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Is Iran `next`?

Paul O'Hanlon | 06.11.2005 12:45 | Analysis | Anti-militarism | Anti-racism | World

This is a 600 word piece about a possible attack on Iran or maybe Syria. 10 labelled press cuttings and photos are attached.












IS IRAN `NEXT`?

George Bush’s discredited `war on terror ` is unpopular the whole world over. It is now even opposed by the majority of American people who see the attack on Iraq as a `mistake` - it was more than that it was a crime. The destruction of Fallujah which journalist David Aaronovitch called a `grim necessity` was a war crime, which would have made the Nazis puke.

Some two and a half years after the invasion of Iraq basic services like electricity and water have still not been restored. The spin about bringing democracy to Iraq is now seen as entirely phoney. The media did their best to sell the January elections as somehow a historic milestone but the latest referendum in October was so fraudulent that there was little more than an embarrassed silence in the mainstream media. Here is a report by Independent journalist Dahr Jamail:
 http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/archives/dispatches/000302.php

Iraq is proving difficult for the occupying forces to handle and that’s putting it rather mildly. Yet, incredibly, there is serious talk of attacking Iran and/or Syria. Why? The war on Iraq we were told was `nothing to do with oil` yet the first thing the invading armies did was to seize the oil fields and the first building the US army took control of in Baghdad was the Ministry of Oil.

Could the attack on Iran have anything to do with oil? Iran has huge supplies of both oil and gas, Syria does not have significant oil reserves but it could be useful for building an oil pipeline across and also of course it would be strategically important in helping an expanded Israel, which already illegally occupies the Golan Heights.

Here is a profile of Iran:
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/790877.stm

So who is `next`? The `crazies` in Washington have been on the back foot for a while now with Lewis `Scooter` Libby charged with 5 counts of perjury. He is likely to take Karl Rove and maybe even his boss Dick `Lon` Cheney down with him.

Condoleeza Rice and Jack `man of ` Straw were issuing threats against Syria – only two weeks ago!  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4369038.stm
Then just one week later the emphasis had changed from Syria to Iran. Last weekend the tabloids screamed ` The Most Evil Man in the World` and `Maniac Plots World war 3` - referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. So, who is `next`? The man who was fond of using that expression “You’re next!” was of course the old Prince of Darkness himself Richard Perle. Here is an interview with him:
 http://www.cdi.org/russia/266-7.cfm
However, when he was interviewed on BBC Radio Four’s `The World this Weekend` on Sunday 30th October 2005, he sounded very subdued and not at all his usual cocky, arrogant self. Perhaps he is worried that after Scooter Libby’s demise he himself may be `next`! Mr Patrick Fitzgerald is getting at the truth and is getting uncomfortably close as far as the crazies are concerned.


US writer Gore Vidal has spoken of the `enemy of the month club` but now it seems we have the enemy of the week club!

So, once again who is next? It will probably be either Iran or Syria but with over 50% of Americans now against the occupation of Iraq and with Tony Blair now a lame duck Prime Minister it’s hard to see how such an attack could be sold to the public. The US people, badly informed though they may be, will not fall for the same pack of lies again.

The people of Iran and of Syria may yet be spared. Inshala.


Paul O’Hanlon (Edinburgh Stop the War)


10 labelled photos and press cuttings are attached.









Word Count 614 words.

Paul O'Hanlon
- e-mail: o_hanlon@hotmail.com

Comments

Hide the following 16 comments

America was attacked first!

06.11.2005 14:36

Quote : "George Bush’s discredited `war on terror ` is unpopular the whole world over. It is now even opposed by the majority of American people who see the attack on Iraq as a `mistake`"

No they don't! The majority of American people know that the war on terrorism is neccessary after America was attacked on September the 11th 2001! What else was America supposed to do after being attacked on September 11th? Just sit back and wait for the next attack? Remember America was attacked first!

