Covert ops to overthrow Iran’s gov

[jjw1965]

Trish Schuh| September 27 2005

Like the color-coded terror alert system, the Technicolor Velvet Invasions blink warning. Despite receiving an ugly bruise in Uzbekistan, the CIA and its NGO regime change industry hope to stage another cardboard coup in Iran. But it could be a Black & Blue Revolution.

Citing a 'mission accomplished' in Iraq, President Bush told 25,000 soldiers in Fort Hood, Texas; "The establishment of a free Iraq is a watershed event in the global democratic revolution. That success is sending a message from Beirut to Tehran."

Tasked by the Bush administration with sending that message from America to Tehran, and "winning hearts and minds" is 'swift boat veteran' author Jerome Corsi. On May 16, Corsi's NGO The Iran Freedom Foundation, inaugurated a 12 day "Iran Freedom Walk" from Philadelphia's Liberty Bell to Washington, D.C.

Dipping two fingers in red paint, Corsi waved a peace sign in solidarity "with the blood of oppressed Iranians" and called on "the spirit of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King." He declared; "I love the Iranian people. America does not hate the Persian people. We love the Persian people. We want peace and we love the Persian people." Corsi's voice then hushed to a whisper; "We stand here today and we pray in the name of the Gods. I embrace Jesus Christ as my savior- and we also pray in the name of Allah, Zoroaster, and the B'hai."

• Comparing Islam to a disease

But Corsi has expressed very different opinions on Islam in the past. According to his own postings on FreeRepublic.com, on November 18, 2001 Corsi used a racial slur to define Arabs; "Rag heads are Boy-Bumpers [sodomizers] as clearly as they are Women Haters- it all goes together." In November 2002, Corsi said; "They think the liberals will never let out that these two were lovers... typical Islamic boy-buggering. Older man with younger man- black Muslims..." Using the incendiary style he perfected for 'swiftboat veteran' TV attack ads, Jerome Corsi continued; "Islam is a peaceful religion as long as the women are beaten, the boys buggered, and the infidels killed." Comparing Islam to a disease, he added; "How's this for an analogy? The Koran is simply the "software" for producing deviant cancer cell political behavior and violence in human beings" and "Islam is like a virus. It affects the mind. Maybe even better as an analogy: it is a cancer that destroys the body it infects. No doctor would hesitate to eliminate cancer cells from the body." In April, 2004 Corsi added; "Let's see why it isn't the case that Islam is a worthless, dangerous, satanic religion. Where's the proof to the contrary?"

Surrounding Corsi at his 'Freedom Walk' were three dozen Los Angeles Iranian dissidents and pro-monarchists interviewed by an Orthodox Jewish journalist and by the CIA-backed Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Farda. The Los Angeles Times of March 20, 2005 revealed that 'Tehrangeles' has become a crucial recruiting ground for Iranian expatriates who gather information for the U.S. intelligence community. Also providing assistance are various Farsi language media who broadcast messages against the Iranian government into Iran.

According to the March 4, 2005 Los Angeles Times, the U.S. currently spends $14.7 million a year on Farsi "opposition broadcasts" into Iran. The Voice of America's Farsi service reaches an estimated 15 million Iranians with news programs and websites, and the Bush administration has recently requested an additional $5.7 million in 2006 to expand the hours of transmission.

• CIA's 1953 overthrow of Iran's Mossadeq

Los Angeles Farsi radio station KRSI noted the similarity between current U.S. efforts and the CIA's 1953 overthrow of Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq. When asked if he was CIA affiliated, Corsi claimed; "No I'm not. I've never held a government position, never had any government position at all. I've been in universities. I'm an author. I'm in business. I'm not related to the CIA. It's just not true."

But when later asked how he became so committed to Iranian liberation, he said; "When I was a young man I was an expert in antiterrorism and political violence. I had a top secret clearance when I was in universities and I worked to assist the State Department and the government." Corsi's publisher, Cumberland House, states in his biography that Corsi's top secret clearance came from the government agency USAID. USAID has often served as a conduit for American covert operations funding, under humanitarian auspices.

This writer then asked Corsi about the Iran Freedom Foundation's funding. He said the money came from sales of his book "Atomic Iran" and from private donations, adding that the IFF would apply for government funding when it became available.

That government funding may be on the way. On February 11, 2005 a promoter of the Iran Freedom Foundation, Worldnetdaily.com announced that Corsi had helped Republican Senator Rick Santorum write the Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2005. The legislation was to authorize $10 million in assistance to pro-democracy NGOs that challenge the Iranian regime. Corsi called that figure a "starting point."

