Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29161

The West has sped up efforts against Syria after the double veto by China and Russia over the UN Security Council resolution. Russia has sent its envoy to the country.Though China has a less direct stake in Syria than Russia, the collapse of Syria will result in the West further controlling the Middle East, and Iran taking direct strategic pressure from the West. If war broke out in Iran, China would have to rely more on Russia for energy, bringing new uncertainty to the Sino-Russian strategic partnership.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29146

Two senior administration officials told CNN that “options are being prepared in the event President Barack Obama was to call for them.” Support for opposition groups and outright military strikes are among the options being looked at.This type of planning exercise is typical for the Pentagon, which would not want to be in the position of not having options for the president, if and when they are asked for, both officials told CNN. One of them called the effort a “scoping exercise,” with Pentagon looking into what capabilities are available given other US military commitments in the region.

Link: http://wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/iran-f08.shtml

The danger of a US/Israeli attack on Iran was made clear in comments by US President Barack Obama to NBC News on Sunday. Obama not only repeated the mantra that “all options are on the table,” but added that the US was working with Israel “in lockstep as we proceed to try to solve this

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29149

According to an unconfirmed statement by a senior Iranian military official, reported by the Middle East and Israeli press, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard special forces (Quds) Kassam Salimani, was in Damascus on February 6 for top level consultations regarding military support as well as the possible dispatch of Quds Special Forces to Syria. e Russian and Iranian missions focussed on curbing the armed insurrection, the armed insurrection, which is covertly supported by foreign powers.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29123

The officialUS/UK/French/Israeli line is that the “Arab Spring” has finally reached Syria. There are the legal authorities of Syria, and there are armed terrorist throngs taking advantage of genuine social grievances and unleashing violence throughout the country, which in turn triggers police repression.In Syria, such groups are in all likelihood profusely armed, trained, financed and abetted by foreign players.Russia and China are not ready to tolerate a re-run of Iraq and Libya.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29126

In late 2003, the year of the Iraq invasion, Matthew Jones, a Reader in International History, at London’s Royal Holloway College, discovered “frighteningly frank” documents:1957 plans between then UK Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, and then President, Dwight Eisenhower, endorsing: “a CIA-MI6 plan to stage fake border incidents as an excuse for an invasion (of Syria) by Syria’s pro-western neighbours.” (ii) Syria was to be: “made to appear as sponsor of plots, sabotage and violence directed against neighbouring governments … the CIA and SIS [Her Majesty's Secret International Serivce, MI6] should use … capabilities in both psychological and action fields to augment tension.” frontier incidents and (staged) border clashes”, would “provide a pretext for intervention”, by Iraq and Jordan - then still under British mandate.

Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/9062454/Iran-vows-to-hit-any-country-that-stages-attack.html

Iran will target any country where an attack against it is staged, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander warned on Sunday, the latest threat amid growing tensions over its nuclear programme and Western sanctions.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2012/02/07/iran-a-manufactured-threat#more14562

Iran attacked no other country in over 200 years. It threatens none now.America's business is war, permanent war for unchallenged global dominance., Since Iran's 1979 revolution and US hostage crisis, Washington's been spoiling for a fight. The Carter administration considered invading and seizing its oil fields. US media reports exclude those facts. Instead they generate fear and hostility against nonexistent threats.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/

Washington's longstanding policy is regime change in Iran and Syria. At issue is replacing independent regimes with client ones and securing unchallenged control of valued Middle East resources.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/index.php/2012/02/06/after-russia-s-un-veto-us-talks-of-coali

The veto by Russia and China of a United Nations Security Council resolution will not halt ongoing preparations for Western-backed intervention against Syria. The discussion on the resolution was a political manoeuvre from the outset, designed either to force Moscow and Beijing into agreeing to a UN cover for a Libya-style operation against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, or justify a predetermined alternative route to regime-change. This goal has nothing to do with the humanitarian posturing of the US.The aim is to install a pro-Western government.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/pers-f06.shtml

Washington and its imperialist allies in Europe are escalating preparations for a full-scale military intervention in Syria. Coming after last year’s NATO war against Libya and threats of a sudden Israeli attack on Iran, Syria’s main regional ally, it is clear that Washington aims to reshape the Middle East by forcibly installing pro-US regimes throughout the region.

Link: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4185684,00.html

European diplomat based in Islamabad says Israeli strike would force Pakistan to support Iranian retaliation, while EU official says 'political and economic consequences of attack would be catastrophic for Europe'He said this could lead to "messy defaults" by countries like Greece and Italy, and possibly cause a collapse of the already-wobbly euro.

