Buildup in the Gulf

By Darren Weeks

The plot thickens.

WorldNetDaily reports that ABC News has come under fire for reporting on a covert operation that the Bush administration had purportedly approved.

As stated last night in this web space, just minutes after the report was broadcast on national radio, ABC described the covert operation as employing propaganda broadcasts and the manipulation of Iran's currency to "destabilize" that country and place pressure on its regime.

WorldNetDaily states that ABC has come under "heavy criticism for its exclusive report revealing a purported CIA covert operation designed to destabilize the government of Iran."

As we've speculated last night, military action against Iran could be imminent. The report by ABC News, along with WorldNetDaily's controlled-opposition response, has all of the makings of a psychological operation that is aimed at the Iranian government.

While we were told last night by ABC News that the administration has chosen to utilize pressures other than a military strike against Iran, and that such alternatives indicate that the administration has no immediate plans to attack Iran militarily, a Reuters report on Wednesday indicates that a military buildup in Iran has already began.

Mohammed Abbas writes,

The largest daytime assembly of U.S. warships in the Gulf since the 2003 Iraq war prepared on Wednesday to hold drills off Iran's coast in a major U.S. show of force that unnerved oil markets.

U.S. Navy officials said Iran was not notified of plans to sail nine ships, including two aircraft carriers, through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow channel in international waters off Iran's coast and a major artery for global oil shipments.

The maneuver raises pressure on the Islamic Republic, coinciding with a report by the U.N. atomic watchdog on Iran's nuclear program, which could lead to tougher sanctions.

Oil climbed towards $70 as the U.S. ships sailed into the straits, through which 40 percent of globally traded oil passes.

Rear Admiral Kevin Quinn, who is leading the group, said the ships would conduct exercises as part of a long-planned effort to reassure regional allies of U.S. commitment to Gulf security. ....

The maneuver comes less than two weeks after U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, speaking aboard the Stennis during a tour of the Gulf, said Washington would stand with others to prevent Iran gaining nuclear weapons and "dominating the region."

Considering that the Iranians are allied with the Russians who are their suppliers, a war with Iran would likely be at least an indirect war with Russia. At the same time, Russia signed a friendship treaty with China in 2001 which would facilitate both countries acting together in a war time situation where either was attacked.

What would be the consequences of war with both communist governments, especially since China is in the unique position of owning a large chunk of the U.S. government's debt?