The old saying “There are two sides to every story” may have been true throughout the ages, however in this day and age there are more than two sides. You have the government take, what you see, and the truth. They are rarely one and the same. The most blatant and deceitful lie nowadays is being told about Iran. Last month, I heard General Pervez Musharraf tell Wolf Blitzer that Iran is “cooperating” with Pakistan in their operations against al Qaeda and the Taliban. During the same week I heard Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Malaki that Iraq and Iran have “good” relations and that Iran is helping in the fight against al Qaeda.
On that same note Hamid Karzai and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President met on August 15th , with Karzai describing Iran and Afghanistan as "two brother nations with common interests, cultures and histories", he told reporters: "The present condition of the region demands more exchange and negotiations between Tehran and Kabul. In this trip economic cooperation, especially over Iran's participation in Afghan development plans, will be discussed."
President Bush, with an excellent record of telling the truth to the American People, told us however, that Iran is supporting the Taliban and al Qaeda. Look folks, my elevator may not go all the way to the top on some things, but somebody is definitely “misstating” the facts. Either Iran is helping to fight al Qaeda or its helping and arming them according to the White House.
In this case you have three different leaders of three different nations, telling the world that Iran is a “solution” in fighting al Qaeda, a Sunni organization that calls for the eventual destruction of all Shiite Muslims. On this note, it seems just a little odd that al Qaeda and Shia Iran would lock lips with each other while the leaders of all three nations that are currently fighting insurgencies led by al Qaeda are telling the world that Iran is helping in the war on terrorism.
Why would Afghanistan’s Karzai lie to the world about Iran helping them when the Taliban and al Qaeda and the Taliban are shooting at his troops and NATO and US Forces? That would be a stupid thing for him to claim if it weren’t the truth.
The Guardian, in a story about the Karzai-Ahmadinejad meeting said this of Iran:
“Iran gave Washington informal help in overthrowing the Taliban government following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Months later, Mr. Bush killed any prospect of a thaw in relations by labeling Iran as part of the "axis of evil", along with Iraq and North Korea.”
Now we have Bush shouting fighting words about Iran in Australia and Iraq that the they are behind al Qaeda’s so-called resurgence in the world. If you can take that at face value, than I have a nifty little bridge back in Brooklyn that I can sell you.
Despite US suspicions, Iran, which has one of the world's highest drug-addiction rates, argues it has legitimate interests in combating the influx of heroin and opiates from the Afghan poppy fields. There are also at least 2 million Afghan refugees in Iran. The issue has caused recent tensions after Tehran forcibly sent around 100,000 back to Afghanistan, arguing that they were illegal migrants and a huge drain on the Iranian economy according to the Guardian.
Are we really going to let Congress get away without countering this Administrations wild and convoluted lies about Iran in this seemingly run-off for another war? Little has been said about Iran’s participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a body created by Russia and China to address regional security, foster economic integration, and counter US influence in central Asia. Nations that have partnerships with the nuclear nations of Russia and China wouldn’t seem to be an “easy” target. Nations in coalitions tend to support each other, militarily as well as economically.
Congress needs to pass a joint resolution to stop Bush and Cheney from starting a war with Iran. This isn’t just something that would be a good thing, I see it as a critical step that Congress must take in order to make sure the entire Middle East and maybe the world doesn’t suffer the consequences of a much wider and deadlier war.
Presidents must realize that the power to wage war is the responsibility of Congress, not the executive branch. If a nuclear strike were launched against us, that is one of the few times that a President can retaliate; an invasion or starting of hostilities would be other exceptions. This President will take any and all measures to convince the American people that Iran is funding and supporting the terrorists that are fighting us in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush has lied so many times that his credibility level is about at the same level as whale-s**t, and that’s at the very bottom.
That’s the way I see it.
Labels: Afghanistan, Bush lies, Iran, Iraq