In response to Jeffrey Goldberg’s Atlantic article, “The Point of No Return,” Trita Parsi writes in Salon:
Whether characterizing it as “mainstreaming war with Iran” or “making aggression respectable,” Goldberg’s article serves to create a false narrative that claims that the two failed meetings held between the U.S. and Iran last October constitute an exhaustion of diplomacy, that deems the Obama administration’s crippling, indiscriminate sanctions on Iran a failure only weeks after they’ve been imposed, and that then leaves only one option remaining on the table: an American or Israeli military strike. And on top of that, if President Obama doesn’t green light a bombing campaign, Israel will have no choice but to bomb itself, even though it isn’t well-equipped to do so, according to Goldberg.
It is important to note that the aim of this unfolding campaign may not be to pressure Obama into military action. It could just as much serve to portray Obama as weak and indecisive on national security issues that are of grave concern to the U.S. and that are of existential nature to Israel. This portrayal will give the Republicans valuable ammunition for the November congressional elections as well as for the 2012 presidential race.
Indeed, the likely political motivation for this unfolding campaign should not be underestimated. Just as much that the building blocks of the Iraq war were put into place under the Clinton years — most importantly with the passage of the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998 — serious preparation for selling an Iran war to the American public under a Republican president (Palin?) in 2013 must be undertaken now, both to establish the narrative for that sell and to use the narrative to remove any obstacles in the White House along the way.
Indeed, the likely political motivation for this unfolding campaign should not be underestimated. Just as much that the building blocks of the Iraq war were put into place under the Clinton years — most importantly with the passage of the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998 — serious preparation for selling an Iran war to the American public under a Republican president (Palin?) in 2013 must be undertaken now, both to establish the narrative for that sell and to use the narrative to remove any obstacles in the White House along the way.
While it might certainly be an attempt by Zionists to get Obama out of office (under the impression that he is more neutral to Israel than can be tolerated). I think time for an attack is quickly running out. The Bushehr plant will be operational by early September making any bombing of it (with its nuclear fuel) incredibly dangerous.
Also with Iran acquiring 4 S-300’s it getting a vastly improved air defence system. If they are planning to wait until 2013 there windows of opportunity will be closed.
Iran has the right to develop Nuclear Energy. It is a signatory of the NPT. Turkey and Brazil, with a “show de bola em diplomacia”, managed to get Iran to agree with feul swop almost identical of the demandas from the US. As soos as this deal was done, the war criminal H. Clinton dismissed this diplomatic move as ‘irresponsible’.
The hawks in Washington and in the failed state of Israel pushing for an attack against Iran can not forsee the dire consequences of such attack.
The drums of war are played with the same modus operandi they used to sell the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, that is, with LIES.
Lets we never forget that Israel is not a signatory of NPT and it has around 2000 nuclear bombs.
Meanwhile, IDF analysts have realistically returned to the joint milit-acad position taken in 2004: Iran’s achievement of nuclear-capable technology is inevitable but it doesn’t matter that much because Iran will never put itself in a position where it has to protect nuclear stockpiles thus using the technologic capability only as a deterrent. Of course, the HASBARA-for-pay types like Goldberg will rattle on because that’s what he does for a living, write, and there’s no interest in his writings outside of Zionist circles. The Atlantic piece, like PBS programs, all are puff works to draw Jewish cash in these desperate times, should be seen for what they are: HASBARA-for-pay. Most Jews are functionally divorcing the Zionist “whatever Israel wants Israel gets” movement while donating money to assuage their consciences. This Israel misreads as it Diasporic political power. It will be in for a rude awakening in 2012. But until then it is shooting itself in the foot on a daily basis so, not only will it suffer Obama re-election but, because of its self-inflicted wounds, will literally no longer have a leg to stand on. In the meantime, its reliance on provoking massive anti-Semitism in the West to force an aliyah to Israel by Diaspora Jews as they dissociate from Likud’s Holocaustic hasbara which will backfire on Israel’s economy as a garrison state forcing Israelis to leave for jobs abroad never to return. The Israeli nuclear problem is its popular dispersal atomization, not Iran.
It would appear that the plan is unmasked, and therefore should be vulnerable to effective countermeasures — always provided there is competent leadership in the anti-war camp.
Goldberg is obviously a Zionist who is as mad as his kin. His “case” for war fails on logic and reason and is pure propaganda. He dissimulates and argues like a Talmudic Rabbi. In other words, Goldberg is a liar who is so deceived by the legalistic matrix he has woven that he is certain the Goyim will believe his every word. War is never inevitable, except to the Israelis, who live for it. To them, the only good Muslim or Arab is a dead Muslim or Arab. Their manipulation and endless spewing of the “anti-Semitic” canard have almost run their course. I think it unlikely that gentiles will forever be as clueless as the lobby hopes. Trita Parsi’s rejoinder says, in part: “…if President Obama doesn’t green light a bombing campaign, Israel will have no choice but to bomb itself…” Of course, there is more to Parsi’s sentence, but it would be Christmas and Mardi Gras if Israel were to decide that it “will have no choice but to bomb itself.” The U.S. has allowed this tumor to grow so large within itself that surgery is necessary to remove it for our own survival. We simply can’t continue supporting this little Zionist Nazi terrorist state on the Mediterranean.