Link: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30452.htm

. Consider this revealing “thought” as expressed recently in Alert, the voice of AIPAC to its membership: “Some Americans believe if the Israelis strike Iran, the U.S. will pay the political costs anyway, so it would be better for the Americans to do the job and do it properly. Has it come to this, that unnamed Israeli spokespeople, voicing AIPAC’s policies, determine what nation the U.S. should invade without consultation with the representatives of the American people?

Link: http://en.ria.ru/mlitary_news/20120206/171166824.html

Russia may have to boost its nuclear potential in future amid emerging nuclear proliferation threats, Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s deputy defense minister and a negotiator on the European missile shield, said on Monday.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29080

Russia and China Veto Syria Resolution."(t)he Security Council voted 13 to 2 in favor of a resolution backing an Arab League peace plan for Syria, but the measure was blocked by Russia and China (as a) potential violation of Syria's sovereignty."In fact, calling for "further measures" if Assad failed to comply gave Washington and rogue partners enormous wiggle room for military intervention. It also pointed fingers one way, absolving Western-backed insurgents. With major media support Obama plans regime change in Syria and Iran.

Link: http://www.a-w-i-p.com/

If Israel does attack Iran, it will not simply be “a surgical strike” that destroys Iran’s key nuclear facilities. Any Iranian retaliation will be used by the US as a pretext for a massive air war aimed at destroying the country’s military and infrastructure.

Link: http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/admin.php?ctrl=items&action=new&blog=3

The United Nations Security Council has just voted on a draft resolution concerning the ongoing violence in Syria. Russia and China were the only voting members to oppose the draft. And as permanent members of the UNSC, they had the option to use veto power to block the draft's passage. Beijing and Moscow have both taken issue with the draft's vague wording, which they say leaves the door open for possible international military intervention in Syria

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/iran-f04.shtml

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak argued again on Thursday that military action had to be taken soon.Israeli moves toward attacking Iran are driven by other considerations, not least of which is to maintain an unchallengeable military superiority in the Middle East.

Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096488/Iran-moves-cut-oil-exports-countries-Europe.html

Iran has vowed to cut oil exports to some European countries in retaliation over the bloc's recent decision to ban oil imports from the Islamic Republic.
It has not named the countries which will be affected, but officials insist it is a decision made in response to the EU deciding to stop importing Iranian crude oil as of July 1.

Link: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/231199#.TzDce3pTDGh

Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle said on Saturday that Europe is determined to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran but is warning against military action.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29052

Interview with Gennady Yevstafyev, retired Lieutenant-General of Russia’s Foreign IntelligenceWe know that in the Gulf there are two flattops surrounded by several dozens of American ships. And yesterday or the day before yesterday the nuclear submarine Annapolis, which is a very big one, and accompanied by several of the most advanced corvettes, entered the area.the amount of naval forces they keep there is really spectacular.It is not Iran which is prepared to launch an attack against the United States.

Link: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/152393#.Ty4q6HpTDGg

Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said on Thursday he has concerns there could be a military conflict with Iran over its disputed nuclear program.Clegg said Britain had been attempting to demonstrate “that there are very tough things we can do which are not military steps in order to place pressure on Iran.”He would not speculate on whether “Britain would participate” if the standoff eventually led to a military response.

Link: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/152411#.Ty4pG3pTDGh

The officials interviewed said that the attack will be led by the Israeli artillery, which will use Jericho 2 missiles that have a range of 2,500 kilometers. The report also says the artillery will be assisted by F-15i aircraft and Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).Another important note made by the NBC report is that all the officials interviewed agreed with recent reports that Israel will not notify the White House a long time in advance of the attack.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/2/headlines#10

The death toll in Syria is mounting amid a standoff at the United Nations over a response to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Opposition groups say at least 68 people were killed in clashes with Assad’s forces across Syria on Wednesday. The fighting comes as Russia continues to oppose a Security Council measure backed by the United States and the Arab League. The measure rules out foreign intervention but calls for "transparent and free elections," a clause Russia says is unacceptable as it could impose Assad’s forced removal. In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Russia is on the wrong side of history.

Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/2/headlines#10

The Obama administration has lifted a ban on military assistance to Uzbekistan in order to preserve a supply line for the war effort in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has seen reduced U.S. military aid in recent years amid widespread human rights abuses, including torture earlier this month, allowing the United States to provide non-lethal military equipment. On Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters the move will help Uzbekistan fight terrorism.

