Irancove @ October 31, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Former CIA agent Larry Johnson provides some context for the lack of solid intelligence from the CIA.
More than six years since the terrorist attacks on 9-11 the intelligence community continues to employ a substandard analytical practice that virtually guarantees shoddy and inaccurate analysis. What am I talking about? An analyst within the CIA (or DIA […]
Irancove @ October 30, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Farideh Farhi via ICGA:
Washington is so caught up with the debate about whether to bomb Iran or not that very little attention is being given to what is happening inside Iran and the very interesting dynamics that are at play as various individuals, political parties, and organizations gear up for the upcoming parliamentary election in […]
Irancove @ October 30, 2007 # One Comment
In the clip below Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria debates neoconservative radical Norman Podhoretz on Iran policy. Podhoretz is a vocal advocate for bombing Iran. Typical of most Iran-war promoters, Podhoretz mechanically repeated the tired analogies of comparing Iran to Nazi Germany and conjured “mad mullah” denotations—that the Iranian regime is run by irrational religious […]
Irancove @ October 29, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The following clip features two reactions to the recent unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran by the US. Fox correspondent James Rosen and Israeli ambassador Dan Gillerman both make intellectually lazy and disingenuous comparisons of Iran to Nazi Germany. Rosen describes Iran’s revolutionary guards as a group “analagous to Hitler’s SS.”
In response to Iran’s […]
Irancove @ October 29, 2007 # No Comment Yet
This clip by TPM’s Veracifier described as a helpful consumer’s guide, summarizes the current political discourse on Iran. The video includes Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Mike Huckabee—some of the biggest proponents of attacking Iran countered by IAEA’s Mohammad Elbaradei (among others) who makes clear that the IAEA has no evidence of an Iranian […]
Irancove @ October 28, 2007 # No Comment Yet
As accusations against the perceived Iranian threat continue from pro-war advocates in Washington, it is important to note new weapon system developments in the US. In the short clip below, CNN’s Barbara Starr reports on what is described as an “urgent operational need” by the Pentagon to develop an $88 million dollar, 30,000lb bomb—which […]
Irancove @ October 28, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Jim Lobe writes about the support some neoconservatives like David Horowitz (founder of “Islamofascism Awareness Week”) and Daniel Pipes (Giuliani adviser) have for the MEK (Mujahedin e Khalq)—a group listed on the US list of “terrorist organizations.”
The MEK’s biggest Washington booster is a group led by former National Security Council aide and Georgetown University […]
Irancove @ October 27, 2007 # No Comment Yet
This article in the LA Times makes clear that the recent unilateral sanctions on Iran by the US will have little effect unless Europe—Iran’s biggest trading partner—follows suit. It seems the British are strongly supporting the push for sanctions, however, as noted Europe also has much at stake in the gambit—namely, losing contracts to Russian […]
Irancove @ October 27, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The following exchange between Hardball host Chris Matthews and neoconservative Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute over bombing Iran reveals the complete intellectual bankruptcy of special interest groups like the AEI. Muravchik is long time pusher for regime change in Iran and signatory of many letters of the Project for a New American […]
Irancove @ October 26, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Juan Cole discusses the disingenuous nature of the recent unilateral sanctions on Iran by the US as a reflection of the frustration of Bush/Cheney administration for their failure to pass international sanctions against Iran. He notes that there is no proof that Iran is in violation of any laws under the UN Security Council:
…The hypocrisy […]
Irancove @ October 25, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Via Haaretz:
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said a few months ago in a series of closed discussions that in her opinion that Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential threat to Israel, Haaretz magazine reveals in an article on Livni to be published Friday.
Livni also criticized the exaggerated use that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is […]
Irancove @ October 25, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Robin Wright of the Washington Post reports:
The Bush administration plans to roll out an unprecedented package of unilateral sanctions against Iran today, including the long-awaited designations of its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and of the elite Quds Force as a supporter of terrorism, according to senior administration officials.
The […]
Irancove @ October 24, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Azadeh Ensha at the Huffington Post discusses Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week—characterized by critics as a fear-mongering publicity ploy by far-right figure David Horowitz.
