Krigen mod Iran. Lige om Hjørnet?

Tankevækkende artikel i New Statesman. Øjensynligt er USA ved at gøre sig rede til et voldsomt angreb på Iran, og ikke blot på landets atom-faciliteter:

American military operations for a major conventional war with Iran could be implemented any day. They extend far beyond targeting suspect WMD facilities and will enable President Bush to destroy Iran's military, political and economic infrastructure overnight using conventional weapons.

(Hat-tip: EU Referendum, som også har et par kommentarer.)

Tilbage til New Statesman:

The US army, navy, air force and marines have all prepared battle plans and spent four years building bases and training for "Operation Iranian Freedom". Admiral Fallon, the new head of US Central Command, has inherited computerised plans under the name TIRANNT (Theatre Iran Near Term).

The Bush administration has made much of sending a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf. But it is a tiny part of the preparations. Post 9/11, the US navy can put six carriers into battle at a month's notice. Two carriers in the region, the USS John C Stennis and the USS Dwight D Eisenhower, could quickly be joined by three more now at sea: USS Ronald Reagan, USS Harry S Truman and USS Theodore Roosevelt, as well as by USS Nimitz. Each carrier force includes hundreds of cruise missiles.(...)

Today, marines have the USS Boxer and USS Bataan carrier forces in the Gulf and probably also the USS Kearsarge and USS Bonhomme Richard. Three others, the USS Peleliu, USS Wasp and USS Iwo Jima, are ready to join them. Earlier this year, HQ staff to manage these forces were moved from Virginia to Bahrain.(...)

With little military effort, the US air force can hit the last-known position of Iranian military units, political leaders and supposed sites of weapons of mass destruction. One can be sure that, if war comes, George Bush will not want to stand accused of using too little force and allowing Iran to fight back.

Nej, den fejl laver Bush næppe igen. Det skal blive interessant at følge de næste par måneder. Bush har ikke megen tid tilbage, og med en "fjendtlig" kongres der skal overtales før et angreb kan komme på tale er chancerne nok temmeligt små for at komme af med den iranske trussel.

(Ja ja, jeg ved godt, at jeg er lidt manisk med hensyn til at slippe af med mullaherne i Iran. For at komme den slags indvendinger i møde vil jeg fremover signere den slags artikler som følger:

Praeterea censeo carthaginem esse delendam!

Kan hænde der en klassisk uddannet læser, som kan oplyse mig om, hvordan man bør erstatte Khartago med Iran i den sætning. Jeg er bange for, at jeg ikke fordybede mig særskilt i faget da jeg gik i skole.)

Update: En Læser har været så elskværdig dels at rette det latinske citat, dels at give et bud på, hvordan det vil lyde, hvis man sætter Iran ind i stedet for Khartago: Ceterum censeo Persiam esse delendam

Jeg takker for ydmygst for hjælpen.

Update 2: BBC har også fundet historien. Bemærk forresten den tidligere britiske ambassadørs udtalelse:

Middle East analysts have recently voiced their fears of catastrophic consequences for any such US attack on Iran.

Britain's previous ambassador to Tehran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC it would backfire badly by probably encouraging the Iranian government to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term.

Så han foretrækker med andre ord, at Iran udvikler Bomben på kort sigt?!