Bushco is REALLY out to destroy Khuzestan Oil Production -- IRAN WAR SOON?

[Dems Will Win]

"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality--judiciously, as you will--we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do." - Senior Administration Official


"Why do you rob banks?" "'Cause that's where the money is."

The nuclear enrichment issue is just a smokescreen by Bushco. They intend to attack Iran solely to keep the price of oil high.

Here is how the neo-cons view Iran. They are only interested in laying waste to Khuzstan, or possibly taking it over by declaring it an independent state (see map below for planned Shia Arab state of al-Ahwaz):





Sy Hersch lays it out:

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060417fa_fact

This won't just be 5 days of bombing the nuke sites. Bushco now plans to lay waste to leadership bunkers, the Revolutionary Guard, the oil refineries and the 2 main oil ports.

Bushco might even drop a 3 kiloton nuclear bunker buster on the Natanz underground nuclear facilty, spreading radiation far into eastern Iran.

Herre's what I think: The dropping of the bomb will make the US and Israel huge vulnerable targets for nuclear retaliation, which the media will hype to no end, allowing Bushco to scare the base and the swing voters and the Security Moms on an entirely new level.

Special Forces and indigenous rebels and the Marines will take little Khuzestan (where all the oil is), Bushehr and the uninhabited southern Iranian coast. In Khuzestan, Marines and Special Ops will sabotage all the oil fields themselves. This and the closing of the Straits of Hormuz, the takeover of the Iranian oil ports, plus Iranian attacks on Saudi and UAE oilfields will make oil prices soar (the main goal ofthe operation, not the nukes or impossible regime change).

Bushco has already pulled the trigger on this. Norfolk Naval Base and other Navy bases were emptied out and sent to the Gulf, loaded with mine sweepers, Coast Guard vessels, many Marines, Special Ops and equipment.

The Pentagon will, in the first days of the war, let the media and the country see US Navy vessels SUNK and hundreds or even thousands of sailors DROWN, hit by Silkworm and new Russian anti-ship missiles. The US Navy has little defense against these new Russian missiles, which travel faster than double the speed of sound. It will be like shooting ducks in a barrel.

This will cause a second Rally Round The Flag effect, as the media intones the name of Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, Ships Sunk, Thousands of Sailors Killed. The movie "Pearl Harbor" will be re-run again. Bush might even declare WW III has begun and ask the Congress for a Declaration of War and try to pretend he is FDR.

Just remember the rule of thumb in dealing with fascists: Think of the worst thing you can imagine them doing, then TRIPLE it.

The Boston Globe:

With carrier battle groups crowding the Gulf, and with the Bush administration beating the battle drum to a degree not heard since the buildup to the Iraq war, one can only conclude that either this is a demonstration of coercive diplomacy par excellence, or that the United States is going to attack Iran.

President George W. Bush and the Pentagon continue to deny "for the umpteenth time" that an attack is being planned. They say that diplomacy is in play. But that is what they said about Iraq long after the decision to go to war had already been made.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/20/opinion/edgreen.php

Here's the excuse Bushco is likely going to use:

Iran defies deadline to halt atom work

The U.N. nuclear watchdog declared on Thursday that Iran failed to meet a February 21 deadline to suspend uranium enrichment and Washington said major powers would meet next week to start writing a new Iran sanctions resolution.

By ignoring the deadline, Tehran reaffirmed its rejection of a mid-2006 offer by six world powers of talks on trade benefits provided it halted enrichment, a process that can yield nuclear power plant fuel or bombs.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report Iran had installed two cascades, or networks, of 164 centrifuges in its underground Natanz enrichment plant with another two cascades close to completion.

That amounted to an effort to escalate research-level enrichment of nuclear fuel into "industrial scale" production.

"Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities," said the confidential IAEA report, obtained by Reuters.

...

"We expect to see Iran repudiated again by the Security Council," Burns said during an appearance at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in Washington.

The Islamic Republic, which says its nuclear fuel program is designed only to produce electricity, remained defiant.

