To war or not to war with Iran: that is the temptation

Over the recent weeks, US officials and the vassal Israeli regime have ramped up their aggressive rhetoric against the Islamic Republic of Iran, making their usual threat that they will attack Iran's nuclear facilities if the country continues its nuclear program.

Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former defense chief, told Yediot Aharonot on Friday that Israel would have no choice but to attack Iran given the failure of UN Security Council sanctions in curbing its nuclear program.

Although Israeli officials backed from their threat, it is not the first time threats of this nature are made by the Israeli regime.

Central to their aggressive rhetoric is the legend that Iran is a threat to world peace by running a clandestine nuclear weapons program for which they have no concrete evidence whatsoever.

Now the question which keeps pestering any inquisitive mind in this regard is: why does a country which contributes to insecurity in the region and which has arsenals of nuclear warheads allow itself to level such accusations and make such threats which run counter to the very essence of the UN Charter?

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaei, filed a complaint to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanding a Security Council condemnation of Israel.

"Such a dangerous threat against a sovereign state and a member of the United Nations constitutes a manifest violation of international law and contravenes the most fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and, thus, requires a resolute and clear response on the part of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council."

To war or not to war with Iran: that is not the question but the temptation. Before his term of presidency expires, George Bush is adamant on completing his circle of military adventurism in the name of combating terrorism. Tempted by the vast energy resources in Iran, he wishes to fulfill his last aspiration, attack Iran and expropriate the country's resources. To attack Iran is a destructive temptation for Mr. President for he is very well aware that he has little chance to manipulate US public opinion into believing his lies.

The American public still remembers the lies fabricated by US officials to launch an attack on Iraq which incurred inconceivable human and material losses both for Iraq and the US. Widely condemned by many for his warmongering policies and idiotic notion of fighting terror, Bush finds Israel, its vassal in the region, a good ally to mount an attack.

For the Zionist regime of Israel, Iran is a powerful country which exercises substantial political influence in the region. The Islamic Republic of Iran is among the few countries which resists the inhuman Israeli treatment of the downtrodden Palestinian people. On the other side of the coin stands the US which throws full-throated support behind a criminal regime which is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinians whose sole dream is to take back their land and home.

Iran's nuclear program which has proved to be peaceful in nature is but a feeble excuse in the hands of warmongering US officials to start another war and thus draw the world into more chaos and insecurity.

Commonly called Israel, the marionette whose strings are pulled by Washington has been deluded by its masters in the White House into believing that it can easily wrest control of the region by attacking Iran. How can a regime which sustained a humiliating defeat at the hands of the courageous Hezbollah fighters survive an attack on a country with great military potential to repulse any aggression? This is a good question which needs to be taken into account by the Israeli regime. Here is the crux of the whole argument here. The Israeli regime is surely aware of the dire consequences of such a reckless move. Yet, they have pinned their hopes on the support of the US which considers Iran its archenemy.

The US officials have frequently voiced their support for Israel.

The recent irrational comments by Barack Obama still rankle in the mind.

"There's no greater threat to Israel or to the peace and stability of the region than Iran," he told the powerful pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC).

"The danger from Iran is grave and real and my goal will be to eliminate this threat."

Obama and the Washington officials are the "good friends" of Israel because it is a great enemy of Iran. The old adage “my enemy's enemy is my friend” certainly applies in US foreign policies.

After all, in the Iran-Iraq war, the US sent Saddam's regime billions of dollars to help it in its war with the Islamic Republic of Iran because Saddam was an enemy of Iran and thus a friend of the US.

The Bush administration is no longer in a position to launch another war under the guise of combating terrorism because its lies about Iraq have gradually come to light.

With the 170-page report of the Senate Intelligence Committee issued Thursday which shed light on the Bush administration's use of phony intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, there remains no more justification of another attack. The report shows that Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, then-National Security Adviser and current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and other top aides knowingly misled American and world public opinion as to the war on Iraq.

Although the report is per se contradictory in that it condemns Bush and his aides and simultaneously exonerates them from any blame, it contains this very fact that they 'misled' public opinion and terrorized the American people into backing an unprovoked war against Iraq.

That said, the US tries to keep the ball of war rolling by engaging a third party, the enemy of its enemy, in another uncalled-for war in order to fulfill its wanton dream.

To say that Israel will engage in a war with the Islamic Republic of Iran is out of the question but to say that the US can resist its temptation to strike Iran remains an enigma.

Ismail Salami is the author of 'Iran Cradle of Civilization' and numerous articles on Middle East and Asia. He can be reached at salami@salamionline.com.