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A War to Spread Terror
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
“The Strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they
must”
- Thucydides, The Melian Dialogue
04/14/07 "ICH"
--- - Unchallenged, America’s pursuit of global hegemony
bears an eerie resemblance to the building of empires in the
past. As this Administration expands its international
dominance, the dictates of the Athenians to the Melians come to
mind in which they are told that their submission to the rule of
the Athenians would be of mutual benefit.
Melians: “And how, pray, could it turn out as good for us
to serve as for you to rule?”
Athenians: “Because you would have the advantage of
submitting before suffering the worst, and we should gain by not
destroying you”.[i]
This is the tacit dialogue between Mr. Bush’s coalition of
willing and Iran today – and Iraq before that. This is an
ongoing dialogue between any free nation that stands in the way
of imperialist ambitions of this White House and their neo-con
cohorts. And so it is that terrorism is defined by the strong
in order for a ‘a war of terror’ to be declared so that the
innocent may be wiped out, and their resources stolen should
they fail to hand them over willingly. (Afghanistan is beyond
the scope of this writer’s knowledge at present).
Not content with the failed covert operations that have been
the hallmark of U.S. foreign policy, it has become necessary to
use a new justification for a colonial raid, sanctions and
warfare under the pretext of nuclear threat and terrorism.
Intimidated by fear, propaganda, and coercion, the world body
condemns the victim and puts its muscle behind the aggressor,
only to realize later that it was mistake. This tardy
realization that comes with the so much blood and carnage, has
shame as its intimidator; forcing one to delude oneself that the
decision made had been the right one. More blood continues to
spill to cover the shame of flawed decisions, of a restless
consciousness.
Yet, if we choose once again to abandon our
intellect and remain complacent, we are equally complicit in the
acts of terror carried out in our name. Professor of
international law, Francis Boyle, in his book Biowarfare and
Terrorism (Clarity Press), charges the Administration of
"unconstitutionally usurp and nullify the right and the power of
the United States Congress to declare war, in gross and blatant
violation of Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the United
States Constitution."
Furthermore,
according to Rutgers University molecular biologist
Richard Ebright, over 300 scientific institutions and 12,000
individuals have access to pathogens suitable for biowarfare and
terrorism.[ii]
We are preparing for a biological warfare.
On April 9th, 2007, al-Jazeera reported that the
former commander of Iraq's Republican Guard has accused the US
of using non-conventional weapons when they attacked Iraq.
Saifeddin Fulayh Hassan Taha al-Rawi told al-Jazeera “"The enemy
used neutron and phosphorus weapons against Baghdad airport...
there were bodies burnt to their bones”.
[iii] Fallujah has seen the horrors of
phosphorous. The following are excerpts from an Independent
Media Center:
“grenades with white phosphor have been
fired on Falluja which created a wall of fire, burning all the
- many people did melt; so enourmous is the heat
- Iraqi doctor Kamal Hadeethi told journalists of the Washington
Post: »I`ve seen many people injured; the streets are full of
crying people -and full of dead people: they even were melt down
to the street.« Falluja residents told that all the streets are
destroyed, houses are ruines, and at walls stick parts of human
meat.
[iv]”
Our Administration uses weapons of terror
and spends billions building them.
In its “war on terror”, this Administration
has co-opted terrorists, the Mojahadeen-e Khaleg (MEK). While
the American soldiers in Iraq chauffer them around, they are
being used to plant seeds of unrest in Iran in order to bring
about a regime change[v].
This group is highly endorsed by
neo-conservatives Raymond Tanter, Daniel Pipes and Patrick
Clawson of Washington Institute for Near East Policy who praised
them as U.S. allies.[vi]
(Clawson had on one occasion recommended sabotaging the Iranian
nuclear plants regardless of the death toll, C-Span, Woodrow
Wilson Center 2005).
While the Patriot Act is robbing our
freedoms under the myth of protecting us from terrorists,
terrorists are being hired by our government to wage war on a
sovereign nation. In a report prepared on March 15, 2005 by
‘Center for Policing Terrorism’, the terrorist acts of this
group, including but not limited to the killing of Americans,
their involvement in the 1979 American Embassy takeover and
subsequent hostage crisis, the bombing of 11 Iranian embassies
around the globe, and other involvements has been described.[vii].
Yet this Administration, in his ‘war on terror’, would like
these terrorists to be his foot soldiers and to sabotage the
regime in Iran, the alleged state sponsor of terrorists.
Having lost their faith in the MEK foot
soldiers, or perhaps prompted by impatience, they decided to
diversify. Mr. Cheney decided to visit Pakistan and solicit
more terrorists in order to cause mayhem in Iran, tear her
apart, and separate her children. Pakistani government sources
say the secret campaign against Iran by Jundullah was on the
agenda when Vice President Dick Cheney met with Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf in February. It seems that the U.S.
government has secretly encouraged, advised, and paid for a
series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran since 2005[viii].
Charges of terrorism aside, the United
States has led a campaign charging Iran with allegations that it
intends to build a nuclear bomb. Contrary to these allegations,
the IAEA has found no evidence of Iran diverting its nuclear
energy program to weaponization, yet the US has coerced the UN
Security Council into sanctioning Iran.
An indisputable fact of globalization and
modernization is that sophisticated technologies transferred to
the third world countries are controlled by transnational
companies and/or governments. This has led to the concept of
‘self-colonization’ or acceptance of Western values and
superiority; which deems that third world countries look to the
West for research and development instead of self-reliance (Hveem,
1983). Iran escaped this trap due to the disdain felt towards
it as a result of the 1979 revolution and the isolation forced
upon it during the Iran-Iraq war. Iran learned self-reliance
and escaped self-colonization.
It is in pursuit of its legal right under
the NPT that it is pursuing nuclear fuel to satisfy its domestic
needs for energy and clean air. However, the US, insisting on
its global expansion, needs to use this as yet another pretext
to bring ruin to Iran and attack it.
A country that in spite of a CIA-backed
coup, the downing of the passenger jetliner which took 290
innocent lives, the support of the US for the enemy in an
8-year with Iraq in which the United States supplied Saddam
Hossein satellite guidance, weaponry and chemical weapons, but
also persuaded the United Nations to look the other way while
Iranians were being subjected to chemical weapons for 3 years, a
nation which under sanctions and threat of war, still bears good
will towards the American people, and a true ally in the region,
if attacked, will produce a disaster of unimaginable
consequences
So as a subject of this world, I am asking
all Americans, hyphenated or not, to defend their birthright,
humanity, and justice. We must determine our own destiny today
lest someone robs us of our future with their actions. America
cannot afford to lose the battle for peace, justice and
humanity because humanity has not found a place in this
Administration. In the American ‘Dialogue’, we are the ‘strong’,
for we have the power of the people, justice, and above all, the
Constitution of the United States of America.
Impeach Bush & Cheney for Peace -
www.marchofthepeople.org
Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich has lived and studied in Iran,
the UK, France, and the US. She obtained her Bachelors
Degree in International Relations from the University of
Southern California, Los Angeles. She is currently pursuing
her education in Middle East studies and Public Diplomacy.
Soraya has done extensive research on US foreign policy
towards Iran and Iran’s nuclear program. She can be reached
at
sorayau@earthlink.netNotes
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