United for Peace of Pierce County, WA - We nonviolently oppose the reliance on unilateral military actions rather than cooperative diplomacy.

On Sunday, the Tehran Times reported that on Wed., May 7, the Iranian Intelligence Ministry dismantled "a terrorist network affiliated to the United States" and armed, trained, and sponsored by the CIA.[1] -- It said that members of the network were apprehended in five discontiguous provinces in Iran. -- "One of the terrorists was killed in the operation, but the rest are in detention," the paper said, adding that those arrested had "a large number of weapons and ammunition and a great deal of highly explosive chemicals and cyanide." -- The unsigned article said the network had been responsible for a bombing in Shiraz that killed 13 and wounded 190 on Apr. 12 in Shiraz, and that "it also had plans to carry out similar attacks on the Tehran International Book Fair, the Russian Consulate in Gilan Province, oil pipelines in southern Iran, and other targets," according to the Intelligence Ministry communiqué. -- (Comparing a map of Iran's oil resources and a map of Iran showing the five provinces where the arrests took place — Fars, Khuzestan, Gilan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran provinces — is illuminating.) -- The Prison Planet web site noted that that a few weeks earlier, Ret. Gen. Thomas McInerney had "urged the U.S. to carry out terror bombings in Iran."[2] -- This was a reference to an Apr. 24, 2008, Weekly Standard piece in which the retired general, who has been linked to recent revelations of a Pentagon-sponsored propaganda campaign in U.S. media, proposed a "military option" for dealing with Iran's nuclear program consisting of "a powerful air campaign" of "enormous destructive capability" that is "to be completed in 36 to 48 hours" and "would create the opportunity for regime change as well" if combined with "a major covert operation."[3] -- Australia.to, a web site based in Fingal Head, New South Wales, on the coast south of Brisbane, reviewed signs of impending conflict in a piece entitled "Iran Strikes Back at 'Satanic Bush' as U.S. Prepares for War."[4] -- Western mainstream media, meanwhile, ignored the report of the dismantlement of a CIA network in Iran. -- A Reuters piece on Wednesday reporting on an Iranian complaint about the Shiraz bombing filed with the Swiss chargé d'affaires contained no mention of the Intelligence Ministry's recent announcement.[5] ...

TEHRAN -- The Intelligence Ministry on Saturday released details of the detection and dismantling of a terrorist network affiliated to the United States.

In a coordinated operation on May 7, Iranian intelligence agents arrested the terrorist network's members, who were identified in Fars, Khuzestan, Gilan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran provinces, the Intelligence Ministry announcement said.

The group's plans were devised in the U.S., according to the announcement, which added that they had planned to carry out a number of acts such as bombing scientific, educational, and religious centers, shooting people, and making public places in various cities insecure.

One of the terrorists was killed in the operation, but the rest are in detention, the Intelligence Ministry said, adding that the group's main objective was to create fear among the people.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency comprehensively supported the terrorist group by arming it, training its members, and sponsoring its inhumane activities in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry stated.

The terrorists had maps, films, pictures, and sketches of important and sensitive sites in various cities in their possession when they were arrested.

They also had a large number of weapons and ammunition and a great deal of highly explosive chemicals and cyanide.

The blast at a religious center in Shiraz last month was carried out by this group, and it also had plans to carry out similar attacks on the Tehran International Book Fair, the Russian Consulate in Gilan Province, oil pipelines in southern Iran, and other targets, the communiqué stated.

Thirteen people were killed and over 190 others wounded in a bombing carried out on April 12 at the Rahpuyan-e Vessal religious center, which is part of the Seyyed-ul-Shohada Mosque complex, located in a residential area of Shiraz.

** Announcement follows Neo-Con General's urge for Bush administration to support terrorist bombings in Iran **

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry busted a CIA-backed terror group that was planning to bomb scientific, educational, and religious centers, and carry out assassinations, according to a report in the Tehran Times. The arrests come weeks after Ret. Gen. Thomas McInerney urged the U.S. to carry out terror bombings in Iran.

"The Intelligence Ministry on Saturday released details of the detection and dismantling of a terrorist network affiliated to the United States," reports the newspaper.

"The United States Central Intelligence Agency comprehensively supported the terrorist group by arming it, training its members, and sponsoring its inhumane activities in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry stated."

The attack on a religious center in Shiraz last month which killed thirteen people and wounded 190 was blamed on the same group and according to the report, "it also had plans to carry out similar attacks on the Tehran International Book Fair, the Russian Consulate in Gilan Province, oil pipelines in southern Iran, and other targets."

** Yes, there is a feasible military option against the mullahs' nuclear program. **

A military option against Iran's nuclear facilities is feasible. A diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis is preferable, but without a credible military option and the will to implement it, diplomacy will not succeed. The announcement of uranium enrichment last week by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shows Iran will not bow easily to diplomatic pressure. The existence of a military option may be the only means of persuading Iran -- the world's leading sponsor of terrorism -- to back down from producing nuclear weapons.