"Regarding the suspension mentioned in the report, because such a demand has no legal basis and is against international treaties, naturally, it could not be accepted by Iran," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, told Reuters in Tehran.

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Iran_defies_deadline_to_halt_atom_work.html?siteSect=143&sid=7554370&cKey=1172187497000

If you want to make some pre-war protest, recommend this anti-Khuzestan War thread!

[robertpaulsen]

1. K & R!

:kick:

[tnlurker]

2. I hope this is wrong

But I think it will be correct. Bush is insane. Our only hope is that the military has some guts to refuse his orders.

[bdamomma]

10. welcome to DU, and hopefully they will refuse those orders.

[Dems Will Win]

15. Highly unlikely

[Toots]

46. Once a US naval ship is struck by missile all bets are off

Congress will approve almost unanimously a Declaration of War and Bush* will think he is the second coming and the Crusades will once again be under way..

[azurnoir]

3. Does he want to destroy it or

add it to Halliburtons trophies? If he succeseds what will happen to Iran's deal with Sinopec? IMHO that deal giving China around 51% of the regions oil is part of his motive.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/26/business/sinopec.php

[WinkyDink]

4. This is unbelievable. Bush and Cheney are insane. Do they want to kill even their own children??

For MONEY???

[Dems Will Win]

5. War is Profit

Bushco - War Profiteers Since 1917...

[bdamomma]

11. what did bush say, money trumps peace

we are dealing with some sick evil people. They are not listening to us or anyone, they are hellbent to stay on course with the PNAC agenda, this is really scary.

[blues90]

6. Real nice

Man , this Iran thing is really making me sick . War for profit and war for death and money .

This seems to be what makes the world go round and it is a sad thing , a horrid thing .

[tom_paine]

7. Excellent and cogent analysis. I only hope you are wrong.

No offense. If this, which is one of the worst-possible scenarios & interpretations, comes true then it is the beginning of the end, perhaps, for the human race. We will the begin savaging the last of the oil and technology, which, when THAT is over, the Earth's carrying capacity will be 1,000,000,000 tops with still more than seven or eight billion still alive.

Very plausible, and yes, the Busheviks are indeed probably (with high probability bolstered by multiple examples now) capapble of doing so.

But if you are correct, then it is very possible that millions will be hurt and dying soon. MillionS!

God forgive us if we allow it to happen.

[stillcool]

8. It seems to me there are no shortage of...

motives for dickering in Iran. It conveniently sits between Iraq and Afghanistan, with access to the Caspian Sea. The number of proposed pipelines is far too complicated for my addled brain, but the basic geography mixed with the vast amounts of oil fields and natural gas draw it's own conclusion. Makes far more sense than 'they hate us for our freedom', or 'we're spreading democracy'. A foothold is all that is needed, a place to stake their claim.

[snappyturtle]

9. This is truly awful... should it come to be. Let's say * is successful

in Iran and somehow the U.S. avoids obliteration and world uproar over extraordinary loss of life, where does it leave us, you and me? The Halliburtons et. al will be richer and the rest of us will not be able to afford gasoline or products requiring petroleum (plastics) for example. How does madman Bush justify this Iranian adventure? K&R

[dysfunctional press]

16. at that point, i would start to question the possibility of an '08 election happening.

pnac would declare empire.

[snappyturtle]

26. Your words are not comforting but unfortunately a possibility. n/t

[IWantAChange]

31. sadly, I have to agree - Bushco declares martial law and the REPUGS

clamor that Bush/Cheney are the only way to save civilization - Cheney retires and Jebco is appointed - assuring the royal family lineage once Chimpy steps down.

Bizarre? Absurd? Absolutely, but so would telling me suspension of Habeas Corpus, warrant-less eavesdropping on Americans and condoning torture would happen in America.

[burrowowl]

12. K&R

[Jcrowley]

13. OPLAN 1002

OPLAN 1002-04 - The Khuzestan Gambit?


