http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20199.htm

Catastrophic Déjà Vu

Debunking The Iran War Resolution

By August Wagele

289/06/08 "ICH" -- - The White House is currently conducting the same tactic on Iran that worked so well on Iraq. Despite the voluminous evidence that The White House lied and exaggerated to excuse the Iraq invasion, much of the American population (by way of the corporate media) are buying into the same rhetoric they foolishly failed to question only five years ago.

These grave threats against Iran are the culmination of 29 years of resentment. Started in 1979 when a frustrated faction in Iran overthrew the brutal yet obedient American puppet, The Shaw.

The White House is continually asserting that Iran is: a threat to America, a threat to its neighbors, harming Americans in Iraq, supporting terrorism, and illegally pursuing nuclear weapons.

Just like they did with Iraq, none of these accusations have substantial or concrete evidence to back them up. They are using the same tactics that worked so well for the Nazis to rally their citizens and excuse their war crimes. If you tell a big enough lie, often enough, the people will eventually believe you.

Below is the recent resolution by the U.S. Congress and Senate.

Text of Legislation (Italics added for emphasis).

SRES 580 IS

110th CONGRESS

2d Session

Senate RES. 580 (RES. 362 in the house)

Expressing the sense of the Senate on preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 2, 2008

Mr. BAYH (for himself, Mr. THUNE, and Mr. SMITH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate on preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

Whereas Iran is a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 1968, and entered into force March 5, 1970 (commonly referred to as the `Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty') and, by ratifying the Treaty, has foresworn the acquisition of nuclear weapons;

Here is the critical language of the NPT- Article IV section 1, which emphatically states Iran’s rights to pursue nuclear power.

“Nothing in this Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination”…

Whereas Iran is legally bound to declare all its nuclear activity to the International Atomic Energy Agency and to place such activity under the constant monitoring of the Agency;

Whereas for nearly 20 years Iran had a covert nuclear program, until the program was revealed by an opposition group in Iran in 2002;

Whereas the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that the Government of Iran has engaged in such covert nuclear activities as the illicit importation of uranium hexafluoride, the construction of a uranium enrichment facility, experimentation with plutonium, the importation of centrifuge technology and the construction of centrifuges, and the importation of the design to convert highly enriched uranium gas into a metal and to shape it into the core of a nuclear weapon, as well as significant additional covert nuclear activities;

Whereas the Government of Iran continues to expand the number of centrifuges at its enrichment facility and to enrich uranium in defiance of 3 binding United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment activities;

Whereas the Government of Iran has announced its intention to begin the installation of 6,000 advanced centrifuges, which, when operational, will dramatically reduce the time it will take Iran to enrich uranium;

Whereas the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate reports that the Government of Iran was secretly working on the design and manufacture of a nuclear warhead until at least 2003 and that Iran could have enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon as early as late 2009;

Whereas allowing the Government of Iran to obtain a nuclear weapons capability would pose a grave threat to international peace and security;

[All nuclear weapons are a grave threat to international peace and security]

Whereas allowing the Government of Iran to obtain a nuclear weapons capability would fundamentally alter and destabilize the strategic balance of power in the Middle East;

[The strategic balance of America and Israel being able to dominate everyone?]

Whereas, if it were allowed to obtain a nuclear weapons capability, the Government of Iran could share its nuclear technology, raising the frightening prospect that terrorist groups and rogue regimes might possess nuclear weapons capabilities;

[And the splintered Soviet Union couldn’t? Why don’t we mind when our allies such as Pakistan share their nuclear technology? Or when our own Congressmen sell our nuclear secrets on the black market?]

Whereas allowing the Government of Iran to obtain a nuclear weapons capability would severely undermine the global nuclear nonproliferation regime that, for more than 4 decades, has contained the spread of nuclear weapons;

[While the NPT has helped restrain states that have signed the NPT, the U.S. has allowed other potentially dangerous states of Pakistan, Israel, and India to obtain nuclear weapons while they refuse to sign the NPT.

