Iran: Lies and Propaganda

Oil standoff: Iran, West on the Brink of War?

   America continues to instigate a war with Iran while attempting to demonize the Iranian government and population. The situation with Iran is the most dangerous situation in the world since the Cold War. What is the reason for such hostility? Some will suggest that it is about oil because Iran has the 3rd largest oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq but it is much more complex than that. I will try to explain the history and foundation of this problem. Above is a link that discusses the potential for a war between Iran and the West, led by America. The turmoil between the US and Iran has historical roots dating back to 1953. Since 1953, other factors have affected the relationship including the NPT, the Iranian Revolution and the War on Terror.
   "Terrorism" is defined by the US Department of Defense as "the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies as to the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological." If you really dissect this definition, it includes actions made by the United States as well as the many "terrorist" groups.
   9/11 was seen as an opportunity for America to regain control of the Middle East. The neo-conservatives and the Project for the New American Century, which includes Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz, say this opportunity as a way to expand US global domination. Not only the neo-cons but also the Democratic party leadership saw that 9/11 gave them a perfect reason to implant pro-US leaders in many of the countries that had escaped its grasps. With pro-US leaders in power in Arab nations, US companies could be ensured that oil industries would be exploitable. Along with oil companies, construction companies were also lobbying heavily to make sure the US took action in the Middle East. They would be rewarded with huge re-construction projects that would prove to be very lucrative. The main targets of these global powers were Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya. So the propaganda machine went to work.
   There are a few steps to military action employed by the United States and they manifested themselves in all of these countries. First, the US demonize the enemy through lies. Like the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam, the US used the threat of WMDs and nuclear programs to demonize both Iraq and Iran. In Syria and Libya, they just presented a picture of their leaders as massive human rights violators. Second, the propaganda machine must exaggerate the threat. Iraq didn't have nuclear weapons and Iran is not close to having nukes as I will show. By telling mistruths, the US is able to gain public support for their "moral" cause. Third, the US fakes diplomatic attempts to address the "problems". Once diplomatic measures have been exhausted, they must establish a pretext for invasion. This happened in Iraq, Syria, and Libya and I believe that Iran is next. The parallels are too evident. We do this every time we want to remove a leader that is not favorable to our interest. But let's go back to the beginning.
   In 1951, Mohammad Mossadegh was the first democratically elected President of Iran. That same year, on March 20th, the National Front Bill was passed by the Senate. This bill nationalized the oil industry. The result of this was that the Anglo-Iranian Petroleum Company (owned by British Petroleum) was kicked out and the oil profits would go to the people of Iran. This, of course, could not stand. The US sends in Kermit Roosevelt, the nephew of FDR, to orchestrate "Operation Ajax". This was an American sponsored coup to overthrow Mossadegh. He promoted a coup through bribery. It was successful. If you want more details on the coup read All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror by Stephen Kinzer or the link below is a shorter article.