Forward presence of US forces in Iraq cements US credibility, strengthens deterrence, and facilitates transition from peace to war. Although ground forces provide the bulk of the long-term forward presence in Iraq, access to ports and airfields is essential to project other forces into the area. The continued presence of US forces in Iraq sends a strong visible message of the US commitment to defend this region. Presence is enhanced through on-going military-to-military interaction, cooperative defense measures, and prepositioning of equipment and supplies critical to US responsiveness and warfighting flexibility.

<snip>

OPLAN 1002-04 has probably been revised to reflect the American occupation of Iraq, and the power projection opportunities this provides against Iran. The Zagros Mountains form a natural pallisade defending Iran from incursions from Iraq. The Iranian province of Khuzestan is the one large piece of flat Iranian terrain to the west of the Zagros Mountains. American heavy forces could swiftly occupy Khuzestan, and in doing so seize control of most of Iran's oil resources, and non-trivial portions of the country's water supply and electrical generating capacity.

<snip>

Khuzestan was home to one of the oldest human civilizations dating back at least 6000 years to Shoosh (Susa). In ancient tiems, such people as the Uxians (who gave their name to Khuzestan in southern Iran) were part of the Caucasic race of people. In the 17th century, in spite of their general poverty and rejection from public life, there were still a good number of Zoroastrians left throughout Persia, from Ahwaz in Khuzestan, to Kandehar in the east. Hautboy is occasionally used in Ashura ceremony in some provinces such as Khuzestan and Khorassan.

<snip>

The vast majority of Iran's crude oil reserves are located in giant onshore fields in the southwestern Khuzestan region near the Iraqi border and the Persian Gulf. Iran has 32 producing oil fields, of which 25 are onshore and 7 offshore. Major onshore fields include the following: Ahwaz-Asmari (700,000 bbl/d); Bangestan (around 245,000 bbl/d current production, with plans to increase to 550,000 bbl/d), Marun (520,000 bbl/d), Gachsaran (560,000 bbl/d), Agha Jari (200,000 bbl/d), Karanj-Parsi (200,000 bbl/d); Rag-e-Safid (180,000 bbl/d); Bibi Hakimeh (130,000 bbl/d), and Pazanan (70,000 bbl/d). Major offshore fields include: Dorood (130,000 bbl/d); Salman (130,000 bbl/d); Abuzar (125,000 bbl/d); Sirri A&E (95,000 bbl/d); and Soroush/Nowruz (60,000 bbl/d).

According to the Oil and Gas Journal (1/1/04), Iran holds 125.8 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, roughly 10% of the world's total, up from 90 billion barrels in 2003. In October 1999, Iran announced that it had made its biggest oil discovery in 30 years, a giant onshore field called Azadegan located in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, a few miles east of the border with Iraq. Reportedly, the Azadegan field contains proven crude oil reserves of 26 billion barrels. In July 2004, Iran's oil minister stated that the country's proven oil reserves had increased again, to 132 billion barrels, following new discoveries in the Kushk and Hosseineih fields in Khuzestan province.

<snip>

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/oplan-1002.htm

[Dems Will Win]

14. Thanks for this.

By the way the saying of the neo-cons is:

"REAL MEN GO TO KHUZESTAN!"

[HCE SuiGeneris]

17. All the building of airfields in Iraq had to have some purpose...

Have I said how much I hate these FUCKERS lately!

[leveymg]

18. This is the plan, the only question is - will Congress and JCS go with it?

I still don't think so. See, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/21/113627/955

These scenarios have been wargamed repeatedly, and the result has been massive US casualties and uncontrollable escalation into regional nuclear war. While I agree, that would be a very good thing for those who hold stock in oil companies, it would be a very bad thing for the rest of us. If this were 2003, and the example of Iraq weren't in front of our noses, there would be a greater chance that some might risk it. But, I don't think so.

Very informative post. Thanks.

[GreenZoneLT]

19. Interesting, but obsolete

I'm fairly convinced that the Iraq war was intended to be Phase I of a regional invade-and-install-friendly-democracy plan of the Bushies, but reality has been bitch-slapping them since 2004. Cheney is probably still lobbying to go forward, but there's no way anybody at the Pentagon's going to be able to create a feasible plan for it.