It was an accurate projection. According to the May 5, 2005 Financial Times article "U.S. offers grants to help oppose clerics," Guy Dinmore reported that lawmakers demanded a bill aimed at overthrowing the Iranian government be increased to $50 million. This did not include the millions of dollars provided by the State Department's Middle East Partnership Initiative. "We have turned opposition into a profession," commented Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations. "This money is going to go up."

Such "soft power" opposition activities are escalating. In May 29, the New York Times quoted R. Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, as saying the Bush team was "taking a page from the playbook" of colored revolutions where the U.S. funded pro-democracy NGOs helped nonviolently overthrow noncompliant governments.

The Iran Freedom Foundation lists several such activities on its website. Corsi's book "Atomic Iran" is being translated into Farsi for clandestine distribution in Iran, there is an online petition targeting the mullahs, IFF university associations are mobilizing college students, and a national speakers bureau to educate Americans on Iranian alleged “atrocities” has been deployed. The IFF is also filming a documentary and has begun running TV ads entitled; "An Atomic 9-11: When Evil is Appeased" accusing Iran of plans to detonate a 150 kiloton nuclear bomb in New York City. According to Israeli Knesset documents, Corsi was formerly with the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, and when I reminded Corsi that it was the U.S. who began Iran's nuclear program in the 1970s, and that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sat on the board of ABB (which sold North Korea its nuclear reactors in the 1990's), he refused to comment.

The IFF's efforts are supplemented by an array of related sister organizations such as Regime Change Iran, Alliance for Democracy in Iran, Iran of Tomorrow Movement, The Iran Accountability Project, The Initiative for Democratic Change in Iran, the Iranian Opposition Council, and "The 70 Million People of Iran" who were organizing an election for a secular interim government in exile "ready to assume Iran's governmental functions by June 10, 2005". The group had also issued an ultimatum letter to world leaders, demanding they void all contracts with Iran by June 16. (Halliburton contracts in Iran were not mentioned). This small U.S.-backed group, presuming to speak for 70 million Iranians, even borrowed State Department lingo urging "the removal of the Islamic Republic to win the 'War on Terror'."

Corsi's IFF has also endorsed the Free Iran Project, an enterprise created by Reagan Doctrine policy architect Dr. Jack Wheeler. In January 2005, Wheeler advocated that President Bush use nuclear weapons to destroy Mecca if America is hit by another terrorist attack. Wheeler bragged on his website "To The Point" that Osama Bin Laden is "playing poker with a Texas cowboy holding all the nuclear aces."

The goal of these strategies, Corsi announced at his event, was to incite mass protests against Iran's June 17th presidential elections and thus destabilize the regime. Iranian dissident Ghassem Sholeh Sadi agreed. In the NY Sun article, "Iranian dissidents asking aid from Bush," Sadi explained; "After the events in Kyrgystan, there is an idea to try to turn the elections into a referendum and uprising."

As early as 2003, Reuters printed allegations that the U.S. had infiltrated several million dollars into the country to bribe officials and pay protestors.

• Is America pulling the strings?"

Economist of June 13, 2003 headlined; "More unrest on the streets of Tehran. Is America pulling the strings?" America is pulling strings, with Israeli assistance. The former head of Mossad's Foreign Intelligence Division Uzi Arad told Worldnetdaily.com; "Support of Iranian opposition by the international community could be an effective way to handle the current regime" and that "its stability can be geatly reduced by the people themselves." Pro-Israel lobbyist Michael Ledeen wrote for the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute; "Mr. Bush is correct that we should actively help the brave Iranians who are leading demonstrations against the regime..." Voice of Israel's Iran expert Dr. Menasha Amir warned in a Knesset briefing on Iranian regime change that "the west should be careful not to make it look like a foreign takeover" and Knesset Minister Yuri Stern added; "Let’s send them orange ribbons- we have plenty!"

• Support of MEK

Israel's Student Solidarity Movement and The Jewish Agency recently staged protests at Iranian embassies worldwide. The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported "AIPAC [American Israel Political Action Committee] spurring Congress to pass a sanctions bill against Iran." AIPAC is also pressuring the U.S. to support the Iranian Mujahedin-e-Khalq (National Council of Resistance of Iran) for use against Iran's leadership.

MEK was legally designated a terrorist organization by Congress in 1997 for killing US citizens, for its role in the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, and for attacking coalition troops in Iraq.

