Europeans Fear US Attack on Iran as Nuclear Row Intensifies

Transatlantic rift emerges over how to handle crisis
· America builds up its naval forces in the Gulf

by Ian Traynor in Brussels and Jonathan Steele

Senior European policy-makers are increasingly worried that the US administration will resort to air strikes against Iran to try to destroy its suspect nuclear programme.

As transatlantic friction over how to deal with the Iranian impasse intensifies, there are fears in European capitals that the nuclear crisis could come to a head this year because of US frustration with Russian stalling tactics at the UN security council. "The clock is ticking," said one European official. "Military action has come back on to the table more seriously than before. The language in the US has changed."

As the Americans continue their biggest naval build-up in the Gulf since the start of the Iraq war four years ago, a transatlantic rift is opening up on several important aspects of the Iran dispute.

The Bush administration will shortly publish a dossier of charges of alleged Iranian subversion in Iraq. "Iran has steadily ramped up its activity in Iraq in the last three to four months. This applies to the scope and pace of their operations. You could call these brazen activities," a senior US official said in London yesterday.

Although the Iranians were primarily in Shia areas, they were not confined to them, the US source said, implying that they had formed links with Sunni insurgents and were helping them with booby-trap bombs aimed at Iraqi and US forces, new versions of the "improvised explosive devices".


http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0131-03.htm

will do what he wants and that Him and Cheney do not care what anyone thinks.

unite against the US? the world is going to have to do something to stop the insanity because our Congress sure as hell won't. We are debating non binding resolutions about sending 21,000 troops who are already on the way - what will it take to stop King George and his Frankenstein?

To my fellow Americans: It was nice while it lasted, wasn't it?