GW Bush regime's war on Iran, fuel Shia/Sunni conflict

by sponsored by Christian Zionists Thursday, Mar. 01, 2007 at 9:40 PM

Article details the GW Bush regime's role in escalating tensions between Shia and Sunni factions in Iraq, the end result being a US military invasion of Iran..

by wsws (reposted)

Tuesday Feb 27th, 2007 10:08 PM

A lengthy article in this week’s New Yorker magazine by veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh provides further evidence that the Bush administration has not only set course for war against Iran, but has over the past few months embarked on a reckless and incendiary strategy that has the potential to unleash sectarian Sunni-Shia conflicts throughout the Middle East.



The broad outlines of what Hersh writes in his article “The Redirection” (as the plan is termed in the White House) have been out in the open for some time. In the wake of the US Congressional elections last November, the Bush administration ignored the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of the American people and the recommendations of the top-level Iraq Study Group (IRG). The White House has increased troop numbers in Iraq, bolstered its naval presence in the Persian Gulf and markedly turned up the volume of the threats against Iran.

In outlining his plans for Iraq on January 10, President Bush denounced Syria and Iran for assisting anti-US insurgents in Iraq and warned that the US military would destroy their networks of agents. According to Hersh’s sources, since last August as many as 500 Iranians have been arbitrarily detained and interrogated at any one time, including many Iranian humanitarian and aid workers. As a former senior US intelligence official explained: “The White House goal is to build a case that the Iranians have been fomenting the insurgency... and supporting the killing of Americans.”

These unsubstantiated allegations, along with Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program and its support for “terrorist” groups in the Middle East, are being drummed up as potential pretexts for a confrontation with Tehran. In articles over the past year, Hersh has pointed to high-level preparations for an intensive bombing attack on Iran. In his latest article, he notes that these processes have accelerated with the establishment of a special planning group in the Pentagon offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with a brief to prepare a contingency plan that could be implemented on Bush’s orders within 24 hours. Two replacement aircraft carrier groups are due to arrive in the Gulf, but the entire naval force could be ordered to stay in place, “to allow for an attack order this spring”.

The Pentagon’s military planning is being accompanied by a broad US diplomatic offensive against Tehran, which was outlined by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month. She declared that the US was seeking “a new strategic alignment in the Middle East” by supporting “moderates,” including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf states, against the “extremists”—Iran, Syria and their allies such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Significantly, all talk of “spreading democracy” in the region went out the window so as to justify alliances with openly autocratic and repressive regimes.

More

http://wsws.org/articles/2007/feb2007/iran-f28.shtml



Christian Zionists fuel Israeli apartheid & US military occupation of Iraq

Wednesday Feb 28th, 2007 12:15 PM

wsws article cont'd;

"The close involvement of Saudi Arabia in the enterprise is particularly significant. The Saudi monarchy, which has a long history of financing Sunni fanatics, was a close partner in the 1980s in the CIA’s backing of Mujaheddin fighters against the Soviet-backed regime in Afghanistan. The “blowback” from that operation included the creation of Al Qaeda, which called for a jihad against the US after American troops were stationed in Saudi Arabia for the first Gulf War in 1990-91. Now with Saudi assistance, the Bush administration is unleashing the same reactionary forces in its efforts to undermine Iran, with cynical disregard for the consequences.

As a US government consultant told Hersh, Prince Bandar and other Saudis had offered assurances that “they will keep a very close eye on the religious fundamentalists. Their message to us was, ‘We’ve created this movement, and we can control it.’ It’s not that we don’t want the Salafis [Sunni fundamentalists] to throw bombs; it’s who they throw them at—Hezbollah, Moqtada al-Sadr, Iran, and at the Syrians, if they continue to work with Hezbollah and Iran.” No doubt similar assurances were given in the 1980s that Riyadh would control a little-known Saudi engineer, Osama bin Laden, and his followers."