The Pentagon also has MEK members on its payroll, despite President Bush's rhetoric in 2002; "This administration will route out terror wherever it exists, and will hold people accountable if they harbor terrorists."

The Israeli Communication Ministry's R.R. Sat provides transponder capability to the MEK to broadcast programming on its two channels. Iran-interlink.org even hints that Ariel Sharon personally approved funding for the broadcasts, because of his alliance with MEK founder Maryam Rajavi.

On May 28, The Iran Freedom Foundation's 'Freedom Walk' reached the White House. The closing rally featured Richard Perle, former Assistant Secretary of Defense and pro-Israel architect of Bush's Middle East policy. Jerome Corsi then phoned the White House where President Bush congratulated the marchers and offered support. Vice President Cheney's office also thanked the IFF. Corsi vowed; "If we can find sufficient monetary resources, we plan to send funds inside Iran to support those oppressed."

In response, USAToday reported, the Iranian Ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced these types of U.S. measures as a violation of the Algiers Accords. The Algiers Accords freed 52 American embassy hostages in exchange for a U.S. promise "not to intervene directly or indirectly, politically or militarily, in Iran's internal affairs." Iran may file a complaint with The International Court of Justice in the Hague to stop U.S. interference.

According to Reuters, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi threatened; "Iran has always defended its interests with full power and will continue to do so. It won't hesitate even for a fraction of a moment to defend itself" and Iran's government has pledged harsh resistance. With Iran's oil reserves wedded to nuclear capability, those 'orange ribbons' could become a noose round the neck of the west.

 

[Ocean Breeze]

The U.S. Has Plans to Invade Iran Before Bush's Term Ends

By Walter C. Uhler

09/29/05 "ICH" -- -- Bill Gertz is a right-wing national security reporter for the Rev. Sun Yung Moon's neo-fascist newspaper, The Washington Times. He's also a spigot from which flows much classified information illegally leaked by like-minded "patriots" seeking to advance their hawkish agenda in the military-industrial-congressional complex. And, frankly speaking, that's the only reason I pay any attention to him.

So I was hardly surprised when, on September 16, 2005, Gertz reported on the Bush administration's "computer slide presentation." which was aimed at persuading whoever would listen that Iran is working feverishly to build nuclear weapons.

According to Gertz, the report claims: "Iran's nuclear program is well-scaled for a weapons capability, as a comparison to [Pakistan's] nuclear weapons infrastructure shows…When one also considers Iran's concealment and deception activities, it's difficult to escape the conclusion that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons."

The report also states that "Iran's uranium ore resources are insufficient for Tehran to produce enough fuel for civilian electrical power generating reactors. 'However, Iran's uranium resources are more than sufficient to support a nuclear weapons capability.'" [U.S. Report Says Iran Seeks To Acquire Nuclear Weapons," Washington Times, 16 September 2005]

Unlike the Washington Post's article on the subject two days earlier, Gertz predictably failed to mention that the slide show "dismisses ambiguities in the evidence…and omits alternative explanations under debate among intelligence analysts." He also failed to mention that several diplomats "said the slide show reminded them of the flawed presentation on Iraq's weapons programs made by then-secretary of state Colin L. Powell to the UN Security Council in February 2003" ["US Deploys Slide Show to Press Case Against Iran," Washington Post, 14 September 2005]

Moreover, in order to serve as water boy for the Bush administration, Gertz had to ignore (or discount) the recent report from Britain's prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies, which concluded that Iran "was at least five years away from producing sufficient material for 'a single nuclear weapon,'" Instead, Gertz obediently and dutifully noted that the Bush administration "is pressing the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] to refer the issue… to the United Nations Security Council," which "could then impose economic sanctions against Iran or possibly a future authorization for the use of force." [Ibid.] Ah yes, "authorization for the use of force"—the source of many a neocon and chickenhawk wet dream.

But much more disconcerting than Gertz's piece was one written by Claude Salhani on 22 September 2005 for the same loony "Moonie" scandal sheet. Salhani shamelessly reintroduced the tactics, which proved so successful in inflaming a frightened American public about the threat posed by Iraq. He invoked the words of an Iranian dissident (today's Ahmad Chalabi), as well as former U.S. government officials (seeking to "empower resistance" inside Iran), to make the claim the Iran is, in fact, "gearing for war" with the United States.

