They are at it once again. The warmongers are crawling in the dark path of deception,
looking for sinister ways to fulfill their desire for more power, money, killing and destruction.
In the past few weeks, we have brought a different view of the Iranian threat to your
attention. Unlike the mainstream media, we exposed the lies pertaining to the so-called Iranian nuclear threat.
The US secret agenda for tightening its vice-like
grip on the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken on an apparently new form after the anti-Iran alleged assassination plot against
the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, raised many eyebrows among experts and analysts around the world.
With a strong penchant for pushing for tougher
action on Iran, the Obama administration has already imposed a series of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. However,
a Republican-controlled congressional committee has recently heard testimony demanding an extensive range of covert operations
against the country.
The operations, which range from cyber attacks
to political assassinations, are speculated to be conducted under the feeble excuse that Iran was the alleged architect of
an assassination plot against the Saudi envoy to the United States. By political assassination, the US congressmen unconsciously
mean the liquidation of the Iranian nuclear scientists, an act they actually started long ago.
Retired Army Gen. John Keane told a hearing of
two key subcommittees of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday, "We've got to put our hand around their throat
now. Why don't we kill them? We kill other people who kill others."
Also, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) poured some
pearls of wisdom over others and called for "sober, reasoned discussion."
"Iran's leaders must be held accountable for their
action," she said, "but we cannot take any reckless actions which may lead to opening another front in the 'War on Terror,'
which the American people do not want and cannot afford."
Naturally, the US government, in essence, cannot
afford to wage another war at least in view of the economic woes it has wrought upon the American citizens, regardless of
other influencing factors.
The stone that started rolling fell into the hands
of New York Congressman Peter King who made an extremely bizarre comment. He suggested that the US should kick out Iranian
officials at the UN in New York and in Washington and accused them of being spies, ignorant of the fact that the UN is considered
an independent international body and that the US has no authority to 'kick out' diplomats accredited there en masse.
Overwhelmed with a sense of false eagerness, he
renewed the anti-Iran alleged assassination ploy and said excitedly, "So you have the assassination of a foreign ambassador,
you have the willingness to kill hundreds of Americans -- this is an act of war," King said, "I don't think we can just do
business as usual or even carry out sanctions as usual."
The volley of vitriolic words against Iran which
issued from Mr. King reeks of blind enmity long egged on by other hawks in Washington.
In point of fact, the anti-Iran moves practically
started in 2007 when US Congress agreed to George W. Bush, the then US president, to fund a major increase in covert operations
against Iran. According to the intelligence officials who spoke to the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the CIA was then given a presidential
approval to commence its covert 'black' operations inside Iran. To that effect, over four hundred million dollars were allocated
in a Presidential Finding signed by George W. Bush. The ultimate goal of the finding was to cripple Iran's religious government
and the operations involved throwing support behind minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchis and other opposition groups as well
as amassing intelligence about Iran's nuclear sites.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity because
of the sensitive nature of the subject, the intelligence officials confirmed that Bush had signed a "nonlethal presidential
finding", giving the CIA carte blanche to engage in any sabotaging activities including a coordinated campaign of propaganda,
disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions in order to destabilize and eventually
achieve regime change in Iran.
"I can't confirm or deny whether such a program
exists or whether the president signed it, but it would be consistent with an overall American approach trying to find ways
to put pressure on the regime," said Bruce Riedel, a retired CIA senior official, an expert on Iran and the Middle East (ABCNEWS.com
May 22, 2007).
In June 2007, The New Yorker magazine also ran
a similar story by Seymour Hersh, confirming that the finding had been signed by Bush and intended to destabilize the Islamic
government.
"The Finding was focused on undermining Iran's
nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change," the article cited a person familiar with
its contents as saying, and involved "working with opposition groups and passing money."
From an intelligence point of view, the fact that
the US government is resorting to covert black operations against Iran rules out the possibility of a military strike against
the country.
According to reports, US ambassadors in Islamabad
have repeatedly asked for opening a consulate in the province of Baluchistan, a suspicious demand from the US. In 2011, the
call was renewed by US ambassador Cameron Munter to Islamabad. Persistence in this demand is to be taken seriously. Baluchistan
is strategically important as it is a harbor for the anti-Iran terrorist group, Jundullah, in the first place and a separatist
Pakistani province in the second place.
In fact, Washington greatly favors the establishment
of a 'Greater Baluchistan' which would integrate the Baluch areas of Pakistan with those of Iran. Military expert Lieutenant
Colonel Ralph Peters suggests that Pakistan should be broken up, leading to the formation of a separate country: 'Greater
Baluchistan' or 'Free Baluchistan' (June 2006, The Armed Forces Journal). As a result, this would incorporate the Baluch provinces
of Pakistan and Iran into a single political entity which can be tailored to suit the interests of Washington.
So it seems that the US harbors two main ulterior
motives if this demand is answered. First, it can fulfill its dream of establishing the Greater Baluchistan, consolidate firm
presence in this separatist part of Pakistan and secondly, it will be in a position to avail itself of this influence to carry
out its sabotaging activities within Iran.
Earlier in 2007, the Blotter on ABCNews.com revealed
the role of the US government in backing the terrorist Iranian group , which is responsible for a number of gruesome assassinations
of the Iranian civilians on the Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The terrorist group spares no efforts in sowing the seed
of terror in the southern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan and their lust for murder and cruelty knows no remission.
The victims the group has so far claimed include many women and children who have become the direct target of their killing.
In July 2010, the group mounted a pair of suicide attacks on a major Shi'ite mosque in the city of Zahedan, the capital of
Iran's Sistan-Balochistan Province, killing dozens of worshippers and wounding over 100 people.
Although US officials deny any 'direct funding'
of the terrorist group, they acknowledge that they are in contact with the leader of the group on a regular basis. A similar
terroristic attack was launched by the same group on a mosque in Zahedan in May 2009, which led to the martyrdom of many worshippers.
Sadly enough, Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence
(ISI) implicitly supports the group and reportedly shelters some of its high-profile members in coordination with the CIA.
Isn't it paradoxical that Jundullah, a terrorist
group and an offshoot of al-Qaeda, is directly funded by the US government which keeps bandying about its so-called 'war on
terror' in the world?
This is enough to cause the US to hang its head
low in shame and humility.
Dr. Ismail Salami is an Iranian
author and political analyst. A prolific writer, he has written numerous books and articles on the Middle East. His articles
have been translated into a number of languages.