Geopolitics

Anti-Iran Propaganda Intensifies

By Ryan McGreal
Published February 12, 2007

Does anybody else feel like they're trapped in a nightmare, watching disaster unfold slowly but unable to do anything about it?

Regular readers will know that I've been worrying about a possible American-led or -sponsored attack against Iran for some time, and attack plans are already well-advanced and an attack this year is definitely in the cards.

I can't help but notice that the US government has just cranked up the propaganda machine yet again.

The latest charge against Iran is that it is supplying Iraqi insurgents with "explosively formed penetrators" - or, satisfying the desire of legions of armchair warriors to sound knowledgeable, "EFPs" - to use against American soldiers.

In a highly-publicized PowerPoint presentation, the US government showed slides of weapons they claim are coming from Iran.

Before you click through to the presentation, I have to warn you: what you are about to see is disturbing. The Pentagon has a budget of what, half a trillion dollars, and they come up with a slideshow that looks like a Grade 10 introduction to computers assignment? I don't get it.

Anyway, savvy bloggers are already poking holes in the presentation, which mostly shows pictures of damaged vehicles and scraps of exploded munitions, positing connections to Iran without any actual evidence.

In one particularly eggregious example, a close-up picture of an explosive mortar seized by Iraqi police is labelled in, um, Western letters and numbers, not Farsi-Arabic.

'Iranian' missile labelled in wesern letters?
"Iranian" missile labelled in wesern letters?

Ironically, even as the US mainstream media fall over dead for US government propaganda yet again, Iran is actually trying to prevent insurgents from crossing into Iraq.

Twice as ironically, it is at least as likely that the real flow of war crimes will be from Iraq into Iran, in continuation of the covert aggression the US military is already waging.

So what should the US be doing instead? Well, it could try leaving Iran alone for once and let it sort out its own affairs. Alternately, the US could try talking to Iran instead of merely issuing increasingly bellicose threats and making impossible demands.

Ryan McGreal, the editor of Raise the Hammer, lives in Hamilton with his family and works as a programmer, writer and consultant. Ryan volunteers with Hamilton Light Rail, a citizen group dedicated to bringing light rail transit to Hamilton. Ryan wrote a city affairs column in Hamilton Magazine, and several of his articles have been published in the Hamilton Spectator. His articles have also been published in The Walrus, HuffPost and Behind the Numbers. He maintains a personal website, has been known to share passing thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, and posts the occasional cat photo on Instagram.

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By David (anonymous) | Posted April 02, 2007 at 04:58:57

Your first sentence,Ryan, is exactly what I've felt too. And the more you study the consequences to the USA from this potential invasion, the more you conclude that the USA must be acting in desparation to go in there. I believe it is due to Iran's lead against the dollar, and setting up oil currencies which the world wants, but could be a catastrophic trend for the USA. I believe their hegemony to force the world to accept something only good for the USA is ending, and this will be a last ditch attempt to get it back, despite all the collateral damage to much of the world, and an end to any world respect the USA still has remaining. US is clearly in a lose-lose situation.

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