This friendly connection between the Bush family, CIA and the Saudi monarchy (especially Bin Laden family) is extensive in time and global reach. Both Bush's father and grandfather had ties with the Saudi royal family. Osama Bin Laden, the so-called 'black sheep' of the Saudi monarchy who speaks for Al-queda is specific against two points in US foreign policy. 1) The US military occupation of Saudi Arabia, 2) US support for the apartheid state of Zionist Israel. These two issues being worked out within a reasonable time frame would result in a decrease of Al-Queda recruitment by reducing Muslim anger at the US/Israeli occupations. The current US military occupation of Iraq also adds fuel to the fire and will increase Al-Queda recruitment..

So IF the US were to withdraw military forces from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and also cease funding of Zionist Israel, THEN there would be a nearly 0.5% chance of any future terrorist attacks in the US from Al-Queda. Disgruntled postal workers are another matter entirely and should not be included in the 0.5% chance of any attacks coming from Al-Queda..

The religious fanatical messages of Al-Queda are mostly overblown by US media hype and are usually for disciplinary measures of maintaining their soldier's fitness. Yes, they are strict, mysongynistic and homophobic in their rhetoric and abuse of women is a reality. However, when compared to domestic violence against women and gays in the US, we cannot claim to be any better off statistically..

There are also differences between Al-Queda recruitment tactics and Hezbollah recruitment. The people in the neighborhoods of Lebanon are more supportive of Hezbollah out of goodwill (Hezbollah operates community centers, schools, food banks, et..) where support of Al-Queda is usually either fear based coercion or brainwashing of angry youth at an early age. Hezbollah would thus be more successful at fighting US/Israeli imperialism in the longer term as Al-Queda is more of a flash of light while Hezbollah is a slow and steady flame. That is another reason the GW Bush regime either lumps Hezbollah, Hamas and Al-Queda all together in an effort to discredit Hezbollah by linking them with Al-Queda. Simultaneoulsy using CIA operatives to provoke a civil war in Iraq to seperate the Shia and Sunni factions is a repeat of earlier incursions with Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal (thanks Ollie North!!) and same time supplying Saddam (thanks special envoy Donald Rumsfeld!!) with weapons to use against Iran while lloking the other way when Saddam gassed Kurds, Shias killed Sunnis, vice verca..

Ironically the US Christian Zionists (ie., Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, etc..) who are the greatest supporters of both the US occupation of Iraq AND the financial support of Zionist Israel are the most outspoken critics of Al-Queda, yet share almost all three of Al-Queda negative religious views (mysongyny, homophobia, patriarchy, etc..). However, the Christian Zionists are less strict with the fitness category and often abuse their females in worse ways than Al-Queda 'dress codes'. Here we're talking about child molestation and rape, very common crimes against women that outspoken Christian Zionists get involved with. Something to do with suppressing human sexuality (ie., sex as sin) seems to bring out all sorts of bizarre perversions in people. Maybe there's some way of balancing the natural human attraction to sex without it becoming an addiction and interfering with an Al-Queda soldier's discipline. We're also curious if Al-Queda members ever get themselves a bit warm while huddling together in those cold mountain caves..

Not that i would insinuate any doubtful questions about the sexual orientation of religious fundamentalists of either faith. Of course they're all 100% hetrosexual and never would look at their comrades with a twinkle in their eye. We all know that Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh never mistreat their prostitutes and sex slaves while they're high on their pain pills. What about that other Christian Zionist homophobic televangelist Ted Haggard from Colorado Springs and his former underground romance with a homosexual prostitute? What's that Ted, 'Do as i say, not as i do?' Maybe we're all hypocrites to an extent, though that's really pushing it! Guess the Bush regime's 'war on drugs' really got to Ted's head, eh?

"George W. Bush's link to Evangelical Right caught in November Surprise"

After admitting "some guilt" in accusations of purchasing gay sex and using (meth)amphetamines, Ted Haggard, megachurch pastor, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and adviser to George W. Bush, resigns.

Pastor Ted Haggard got a November Surprise: Only a few days before Colorado voters were to head to the polls to vote on two ballot initiatives involving gay marriage, Mike Jones, a former gay escort claimed that he had a three-year sexual relationship with Haggard, the founder and senior leader of the 14,000 member Colorado Springs, Colorado-based New Life Church, the state's largest megachurch. Haggard also served as president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE - website) whose 30-million members come from more than 45,000 churches across America. Over the past few years, Haggard has been a regular advisor to the Bush administration.

