Coming Soon - War with Iran?

[eyeno]

I suppose, maybe, this is as good a thread as any to stick this info.

A massive explosion has destroyed Saudi Oil pipelines sending an uncontrolled source of fuel on fire and crude oil prices soaring.

[UPDATE] WTI crude now over $110 a barrel.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/0 ... ing-88962/

[seemslikeadream]

Israeli Officials Complain of US Reluctance to Attack Iran
US officials speaking out against an unnecessary war with Iran are aiding the Ayatollahs, Israelis say
by John Glaser, March 01, 2012

Israeli officials are again complaining that public statements from top U.S. officials have not been sufficiently supportive of waging war on Iran and have played into the hands of the Ayatollahs.

This is not a first. Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and other senior Israeli officials complained that U.S. officials speaking publicly about their reluctance to start a war with Iran ”served Iran’s interests.”

The consensus in the U.S. military and intelligence community is that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons and has demonstrated no intention of doing so. Given these assessments, and in the face of an increasingly hawkish Israel and a Congress vying for war, several high level U.S. officials have publicly warned against a preemptive military strike on Iran and have even stated that the U.S. wouldn’t back Israel if it decided to attack on its own.

“If the United States doesn’t broadcast determination all along the road, both in sanctions and in the threat of military action, Tehran is liable to mistakenly understand from this that 2012 is a lost year for the international community, so its nuclear program can advance as usual,” a senior Israeli official told Ha’aretz.

“At the moment,” the official continued, “largely because of the administration’s contradictory messages, the Iranians assume that nothing military will happen before the U.S. presidential elections in November. They believe the administration fears an attack because of the danger that gas prices will rise, and that Israel won’t move without a green light from Washington. Iran is under more pressure than before because of the sanctions, but absent a unified and determined front against it, it won’t change its mind about the nuclear issue.”

Of course, as best as anybody can tell, the Iranians have made up their mind about the nuclear issue. Namely, they have decided not to develop nuclear weapons, to allow inspections and 24 hour surveillance at all 15 of their declared enrichment sites, and to ask for peaceful negotiations and a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East. The latter suggestion is rejected outright by Israel, which may be the crux of the problem, as opposed to American reluctance to start another unnecessary war.

[ninakat]

I suppose, maybe, this is as good a thread as any to stick this info.

A massive explosion has destroyed Saudi Oil pipelines sending an uncontrolled source of fuel on fire and crude oil prices soaring.

[UPDATE] WTI crude now over $110 a barrel.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/0 ... ing-88962/

Saudis deny pipeline explosion report
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-near- ... 52132.html

[seemslikeadream]

Obama: I'm not bluffing on Iran
Updated 10:20 AM Mar 03, 2012
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama issued his most direct threat yet of United States military action against Iran if it builds a nuclear weapon, but in a message to Israel's leader ahead of White House talks he also cautioned against a pre-emptive Israeli strike.

"As president of the United States, I don't bluff," Mr Obama warned Iran yesterday, three days before he will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

With the meeting expected to be dominated by stark differences over what Washington fears could be an Israeli attack on Tehran's nuclear sites, Mr Netanyahu said he wanted to preserve the "freedom of action of the State of Israel in the face of threats to wipe us off the map".

Monday's talks are shaping up as the most consequential encounter of US and Israeli leaders in years, with tensions further magnified by Republican presidential candidates slamming Obama over his Middle East policy.

Further complicating the talks is a trust deficit between the two men, who have had a rocky relationship.

There is mounting speculation that Israel, which fears that time is running out to stop Iran's nuclear advance, could act militarily on its own in coming months unless it receives stronger reassurances from Washington.

Mr Netanyahu is trying to convince Obama to more forcefully define the nuclear threshold that Iran must not cross, while the US president wants to convince Israel to hold off on any unilateral strike and give sanctions and diplomacy more time to work.

Both leaders talked tough ahead of their meeting.

"I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say," Mr Obama said.

Mr Obama repeated the US refrain that "all options are on the table" but spoke in his most direct terms yet of a possible US military response if sanctions and diplomacy fail to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"It includes a military component. And I think people understand that," Mr Obama said when asked about US intentions on Iran, which insists it is not trying to develop nuclear weapons.

While acknowledging Mr Netanyahu's "profound responsibility" to protect the Israeli people, Mr Obama cited "potential unintended consequences" as he made clear that it would be unwise for Israel to go ahead with any attack on Iran.

"At a time when there is not a lot of sympathy for Iran and its only real ally, Syria is on the ropes, do we want a distraction in which suddenly Iran can portray itself as a victim?"

Mr Obama cannot afford to be too tough on Mr Netanyahu, with Republican presidential candidates ready to pounce on any sign of a rift with close US ally Israel. But Mr Obama's aides are also worried that a new war in the Middle East could sow chaos and bring further spikes in global oil prices.

It was unclear, however, whether Mr Obama's sharpened rhetoric on Iran would be enough to placate Netanyahu, who was visiting Canada yesterday before flying to Washington tomorrow.

