Bush Plans Huge Propaganda Campaign In Iran

Via Aljazeera. Com

Despite the heated situation in Iraq, persistent violence, surge in attacks, and daily bloodsheds, Iraq is no longer the mainstream news. Iran has become a new focus of distorted Western propaganda, with the biased U.S. now shifted to demonizing the Islamic Republic.

Nearly three years ago, the Iraqi capital Baghdad fell to U.S. ground forces as they spread out across Iraq under the guise of protecting “freedoms and democracy”. Today, with more than 140,000 U.S. troops on the ground, thousands of Iraqi civilians killed, the country’s infrastructure devastated and noticeable rise in bloodshed and violent attacks, as well as heated sectarian tension that threatens the country’s security. The situation in Iraq is bleak which need attention.

Many anti-Iraq war movements’ peace activists and important personalities opposed the invasion of Iraq; spoke positively about the need for a real change in the U.S. foreign policy to end the carnage that has plagued Iraq and the Middle East region at large.

Nevertheless, so far no action has been taken, and the U.S. government, lead by President George W. Bush refuses to heed lessons from the quagmire in Iraq and mistakes that has drowned the U.S. in a situation that needs ages to change. Body bags continue to come home and Iraqi civilians continue to pay the price for a crime committed by the U.S. and its war allies.

Lately Washington started to move the conflict to Iran. Fueling the international controversy created over Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. managed to get the UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] refer Iran’s nuclear dossier to the UNSC for possible sanctions, creating a situation that recalls steps taken against Iraq before the war was launched on March 20 2003.

The IAEA decided to send Iran to the UN Security Council over its decision to resume suspended research on uranium enrichment.

However, the Islamic Republic insists that its research is solely aimed at energy production while Western powers claim that the Islamic Republic is secretly working on an atomic weapons program.

The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Bush’s admin plans to submit a request to the Congress for another $75 million to fund around-the-clock radio and television broadcasting into Iran and other activities to boost reform efforts.

It seems that the U.S. is moving for a more serious war in Iran, war of influencing people’s thoughts and minds

The Secretary of State is set to hold talks in the Gulf next week, with Iran on top of her agenda. According to a State Department official, Rice will visit key U.S. allies in the region like Saudi Arabia and Egypt
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There is no question Washington needs Iran in Iraq. Iran influence in Iraq can turn the U.S. position in Iraq 180 degrees.

Speaking lately to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice renewed the U.S. accusations against Iran. "The Iranian regime is a strategic challenge to the United States, to the world, and a destabilizing influence in the Middle East.” The United States will actively confront the aggressive policies of the Iranian regime".

"At the same time, we will work to support the aspirations of the Iranian people for freedom and democracy in their country.”The international community is going to have act and act decisively if Iran is to know that there is a consequence for their open defiance of the international community, so we are working on precisely that".

The recent U.S. efforts, pushing for this campaign, are actually part of a bigger and wider campaign to increase pressure on Iran, as the showdown over its nuclear activities headed to the UN Security Council.

Tehran and Washington used to have close ties. Iran was a major U.S.-Israel ally during the dictatorship rule of the Shah, who was the U.S. gendarme to police the Gulf States and promote U.S.-Israel interests.

But today’s conflict with Iran, the only independent nation left after Iraq, over the nuclear “threat”, is nothing more and nothing less than the usual threat the U.S. and its allies use to intimidate nations with independent governments

Unlike what happened in Iraq, the U.S. failed to get an evidence to prove that Iran runs nuclear weapons program.

Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has the right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology – in medicine and in energy – program and whatever field it needs as long as it does not pose global threat.

Analysts also view Washington’s Iranian nuclear “threat” claim as a smokescreen used to divert the world, the U.S. and UK’s angry public attention from the U.S.-Britain criminal atrocity in Iraq.