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Global Warfare: Targeting Iran: Preparing for World War III
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, November 03, 2011
3 November 2011
Url of this article:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/global-warfare-targeting-iran-preparing-for-world-war-iii/27446

The military deployment of US-NATO forces is occurring in several regions of the World simultaneously.

Militarization at the global level is instrumented through the US military’s Unified Command structure: the entire planet is divided up into geographic Combatant Commands under the control of the Pentagon. According to (former) NATO Commander General Wesley Clark, the Pentagon’s military road-map consists of a sequence of war theaters: “[The] five-year campaign plan [includes]… a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan.” 

The Pentagon’s global military design is one of world conquest.

A War on Iran has been on the drawing board of The Pentagon since 2004.

Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons programme is the pretext and the justification. Tehran is also identified as a “State sponsor of terrorism”, for allegedly supporting the Al Qaeda network.

In recent developments, what is unfolding is an integrated attack plan on Iran led by the US, with the participation of the United Kingdom and Israel.

While the media has presented Israeli and British military planning pertaining to Iran as separate initiatives, what we are dealing with is an integrated and coordinated US led military endeavor.

In early November, Israel confirmed that it is preparing to launch air attacks against Iran’s nuclear facilities, without however acknowledging that this would be carried out as part of a US led initative:

Reportedly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently sought to drum up cabinet support for a military strike against the nuclear sites of the Islamic republic of Iran. In joint efforts with the defense minister Ehud Barak, Netanyahu has succeeded in wringing support for such a reckless act from the skeptics who were already opposed to launching an attack on Iran. Among those he managed to convince was Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

There are still those in the Israeli cabinet who are against such a move including Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor, Strategic Affairs Minister and Netanyahu confidant Moshe Yaalon, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, army chief Benny Gantz, the head of Israel’s intelligence agency Tamir Pardo, the chief of military intelligence Aviv Kochavi and the head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Yoram Cohen.

However, the support voiced by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is considered an ace in the hole for Netanyahu who also enjoys the full-throated support of Washington.

In a show of military prowess and obvious brinkmanship, Israel test-fired a nuke capable missile on Wednesday which cannot be taken as a coincidence considering the threat made by Netanyahu. ( Ismail Salami.  An Israel Attack on Iran: Military Suicide , Global Research, November 3, 2011)

Meanwhile, the British government has also signified that it will participate in a US led attack on Iran:

The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government.

In anticipation of a potential attack, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.

They also believe the US would ask permission to launch attacks from Diego Garcia, the British Indian ocean territory, which the Americans have used previously for conflicts in the Middle East.  (The Guardian, November 2, 2011 http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=27439)

The War on Syria

There is a military roadmap characterised by a sequence of US-NATO war theaters.

In the wake of the war on Libya, there are also war plans directed against under NATO’s Responsibility to Protect (R2P). These plans are integrated with those pertaining to Iran. The road to Tehran goes through Damascus. A US-NATO sponsored war on Iran would involve, as a first step, a destabilization campaign (“regime change”) including covert intelligence operations in support of rebel forces directed against the Syrian government

The World is at dangerous crossroads.

Were a US-NATO military operation to be launched against either Syria or Iran, the broader Middle East Central Asian region extending from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with China would be engulfed in the turmoil of an extended regional war.

There are at present four distinct war theaters: Afghanistan-Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine and Libya.

An attack on Syria would lead to the integration of these separate war theaters, eventually leading towards a broader Middle East-Central Asian war.

In turn, a war on Syria would evolve towards a US-NATO military campaign directed against Iran, in which Turkey and Israel would be directly involved. It would also contribute to the ongoing destabilization of Lebanon.

Central to an understanding of war, is the media campaign which grants it legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion. A good versus evil dichotomy prevails. The perpetrators of war are presented as the victims. Public opinion is misled: “We must fight against evil in all its forms as a means to preserving the Western way of life.” Breaking the “big lie” which upholds war as a humanitarian undertaking, means breaking a criminal project of global destruction, in which the quest for profit is the overriding force. This profit-driven military agenda destroys human values and transforms people into unconscious zombies.

