Iran is Confusing

Photo by photoluna25.

Israel's Haaretz news reports:

The deputy to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that
Iran was a friend of Israel, Iranian news agencies reported.

"Iran wants no war with any country, and today Iran is friend of the United States and even Israel.... Our achievements belong to the whole world and should be used for expanding love and peace," said Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, who is also head of the Cultural Heritage Organization.

I preserve this for posterity. Just, let it be known, everyone, that this was said.

However, this was also said:

Ahmadinejad himself caused international uproar with his anti-Israel tirades, voicing hope for the eradication of Israel from the Middle East, demanding its relocation to Europe or Alaska and doubting the historic dimension of the Holocaust during World War II.

So I'm just not sure what any of it means.

Phase III of Operation Sandbox Launched

Photo by photoluna25.

Iran's oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari spoke at the OPEC conference in Madrid today. He basically said that if attacked, Iran would respond fiercely and that such an attack would drive oil prices higher than anyone could imagine. But he also said:

Nozari, however, said Tehran would not cut oil deliveries and would continue supplying the market even if struck by Israel or the United States.

Um...is it just me or is he saying, "Go ahead and attack us, we'll be rich!" Or maybe he's saying, "Thousands and thousands of our people will die, but those of us who make the decisions can wipe our asses with gold."

AP's George Jahn says:

Tehran is under U.N., U.S. and European sanctions because it has defied U.N. Security Council demands to suspend its uranium enrichment program. But with oil supplies tight and prices at unprecedented levels, the energy industry remains tempted by the possibilities of investing in Iran, OPEC's second largest oil producer and No. 2 in terms of the world's natural gas reserves.

Is it possible that Bush, Olmert, and Ahmadinejad are all having a big threesome? If Iran could, as Nozari claims, continue to ship oil while at war, can you imagine the amount of money that bring in? I don't think we even have numbers that go that high. The energy industry powers the US government. It is so far fetched that the US would go to war just to get oil and make money?

Oh wait....

So, perhaps this indirect announcement is Phase III in a twelve step plan to justify another Middle East campaign.

I can imagine how this was planned:
(Scene: a dark room with lush surroundings, a group of men hold drinks and cigars)

Ahmadinejad: So I'll act like a real asshole. Say bad stuff about Jews and the US and freedom.

Bush's handlers: And we'll say, "Whoa, this guy is dangerous! We should keep an eye on him."

Ahmadinejad: And then I'll start messing around with nuclear power and be real suspicious about it.

Bush's handlers: Then we'll threaten military action.

Ahmadinejad: This will cause me to act even creepier.

Bush's handlers: But how to keep the investors from getting nervous....hmmm...

Ahmadinejad: I have an idea....

Bush Getting Blue Balls over Iran

Iraq's president, Nouri al-Maliki, made another visit to Iran yesterday to discuss the two countries' relationship and ask for Iran's help in supplying electricity. Guess what else happened yesterday. Another suicide truck bomb blew up, this time on a US patrol base in eastern Iraq. Weird that al-Maliki's visits with Ahmadinejad keep coinciding with suicide truck bombs, the reported hallmark of al-Qaida.

A crackdown on Iraqi militias in March revealed "very, very significant amounts" of Iranian weaponry, which led Iraqi leaders to question Iran about what, exactly, its intentions are (source). However, this most recent meeting could mark a turning point in Iraq-Iran relations, with the possibility of Iran supplying electricity to the Southern Iraq city of Basra.

Despite these attacks of suspected Iranian origin being on Iraqi soil, it is the US that has been most hurt by the truck bombs and other militia attacks. And it has been the US that has been most vocal about Iran's guilt in supplying weapons to insurgents and creating nuclear weaponry. Nevermind that US intelligence reports disproved this suspicion a while ago.

And in light of Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's recent meetings, wherein they discuss the prospect of attacking Iran, it seems the US has a boner for Iran and will recruit whatever allies necessary, or whatever "evidence" necessary, to make that attack happen.

Unfortunately for Bush, his puppet Iraq is starting to make decisions for itself, which may leave him without key support in completing his conquest of the Middle East.

UPDATE:
NowPublic says:

But Peace and Freedom has learned independently that the nuclear research labs of Iran are so many and so disbursed that the Israeli Air Force would have difficulty "servicing the entire target list" we were told by an IAF officer.

There is speculation among military analysts that the United States would have to assist the IAF in any full-scale effort to neutralize Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

One specialist told us, "We foresee a scenario where Israel initiate action and the U.S. cleans up."

And by "clean up" they mean "reorganize the government and install leaders that pander to our interests." Which is a disaster in the making because, as the wife one Iraqi politician said back in 2005, “George Bush can say what he likes, but he cannot control the situation.”

Bush likes War

Joschka Fischer, the former Foreign Minister of Germany, published an article Friday in which he outlined the events in the Middle East of late and made predictions for the near future. He wrote that Bush's recent visit to Jerusalem was less to congratulate Israel on its 60th birthday and more to give it the go ahead to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Fischer writes:

Bush's central topic, including his speech to Israel's Knesset, was Iran. Bush had promised to bring the Middle East conflict closer to a resolution before the end of his term this year. But his final visit to Israel seemed to indicate that his objective was different: he seemed to be planning, together with Israel, to end the Iranian nuclear program - and to do so by military, rather than by diplomatic, means.

Fischer specifically highlighted that this military action is likely to take place before the end of the Bush administration because it is unclear what the next administration's strategy would be. Most likely, no matter who is elected they won't be as much of a warhawk as Bush.

And sixth, with the approaching end of the Bush presidency and uncertainty about his successor's policy, the window of opportunity for Israeli action is seen as potentially closing.

It's like when you know mommy won't let you have an ice cream so you ask daddy instead.

Is Bush high? Are we not already involved in another war? One that was also prompted by supposed weapons of mass destruction. He's like a little boy, going around blowing the tops off anthills with firecrackers. Further, and as I have mentioned before, Ahmadinejad is not stupid. If he were planning a covert attack on any country he would not give them warning beforehand. That tells me he is not about to attack Israel or the US or anyone else with the capability to fight back. He's going to goad whomever he likes into a fight, and then use their own momentum to push their faces in the dirt. And we are falling for it.

Israel's Birthday Attracts Haters

Photo by Daniella Zalcman.

Today is Israel's 60th birthday and the first well wishes have arrived. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad released a statement via his official news agency in which he calls Israel a "stinking corpse."

"Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation," he said.
Ahmadinejad added that Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese" - a reference to the 2006 war between Israel and the Shiite Hezbollah militia.

Wait, what? Am I high or did Israel win that little catfight? Oh right, they did. In fact, hasn't Israel won every war it's fought since its inception?

The Arab world is like a schoolyard bully, picking on the littlest kid on the playground. Except this little kid knows karate.

More information on the aforementioned "July War" here. I especially like the part where Hezbollah continues to fire guns and rockets at Israeli soldiers after the official ceasefire agreement was reached.