Making Our Way to Iran

Justin Raimondo takes on the IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear weapon possibilities, which he calls a “farrago of half-truths and insinuations.”

Although there is no smoking gun, the injection of the A.Q. Khan network into the propaganda mix at this level is a relatively new development, one that links the latest Enemy of the Moment (Pakistan) with longtime-favorite Iran. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

It hasn’t been that long ago – although in the collective mental processes of the “Coalition” public, even last month is forgotten lore – that we were sweeping the nuclear secrets trading of A.Q. Khan (a Pak scientist) under the rug. Now we’re going to turn around and use them for propaganda. If there is any lesson the rest of the world has learned from our Middle East practices, it must be that we are truly the most ruthless of “friends.” You can never be sure on which side we will place you. (Speaking of friends, I thought it was quite amusing that Mr. Sarkozy called Mr. Netanyahu a liar and Mr. Obama complained about having to put up with it on a daily basis – pot and kettle amusing.)

Now it’s clear why US officials were ecstatic at the appointment of Yukiya Amano as the new IAEA chief, replacing the troublesome Mohammed el-Baradei. As revealed by WikiLeaks, US diplomats came away from their first encounter with Amano convinced it “illustrate[d] the very high degree of convergence between his priorities and our own agenda at the IAEA.”

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There’s another headline related to this that popped up in my Internet search for examples of journalistic war hysteria, and it is this: “Oil Rises on Iran Nuclear Concerns.” We are headed for a perfect storm of oil shock, economic turmoil, and the looming prospect of war with Iran.

This fits right in with the War Party’s agenda: wars are a great way to mask the effects of economic failure – and simultaneously divert attention away from its real authors. Instead of accusing “obstructionist” Republicans of being the cause of our increasing poverty – a narrative even the President’s most devoted cultists must admit is getting threadbare – Obama can blame those obstinate Iranians for the economic chaos to come.

Mr. Obama or whatever hapless fool is there at the time.

Raimondo quotes the report, in part…

“The Agency has information from a Member State that Iran has undertaken work to manufacture small capsules suitable for use as containers of a component containing nuclear material. The Agency was also informed by a different Member State that Iran may also have experimented with such components in order to assess their performance in generating neutrons. Such components, if placed in the center of a nuclear core of an implosion type nuclear device and compressed, could produce a burst of neutrons suitable for initiating a fission chain reaction. The location where the experiments were conducted was said to have been cleaned of contamination after the experiments had taken place.”

Can you say, Aluminum Tubes?

I don’t know if Iran is pursuing nuclear weaponry, but I’d consider them wise to do so simply for their own protection as a deterrent (if pursuing nuclear weaponry can be considered wise in any way). And, of course, they’d HAVE to do it without the US and its enablers knowing about it, wouldn’t they? Therefore it would have to be a secret program. Anyway, Raimondo thinks the whole thing is simply the next step toward turning Iran into Iraq. And he has plenty reason to think so. Read his whole article for more. Sadly, the IAEA report doesn’t highlight the words “may” and “might have” like Raimondo does.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.