Iran under the threat of war?

Is the US going to attack Iran? Regular readers know my answer is yes with one caveat. It might be Israel which actually begins the bombing and the US then joins the party.

The whole article is a must read IMHO because it pulls together many of the points I've made in past posts into one concise article.

Is the United States going to attack Iran? This question is being asked around the world. The big American military build-up in the Persian Gulf has gone on for some time, and there is every reason to believe that Washington is setting stage for a major offensive against Iran. In fact, the Bush administration has followed a carefully orchestrated strategy with a view to pave the way for a major conflict with Iran. The clearest signal comes from US Vice President Dick Cheney’s latest comments on February 23. At a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Cheney said that ‘all options’ are on the table if Iran continues to defy UN- led efforts to get Tehran to abandon its nuclear programmes. The news conference was held amidst tight security because thousands of protesters were voicing their anger at his visit. They called the main architect of invasion and occupation of Iraq a ‘war criminal’ and they called for the withdrawal of Australian soldiers from Iraq.

Cheney said that the United States remained ‘deeply concerned’ about Iran’s activities, including the ‘aggressive’ sponsoring of terrorist group of Hezbollah and ‘inflammatory statements’ by the by President Ahmadinejad: ‘We worked with European community and the United Nations to put together a set of policies to persuade the Iranians to give up their aspirations and to resolve the matter peacefully, and that is still our preference.’ ‘But I have also made the point, and the president has also made the point, that all options are on the table,’ said Cheney.

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UK doubles naval presence in Persian Gulf

Why isn't this getting more attention in the MSM?

Britain’s senior naval officer in the Persian Gulf has revealed that Royal Navy deployments in the region have doubled since October in a build-up that matches the rapid escalation of American maritime firepower.

Commodore Keith Winstanley, who serves as deputy commander of coalition maritime operations for US Central Command, has told The Daily Telegraph that British trade and strategic interests dictate the necessity of a high and sustained commitment to patrol the seas around the Middle East.

“If you look at the UK component we have almost doubled it,” he said in an interview aboard HMS Sutherland in Mina al-Salman port.

“Most of these ships are here on training missions but there is no doubt that we could use the warfighting capabilities they possess.”

And, is the poodle again doing Bush's bidding?

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Third carrier group headed for Persian Gulf

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald
Reagan REUTERS/Fred Greaves

File under this can't be good. As I posted earlier, the United States has not had two carriers in the Mideast since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. And now Bush is sending in a third? To subdue Baghdad? Or is this the last indicator anyone needs to realize he's getting ready to attack Iran?