| Author | Message | | Alpha | | Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 12:10 pm Post subject: Ritter Book: Israel, Lobby Pushing Iran War |
| http://www.forward.com/articles/book-israel-lobby-pushing-iran-war/
Book: Israel, Lobby Pushing Iran War
Nathan Guttman | Fri. Dec 29, 2006
A former United Nations weapons inspector and leading Iraq War opponent has written a new book alleging that Jerusalem is pushing the Bush administration into war with Iran, and accusing the pro-Israel lobby of dual loyalty and “outright espionage.”
In the new book, called “Target Iran,” Scott Ritter, who served as a senior U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998 and later became one of the war’s staunchest critics, argues that the United States is readying for military action against Iran, using its nuclear program as a pretext for pursuing regime change in Tehran.
“The Bush administration, with the able help of the Israeli government and the pro-Israel Lobby, has succeeded,” Ritter writes, “in exploiting the ignorance of the American people about nuclear technology and nuclear weapons so as to engender enough fear that the American public has more or less been pre-programmed to accept the notion of the need to militarily confront a nuclear armed Iran.”
Later in the book, Ritter adds: “Let there be no doubt: If there is an American war with Iran, it is a war that was made in Israel and nowhere else.”
Ritter’s book echoes recent high-profile attacks on the pro-Israel lobby by former President Jimmy Carter and by scholars Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer. Ritter, who recently returned from a weeklong speaking engagement on The Nation cruise, speaks of a “network of individuals” that pursues Israel’s interests in the United States. The former weapons inspector alleges that some of the pro-Israel lobby’s activities “can only be described as outright espionage and interference in domestic policies.” Ritter also accused the American Israel Public Affairs Committee of having an inherent dual loyalty. He called for the organization to be registered as a foreign agent.
Representatives for both Aipac and the Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment on Ritter’s accusations.
In his book, Ritter also accuses the pro-Israel lobby of invoking the memory of the Holocaust and of crying antisemitism whenever Israel is accused of betraying America. “This is a sickening and deeply disturbing trend that must end,” Ritter writes.
According to Ritter, Iran is far from developing a nuclear weapons program and will not do so in the future if the world makes sure that stringent inspections are in place to verify that the Iranians live up to the requirements of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
“If Iran does make a political decision to develop nuclear weapons, it will take them a decade and it won’t go undetected,” Ritter said. “But it will take the U.S. only five weeks to build up a force capable of destroying Iran by air strikes. It’s a timeline of five weeks compared to a decade, so I’m not worried about taking a risk.”
As for Israeli and American fears regarding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president who vowed to “wipe Israel off the map,” Ritter dubbed the leader a “sick joke” and asserted that he does not make the decisions in Tehran.
Ritter argues that the Bush administration knows that inspections can solve the Iranian nuclear problem but, at the urging of Jerusalem and its American allies, is in reality pursuing a different goal: regime change in Tehran.
“Israel has, through a combination of ignorance, fear and paranoia, elevated Iran to a status that it finds unacceptable,” Ritter writes in his book. “Israel has engaged in policies that have further inflamed this situation. Israel displays arrogance and rigidity when it comes to developing any diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue.”
Ritter is no stranger to controversy.
As a U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, he headed several surprise inspection missions that were denied access to suspicious sites, and led to the Saddam Hussein regime accusing Ritter of being an American spy. The frequent refusal of the Iraqis to provide Ritter and his team access to sites of interest led eventually to the abandonment of the inspection regime in Iraq. Ritter resigned his post in 1998, accusing the United States and the U.N. of caving in to the Iraqis.
But Ritter later became a leading voice warning against taking military action against Iraq, arguing that a resumption of inspections would be sufficient to contain Hussein. He accused the United States of trying to use the U.N. inspection force for spying purposes and claimed that Iraq was deliberately held to higher standards than other countries in order to justify a military invasion.
In early 2004, Ritter charged in an interview on the Web site Ynet, operated by the daily Yediot Aharonot, that Israeli intelligence had deliberately overstated what it knew to be a minimal threat from Iraq in an effort to push America and Britain to launch a war. Ritter’s accusations were roundly rejected across the Israeli political spectrum. Security officials interviewed by the Forward insisted that no branch of the military could or would deliberately skew the findings in that way, but they also said that Israeli intelligence tended to exaggerate threats because it was operating under flawed assumptions.
Now Ritter is arguing that a similar effort is under way to produce an attack against Iran.
