As well, it stands to reason that Iran’s “intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams” are far more sophisticated than “al-Qaeda,” the straw man terrorist group that recruits lunatics and incompetents such as Zacarias Moussaoui and Richard Reid to pull off attacks. “But terrorism experts considered Iranian-backed or controlled groups—namely the country’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security operatives, its Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah—to be better organized, trained and equipped than the al-Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.”

Never mind there is no evidence that the “al-Qaeda network… carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks” (although evidence was promised, never delivered) and never mind as well under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Iran has a right to develop nuclear energy. Of course, we shouldn’t expect the CIA’s favorite newspaper to mention such things—or that Iran has a right to defend itself, especially considering the United States engineered a coup to overthrow a democratically elected Iranian leader (Operation Ajax), install a vicious dictator, and train a brutal secret police accumulating one of the worst human rights records in modern history.

“The Iranian government views the Islamic Jihad, the name of Hezbollah’s terrorist organization, ‘as an extension of their state. . . . operational teams could be deployed without a long period of preparation,’ said Ambassador Henry A. Crumpton, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism.”

No doubt a predictable line of reasoning from “a revered master of CIA covert operations” who played a role in the Keane-Zelikow whitewash commission report and mucked around in Africa for the CIA (see this glowing write-up in the CIA’s favorite newspaper).

Of course, it makes sense “Hank” Crumpton would lump Hezbollah in with Iran since this linkage is vital to the Straussian neocon master plan to attack Muslim society and culture in the Middle East. Hezbollah is also included because it continues to effectively resist Israel border incursions and also seriously damaged Israel’s invincible image by forcing it to withdraw from southern Lebanon in 2000. Recall the neocon Richard Armitage’s characterization of Hezbollah as “the ‘A-Team of Terrorists’ and maybe al-Qaeda is actually the ‘B’ team. And they’re on the list and their time will come…. There is no question about it—it’s all in good time. And we’re going to go after these problems just like a high school wrestler goes after a match. We’re going to take them” In fact, the Straussian neocons have planned to attack Hezbollah and Hamas for sometime, never mind that both were democratically elected to office in Lebanon and Palestine respectively.

“The possibility of a military confrontation has been raised only obliquely in recent months by President Bush and Iran’s government. Bush says he is pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but he has added that all options are on the table for stopping Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons.”

Maybe it was oblique for Bush—a lot of what he mutters has an oblique (as in dishonest) quality—but the Straussian neocons have remained quite adamant in their desire to take out Iraq, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority (now irrelevant), and even the monarchs of Saudi Arabia and formerly friendly dictators such as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. If it is Arab, Persian, and Muslim, the neocons have a hankering to take it out, preferably with violence. Of course, repeating over and over, as the CIA’s favorite newspaper does, that Iran is attempting to acquire nuclear weapons, when in fact there is no definitive evidence of this, sure doesn’t hurt the neocon project. By now a large number of Americans believe Iran has nukes and will use them against our “friend” Israel and maybe even the United States, although few bother to mention the Iranians don’t have missiles capable of reaching the United States.

“Both sides have increased their activities against the other. The Bush administration is spending $75 million to step up pressure on the Iranian government, including funding non-governmental organizations and alternative media broadcasts. Iran’s parliament then approved $13.6 million to counter what it calls ‘plots and acts of meddling’ by the United States.”

More nonsense. Is Iran “spending $75 million” to fund “non-governmental organizations and alternative media broadcasts” in the United States? No, of course not. And yet the shameless CIA mouthpiece, the Washington Post, publishes this garbage, as they published likewise garbage about Saddam Hussein before Bush and crew attacked, almost all of it lies. If Bushzarro world vaporized tomorrow morning, sensible people would demand the editors of the CIA-infested Washington Post be arrested and charged with disseminating warmongering propaganda. Instead, journalists such as Dana Priest receive prestigious awards and grants (Priest received a MacArthur grant, the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the National Defense in 2001, and the NYPL Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism).

Or has Iran flown illegal unmanned drones over Missouri or Massachusetts, as the United States does routinely over Iran, launched from occupied territory in neighboring Iraq. Although Bush and his Straussian neocons call the government of Iran terrorist, the Iranians have never shot down a U.S. civilian airliner, as the U.S. military did on July 3, 1988 (Iran Air Flight 655 was shot down by the U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes, murdering 290 civilian from six nations).

“Because Iran’s nuclear facilities are scattered around the country, some military specialists doubt a strike could effectively end the program and would require hundreds of strikes beforehand to disable Iran’s vast air defenses. They say air strikes would most likely inflame the Muslim world, alienate reformers within Iran and could serve to unite Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, which have only limited contact currently.”

It is far more likely “al-Qaeda” and Hezbollah have no contact since the “al-Qaeda” mythology stipulates that Osama’s boogiemen are strict Wahhabists who consider Shia Muslims infidels (remember, we are told al-Zarqawi and “al-Qaeda in Iraq” were tasked with killing Shia Muslims on religious grounds).

“A report by the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks cited al-Qaeda’s long-standing cooperation with the Iranian-back Hezbollah on certain operations and said Osama bin Laden may have had a previously undisclosed role in the Khobar attack. Several al-Qaeda figures are reportedly under house arrest in Iran.”

Indeed, they are under arrest because Iran knows who they are—CIA trained and unleashed lunatics.

It would be hypocritical for any rational person to deny Iran any and all methods to defend itself, even “activating” Hezbollah as if they are malleable Stepford terrorists. If Iran covertly intervened in America’s so-called election process, spied on American politicians, buzzed over military bases and nuclear labs with drones, and otherwise spent billions to undermine the United States and collect intelligence in advance of an invasion or massive shock and awe campaign, the American people would be calling for the government to defend itself by all means necessary, probably even nuking Iran and turning it into a glass parking lot.