Voice of Reason


WTF

06.11.2005 15:27

why are people posting such reactionary
political correct blair junta appeasing views???

hey its your point i suppose but

what with all that money being made
from the Arms to the securi tech industry

these 'terrorists' should really play those markets

because they are helping Bush-Cheneys-Saudi oil-pharma
greed cartel

[like the Movie 'totall recall in the Mars ghetto with all
Utility held under a Juntas whim]

while also sending stocks seering
for the Carlyles groups QinetiQ
[rumours of Blair joining these spooks
after he goes]

amongst many other
DAARPA / QinetiQ projects such as


armed autonomous drones
on land Air sea & space
[a 'predator' killed 11 last month in Iraq
first used for bombing 2001]
[with the USAF eventually
becoming a total 'space force']

millimetre radar - [like the Movie 'totall recall']
[which is to be trailed soon in railways and Airports]

Geo fenced areas and satellite tagging
via ID CARD or DNA chip
[cashless society]

only those who have worked enough hours
will be allowed anywhere near the 'goodies'
[everyones such happy shoppers]

citizens are now consumers
nation state becomes corporation
[for a clue see the original movie 'rollerball'
with James Caan]



do a google on 'new anti terror laws'

and notice worrying draconian police statism
is happening globally under a pretext
of The war on Terror

those terrorists sure are
helping the
Global police state agenda


aren't they?

cw


Who attacked America on September 11th?

06.11.2005 15:48

Dear `Voice of Reason`,
First of all is there any chance you could reveal your true identity? My true identity is Paul O'Hanlon and I live in Edinburgh where I am a member of the local Stop the War.
Yes, someone attacked the USA on September 11th 2001 - question is by whom?
Certainly not Iraq - Saddam had no connections with Al Qaeda which was his mortal enemy and none of the 19 hijackers were Iraqi. How could September 11th have happened with all the safeguards that are in place? The 4 planes were out of control for 35 minutes and yet the F16s weren't scrambled to intercept the planes? Why not? This is standard procedure and does not require Presidential Authority. How come building number 7 in the World Trade Centre complex collapsed when it was not struck by a plane? In Washington DC how is it that the size of the hole in the side of the Pentagon is smaller than that which would have been made by the 737 jet which is supposed to have crashed into it? These questions need to be answered.
Is Iraq a democracy? 82% of the poulation wants the occupation to leave according to the recent MOD poll. In a democracy the people’s wishes would be respected.
Best, Paul.

Paul O'Hanlon
mail e-mail: o_hanlon@hotmail.com


Remember America was attacked first

06.11.2005 17:00

"Remember America was attacked first"

Nonsense. Read your history before making such erroneous comments.

Derek Lane

Derek Lane


Oh Paul

06.11.2005 23:28

Oh Paul,

You were doing so well until you started the 9/11 conspiracy stuff mate.


Yer Pal,

Bob MacFadzean. Fae Bathgate. If, as it appears, real names are important to you.

Boab


Hands Off Syria and Iran

07.11.2005 08:14

The anti-war movement needs to wake up to the very strong possibility that the United States will attack Iran and/or Syria. I just read the Socialist Worker (forgive me) where Alex Callinicos states that he does not believe America will attack Iran or Syria.
Firstly the American don't have to invade Iran they have enough airpower to totally destabilise Iran under the pretext of targeting nuclear facilities. And remember what airpower did to Iraq during the 1st Gulf War, killing 200,000 Iraqis and destroying the infrastructure, which allowed the sanctions to kill over a million people.
The Americans also have a navy that could enter the Persian Gulf and bombard Iran with cruise and tomahawk missiles.
With Syria they are currently massing along the border and destroying towns and villages. There have also been airstrikes within Syria. They seem to be gradually escalating the conflict along the border. An attack against Syria would obviously also include Israel.
Wake up! Stop WWIII!

tus


Yes Iraq did have a connection with Al Qaeda!

07.11.2005 10:28

Thats where most people are wrong. Yes Iraq and Al Qaeda were mortal enemies, but remember the Hilter Stalin pact. A similar pact existed between Iraq and Al Qaeda, thats why Al Qaeda never bombed Iraq yet bombed numerous American targets. There were also many reported contacts between Al Qaeda operatives and the Iraqi secret service.