The purpose of Islamo-Fascism week is:
…to confront the two Big Lies of the political left: that George Bush created the war on terror and that Global Warming is a greater danger to Americans than […]
Irancove @ October 24, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Via Esquire:
In the years after 9/11, Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann worked at the highest levels of the Bush administration as Middle East policy experts for the National Security Council. Mann conducted secret negotiations with Iran. Leverett traveled with Colin Powell and advised Condoleezza Rice. They each played crucial roles in formulating policy for the […]
Irancove @ October 24, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Farideh Farhi makes some very interesting points about Kurdish groups in Iraq and their relationship to Iran, Turkey and the US.
Kudos to Richard A. Oppel, Jr. of the New York Times for bringing attention to the conflict between the Kurdish guerrillas and Iran during the time attention is on the Turkish- Kurdish imbroglio and the […]
Irancove @ October 24, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The following is an interview with Mohammad Jafari, Iran’s Qods Force commander, with Frontline. The Qods force is accused by some US officials of smuggling weapons and killing American soldiers in Iraq. These charges are repeated daily as fact, but most news outlets do not seek any statements from Iranian officials. In […]
Irancove @ October 23, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Editor of Newsweek, Fareed Zakaria, chimes in on the sensationalist vilifying of Iran in the American political discourse. Missing from most discussion about Iran is the reality of Iran’s military spending compared to rivals in the region:
The American discussion about Iran has lost all connection to reality. Norman Podhoretz, the neoconservative ideologist whom Bush […]
Irancove @ October 23, 2007 # No Comment Yet
As Think Progress points out, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol described Iran as the only obstacle to success in Iraq. After pushing for war with Iraq, which after almost five years has not come close to any resolution (as well as Afghanistan), Kristol is implicitly promoting expanding the current wars into a third front […]
Irancove @ October 23, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Scott Horton at Harpers weighs in on Cheney’s speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and reaches the same conclusions as Greg Djerejian at the Belgravia Dispatch: That Vice President Cheney is threatening war with Iran.
…note the focus on the Quds unit of the Revolutionary Guard. This is an exercise in target-practicing. As […]
Irancove @ October 23, 2007 # No Comment Yet
From Times Online:
BRITISH special forces have crossed into Iran several times in recent months as part of a secret border war against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Al-Quds special forces, defence sources have disclosed.
There have been at least half a dozen intense firefights between the SAS and arms smugglers, a mixture of Iranians and Shi’ite militiamen.
Irancove @ October 22, 2007 # No Comment Yet
New chairman of JCS, Mike Mullen, discusses how overstretched the military has become and rejects idea of expanding the war into a confrontation with Iran: (link via TPM)
The new chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, expressed deep concerns that the long counterinsurgency missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have so consumed the military that the Army and Marine […]
Irancove @ October 22, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Gregory Djerejian at the Belgravia Dispatch examines Cheney’s speech to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy where Cheney warns of “serious consequences” for Iran. Djerejian notes:
Make no mistake, Dick Cheney is directly threatening war against Iran. Why do I say this? For perspective, note this is not the first time he uses the […]
Irancove @ October 21, 2007 # One Comment
Nima Milaninia points to another lie in Iran war-pusher Michael Ledeen’s new book—”The Iranian Time Bomb.” According to Milaninia Ledeen attempts to connect Iran to 9/11:
“the relationship between Iran and al Qaeda over the years has been so close that it is difficult today not to conclude that Iran was involved in the 9/11 […]
Irancove @ October 20, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Danny Postel make some very good points on the forged myopic alliance between the MEK (aka MKO, NCRI, PMOI) and Iran-war advocates in Washington.
The U.S. State Department officially considers the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) a Foreign Terrorist Organization. While those honors date back to 1994, they’ve been renewed during the Bush years. Indeed in 2003 […]
Irancove @ October 20, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Ali Larijani resigned from his post as top nuclear negotiator. Although there is much initial speculation over his resignation, no clear reasons have been given. His successor is a newcomer Saeid Jalili.
As secretary of Iran’s supreme National Security Council, Larijani led talks with the European Union over the Iranian nuclear programme, refusing to offer any […]
Irancove @ October 19, 2007 # One Comment
In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Michael Rubin—an advocate of the Iraq war and recent Giuliani foreign policy adviser—responded to the near unanimous objection from Iranian groups towards “democracy funding” by the US government. This plan is designed to allocate up to $75 million to push regime change in Iran.
