War Winds Target Iran

War Winds Target Iran - by Stephen Lendman

Anti-Iranian rhetoric and saber rattling is one thing, baseless accusations another if serve as pretext for aggressive war.

Whether or not it’s coming isn’t known. Heated tensions are worrisome if boil over. Leaked information on an imminent IAEA report may or may not precipitate it even though what’s coming lacks credibility.

During his tenure as IAEA director general (December 1, 1997 - November 30, 2009), Mohamed ElBaradei carefully avoided anti-Iranian rhetoric and baseless charges. Numerous times he discounted a potential threat with comments like:

People should stop claiming "Iran will be a threat from tomorrow and that we are faced right now with the issue of whether Iran should be bombed or allowed to have the bomb. We are not at all in that situation. Iran is a glaring example of how, in many cases, the use of force exacerbates the problem rather than (solves) it."

Referring to "extreme people (with) extreme views," he once said "you do not want to give additional argument to some of the ’new crazies’ who want to say let us go and bomb Iran."

He said "Israel would be utterly crazy to attack Iran." The same holds for America, Britain, and/or France. Doing so would "turn the region into a ball of fire and put Iran on a crash course for nuclear weapons with the support of the whole Muslim world."

He believes nonproliferation "lost its legitimacy in the eyes of Arab public opinion because of the perceived double standard" on Israel, a known nuclear power.

He called claims about Iran developing nuclear weapons "overestimated. Some even play it up intentionally."

During and after his tenure, ElBaradei took lots of flack for his comments. Repeatedly he said no evidence suggests an Iranian nuclear weapons program.

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