Thursday, March 09, 2006

Is the U.S. Mulling Nuclear Strikes on Iran?

©2006 OhmyNews
Omid Habibinia reviews news about shadows of war

The news of a possible U.S. plan to attack Iran frightened many Iranians. Now, Persian Web sites are publishing stories of a plan to attack Iran with nuclear weapons.An Islamic Republic spokesman said he believes these reports are more similar to psychological war tactics than actual preparations to attack on Iran.U.S. President George W. Bush has repeated many times he has no military plans to invade Iran, but Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States would attack Iran if it is necessary.
U.S. tactical mini nuke

Many military experts believe this possible attack is not a ground strike to change the regime like the operation in Iraq, but it will be a limited attack by the Air Force or a surgical strike on the nuclear power stations.When Global Research published an article about a possible attack, many people found it to be extreme and unimaginable. At the same time, Tehran's government newspapers reported about a possible U.S. and Israeli attack at the beginning of the Persian New Year which starts at the end of March, according to an Arab news source. Last week, Hosni Mubarak warned Bush to not attack Iran. This news alerted the Tehran government press that there is a possible plan to attack Iran.The general view is that the possible war would not be so close to the Persian New Year like the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month asked Congress to fund a $75 million media campaign and support Iran's pro-U.S. groups based in the United States. This is not enough to prepare anything really dangerous against the Islamic regime in Iran, but it sends a clear message to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.An air force attack by Israel would be more costly now that the Hamas government is allied with Iran.Some weeks ago, Judith Yaphe, a former senior CIA officer and professor at the U.S. Institute for National Strategic Studies, who was interviewed by Dorna Kouzehgar, stressed a war with Iran (PDF) is the most dangerous event that may happen in the region. Tolerating a nuclear-armed Iran is better than another war in Middle East, she said.The shadow of war in Iran is not completely horrible for the regime; they can exploit it by using it as an excuse to execute political prisoners, threaten Web bloggers and journalists, and try to stabilize an official marshal law in Iran.Oxford researcher Paul Rogers mentioned any attack on Iran will spread the war throughout the Persian Gulf and threaten oil transit routes.


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©2006 OhmyNews
Other articles by Omid Habibinia

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