Attack Iran and you Attack Russia

Source: Asian Times Online

Middle East, Oct 26, 2007

THE ROVING EYE
Attack Iran and you attack Russia
By Pepe Escobar

The barely reported highlight of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran for the Caspian Sea summit last week was a key face-to-face meeting with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A high-level diplomatic source in Tehran tells Asia Times Online that essentially Putin and the Supreme Leader have agreed on a plan to nullify the George W Bush administration's relentless drive towards launching a preemptive attack, perhaps a tactical nuclear strike, against Iran. An American attack on Iran will be viewed by Moscow as an attack on Russia.

But then, as if this were not enough of a political bombshell, came the abrupt resignation of Ali Larijani as top Iranian nuclear negotiator. Early this week in Rome, Larijani told the IRNA news agency that "Iran's nuclear policies are stable and will not change with the replacement of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council ." Larijani will keep attending SNSC meetings, now as a representative of the Supreme Leader. He even took time to remind the West that in the Islamic Republic all key decisions regarding the civilian nuclear program are made by the Supreme Leader. Larijani actually went to Rome to meet with the European Union's Javier Solana alongside Iran's new negotiator, Saeed Jalili, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), just like President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

In itself, the Putin-Khamenei meeting was extraordinary, because the Supreme Leader rarely receives foreign statesmen for closed talks, even one as crucial as Putin. The Russian president, according to the diplomatic source, told the Supreme Leader he may hold the ultimate solution regarding the endlessly controversial Iranian nuclear dossier. According to IRNA, the Supreme Leader, after stressing that the Iranian civilian nuclear program will continue unabated, said. "We will ponder your words and proposal."




Read more: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IJ26Ak06.html

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Holy Shi-ite. Is this for real???

and Cheney is mad (crazy-mad) enough to get us into a war with Russia.

Either Russia will "blink" (which is such a poor analogy), or It is impotent and a war will prove that.

They are not so much crazy and too dangerous to the future of the human race. We MUST impeach NOW!

For example during the 1800s the US and Russia were close allies (Do to potential conflicts with England). Thus any attack on one would be lead the other to open hostility. For example during the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854, the US sent supplies to Russian via its own ships via the Black Sea (and both McClellan and Stuart of later US Civil War fame Watched the Charge of the Light Brigade from the Russian lines). Britain dare not try to stop the ships less it be used by the US to declare war against Britain and then march on Canada (The US was primed for War given the growing tensions over Slavery and politicians were looking for anything, including a war, to bring the country together and stop the headlong march to Civil War).

In return for US assistance during the Crimean War, the Russians sent they Fleet to the US during the Civil War to show Britain and France that the US had Friends who could cause trouble for both, for Britain, India, for France the mid-east. No actual fighting took place, but the "promise" of trouble was clear. Britain and France decided to invade Mexico instead of helping the American South.

My point is they are things the Russians can do. Send ships into the Arabian Sea (We would have to watch the Russian Ships even if the ships do nothing, like the Russian Fleet did in 1862, but it would tie up US planes needed to bomb Iran by having to keep an eye on the Russian Ships). Modern Electronics can permit the Russians to transmit messages of when a flight of planes had taken off to Iran, to give the Iranians time to prepare, the Russians were very good at this during the Vietnam war, the Russian "fishing trawlers" were know to transmit messages as soon as any US plane flow pass them). There is a lot the Russians can do WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT. Just replacing AA weapons and Radars might be enough. Sending planes in the Direction of Alaska may force a US response. Flying planes NEAR Iran may force the US to make planes to defend it bombers. The Russians may just ask for all payment for its oil be in Euros. Russia has options, not all of them involving fighting.

Not Good!:-( :kick:

I think - only "dumb" wars, fueled by the failure of imagination.

With our thoughts we create the world.

How would the United States react if Mexico were attacked? :scared:

"join the dot" or "count your nose".

that indicates that they have a real fear of the U.S. attacking them - or is that just my take on it?

The Iranians aren't stupid. They know Bush will attack them if he wants.
He probably met with Putin to try and secure an alliance.

Why shouldn't they be fearful? Why shouldn't we ALL be fearful. I certainly am. If you're not a little paranoid, you're crazy - and, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that somebody's not out to get you !

Would Turkey intervene in Northern Iraq if the US is too preoccupied to keep tabs on the Kurds? Would the EU get dragged in through Turkey being a NATO ally? Or will the EU declare neutrality while the Third World War erupts?

A war with Russia and Iran is like Cheney's wet dream.

