Is The USA Bluffing?
Four New Essays On War With Iran:
Is The USA Bluffing; Is There A Better
Alternative; Why Can't We Debate The Reasons For This War Beforehand?
From Evan
Augustine Peterson III, J.D., April 7 , 2006
[1] Jay Bookman's
4-6-06 CD/AJC esssay, "Is Iran War Rhetoric A Bluff? Military
Strike On Nuclear Sites A Dangerous Idea" [The Bush administration
has been threatening to launch a military strike against Iran's
civilian nuclear-program facilities. The Bushites' saber-rattling
rhetoric might be a negotiation tactic, but then again, it's eerily
similar to the statements they made before the Iraq War. If they
really do strike Iran, it's retaliatory blowback will be far bloodier,
and the war's escalation even more uncontrollable, than the current
chaos in Iraq. Let us hope the neocrazies are just bluffing, and
not really crazy.]:
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0406-20.htm
[2] Dilip Hiro's 4-6-06 TP essay, "Cooling The Iran Crisis"
[Notes that the Bushites have better alternatives to war with
Iran. Recommends that they start 6-party multilateral negotiations
now. Explains with specificity why a US-led military strike against
Iran would be dangerously counterproductive. Among other things:
Iran is four times larger and three times more populous than Iraq;
it has a significant military with an air force, missiles, and
high-speed torpedoes; it is OPEC's second-largest oil producer;
it could easily drive oil prices through the roof by blocking
the Straits of Hormuz; it's a signatory to the NPT, which explicitly
states that its members have an "inalienable right"
to develop nuclear energy for peaceful civilian purposes; Iran
does NOT have any nuclear weapons; and there is NO evidence that
Iran is seeking a nuclear-weapons program.]:
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/06/cooling_the_iran_crisis.php
[3] Amitabh Pal's 4-6-06 CD/Progressive essay, "Israel
Controversy Threatens Free Speech" [A Harvard research
paper by two distinguished and level-headed scholars has drawn
chillingly oppressive rhetorical fire from the pro-Israel lobby
which threatens our constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of speech.
It also distracts us from the real issues that arise from the
pro-Israel lobby's current project: (a) what causal factors are
driving us into an illegal war of aggression against Iran; and
(b) is it really in the USA's national interests to attack Iran,
or is it only in Israel's national interests?]:
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0406-26.htm
[4] Tom Regan's 4-6-06 CSM article, "More Debate Over
Report On Israel's Influence in The US: Supporters Cite Freedom
Of Speech, Need to Discuss Topic; Detractors Say It Promotes 'Crass
Bigotry'" [This must-read article cogently summarizes
the "state of the debate" about the pro-Israel lobby's
disproportionately powerful influence on US policy in the Mideast.
Helpfully contains links to the most recent articles on this subject.
Perhaps the best conclusion is that the USA's Mideast policy should
altogether cease to scapegoat people, and thus strive to be neither
anti-Semitic nor Islamophobic.]:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0406/dailyUpdate.html