Quote : "TOP U.S. OFFICIALS linked Iraq and al Qaeda in newspaper op-eds, on talk shows, and in speeches. But the most detailed of their allegations came in an October 7, 2002, letter from CIA director George Tenet to Senate Intelligence chairman Bob Graham and in Secretary of State Colin Powell's February 5, 2003, presentation to the United Nations Security Council.

The Tenet letter declassified CIA reporting on weapons of mass destruction and Iraq's links to al Qaeda. Two sentences on WMD garnered most media attention, but the intelligence chief's comments on al Qaeda deserved notice. "We have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and al Qa'ida going back a decade," Tenet wrote. "Credible information indicates that Iraq and al Qa'ida have discussed safe haven and reciprocal non-aggression. Since Operation Enduring Freedom [in Afghanistan], we have solid evidence of the presence in Iraq of al Qa'ida members, including some that have been in Baghdad. We have credible reporting that al Qa'ida leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire WMD capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to al Qa'ida members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs." In sum, the letter said, "Iraq's increasing support to extremist Palestinians, coupled with growing indications of a relationship with al Qa'ida, suggest that Baghdad's links to terrorists will increase, even absent US military actions."

 http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/033jgqyi.asp

Voice of Reason


CONSPIRACY THEORISTS UNITE ( IN conspiracy FACTS )

07.11.2005 10:58

G'day Boab I was wondering if I could just take up a little bit of you time and explain, in a nutshell, what exactly
you mean by conspiracy theory stuff, I am led to believe by commentators on IMC that Conspiracy theorists are people who try top make out that the world is run by freemasons,
The reason they do this is because they are antisemitic due to the fact that all freemasons are jews.
In other words conspiracy theorists are a bunch of right wing scum bag nazis who will do anything to get at the Jews. One of the first things that conspiracy theorists try to lay on the unsuspecting sheeple is that the
Bilderberg group, G8 steering committee, is along with the council of Foriegn Relations (CFR) are part of the
Da Vinci Code, a novel by Dan Brown.

But lets get back to this post you say that Paul is doing OK until he starts up on the Conspiracy theory stuff,
Lets take it point by point .

1) Yes, someone attacked the USA on September 11th 2001 - question is by whom?

go on Boab your the boy for the one liners, in fact it seems you only have one line in yer !

2) Certainly not Iraq - Saddam had no connections with Al Qaeda which was his mortal enemy and none of the 19 hijackers were Iraqi.

nothing theoretical here

3) How could September 11th have happened with all the safeguards that are in place?

exercise exercise exercise, there were a lot going on at the time

a) The 4 planes were out of control for 35 minutes and yet the F16s weren't scrambled to intercept the planes?

they were out on strike that day, one had a flat tyre, the pilots was sick err wot's your view boab ?

b) Why not? This is standard procedure and does not require Presidential Authority.

despite sepending millions of billions on the latest war toys the USA is completely undefended before 09:30
in the morning ?


4) How come building number 7 in the World Trade Centre complex collapsed when it was not struck by a plane.

it just fell down in sympathy with the other two, or was it the super hot five star benzin that melted the two and a half inch thick girders in the near vicinity of the neighbour

5) In Washington DC how is it that the size of the hole in the side of the Pentagon is smaller than that which would have been made by the 737 jet which is supposed to have crashed into it?

so they say ..

6) Who attacked America on September 11th?

7) Pearl Harbour buddy !!!

well there doesn't seem to be a whif of freemasonic banter, anti jewish nastness nor for that matter
is bilderberg mentioned. Just a series of facts regarding the strange circumstances regarding the collapse of three of the largest buildings in New york and the failure of the worlds most powerfull and only super power to to stop it happening .