[leveymg]

22. That's my thinking, as well.

Glad to see I'm not alone in concluding that Phase II of this mission got scrubbed by the top brass.

[rman]

20. "solely to keep the price of oil high"?

While it's obvious that it's about oil, the primary goal is to get control over the oil feilds because it is one of several valuable resources that's undergoing reduced extraction rate due to depletion. This has consequences for the price of oil, but price as such is not the primary issue - the oil itself is the primary issue.

[Dems Will Win]

24. I think the first step is to destroy Iranian production for a few years

The only reason oil is so high now is because of the Iraq-Iran War, which devastated production in both countries.

The neo-cons have to take out the oil fields now because with Iraq they could not conquer and hold. So they are going to wipe them out for now and prevent the CHinese from getting in there with the Russians.

Then if Rudolph (Adolf) becomes President they can declare a draft and properly invade and occupy Khuzestan. Remember they just want the oil in Khuzestan, so would never bother to occupy ALL of Iran...

[rman]

25. I disagree

with your assertion that the only reason oil is so high now is because of the Iraq-Iran War. That war ended almost 20 years ago - and production still has not recovered? Not very plausible.

In the mean time most if not all of the mega fields have past production peak, new fields are smaller, are found in ever deeper water, ever deeper underground. Also exploitation of tar sand and oil shale would not be an issue if there'd be enough production capacity of conventional oil. Obviously those kind of sources are more expensive to exploit.

see DU Peak Oil Group
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=266

[Dems Will Win]

27. rman, my assertion is correct, it's history

Both Iraq and Iran never recovered to the production levels they should have because the war -- and then the economic catastrophe that followed the war. Only recently has Iran been able to get it's production up. Foreign companies would not fund Iran after the War because the radicals still ran the place.

You can look it up...

[tbyg52]

21. If he does do this

And if it does cause another rally-round-the-flag effect instead of a roar of outrage and a massive call for IMPEACHMENT NOW, then there is no hope for this country.

Darn. I was trying to find the site that had a petition plus submission of letter to your local paper, but haven't been able to yet and have to go to work now. I'm sure everyone here knows where the petition links are and how to write letters to the editor anyway..... ;)

[leveymg]

23. Petition and letter link at StopIranWar.com

It's there.

[tbyg52]

40. Them too,

but this is what I was looking for (copied below). It turned out to be an email, not a DU topic, which is why I couldn't find it at first.

******************

- Send a letter to your local newspaper today. <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/vfp/pickMedia.jsp?letter_KEY=661> Our goal is to publish at least one letter to the editor in each congressional district so that Congress will see that their constituents are opposed to a war on Iran. Let's make sure Bush doesn't get away with yet another war of aggression in our name!

- Schedule a meeting with your member of Congress to talk about what they are doing to bring our troops home from Iraq and prevent a war against Iran. <http://www.votersforpeace.us/meetingguide.html>

- Send an email to your members of Congress demanding that they do everything possible to prevent any and all military action against Iran. <http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/vfp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6699>

- Join an Occupation Project near you. Actions and trainings are taking place throughout the country and we encourage you to add to the growing list! <http://vcnv.org/event>

Will we let history repeat itself?

[Marie26]

28. They'd need ground forces for that

So far, it looks like they're planning air bombings & maybe blockades. There aren't enough troops to occupy part of another country. I do think that they might attack Iran, but none of the plans released so far seem to involve actual occupation. FWIW.

[Dems Will Win]

36. They could easily take Bushehr and Bandar e'Abbas on the coast

Then there's the port area in southern Khuzestan and Ahwaz and Khuzestan itself.

Khuzestan is only the size of new Jersey and Massachussetts combined.

And it's got 100 billion barrels.

With air and naval support, we could declare a shia Arab rebleeion to create al-Ahwaz, then take and even hold al-Ahwaz with about 30,000 Marines and Special Ops, some heavy armor, the MEK, al-Ahwazi rebels who we've armed.

Why? The Zagros Mountains, combined with air superiority, to the north and east, the Gulf to the south and Iraq to the west, make taking Khuzestan fairly straightforward.

