Iran 128

Democracy Now bericht:

'As Nuclear Deadline Passes, US and Iran Trade Accusations of Bombing Involvement
The White House has dismissed a suggestion from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran would close its nuclear facilities as long as Western nations did the same. His comments came as a deadline set by the UN for Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program expires today. Meanwhile Iran has accused the US of backing a bomb attack that killed 11 Revolutionary Guards, just one week after the US accused Iran of supplying bombs targeting US troops in Iraq. We speak with retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner. [includes rush transcript]

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Iran would close its nuclear facilities as long as Western nations did the same. His offer comes as a deadline set by the UN for Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program expires today. Iran has maintained it is not seeking nuclear weapons, saying its program is for purely peaceful ends.
Ahmadinejad's comments come amid steadily increasing tension between Washington and Tehran. The US military has increased its presence in the region deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. The White House has repeatedly denied any intention of attacking Iran but, according to a Monday night report by the BBC, the US military has drawn up contingency plans for massive air strikes against Iran. The plans call for attacks on Iran's nuclear sites, air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centers.
The U.S. government has already determined the two circumstances which would trigger just such an attack: One is evidence that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon and the second is a “high-casualty” attack against American forces in Iraq that could be traced directly to the leadership in Tehran. The Bush administration recently accused the top levels of the Iranian government of supplying sophisticated bombs to anti-U.S. forces in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government is accusing the United States and Britain of being involved in an attack last week that killed 11 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Sam Gardiner. Retired Air Force Colonel. He has taught strategy and military operations at the National War College, Air War College and Naval War College.
AMY GOODMAN: Sam Gardiner is a retired Air Force colonel. He has taught strategy and military operations at the National War College, at the Air War College, at the Naval War College, joining me now on the phone from his home in Virginia. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Colonel Gardiner.
COL. SAM GARDINER: Thank you, Amy.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about these latest revelations of plans?
COL. SAM GARDINER: Sure. Actually, I find the BBC article to be completely credible. Let me take the two points that they make and explain why I think they are. The first thing is they talk about the trigger of a high casualty event in Iraq. That is totally consistent with the plans that were drawn up before the invasion of Iraq. We now know from the released plans, which at that time were classified “Top Secret, Polo Step,” that there was a series of triggers, that if they were to be pulled, the United States would go ahead of its plan in the invasion of Iraq. So, having a trigger is both in the way that the Pentagon does planning, and also it makes sense in the argument that the administration is making about what needs to be done with Iran.
The second thing about identifying a nuclear program is even more concerning and probably the one we ought to worry about. We have to remember that the President has said Iran can't be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. But he has always -- or not always -- mostly adds a phrase beyond that, which says, “or the knowledge to produce nuclear weapons.” That's a very important follow-on statement, consistent with what Israel has said. The way that is generally interpreted is that if Iran can put together 3,000 centrifuges for enrichment, they then will have the capability or the knowledge to produce a nuclear weapon. That event, according to the head of the IAEA yesterday, could occur within the next six months, so that if you take the President at his word, and if you take the estimate from the International Atomic Energy Agency, we will cross the US red line within the next six months, and presumably we can't stand that. And when we say that, that means we conduct a military operation against the Iranians.'

Lees verder of luister: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/21/1523228