Citizen G'kar: Musings on Earth

February 05, 2007

Attack On Iran Would Be Disasterous

More people speak out about the prospects of war with Iran. This article outlines all of what I have been saying for the past year. The US move into the Middle East has three objectives.
1. Dominate the world oil market.
2. Bankrupt the federal government, Medicare, Social Security and prevent any reasonable recovery out of reach by a increased taxes.
3. Empower the multi-nationals to control US foreign and domestic policy.
4. Disempower the US worker with unemployment to ensure they accept low wages.
The intention is roll back the US to the conditions at the turn of the previous century where wages were cheap and the rich was SUPER rich.
International Herald Tribune
A military attack on Iran could unleash disastrous consequences for the Middle East and the wider world, a coalition of unions, faith groups and think tanks warned in a report released Monday. The document, "Time to Talk," said a military strike, which many believe is being planned by the United States, could further destabilize neighboring Iraq, undermine hopes for Israeli-Palestinian peace and embolden hard-liners in Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government. It said an attack on oil-rich Iran could also drive up fuel prices, harming economies around the world.


"The possible consequences of military action could be so serious that governments have a responsibility to ensure that all diplomatic options have been exhausted," the report said. "At present, this is not the case."


The report was compiled by 17 groups, including the Amicus and GMB trade unions, aid agency Oxfam, the Muslim Council of Britain and the Foreign Policy Centre, a left-leaning think tank. Among the document's backers is Sir Richard Dalton, British ambassador to Iran between 2002 and 2006.


Dalton acknowledged the threat posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions, but said "recourse to military action — other than in legitimate self-defense — is not only unlikely to work but would be a disaster for Iran, the region and quite possibly the world."


[...]The report is one of several high-profile appeals for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. In a letter published in the Sunday Times newspaper, three former high-ranking U.S. military officers urged the U.S. to open talks "without preconditions" with the Iranian government.


Retired Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard, retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar and retired Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan said an attack "would have disastrous consequences for security in the region, coalition forces in Iraq and would further exacerbate regional and global tensions."


The Observer newspaper reported Sunday that Labour Party lawmaker Nick Brown, a former minister in Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, would file a House of Commons motion this week calling on Blair to speak out against military action.


[...]The report said that an attack by the U.S. or its regional ally, Israel, could spur more violence in Iraq from Iran-linked Shiite insurgents.


"Iran's links with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza as well as Shia constituencies in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf States make regional retaliation against any military attack on Iran likely," the report said. "U.K. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan could be particularly vulnerable, with significant losses possible."


An attack could also increase terrorism by fueling anti-Western sentiment around the world, while strikes on nuclear facilities risk unleashing radioactive contamination, the report said.


Ali Ansari, director of the Institute of Iranian Studies at St. Andrews University in Scotland, said both sides needed to step back from the brink.


"The view held by some in Washington that all diplomatic and political options have been exhausted is a palpable nonsense that needs to be challenged," he said.


At the same time, "the Iranian government needs to recognize the danger it faces."

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