A military option would be all the more credible if backed by a new coalition of the willing and if coupled with intense diplomacy during a specific time frame. The coalition could include Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, Britain, France, and Germany. Solidarity is important and would surely contribute to potential diplomatic success. But should others decline the invitation, the United States must be prepared to act.

What would an effective military response look like? It would consist of a powerful air campaign led by 60 stealth aircraft (B-2s, F-117s, F-22s) and more than 400 nonstealth strike aircraft, including B-52s, B-1s, F-15s, F-16s, Tornados, and F-18s. Roughly 150 refueling tankers and other support aircraft would be deployed, along with 100 unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and 500 cruise missiles. In other words, overwhelming force would be used.

The objective would be, first and foremost, to destroy or severely damage Iran's nuclear development and production facilities and put them out of commission for at least five years. Another aim would be to destroy the Iranian air defense system, significantly damage its air force, naval forces, and Shahab-3 offensive missile forces. This would prevent Iran from projecting force outside the country and retaliating militarily. The air campaign would also wipe out or neutralize Iran's command and control capabilities.

This coalition air campaign would hit more than 1,500 aim points. Among the weapons would be the new 28,000-pound bunker busters, 5,000-pound bunker penetrators, 2,000-pound bunker busters, 1,000-pound general purpose bombs, and 500-pound GP bombs. A B-2 bomber, to give one example, can drop 80 of these 500-pound bombs independently targeted at 80 different aim points.

This force would give the coalition an enormous destructive capability, since all the bombs in the campaign feature precision guidance, ranging from Joint Direct Attack Munitions (the so-called JDAMS) to laser-guided, electro-optical, or electronically guided High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM) for suppression of Iranian surface-to-air missiles. This array of precision weapons and support aircraft would allow the initial attacks to be completed in 36 to 48 hours.

The destruction of Iran's military force structure would create the opportunity for regime change as well, since it would eliminate some or all of Ahmadinejad's and the mullahs' ability to control the population. Simultaneously or prior to the attack, a major covert operation could be launched, utilizing Iranian exiles and dissident forces trained during the period of diplomacy. This effort would be based on the Afghan model that led to the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Not only would the overt and covert attacks weaken the ability of Iran's leaders to carry out offensive operations in retaliation, they would cripple the leaders' power to control their own people.

Iran's diverse population should be fertile ground for a covert operation. Iran is only 51 percent Persian. Azerbaijanis and Kurds comprise nearly 35 percent of the population. Seventy percent are under 30, and the jobless rate hovers near 20 percent.

Iran's leaders have threatened to unleash a firestorm of terrorism in the event military action is taken against them. Any country involved in the attack would be subject to retaliation by Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and al Qaeda, the Iranians have claimed. If nothing else, this threat demonstrates how closely tied Iran is to terrorist groups. The United States and its allies would have to be prepared for stepped-up terrorist acts. Iran could also project forces into Iraq, but this is unlikely because they would encounter the full strength of the American military. However, Iran might encourage proxies among Iraq's militant Shiites. Coalition forces in Iraq would have to be ready to respond.

No doubt the Iranians would attempt to close the Gulf of Hormuz and block the extensive shipping that goes through it. American air and naval forces are quite capable of keeping the gulf open, though shipping might be slowed. The most adverse economic consequences of shipping delays would be felt in Iran itself.

President Bush is right when he says Iran cannot be permitted to have nuclear weapons. The prospect of leaders like Ahmadinejad, who advocates wiping Israel "off the map," with their hands on nuclear weapons is a risk we cannot take. Diplomacy must be pursued vigorously, but the experience with Iraq suggests there's little reason for optimism. Thus, a viable military option is imperative.

--Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney (Ret.) served as assistant vice chief of staff of the United States Air Force.

BRISBANE, Australia -- Think of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident which prompted the first large-scale involvement of U.S. armed forces in Vietnam when you read this article. Congress granted approval for Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate the war in Vietnam.

Presstv.ir carried a story today that shows that Iran is fully aware of the preparations the U.S. and Israel are making. Under the heading "Iran strikes back at Satanic Bush" the Iranians wrote "A top Iranian cleric urges countries to 'be more considerate of nations,'" hammering the U.S. president as undeserving of any expectations.

"Iran is always delighted to hear good news from any Muslim country, but always objects when Zionism imposes hardships upon others," said Tehran's interim Friday prayers leader Ayatollah Mohammad Imami-Kashani.

"Our message and our genial approach to all countries but the Zionist regime has infuriated the Bush administration to such an extent that they now rely on such petty anti-Iran remarks," he continued.