Good post Teodoru.
As Glenn Greenwald points out, the first sentence in Goldberg’s piece makes the false assertion, that Iran will have nukes soon. The 2007 NIE said that Iran abandoned the pursuit of Nuclear weapons in 2003. We don’t have any evidence that Iran has changed it’s position, and may well be pursuing latent nuclear capacity. There are some things Goldberg’s paper does achieve, but they are subtle meta effects that keeps the suspicions of Iran alive. That said, I don’t know that his Atlantic article is all that influential or noticed by most. Hell, we’re mostly consumed by baseball (go Rangers) pre-season Football, So You Think You Can Embarass Yourself on TV, Lady Gaga and all the superfluous crap that most Americans are captivated by.
I wonder just how many people, Media, Think Tanks, Government would support Israel in this, if they had to stand at the Bar of Justice for all the deaths that will occur if Iran were to be bombed? It’s been pretty much established that that Conventional bombs, even the so called bunker busting ones, can’t destroy the facilities. The Israeli air force isn’t equipped for sustained hits. The U.S. can, but why should it? There is no proof that Iran poses a threat to the U.S., except from what the Israeli’s spin masters weave. Using Nuclear bombs would inflict untold horror upon the civilian population, along with the disruption of Oil to the World. All the B.S. rhetoric aside, for the U.S. to aid & abet the Israeli’s in this gambit, is stupidity of the first order.
Norman, I totally agree with your post — but see my recent post on the Iraq aftermath thread — Logic did not seem the guiding principle behind attacking Iraq either. Do you really know why all that happened? I surely don’t, and I haven’t heard an entirely convincing explanation yet.
The same may be the case when it comes to the decision to attack Iran.
To repeat — I still don’t have any real idea why US/Europe turned the world upside down by attacking Iraq , and the same may happen again with Iran.
I still haven’t seen any logical or convincing reasons either as to why the American and European elites are totally held in thrall by Israel either — I know all the standard explanations for it , yes — the lobbies, the WW2 guilt burden, the power brokers/backers, the influence via the media, popular culture, academia etc — but none of those suitably explain it in my view.
Any ideas?
Scott wrote — “Hell, we’re mostly consumed by baseball (go Rangers) pre-season Football, So You Think You Can Embarass Yourself on TV, Lady Gaga and all the superfluous crap that most Americans are captivated by.”
Oh yes, totally agreed — and it was that mezmerising , hypnotic control you write of that The Situationists like Guy Debord and Raoul Vaneigem et al were attacking with their critique of the “Society of the Spectacle.” But all the insights of Debord et al seems to have been forgotten now, or else were absorbed into Post Modern nonsense, much of which is absurd and vain rubbish.
The Situationists ( Debord et al ) were really and totally on to these things. If only more people still paid attention to their urgent warnings.
Barney, This is only my opinion, but, I think the U.S. & European elites fawn over the Israeli State, has to do with Guilt on the one hand, the fact that 60 + years have passed since W.W.II and the Israeli’s haven’t let the World forget what happened to the Jews. Generations have grown up reading & listening about the horrible atrocities that took place then. Yes, it was a shock to the World. But if you take notice, there seems to be such, going on in different Countries even today. The difference is, you don’t hear a constant exhortation from those atrocities from the countries other than the Humanitarians, who constantly seek people to protest these acts, donate money, asking their respective Government to protest. Out of all of these different acts, only the Israeli’s beat the drums, 24/7 , keeping what took place then alive today. In the process of doing so, they wave the flag of their being the good guys, while the real truth is somewhere else. They have coned the free world into believing that without Israel, well, you know the rub!
Aiding and abetting to perpetrate a crime against humanity because the victims want revenge, is the stupidest act that any other Nation could embark upon. Why? That is the question! Yet, after 10 years of fruitless warmongering by the U.S., really without the peoples consent, the $Billions/$Trillions wasted on what? Israel is so in denial, they are raising their own youth to believe the spin that the old mad men spout, that it’s perhaps beyond repair. The present attitude of the Israeli Government isn’t any different than that of any other dictatorial regime elsewhere, except that they call themselves a democracy.
I believe one also has to take into consideration, just who control the money supply in the western countries? Money = Power = influence = collaboration. All these have been covered by others in great detail, if one wants to take the time to research.
Israel today, has been the bully on the block. They refuse to cooperate with any of the nearby Arab/Muslim Countries, giving them equal seating at the table. Fear, seems to be the driving tactic, just as Bush used it after 9/11 in the U.S. to war in Afghanistan, then Iraq, now back to Africa. Perhaps it’s time has come, that if the Israeli’s try to attach Iran, then the U.S, should prevent that happening, even if it means shooting down their airplanes. As the warmongers are want to say, collateral damage , then so be it, the Israeli air force should be sacrificed to prevent W.W.III, which will surely be the outcome if the U.S. either joins with the Israeli’s in bombing Iran or goes it alone. B.S. Why should my grandchildren, great grandchildren, pay the cost for preserving Israeli insanity?
Vince J,
Can you factually validate your claim: Israel possesses
“2000 nuclear bombs”?