No, notwithstanding the inflammatory title that the Moonie editors attached to Salhani's article—"Is Iran Geared For War?"—Iran is not planning to attack the United States. Instead, it is merely taking very prudent measures to defend itself against a possible illegal preventive war instigated by the "war party" in the Bush administration.

Although America's past is riddled with instances in which a "war party"—remember the "War Hawks" Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun?—within a given party or administration labored mightily to con its subjects into wars of aggression, it's America's singular misfortune today to be guided by a "war party" in and around the Bush administration, which consists of neocons and chickenhawks who seek to compensate for personal cowardice or neglect of military duty (especially during the Vietnam war) with martial rhetoric and by sending courageous soldiers to fight, kill, and perhaps die for them. Note President George W. Bush's "Bring 'em on."

But it is America's greater misfortune today to be informed by a so-called "watch dog" mainstream news media that supinely reports this war party's will to kill without insisting upon the hard evidence necessary for justifying war. Although they failed miserably in their 2002-03 coverage of Iraq, unfortunately this is not a recent phenomenon. For as John L. Harper has recently concluded: "The premises on which the United States decided to go to war in 1812, 1846, 1898, 1917, 1950, 1964–65 and 2002–03, were largely false." [John L. Harper, "Anatomy of a Habit: America's Unnecessary Wars," Survival, Summer 2005, p. 79]

But, forget the past. Just a few days ago, on September 26, 2005, The Telegraph of Calcutta, India issued an astounding report that has yet to cause a ripple within America's mainstream news media. In the fifth paragraph of the article, "Gulf factor key to PM's Iran vote decision," were the following words: "Top-ranking Americans have told equally top-ranking Indians in recent weeks that THE US HAS PLANS TO INVADE IRAN BEFORE BUSH'S TERM ENDS" (author's emphasis).

Thoughtful, decent, moral citizens of these United States: I urge you to write to the editors of your local and national news outlets to insist that they authenticate or repudiate the information reported by The Telegraph. And I further urge you to write your congressman (or congresswoman) to inquire about their knowledge concerning this assertion. Finally, I urge you to write to President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and/or Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to inquire about their plans to invade Iran before they leave office.

We simply cannot permit the Bush "war party" to run roughshod over America's democracy once again.

 

[mrmom2]

You got to wonder why the USG hates Iran so much 8O First they covertly overthrow the goverment and install the Shah.Then when he won't raise the price of oil anymore they drag Kohmeni out of France and help install him .Now they want to do it all over again and the average US Joe wonders why the Arabs hate the US so much 8O

 

[Ocean Breeze]

Preparing for War With Iran?
Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter outlines the Bushies' plan for military domination of the Middle East
Steve Sellery



September 29, 2005


Scott Ritter, former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, made a strong case that the Bush administration is preparing to take the war to Iran in a speech he gave at the United Church on the Green in New Haven on Sept. 17 before an attentive crowd of about 250.

The gathering, sponsored by Squeaky Wheel Productions, Between the Lines Radio Newsmagazine, WPKN and the Yale Coalition for Peace, was perfectly timed. Ritter spoke the day before the visit of Cindy Sheehan, the mother who still wants President George W. Bush to tell her why her son died. In his speech, titled "Parallel Deceptions: The Bush Agenda for War in Iraq and Iran," Ritter made it clear that her son died because of deceptions by the Bush administration that led to the Iraq war and that are preparing us for war in Iran. It is all laid out in the Wolfowitz-Cheney gang's document "Project for a New American Century" where the neocons plan for military domination of the Middle East.

Scott Ritter is an imposing man. Big and burly, he still looks like the Marine Corps leader who led a dozen men in combat. He began his speech by remarking wryly that he could never have imagined being sponsored by peace groups. He was and is a military man, a card-carrying member of the American Legion. "I still believe in war," he said. "It's just that this is an illegal war and every day it takes us further from our goals of peace."

Ritter's controlled anger at the Bush administration was apparent. This is not the anger of a peacenik, but of a military man who has been deceived by his leadership. "It's not the fault of the military men on the scene in Iraq," he said. "They are just taking orders. When you and your 12 men are face to face against the enemy, you have to focus on staying alive and winning your mission. The military men and women are doing what we as a country have asked them to do."

"Iraq is a nation on fire," Ritter asserted. "And our troops are the fuel that feeds that fire." Make no mistake about it, he added, today is the best day that we are going to have in Iraq. It is only going to get worse. Why not get out of Iraq on the best day? We do not need to wait until it gets worse.

