10-27-07, 9:54 am
Berlin, Oct 26 (Prensa Latina) An official close to US Vice President Richard Cheney leaked plans for an attack on Iran which have been made public Friday by the German news outlet Der Spiegel.
In the scenario concocted by Cheney's strategists, Washington's first step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and nuclear facilities in Iran.
Democrats and Republicans alike have wondered what to make of the still mysterious Israeli bombing run in Syria on Sept. 6. Was it part of an existing war plan? A test run, perhaps? For days after the attack, one question dominated conversation at Washington receptions: How great is the risk of war, really?, says Der Spiegel.
The Israeli strike, or something like it, could easily mark the beginning of the 'World War III,' which President Bush warned against last week. With his usual apocalyptic rhetoric, he said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could lead the region to a new world war if his nation builds a nuclear bomb.
The war in Iraq continues to drag on without an end in sight or even an opportunity for US troops to withdraw in a way that doesn't smack of retreat. In Afghanistan, NATO troops are struggling to prevent a return of the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists. The Palestinian conflict could still reignite on any front, comments the publication.
President Bush has 15 months left in office, but he thinks of his legacy, while strategists at the Pentagon, apparently at Cheney's request, have developed detailed plans for an attack against Tehran.
Despite America's many failures in Iraq, Washington hawks have urged the weakened president to act now, accusing him of having lost sight of his principal agenda and no longer daring to apply his own doctrine of pre-emptive strikes.
The notion of war with Iran has spilled over into other circles, says Der Spiegel asking if this is not sheer lunacy. Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton haved adopted a hawkish stance, referring to the possibility of an attack on Iran.
Because the catastrophic consequences of an attack on Iran are obvious, many in Washington have a fairly benign take on the current round of saber rattling and encourage hesitant members of the United Nations Security Council to take more decisive action, as it believes war is the only alternative, concludes Der Spiegel.