Netanyahu yesterday ruled out the idea of international talks to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, a possibility has raised in recent weeks as sanctions have started to take a heavier toll.

"I think the international community should not fall into this trap," he told reporters in Ottawa after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. REUTERS

[Simulist]

Mr Obama cannot afford to be too tough on Mr Netanyahu, with Republican presidential candidates ready to pounce on any sign of a rift with close US ally Israel. But Mr Obama's aides are also worried that a new war in the Middle East could sow chaos and bring further spikes in global oil prices.

And this is precisely what is wrong with the United States of America.

Never mind the fact that there is no reason whatsoever to attack Iran, or that innocent lives will be lost, or that an entire culture may be destroyed — and all of this for NO GOOD AT ALL — the real concern with attacking Iran is about MONEY.

My country disgusts me.

[eyeno]

I suppose, maybe, this is as good a thread as any to stick this info.

A massive explosion has destroyed Saudi Oil pipelines sending an uncontrolled source of fuel on fire and crude oil prices soaring.

[UPDATE] WTI crude now over $110 a barrel.
http://blog.alexanderhiggins.com/2012/0 ... ing-88962/

Saudis deny pipeline explosion report
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-near- ... 52132.html

thanx for the rebuttal. weird.

[ninakat]

eyeno, yeah it's pretty weird -- don't know what to believe, although I'm leaning more toward it didn't happen. Some kind of game on somebody's part -- that's the confusing part. So many questions... and so many possibilities. Maybe Alice, or somebody else who knows more than I do, can offer a theory or two.

[slimmouse]

Could you make this up ? I guess the answer is clearly yes;

House panel passes bill claiming Iran is arming Mexico drug cartels, inciting border violence, and smuggling drugs into US using sophisticated Hezbollah narco-tunneling
Of all of the ridiculous contrived distorted pieces of propaganda the US government has fabricated against Iran, this has to be the most disturbing of them all, and there is no doubt it will soon be aired on every corporate media news station in the country.
The US house panel has just passed this bill to monitor Iran’s activities in Latin America because>

Iran is using Hezbollah to supply the Mexican drug cartels with guns and drugs to incite violence on the US/Mexico border and smuggle drugs into the United States using sophisticated Hezbollah narco-tunneling.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Congress ... 8/Y/M.html

[Searcher08]

Could you make this up ? I guess the answer is clearly yes;

House panel passes bill claiming Iran is arming Mexico drug cartels, inciting border violence, and smuggling drugs into US using sophisticated Hezbollah narco-tunneling
Of all of the ridiculous contrived distorted pieces of propaganda the US government has fabricated against Iran, this has to be the most disturbing of them all, and there is no doubt it will soon be aired on every corporate media news station in the country.
The US house panel has just passed this bill to monitor Iran’s activities in Latin America because>

Iran is using Hezbollah to supply the Mexican drug cartels with guns and drugs to incite violence on the US/Mexico border and smuggle drugs into the United States using sophisticated Hezbollah narco-tunneling.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Congress ... 8/Y/M.html

The idea that organisations like the Zetas, formed from ex Mexican 'Special Forces' awash with drug money in the billions, need Hezbollah to 'supply them with guns' is err.. interesting.

The huge efforts Iran puts in to stopping Afghan heroin getting into their country are obviously just a clever distraction! Ha! Busted, you naughty Iranians, you!

[seemslikeadream]

Obama warns Iran of military plan in works
Former CIA officer Jack Rice joins MSNBC to explain the basis of President Obama's strategic warning to Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

>>> there are two big headlines this morning. number one, president obama says a, quote, military component is in the mix to stop iran from developing a nuclear weapon . monday, he'll be talking with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu . the second headline, rivals of mahmoud ahmadinejad is leading in iranian parliamentary elections . joining me is jack rice , a former cia officer. good morning.

>> great to be with you.

>> let's talk about this new interview in which the president said there is a military option in the mix to stop iron from getting a nuclear weapon . do you believe that is the case or is it more to test iran ?

>> i think it is the case. it's certainly something they've been preparing for. this is something the pentagon has been talking about for years, long before president obama . the option is there. the real question is whether or not it will make a difference. i think to answer that question, the answer is no. if you take a look at the parliamentary elections right now, what's very clear is they're driving to the right with the saber rattling of bb netanyahu out of israel and president obama out of washington, d.c. what we're finding is it's driving the iranian political scheme further to the right, more conservative and in some cases, potentially more volatile.

>> we have the president right now who's telling israel if they were to attack iran , that would make the situation worse. is that true?

>> i do think that that's true. this is much different. if we think about iran versus what we've seen in the other parts of the world, the syrians were the iraqis or elsewhere, the iranians is three times the size of iraq, 75 million people, three times the population. more importantly, iran has a lot of other political triggers. they can actually drive hezbollah in lebanon and elsewhere to do things. they can drive hamas in gaza and the west bank to do things against the israelis . they have an ability to push and that is a very real concern. besides, the israelis have a reach worldwide and they have not been hesitant to use that. there's a lot more to be concerned about.