1953 Coup D'etat in Iran by Mark J. Gasiorowki

    The United States injected Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, known to most as the Shah. The Shah was a servant to the elite and to US interest. Immediately after he took power in 1953 he privatized the oil industry, handing the control to US and British oil companies. Mossad, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate and the CIA helped the Shah to create his own secret police to suppress dissent. SAVAK was created and began to repress dissenters through jailing, exile, torture, and murder. One of the men that was jailed and then sent into exile was the Ayatollah Khomeini. He was in jail for 2 years and then sent into exile for 14 years. The Shah would remain in power for over 25 years, stuffing his pockets with dirty money and suppressing dissenters. By the late 1970s the US had established full control of the oil-rich states. The US had put the Shah in power in Iran, Saddam led a coup in Iraq and was rewarded with being the leader, and the US had the Saud family under their thumb. All the major oil producing countries were aligned with the US. This all changed in 1979 with the Iranian Revolution.
   Major protests began in the mid 1970s in Iran. They were calling for the return of Ayatollah Khomeini and the establishment of an Islamic Republic, mainly one that was not the servants of the US and their interest. The Shah cracked down, he proclaimed martial law. Protests were no illegal and SAVAK was working overtime. But the dissent was too large and too powerful. Ten million people poured into the streets, two million in the capital city of Tehran alone. One quarter of the population was in the streets protesting for the removal of the Shah and the return of the Ayatollah. Ayatollah Khomeini returned, the Shah fled the country, and an Islamic Republic was established. US and British companies were kicked out again but Iran wanted more.
   Students stormed the US embassy, ironically, the very same building that Kermit Roosevelt had orchestrated the coup out of and took Americans hostage. 52 Americans were held for 444 days in Iran. The students demanded four things. First that the Shah be returned to Iran so he could be put on trial for all the crimes he had committed. Second, they wanted the Shah's fortune - an estimated one billion dollars - to be returned to the Iranian people. The US had access to all of his bank accounts. Third, the students demanded that the US stop interfering in Iran. And finally, they asked for an apology and admission of guilt. In the end, the students did not really get any of these demands. The hostages were all returned but the Shah did not return to Iran until many years later, he was sent into exile instead of prison, kept most of his wealth and the US continues to interfere in Iranian politics.
   In the 1980s, turmoil between Iran and Iraq began to escalate. Saddam wanted to control the oil in Iran and the US was not opposed to this. They actually instigated it. The war lasted from 1980 to 1988. An estimated one million people died in this conflict. The US had their hands all over it. The US actually aided both sides of the war. By doing this, the US ensured that neither would prevail stronger than when they went in to the war. Supporting both sides ensured the destabilization of both countries which played well to US interests. The US could exercise more influence in the region. The US was giving Iraq intelligence and weapons and also gave Iraq loans to build and develop more weapons. Iraq destroyed Iran's oil infrastructure. The US continued to support the Saddam regime even though they knew that he was using chemical weapons on Iran and on his own people. The US also provided weapons to Iran, though not directly, which was known as the Iran-Contra scandal.
   President Reagan could not get Congressional approval to go to war in Nicaragua to fight the Sandinistas.  Since he could not get Congressional approval, he needed to find a way to fund this war against communism in Nicaragua. He needed to fund the opposition in Nicaragua which was famous for its death squads and mass murders. These groups were created and funded with dirty money. Since there was a UN arms embargo on Iran, which was supported by the US, Reagan decided to use Israel as a courier to deliver weapons to Iran. Israel gave Iran weapons in exchange for payment, the US replaced the Israeli weapons that were given to Iran and the payment was given to the US. Reagan went against his own policy, behind the backs of Americans, in order to fund the mass murder of Nicaraguan civilians. The US was actually convicted of illegal use of force by the International Criminal Court (ICC) but of course this ruling was ignored by the US. No reparations were paid, no consequences for our illegal actions. The US support of terror is forgotten while we ridicule Iran for supporting terrorism in Palestine.
   Iran may be supporting some of these groups in Israel but they at least they have very legitimate grievances. The Palestinians want their land back that was taken from them. Before 1940 and the creation of a Jewish state, the territories had a population that was almost 98 percent Palestinian. Not only were their lands stolen but now the state of Israel is terrorizing their lives with occupation. Since the same time casualties in Israel because of the conflict are 8 to 1, Palestinian to Israeli. Israel has a powerful army, with the most technologically advanced weapons, they occupy Palestine with tanks and blow up neighborhoods. Too much to get into but here is a little clip of Noam Chomsky talking about it.

The US does not want resolution here. They actually vetoed a UN decision to restore the borders to pre-1967 conditions. Essentially, giving the Palestinians quasi-sovereign rights to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But US politicians are loyal to APAC, the Israel lobby. We don't want to acknowledge that these people are fighting for their freedom, they are not terrorists, they are desperate.
   Look at South Africa. Nelson Mandela and his followers were labeled as terrorists at first but they were really fighting for justice. Look at how much terrorism the US has supported. The US supported terrorist groups to fight popular uprisings in Mozambique and in Angola. These were horribly brutal conflicts. The US supported terrorism all over Latin America to fight against the establishment of socialist states in the region. The US supported the Mujahideen, which is the foundation of Islamic terrorism, in order to fight the Russians in the Middle East. US funded militants in Libya just last year. They also supported terrorist groups in Syria, Iran and Iraq. Only terror that the US determines is just is allowed, anything else should be demonized and not listened to.
   I am going to switch gears a bit and re-focus on Iran. One of the things we always hear about in the news is the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This was a UN treaty, signed in the late 1960s, that prohibits any non-nuclear state from acquiring nuclear weapons. The states that had nuclear weapons at the time were supposed to engage in a process of disarming their entire nuclear arsenal. And lastly that countries are allowed to pursue a nuclear program if it is for energy. Here is a link to the NPT.
Non-Proliferation Treaty

