New Concerns About U.S.- Iranian Relations
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-12-06/new-concerns-about-us-iranian-relations
With U.S. forces set to exit Iraq by the end of the year, there are rising concerns about security in the volatile region. Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, and last week’s rampage on the British embassy by Iranian protesters have elevated tensions with the West. The U.S. Senate voted unanimously last week to impose the toughest sanctions yet on Iran, as Europe considered an oil embargo. Yesterday, Iran’s revolutionary guard troops were placed on high alert, and Tehran warned crude oil prices would double with a European embargo. Guest host Steve Roberts and a panel of experts explore the latest developments in the region and whether Israel and the U.S. are engaged in a covert war against Iran to disrupt its nuclear program.
Guests
Trita Parsi
president, National Iranian American Council; author of the forthcoming book "A Single Roll of the Dice - Obama's Diplomacy with Iran."
Reuel Marc Gerecht
senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former Middle East specialist for the CIA
Robin Wright
journalist, foreign policy analyst at the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson International Center, and author of "Rock the Casbah:Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World"
Comments
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I am getting that sickening feeling again of a set up for more military intervention, what happened to this "big" news event.
"It has the ring of a far-fetched Hollywood thriller and even the senior law enforcement official involved in the investigation admitted to journalists that the alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US did not fit with what was known about the methods and practices of the supposed perpetrators, the Quds force of the Revolutionary Guards. But $100,000 was clearly transferred by someone as a downpayment on the assassination. Washington is taking the case seriously enough to make unprecedented allegations against Tehran and threaten further isolation. The affair leaves several questions unanswered:"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/12/unanswered-questions-iranian...
In the last 24 or so hours:
1) an Iranian rocket assembly facility explodes in a pillar of fire
2) a new secret CIA drone goes down within Iran
anyone else see dots to connect here?
As overlapping financial bubbles collapse war is needed for intensified wealth extraction from the lower classes, and the resultant patriotic (fear) surge for social control. This conflict is more about the failure of the Western Oligarchy than about the miniscule "successes" of the Islamic dictatorship in Iran. These are desperate acts by power addicts. Orwell predicted this secret war strategy so well, that we will not know whether we are at war with Eastasia or Westasia until managed media spits it out, and you better listen well because you can't afford an ideological error.
Drones and many other ridiculous armaments should be banned.
Former Bush administration official and former middle east CIA analyst Flynt Leverett and former weapons inspector Robert Kelly have both recently said that much of the information in the latest IAEA report about Iran are almost all claims that have not been verified. Claims that former IAEA head El Baradei would not allow in past report about Iran because they could not be solidly verified.
Please have your guest address what both of these experts have said about the latest IAEA report about Iran
And when will you have Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett on your program to discuss Iran as well as former weapons inspector Robert Kelly
Folks should go to RACE FOR IRAN for real information about Iran instead of listening to war pusher Reuel Marc Gerecht
And people regularly say this show (along with the ghoulish Terry Gross) is evidence of NPR's far left orientation, but once again you present 3 guests ranging from the right to the far right. The propaganda is getting stale, even the full monte seems to have had enough. How about occasionally putting pro-democracy guests on, to counter this imperial drumbeat? Oh, that's right, you work for the empire, not for the people, never mind.
The Iraq war pushers like Reuel Marc Gerecht and others (Frank Gaffney, John Bolton, Cheney, Rice, Feith, Woolsey etc )started pushing for a military strike on Iran. They have persistently done this for a solid 8 years. All based on unsubstantiated claims.
Please have your guest address the inflammatory rhetoric coming out of Israel and the I lobby in the US congress towards Iran.
If Israel signed the Non proliferation treaty and stopped daily threatening Iran would things change?
Oh, and I liked how announcing the program, the question was posed, "are the US and Iran in a covert war?" - then the question was shifted in the actual program to the more accurate "is the US and Israel waging a covert war on Iran?" It's a bit like if NPR was covering the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and every other time they updated the story, they said Lincoln and Booth killed each other. Of course, the "former" spook says nothing of the sort is going on. Right. Paid liars lie, that's what they're paid to do.
Terri Gross has not only allowed guest on her program like Diane Rehm to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran. Terri Gross has on a regular basis repeated unsubstnatiated claims about Iran herself. On a regular basis she has repeated the debunked (by Professor Juan Cole at Informed Comment) that "iran wants to wipe Israel off the map" which he never said. She has also repeated that Iran has a nuclear weapons program many times.
The line is being drawn by alleged social justice liberals on the Israeli Palestinian conflict and on Iran. About time.
Listen to this panel talk about tilted towards sanctions and an attack on Iran Reuel Marc Gerecht/Robin Wright.
When is it that the Diane Rehm show will have past Iranian negotiator Hillary Mann Leverett on as well as Flynt Leverett to discuss Iran.
