Irancove @ November 8, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Barbara Slavin’s article in Foreign Policy Magazine describes some of the Bush administrations failed Mid-East policies focusing on how Iran’s ultra-conservatives were strengthened as a result of myopia and miscalculations from the Bush White House.
Slavin puts today’s increasing hostilities into context by pointing to several opportunities where progress toward a constructive relationship could have been […]
Irancove @ November 7, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In a move that will help to deescalate tensions between the US and Iran, the US military has announced plans to release nine Iranians—including two of the Irbil five. Iran also plans to open consulates in Irbil and Suleimaniyah.
A Dubai-based Gulf analyst says the Iranians’ release came after the US military got the intelligence […]
Irancove @ November 7, 2007 # No Comment Yet
As a possible foreshadowing to the contents of the IAEA’s upcoming report on Iran, this article points to Israel’s response. Israel is reportedly going on the offensive, accusing the IAEA of “playing the Iranians’ game.”
The campaign comes with the International Atomic Energy Agency poised to publish a new report on Iran’s nuclear […]
Irancove @ November 7, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The following clip is a brief look at Iran’s relationship with Iraq and Afghanistan—the discourse in the US media regarding Iran’s role, and the arming of the region.
*I apologize for the missing video file and working to resolve this.
Irancove @ November 6, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Source: CQ Politics
Like Hansel and Gretel hoping to follow their bread crumbs out of the forest, the FBI sifted through customer data collected by San Francisco-area grocery stores in 2005 and 2006, hoping that sales records of Middle Eastern food would lead to Iranian terrorists.
Irancove @ November 5, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
The World Bank, newly caught up in the Bush administration’s campaign against Iran, has had to suspend payments for earthquake relief, sanitation and other projects there in response to new U.S. sanctions on leading Iranian banks, World Bank officials say.
Officials said $5.4 million in payments has been suspended for four projects, involving […]
Irancove @ November 5, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Spencer Ackerman reports from TPM’s Muckraker—original pdf is also available:
It’s difficult to tell whether OPLAN 8044 Revision 03 is still in place. A further revision of the plan, known as Revision 05, was still in effect as recently as July. “Presumably,” writes FAS, Revision 05 carries with it planning for nuclear strikes on Iran, North […]
Irancove @ November 5, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In an article for The Nation, Trita Parsi deconstructs some basic assumptions about Iran which formed “back in the days when we could afford to ignore the country.” Parsi sees policy toward Iran as a significant factor to stability in the region and starts by questioning the following:
1) Iran is ripe for regime change.
2) […]
Irancove @ November 5, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Source: Common Dreams
WASHINGTON — Despite President Bush’s claims that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons that could trigger “World War III,” experts in and out of government say there’s no conclusive evidence that Tehran has an active nuclear-weapons program.
Even his own administration appears divided about the immediacy of the threat. While Bush and Vice President Dick […]
Irancove @ November 4, 2007 # No Comment Yet
John Mearsheimer, Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and coauthor of The Israel Lobby clarifies some points about Iran at the Yearly Kos convention:
Irancove @ November 4, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Payvand features a new book by journalist Reese Erlich:
Journalist and author Reese Erlich shows how the Bush Administration plans to subvert the Iranian government and lie about it to the American people. He traces the troubled history between the two countries that has led to the current showdown over nuclear technology, and he reports from […]
Irancove @ November 4, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Source: Common Dreams
Democrat Barack Obama introduced a Senate resolution late Thursday that says President Bush does not have authority to use military force against Iran, the latest move in a debate with presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton about how to respond to that country’s nuclear ambitions.Clinton’s campaign accused Obama of playing politics instead of taking […]
Irancove @ November 3, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Robert Naiman at the Huffington Post makes a good point regarding the five Iranian officials who were in Iraq by invitation from the Iraqi government but detained by US forces. Naiman calls for their release:
…the Iraqi government has called for their release. The Iraqi government is sovereign, right? If the Iraqi government is sovereign, then […]
Irancove @ November 3, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In the clip below, Fox and Friends’ Brian Kilmeade openly calls for US support for acts of terrorism—such as car bombings—in Tehran. His criminal remarks are a direct offense to victims of terrorism all around the world and render Kilmeade morally equivalent to terrorist groups like al Qaeda which he ostensibly denounces.
Incidentally, the Bush […]
Irancove @ November 2, 2007 # No Comment Yet
via ACDN
Washington, DC - Along with 29 co-signers, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia sent a letter to the White House today warning the President not to take offensive military action against Iran without the express consent of Congress. Designed to clarify any ambiguity as a result of a recent Senate amendment urging designation of the […]
Irancove @ November 2, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Media Matters reports on radical right-wing radio host Michael Savage singing a song about bombing Iran and babbling dangerous hate speech:
On the October 29 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Michael Savage played the song “Everybody’s Dixie” by recording artist Bobby Horton, and said: “Yee-haw! This is the America — […]
Irancove @ November 2, 2007 # No Comment Yet
This article at Levy’s Prospects for Peace includes some interesting revelations about Tzipi Livni’s outlook towards Iran and the Lebanon war.
Irancove @ November 1, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Democratic presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama quarreled over a letter signed by Clinton warning president Bush that he does not have the authority to attack Iran. Obama did not sign the letter and instead introduced legislation nullifying the recent resolution—originally supported by Clinton—which according to critics unwisely labels Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as […]
Irancove @ November 1, 2007 # No Comment Yet
This article in the Guardian makes an accurate point on the charge that the Revolutionary Guards are “proliferators of WMD.” This accusation is part of the rationale behind the new unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, which among other measures designates a part of Iran’s national army—the Revolutionary Guards—as a terrorist organization.
As a justification for […]
Irancove @ November 1, 2007 # No Comment Yet
In an excellent article describing the Busy/Cheney relationship to Israel’s leadership, CIA officer Ray McGovern reports on Washington’s conspicuously belligerent rhetoric toward Iran. He describes disaster to the region and beyond following Iran’s retaliation of any attack:
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is at her mushroom-cloud hyperbolic best, and this time Iran is the target. […]