Republican Warns that Bush might Fake pretext to Iran Invasion

The president stated last week that, “Succeeding in Iraq also requires defending its territorial integrity- and stabilizing the region in the face of the extremist challenge. This begins with addressing Iran and Syria.” He also announced the deployment of an additional aircraft carrier battle group to the Persian Gulf, and the deployment of Patriot air missile defense systems to countries in the Middle East. Meanwhile, US troops stormed the Iranian consulate in Iraq and detained several Iranian diplomats. Taken together, the message was clear: the administration intends to move the US closer to a dangerous and ill-advised conflict with Iran.

As I said last week on the House floor, speculation in Washington focuses on when, not if, either Israel or the U.S. will bomb Iran-- possibly with nuclear weapons. The accusation sounds very familiar: namely, that Iran possesses weapons of mass destruction. Iran has never been found in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and our own Central Intelligence Agency says Iran is more than ten years away from producing any kind of nuclear weapon. Yet we are told we must act immediately while we still can!

This all sounds very familiar, but many of my colleagues don't seem to have learned much from the invasion of Iraq. House Democrats strongly criticized the Iraq troop surge after the president's announcement, but then praised the president's confrontational words condemning Iran. Many of those opposing a troop surge are not calling for a withdrawal of our troops from the Middle East, but rather for “redeployment.” Redeployment to where? Iran?

We need to return to reality when it comes to our Middle East policy. We need to reject the increasingly shrill rhetoric coming from the same voices who urged the president to invade Iraq.

The truth is that Iran, like Iraq, is a third-world nation without a significant military. Nothing in history hints that she is likely to invade a neighboring country, let alone America or Israel. I am concerned, however, that a contrived Gulf of Tonkin- type incident may occur to gain popular support for an attack on Iran. approach to Iran, and Syria for that matter, is to heed the advice of the Iraq Study Group Report, which states:

"… the United States should engage directly with Iran and Syria in order to try to obtain their commitment to constructive policies toward Iraq and other regional issues. In engaging with Syria and Iran, the United States should consider incentives, as well as disincentives, in seeking constructive results."

In coming weeks I plan to introduce legislation that urges the administration to heed the advice of the Iraq Study Group. Dialogue and discussion should replace inflammatory rhetoric and confrontation in our Middle East policy, if we truly seek to defeat violent extremism and terrorism.

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News reports on Iran are now following each other in rapid succession, and together they form a new step towards a military conflict. [...] What follows is an analysis of these fast-moving developments

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NATO and CIA covertly arming Syrian rebels in order to weaken Iran

It is clear that all the pieces are being put into place for a war against Iran. It is a long-term project demanding many years worth of preparation, and the ultimate goal is getting closer all the time. One component of this preparation is the covert arming of Syrian rebels.

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Israel and the U.S.: Iran not working on a nuclear weapon

While the world is getting the impression that a war with Iran has drawn a few steps closer, representatives of Israel and the U.S. are making some remarkable statements about the Islamic Republic. These statements are remarkable in part because, at the same time, the build-up to a military confrontation would seem to be continuing apace.

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Economist Albert Spits: the euro is gone by the summer of 2012

De Wit: No, but it’s going to cost an awful lot of money to reprint all of those currencies and make the switch.
Spits: Sure, but it’s going to cost a lot more money to try and save the euro, which cannot be saved.

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Government has to be more open, transparent and accountable: Marietje Schaake (D66)

[...] proactive thinking on the part of those operating inside the ruling establishment can nevertheless be a positive thing. This is exactly what Marietje Schaake, European Member of Parliament for the Dutch political party D66, contributes in her article [...]. I ask het what she means by going from being the governed to being the governors'.

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