Whereas it is likely that one or more Arab states would respond to Iran obtaining a nuclear weapons capability by following Iran's example, and several Arab states have already announced their intentions to pursue `peaceful nuclear' programs;

[Again, it is their right to do so as long as they sign the NPT]

Whereas the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities throughout the Middle East would make the proliferation of nuclear weapons elsewhere around the globe much more likely;

[What is actually spreading a global nuclear and conventional arms race is America’s belligerent threatening and attacks. The world is learning that America will not attack a country that actually poses a threat, therefore all countries are pursuing nuclear weapons as a self-defense from America.]

Whereas allowing the Government of Iran to obtain a nuclear weapons capability would directly threaten Europe and ultimately the United States because Iran already has missiles that can reach parts of Europe and is seeking to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles;

Whereas the Government of Iran has repeatedly called for the elimination of our ally, Israel;

[This is false. Ahmadinejad was quoting Ayatollah Khomeini who said: …”this occupation regime over Jerusalem" will "vanish from the page of time.”]

Whereas the Government of Iran has advocated that the United States withdraw its presence from the Middle East;

[Would we welcome an aggressive foreign military to stay indefinitely that was surrounding us, wanted our resources, supported local dictatorships, and overthrew our next door neighbor while bribing and arming others to the hilt?]

Whereas the United Nations Security Council has passed 3 binding resolutions under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter that impose sanctions on Iran for its failure to comply with the mandatory demand of the Security Council to suspend all uranium enrichment activity;

Whereas the United States, the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany have offered to negotiate a significant package of economic, diplomatic, and security incentives if Iran complies with the Security Council's demands to suspend uranium enrichment;

[It is their inalienable right and what right do we have to demand?]

Whereas the Government of Iran has consistently refused such offers;

Whereas, as a result of the failure of the Government of Iran to comply with the Security Council resolutions, the international community began taking steps in 2006 that have begun to have an impact on the economy of Iran, but the rapid development of nuclear weapons capabilities by the Government of Iran is outpacing the slowly increasing economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran;

[There is no evidence of this.]

Whereas the Government of Iran has used its banking system, including the Central Bank of Iran, to support its proliferation efforts and to assist terrorist groups;

Whereas, as a result of that use of Iran's banking system, the Secretary of the Treasury has designated 4 large Iranian banks as proliferators and supporters of terrorism and restricted the ability of those banks to conduct international financial transactions in United States dollars; and

Whereas Iran must import around 40 percent of its daily requirements for refined petroleum products: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) declares that preventing the Government of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, through all appropriate economic, political, and diplomatic means, is a matter of the highest importance to the national security of the United States and must be dealt with urgently;

(2) urges the President, in the strongest of terms, to immediately use the President's existing authority to impose sanctions on--

(A) the Central Bank of Iran and any other Iranian bank engaged in proliferation activities or support of terrorist groups;

(B) international banks that continue to conduct financial transactions with sanctioned Iranian banks;

(C) energy companies that have invested $20,000,000 or more in the petroleum or national gas sector of the economy of Iran in any given year since the date of the enactment of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note); and

(D) companies that continue to do business with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran;

(3) demands that the President lead an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the pressure on the Government of Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, among other measures, banning the importation of refined petroleum products to Iran; and

(4) asserts that nothing in this resolution shall be construed to authorize the use of force against Iran.

[But any affirmation of this resolution shall be cited as a pretext for military aggression against Iran when the White House requires such an excuse. Exactly as they did before attacking Iraq].

The Congress and the American people must be warned that an attack on Iran will have grave consequences for the region and for the U.S. Any strikes will be catastrophic for the American economy. The drastic increase in the price of oil will cause hyperinflation here at home which will hurt us more than our bombs will change Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions.

Rather than the threat posed by Iran, America should be concerned by the threat of the hatred created by our own imperial aggression.

August Wagele is a producer for Scott Horton's interview program on Antiwar radio.