http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/II12Ak01.htmlAnti-Iran hype reaches fever pitch
By Khody Akhavi
WASHINGTON - On the same day General David Petraeus presented his much-anticipated progress report to the US Congress on the US military's "troop surge" strategy in Iraq, neo-conservative ideologues associated with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) took aim at another of the reputed foes of "freedom" - the Islamic Republic of Iran.
During a panel discussion on Monday aimed at promoting his new book The Iranian Time Bomb, Michael Ledeen, a resident scholar
at AEI, criticized the "evil" nature of Iran's clerical regime, its support for international terrorism, and the need to back Iranian dissidents and activists in a soft revolution to dislodge the mullahs from power.
Along with the broad - and at times mocking - generalizations about Iran's attempts to foment "Islamic totalitarianism" throughout the world, Ledeen, accompanied by former Central Intelligence Agency director James Woolsey and Clifford D May, president of the hawkish Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, appeared dead set against any diplomatic engagement with Iran.
"The
leadership constantly tells its people, 'The Iranian people must prepare to rule the world,'" said Ledeen.
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With strong links to US Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the White House, Washington-based AEI has, since the attacks of September 11, 2001, enjoyed unparalleled influence in shaping US interventionist policy in the Middle East. The think-tank helped lead the drive to war in Iraq, and more recently has assumed a prominent role in rallying for regime change in Iran.
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Report: US to attack Iran in 8-10 months
Germany's unwillingness to impose further sanctions on Iran has pushed the United States closer towards a decision on a military strike, FOX News reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, Germany's decision has spurred senior US army officials to try and convince US Foreign Secretary Condoleezza Rice to abandon once and for all the diplomatic route of preventing a nuclear Iran. The report further stated that the date of preference for an attack against Iran is in eight to 10 months - after the US presidential candidates for both the Democrats and the Republicans have been chosen, but before the major presidential campaign kicks off.
The report stated that the attack would be comprised of two main strategies: cutting off the Iranian gas supply, which the US hopes would pressure the Iranian people towards action against their government, and an aerial bombing campaign, which would be meant to paralyze Iranian defenses and allow American bombers to destroy the nuclear facilities.
Opponents to a military strike claim that an attack would require at least one week of intense bombing, and that it would only set the Iranian nuclear program back a few years, the report said. Two other claims of the opponents is that an American strike would provoke Iran into attacking Israel, and that abandoning diplomatic action would negatively impact Iraq and the US troops stationed there.