BUSH SENDS MILITARY TO DRUM UP RESISTANCE AGAINST IRAN

The Washington Post today carries a story by Brian Murphy of AP on a trip by Admiral William Fallon, military commander for the Middle East, through the Persian Gulf trying to generate a united front against Iran.

Writes Murphy:

"The top U.S. military commander for the Middle East is pressing Arab allies to form a more united front against Iran, seen by Washington as the region's long-term threat.

"At military compounds and royal reception halls across the Persian Gulf, Adm. William Fallon is delivering personal appeals to Arab leaders to counter Iran's ambitions to expand its regional influence and move ahead with its nuclear program."

Apparently the admiral is visiting many of the Sunni Arab states in the region. Mobilizing these countries against Iran should not be that difficult, given that Iran is a Persian nation, different racially from the Arabs. Above all, Iran is predominantly Shiite, not Sunni as are those Arab countries Fallon is visiting.

Murphy reports:

"His views have the ear of some of the top members of the Gulf's royal families.

"In Bahrain, Fallon expressed support for a possible $300 million upgrade for the nation's F-16 fleet and met with Crown Prince Sheik Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who also serves as commander in chief of the nation's military forces.

"Fallon was in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. Later in the day, he headed to Oman, and his tour will also take him to Qatar, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq."

So it looks like Fallon is doing the Bush/Cheney dirty work of fomenting mistrust and fear in the Persian Gulf. As an inducement, Fallon is offering military support, such as the upgrade for Bahrain's F-16 fleet. (Why Bahrain needs F-16s remains an enigma that only Bush and Cheney probably know.)

Stop! Why is the United States and its military officers trying to form a bulwark against Iran? How about some negotiation, diplomacy and, above all, good will towards Iran? Instead of making Iran the bogey man, let's consider Iran a friend of the United States and Americans.

The present U.S. policy towards Iran is madness. Bush & Cheney (and their followers) are on the path towards war against Iran. The result would be catastrophic for the United States and the whole world.

Consider the warning of General Wesley Clark, writing an op-ed in The WashPo this past Sunday on what would happen after a U.S. attack on Iran:

"But if it's clear how a war with Iran would start, it's far less clear how it would end. How might Iran strike back? Would it unleash Hezbollah cells across Europe and the Middle East, or perhaps even inside the United States? Would Tehran goad Iraq's Shiites to rise up against their U.S. occupiers?

"And what would we do with Iran after the bombs stopped falling? We certainly could not occupy the nation with the limited ground forces we have left. So what would it be: Iran as a chastened, more tractable government? As a chaotic failed state? Or as a hardened and embittered foe?"