'Iran sanctions, provocation for war'
Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:16AM
Interview with Jeff Gates, Author of Guilt by Association, California.
A famous American author says sanctions recently imposed against Iran's oil and Central Bank are a provocation aimed at finding a cause to launch a war against Tehran.
Press TV has interviewed Jeff Gates, author of Guilt by Association from California about the oil embargo against Iran that Ron Paul US presidential candidate terms an act of war and it possible effect on world oil prices. What follows is an approximate transcript of the interview.
Press TV: When Catherine Ashton (EU Foreign Affairs) says that Europe is pursuing a twin-track approach on Iran at the same time that it's speaking of diplomacy and talks, it's imposing sanctions on Iran and this as Mr. Marandi was saying that according to Iran it is a direct act of war against Iran - it could be interpreted as such; and Russia has recently just said that the option of sanctions is counter-productive. Would you agree with that?
Gates: It's important to remember that the IAEA has no intelligence gathering capacity independent of the governments providing intelligence.
The 800 pound gorilla or elephant in the room that no one's talking about is the impact of the Israelis and the sort of pro-Zionist Christian Americans inside the political campaigns of both the Democrats and the Republicans in the US.
We found that Mitt Romney for example is following the same playbook as Hilary Clinton, suggesting that as soon as he is elected he will move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in effect declaring that the capital of Israel. Newt Gingrich has proposed the same thing.
So you're finding that even Barak Obama who some consider to be somewhat to the left of these other two is having to run much further to the right. Meanwhile, you've got Israelis killing Iranian scientists.
If you reframe this in terms of game theory warfare, this is not about Iran's nuclear program; this is about provoking a response, provoking a reaction and then provoking a reaction to that reaction. So in that context the nuclear weapons and the nuclear program is not really the issue.
The issue is whether we - those inside our governments both here in the US and in the EU - can succeed in provoking a reaction from Iran that will give cause to go to war. And course now with sanctions being billed as a cause to go to war then that's a provocation on our side.
So I think if you put it in that broader dynamic I think the question is - how does this play out? And from here it looks very disturbing.
Press TV: What do you think would be the impact on the European economy - what will be the impact of these sanctions?
Gates: When you restrict the supply of oil, that will drive up the prices, which makes a fragile situation even more fragile. And that of course from a game theory framing makes it more likely that EU politicians will side with those who want to ratchet up some pressure on Iran.
In an odd way this is sort of good news; I think I disagree with those that blame the US in seeking a Western hegemony. Our Joint Chiefs of Staff warned Harry Truman in 1948 that we should not recognize these fanatics (Israeli government) - that's their term, not mine - as a legitimate nation state in the Middle East because they sought hegemony and would use our military to advance their goals and that's played out precisely as indicated.
The good news is we've now got clear evidence of Israelis posing as CIA operatives in Pakistan to catalyze attacks by a Sunni radical group to commit attacks on Iran and on Pakistan not only to undermine our relationship with Pakistan, but also with Iran and make the US look guilty by association.
So, the good news is our intelligence operatives are realizing that we've been badly deceived going more than six decades now. And even our politicians who are having to rely on the Israeli lobby for their money and their support are beginning to realize they themselves are going to be in some jeopardy if they don't wake up to what's going on.
Both Romney and Newt Gingrich now are going out to Florida, which is heavily populated by this like-minded group in Florida as in South Carolina - Christian Zionists in the north of Florida and Jewish Zionists in the south of Florida - so they're running to the right - everybody is running to say we've got to do something about Iran, including Obama, who Thursday before going to South Carolina went to New York to raise tens of millions of dollars from this same network.
You have to keep an eye on American politics to understand how this works and how you can leverage the impact of a very small group to a very large effect.
Press TV: What is the US preparing itself for when it comes to Iran, the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, the sanctions, the embargoes, etc?
Gates: I think it is difficult attributing the motivation of a nation state such as France, the UK or the US. What you find is that you have individuals who are running for office. And Obama's trying to avoid a war I think while fending off attacks for being soft on Iran and who is making him appear soft on Iran? The Israel lobby.
The Israel lobby has no hesitation to involve itself in political campaigns in the US. They've been very active now for six decades. The good news is we've now got senior military and senior intelligence people realizing that Israel is no longer a strategic asset and indeed they've been operating against our interests for quit a long time. So I think this is actually quite good news.
Assassinations are not… the person who is killed is not the target. The assassination is a provocation. Sanctions are not the target… Iran is really not the target. The target is really a provocation to see if you can induce another war.
SC/MYA