My bet is Bushco doesn't try to hold it. Just get in, destroy the Khuzestan oil fields, pull some photo-ops and bombing raids up north, then get out.

What I worry about is whether they use a nuke bunker-buster or not on Natanz, the underground nuke facility. That would be triple bad.

[Marie26]

44. Didn't Saddam try that?

Who knows what the Bush Ad. might try, but we don't have the ground troop capabilities to actually successfully invade Iran, and the neocons must know that. In 1980, Saddam tried the same exact strategy to capture Khuzestan, and it was a total disaster.

On September 18, Iraq declared the Shatt al-Arab part of its territory. Iraq launched a full-scale invasion of Iran on September 22, 1980, claiming as a pretext, an Iranian assassination attempt on Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz.

Objectives of Iraq's invasion of Iran were:

1. Acquisition of the Arvand/Shatt al-Arab waterway as part of Iraqi territory (Iraq's only port connection to The Persian Gulf).
2. Acquisition of the three islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, on the unilateral behalf of the UAE.
3. Annexing Khuzestan as part of Iraqi territory.

The surprise offensive advanced quickly against the still disorganized Iranian forces, advancing on a wide front into Iranian territory along the Mehran-Khorramabad axis in Central Iran and towards Ahvaz in the oil-rich southern province of Khuzestan.

Iraq encountered unexpected resistance, however. Rather than turning against the Ayatollah's government as exiles had promised, the people of Iran rallied around their country and mounted far stiffer resistance; an estimated 100,000 volunteers arrived at the front by November. An Iraqi Air Force attack on Iranian airfields was ineffective, due in part to the fact that the Iranian airfields were long enough for the Iranian Air Force to deploy its planes, and that aircraft hangars had been upgraded to withstand bombs. The Iraqis soon found the Iranian military was not nearly as depleted as they had thought. By June 1982, a successful Iranian counter-offensive had recovered the areas previously lost to Iraq. An especially significant battle of this counter-offensive in the Khuzestan province was the liberation of Khorramshahr city from the Iraqis on May 24, 1982.

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Iraq_War

The Iranian army is huge, w/over 500,000 soldiers - that's five times the amount of soldiers we have in Iraq. I just don't see how the US could actually invade or occupy the land for any length of time.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has two kinds of armed forces: the regular forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), totalling about 545,000 personnel.<1> Both fall under the command of the Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces Logistics.<2>

* The regular armed forces has an estimated 420,000 troops in three branches: Ground Forces, 350,000 troops; Navy, 18,000 sailors; and Air Force, 52,000 airmen.<3>
* The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has an estimated 125,000 personnel in five branches: Qods Force (Special Forces), Basij (Paramilitary), Navy, Air Force, and the Ground Forces.<4>

Iran also has a paramilitary volunteer force called the Basij (or Baseej), which includes about 90,000 full-time, active-duty uniformed Basij members, up to 300,000 reservists, and a further 11 million men and women who could be mobilized.<5>"

[Emit]

29. "The Khuzestan Gambit"

Thanks for posting on this topic.

For more discussion, Google "The Khuzestan Gambit": http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Khuzestan+Gambit&btnG=Google+Search

There are many pieces written about "The Khuzestan Gambit." An example:

The REAL Plan for Iran
A top former U.S. intelligence analyst has stated that the U.S. plans a broad-scale war against Iran. In other words, contrary to what we are hearing, a "limited strike on Iran's nuclear facilities" in order to protect everyone from Iran's nuclear weapons program is not the game-plan. The military is, instead, planning a "broad-scale war".

But how would the U.S. -- which has already stretched its military thin in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars -- pull it off? By using "The Khuzestan Gambit", as military planners call it. Basically, the U.S. would invade Khuzestan, a small region of Iran containing 90% of Iran's oil. As described by a leading military website, the province

"is the one large piece of flat Iranian terrain to the west of the Zagros Mountains. American heavy forces could swiftly occupy Khuzestan, and in doing so seize control of most of Iran's oil resources, and non-trivial portions of the country's water supply and electrical generating capacity."

Because Khuzestan is a relatively small area, the U.S. and Israel will be able to take it without that many boots on the ground. Therefore, a new draft won't be needed, and only a relatively small portion of the soldiers now in Iraq and Afghanistan will need to be shifted out-of-country and into Iran. Indeed, the Khuzestan Gambit is not even a new idea: apparently, Khuzestan is the province that Saddam Hussein tried to conquer in the Iraq-Iran War. ~snip~

http://georgewashington.blogspot.com/2007/01/real-plan-for-iran.html

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

ALSO, this is an important connection to this theory. I ran across the below-posted article while looking into SAIC (see, for example, previous posts on SAIC: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=233209&mesg_id=245366

and http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=245971 )


"Abdian told the FT that the SAIC researcher had asked him questions relating to "the ethnic breakdown of Khuzestan province on the Iraq border..."

~snip~ London's Financial Times has reported that the US Marines Corps Intelligence has launched a probe into unrest in Ahwaz with fears heightening that increased ethnic oppression by the Iranian could lead to the country's fragmentation.

The Iranian regime has already accused the British government of responsibility for bomb attacks in Ahwaz, although it has failed to produce any evidence to back up its claims. There is no suggestion as yet that the US's interest in the Ahwazi issue is anything but an attempt to better understand the ethnic composition and commonalities between Iran and Iraq. The FT states that Lieutenant-Colonel Rick Long, a marines spokesman, confirmed that the marines had commissioned Hicks and Associates, a defence contractor, to conduct two research projects into Iraqi and Iranian ethnic groups. Hicks and Associates is a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

The FT reports that: "US intelligence experts suggested the marines' effort could indicate early stages of contingency plans for a ground assault on Iran. Or it could be an attempt to evaluate the implications of the unrest in Iranian border regions for marines stationed in Iraq, as well as Iranian infiltration.

"Other experts affiliated to the Pentagon suggest the investigation merely underlines that diverse intelligence wings of the US military were seeking to justify their existence at a time of plentiful funding."

Karim Abdian, head of the Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation, participated in the research on the understanding that the results would be made public, but did not know the motives behind the research. Hicks and Associates was referred to him by the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS) several months ago after it was approached to give evidence. BAFS did not participate in the research and has had no further contacts with the US government or its contractors.
Abdian told the FT that the SAIC researcher had asked him questions relating to "the ethnic breakdown of Khuzestan province on the Iraq border, populations in cities, the level of discontent, the percentage of Arabs working in the oil industry, how they were represented in the central government, and their relations and kinship with Iraqi Arabs next door." He speculated that the Marines were probably seeking a better understanding of the region that directly affects them or formulating contingency plans.

The FT said analysts believed that the upsurge in ethnic unrest in Iran was related to the adoption of a federal constitution in Iraq, which has served as a catalyst for a politicisation of economic and cultural grievances.

Reuel Gerecht, a former CIA specialist on the Middle East, told the FT that the State Department, not the Pentagon, is running Iran policy. He said the State Department was was "nowhere near the point" of trying to use separatist tendencies among minorities to undermine the regime's authority, adding that they were unsure that such a move would work.

BAFS spokesman Nasser Bani Assad: "US interest in Ahwaz appears to have been generated by the intifada last April, when Iran lost control over parts of Khuzestan province. It is natural that the US authorities would want to commission their own research on the unstable situation in Ahwaz and its effects on Iraq. From what we understand, the Pentagon is gathering its own information separate from the State Department... ~snip~

http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:-DonF8dLnOMJ:www.ahwazstudies.org/main/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D151%26Itemid%3D47%26lang%3DEN+Abdian+told+the+FT+that+the+SAIC+researcher+had+asked+him+questions+relating+to+%22the+ethnic+breakdown+of+Khuzestan+province+on+the+Iraq+border,&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us


edited spelling

[Dems Will Win]

42. Good work!

[tex-wyo-dem]

30. Interesting that the Khuzestan region borders directly...

with the area that the British have tried to control and have announced they are pulling out from.

I'll throw a theory out there for what it's worth: The troop escalation is not so much to help pacify Baghdad, but as a ground force for a future invasion of the Khuzestan region. The region also borders the Persian Gulf where the U.S. now has considerable naval power amassed, therefore, targets and enemy positions could be softened up by air power from the Gulf followed by a ground invasion from the Basra region.

The excuses for conducting such a operation are being drummed up as we speak (arms shipments from Iran to Iraqi insurgents, cross-border raids by Iranian militants, etc.). The area from which most of the problems are originating will conveniently be identified as Khuzestan, and thus the justification for invading and occupying the region.

The British pullout might be explained by Blair's refusal to go along with such an endeavor.

[KoKo]

35. So, is this why Cheney is in Australia? To get Aussie troops to replace

Blairs? And, if we do invade Khuzistan do we hold it and cut off supplies of water and electricity and oil to the Iranians thereby causing a civil war? How does this help us? Wouldn't the Iranians attack us with every "suicide bomber" and weapon they have? And, how could how troops..even with Aussie reinforcements be able to handle that?

It just doesn't make sense that our Military would go along with this. Are they still convinced that "air power" alone and bombs will supress retailation against an invasion and occupation? They really think that factions in Iran will take over and hold hands with us? :shrug:

[Dems Will Win]

38. The real point is to fill the Gulf with sitting ducks (carriers) and then provoke the Iranians

into firing those new Mach 2 anti-ship missiles and sink one, drowning possibly 5,000 sailors and Navy Airmen.

Neo-Con Plan A: Provoke War with Iran or commit false flag operation to start war. OR just pre-emptive action on the WMD excuse. Let Iranians fire new Mach 2 anti-ship missiles and sink one of our sitting ducks in the Gulf -- maybe a big carrier -- and then declare WW III has begun. Thousands drown in a few days. Land Seals, Special Ops, Marines, conquer Khuzestan oil. Drop Nuke bunker-buster on Natanz. Use War/Nuclear Retaliation Hysteria to ram draft through Congress, hold Khuzestan oil fields with rebel al-Ahwaz state, continue fight with Persian Iran, holding Khuzestan with Marines, Special Ops in the mountains and al-Ahwazi and MEK rebels.

Neo-Con Plan B: Provoke War with Iran or commit false flag operation to start war. Iranians do NOT fire new Mach 2 anti-ship missiles and sink one of our sitting ducks in the Gulf. Land Seals, Special Ops, Marines, establish al-Ahwaz state, methodically destroy Khuzestan oil production -- all with conventional weapons. Abandon al-Ahwazi rebels and MEK to horrible fate, withdraw from Khuzestan, stop bombing in northern Iran.

Watch the price of oil rise in either case. World War III and a draft would just be the icing on the cake for the neo-cons in Plan A.

[KoKo]

41. Can go with the "False Flag" scenario.....and I do believe Bush is following

the "NeoCon" scenario of "They Hate Us for Our Freedoms" explanation in "sound bytes" to the average American who relies on CNN's Blitzer for news.

I think our Congress is so cowered by the BIG WAR/ENDLESS WAR crap from their Lobbyists and Think Tank Pressure ...that they will CAVE.

In the meantime..SOME...of our Dems will appear to support progressives for NO MORE WAR! While others will work against us and closetly go along with Repug Bought OFF and PAID for and DEMS who GOT THE MONEY, to SHUT UP, also.

I don't see good of any of this...but, it does prove that both Repugs and Dems knew that we would be in the Middle East FOREVER!

[anakie]

39. re more Aussie troops

that will not happen. The Iraq war is finally getting on the nose here and Howard will not commit more troops (other than a token amount ie 70) in an election year.

Obama called him out correctly over this issue.

Peace

[KoKo]

43. A good Post & Thread with links in threads...Kick!

[Emit]

32. kick n/t

[Dems Will Win]

33. kick

[KoKo]

34. Kick....!

[WillyT]

37. K, But It Won't Let Me R !!!

:kick:

[KoKo]

45. Great Map and Links on here...interesting read whether one agrees or not..

kick