By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich
09/07/08 "ICH" -- -- On July 7th, U.S. navy announced that it would carry out exercises in the Persian Gulf. Commodore Peter Hudson claimed that these exercises were being carried out to protect "maritime infrastructure such as gas and oil installations". As the expression goes, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. If in the 1980s the United States managed to fool the world into believing that it was protecting the crude oil passage with its naval build up in the Persian Gulf, 20 or so years later it can use the same argument and no one will be the wiser for it. After all, most people think that "relying on foreign oil" is a sin and any act, even ensuring the flow of 'foreign oil' justifies provocative U.S. action.
But before we send our boys to protect our interests in someone else's back yard, lets examine what happened in the 80s that makes these brave men report for duty so readily, and confident in their success.
It has always been the U.S. position that it should be the only country allowed to dominate the region, notwithstanding Israel of course. When the war between Iran and Iraq broke out (1980-88), it gave Regan the perfect pretext to send the navy to 'protect the passage of oil'. Later however, a Congressional report found that during 1981-1987, the U.S. naval buildup had made shipping more dangerous[i]. The aggressive naval buildup in the Persian Gulf was to provoke Iran into war in order to secure alliances in the region. It was no accident that in 1987, the U.S. fired on a UAE fishing boat thinking it was Iranian[ii].
Furthermore, while the U.S. has often declared that the shooting down of a civilian Iranian airliner and the killing of all 290 passengers by the Vicennes was an accident, the commander of another U.S. ship in the Persian Gulf has said that while "the conduct of Iranian military forces in the month preceding the incident was pointedly non-threatening," the actions of the Vicennes "appeared to be consistently aggressive". The Vicennes inclination to kill ruthlessly earned it the nickname "Robo Cruiser"[iii]
At the cost of innocent lives, prompting the continuation of the Iran-Iraq war which many blame solely on Khomeini-- thanks to Washington, the U.S. reached its main objective. The tensions caused the Arab states to turn to the United States for security and protection in return for which, the U.S. built bases for expanding its empire and was paid for it. On a per capita basis, the Persian Gulf states are the biggest spenders of "protection money'. Bahrain pays a total of $53.4 million, Kuwait 252.9 million, Qatar 81.3, and United Arab Emirates $217.4 million[iv].
Mr. Bush is following in Reagan's footsteps. With Israeli military maneuvers threatening war and provoking Iran without any protest from the international community, Mr. Bush has ordered a naval buildup in the Persian Gulf for 'protecting' the safe flow of oil. No doubt, the U.S. navy will be hard at work provoking Iran and the tension caused will enable the U.S. to demand more 'protection money' from the Arab states; even though they have been amply armed by the biggest arm-dealer in the world – the United States. Should Iran fail to respond to America's provocations, no doubt a false flag operation will be substituted.
The navy is off to protect the $140 per barrel of oil which before the Iraq invasion was under $30/barrel. If history is any indication, the naval buildup, Israel's bellicose and expansionist policies, the Iraq war, and Mr. Bush's personal history of repeated failures, all implications are that America is headed for disaster, taking with it all those who 'are with us', and destroying all those 'who are with them'.
Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich is an Iranian-American studying at the University of Southern California. Her research focus is U.S. foreign policy and the influence of lobby groups. She is a peace activist, essayist, and public speaker.
NOTES
[i] War in the Persian Gulf: The U.S. Takes Sides, staff report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, 1987.
[ii] Ronald O'Rourke, "The Tanker War" (1988)
[iii]Stephen Shalom "The United States and the Iran-Iraq War: 1990"
[iv] Chalmers Johnson 'Commission on Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure, Report p.Mp'
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Farhad Abdolian Dublin, Ireland
e-mail: ny_farhad@yahoo.com
E-bay Account: SeemaResearch
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"Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it" Albert Einstein
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