Oh, so it's been a secret that the U.S. has been running a concerted non-kinetic (for the most part) blitz of covert operations against Iran for well over a year now - longer or shorter depending on which of a plethora of specific covert programs is chosen to benchmark the kickoff of such an arbitrarily drawn time line.The CIA has received secret presidential approval to mount a covert "black" operation to destabilize the Iranian government, current and former officials in the intelligence community tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, say President Bush has signed a "nonlethal presidential finding" that puts into motion a CIA plan that reportedly includes a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions. May 22, 2007 ABC News
There's obviously something odd going on here and I can't help but join in on the conjecturing going down over at The Washington Monthly's Political Animal.
A week ago, in a reversal of its longtime policy, the Bush administration agreed to hold face-to-face talks with Iran. This decision didn't go over well with conservatives, who believe that negotiation is a sign of weakness, and likely didn't go over well with hardliners within the administration for the same reason.
What to do? Answer: Prove that you're still as tough as you ever were. Perhaps this is why we've seen the following in the past few days:
*An obviously planted story about plans to respond strongly to any Iranian provocation in Iraq this summer.
*A leak to ABC News about a covert program to destabilize the Iranian regime.
*The start of a major naval exercise in the Persian Gulf. Mustafa Alani of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center made the connection plain: "The Americans are sending a message to Iran that they are not coming to the negotiating table weak, but with their military at Tehran's doorstep.''
These actions are probably designed both to put the Iranians on notice and to quell conservative disquiet at home. For their part, the Iranians may be engaged in the same kind of gamesmanship, and with the same two audiences in mind. Perhaps that explains their rash of recent jailings of Iranian-Americans?
1 comment:
I understand Iran's pathologic, paranoic behavior. Their country has been invaded, century after century, from the Russians, Brits & many others. I have compassion for them. I am a stalwart American. I have no, @ this point, political agenda w/ them...short of the "Carter years" with ensuing American hostages.Here's where I no longer hold to my belief that I stated in the last sentence. Islamic Extremists act according to their perverse interpretation of The Koran. And it is PERVERSE & SICK. It is what, in my humble opinion, will be the spark that ignites Armageddon.
The caliphate, or imam (lower case lettering intentional), that they...radical extremists...want. To me, they're nothing more than an apocalyptic, messianic group of clueless, over-zealous, idiots.
This is the reason they need to be neutralized: once and for all millenia to come.
Other than the fact that they have already converted "yellow-cake" to uranium-hexafluride-gas. That's, a tad unsettling. And that's discounting the fact that Iran already is running, according to Al-Baradei, between 1500-2000 centrifuges with their goal being 3000 or more, running 24/7. NOW, I'm MUCH MORE CONCERNED.
Waste 'em, I say. Waste them all...men, women & (sadly), children, for they would only be "brainwashed" into continuing their fore-fathers "twisted" interpretation of Islam, which I realize is a peaceful religion & that I have the UTMOST respect for. Sadly, it has been hijacked by "Jihadists". War is horrific afterall. And I see us as being @ war. Don't you? Hey, WW3's already in the beginning stages should you not have a clue. As demonstrated over the millenia, it's about religion...AGAIN! Intelligence, I would like to think...even "common-fucking-sense", should trump this.
So I ask...who dies? Israeli's women & children? America's women & children? Or the source's men, women, children? Cast your votes. Either way, humanity loses. Civility gets set back many centuries, secondary to illogical, mis-informed & mis-interpreted followers of this "twisted-vision" of Islam. Hyperzealous idealists: think Jim James and his Kool-Aid back in the 80's. What was the count? 1000 dead, or there abouts?
Then amplify this by a, conservative estimate of 100,000. That, my friend is my scenario of the potential damage, mortality-wise speaking, should these bastards be allowed to pursue.
Feel free to disagree. I welcome an ongoing discourse...
Sleep well readers. As for me, I pray. Should that fail, I vote for vaporization, TOTAL eradication of the cancer of "extremist-islamists". Call it "collateral damage"...but please do not bury your heads in the sand, should economic, diplomatic, and whatever other course there is to pursue short of my knee-jerk response. I pray. Problem is: so did the bastards that brought us 9/11. And their resolve was pretty convincing!!!
RMM
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