Speaking to the Forward this week, Ritter stressed that he is not accusing all American Jews of having dual loyalty, saying that “at the end of the day, I would like to believe that most of American Jews will side with America.”
Ritter is already working on his next book, due for publication in March 2007. In this tome, he sets out to teach the anti-war movements that he supports how to wage an effective campaign to win over American public opinion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel's influence of US policy & the Israeli lobby:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O125hGt9qt4&NR
AIPAC and NeoCon Policy
on bombing Iran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rf16XjbOUs
Thursday, December 21st, 2006
Target Iran: Former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter and Investigative Journalist Seymour Hersh on White House Plans for Regime Change
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/21/143259
Former Mossad operative (Ostrovsky) who wrote the 'By Way of Deception' book about the Mossad nails the dual loyality issue and use of the 'anti-Semite' smear via the you tube video short URLs below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-PnQ3iVaZE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXwuOAL5yEE
Netanyahu - War mongering (Snip)
…. We must immediately launch an intense, international, public relations front focusing first and foremost on the US. The goal being to encourage President Bush to take up his specific promises not to allow Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons. We must make it clear to the government, the Congress and the American public that a nuclear Iran is a threat to the US and the entire world, not only Israel. …
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1167467638061&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The 'A Clean Break'/war for Israel document was written for Netanyahu by Jewish JINSA/PNAC Neocons Richard Perle, Douglas Feith and David Wurmer as more about 'A Clean Break' is included via the following URL from pages 261-269/321 of esteemed US intelligence author/writer James Bamford's 'A Pretext for War' book:
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/wake-up-america-your-government-is-hijacked-by-zionism/2005/02/11/a-clean-break-from-james-bamford-s-a-pretext-for-war.php
Can read via the following Seymour Hersh article how Wurmser (who is currently working for JINSA/PNAC associated Dick Cheney) is pushing for regime change in Iran next (which would be right in accordance with the 'A Clean Break' agenda as well) via Cheney's office:
The Annals of National Security: The Next Act
Is a damaged Administration less likely to attack Iran, or more?
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1120-20.htm
Fri. Dec 29, 2006
Pro-Israel Lobby Pushing US to Attack Iran:
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/wake-up-america-your-government-is-hijacked-by-zionism/2006/03/17/u-s-middle-east-policy-motivated-by-pro-israel-lobby.php
Crime of the Century: Are Bush & Cheney Planning Early Attack on Iran?
http://www.warwithoutend.co.uk/wake-up-america-your-government-is-hijacked-by-zionism/2006/12/25/crime-of-the-century-are-bush-cheney-planning-iran-att.php
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just saw the following at http://www.juancole.com
Alexandrovna Guest Op-Ed:
Saddam's Execution and the Campaign Against Iran
Saddam's Execution is about Iran
Larisa Alexandrovna
'PROLOGUE:
When someone does something obviously egregious, we tend to look past it because it is our nature to believe that people are naturally sane, good, and honest. We cannot imagine that anyone would willfully destroy their own country, violate their own laws, trample on their own people, and do it with such naked bravado while the world looked on.
But people have done it and do it even still, because there is also a darker side to human nature. Those of us who see the good in people look past actions that appear to be willfully evil not only because it is in our nature but it is also a foundation of our culture, as Americans, we believe guilt must be proved.
So we do not see what is going on before our eyes and directly in front of us. We look past it, around it, through it, but not at it. We cannot look directly at it, because if we do, we lose the vision of our beloved America and see something so sinister, that our minds would rather collapse than accept it.
But chess forces us to abandon our preconceptions and emotions. It pushes us to think in terms of cause and effect and it forces us to consider each action and counteraction in terms of the whole game. That is to say, chess forces us to think beyond our own present and fixed position, forcing us to reason every possible outcome of each action and counteraction.
Furthermore, chess teaches us to calculate not against a person, or a group, or a nation, but against a strategy that has no inherent religious, moral, or human characteristics. Master players can suspend their fixated self at will. Sadly, I am no master, and so I continue to struggle in seeing the game despite my human nature as an obstacle.
But sometimes, it just happens, something sets it off and there you are, inside the board, walking each action out in your mind and seeing the whole from beginning to end.
QUESTIONS AND SEEING THE BOARD
Sometime this morning, all the various and truly bizarre events the Bush administration has been engaged in recently with regard to troop levels and surges suddenly crystallized for me, as though I were sitting at a chess board and seeing the entire strategy unfold before my eyes.