"Bush is a satanic person, and we have no expectations of him . . . We do, however, request governments, parliaments, and the officials of Muslim countries to be more considerate of nations," the senior cleric added in reference to atrocities being committed around the world.

Ayatollah Imami-Kashani concluded that Iran 'seeks nothing more than peace and stability' around the globe.

U.S. President George W. Bush stepped up his hawkish rhetoric against the Islamic Republic on Thursday, branding Iran as 'the leading sponsor of terror' and hinted at another military action in the already volatile Middle East.

"Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations," Bush had preached in Israel on Thursday, describing those who seek diplomacy with Iran as 'Nazi appeasers.'

Meanwhile on the other side, in a Wednesday lecture at the Kansas State University, CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed that slaying U.S. military forces has become the political strategy of Iran's highest governmental officials.

"It is my opinion, it is the policy of the Iranian government, approved to highest level of that government, to facilitate the killing of Americans in Iraq," maintained Hayden, just a day after the U.S. steamed a second American aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf.

His comments come at a time when a recent CBS report indicates that the U.S. Defense Department had ordered military commanders to develop new war plans against Tehran, a claim echoed by top American analysts.

"I believe George Bush and Dick Cheney plan to take care of Iran before they leave office," former CIA analyst Ray McGovern said in an interview published in the Charleston Gazette on Wednesday.

"There's no doubt in my mind that the United States is planning right now, as we speak, a military strike against Iran. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and almost every senior U.S. military official has pretty much acknowledged the same," former U.N. weapons inspector and now anti-war commentator Scott Ritter had told Democracy Now! on Monday.

The U.S. steamed its second aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday in what Washington has termed a 'reminder' of U.S. power.

Senior U.S. officials have been accusing the Iranian government of helping the spread of violence in Iraq without providing any concrete proof.

Pundits, however, say recent 'Washington hype' is a reminder of U.S. preparations made prior to the Iraq war and signal efforts to prepare the public for a war on Tehran while shifting the blame of U.S. failures in Iraq onto others."

The Iranian government (political and religious) on Presstv.ir uses the word "Pundits" to provide the message for its people." Here are some examples.

"While the U.S. has failed to provide any concrete evidence in support of its various accusations against Iran, pundits believe Bush is now trying to encourage the media to find a justification of its own to allow him to strike yet another oil-rich country before leaving office."

"Pundits say the U.S. president's go-to-war rhetoric has exposed his flagrant disregard for concrete evidence and expert opinion."

"Pundits, however, say recent 'Washington hype' is a reminder of U.S. preparations made prior to the Iraq war and signal efforts to prepare the public for a war on Tehran while shifting the blame of U.S. failures in Iraq onto others."

As a direct message to the USA and Israel, on Thursday, Iran's Defense Minister said Israel "was too weak to launch an attack on Iran and the Islamic Republic was ready to repel any military invasion."

On another front in the U.S.-Iran cold war the U.S. has announced that it is taking action to prevent the horrendous loss of U.S. personnel to IED's.

AIR FORCE HOSTS ANTI-IED CONFERENCE IN SOUTHWEST ASIA
By Air Force Tech Sgt. Joel Langton

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2008 -- The battle against improvised explosive devices takes place on the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan every day, but this week coalition members took the fight into a conference room, tucked away on an air base in Southwest Asia.

Arranged by the Combined Air and Space Operations Center's Combined Theater Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell, the conference put IED experts from Iraq and Afghanistan together with William Hughes, director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization's test board and test board members to exchange information during the two-day conference.

"We're here to see if we're meeting the warfighters' needs," Hughes said. "Is the information we're providing helping them, is it in the right format? Meetings like this are critical to that."

Hughes' group decided to make the trip to Southwest Asia to make it easier on the warfighters. "We don't want them to have to come to us; our group came to them to make it as easy as possible for them."

The test board coordinates and synchronizes all counter-IED testing and provides information on results to the combat theater. Hughes said the effort is cyclical, as whenever coalition forces use new countermeasures against the deadly devices, enemy forces respond by changing technology.

Hughes, at 58 and wearing a pacemaker, has personally logged nearly 600 miles on convoys in Iraq, gathering information to help stop terrorists' deadliest weapon. IEDs are one of the primary threats in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We take what we collect here and go back and try to refine what we're doing, to give our guys the best possible defense against IEDs," Hughes said.

(Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joel Langton serves with U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs.)

To reinforce the message the U.S. is about to release a comprehensive report on Iran's deadly activities against the U.S. in Iran.

MORE PRESSURE NEEDED TO CURTAIL IRAN'S DESTABILIZING ACTIVITIES
By Donna Miles

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2008 -- A preview offered to Iran of details in a yet-to-be-released Multinational Force Iraq report about its meddling in Iraq appears to have had no effect, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said today. However, that may change when the report goes public, he added.

