More on Inventing an Iranian Threat

by Stephen Lendman

None whatever exists. US, other Western, and Israeli leaders know it. Claims they make otherwise are false.

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) is a pro-Israeli front group.

It calls itself "the most influential group on the issue of US-Israel military relations."

It "advocate(s) on behalf of a strong US military, a robust national security policy, and a strong US security relationship with Israel and other like-minded democracies."

It supports Israeli lawlessness. It endorses its regional dominance plans. It's in lockstep with its war on Palestine and other Middle East enemies.

It seeks full Washington support. It wants it backing Israeli policy. It's connected to high-level military/industrial officials in both countries.

Its Board of Advisors includes a rogue's gallery of scoundrels. They include Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, former Senator Joe Lieberman, Bush UN envoy John Bolton, and an array of two, three, and four-star retired US generals and admirals.

On September 4, JINSA's Germunder Center Iran Task Force co-chairs Eric Edelman and Dennis Ross headlined "Strategy to Prevent a Nuclear Iran."

Edelman is a former Bush administration Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He was a Principle Deputy Assistant to (Dick Cheney) for National Security Affairs.

Dennis Ross is a former HWBush/Clinton/Obama diplomat. His hardline advocacy gave diplomacy a bad name.

He co-founded the AIPAC-linked Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). It's an extremist Israeli front group.

It's board of advisors includes Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, James Woolsey, and likeminded rogue scoundrels.

James Petras once called Ross "a virulent Zionist advocate of Israel's ultra-militaristic policies, including an armed preemptive attack on Iranian nuclear and military installations."

"Ross is an unconditional supporter of the Israeli starvation siege of (Gaza), and fully backed Israel's savage (2006) air attacks against civilian targets in Lebanon."

He deplores peace. He's no friend of Palestine. He one-sidedly endorses Israeli lawlessness. He's criminally complicit in its crimes. Outside government, he continues being up to no good.

He and Edelman know Iran's nuclear policy is entirely peaceful. They lied claiming otherwise. They back Obama's pledge to "use all elements of America's power" to thwart it.

They lied again calling "a nuclear-capable Iran the gravest, most pressing national security threat facing the United States today."

"An Iran with nuclear weapons, which the ideologically fervent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would control, will trigger severe strategic and economic consequences and create an unstable situation that would likely lead to a regional conflict, possibly with nuclear weapons, almost certainly drawing in the United States."

"Unlike in the Cold War, it is not clear these consequences could be contained."

"If they could, it would only be with extreme difficulty and at great cost over a long period of time."

"We have now arrived at a critical moment in the quest to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions."

Washington and its allies must "test Rohani's sincerity immediately." It shouldn't do so to the detriment of their "national security interests."

"(T)he other dynamic in play is Iran's accelerating approach to an undetectable nuclear weapons capability."

According to Edelman and Ross, it's "the ability to manufacture fissile material for a nuclear device in less time than will be required to detect and respond to such activity."

It bears repeating. Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful. Nothing suggests otherwise. IAEA monitors confirm it.

So do annual US intelligence assessments. World leaders know it. So do Edelmen and Ross. They lie claiming otherwise.

Iran fully complies with Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) provisions. Israel is a nuclear outlaw. It refuses to sign NPT. It violates its core provisions. It does so with impunity. Don't expect Edelman and Ross to explain.

It's nuclear armed and dangerous. It threatens to use its entire weapons arsenal if endangered. It intends to use if preemptively. It'll use it against nuclear or non-nuclear states.

It'll do so lawlessly. It doesn't care. It has friends in high places. They operate by the same rules. They invent them to support policies.

Claiming an Iranian nuclear threat is red herring cover for regime change. It's a Big Lie pretext to pursue it.

If Iran had no nuclear program, another Big Lie would substitute. Rogue states operate that way. So do paid liars supporting them.

According to Edelman and Ross, thwarting Iran's ability "to cross the nuclear threshold will require more than simply doubling down on the current policy."

US and Israeli policymakers must consider force "as the limited window for diplomacy grows ever smaller."

Sanctions aren't enough by themselves, they say. US and Israeli power must be used "to prevent a nuclear-capable Iran."

They endorse "a very real military strike capability against Iran's nuclear and other strategic facilities, and an array of opportunities for pursuing political warfare against the Iranian regime."

"In rhetoric and in action, President Obama and Congress must convey concretely the will to strike Iranian nuclear facilities as a last resort. "

"We believe that the Iranian leadership, right now, perceives such will to be absent."

"But a credible military threat would provide an impetus to diplomacy that has heretofore been lacking."

"If negotiations ultimately fail to yield results, even after such pressure has been applied, US policymakers must be prepared for military action and to consider regime change."

Obama and Netanyahu want Iran's government toppled. So do Edelman, Ross and likeminded hardliners. War is their bottom line option.

On October 1, Press TV headlined Obama's flip-flop destroys trust: Iran's Zarif," saying:

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said "Obama should avert contradiction in order to win the confidence of the Iranian people. Flip-flop and contradictory positions will destroy trust and discredit the United States."

Obama's "presumption that Iran has entered negotiations due to his threats and illegal sanctions is an insult to a nation."

It's "bullying and wrong," he added.

He commented in response to Obama's remarks during his Monday White House meeting with Netanyahu.

Obama repeated longstanding US warmongering. He declared all options on the table against Iran's nuclear program.

He lied claiming it has a military component. Zarif called his comments "completely unacceptable."

"We will not allow (him or) Netanyahu to determine the future of our negotiations."

A "difficult path has begun," he stressed. It's "a diplomatic battle and not a friendly and cordial relation."

On Tuesday, Zarif twittered:

"President Obama should have stability to improve mutual confidence-building; zigzag moves will destroy mutual trust and confidence and will tarnish the US credibility."

His "imagination that Iran has come to negotiate under illegal threats and sanctions is an insult to a nation and a haughty and incorrect behavior," he added.

On October 1, Fars News Headlined "Iran: Enrichment Right No Issue for Talks," saying:

Iran "reiterated its readiness to continue negotiations with the world powers, including the US, on the country's civilian nuclear program."

At the same time, it stressed "its right of uranium enrichment is not subject to any deal or compromise."

According to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham:

"For us, the end point of the negotiations is (the materialization of) the nation's nuclear rights, including enrichment, and from our point of view, no negotiation on the enrichment right is acceptable."

"The right of enrichment is not negotiable at all," she stressed. It's entirely legitimate. It won't be negotiated away. Other nations have the right to demand it. Doing so shows nefarious intentions.

Afkham added:

"We have announced that we will show full transparency and obviate the other sides' logical concerns based on the international rules and regulations and the safeguards which exist on this path and this framework is the criteria and first step for negotiations."

She expressed hope for all sides to work together responsibly. She knows doing so requires what hasn't been achieved thus far.

It requires a huge leap of faith to believe this time is different. It's up to Washington most of all to prove otherwise.

Iran categorically rejects false accusations about its peaceful nuclear program. It's entitled to pursue it unhindered. Washington and Israel have other ideas. They enforce them through the barrel of a gun.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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