A US ‘bipartisan think-tank’ has urged President Obama to prepare sanctions against Iran and announce publicly that a military strike is likely.
“If biting sanctions do not persuade the Islamic Republic to… give up its enrichment activities, the White House will have to begin serious consideration of the option of a US-led military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities,” said the ‘Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington’.
The report was put together by Charles Robb, a former Democratic senator from Virginia, Daniel Coats, a former Republican senator from Indiana, and retired General Charles Wald, the former deputy commander of US European command.
It is worthy to note that Charles Robb and Daniel Coats, were both well known recipients of financial support from powerful Israeli lobby groups when they served in congress. General Wald has been quite outspoken in acting as a cheerleader for unlimited American support of Israel. He regularly travels to Israel and has also served in the boards of several Zionist “think tanks” and lobby groups in the US.
The group released its assessment as the US, along with other permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, prepares to participate in preliminary talks with Iran on October 1.
The reports claims that by 2010, Iran will have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon, “leaving little time for the United States to prevent both a nuclear- weapons capable Islamic Republic and an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.”
The authors, who support a bill that proposes sanctions against foreign companies that export gasoline to Iran, say the Obama administration should have put together a “sufficient financial, political and military pressure” before agreeing to negotiations.
They say a deadline of 60 days after the start of the negotiations should be set for Iran, adding that the US should adopt tougher sanctions and “prepare overtly for any military option” if it fails to persuade Tehran to bend in the talks.
The proposed preparations include deploying an additional aircraft carrier battle group to Iranian waters and carrying out joint exercises with US allies.
The group claims that in the absence of US military action Tel Aviv is more likely to carry out an attack against Iran, adding that an Israeli strike “entails more risks than a US strike.”
This is while Iran is entitled to continue its uranium enrichment activities based on international regulations as it is conducting the work under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog and for peaceful aims.
The ‘think thank’ is proposing the tough measures without considering a recent US spy report update which concluded that Iran has deliberately not taken the critical steps in making a bomb, despite having produced sufficient nuclear fuel for one.
The new information, collected by the Obama administration, once again confirmed the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate by asserting that there was no convincing evidence to prove Iran’s nuclear work had military implications.
Despite the deliberate use of classy, professional sounding terms for the name of the “bipartisan think tank,” it is quite evident that the members of the think tank, although from rival parties, have one basic interest in common and that is their unconditional support for Israel, which itself possesses nuclear warheads without being a signatory to any international atomic regulatory agency.
(Press TV)