This is of course my opinion and I may very well be wrong. In fact, I hope I am wrong. But the news that Saddam Hussein would be executed soon, and then the news that it would be in the next 48 hours, boggled my mind. Why on earth would anyone want to set off an ideological bomb during an already chaotic situation? I do not defend Saddam Hussein, not by any measure. But when Iraq is falling into total chaos and civil war, and as American troops continue to die, why would anyone want to add fuel to that fire, enough fuel to destroy what is left?
Suspend your emotions and think strategically. Now look at the question again and in context.
The administration is stalling as it supposedly weighs its Iraq options, when in fact they have already made their decision. How do I know they have made their decision? One need only look at the slow leaks coming out, not the least of which was Joe Lieberman’s op-ed in the Washington Post, to understand that we are going to be sending more troops to Iraq. So why does the administration wait to tell us this?
In the meantime, naval carriers are deployed to send Iran “a warning,” as though the threats thus far and the passing of sanctions are not warning enough. Add to that the detainment of Iranian diplomats invited to Iraq by the Iraqi leadership. Why is the US arresting diplomats invited to a country that the US claims is a sovereign nation governing itself?
And what about those sanctions, which ultimately mean nothing and sadly mean everything? The sanctions are so watered down as to have no real effect on the Iranian population or economy. Why even bother passing them?
Why censor Dr. Leverett's opinion piece on Iran when the CIA already cleared it?
Now given this entire context, ask yourself again why Saddam Hussein is being executed now, during Hajj even? What is the urgency?
THE UGLY STRATEGY I SEE
This is what I think may be playing out, my opinion of course. And yes, the strategy is so brazenly obvious, arrogant, and antithetical to everything America is supposed to be and stand for that it will be difficult to digest.
What the Bush administration appears to be waiting for, stalling for, while they allegedly mull over the Iraq question, is for the naval carriers and other key assets to fall into position. This will happen in the first week of January. Saddam Hussein is being executed (and I would not be surprised if every major network aired it) to enrage tempers and fuel more violence in Iraq. This violence will justify an immediate need for a troop surge, although I think it will be described as temporary. Remember too that the British press has for the past week done nothing but report that Britain will be attacked by the New Year. Clearly they are preparing themselves for a contingency, and that contingency is the massive violence that will erupt across the Muslim world as they watch (and I really believe it will be televised) Saddam’s hanging just before the New Year.
Why is the rush to execute Saddam Hussein not account for Hajj? Or does it?
The carriers will be in position. I imaging there will be an event of some sort in Iraq, or the violence will spill into friendly (our friends) territory. It will be dramatic, even more so than the immediate violence.
The attacks will be blamed on Iran, with the help of the Saudis and Pakistan. Iran will be blamed for something that happens in Iran. The naval carriers, again, will be in position. The sanctions, as watered down as they are, have given the administration the blank check they needed from the world (and they still have their blank check from Congress) to order aerial strikes. The surge troops will be in position, and I estimate that ground support will begin around late February, early March.
Saddam’s execution and the violence will also be a convenient cover while the administration moves pieces into position.
But what the planners in the administration don’t seem to realize is that the Persians are the most expert of chess players, and they are a patient, strategy minded opponent. They are watching this develop, all of it, and they too are planning their counteraction. They know better than to strike first, because in doing so, they would lose the moral argument in the eyes of the world, as well as the advantage of counteraction. The US has a superior air force, but Iran has a formidable navy, and while the house of Saud will fuel this, the fallout will be fatal. Why?
Here is why: Because the US is too stretched to be able to protect Israel, and Israel cannot sustain a long term attack. They can sustain a few hits, but they will not be able to sustain a full blown attack.
If you have any doubt, go back to the recent war with Lebanon. The British will pull out, despite promises of support. Blair is on his way out, and the British public will not tolerate support for Israel, because of its help in supporting US imperialistic aggression. Whatever terrorist cells lurk in the US, and make no mistake, our administration has done little to address this issue, will be activated.
Also consider that the house of Saud is not prepared to defend itself against an uprising, and that the US cannot protect it while simultaneously operating on three different fronts and covertly in god knows how many. Despite the various sectarian differences in the Muslim world, there are two enemies that they all agree to fight and die fighting against: the US and Israel. This attack will set off a Muslim counterattack so large, that nothing will be able to stop it or contain it.
But our leadership does not see this, because they cannot think strategically and won't think in human terms, so they are left with nothing but arrogance. And we ae left with a world ablaze. '
Larisa Alexandrovna maintains the blog At-Largely and is Managing Editor - of Raw Story.