The report, prepared under Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ leadership, documents how Iranians have been supplying, training, equipping and financing extremist Shiite groups within Iraq, Morrell told reporters during a Pentagon news briefing. Petraeus has called these so-called “special groups” the biggest threat to the Iraqi government’s stability.

Information from the MNFI report “has already been shared with the Iranian government,” Morrell said. “I don’t know what, if [any], difference that has made. Perhaps when the rest of the world sees it -- sees the extent to which they have been undermining a duly elected government and really wreaking havoc within that country, perhaps it will increase the international pressure on Iran to change its ways.”

Even with “extraordinary military pressure” on Iranian-backed groups operating in Iraq, Iran hasn’t scaled back its activities, Morrell said. “We go after them relentlessly,” he said. “And we have done so to great success recently, uncovering huge caches of weapons that we continue to find that are clearly being provided by the Iranians.”

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is committed to ratcheting up diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Iran to get it to stop its destabilizing activities and to abandon its nuclear ambitions, Morrell said.

“The secretary believes we should be continuing all of those pressures simultaneously and in an amplified way to make sure that Iran feels the pressure of remaining a destabilizing influence in the Middle East,” he said. “Through those pressures, he hopes to gain the leverage to ultimately, at some point, have them say, ‘Enough. We’re ready to talk about changing our ways.’”

Gates has been dealing with Iran for 40 years and “is still looking for the elusive Iranian moderate with whom we can deal rationally and constructively,” Morrell said.

And while the secretary considered the merits of reaching out to Iran in 2004 while it was under then-President Mohammad Khatami’s leadership, he sees little chance of positive exchange with Iran’s current leadership, Morrell said. Iran’s activity in Iraq was “somewhat ambivalent” under Khatami, he told reporters, but is anything but that under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. “It is entirely unhelpful,” he said.

Historians will determine if not engaging with the Khatami government was a lost opportunity, Gates told retired diplomats yesterday at a meeting of the Academy of American Diplomacy in Washington.

Direct talks with Iran under Ahmadinejad’s leadership can be effective only after Iran bows to mounting international pressure and ceases its destabilizing activities, Morrell said the secretary now believes.

“With the election of Ahmadinejad and the very unambiguous role that Iran is playing in Iraq today, we need to find a way to build up some leverage with the Iranians and then sit down and talk,” Gates told the Academy of American Diplomacy. “We can't go to a discussion being completely the demander with them not feeling they need anything from us.”

The secretary has been candid about using U.S. military activities -- including the temporary presence of two aircraft carriers in the Arabian Gulf early this month -- to remind Iran of U.S. strength in the region, Morrell said.

The United States has enough military assets in the Middle East to amplify its message, but prefers to emphasize diplomatic and economic pressure first, he said.

“Obviously, we have 150-plus thousand troops in a neighboring country. We have many more troops in the region. We have ships. We have planes. We have more than enough assets,” he said. “But that is not the course of action at this point. It is an option that remains on the table.”

The Gulf of Tonkin incident led a Texan, Lyndon Johnson to war in Vietnam in 1964. In 2008 another Texan George Bush of America is preparing his justification to strike Iran before it has nuclear weapons.

Iran knows what is coming and has set the "Pundits" loose to say "The U.S. president's go-to-war rhetoric has exposed his flagrant disregard for concrete evidence and expert opinion."

TEHRAN -- Iran made an official protest to the United States, via a Swiss intermediary, on Wednesday about what Tehran says is Washington's support for a group blamed for bombing an Iranian mosque, a news agency reported.

The chargé d'affaires of the Swiss embassy, which handles U.S. interests in Iran, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and handed "evidence and documents" supporting Iran's allegations, the students news agency ISNA said.

Iran has said the United States, Britain, and Israel were involved in the explosion in a mosque in the southern city of Shiraz in April that killed 14 people and wounded 200.

Tehran has often blamed London and Washington, two of its sworn foes, for unrest inside the Islamic Republic.

Tehran originally said the blast was an accident caused by explosives left over from an exhibition about the 1980s Iran-Iraq war. It changed its account after an investigation.

Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic ties since 1980. They are now embroiled in rows over Iran's nuclear plans, which Washington says are aimed at building bombs, and what U.S. officials say is Iranian meddling in Iraq. Tehran denies both charges.

"Iran's strong protest was conveyed to (the chargé d'affaires) about the free-ranging activities of a terrorist and anti-revolutionary group in America," ISNA said, quoting a senior Foreign Ministry official. It did not name the group.

"In this meeting, part of the evidence and documents related to the terrorist activities of this group was handed over to the Swiss chargé d'affaires in order to present to American officials in charge," it added.

Washington was asked "to hand over the agents and leaders (of the group) . . . to Iran for justice to be done," ISNA added.

(Reporting by Hossein Jaseb; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Janet Lawrence)