Iran Invasion to Occur Before April

As the US media once again becomes preoccupied with child abduction stories, the latest Bush administration bamboozlement of the American people moves forward at full steam - this time with an invasion of Iran on the horizon, an act which could spark a much larger and deadly conflict in the region and perhaps beyond.

There is little room for doubt any longer - the US and Israel will strike at Iran, and they will do so within just a couple of months. In fact, an honest reading of the tea leaves can render no other conclusion, and it is all creepily reminiscent of events that occurred in late 2002/early 2003, when the Bush administration was laying the foundation for its illegal and incredibly disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq.

It could be that the whole infusion of troops into Iraq, or "augmentation" as Condi refers to it, is really just part of a bulking up of resources for a conflict with Iran. Just as they did in the months before invading Iraq, Dick Cheney is beginning to weave his web of confusion, saying in a Fox News interview with Chris Wallace this weekend that, "Iran is fishing in troubled waters inside Iraq.... We do not want them doing what they can to destabilize the situation inside Iraq."

Iran is destabilizing Iraq?? Ohhh, and all this time we thought it was the massive US invasion that did that - but I digress.

During his interview, Cheney's own words in regard to a "message" the US is sending Iran, are a good indicator of our intentions, and the true reason for the troop increases in Iraq. Cheney says that, "The presence of U.S. military out there, not only in terms of what we're doing in Iraq but also with our carrier task forces, for example, is indicated as reassurance to our friends in the region that the United States is committed to their security and that we're a major presence there now and we expect to continue to be one in the future."

Cheney also states a few moments later that, "There's no reason in the world why Iran needs to continue to pursue nuclear weapons.", despite the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever of an Iranian nuclear weapons program.

The excuse of sending 20,000 US troops to Iraq in order to boost security, or "augment" it, is a distraction and a deceit of great magnitude. Indeed, it is most likely that the additional troops are not truly intended to make a difference in Iraq's security situation, but are actually intended as reinforcements for the inevitable blowback following a strike by the US and Israel on Iranian territory. In that light, the decision to send additional troops in defiance to military necessity, Congressional approval, the opinions of military leaders, the American people and the Iraqi people is finally starting to make sense.

All the other pieces have already been put in place, as Cheney himself alluded to this weekend - two US carrier groups and numerous amphibious attack groups have been sent to the gulf, as well as patriot missile units, which could only be of use to deter retaliatory Iranian missile attacks. Furthermore, Iran's deadline to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1737 is in February, and a failure of the UN to resolve the issue will embolden the US and Israel's case for an attack (remember UN Security Council Resolution 1441 aimed at giving Iraq "a final opportunity to comply").

It is likely that when the deadline for Resolution 1737 expires in late February, the Bush administrations rhetoric regarding Iran will become more belligerent. While folks like Condi Rice and Cheney are now saying that the US is making an attempt at diplomacy through the UN, their refusal to even talk to Iran will inevitably lead to a failure of diplomacy. This, based on their track record, is the true intention of the Bush administration, and when Resolution 1737 expires, they will inevitably begin saying that the time for talk is over and that we must take action against Iran before they can obtain nuclear weapons to threaten their neighbors and control the region.

It is also very possible that Israel will take the lead in a military strike against Iran, or at least it will be framed this way as a way of sidestepping Congressional approval of such action. The Bush administration will depict our involvement, which will include strikes launched by US forces floating in the Persian Gulf, as support for Israel's campaign against the Iranian nuclear menace.

The Kuwait based Arab Times editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Jarallah has released a report this past weekend, backed by what he calls a reliable source, which indicates that Bush has held a meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other White House officials, where they discussed the plan to attack Iran in close detail.

According to the source cited in the report, the attack must occur before April 2007, because it must take place before British Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves office, presumably to assure British complicity in any campaign against Iran. The source also confirms that US carrier groups have been sent to the Gulf and forces will continue to be added as the White House sees fit, and that, "U.S. forces in Iraq and other countries in the region will be protected against any Iranian missile attack by an advanced Patriot missile system,"

While all of this unfolds, be sure to stay tuned in to your favorite news station for more child abduction stories - Cheney would say it is every good American's duty.