occupation.’
‘You mean, just like the Iraqis are being allowed to?’ a correspondent from the Middle East asked sarcastically. The question was conveniently ignored. Nor did the American spokesperson mention that the Syrian withdrawal primarily served American and Israeli interests.
Call to Action
‘ THE CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED HUE AND CRY CAUSED BY THE Hariri assassination continued until sufficient pressure had been built up on Syria and her troops began withdrawing from Lebanon on 23 July 2005,’ Rao said as the series of news clips came to an end. ‘This automatically led to a major shift in the Middle East security situation, with the balance of power shifting firmly in favour of Israel and USA. Now America had troops and military bases in Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and of course Iraq. These countries, as well as Turkmenistan, are all members of NATO's “Partnership for Peace” program and have military cooperation agreements with NATO. In other words, by now Iran was virtually surrounded by US military bases.’
For a change, silence greeted the pause as Rao took a sip of water from the glass on the podium before he resumed.
‘A few weeks after the joint NATO-Israel military exercise, the NATO Secretary General arrived in Jerusalem for talks with the Israeli PM and the top brass of the Israeli Defence Forces.’
‘The Israel-NATO protocol that came into existence now obligates NATO to align itself with the US-Israeli plan to bomb Iran, as an act of self-defence . It also means that NATO is clearly and closely involved in the process of military consultations related to the planned bombing of Iran. In fact, just weeks after this, American Patriot missile crews stationed in Germany arrived in Israel to participate in the joint Juniper Cobra exercise with the Israeli military. This exercise specifically pertained to the deployment of Patriot missiles and was described by a US defence spokesperson as “routine and totally unconnected to events currently underway in the Middle East”. However, the fact is that Patriot missiles had seen extensive deployment and use during the first US invasion of Iraq.’
A few voices attempted to make themselves heard at this point but Rao cut them off. ‘The Juniper Cobra exercise had barely concluded when there were a rash of news leaks in the Israeli media confirming that the Prime Minster had given the initial authorization for an Israeli attack on Iran's uranium enrichment plant if diplomacy failed to stop Iran's nuclear program . Almost simultaneously, the US Secretary of Defence embarked on official visits to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. At this time a Russian news editor who had been watching events far more carefully than most wrote this in his column.’
The words highlighted in a news report appeared on the screen:
Recent American military and diplomatic moves are obviously an attempt to literally encircle Iran and find the best bridgehead for a possible military operation against that country.
‘This observation was not only astute, it was also a blatant warning the world should have heeded,’ Rao said gravely. ‘Unfortunately, these words of wisdom got submerged in the deluge of words unleashed by the American spin masters.’
‘The Iranians must be very worked up about all this.’
‘Of course they are… understandably so. In fact, as a direct counter to this encirclement by America and her allies, Iran has signed a military cooperation with Tajikistan, which occupies a strategic position bordering Afghanistan's northern frontier. Tajikistan is a member of the “Shanghai Five” military cooperation group, which also includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.’
‘The original Shanghai Five,’ this time the Army Chief took up the baton before anyone could ask the question, ‘had been formed in 1996 as a forum to resolve the long-outstanding Soviet–Chinese border disputes. However, under
‘You mean, just like the Iraqis are being allowed to?’ a correspondent from the Middle East asked sarcastically. The question was conveniently ignored. Nor did the American spokesperson mention that the Syrian withdrawal primarily served American and Israeli interests.
Call to Action
‘ THE CAREFULLY ORCHESTRATED HUE AND CRY CAUSED BY THE Hariri assassination continued until sufficient pressure had been built up on Syria and her troops began withdrawing from Lebanon on 23 July 2005,’ Rao said as the series of news clips came to an end. ‘This automatically led to a major shift in the Middle East security situation, with the balance of power shifting firmly in favour of Israel and USA. Now America had troops and military bases in Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and of course Iraq. These countries, as well as Turkmenistan, are all members of NATO's “Partnership for Peace” program and have military cooperation agreements with NATO. In other words, by now Iran was virtually surrounded by US military bases.’
For a change, silence greeted the pause as Rao took a sip of water from the glass on the podium before he resumed.
‘A few weeks after the joint NATO-Israel military exercise, the NATO Secretary General arrived in Jerusalem for talks with the Israeli PM and the top brass of the Israeli Defence Forces.’
‘The Israel-NATO protocol that came into existence now obligates NATO to align itself with the US-Israeli plan to bomb Iran, as an act of self-defence . It also means that NATO is clearly and closely involved in the process of military consultations related to the planned bombing of Iran. In fact, just weeks after this, American Patriot missile crews stationed in Germany arrived in Israel to participate in the joint Juniper Cobra exercise with the Israeli military. This exercise specifically pertained to the deployment of Patriot missiles and was described by a US defence spokesperson as “routine and totally unconnected to events currently underway in the Middle East”. However, the fact is that Patriot missiles had seen extensive deployment and use during the first US invasion of Iraq.’
A few voices attempted to make themselves heard at this point but Rao cut them off. ‘The Juniper Cobra exercise had barely concluded when there were a rash of news leaks in the Israeli media confirming that the Prime Minster had given the initial authorization for an Israeli attack on Iran's uranium enrichment plant if diplomacy failed to stop Iran's nuclear program . Almost simultaneously, the US Secretary of Defence embarked on official visits to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. At this time a Russian news editor who had been watching events far more carefully than most wrote this in his column.’
The words highlighted in a news report appeared on the screen:
Recent American military and diplomatic moves are obviously an attempt to literally encircle Iran and find the best bridgehead for a possible military operation against that country.
‘This observation was not only astute, it was also a blatant warning the world should have heeded,’ Rao said gravely. ‘Unfortunately, these words of wisdom got submerged in the deluge of words unleashed by the American spin masters.’
‘The Iranians must be very worked up about all this.’
‘Of course they are… understandably so. In fact, as a direct counter to this encirclement by America and her allies, Iran has signed a military cooperation with Tajikistan, which occupies a strategic position bordering Afghanistan's northern frontier. Tajikistan is a member of the “Shanghai Five” military cooperation group, which also includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.’
‘The original Shanghai Five,’ this time the Army Chief took up the baton before anyone could ask the question, ‘had been formed in 1996 as a forum to resolve the long-outstanding Soviet–Chinese border disputes. However, under
Similar Books