Given the long and […]
Irancove @ October 19, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In the short clip below, Bill O’Reilly advises Republican candidates to push a belligerent tone against Iran followed by a small clip of former chief UN weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, warning about the possibility of a nuclear attack on Iran.
Irancove @ October 18, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Kamin Mohammadi on Iran’s civilian victims of chemical attacks from the Iran-Iraq war. The entire article is worth a read:
Parvin Vahedi, a voluptuous young woman of 19 with olive skin and sweeping eyelashes, was showering when the bombers came. It was late afternoon, but she was the only one up. She was enjoying the […]
Irancove @ October 18, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Farideh Farhi comments on Putin’s trip to Tehran.:
The most significant aspect of Putin’s trip to Tehran, from the Iranian leadership’s point of view, was that it took place at all, despite Washington’s hope for and, in all likelihood, expectation of last minute cancellation. This is why the trip is being touted as a success for […]
Irancove @ October 17, 2007 # No Comment Yet
On this sadly entertaining clip from TPMtv, we meet Rudy Giuliani’s fanatic advisers: Norman Podhoretz, Daniel Pipes, Thomas Joscelyn and Michael Rubin.
Maybe you love Rudy or maybe you hate him. But whatever you may think of him, check out his foreign policy team, because that’s the key to knowing what to expect from a Rudy […]
Irancove @ October 17, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Juan Cole’s new article—The Iran Hawks—is available at Salon. Cole reflects on the frenzy over the increasing belligerence towards Iran by the presidential candidates and media. Cole concludes with a warning:
Iran has not launched an aggressive war against a neighbor since 1785 and does not have a history of military expansionism. Its population […]
Irancove @ October 17, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The clip below examines the accusations of Iran’s nuclear weapons program and contains a pastiche of the cable news channels’ general proclivity for fostering fear and paranoia.
Irancove @ October 16, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Trita Parsi on Iran-Israel relations:
“…Today, Tehran believes that its ideological and strategic imperatives coincide in regards to the Jewish state. On a strategic level, Iran opposes Israel due to a perception that the Jewish state seeks Iran’s prolonged isolation and exclusion from regional affairs. Whether in Washington or in Ashkhabad, Iran perceives Israel to be […]
Irancove @ October 16, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The Real News asks Senator Clinton some very good questions about her vote in support of the Kyl-Lieberman amendment. Five days after her vote and after much criticism, Clinton co-sponsored a bill with Jim Webb to be reintroduced to the floor seeking congressional authorization before aggressive military action. As noted by TRN, Article […]
Irancove @ October 15, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Andrew G. Marshall’s Iran and America’s Imperial Playground is a very interesting read. This is article 2 of of “Imperial Playground: The Story of Iran in Recent History.” Part one is available here.
Imperial Playground in The Post Cold War Era
After Iran-Contra, and the Iran-Iraq War, which lasted until 1988, new developments began […]
Irancove @ October 15, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The clip below contains a summary of how Iran was discussed among the Republican presidential candidates. The biggest disagreement was over getting some form of authorization to attack Iran. However, all the candidates—with the exception of Ron Paul—assumed an extremely belligerent tone. It is striking how casual the prospect of war has become […]
Irancove @ October 14, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Professor Hamid Dabashi, who teaches Iranian studies at Columbia published his thoughts on Ahmadinejad’s visit and Bollinger’s controversial remarks:
Let’s, then, be clear at the beginning, Mr. President you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator . . . . I am only a professor, who is also a university president, and […]
Irancove @ October 14, 2007 # No Comment Yet
John Mearsheimer, coauthor of the influential book The Israel Lobby; and Abraham Foxman, chairman of the Anti Defamation League appeared on the Jim Lehrer Newshour to debate the merits of the argument presented in The Israel Lobby, which claims that the lobby is pushing the US to war with Iran.
Mearsheimer states:
If you look around the […]
Irancove @ October 13, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Helene Cooper reports:
…Part of the reason for Mrs. Clinton’s vote, some of her backers say privately, is that she has already shifted from primary mode, when she needs to guard against critics from the left, to general election mode, when she must guard against critics from the right. That means she is trying to shore […]
Irancove @ October 13, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Author Naomi Klein describes the three privatization strategies espoused by the architects of the Iraq war. According to Klein, they include privatization of Iraq’s businesses, oil fields and the US military. Klein recently completed a new book called “The Shock Doctrine.” Watch the short clip below for more:
Watch Alfonso Cuarón’s short film—with […]
Irancove @ October 13, 2007 # No Comment Yet
MSNBC’s Military analyst recently made several appearances in two consecutive days to discuss his briefing with the Pentagon, advocating bombing selected targets inside Iran “as soon as possible.”