06.11.2005 15:48

Dear `Voice of Reason`,
First of all is there any chance you could reveal your true identity? My true identity is Paul O'Hanlon and I live in Edinburgh where I am a member of the local Stop the War.
Yes, someone attacked the USA on September 11th 2001 - question is by whom?
Certainly not Iraq - Saddam had no connections with Al Qaeda which was his mortal enemy and none of the 19 hijackers were Iraqi. How could September 11th have happened with all the safeguards that are in place? The 4 planes were out of control for 35 minutes and yet the F16s weren't scrambled to intercept the planes? Why not? This is standard procedure and does not require Presidential Authority. How come building number 7 in the World Trade Centre complex collapsed when it was not struck by a plane? In Washington DC how is it that the size of the hole in the side of the Pentagon is smaller than that which would have been made by the 737 jet which is supposed to have crashed into it? These questions need to be answered.
Is Iraq a democracy? 82% of the poulation wants the occupation to leave according to the recent MOD poll. In a democracy the people’s wishes would be respected.
Best, Paul.
Paul O'Hanlon
e-mail:  o_hanlon@hotmail.com

masonic Youth


terrorists

07.11.2005 11:10

Iran is a terrorists sponsoring state their government deserves whatever they get

rex


Nonsense

07.11.2005 11:45

Iran doesnt sponsor Britain OR the US so Rex your accusations are false

T-Rex


This is not Tom and Jerry

07.11.2005 15:28

'In Washington DC how is it that the size of the hole in the side of the Pentagon is smaller than that which would have been made by the 737 jet which is supposed to have crashed into it?'

In real life, when an aircraft hits a substantial reinforced concrete structure, it does not leave a cartoon like outline of the whole plane in the wall you know. The fact that the hole was smaller than the pre-obliterated plane is hardly conclusive proof that something other than an aircraft hit the Pentagon.

Fred Quimby


It's like being attacked with a wet sock.....

07.11.2005 20:01

Well Masonic Youth, that's quite a tirade.

Lets be frank. Conspiracy theorists are by and large a bunch who seek to blame world events as some part of grand scheme by secretive organisations. The Illuminati. G8. The Freemasons. Majestic 12. As far as I've seen, their theories are long on unsupported conjecture and short on facts. Scotland has more chance of winning the World Cup than these clowns have of getting it right.

Now I think you're trying to finger the Freemasons here, and I love that suggestion that they're all Jews - it had me laughing for a while - but it might just be a shoddy attempt at sarcasm so I'll let it go. For now.

As for your questions...

1. Still to see a reliable argument, best on the table remains Al-Q due to the unsupported flim-flam the conspiracy theorists put about.

2. Don't disagree. Try reading Michael Moore, he says the same thing.

3. And what safeguards would those be, then? Expert on USAF scramble times and military prcedures are you? How often have the Yanks intercepted planes in the last 10 years then. On you go, flesh that one out a bit more.

4. Oh no, the old steel doesn't melt crap. I'll just give you a link to another thread:

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/10/326074.html

5. Mr. Quimby is right, you are wrong.

6. See question 1, above. I assume you think it was Bush or his cronies?

7. Aha. Claiming that was a set-up too, eh?



5.

Big Bad Boab


Voice of the tedious

08.11.2005 01:10

Voice of reason Putting ! after every thing you write does not give it any argumentative weight and is really sad. Don’t quote CIA reports – they mean Jack Shit remember. No WMD found in Iraq after the invasion. Finally don’t quote the Weekly Standard – it’s a pile of shit and everybody knows it.

Haidar


Iran Is 'Already'

08.11.2005 05:57

As Seymour Hersh of The New Yorker has recently detailed, the US is already running Black Ops into Iran from the neighbouring 'Stans, just as they're running military operations into Syria from Iraq.

Shades of Laos/Cambodia.

Guess they found something to do with the BILLIONS they stole from the Iraqi people ...

Read Seymour Hersh


well done paul

08.11.2005 10:47

Thanks for this contribution Paul. The possibility of more wars are just around the corner.

Clarky


targeting done already

12.11.2005 18:34

nuclear facilities
nuclear facilities

..

...