Zaroc Stone
2007-10-28 14:43:28 UTC
White House Leak: Cheney's Plan for Iran Attack Starts With Israeli
Missile Strike
By Gregor Peter Schmitz and Cordula Meyer, Der Spiegel. Posted October
26, 2007.
High-ranking military experts say an attack would lead to world
economic chaos, or even what Bush calls 'World War III.'
US Vice President Dick Cheney -- the power behind the throne, the
eminence grise, the man with the (very) occasional grandfatherly smile
-- is notorious for his propensity for secretiveness and
behind-the-scenes manipulation. He's capable of anything, say friends
as well as enemies. Given this reputation, it's no big surprise that
Cheney has already asked for a backroom analysis of how a war with
Iran might begin.
In the scenario concocted by Cheney's strategists, Washington's first
step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran's uranium
enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own
strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and
nuclear facilities in Iran.
This information was leaked by an official close to the vice
president. Cheney himself hasn't denied engaging in such war games.
For years, in fact, he's been open about his opinion that an attack on
Iran, a member of US President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil," is
inevitable.
Given these not-too-secret designs, Democrats and Republicans alike
have wondered what to make of the still mysterious Israeli bombing run
in Syria on Sept. 6. Was it part of an existing war plan? A test run,
perhaps? For days after the attack, one question dominated
conversation at Washington receptions: How great is the risk of war,
really?
Grandiose Plans, East and West
In the September strike, Israeli bombers were likely targeting a
nuclear reactor under construction, parts of which are alleged to have
come from North Korea. It is possible that key secretaries in the Bush
cabinet even tried to stop Israel. To this day, the administration has
neither confirmed nor commented on the attack.
Nevertheless, in Washington, Israel's strike against Syria has revived
the specter of war with Iran. For the neoconservatives it could
represent a glimmer of hope that the grandiose dream of a democratic
Middle East has not yet been buried in the ashes of Iraq. But for
realists in the corridors of the State Department and the Pentagon,
military action against Iran is a nightmare they have sought to avert
by asking a simple question: "What then?"
The Israeli strike, or something like it, could easily mark the
beginning of the "World War III," which President Bush warned against
last week. With his usual apocalyptic rhetoric, he said Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could lead the region to a new world war
if his nation builds a nuclear bomb.
Conditions do look ripe for disaster. Iran continues to acquire and
develop the fundamental prerequisites for a nuclear weapon. The mullah
regime receives support -- at least moral support, if not technology
-- from a newly strengthened Russia, which these days reaches for
every chance to provoke the United States. President Vladimir Putin's
own (self-described) "grandiose plan" to restore Russia's armed forces
includes a nuclear buildup. The war in Iraq continues to drag on
without an end in sight or even an opportunity for US troops to
withdraw in a way that doesn't smack of retreat. In Afghanistan, NATO
troops are struggling to prevent a return of the Taliban and al-Qaida
terrorists. The Palestinian conflict could still reignite on any
front.
In Washington, Bush has 15 months left in office. He may have few
successes to show for himself, but he's already thinking of his
legacy. Bush says he wants diplomacy to settle the nuclear dispute
with Tehran, and hopes international pressure will finally convince
Ahmadinejad to come to his senses. Nevertheless, the way pressure has
been building in Washington, preparations for war could be underway.
In late September, the US Senate voted to declare the 125,000-man
Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. High-ranking US
generals have accused Iran of waging a "proxy war" against the United
States through its support of Shiite militias in Iraq. And strategists
at the Pentagon, apparently at Cheney's request, have developed
detailed plans for an attack against Tehran.
See: http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/66157/
Missile Strike
By Gregor Peter Schmitz and Cordula Meyer, Der Spiegel. Posted October
26, 2007.
High-ranking military experts say an attack would lead to world
economic chaos, or even what Bush calls 'World War III.'
US Vice President Dick Cheney -- the power behind the throne, the
eminence grise, the man with the (very) occasional grandfatherly smile
-- is notorious for his propensity for secretiveness and
behind-the-scenes manipulation. He's capable of anything, say friends
as well as enemies. Given this reputation, it's no big surprise that
Cheney has already asked for a backroom analysis of how a war with
Iran might begin.
In the scenario concocted by Cheney's strategists, Washington's first
step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran's uranium
enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own
strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and
nuclear facilities in Iran.
This information was leaked by an official close to the vice
president. Cheney himself hasn't denied engaging in such war games.
For years, in fact, he's been open about his opinion that an attack on
Iran, a member of US President George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil," is
inevitable.
Given these not-too-secret designs, Democrats and Republicans alike
have wondered what to make of the still mysterious Israeli bombing run
in Syria on Sept. 6. Was it part of an existing war plan? A test run,
perhaps? For days after the attack, one question dominated
conversation at Washington receptions: How great is the risk of war,
really?
Grandiose Plans, East and West
In the September strike, Israeli bombers were likely targeting a
nuclear reactor under construction, parts of which are alleged to have
come from North Korea. It is possible that key secretaries in the Bush
cabinet even tried to stop Israel. To this day, the administration has
neither confirmed nor commented on the attack.
Nevertheless, in Washington, Israel's strike against Syria has revived
the specter of war with Iran. For the neoconservatives it could
represent a glimmer of hope that the grandiose dream of a democratic
Middle East has not yet been buried in the ashes of Iraq. But for
realists in the corridors of the State Department and the Pentagon,
military action against Iran is a nightmare they have sought to avert
by asking a simple question: "What then?"
The Israeli strike, or something like it, could easily mark the
beginning of the "World War III," which President Bush warned against
last week. With his usual apocalyptic rhetoric, he said Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could lead the region to a new world war
if his nation builds a nuclear bomb.
Conditions do look ripe for disaster. Iran continues to acquire and
develop the fundamental prerequisites for a nuclear weapon. The mullah
regime receives support -- at least moral support, if not technology
-- from a newly strengthened Russia, which these days reaches for
every chance to provoke the United States. President Vladimir Putin's
own (self-described) "grandiose plan" to restore Russia's armed forces
includes a nuclear buildup. The war in Iraq continues to drag on
without an end in sight or even an opportunity for US troops to
withdraw in a way that doesn't smack of retreat. In Afghanistan, NATO
troops are struggling to prevent a return of the Taliban and al-Qaida
terrorists. The Palestinian conflict could still reignite on any
front.
In Washington, Bush has 15 months left in office. He may have few
successes to show for himself, but he's already thinking of his
legacy. Bush says he wants diplomacy to settle the nuclear dispute
with Tehran, and hopes international pressure will finally convince
Ahmadinejad to come to his senses. Nevertheless, the way pressure has
been building in Washington, preparations for war could be underway.
In late September, the US Senate voted to declare the 125,000-man
Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. High-ranking US
generals have accused Iran of waging a "proxy war" against the United
States through its support of Shiite militias in Iraq. And strategists
at the Pentagon, apparently at Cheney's request, have developed
detailed plans for an attack against Tehran.
See: http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/66157/