Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:57:40
The Arab media has raised US-Iran confrontation alarms, saying the US has a proxy war with Iran going at the tail end of the Bush administration.
The UAE-based newspaper, Gulf News, in its Friday's editorial said that with George W. Bush in office the Washngton is effectively maintaining low intensity warfare with Iran and the potential exists to ratchet it up to more open hostilities.
The source asserted that the recurring visits by the US Vice President Dick Cheney and John McCain to Iraq and occupied Palestine are surely not 'coincidences' but a means to ensure Israel remains fully in the picture for any "plans the US could have against Iran".
The report has undermined the position of hawkish politicians who were beating the drums of war with Iran.
Cheney will also underlines that "the administration now buys British, German, French and Israeli intelligence estimates that Iran is indeed pressing forward with programs for building nuclear weapons, warheads and ballistic missiles for their delivery."
Meanwhile, Al-Ahram Weekly described Admiral William Fallon's recent resignation as an orchestrated move to remove what it called the only obstacle "standing between the administration and their newest war plan".Adm. William Fallon, resigned amid reports that he is challenging the White House over Iran, will not appear before Congress to discuss the Iraq war.
The weekly also added the disaster the Bush administration has created in Iraq is clearly not going well. As a result, the administration may feel that engaging the US militarily in Iran is their only option to for seeing a Republican president elected and a staunch military advocate like John McCain fits that bill.
On Wednesday, an aide to Cheney said that, the United States will need the cooperation of Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Turkey to mount a military attack on Iran.
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, in a meeting with Cheney on Friday, expressed his opposition to any US military action against Iran, saying that negotiation is the best and the only effective way to resolve Tehran's nuclear standoff.
The Saudis say any nuclear non-proliferation efforts should include Israel, which is widely believed to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East with around 200 nuclear warheads.
The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in their latest reports have reassured the world that the nature of Iran's nuclear activities is peaceful.
 USS Montpelier crossing the Suez Canal, Feb. 2003 |
Egyptian officials reported that the nuclear submarine crossed the canal along with a destroyer on Friday and Egyptian forces were put on high alert when the navy convoy was passing through the canal.
The deployment comes as recent reports allege that US Vice President Dick Cheney is seeking to rally the support of Middle Eastern states for launching an attack on Iran.
This is while US officials deny that Cheney's Mideast tour is linked to a possible military attack on Iran.
According to the latest reports, in recent months a major part of the US Navy has been deployed in and around the Persian Gulf.
The fleet is armed with nuclear weapons and cruise missiles and carries hundreds of aircraft and rapid reaction forces.
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