Link: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/

The Middle East’s despots and the push for democracy synonymous with the Arab Spring make curious bedfellows. And yet, as an Arab League delegation presses the United Nations to support the league’s latest roadmap to peace in Syria, all overt signs suggest that the Arab world’s most ardently anti-democratic leaders have re-cast themselves as champions of Western-style liberal democracy, at least in appearance.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/02/panetta-says-israel-could-strike-iran-in-spring/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

BRUSSELS — US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a “strong likelihood” that Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear installations this spring, the Washington Post said Thursday in an editorial.“Israel indicated they’re considering this (a strike), we’ve indicated our concerns,” he added.The Post columnist said Panetta “believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June before Iran enters what Israelis described as a ‘zone of immunity’ to commence building a nuclear bomb.”
President Barack Obama and Panetta are “said to have cautioned the Israelis that the United States opposes an attack, believing that it would derail an increasingly successful international economic sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the threshold,” he said.
“But the White House hasn?t yet decided precisely how the United States would respond if the Israelis do attack.”

Link: http://whatreallyhappened.com/

Memo to Israeli Defense Minister Barak: if you feel you must strike Iran, I would caution you, very seriously, to take to heart what US Joint Chief of Staff Dempsey said last week regarding the US response to an uncoordinated Israeli attack against Iran. Russian and Chinese officials have said, very clearly and publicly, that they will support Iran in the event of either an Israeli or US attack against it, enjoy all the pleasures of a 3-front war between Israel, Iran, China, and Russia; that ought to be spectacular. Defense Minster Barak, you and your colleagues in Israel need to get one thing straight: thinking Americans are sick and tired of paying the cost in American blood and American money as a sacrifice on the altar of potential Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. We want that practice stopped by the US government, and right the heck now!!

Link: http://lonestarwatchdog.blogspot.com/2012/02/reason-for-war-with-iran-follow-funny.html

The reason why we have an unstable world and a goverment out of control is because we have the International Bankers in control.These are the people who cause famines wars and misery. These are the people who impoverish nations and kill leaders who do not play ball with the moneychangers. This reason to go to war with Iran is insane to do in the first place. Iran has not attacked any country ever. Israel and the United States needs a fabled enemy to justify its police state at home while attacking nations into submission to set up a private central bank under the control of the European bankers. We have become a rogue state antagonizing the world as the bullies for the bankers. The saber rattling beating the war drum to bomb Iran is nothing more than the European bankers using the American Military as a hired gun to bomb nations into submission to accepting a private central bank to put the people into debt slavery and for the Military industrial complex so they can keep making bombs. When there is no wars, that is not good for business for the defense contractors. This impending war is about the bankers gaining control of the issuance of the currency. The rest of the propaganda is just a cover story to sell the public to justify a war. Follow the money and you will see that the bankers are pushing this war. Weapons of mass destruction or not. The enemies of humanity must be taken down or we all be working for funny money as debt slaves.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/world/middleeast/israel-warns-iranian-missiles-might-threaten-us.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official said Thursday that the missile testing site near Tehran that was destroyed in a huge explosion three months ago was developing missiles with a range of about 6,000 miles that could reach the United States. RelatedThe assertion went far beyond what rocket experts have established about Iran’s missile capabilities, and American officials questioned its accuracy.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29032

[A] concentration of military forces in the Gulf creates an explosive situation in the region. One accidental shot would be enough to trigger fire on both sides.All countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization share Russia’s concern. China is yet another major international player opposed to a military campaign against Iran. Unfortunately, neither protests from China, nor warnings from Russia have had any effect on the allies as they step up preparations for a new Middle East conflict. The United States, Britain and France have begun to deploy troops in the Gulf in a move which experts say suggests preparations for a war with Iran. The first strikes could be carried out at the beginning of the summer, media reports say.According to reports, troops are arriving at the Masirah Island in Oman which is located south of the Strait of Hormuz where a US air base is deployed. Two American strike groups are currently stationed in the Gulf. Some reports say that the grouping will be reinforced with one more aircraft carrier, the destroyer Momsen and the nuclear submarine Annapolis. The US is also enhancing its presence in Israel and Kuwait. British troops and troops from the United Arab Emirates have been arriving in Saudi Arabia. The main target is Iran, whose nuclear program has long been an issue of particular concern in the West. Reports have been leaked to the press that hundreds of penetration bombs capable of destroying heavily fortified underground bunkers have been delivered to an American base on the British Island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/feb2012/clap-f02.shtml