The holding of mass demonstrations and antiwar protests is not enough. What is required is the development of a broad and well organized grassroots antiwar network, across the land, nationally and internationally, which challenges the structures of power and authority. People must mobilize not only against the military agenda, the authority of the state and its officials must also be challenged. This war can be prevented if people forcefully confront their governments, pressure their elected representatives, organize at the local level in towns, villages and municipalities, spread the word, inform their fellow citizens as to the implications of a nuclear war, initiate debate and discussion within the armed forces.

The objective is to forcefully reverse the tide of war, challenge the war criminals in high office and the powerful corporate lobby groups which support them.

Break the American Inquisition.

Undermine the US-NATO-Israel military crusade.

Close down the weapons factories and the military bases.

Members of the armed forces should disobey orders and refuse to participate in a criminal war.

Bring home the troops.

The following article published in August 2010 (see below) documents ongoing war preparations directed against Iran. 

A more detailed analysis is contained in Michel Chossudovsky Towards a World War III Scenario (E-Book, Global Research, Montreal, 2011. 72 p.) [click for details. Can be purchased online]

Michel Chossudovsky, November 3, 2011

Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran

Michel Chossudovsky

Part I: Global Warfare

Global Research, August 1, 2010

Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads. War preparations to attack Iran are in “an advanced state of readiness”. Hi tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads are fully deployed.

This military adventure has been on the Pentagon’s drawing board since the mid-1990s. First Iraq, then Iran according to a declassified 1995 US Central Command document.

Escalation is part of the military agenda. While Iran, is the next target together with Syria and Lebanon, this strategic military deployment also threatens North Korea, China and Russia.

Since 2005, the US and its allies, including America’s NATO partners and Israel, have been involved in the extensive deployment and stockpiling of advanced weapons systems. The air defense systems of the US, NATO member countries and Israel are fully integrated.

This is a coordinated endeavor of the Pentagon, NATO, Israel’s Defense Force (IDF), with the active military involvement of several non-NATO partner countries including the frontline Arab states (members of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative), Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, among others. (NATO consists of 28 NATO member states Another 21 countries are members of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), The Mediterranean Dialogue and the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative include ten Arab countries plus Israel.)

The roles of Egypt, the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia (within the extended military alliance) is of particular relevance. Egypt controls the transit of war ships and oil tankers through the Suez Canal. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States occupy the South Western coastlines of the Persian Gulf, the Straits of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman. In early June, “Egypt reportedly allowed one Israeli and eleven U.S. ships to pass through the Suez Canal in ….an apparent signal to Iran. … On June 12, regional press outlets reported that the Saudis had granted Israel the right to fly over its airspace…” (Muriel Mirak Weissbach, Israel’s Insane War on Iran Must Be Prevented., Global Research, July 31, 2010)

In post 9/11 military doctrine, this massive deployment of military hardware has been defined as part of the so-called “Global War on Terrorism”, targeting “non-State” terrorist organizations including al Qaeda and so-called “State sponsors of terrorism”,. including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan.

The setting up of new US military bases, the stockpiling of advanced weapons systems including tactical nuclear weapons, etc. were implemented as part of the pre-emptive defensive military doctrine under the umbrella of the “Global War on Terrorism”.

War and the Economic Crisis

The broader implications of a US-NATO Israel attack on Iran are far-reaching. The war and the economic crisis are intimately related. The war economy is financed by Wall Street, which stands as the creditor of the US administration. The US weapons producers are the recipients of the US Department of Defense multibillion dollar procurement contracts for advanced weapons systems. In turn, “the battle for oil” in the Middle East and Central Asia directly serves the interests of the Anglo-American oil giants.

The US and its allies are “beating the drums of war” at the height of a Worldwide economic depression, not to mention the most serious environmental catastrophe in World history. In a bitter twist, one of the major players (BP) on the Middle East Central Asia geopolitical chessboard, formerly known as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, is the instigator of the ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Media Disinformation

Public opinion, swayed by media hype is tacitly supportive, indifferent or ignorant as to the likely impacts of what is upheld as an ad hoc “punitive” operation directed against Iran’s nuclear facilities rather than an all out war. War preparations include the deployment of US and Israeli produced nuclear weapons. In this context, the devastating consequences of a nuclear war are either trivialised or simply not mentioned.

The “real crisis” threatening humanity, according to the media and the governments, is not war but global warming. The media will fabricate a crisis where there is no crisis: “a global scare” — the H1N1 global pandemic– but nobody seems to fear a US sponsored nuclear war.

The war on Iran is presented to public opinion as an issue among others. It is not viewed as a threat to “Mother Earth” as in the case of global warming. It is not front-page news. The fact that an attack on Iran could lead to escalation and potentially unleash a “global war” is not a matter of concern. (Read More. Complete Article)

TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE


Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran
Part I: Global Warfare
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2010-08-01

Consult Global Research’s Compilation of Articles on Iran:
IRAN: THE NEXT WAR?

GLOBAL RESEARCH E-BOOK (click link to order)

Towards a World War III Scenario

by Michel Chossudovsky

Selected Articles: US-NATO-Israel war plans directed against Iran


Global Warfare: Targeting Iran: Preparing for World War III
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2011-11-03

The military deployment of US-NATO forces is occurring in several regions of the World simultaneously.


The Secret Wars of the Saudi-Israeli Alliance
 
– by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – 2011-05-28


If You Love This Planet: The Dangers of Nuclear War
 
– by Helen Caldicott, Michel Chossudovsky – 2011-03-11


Washington’s Black Ops against Iran
– by Dr. Ismail Salami – 2011-10-30

The operations against Iran range from cyber attacks to political assassinations. They are conducted under the pretext that Iran was the alleged architect of an assassination plot against the Saudi envoy to the US.


Haaretz screaming headline: Bibi Seeks Cabinet Approval for Iran Attack
 
– 2011-11-04


“We’re on the Road to War, I’m Afraid!”. Israel’s Leading Columnist warns of Israeli Attack on Iran
 
– by Richard Silverstein – 2011-11-04


US Begins Huge Military Maneuvers Aimed at Iran
Battle-ready troops on standby
– by Paul Joseph Watson – 2011-10-18


Sources: US Gives Israel Green Light For Iran Strike
– by Paul Joseph Watson – 2011-10-14

Iran to remove nuclear fuel from its first nuclear power plant
 
– 2011-02-26

IAEA reaffirms peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear energy program
 
– 2011-02-26

Israel Calls for Attack on Iran

Iran to remove nuclear fuel from its first nuclear power plant
 
– 2011-02-26

IAEA reaffirms peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear energy program
 
– 2011-02-26

Israel Calls for Attack on Iran
 
– 2011-01-12

UK planning to evacuate expats from the Persian Gulf region in the event of war
 
– 2010-12-29

Leaked document: Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak tells US to attack Iran, N. Korea
 
– 2010-11-30

Moscow Cancels Military Aid to Tehran: ‘Iran designs local S-300 system’
 
– 2010-11-18

Lindsey Graham Makes The Case For Strike On Iran
 
– 2010-11-07

MI6 chief: We need intelligence operations to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons
 
– by Cem Ertür – 2010-10-29

Poll: Most Americans Don’t Want War with Iran
 
– 2010-10-12

US-NATO Prepares to Attack Iran: Ahmadinejad warns any attack would unleash war with ‘no limits’
 
– 2010-09-22

Kremlin Blasts Bolton: Moscow warns US politician on the issue of Israeli aerial strikes against Iran
 
– 2010-08-18


Fidel Castro Calls on the World to Persuade Obama Not to Unleash a War
 
– 2010-08-09


War and the Conquest of Eurasia: Iran’s “Green Wave” Opposition and its Ties to Global Geopolitics
– by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – 2010-10-25

Pragmatic Iran: A Wild Card in the Eurasian Deck?


