Heading for More Middle East War - by Stephen Lendman
Washington's targeting Syria and Iran for regime change.
Washington, Israel and rogue NATO allies seem headed for ruinous wars with Iran and Syria, besides others ongoing interminably.
Former State Department official/now AIPAC-linked Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP) fellow Dennis Ross said:
"There are consequences if you act militarily, and there's big consequences if you don't act. The administration considers the risks of permitting a nuclear-armed Iran to be greater than the risks of military action."
In fact, no evidence whatever suggests an Iranian nuclear weapons program, according to the latest March 2011 US intelligence assessment. Ross knows it. So do political Washington and major media scoundrels. Yet they suppress truth and promote confrontation and war.
On January 12, Haaretz headlined, "Israel is pushing US toward Iran War Russian official says," saying:
"Russia fears Israel will push" America to war on Iran "which could retaliate by blocking" Persian Gulf oil shipments.
According to Kremlin Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev:
"There is a likelihood of military escalation of the conflict, towards which Israel is pushing the Americans. It cannot be ruled out that the Iranians will be able to carry out their threat to shut exports of Saudi oil through the Strait of Hormuz if faced with military actions against them."He added that no proof suggests an Iranian nuclear weapons program, saying:
"Talk about Iran creating an atomic bomb by next week we have heard for many years." At issue is Washington's longstanding regime change policy, using "all available means" to transform Tehran into "a loyal partner."
He also sees Western countries close to attacking Syria. Regime change there is planned. "We are receiving information that NATO members and some Persian Gulf states, working under the 'Libyan scenario,' intend to move from indirect intervention in Syria to direct military" confrontation.
This time, he believes, regional countries, not Western ones, will play the lead role - mainly neighboring Turkey. Initially, a no-fly zone would be imposed without Security Council authorization.
Washington and Ankara are involved. Their plans call for coordinated attacks by Western backed insurgents, including Turkish based Free Syrian army forces and Syrian National Council elements.