Time to shut this fucking 'attack Iran' bullshit down, now.

This would do so and Russia/China are our last great hope in stopping this armageddonite, "judeo-christian" crusade (madness).

putin gets to play hero and bush does`t have to play the iranian card anymore. now uncle dickie can put his plan in place to build the oil pipeline under the caspian sea from the -30 billion barrel oilfield on the western side of the sea. the countries of--Azerbaijan,Kazakhstan,Turkmenistan,and Uzbekistan do not trust the russians and they are tired of paying russia transit fees for the pipelines. uncle dickie was in these countries several months ago and speculation was he was brokering deals with western firms for pipeline construction and oil field infrastructure...

the west is not leaving 30 billion barrels of oil for the russians or the chinese. this oil is going to the atlantic rim



wonder why the armenian vote was a big deal? the new oil/gas pipeline may have to go through armenia to turkey.....

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1309

Would Putin sell out Iran and stab it in the back? No, not sweet old Vlad, ya think?

weirdo. Posted twice I think.

Course I think W needs meds.:evilgrin:

can't or won't.............. stop cheneybush.

The president should be focused on keeping us out of WWIII not instigating it. It cost Bush neocons 1 trillion of our taxpayer dollars for which they plan to reap an estimated 30 trillion in oil (which they will keep for themselves). They were hoping to accomplish the same in Iran but Putkin may have thwarted their plans. 3800 of our troops is "such a small sacrifice" ()according to John Boehner) to get such a profitable return on , really no investment since taxpayers footed the bill. None of it had a damn thing to do with terrorism except as they have been creating it to distract while stealing the resources of Iraq.

Pelosi and other dems won't stop him from committing mass murder of thousands of innocent Iranians maybe the threat of Russian joining forces with Iran might bring pause to the out of control WH. I hope something does.

that wants to kill them for their own gain and not us the American people. I hope they dont believe that we are behind this shit because we elect these people, its not our fault we wont look anywhere else besides the boob tube for our presidential candidates...or is it?

I don't believe this "alliance" between Russia and Iran has even a surface level of credibility. And I don't think Bush/Cheney would believe it either.

There is no real claim that Putin vowed a war pact. Instead the article focuses on the pressures and moves behind the scenes of which little is certain except that Mr. A is in as much trouble as ever and had better get his steps right toward peace and soon.

I would think that Russia is trying to get Iran to play its way in this game, to thwart Bush's war smartly with concessions that would take the wind out of his sails completely. Only idiots like Hussein or Mr. A. would balk at this and there are people above Mr. A in Iran who are running out of patience which is not very hopeful since this war could have started months ago, whatever game Mr. A thinks he happens to be winning. In the past Russia has been a silent broker to win advantage with all sides. Today it might be finally 100% opposed to the US, but threatening nuclear war probably is not one of their smart plans. One does not expect they have any noble principle plans, much less suicidal ones.

Mr. A's corner is probably a great deal of his own making to maintain and capitalize on his own greatest threat. Anyway it turns out Mr. A is finished, except if he thinks he can survive a shock and awe firestorm and thus be forged as the nation's firmest commitment. Hooray if that happens thinks Mr. A miserably, but would it even in the best of American failures? Get out of the corner. Go away. Deflate the war balloon. Get off the stage of dictators and save some lives. That is the only control he really has over his destiny- the manner of his bloodless departure and his nation intact and free. War is intolerable. Leaders are dispensable. There are always choices.

  I was just researching Mr. Escobar's other stories. Here is The Best of Pepe Escobar from Asia Times.

  Asia Times has impressed me over the years for it's low-key but extremely detailed analysis of terrorism and politics from the Middle East to the Western Pacific Rim countries. I read a few of Mr. Escobar's articles and he appears legit. Check out his bio in the gray box on the right side of the page: impressive! (Especially the timing on his interview with Masoud)

  Lots of interesting stuff by this reporter (I guess he's been working for Asia Times for at least 6 years), including this (YouTube) interview with him about the Kyl-Lieberman bill from a few weeks ago.

PB

Step back and look at it.

What would Russia gain in supporting Iran against the US?

What would Russia gain if the US attacked Iran?

It seems to me that they would gain much more from the second scenario than the first. How would the US be able to extend their forces further, when they can't contain what they have already started. It would just be a greater drain on everything.

So I don't think that Iran is counting on too much support, other than some headlines.

New Hitler wants to RUMBLE, and he is probably quite happy that nuking Iran would be considered an act of aggression or war by Comrade "New Stalin" Putin.