__________________________________________________
Last edited by Alpha on Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:52 am; edited 5 times in total | |  | | Alpha | | Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:10 am Post subject: |
| Ynet: Israel must count on Hillary and Democrats to attack Iran.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3346275,00. html
The writer, a former Brigadier General is the Chair of Israel's Association of Industrial Manufacturers. Israeli generals frequently have those luxurious second careers, the late Matti Peled being a rare exception.
..
This article implies that Tira is well aware of the American Jewish Lobby's power over the Democrats.-JB
EXTRACT OF ARTICLE - "...President Bush lacks the political power to attack Iran. As an American strike in Iran is essential for our existence, we must help him pave the way by lobbying the Democratic Party (which is conducting itself foolishly) and US newspaper editors. We need to do this in order to turn the Iranian issue to a bipartisan one and unrelated to the Iraq failure. We must turn to Hillary Clinton and other potential presidential candidates in the Democratic Party so that they publicly support immediate action by Bush against Iran..." ]
What to do with Iran?
We must coordinate independent strike with US, prepare for Iranian response
Oded Tira
Israel is facing one of the most critical periods in its history in security and strategic terms. The stock market is booming, yet this isn't the first time where we encounter irrational euphoria. At the same time, by acting soberly and with determination we'll be able to handle the challenge we're facing. In order to undertake a comprehensive security assessment we must take the situation in the various theaters into account.
In Lebanon , Security Council Resolution 1701 is not being implemented. Hizbullah continues to operate south of the Litani, restores the "nature reserves" that were damaged in the war, and establishes new "nature reserves." A "nature reserve" is a compound of hidden fortifications within a wadi that dominates access roads to the "reserve" and contains bunkers, arms and supplies warehouses, residences, and firing positions, including some used to launch Katyusha rockets. Such reserve is a huge compound that allows forces to be there for a long time.
The UN and Lebanese Army do not enter those nature reserves and do no disarm Hizbullah. In fact, Hizbullah limits the movement of Lebanese and UN forces, which choose to comply.
If we need to operate in Lebanon again we'll be facing a real problem vis-à-vis the UN forces. On the one hand, we won't be able to hurt them, yet on the other hand there's a risk our soldiers will be hurt by them, as these forces are armed like a standing army. The presence of aerial defense systems in the hands of the UN may even limit our Air Force's freedom to operate above south Lebanon.
On the political front, Iran and Syria are working to topple Siniora's government in Lebanon. This government may serve as a moderating element and cares about the damages causes to Lebanon during the war.
On the eastern front, the Americans are on their way out of Iraq and Syria is gaining confidence in the face of our failure in Lebanon (the way they view it.) Sooner or later, the eastern front may be revived. We must prepare for this by quickly training the army for a classic war involving large scale ground warfare.
Bush lacks political power to hit Iran
And finally, Iran will continue to pursue its nuclear program while the world continues to "babble." If American and European actions continue in the current pace and quality, there will be no change in the Iranian nuclearization path. Instead of allotting several months for diplomatic activity and preparing for a military strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, the world continues to talk nonsense and play with illusions regarding the success of moderating diplomatic moves.
President Bush lacks the political power to attack Iran. As an American strike in Iran is essential for our existence, we must help him pave the way by lobbying the Democratic Party (which is conducting itself foolishly) and US newspaper editors. We need to do this in order to turn the Iranian issue to a bipartisan one and unrelated to the Iraq failure.
We must turn to Hillary Clinton and other potential presidential candidates in the Democratic Party so that they publicly support immediate action by Bush against Iran. We should also approach European countries so that they support American actions in Iran, so that Bush will not be isolated in the international arena again.
We must clandestinely cooperate with Saudi Arabia so that it also persuades the US to strike Iran. For our part, we must prepare an independent military strike by coordinating flights in Iraqi airspace with the US. We should also coordinate with Azerbaijan the use of airbases in its territory and also enlist the support of the Azeri minority in Iran. In addition, we must immediately start preparing for an Iranian response to an attack.
The Americans must act. Yet if they don't, we'll do it ourselves, because there are no free rides and our existence isn't guaranteed. Addressing Iran would have positive implications for us in terms of the strategic balance in our region and when it comes to Hizbullah, stability in Lebanon, and Syria's power.
The situation assessment I provided is difficult. At the same time, if we act in the face of these challenges soberly and without illusions such as the imaginary peace-with-Syria ideas, we'll be able to win and bring about comprehensive peace. Peace is pursued from a position of power and is maintained through the backing of power. Peace cannot be pursued when your enemy feels it defeated you.
