iran continued to engage in activities that represent a threat to the peace and security of all nations, including Iran's continuing support for international terrorism, its support for acts that undermine the Middle East peace process, and its intensified efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction..."

So is there any doubt in anyone's mind that the Administration is gearing up for a major offensive against Iran, and that such a pre-emptive attack could happen at any time?

But wait...

The first remark was made by then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1995.

The second remark was made by then-commander of U.S. Central Command, Marine Corps General Anthony Zinni--a major critic of President Bush's Mideast strategy--in a speech he made in 2000 just before stepping down from his post.

The third was from a White House press release of remarks made by then Vice President Al Gore in 2000 to a Jewish-American group.

And the fourth remark was in a report to Congress made by President Bill Clinton in 1998, justifying further emergency economic sanctions against Iran to try to stop its efforts to acquire nuclear technology.

The current railing and whining against President Bush by folks like Democratic Senators Harry Reid and Barbara Boxer and Congressman Dennis Kucinich, warning the White House to stop trying to provoke a war with Iran, is nothing more than political bluster and posturing. The Democrats will resort to the same bluster and posturing when it's in their political interest to do so.

The same contradictions can be traced regarding actions against Saddam Hussein and U.S. policy in Iraq. In June of 2000, Vice President Al Gore met with a delegation from the Iraqi National Congress (INC), where he pledged support for any and all steps (short of invasion) to bring down Saddam Hussein's regime. The INC delegation was led by none other than Ahmed Chalabi, the man fingered by Democrats as the one responsible for hoodwinkng the Bush administration into launching its ill-prepared and disorganized Iraqi war campaign. The BBC said that the Clinton adminstration had paid Chalabi $9 million in 2000 alone and had earmarked over $97 million in indirect aid and training to anti-Saddam forces in Iraq.

The Democratic political leadership in Washington don't care about American national security, the growing fundamentalist Islamist movement, weapons of mass destruction, proliferation, the men and women in uniform, or combating terrorism--they just care about acquiring and holding onto power, even if the power they seek is not granted to them by the Constitution and so is not theirs to begin with. They don't care about American defeat or victory--all they care about is President Bush's defeat and preventing any Republican victories.

Just remember that the things the Democrats are claming is being said by the Bush administration now to pave the road for an invasion of Iran has been said over and over again by THEM not too long ago. Over ten years ago, the Clinton administration and the Democrats looked at the intelligence and stated in no uncertain terms that Saddam was a menace and had to be stopped, and that Iran was a serious threat to peace and had to be controlled before they acquired nuclear weapons.

It was true then, and it's true now. What's different is the shift in political power after the mid-term elections and the upcoming 2008 elections. The Democrats will say or accuse anything they feel is necessary to grab the White House...

...even if what they are accusing the Bush admnistration of is precisely what THEY said the last time THEY controlled the White House.

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