   Iran has been consistent in their rhetoric about the nuclear weapons program. First, that the US has no right to ridicule their program because they are not honoring the treaty by decreasing their arsenal. The US has thousands of nuclear weapons and continues to make many more. Iran has zero. The Supreme Leader of Iran has said consistently that they do not intend to build weapons, that nuclear weapons have been banned as sacrilegious, and that Iran promotes a nuclear-free Middle East.
   The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has released many reports on the Iranian nuclear weapons program and they results have been very consistent.  They have found that there is no clear evidence to suggest that Iran is trying to develop weapons. IAEA General Director, Mohamed El Baradei reported that no hidden plants exist, they are not attempting to build weapons, nor are they close to having the capabilities. Shortly after these reports were released, Baradei was replaced as General Director. The US manipulates the UN, its member states and its agencies to work for American interests. The US told India they would not provide them with weapons that had been promised if they didn't vote with the US.
    Under Article 6 of the NPT, nuclear states are supposed to disarm. The US is not disarming. Non-nuclear states are not supposed to be able to get weapons. But since the treaty was signed, Israel has received more than 200 nuclear weapons. India has received 100 to 140 nuclear weapons and Pakistan has received over 60. South Africa has also been sold nuclear weapons by the US through Israel. The US is dictating nuclear policy and because they have demonized Iran, Iran is not even allowed to pursue nuclear energy. The President of Iran is not quiet about these contradictions and lies by the US.
   The US media machine focuses on the radical President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He speaks out against US imperialism and is very anti-Israel. This slight of hand works well because the US media takes his statements out of context and makes him look like a bad guy. The media is very good at this. The part they leave out is that the President of Iran does not have much power. The Supreme Leader of Iran, the Ayatollah is the man who makes decisions. And the Ayatollah is saying very different things. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replaced Ayatollah Khomeini after his death. Ali Khamenei makes the decisions regarding foreign policy, military policy, and the nuclear program. He signed the Arab Peace Initiative which would re-establish diplomatic relations with Israel if they stopped the occupation of the Palestinian territories. The Ayatollah also tried to make a deal with Washington in 2002 and this offer still stands today. Iran would allow full nuclear inspections, cut off all support to Hammas and Hezbollah, and would normalize relations with Israel if they stop the occupation. In exchange, the US would have to promise not to attack Iran and lift all sanctions allowing the world to invest in Iran. Washington declined and continues to decline this offer.
   The sanctions have extreme consequences on the country. After the Iran-Iraq war, the oil infrastructure in Iran was destroyed. The US coerced Europe, India, Brazil and Turkey to support all economic sanctions on Iran. This prohibits countries from being able to fully trade with Iran. As a result of these sanctions, Iran is not able to use its wealth to develop industry and support its population. The US acts as if these sanctions are diplomatic measures but they are not. Sanctions are an act of aggression. Without being able to develop their infrastructure, Iran has no option but to aspire for nuclear energy to power the country. That is why they are going forth with their nuclear program.
    Another deception led by the media is the relationship between Iran and Venezuela. The US portrays this as an evil conspiracy to develop nuclear weapons in order to attack the US. This is not the case at all. Like Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez is very anti-America. America attempted to overthrow Chavez in 2002 but were unsuccessful in the end. He was overthrown for a day, but the Venezuelan people flooded the streets and demanded his return. In reality, this relationship is a peaceful one. I will attach a link below that discusses this further. In my opinion, the relationship is developing because Iran and Venezuela see a way to make an impact on American hegemony. If they can develop nuclear energy to power their entire country, these two oil rich companies can inflate the price of oil which would negatively affect the US. This impact would be enormous and they know this. But let's be clear, they are not trying to attack the US militarily.
Iran-Venezuela Relationship About Peace

   I believe the US is posing itself for a war with Iran. All of the signs are there. The US is encircling Iran. Look at the US military bases in the Middle East. This is a map of US bases in 2003 and the US has put many more in place since.

   Iran is that white country in between Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, Pakistan. The US continues to build more bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. With the current war in Pakistan, the US is setting themselves up to put more US military presence on the southeast border of Iran. Mossad and the CIA are bombing nuclear scientists in Iran today. The US is currently sending troops to Israel along with all the weapons that have already been sent. I will put two links at the bottom of the blog about US and Israel. The US is attempting to set up a puppet government in Syria so the US has a presence there. In the Persian Gulf, the US has aircraft carriers, sitting and waiting for their orders to strike Iran. Just across the gulf from Iran is Qatar. The US used the Qatar army in our coup led in Libya last year. So the US knows they can get the support of Qatar. The US has bases all over the Persian Gulf in Saudi Arabia and in Turkey. The US has bases in Kuwait as well. Iran is completely encircled with US military presence, no wonder they are worried about what the US is going to do. We are giving them pretty good reason. With the "end" of the Iraq war, which is not really true, the US posing themselves for a war with Iran. The only way this can be prevented is if we as the population stand up and say "not again".
   The US government breaks so many international laws, threatens people, and establishes military presence all over the world. No wonder some leaders are hostile towards us and worried for their lives. The elites are trying to expand their domination over the world and we cannot let that happen in Iran. The implications of a war in Iran could be devastating. China and Russia are saying that they will side with Iran and I think it will lead to a World War. Let's not blindly support this insanity. Howard Zinn said that "there is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people." If we go to war with Iran, that is exactly what will happen, innocents will die. The war in Iraq saw 90 percent civilian casualties and this is unacceptable. Just like Iraq, the US war machine is using propaganda and lies to establish a pretext for war. As the population, we cannot let this happen. Do not support this nonsense again. If Iran wants democratic reform, the population itself must make it happen. Our intervention will only destroy any democratic foundation in that country. We are not better and we do not know best. Our government is a bunch of liars and thieves. Don't believe them, it is all lies.

Thousands of US Troops Deploying to Israel

Mossad It Again: 4th Iranian Nuclear Scientist Bombed

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