Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Iran not off the US hook

Dec.5, 2007

Iran not off the US hook

A CONVENTIONAL approach would show that the finding of US spy agencies that Iran had halted a programme to build nuclear weapons in 2003 pulls the rug from under the Bush administration's aggressive campaign against Tehran based on its nuclear activities. It vindicates Tehran's long-standing claim that its nuclear programme had only peaceful civilian aims, and could be seen as a source of relief for the region.
However, it is highly unlikely that Iran has come off the American hook
although the intelligence report does away with all justifications and reasonings for continued pressure against Iran. As Tehran exults at the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report, Washington, London and Paris are calling for continued international pressure on Tehran. US President George W Bush has no doubt that Iran is still developing its nuclear technology and could restart a covert weapons programme. He and his allies are trying to turn the post-NIE report tables around by arguing that the finding validates US pressure on Tehran to end its nuclear activities.
Clearly the NIE report has surprised everyone, given the consistent and strident rhetoric from Washington accusing Tehran of pursuing a covert nuclear weapons programme over the years. The report undercuts the Bush administration's efforts to convince other world powers, particularly UN Security Council members China and Russia, to support moves to impose further sanctions against Iran. It would be ironic at best that the US administration is implictly brushing aside the finding of its own intelligence agencies and pressing for more sanctions against Iran in the name of a non-existent programme.
The NIE report has led to a major shift in focus of foreign policy debate in Washington, with Democrats, critics of Bush and anti-war activists using the finding to expose flaws in the administration's approach.
But, Bush's comment shows that there would not be any shift as far his administration is concerned.
Well, the Bush administration could not do or say otherwise, because it is committed to the project of removing Iran as a challenge to the US/Israeli interests in the region.
Seen in that context and given the opinion of a world majority that the US is following the same deceptive approach as it did in the case of Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction," there could indeed be a shift in Washington, but towards finding alternatives to continue its drive against Iran.
That thought is strengthened by the revelation in the authoritative Washington Post that Bush made his infamous warning about a "third world war" after "he had first been told about fresh indications that Iran had actually halted its nuclear weapons programme."
The writing is clear on the wall: The Bush administration's will not entertain any second thought about its present approach to Iran. Such is the size of the Israeli hook in the US throat that Washington could not afford to be led in any other direction.
And, we have seen, Tehran is more than willing to help   the US and Israel — in the form of hard-line rhetoric and defiant postures — to strengthen their "case" against Iran. The Iranian leadership could do well to remember that the entire region would have to pay a heavy price for their defiance. The least they could do is should shift their course to mainstream diplomacy and stay away from helping rebuild the nuclear case or built yet another case against themselves.