See also:
– Iran Is Not Our Enemy (Video)
– U.S. troops quietly surge into Middle East (San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 13, 2012):
Washington — The Pentagon has quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.
Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.
Officials said the deployments are not meant to suggest a buildup to war, but rather are intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.
The Pentagon has stationed nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait, adding to a small contingent already there. The new units include two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit – a substantial increase in combat power after nearly a decade in which Kuwait chiefly served as a staging area for supplies and personnel heading to Iraq.
The Pentagon also has decided to keep two aircraft carriers and their strike groups in the region.
Earlier this week, the American carrier Carl Vinson joined the carrier Stennis in the Arabian Sea, giving commanders major naval and air assets in case Iran carries out its recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint in the Persian Gulf, where one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments passes.
Flashback:
– George Galloway: The Case Against War With Iran (Must-Listen!!!):
‘Iran Hasn’t Invaded Another Country In More Than 300 Years.’
More on Iran:
– The Real Target … US Wants To ‘Close Down The Central Bank Of Iran’: Senior U.S. Official
– Iran, Russia Replace US Dollar With National Currencies In Trade Exchanges
– Iran Nuclear Scientist’s Death Followed Israeli Warning Of ‘Unnatural’ Events – Iran Blames Mossad And The CIA
– Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: Iran Not Building Nuclear Bombs Yet
– US Analysts: Iran’s Nuclear Fuel Rod Isn’t Military Threat (Bloomberg, Jan. 4, 2012)
– Thousands Of US Troops To Be Deployed In Israel, Joined By US Aircraft Carrier
– Obama And Netanayu Push For Attack On Iran (Video)
– American Investigative Journalist: CIA, Mossad Made Up Fairytale Terrorist Group Al-Qaeda
– Royal Navy Sends Its Mightiest Warship To Take On Iran
– Ron Paul: Sanctions Against Iran Are an ‘Act of War’:
Unwilling to back down from the growing criticism that his foreign policy would be “dangerous,” Ron Paul told voters in Iowa that western sanctions against Iran are “acts of war” that are likely to lead to an actual war.
Paul said that Iran would be justified in responding to sanctions by blocking the Straits of Hormuz, adding that the country blocking the strategically important strait is “so logical” since they have no other recourse.
He then compared the situation to China blocking off the Gulf of Mexico to trade.
– Interview With James Morris From ‘America-Hijacked.com’: Israel Pushing US Towards War With Iran
– ‘US Deploys Troops In Israel For Iran War’
– Rachel Maddow: Ron Paul Is The Only Presidential Candidate That Doesn’t Want To Start Another War!
Effectively, the measures will force companies and financial institutions throughout the world to choose between the United States and Iran as their business partner.
– Rick Santorum Wants To Bomb Iran’s Nuclear Facilities (= WW III) (NBC Video)
– CFR’s Foreign Affairs: ‘Time To Attack Iran’ (= WW III)
– Adrian Salbuchi: Imperial Overdrive: Red Alert Over Iran
– China To Protect Iran Even If It Means World War III
Flashback:
– Heads Of Mossad And Shin Bet May Have Leaked Plans For Attack On Iran, PM Netanyahu Orders An Investigation (Guardian, Nov. 3, 2011):
… the main suspects are the former heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet, respectively Israel’s foreign and domestic intelligence agencies.Netanyahu is said to believe that the two, Meir Dagan and Yuval Diskin, wanted to torpedo plans being drawn up by him and Ehud Barak, the defence minister, to hit Iranian nuclear sites.
In January the recently retired Dagan, a hawk when he was running the Mossad, called an attack on Iran “the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard“.
“The stupidest idea I’ve ever heard“ = WW III: