"Weapons of Mass Destruction": Building a Pretext for Waging War on Iran?by Michel ChossudovskyGlobal Research Nov. 01, 2006 |
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The US navy yhas conducted military exercises (30th of October) 20 miles outside Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The war games were perceived by Tehran as an act of provocation. Iranian patrol boats came very close to US and coalition warships in the Persian Gulf. The large scale naval display of US military hardware consisted in intercepting and searching vessels "suspected of trafficking" in "weapons of mass destruction". The exercise was conducted under the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI). It consisted in developing "procedures for intercepting smugglers of unconventional weapons". (NYT, 30 October 2006). According to William T. Munroe, US ambassador to Bahrain, the objective was to send "a clear message" to so-called WMD "proliferators". More specifically, it was allegedly designed to "block North Korean missile and nuclear shipments to such clients as Iran and Syria". Australia, Britain, France, Italy deployed war vessels as part of the US led PSI operation. Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet, contributed three warships to the exercise. Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea sent military observers. Ironically, the only real visible WMD activity in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian sea was marked by the massive display of US and coalition naval power including aircraft carriers, submarines, guided missile destroyers and frigates (for further details see Chossudovsky, Oct 2006, Nazemroaya, Oct 2006) The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman underscored its concern in a statement released a day prior to the PSI exercises (29 October):
Iran's military officials have "declared their vigilance and total control over any moves in the southern waters of the country and warned against any threats by US warships." (Statement of Iran's Navy Commander, 31 October, 2006) The legality of the PSI "interdictions" has also been questioned. The evidence would suggest that the US sponsored "interdictions" carried out in internaional waters constitute a violation of international law::
US Central Asian PSI War Games According to the Swiss based ISN Security Watch (31 Oct), the PSI games are also slated to be conducted at a subsequent date in Central Asia with several members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO):
If these war games with China and Russia's Central Asian allies were to proceed, this would contribute to creating divisions within the SCO. Iran is an observer member of the SCO together with India. (See below) Indian Ocean War Games In parallel with the PSI exercises in the Persian Gulf, US-India naval exercises are also being conducted off the Malabar coast of India. They involve several US war ships including the USS Boxer carrier, the USS Bunker Hill guided missile battle cruiser, the guided missile destroyer USS Howard and the USS Benfold, the nuclear attack submarine Providence and the Canadian guided missile frigate HMCS Ottawa."(Debka, op cit). The Indian contingent includes a fleet of destroyers, frigates and a submarine. (Hindustan Times, 30 Oct 2006)
Several of the US warships involved in Malabar 06, together with Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa, were also involved in the Persian Gulf PSI exercises, which overlapped with the US-India war games. While India is not an ally of the US led coalition directed against Iran, these war games are, nonetheless, of utmost significance. They confirm the tacit acceptance of the US led military initiative on the part of the Congress government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India is an observer member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) together with Iran. India's participation in these war games at this particular juncture suggests that there are major divisions within the Indian government and military pertaining to Washington's military agenda in the Middle East. The timing of the exercises is crucial. They were carried out concurrently with the "Leading Edge" PSI exercise in the Persian Gulf. Pretext for Waging War on Iran Naval deployment under the "global war on terrorism" is occurring on several fronts: in the Eastern Mediterranean (NATO and Israel) along the Syrian-Lebanese coast, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean (US and allies) and Red Sea (Saudi Arabia).
These ongoing naval deployments under the "global war on terrorism" seek to create a legitimacy for waging war on Iran and Syria, which are the alleged "state sponsors" of al Qaeda. According to Debka, the Israeli intelligence think tank, the objective of the deployment of US warships is "to prepare for a US-led military strike against Iran .... [as well as implement] measures to fend off palpable al Qaeda threats to oil targets." According to Debka, there have been warnings of "impending al Qaeda attacks on the oil fields, oil ports, oil tankers and oil fields of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian oil emirates." These alleged Al Qaeda attacks on oil facilities in the Persian Gulf are part of the disinformation process. Known and documented, Al Qaeda is a US intelligence asset. What the Debka report suggests is that if such a terrorist attack were to occur, this would provide a pretext to the US to wage war on Iran, on the grounds that the Tehran government is allegedly protecting the Al Qaeda network. Cheney's Contigency Plan The ongoing naval deployments under the "global war on terrorism" are part of a far-reaching military plan "to fight terrorism around the World".
This "contingency plan" uses the pretext of a "another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States" to prepare for a major military operation against Iran, while pressure is also exerted on Tehran in relation to its (non-existent) nuclear weapons program. What is diabolical in this decision of the US Vice President is that the justification presented by Cheney to wage war on Iran rests on Iran's presumed involvement in a hypothetical terrorist attack on America, which has not yet occurred:.
Are we to understand that US, British and Israeli military planners are waiting in limbo for "the opportunity" of a terrorist attack, which would then provide "the justification" for the launching of a military operation directed against Syria and Iran? In the words of the Pentagon, quoted verbatim in the Washington Post (23 April 2006):
____________________ Michel Chossudovsky is the author of the international best America’s "War on Terrorism" Second Edition, Global Research, 2005. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Center for Research on Globalization. |