>> so what you're saying, they may be able to drive something to use against israel . do you believe, jack, the u.s. is facing a threat from iran ? do they have agents in the u.s.? as you may have heard recently, an iranian leader hinted to that.

>> that's been the claim for years. we have seen parts of that. are we talking about legitimate, real threats? let's going big picture here. the answer is probably not. our concern, actually, if you want to talk about a threat to the u.s., look at the amount of oil that rolls through the straits of hormuz. more than 10% of the world's oil. it doesn't matter whether or not the americans buy it. this is a world market . you shut that supply down, it will have a dramatic impact. if you pifilled up your gas tank within the last week, you paid a twice for what's going on with the iranians . that's one of the reasons the gas prices have gone up. if we're talking about what the iranians can truly do to the average american , they can do that. that's one of the things we've always been concerned about.

>> how soon, do you think, with all these issues coming to a boil, if you will, how soon until there might be action?

>> this could come more quickly than i think people expect. i've been watching this and i've been hearing chatter about this for some time now. people have been concerned about since october, november with, when people started looking at this. the real problem, however, is if we think about what the iaea has done, the analysis of the iranians . the iranians do not have the capability at this point. they can't build this bomb. they can't deliver this bomb, so to speak. if they can't, there's a lot of people questioning why does the netanyahu and others are beating the drums as they are? i think a big part of that has to do with domestic politics inside of israel . we should make one very clear point here. the israelis , there is no one voice. there's a lot of people talking about this from different perspectives.

>> we thank you for joining the conversation with your perspective, good to see you. thanks.

>> thank you.

[crikkett]

The idea that organisations like the Zetas, formed from ex Mexican 'Special Forces' awash with drug money in the billions, need Hezbollah to 'supply them with guns' is err.. interesting.

I guess it's become a seller's market since the ATF was busted.

[StarmanSkye]

"Iran is using Hezbollah to supply the Mexican drug cartels with guns and drugs to incite violence on the US/Mexico border and smuggle drugs into the United States using sophisticated Hezbollah narco-tunneling."

Reading this made me think, *Now that's interesting. Why would Iran be muleing for the CIA? Clearly, no other organization has the long experience, expertise, capability, network contacts, perfected cover, organizational skill, well-established financial links, logistics and distribution command, primary product connections, or management resources of the CIA when it comes to leveraging arms-and-drugs transfers. Its inconceivable that Iran would be cooperating with let alone competing with the CIA, especially in the CIA's own backyard and with a franchise that the CIA has dominated for over 30 or 40 years. In sum: This piece of crap doesn't even BEGIN to stick to the wall.*

What next? Will we hear that Iran was secretly behind the derivatives scam and Wall Street and banking fraud that has caused the global financial trainwreck?

[Searcher08]

"Iran is using Hezbollah to supply the Mexican drug cartels with guns and drugs to incite violence on the US/Mexico border and smuggle drugs into the United States using sophisticated Hezbollah narco-tunneling."

Reading this made me think, *Now that's interesting. Why would Iran be muleing for the CIA? Clearly, no other organization has the long experience, expertise, capability, network contacts, perfected cover, organizational skill, well-established financial links, logistics and distribution command, primary product connections, or management resources of the CIA when it comes to leveraging arms-and-drugs transfers. Its inconceivable that Iran would be cooperating with let alone competing with the CIA, especially in the CIA's own backyard and with a franchise that the CIA has dominated for over 30 or 40 years. In sum: This piece of crap doesn't even BEGIN to stick to the wall.*

What next? Will we hear that Iran was secretly behind the derivatives scam and Wall Street and banking fraud that has caused the global financial trainwreck?

Later at Langley...
Harry?
Whacha want Benny?
You know that RI forum where we our ideas from sometimes?
Yeah?
Here's another one - howse about... The Iranian Central Bank caused the derivatives crisis!
Ha! Brilliant I'll sent it over to the 'tanks.

[Bruce Dazzling]

"Iran is using Hezbollah to supply the Mexican drug cartels with guns and drugs to incite violence on the US/Mexico border and smuggle drugs into the United States using sophisticated Hezbollah narco-tunneling."

Reading this made me think, *Now that's interesting. Why would Iran be muleing for the CIA? Clearly, no other organization has the long experience, expertise, capability, network contacts, perfected cover, organizational skill, well-established financial links, logistics and distribution command, primary product connections, or management resources of the CIA when it comes to leveraging arms-and-drugs transfers. Its inconceivable that Iran would be cooperating with let alone competing with the CIA, especially in the CIA's own backyard and with a franchise that the CIA has dominated for over 30 or 40 years. In sum: This piece of crap doesn't even BEGIN to stick to the wall.*

What next? Will we hear that Iran was secretly behind the derivatives scam and Wall Street and banking fraud that has caused the global financial trainwreck?

Later at Langley...
Harry?
Whacha want Benny?
You know that RI forum where we our ideas from sometimes?
Yeah?
Here's another one - howse about... The Iranian Central Bank caused the derivatives crisis!
Ha! Brilliant I'll sent it over to the 'tanks.

A rogue Iranian day trader!

[Nordic]

And don't forget, it was Iran who was really behind 911.