Is Media Fueling the Fire of War with Iran?

I wrote a piece a few days ago for Radio Zamaneh's website regardingthis issue. During the last few weeks, I have tracked many TV NewsPieces which have all been focused on Iran. The content is shocking:the rhetoric of media in the United States is getting harsh, with atendency toward justification of a possible war with Iran. It isevident that they are portraying Iran as a big "boogy man" in theMiddle East.

The US officials claim that they have evidence which proves Iranianshave been involved in an insurgency in Iraq. You can see that MSNBC isshowing Iranian soldiers with their weapons, behind the title. But arethey even in Iraq? No! These are pieces from Iran's recent militaryexercises. Clearly this is painting a different picture in people'smind, i.e. that Iranians are carrying weapons to insurgents in Iraq. Isit true? Perhaps, but there is no evidence of this...Bob Gates,Secretary of Defense, claimed that Iranian top leaders have authorizedsending weapons to Iraq. But is there any evidence of this? Definitelynot...so, what does it mean?Bob Gates, Secretary of Defense claimed that Iranian top leaders authorized sending the weapons? Did they have any evidence? Definitely not...But, what did it mean? "

Media has been fed mis-information about Iran's involvement in Iraq and despite their insistence on the "credibility of facts", the imageswhich has been drawn about Iran are mixed with biases and inaccurate

By looking these pictures you can see the consequences of misguidedpropagada. How can former Iranian presidents who are well-known forharboring good relationship with the International Community beattached to Quds forces? There are many similar news pieces which carryone message for ordinary people: Stop Iran, a state which kills ourtroops! But, who is really killing the US troops? What is the impact of2008 election on being tough toward Iran?

Have you seen this documentary about Iran which was aired by BBC a few days ago? It has been circulated among many blog networks and other vitual communities alot.... watch this

Here is Charlie Rose's interview with Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Zarif. It is definitely worth watching: His opinions represent a powerful trend in Iran...He says that the Holocaust was genocide and it shouldn't happen again. He also says that there is not just one voice in Iran, as there is not one voice in Washington....During the last year many ranking offcials from Iran and people like former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, have stated that the Holocaust is a truth. President Ahmadinejad once called this tragic event a myth.

CNN-Amanpour

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New York Times Editorial: Bullying Iran

Feb 1-"....Mr. Bush’s bullying may play well to his ever shrinking base. But his disastrous war in Iraq has done so much damage to America’s credibility — and so strained its resources— that it no longer frightens America’s enemies. The only ones really frightened are Americans and America’s friends."

"Given America’s bitter experience in Iraq, one would think that President Bush could finally figure out that threats and brute force aren’t a substitute for a reasoned strategy. But Mr. Bush is at it again, this time trying to bully Iran into stopping its meddling inside Iraq.

We have no doubt about Iran’s malign intent, just as we have no doubt that Mr. Bush’s serial failures in Iraq have made it far easier for Tehran to sow chaos there and spread its influence in the wider region. But more threats and posturing are unlikely to get Iran to back down. If Mr. Bush isn’t careful, he could end up talking himself into another disastrous war, and if Congress is not clear in opposing him this time, he could drag the country along.

The drumbeat began during Mr. Bush’s recent speech on Iraq, when he vowed to “seek out and destroy” Iranian and Syrian networks he said were arming and training anti-American forces. Mr. Bush also announced that he was sending a second aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. Hours earlier, American troops raided an Iranian diplomatic office in Iraq. If anyone missed the point, aides let it be known that the president had authorized the military to kill or capture Iranian operatives in Iraq.

Iran certainly is helping arm and train Shiite militias. But the administration is certainly exaggerating the salutary effect of any cutoff as long as these militias enjoy the protection of Iraq’s prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. If Mr. Bush is genuinely worried — and he should be — he needs to be as forceful in demanding that Mr. Maliki cut ties to these groups and clear about the consequences if he refuses.

In what passes for grand strategy in this administration, the president’s aides say he is betting that bloodying Iranian forces in Iraq, and raising the threat of a wider confrontation, will weaken Tehran’s regional standing and force its leaders to rethink their nuclear ambitions. Never mind that Mr. Bush’s last big idea — that imposing democracy on Iraq would weaken Iran’s authoritarians — has had the opposite effect.

Mr. Bush seems to be grossly misreading Iran’s domestic politics and ignoring his own recent experience. In a rare moment of subtlety, the Treasury Department has quietly persuaded some banks and investors to rethink their dealings with Tehran. That has made some in Iran’s permanent religious elite — already worried about future oil production — express doubts about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s defiance of the Security Council.

As ever, the one tactic the administration is refusing to consider is diplomacy. Mr. Bush has resisted calls to convene a meeting of Iraq’s neighbors to discuss ways to contain the crisis. There is no guarantee that Mr. Ahmadinejad can be persuaded that Iraq’s further implosion is not in Iran’s interest. But others in Tehran may have clearer heads. And any hope of driving a wedge between Iran and Syria will have to start by giving Damascus hope that there is a way in from the cold.

Mr. Bush’s bullying may play well to his ever shrinking base. But his disastrous war in Iraq has done so much damage to America’s credibility — and so strained its resources— that it no longer frightens America’s enemies. The only ones really frightened are Americans and America’s friends."