Acts of war against Iran

Despite the limited amount of time left to the Bush administration, I worry about what might happen before he leaves office. In addition to signaling that he will support an attack by Israel on Iran, he's supporting aggression within Iran right now, as detailed in Acts of War by Scott Ritter, Truthdig, July 29, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080729_acts_of_war/

Scott Ritter is a former UN arms inspector who accurately diagnosed, as it was taking shape, the fakery that led to the US invasion of Iraq. He's a very large ex-Marine, former Republican, and a forceful speaker. He lives right next to Albany NY's southwest border in the hamlet of Delmar, where I do my supermarket shopping, in the little town of Bethlehem (roughly 30,000 population).

I recommend that everyone read this article. Ritter's been warning of war against Iran since early 2005 and this is his latest update.

It begins with some things that have been reported before but have not been taken up by most of the media: the current US acts of war going on within Iran.

What's most interesting, however, is his account of what he says is the fabricated evidence of a nuclear weapons program in Iran, former or current.

The opening paragraph: "The war between the United States and Iran is on. American taxpayer dollars are being used, with the permission of Congress, to fund activities which result in Iranians being killed and wounded, and Iranian property destroyed. This wanton violation of a nation’s sovereignty would not be tolerated if the tables were turned and Americans were being subjected to Iranian-funded covert actions which took the lives of Americans, on American soil, and destroyed American property and livelihood. Many Americans remain unaware of what is transpiring abroad in their name. Many of those who are cognizant of these activities are supportive of them, an outgrowth of misguided sentiment which holds Iran accountable for a list of grievances used by the U.S. government to justify the ongoing global war on terror. Iran, we are told, is not just a nation pursuing nuclear weapons, but is the largest state sponsor of terror in the world today."

Ritter goes on to describe the Iranian terrorist group, the MEK, which is supported by the US. His intro to the supposed Iranian nuclear weapons program is:

"The MEK is behind much of the intelligence being used by the International Atomic Energy Agency in building its case that Iran may be pursuing (or did in fact pursue in the past) a nuclear weapons program. The complexity of the MEK-CIA relationship was recently underscored by the agency’s acquisition of a laptop computer allegedly containing numerous secret documents pertaining to an Iranian nuclear weapons program. Much has been made about this computer and its contents. The United States has led the charge against Iran within international diplomatic circles, citing the laptop information as the primary source proving Iran’s ongoing involvement in clandestine nuclear weapons activity. Of course, the information on the computer, being derived from questionable sources (i.e., the MEK and the CIA, both sworn enemies of Iran) is controversial and its veracity is questioned by many, including me."

He describes the internal rift in the International Atomic Energy Agency between the head of the agency, who says there's no Iranian weapons program, and the deputy director for safeguards, who functions as an ally of the Bush administration. This is fascinating and important material. A must read, whether you're inclined to believe Ritter or not.

And then read a short piece about by journalist Eric Margolis about Iran's military weakness, Plain Facts about Iran's Military.

Where's the threat?

Bill