Bush doesn't want detente. He wants to attack Iran

[cal04]

The US has swept aside repeated overtures from Tehran. Is it any wonder if the Islamic Republic now wants the bomb?
In the next few days an unprecedented meeting between US and Iranian officials is expected to take place in Baghdad; both sides have insisted that discussions are limited to Iraq. Could this first official encounter since the Islamic revolution herald detente between Washington and Tehran?

At the moment nothing suggests that is likely, as each country continues to try to mobilise the states of the region. The US vice-president, Dick Cheney, has been touring the Arab world, reiterating Washington's determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, is visiting the UAE, the first by an Iranian leader since independence in 1971 and all the more important because of a serious territorial dispute. Responding to the threatening noises from Cheney, President Ahmadinejad declared: "The US cannot strike Iran. The Iranian people can protect themselves and retaliate."

Although the US administration's current priority is Iraq, it has not given up on Iran. Silently, stealthily, unseen by cameras, the war on Iran has begun. Many sources confirm that the US has increased its aid to armed movements among the ethnic minorities that make up about 40% of Iran's population. ABC News reported in April that the US had secretly assisted the Baluchi group Jund al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam), responsible for a recent attack that killed 20 Revolutionary Guards. According to an American Foundation report, US commandos have operated inside Iran since 2004.

President Bush categorised Iran as part of the "axis of evil" in 2002; the following year he said the US "would not tolerate" an Iranian nuclear weapon. It is worth recalling the context in which these statements were made. Tehran had actively helped the US to overthrow the Taliban. At a meeting in Geneva on May 2 2003 between Javad Zaraf, the Iranian ambassador, and Zalmay Khalilzad, Bush's special envoy to Afghanistan, the Tehran government submitted a proposal for general negotiations on weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and security, and economic cooperation. The Islamic Republic said it was ready to support the Arab peace initiative tabled in 2002 and help to transform Hizbullah into a political party. And in December 2003, Iran became one of the few countries to sign the additional protocol to the non-proliferation treaty, which strengthens the International Atomic Energy Agency's supervisory powers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2079648,00.html

[babylonsister]

1. Well, that would certainly provide a distraction from Iraq and the

unbelieveably miserable job he's done, though it sounds like he's channeling Cheney.

[MadMaddie]

2. * and Cheney are antagonizing Iran....and it's bordering on

criminal....they have pushed Iran to meet with North Korea an aliance that seriously didn't exist before all of this....

These guys are trying to start WWIII....

[Monkeyman]

3. Did You See Cheney tell Iran we will use Sea Power and Air Power

They Will Hit Iran before they leave office if we don't get rid of the lot of them

[MadMaddie]

4. Yea on the deck of the Carrier with all of the fighter jets behind

him....

These threats are very dangerous.....they have no desire for peace.....

They want the world to be in Chaos so they can continue to profiteer...the real crime behind all of this bullshit.

[Old and In the Way]

5. Cheney was wrong about how Iraq would turn out. I'm sure he'll miscalculate

spectacularly on Iran. They are not Iraq and they do have capabilities to inflict some serious damage on our assets in the Gulf...and on our troops in Iraq. Dick and George ought to be very careful before they unilaterally initiate another attack against a country that has not done anything to justify such a response.

[madrchsod]

7. one carrier would receive extensive damage

with the loss of hundreds if not thousands of sailors. other ships would be disabled or sent to the bottom...but that does`t bother either bush or cheney

[madrchsod]

6. he has two big problems

china and russia...