A large portion of U.S. mainstream media activity over the past 72 hours has been focused upon Mitt Romney’s announcement naming Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate on the GOP ticket. As a result of our corporate-owned media’s propensity for navel-gazing, many have paid scant attention to a steady stream of increasingly alarming international stories concerning events in the Mideast, many of which are indicating that the Israel-Iran nuclear showdown has escalated to the point where it is no longer a stretch to state that the triggering of an all-out war in the region could very likely occur before our country’s November election.
A simple review of a story somewhat buried on page six of Monday’s NY Times, along with reference to other stories (linked herein) over the past few days, verifies these greater realities.
Regrettably, many are even “speculating” that there is, indeed, a concerted effort being made by the far right--not just in Israel, but here in the United States--to force “navigate” our country into overtly participating in this massive escalation, as well.
Adding more facts -- it’s important not to overlook those “minor” details -- to the mix, as you’ll see down below, that is the reality that’s now morphing right under the MSM’s (and, subsequently, the public’s) nose, as you read this.
Coming full circle, many credible sources are also speculating that a significant motive behind this war-mongering effort by the right, both here and in Israel, is to adversely affect President Obama’s chances for re-election.
Others would argue that it’s just symptomatic of our out-of-control military-industrial complex -- a quite bipartisan effort, in fact -- which is now seeking new excuses to fuel its thirst for ever-increasing amounts of U.S. taxpayer dollars, given the ongoing drawdown of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As you’ll see below, these realities mentioned above are now well beyond the conspiracy theory stage, since these facts are now manifesting themselves in the recent public statements of many of the decision-makers involved.
Follow the bouncing ball. From Monday’s NYT…
Israeli Minister Asks Nations to Say Iran Talks Have Failed
By JODI RUDOREN
New York Times
August 13, 2012
JERUSALEM — Amid intensifying Israeli news reports saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to ordering a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program, his deputy foreign minister called Sunday for an international declaration that the diplomatic effort to halt Tehran’s enrichment of uranium is dead.
Referring to the Iran negotiations led by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, the minister, Danny Ayalon, told Israel Radio that those nations should “declare today that the talks have failed.” After such a declaration, if Iran does not halt its nuclear program, “it will be clear that all options are on the table,” Mr. Ayalon said, not only for Israel, but also for the United States and NATO.
Asked how long the Iranians should be given to cease all nuclear activity, Mr. Ayalon said “weeks, and not more than that.”
The comments came after a frenzy of newspaper articles and television reports over the weekend here suggesting that Mr. Netanyahu had all but made the decision to attack Iran unilaterally this fall. The reports contained little new information, but the tone was significantly sharper than it had been in recent weeks, with many of Israel’s leading columnists predicting a strike despite the opposition of the Obama administration and many military and security professionals within Israel. Articles in Sunday’s newspapers also examined home-front preparedness for what experts expect would be an aggressive response not just from Iran but also its allies, the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas…
The article continues on to discuss “mixed messages” coming from Israeli leadership, while it simultaneously quotes Netanyahu’s increasingly apoplectic statements and posturing on the matter which continue throughout the balance of the article.
Meanwhile, we’re learning over the weekend that it’s likely that the U.S. may become actively engaged in the enforcement of do-not-fly restrictions in neighboring Syria. (IMHO, just the mention of the term, “enforcement of do not fly restrictions,” reminds me of Iraq. And, for those geographically-challenged, in addition to being one of Iran’s greatest allies, Syria also shares a substantial border with that country.)
Adding to Netanyahu’s publicized apoplexia, we now have ongoing war-mongering commentary from some in the Israeli cabinet which is reaching near-crescendo proportions this weekend, too.
On the one hand, on Sunday we were told by Reuters that the Israeli daily Ha’aretz supposedly learned about “new” information via a “last-minute update” from the Obama administration’s National Intelligence Estimate about “…significant Iranian progress in the development of a nuclear warhead ‘far beyond the scope known’ to U.N. inspectors.”
And, then in the next paragraph, we learn of another Israeli daily—this one fully owned by no less than top U.S. GOP fundraiser Sheldon Adelson — Hayom, where there were reports of “…NIE findings that Iran had ‘boosted efforts’ to advance its nuclear program, including work to develop ballistic missile warheads, and said U.S. and Israeli assessments largely tallied on this intelligence.”