Ritter summed up the current Iraq conflict as an "illegal" war that is the result of a decade of deception by the U.S. government and the CIA. After Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the U.N. Resolution called for the removal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. This was done. Colin Powell, who was then Joint Chief of Staff of the military, told the president not to take over Iraq because we did not have a plan for managing the aftermath; and without a plan there would be ethnic bloodshed. Bush took his advice. The CIA told the president that with economic sanctions, we could squeeze the Iraqis until they deposed Saddam Hussein. The CIA thought it would take six months.

Weapons of mass destruction were used as a justification for the economic sanctions on Iraq after Kuwait was liberated. But, Ritter noted, the first Gulf War came close to destroying all of Iraq's capabilities. These were only "high school-like programs" to develop WMD, Ritter said. However, the U.S. government hyped up the threat to make the economy collapse so that Hussein would be thrown out. Bush signed the order to the CIA that made getting rid of Saddam Hussein goal No. 1.

During the run up to the Iraq War, the Iraqis were letting arms inspectors into the country, Ritter explained. The Iraqis said they had destroyed much of their capabilities. Ritter said inspectors had evidence of most of the destroyed capabilities, but they could not verify the last remaining weapons. "It's impossible to prove a negative," he said. "The CIA kept saying that some remained and at the time we could not prove them completely wrong. Now we know.

"The CIA said there were 140 SCUD missiles in Iraq and we proved them wrong," he added. "The CIA reduced that number to 14 missiles and said they would not budge from that number. And they were right about one thing--they never budged from that number. But it was politically motivated from the beginning."

On to Iran. Ritter maintains that the Bush administration plans to go to war with Iran over its nuclear energy program. Our government says we can't trust the Iranians because an oil rich nation does not need nuclear energy. But in 1976 (when Donald Rumsfield was Secretary of Defense and Dick Cheney was the Chief of Staff under Gerald Ford's presidency), the Shah of Iran told the United States that he needed nuclear energy to diversify his country's energy program for security reasons, in case the Persian Gulf were militarily blocked or if there was massive damage--natural or manmade--to its oil wells. The U.S. government agreed with the Shah's logic then, but has since changed its position, because, as Ritter noted, the neocon strategy is for regime change throughout the Middle East, despite the fact that the same people who once approved of Iran's nuclear energy program, are now opposed to it.

Iran has been complying with all international laws in regards to international inspections of its nuclear energy program. There is no legal way to oppose it, so the Bush administration is saying that it's a front for weapons of mass destruction, according to Ritter. If the United States asks Iran to shut down its nuclear energy program, and this request goes to the U.N. Security Council, Russia and China have said that they will oppose the request. In that scenario, Ritter said, the United States can fall back on Bush's Sept. 17, 2002 New Security Agreement and say that U.S. security is threatened and that the only solution is war.

Ritter said that one reason we cannot find a way out of the Iraq War is that so many members of Congress voted for the war and are afraid to change their position. The only solution is for the American people to vote out of office every elected official--Republican or Democrat--who refuses to change his or her position to one of immediate withdrawal. This includes Democrats like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Joseph Biden, who are sticking by their pro-war positions as they run for president. Until we purge all of these people from office, they will send us to war in Iran, Ritter predicted.

Following his speech, Ritter took questions from the audience. One person asked about the permanent military bases in Iraq. Ritter said that the United States started with 120 military bases and is consolidating them to 40 with the plan to consolidate further to 14 and then to four major bases outside of the population zones. Iraq will become our "lily pad" in the Middle East, he said. It will allow us to withdraw our troops from Saudi Arabia, but still provide us with the capability to strike in Iran, Syria, etc. However, the Iraqi people want us out of their country completely, he said. They will not accept these permanent American military bases.

A second person asked Ritter what he could tell his high-school-aged children. Ritter responded, "I have two girls, 12-year-old twins. We need to make this world safe for them and their children. When I speak at high schools around the nation, I tell the students that my generation has failed them. Yes, we have failed them. They should not listen to us, because we have created a world of permanent war, and because we lie to them on a regular basis. Do not trust your government, I tell them. Trust yourself. Question authority. Take responsibility for the world. Take action. Only you can save the world."

the sooner they can get rid of the megalomaniac bush.......the safer we can all start feeling. He is most certainly the most dangerous person on the planet at the moment. Maybe this is the image, that he and his desciples want. FEAR THE US...........and therefore using fear to continue to control as much of the world's population as they can. This will back fire.........big time. One can safely assume that many "feared " Hitler and the likes of him. Fear only instills rage.....and eventual hatred.