Would funders of the Diane Rehm show pull their support or something
Why would anyone believe anything Reuel Marc Gerecht says about Iraq He was deadly wrong on Iraq and has been pushing for an attack on Iran for a solid 8 years. Again based on unsubstantiated claims
Assasinating Iranian scientist, attacking their computer systems, 18 strange explosions. Are these all ready acts of war
What happened to that story that upper level Iranian officials were involved with the alleged attempt to kill the Saudi Ambassador? That story was everywhere and then quickly swept under the rug. Was that another "Curveball" situation?
Why wouldn't Iran do whatever it can to protect itself. We - the U.S. invaded Iraq based on WMD that wasn't there and killed many innocent people, with NO accountability.
Is the constant saber rattling baiting Iran so that we can justify bombing them?
mattlove1 "3 guests ranging from the right to the far right."
When will they have Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett on?
How absurd that Reuel Marc Gerecht that people are upset with the "terrorist" activities of Iran. When Israel and the I lobby threaten Iran daily. Iranian scientist have been assasinated, the computer attack, "18 strange explosions" Terrorist activities? Monkey see monkey do
Years ago Seymour Hersh wrote in the New Yorker that US and Israeli special forces were on the ground in Iran. Assasinations of Iranian scientist, attack on computer systems, 18 strange explosions......Are these all ready acts of war?
mattlove1 wrote:
"And people regularly say this show (along with the ghoulish Terry Gross) is evidence of NPR's far left orientation, but once again you present 3 guests ranging from the right to the far right. The propaganda is getting stale, even the full monte seems to have had enough"
Don't kid yourself mattlove, liberal democrats can put on the war mongering mask just as easily as the neocons. Korea and Vietnam come to mind.
I wish the panel answered that email about why Iran can't have a nuke and Israel can. No one can stand to be bullied forever.
Mike B
The push for a military attack on Iran by Israel and their reps in the US congress are building at warp speed. Combined with hard right neo conservatives in the British government who are also pushing hard and constantly applying pressure on Iran. Israel, neoconservatives in the UK and the US are clearly hoping to escalate the possibilities for a “situation” with Iran. They are looking for another fight and their target is Iran
Want to know about facts having to do with past negotiations with Iran. The recent election in Iran. The latest IAEA report on Iran. RACE FOR IRAN, INFORMED COMMENT, FOREIGN POLICY.
Go watch Seymour Hersh and former weapons inspector Scott Ritter's interview/discussion at CSpans video library. TARGET IRAN. Go watch the whole hour and a half.
Also go watch and listen to former weapons inspector Robert Kelly's statements about the latest IAEA report about Iran. At REAL NEWS. (sorry unable to link)
Going from the general to the particular, I'm getting increasingly disturbed by the increasing use of drones. In my view, they make hostile acts, whether spying or outright warfare, all too easy by eliminating all element of personal risk from their use. The operators no doubt go to work in some air-conditioned office before a bevy of monitors and go home after work to their comfortable suburban homes. There's something amoral, if not immoral, about committing hostile acts against others without putting people at risk - the banality of evil, to quote Hannah Arendt's phrase from another context.
I know that in principle there's no difference between surveillance by spy satellites and drones, but the promiscuous use of the latter represents a major escalation. Historically, this reminds me of the major arms race that destabilized Europe a century ago and made World War I inevitable.
The mullah mafia which has been raping, killing and stealing from the innocent people of Iran is doomed. This is good news for Iran, for democracy, human rights, and for life on this planet.
None of the people present at the show talk about Israel having the Nuclear weapons. What if Iran negotiated with USA, asking them to disarm Israel also. Would USA agree on that ?
Indeed a covert war is all the administration is going to get because they have zero domestic support for war, and little credibility on the international front.
I am somewhat puzzled by the penchant for those on this board to refer to actions by the USA and Israel to this point constitute acts of war. These actions, e.g. IT blitzes, sabotage, etc., seem eminently reasonable and restrained. IF Iran were to succeed in its development effort and IF they were to execute a nuclear strike (they have indicated a willingness to do so), would it then be acceptable to retaliate in a forceful manner? If so, from a practical and humanitarian perspective, doesn't it make eminently more sense to engage in actions that foil their ability to execute a first strike plan?
StLouis, As far as I see it we have no friends in the middle east. All these dictator governments are driven by our policies to aquire nuclear weapons because they know that is the only thing that keeps us out of their countries. I just do not believe Iran who will in time have the bomb anyway, would launch an attack on israel. Israel is more than capable of defending itself. As crazy as many in the west believes these regimes are, I just don't think their that crazy. The real nuclear threat if there is one is Pakistan.
My conservative freinds here and I part company on this issue by I do not label them as neocons, I know the difference. I do buy into the Ron Paul notion of blow back.
We are broke and this constant interventionism is not sustainable.
The beat goes on.
I couldn't have said it better than Kathleen (9:26am) about Gerecht and his ilk.
And since when has Robin Wright become a spokesperson for the Israeli Right? And isn't war and invasion about thousands/millions of people dying, families being torn apart, misery and tragedy (see Iraq), rather than just about money ? Where's her moral compass?
Correction: Kathleen's comments to which I refer were written at 10:29am