Interestingly as he made his rounds the following day, Jacobs’ tone shifts suggesting talks with Iran’s more moderate factions. Although Jacobs is only a military analyst […]
Irancove @ October 13, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Via Haaretz :
In recent months, Israel and Iran have been playing a game of cat-and-mouse. This is not the predictable game of intelligence, counter-espionage and field security. Such games have been taking place for years. Israel’s intelligence community tries to obtain information about the development of Iran’s nuclear program, and is preparing in case it […]
Irancove @ October 11, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Rudy Giuliani’s foreign policy team which includes infamous neoconservatives like Norman Podhoretz just added Michael Rubin to the foreign policy adviser team. As Josh Marshall notes:
I really don’t know how to describe Rubin for those who aren’t familiar with him. He worked at Doug Feith’s Office of Special Plans. But that hardly does the […]
Irancove @ October 11, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The Washington Posts’ Robin Wright reports:
More than two dozen Iranian American and human rights groups have launched an appeal to Congress to reduce or eliminate new financial support of up to $75 million aimed at promoting democracy inside Iran.
The U.S. program, launched in 2006, backfired in its first year, undermining democracy efforts in Iran […]
Irancove @ October 11, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Jim Lobe highlights the political implications behind the decision to release or hold-on to the five Iranian diplomats who were detained by US forces in Irbil:
An important indication of where the balance of power within the administration stands vis-a-vis Iran policy is likely to emerge in the next week or two when a decision is […]
Irancove @ October 10, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In a short essay on Tony Karon’s site, Trita Parsi gives a brief account of Israel’s attempts to engage Iran during the 90’s, and how the current policy of vilifying Iran was reached by Netanyahu.
According to Parsi, Netanyahu first sought to engage Iran—an old ally—and Turkey to form a non-Arab axis in the region, but […]
Irancove @ October 9, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Former chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter tears down the arguments frequently used to build the narrative of Iran as the new enemy. These points are self-evident under minimal scrutiny, and frequently mentioned by informed analysts—yet the cable news stations persistently avoid these arguments completely, broadcasting instead a continuous stream of uncorroborated rhetoric.
On Iran’s nuclear energy […]
Irancove @ October 9, 2007 # No Comment Yet
As noted by AIO, The New York Observer takes a look at the style guide of the New York Sun—a paper with a decidedly anti-Iranian stance. Some of the publications’ specs raise important questions about the ideological parameters for covering a subject like Iran:
“Ethnic. Means not Jewish or Christian.”
“West Bank and Gaza […]
Irancove @ October 9, 2007 # No Comment Yet
TPM Election Central reports on latest between Hilary and Obama regarding their Iran credentials:
Barack Obama has now joined John Edwards in slamming Hillary for her vote for the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which says Iran is responsible for problems in Iraq and designates the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization…
The Hillary campaign has just hit back […]
Irancove @ October 9, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In the short clip below, compare the FOX coverage of a wife of an Israeli soldier detained by Hezballah to the possibility of casualties from an Israeli air strike in Syria. One would expect a fair and balanced report to hold the same standard for all human suffering regardless of ideological differences.
Irancove @ October 9, 2007 # No Comment Yet
An open letter to the leaders of Iran, the UK and the US from several prominent Iranian-American organizations condemning “the rhetoric of mutual demonization, reckless threats and brinksmanship,” and appealing for diplomacy:
Give Diplomacy a Chance - Say No to Military Conflict!
We, the undersigned, represent the views of a diverse grouping of Iranian expatriates […]
Irancove @ October 8, 2007 # No Comment Yet
CASMII Statement:
In the strongest yet accusations of the alleged Iranian involvement in the killing of coalition soldiers and instability in Iran, General Petraeus, Senior US Commander in Iraq, reporting on the outcome of the “surge” strategy, accused Iran of fighting a “proxy war” with the coalition forces inside Iraq and threatened that this would […]
Irancove @ October 8, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Citing a recent story of six nukes which were “mistakenly” flown over the US for 3 1/2 hours, Wayne Madsen writes that the nukes’ ultimate destination was Iran, but with internal opposition within the Air Force, the mission was aborted:
WMR has learned from U.S. and foreign intelligence sources that the B-52 transporting six stealth AGM-129 […]
Irancove @ October 8, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Real News Network’s Paul Jay discusses Iran’s role in Iraq, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the direction of US policy with journalist Pepe Escobar.