All threats "dwarfed" by Iran nuclear work: Israel PM
By Dan Williams
Reuters
August 12, 2012
JERUSALEM | Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:55am EDT
(Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that most threats to Israel's security were "dwarfed" by the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weaponry, which local media reports charged Tehran had stepped up its efforts to achieve.
The comments at a weekly cabinet meeting and the front-page reports in the liberal Haaretz, a frequent Netanyahu critic, and in the conservative, pro-government Israel Hayom came as Israeli debate intensified about whether to go to war against Iran - and soon - over its disputed atomic projects…
…
'BOOSTED' NUCLEAR EFFORTS
Citing an unnamed senior Israeli official, the Haaretz daily said a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) compiled by the Obama administration included a "last-minute update" about significant Iranian progress in the development of a nuclear warhead "far beyond the scope known" to U.N. inspectors.
The Israel Hayom daily reported NIE findings that Iran had "boosted efforts" to advance its nuclear program, including work to develop ballistic missile warheads, and said U.S. and Israeli assessments largely tallied on this intelligence…
Meanwhile…if you continue reading the article you’ll learn that:
“Neither newspaper provided direct quotes or detailed evidence.” And, …
”Washington has not commented on whether such an NIE exists. But its officials say the U.S. intelligence assessment remains that the Islamic Republic is undecided on whether to build a bomb and is years away from any such nuclear capability…”
On the other hand, to provide a stark contrast as to how pitched the “Bomb Iran Fever” has become over the past few days, less than a week earlier there was this from the Asia Times. (And, I strongly endorse a FULL read of this piece, because it provides us with a vastly different narrative than the one we’re reading here in the United States.)
Bomb Iran fever
Pepe Escobar
Asia Times Online
August 8, 2012
Where's the great Christopher Walken when we need him? "I've got a fever! [1] And the only prescription is … Bomb Iran!" That's the story, at least in Israel. Fever pitch will rule at least for the next six months.
This past weekend, the Israel Hayom newspaper - financed by casino mogul and Mitt Romney groupie Sheldon Adelson - dedicated a whole supplement to the fever. Lead articles had titles such as "Bomb or Bombing: Poker with the Cards Close to the Vest."
Yet earlier last week, a leak to the Yediot Ahronot daily [2] revealed that the cream of Israel's military leaders are against war on Iran - known in its aseptic version as "preemptive strike"…
…
…we're talking about war, preemptive war, bypassing international law - and based on a concentric set of hypotheticals, not to mention lies.
The IAEA, US National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs), and even Israeli intelligence know there is no Iran nuclear weapons program. Russia - which has thousands of technicians in Iran - also knows it.
The notion that Iran is a threat to Israel springs up from a Dadaist manifesto. Israel is an actual - undeclared - nuclear power (it never subscribed to the NPT); Iran (which subscribes to the NPT) is not.
As John Glaser at Antiwar.com succinctly summarized, "the US has Iran militarily surrounded, has conducted covert ops along with Israel, constantly threatens Iran with preemptive military strike, and is heaping harsh economic sanctions." [6] Threat? Who's threatening who here?
Yet what is extraordinary is how Tel Aviv manages to strike one fabulous PR coup after another - at least in terms of brainwashing American public opinion - by just changing the red line. [7]
Notes: 1. See here
2. 'Bibi Can't OK Iran Strike As Defense Chiefs Demur', Jewish Daily Forward, July 31, 2012
6. Ehud Barak Admits Iran Has Defensive Posture, No Weapons Program, Antiwar.blog, August 03, 2012
7. Can We Still Tell if Iran Decides to Build a Nuclear Bomb?, The Atlantic, Aug 6
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So, there you have it…my quick take at explaining how the public — both here and
in Israel — is being whipped into an aggressive frenzy.
Call me naïve. I really don’t care.
What I do know is that, at this point, after being lied into a war in Iraq 10 years ago, I think it's wise to err on the side of caution as opposed to taking all the propaganda at face value and then rushing into (a potentially nuclear) World War III, anytime soon.
What say you?