by Debra Sweet, WorldCantWait.org

Reports are all over the news this week of the European Union and the US Congress enacting more sanctions against Iran.  This may appear to some to be a good alternative to all-out military attack on Iran.  

I do not know the movtivations of the European governments to restrict Iran, and they are probably varied. But I know, and have followed closely, the pattern of the United States threats on Iran, coming from the Bush regime.  Since 2006, VP "Dick" Cheney has been mobiilzing for a military attack on Iran, with what is more and more clearly, the goal of regime change through airstrikes.

I just spoke with Gareth Porter, who will be speaking at World Can't Wait-initiated events in Los Angeles tonight, and New York City tomorrow night.  He told me that it's well known in the international community that Iran offered as recently as several years ago to limit its nuclear enrichment program to 166 centrifuges, which would amount to only a symbolic program.  When their offer to the US to limit the nuclear program in exchange for an agreement that the US would not attack Iran was repeatedly rebuffed, Iran went ahead with their program of nuclear enrichment.

It's essential to understand that Iran is under International Atomic Energy Agency inspection, and signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.  The United States, which has 10,000 nuclear weapons is not under that inspection, and is rapidly building new generations of nuclear warheads.  The IAEA has consistently found no evidence of a nuclear military program in Iran.

The Bush regime's goal is not to reduce nuclear weapons.  As Gareth just pointed out to me, the United States plan is to reduce Iranian power in old fashioned  way.  Sanctions and blockades can sometimes be used to avoid military confrontation, but in the Bush regime's history, they are used as a prelude to military attack.  The US military has 1000 targets in Iran, including all possible military targets.  Remember, Rumseld and Cheney after 9-11?  "Go massive.  Sweep them all up?"

This is all going to to a very bad place.  And now we have Congress passing House Con Resolution 362 (with something similar in the Senate) calling for sanctions and punishment of Iran, possibly without even a vote. From Truthout.org:

"The most strongly worded section of the legislation is article three, which states: 'Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress - (3) demands that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia [among other things], prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program.;'

The resolution makes no mention of the National Intelligence Estimate report released in December 2007, which found that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003."

Pelosi's office says this will pass "like a hot knife through butter." Senators McCain and Obama continue to emphasize that "all options" are on the table regarding Iran.  You may have seen John Bolton's comments that the US will attack Iran after the election, but before another president takes power.  As we've noted, those who opposed an attack from within the US military have been forced to resign.

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