(Thanks to SA at COA News for the link)
Irancove @ October 7, 2007 # No Comment Yet
From www.eidelsonconsulting.com:
The White House’s propaganda campaign laying the groundwork for military action against Iran dates back almost six years–to Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address in which he designated Iran as a founding member of the “axis of evil.” Since then, this drumbeat has waxed and waned as other concerns–primarily the disastrous invasion and […]
Irancove @ October 7, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Phyllis Bennis is a senior analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. She is the author of Before and After: U.S. Foreign Policy and the September 11th Crisis and Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy U.S. Power.
Via freespeech.org:
Irancove @ October 7, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Ahmadinejad discussing the Holocaust on an interview with Der Speigel:
AHMADINEJAD: We don’t want to confirm or deny the Holocaust. We oppose every type of crime against any people. But we want to know whether this crime actually took place or not. If it did, then those who bear the responsibility for it have to […]
Irancove @ October 6, 2007 # No Comment Yet
MSNBC’s military analyst Col. Jack Jacobs made several appearances recently to advocate bombing what he claimed were facilities inside Iran producing weapons smuggled into Iraq. Jacobs called Iran “The most dangerous country on the face of the planet,” and asserted that if the decision was his, he would bomb Iran immediately.
Jacobs seemed intently focused […]
Irancove @ October 5, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Via Juan Cole/USG Open Source Center:
The USG Open Source Center has done a report on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s calls for Iran and Saudi Arabia to cooperate in filling the regional power vacuum. The Saudis do not seem eager for such cooperation and in fact have incisively criticized Iran’s new role in the region.
Iran: Ahmadinezhad […]
Irancove @ October 4, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Farideh Farhi reflects on the North Korean deal and it’s relevance to negotiations with Iran:
…the deal was struck under the premise succinctly articulated by the lead American negotiator, Christopher Hill. “To get something in this world, you’ve got to give something,” he said. I say, Amen! Now that Christopher Hill has managed to strike a […]
Irancove @ October 4, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Reporting on the story of a video made for the Department of Homeland Security which simulates a cyber-attack on a powerplant, Fox News’ Shepard Smith attempted to implicate Iran by suggesting the possibility of an imagined cyber attack taking place from “downtown Tehran.”
Considering that the original story makes no mention—overt or otherwise—of Iran, Smith’s explicit […]
Irancove @ October 3, 2007 # No Comment Yet
After voting in support of the Lieberman-Kyl legislation, Hilary Clinton will now co-sponsor a bill with Jim Webb—an opponent of the Lieberman-Kyle bill—and re-introduce it to the Senate. The bill “prohibits the use of funds for military operations against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization (S. 759).”
The memo also states:
Senator Clinton added, “Iran has […]
Irancove @ October 3, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Robin Wright of the Washington Post reports:
After the controversial appearance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia University last week, an Iranian university yesterday invited President Bush to travel to Iran and speak on campus about a range of issues, including the Holocaust, terrorism, human rights and U.S. foreign policy, the Fars News Agency reported yesterday.
The […]
Irancove @ October 2, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The following clip is a short roundup of Fox News’ treatment of Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to South America, including his meeting with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. The purpose of Ahmadinejad’s visit was to forge economic ties with Venezuela. Watch the clip below for Fox’s report of the event.
Irancove @ October 1, 2007 # No Comment Yet
According to the Daily Mail, Debra Cagan—Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defense Secretary Robert Gates—declared to a group of visiting British MPs: “I hate all Iranians.”
The six MPs were taken aback by the hardline approach of the Pentagon and in particular Ms Cagan, one of Mr Bush’s foreign policy advisers.
…”She seemed more […]
Irancove @ October 1, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Scott Ritter, a former senior level US weapons inspector who went to Iraq prior to the invasion and declared that Iraq had no WMD program or stockpiles discusses US-Iranian relations in this video.