An Israel Attack on Iran: Military Suicide
 
– by Ismail Salami – 2011-11-03


Switching Focus from Iraq to Iran
 
– by Ray McGovern – 2011-10-24

U.S. Hawks Behind Iraq War Rally for Strikes Against Iran
 
– by Jim Lobe – 2011-10-18

The Alleged Iran Saudi Envoy Assassination Plot: Mossad at Work
 
– by Ismail Salami – 2011-10-17


Who is Really Behind It? The Implausibility of an Iranian Plot
 
– by Esam Al-Amin – 2011-10-17


U.S. Officials Peddle False Intel to Support Terror Plot Claims
 
– by Gareth Porter – 2011-10-17

Alleged Iranian Plot: Is the Evidence Credible?
U.S. Can Demand Arbitration of Charges Against Iran, But Will It? That Would Mean Having to Make Its Case Stand Up in Court
– by Sherwood Ross – 2011-10-17


The Occupy Iran Fast and Furious Plot
 
– by Pepe Escobar – 2011-10-14


From Bush to Obama: US Policy Towards Iran
 
– by Ali Fathollah-Nejad – 2011-09-20


Man of Faith: Crusader Tony Blair’s Vision: Eternal War: Iran and Syria Next?
 
– by Felicity Arbuthnot – 2011-09-14


The Powers of Manipulation: Islam as a Geopolitical Tool to Control the Middle East
 
– by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – 2011-07-02


Iran: “Regime Change” or All Out War?
 
– by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – 2011-06-14


America’s Next War Theater: Syria and Lebanon?
– by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – 2011-06-10


Revival of a Military Option: Israel’s Covert War Against Iran Is On
 
– by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach – 2011-01-26


The Next World War: The “Great Game” and the Threat of Nuclear War
– by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – 2011-01-10


Wikileaks and Media Disinformation
North Korea, Iran and Belarus
– by Gearóid Ó Colmáin – 2010-12-08


The US-NATO March to War and the 21st Century “Great Game”
Part II
– by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – 2010-12-05


The Mysterious Laptop Documents: “Evidence” of Iran Nuclear Weapons Program May Be Fraudulent
 
– by Gareth Porter – 2010-11-18


Mounting US war threats against Iran
 
– by Bill Van Auken – 2010-11-08


Fake Anti-war Activism. The “Humanitarian Road” Towards an all out Nuclear War?
 
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2010-11-04


America Threatens Iran: The Anti-war Movement’s Trojan Horse
– by Phil Wilayto – 2010-10-30


VIDEO; The US Threatens Iran with “Safe Nuclear Weapons”
Fidel’s Message to the World
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2010-10-27


Ongoing Iran War Preparations? Arabian Sea: Center Of West’s 21st Century War
 
– by Rick Rozoff – 2010-10-25


U.S. Threat to Attack Iran with Nukes is “Criminal”
 
– by Sherwood Ross – 2010-10-11


Nuclear Weapons and the Survival of the Homo Sapiens
 
– by Fidel Castro Ruz – 2010-10-08


Israel: “Wiped off The Map”. The Rumor of the Century, Fabricated by the US Media to Justify An All out War on Iran
 
– by Arash Norouzi – 2010-09-26

US may be seeking provocation to launch a war against Iran
 
– by Nadezhda Kevorkova – 2010-09-25


The Mysterious Case of Iranian Nuclear Scientist Shahram Amiri. What was His Relationship to the CIA?
 