Brigadier General (Res.) Oded Tira is the former IDF chief artillery officer
EXTRACT OF ARTICLE - "...President Bush lacks the political power to attack Iran. As an American strike in Iran is essential for our existence, we must help him pave the way by lobbying the Democratic Party (which is conducting itself foolishly) and US newspaper editors. We need to do this in order to turn the Iranian issue to a bipartisan one and unrelated to the Iraq failure. We must turn to Hillary Clinton and other potential presidential candidates in the Democratic Party so that they publicly support immediate action by Bush against Iran..." ]
What to do with Iran?
We must coordinate independent strike with US, prepare for Iranian response
Oded Tira
Israel is facing one of the most critical periods in its history in security and strategic terms. The stock market is booming, yet this isn't the first time where we encounter irrational euphoria. At the same time, by acting soberly and with determination we'll be able to handle the challenge we're facing. In order to undertake a comprehensive security assessment we must take the situation in the various theaters into account.
In Lebanon , Security Council Resolution 1701 is not being implemented. Hizbullah continues to operate south of the Litani, restores the "nature reserves" that were damaged in the war, and establishes new "nature reserves." A "nature reserve" is a compound of hidden fortifications within a wadi that dominates access roads to the "reserve" and contains bunkers, arms and supplies warehouses, residences, and firing positions, including some used to launch Katyusha rockets. Such reserve is a huge compound that allows forces to be there for a long time.
The UN and Lebanese Army do not enter those nature reserves and do no disarm Hizbullah. In fact, Hizbullah limits the movement of Lebanese and UN forces, which choose to comply.
If we need to operate in Lebanon again we'll be facing a real problem vis-à-vis the UN forces. On the one hand, we won't be able to hurt them, yet on the other hand there's a risk our soldiers will be hurt by them, as these forces are armed like a standing army. The presence of aerial defense systems in the hands of the UN may even limit our Air Force's freedom to operate above south Lebanon.
On the political front, Iran and Syria are working to topple Siniora's government in Lebanon. This government may serve as a moderating element and cares about the damages causes to Lebanon during the war.
On the eastern front, the Americans are on their way out of Iraq and Syria is gaining confidence in the face of our failure in Lebanon (the way they view it.) Sooner or later, the eastern front may be revived. We must prepare for this by quickly training the army for a classic war involving large scale ground warfare.
Bush lacks political power to hit Iran
And finally, Iran will continue to pursue its nuclear program while the world continues to "babble." If American and European actions continue in the current pace and quality, there will be no change in the Iranian nuclearization path. Instead of allotting several months for diplomatic activity and preparing for a military strike on Iran's nuclear infrastructure, the world continues to talk nonsense and play with illusions regarding the success of moderating diplomatic moves.
President Bush lacks the political power to attack Iran. As an American strike in Iran is essential for our existence, we must help him pave the way by lobbying the Democratic Party (which is conducting itself foolishly) and US newspaper editors. We need to do this in order to turn the Iranian issue to a bipartisan one and unrelated to the Iraq failure.
We must turn to Hillary Clinton and other potential presidential candidates in the Democratic Party so that they publicly support immediate action by Bush against Iran. We should also approach European countries so that they support American actions in Iran, so that Bush will not be isolated in the international arena again.
We must clandestinely cooperate with Saudi Arabia so that it also persuades the US to strike Iran. For our part, we must prepare an independent military strike by coordinating flights in Iraqi airspace with the US. We should also coordinate with Azerbaijan the use of airbases in its territory and also enlist the support of the Azeri minority in Iran. In addition, we must immediately start preparing for an Iranian response to an attack.
The Americans must act. Yet if they don't, we'll do it ourselves, because there are no free rides and our existence isn't guaranteed. Addressing Iran would have positive implications for us in terms of the strategic balance in our region and when it comes to Hizbullah, stability in Lebanon, and Syria's power.
The situation assessment I provided is difficult. At the same time, if we act in the face of these challenges soberly and without illusions such as the imaginary peace-with-Syria ideas, we'll be able to win and bring about comprehensive peace. Peace is pursued from a position of power and is maintained through the backing of power. Peace cannot be pursued when your enemy feels it defeated you.
Brigadier General (Res.) Oded Tira is the former IDF chief artillery officer | | | | | ©2002-2009 WarWithoutEnd.co.uk |