Within 48 hours of Jones' revelations and despite receiving a vote of confidence from Dr. James C. Dobson, Haggard resigned his post at the NAE, and "voluntarily" took an administrative leave of absence from his church. On Friday morning a church spokesman admitted to a Colorado Springs television station that there was "some guilt" on Haggard's part, while an independent voice identification expert is set to declare voice mails left on Jones' answering service were "perfect matches" on nine of 12 words"

read on @;

http://www.mediatransparency.org/pdastory.php?storyID=159

(To his credit Ted Haggard also promotes the view that Christians should be more involved in preventing global warming, an issue that many right-wing Christian Zionists are opposed to. One wonders if their "armageddon" scenario with severe storms, flooding, etc.. is a known side effect of ecological destruction by industrial capitalism..)

If it were just about protitutes, sex, drugs and rock n' roll, it wouldn't really make much difference. The problem is in the content of Ted Haggard's preaching, spreading hate and lies about gays, then doing that which he preaches against. This also applies to the political situation in the Middle East, specifically Israel/Palestine. Christianity is claimed as a religion tht promotes peace and non-violent resolution of conflicts, yet with P. Robertson and their ilk the exact opposite is true. Here again the Christian Zionist evangelical lobby supports an ongoing war on the Palestinians by the Israeli military. Conflict resolutions are discouraged by Christian Zionists unless it is one-sided agreement in favor of increasing Israeli settlements. Israeli civilians and Palestinians are all innocent victems caught in the crossfire of an impending "Holy Rapture" as Zionists are attempting to bring about via a nuclear Holocaust in the Holy Lands. This represents their ongoing escalation with Iran about proposed nuclear energy, though both US and Israel remain the top two nations with the greatest number and strength of nuclear weapons. Just ask Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli nuclear scientist and whistleblower (still under house arrest) who tried to warn the people about Israel's nuclear weapons dangers in the Negev desert..

Free Mordechai Vanunu!!

"The fact that Israel has a large and growing nuclear arsenal – larger than Britain's – has been recognized by the rest of the world ever since Mordechai Vanunu revealed it conclusively 19 years ago. For demolishing his country's policy of concealment, denial, and "ambiguity" of its status as a nuclear weapons state, Vanunu served 18 years in prison, including an unprecedented period of 11 and a half years of solitary confinement in a six-by-nine-foot cell."

read on @;

http://www.antiwar.com/news/?articleid=5306

US made nuclear weapons & waste contaminate US land, people;

People Resist;

"Sacred Peace Walk from Las Vegas to the Nevada Test Site, March 27 to April 1, 2007

Rally and direct action at the Nevada Test Site, Sunday, April 1st, 2007, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Does 2007 feel like it could be the end of the world?

The "Divine" Strake chemical blast is back on for the Nevada Test Site....

The DOE plans to revamp US nuclear weapons facilities to rebuild every weapon in the stockpile under its Complex 2030 plan. . . .

The US is actively seeking new warhead designs for new warfighting scenarios under the Reliable Replacement Warhead program . . . .

Meanwhile, tensions toward Iran and North Korea escalate due to their nuclear programs, and scientists set the Doomsday clock forward as the threat of nuclear war increases. . . .

"

read on @;

http://www.shundahai.org/

Simply put, the wealthiest religious leaders in the US are urging both the US government and it's populace to sacrifice their civil and human rights to support an illegal and unjust war in the Middle East. The connections between the Bush cabal, Saudi monarchy is the direct pipeline for the petroleum corporations (both US and Saudi) to siphon out the petroleum in Iraq, Iran or anywhere else the US military can maintain a position. The GW Bush regime is taking full advantage of the Saudi hijackers of 9/11 WTC fame for making his job of spreading fear propaganda and promotion of his 'war on terrorism' acceptible to the moderates over a longer time frame..

Original: GW Bush regime's war on Iran, fuel Shia/Sunni conflict