– by Mojmir Babacek – 2010-09-24


“In the Interests of Israel”: Why Russia will not sell the S-300 Air Defense System to Iran
Has Moscow switched to the camp of its foes?
– by Gen. Leonid Ivashov – 2010-09-23

Spreading Falsehoods about Iran: “United Against Nuclear Iran”: America’s War Propaganda Mouthpiece
 
– by Kourosh Ziabari – 2010-09-18


Double standards: The United States and its allies should look at their own nuclear policy before criticizing Iran
 
– by Mersiha Gadzo – 2010-09-14

Mideast Talks a Cover for US War Preparations
 
– by Robert Stevens – 2010-09-10


Flashback to 1953 : “Operation Ajax”: Joint CIA/MI6 Military Coup in Iran
19th August 1953
– by Andrew Gavin Marshall – 2010-08-19


Towards a World War III Scenario? The Role of Israel in Triggering an Attack on Iran
Part II The Military Road Map
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2010-08-13


Is Obama Playing with Nuclear Fire in Iran and Korea?
 
– by Shamus Cooke – 2010-08-13


Fidel Castro Warns of Imminent Nuclear War; Admiral Mullen Threatens Iran; US-Israel Vs. Iran-Hezbollah Confrontation
– by Webster G. Tarpley – 2010-08-10


Targeting Iran: Is the US Administration Planning a Nuclear Holocaust?
 
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2010-08-09


War Against Iran as a Method of Promoting Globalism
 
– by Dmitry Sedov – 2010-08-09


VIDEO: Washington Policy May Result in Nuclear War, Says Castro
 
– by Paul Craig Roberts – 2010-08-08


Isolating Iran is Part of the “Great Energy Game”
Interview with Antony Loewenstein
– by Kourosh Ziabari – 2010-08-06


VIDEO: World War III Scenario?
 
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2010-08-05

Obama is Preparing to Bomb Iran.
 
– by Webster G. Tarpley – 2010-08-05

Dangerous Crossroads: Threatening Iran with a Preemptive Nuclear Attack
Controversy over Iran’s nuclear program
– by Kourosh Ziabari – 2010-08-05


“Countdown to Zero”: Hollywood Movie Promotes War on Iran
A review
– by Rady Ananda – 2010-08-05


Obama has been Warned that Israel May Bomb Iran
Memorandum to the President from former Intelligence Officials
– by Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity – 2010-08-04


Preparing for World War III, Targeting Iran
Part I: Global Warfare
– by Michel Chossudovsky – 2010-08-01

Iran Encircled: Two US Congressional Resolutions, One World War
 
– by Ruqayyah Shamseddine – 2010-08-01


The Real Aim of Israel’s Bomb Iran Campaign
 
– by Gareth Porter – 2010-07-31


Israel’s Insane War on Iran Must Be Prevented
 
– by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach – 2010-07-31

Israel’s Insane War on Iran Must Be Prevented
 
– by Muriel Mirak-Weissbach – 2010-07-26

Obama is Preparing to Bomb Iran
 
– by Webster G. Tarpley – 2010-07-25

Threatening Iran with a preemptive attack: Iran’s nuclear standoff: who is the loser?
 
– by Kourosh Ziabari – 2010-07-25


Study: Attack on Iran Would be the “Start of the Long War”: “An Attack could Send Oil Prices through the Roof”
 
– by Daniel Tencer – 2010-07-15

The Origins of War
“Today, everything hangs by a thread”…. An incident could set in motion an all out nuclear war
– by Fidel Castro Ruz – 2010-07-15


Israel is a strategic US ally in the Middle East: When the American Empire falls, Israel will be Weakened
Interview with Joshua Frank
– by Kourosh Ziabari – 2010-07-12


Stirrings of a New Push for Military Option on Iran
 
– by Jim Lobe – 2010-07-12


Dubious Intelligence on Iran’s Nuclear Program Used to Justify UN Sanctions and US War Threats
 
– by Gareth Porter – 2010-07-03

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