Provocative testimony by US officials at a January 31 US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing has become the focus of a media campaign, accusing Iran of posing a terrorist threat to the United States.
The US is already waging a campaign to impose an oil embargo on Iran and backing a covert campaign of bombings and assassinations, apparently carried out by Israel, against Iran’s nuclear program. It is now further turning up pressure on Tehran, reviving accusations that were earlier abandoned by Washington last October that Iran plotted to assassinate Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir in Washington, DC.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/

The United States, France, Britain and the Arab League are pressing for the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution on Syria, while denying that it is intended to pave the way for Western military intervention. This is a lie. While the imperialist powers and their proxies are helping arm “rebel” forces that are fighting a deepening civil war in Syria, they are simultaneously trying to intimidate Russia and China, who oppose intervention, by casting them as responsible for the deepening bloodshed in Syria.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=29001

Tthe BBC now “reveals”, almost a year after the information was relayed by several alternative media, that British Special Forces played a key role in steering and supervising Libya's "freedom fighters" to victory. Known and documented many of these so-called rebels were mercenaries under contract to NATO.British efforts to help topple Colonel Gaddafi were not limited to air strikes. On the ground - and on the quiet - special forces soldiers were blending in with rebel fighters: The existence of E Squadron is well known within the special forces community but has not hitherto been discussed publicly. It was formed five years ago to work closely with the intelligence service MI6, and is mainly involved in missions where maximum discretion is required, say Whitehall insiders. According to special forces people, E Squadron is a composite organisation formed from selected SAS, SBS and Special Reconnaissance Regiment operators. It is not technically part of the SAS or SBS, but at the disposal of the Director of Special Forces and MI6. The squadron often operates in plain clothes and with the full range of national support, such as false identities, at its disposal.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28999

Pentagon acknowledges Scenario of Heavy Combat Casualties
It is common knowledge that a short victorious war usually raises the country’s leader’s popularity to the skies. The current US president needs this badly as his rating is rather low at present. However, a war against Iran is unlikely to be short and victorious. Iran is a much stronger enemy than Iraq or Afghanistan, where the wars have already lasted for 10 years. Incidentally, the US invaded Iraq on the same charges it is using against Iran now. No nuclear weapons have been discovered in Iraq, so Washington has to think again.

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/iran-j31.shtml

Despite claims that its focus is on diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran, the Obama administration is making barely disguised preparations for military strikes to back its threat to use “all options” to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.The article pointed out that “some Pentagon planners believe conventional bombs won’t be effective against Fordo and that a tactical nuclear weapon may be the only military option if the goal is to destroy the facility.” Discussion of the possible use of nuclear weapons against Iran underlines the recklessness of US foreign policy and Obama’s oft-repeated mantra that “all options are on the table.”

Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/jan2012/pers-j31.shtml

The New York Times on Sunday published a lengthy article in its weekly magazine that sympathetically and clinically lays out the arguments of Israeli policy makers in favor of a military attack on Iran sometime this year.Appearing in the context of newly announced US and European sanctions against Iranian oil exports and a buildup of US naval forces in the Persian Gulf, the article serves a definite and sinister purpose: to provide the pretexts and condition public opinion for a preemptive and unprovoked war of aggression that will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Iran and the Middle East and ultimately for the entire world.One can imagine similar articles appearing in the German press in the run-up to the Nazi invasion of Poland, calmly laying out the matters of self-defense obliging the Third Reich to subjugate its neighbor to the east.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28968

No War on Iran Banner
In 48 Cities -
FEB 4 MASS ACTIONS Demanding:
NO War! NO Sanctions! NO Intervention! NO Assassinations on IRAN
IN NYC, NY 1pm North end of Times Square - Duffy Square. March to the US & Israeli missions to UN.

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28953

Wall Street Journal reports (1/28) the Pentagon has notified Congress that it will divert an additional $82 million to refine the Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP). (The MOP is a 30,000-pound “bunker-buster” bomb “specifically designed to take out the hardened fortifications built by Iran and North Korea to cloak their nuclear programs.”)These latest military maneuvers come on the heels of an announced U.S. troop build-up in the region revealed earlier this month. As the Los Angeles Times first reported (1/12), the build-up, including the stationing of 15,000 U.S. troops in Kuwait, is “intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.”

Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=28934

To simplify things India wants to use gold in exchange for oil, a very simple and novel idea.What does all this add up too? The basic common denominator is a growing existence of the US dollar and of the world financial system. What Washington has done has expedited the end of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Worse yet for the dollar deals like this are in the works all over Asia.