Debunking The Anti-Ron Paul Messages

1. Bob Livingston

December 26, 2011

The Republican establishment has becomeapoplectic over Congressman Ron Paul’sgrowing strength in Iowa.

Last week, Iowa Governor Terry Branstadattempted to delegitimize his own State’s votewhen he said that if Paul wins the IowaCaucus, it won’t matter. Of course, if NewtGingrich or Mitt Romney wins, he won’t saythat. In fact, according to Branstad, a second-or third-place finish by Gingrich or Romneywill be more important than a Paul win.

“People are going to look at who comes insecond and who comes in third. If Romneycomes in a strong second, it definitely helpshim going into New Hampshire and otherstates,” Branstad reportedly said. WhatBranstad did not say was that he’s been offered a potential Vice President spot on a Romneyticket.

Branstad and his elite bedfellows are trying to draw you into an alternate universe. Never mindthat two out of the past three winners of the Iowa Caucus have gone on to win the Republicannomination, a Paul win will mean the Iowa vote is irrelevant.

According to a new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of likely Republican caucus-goers, Paul has moved into first place – the fifth candidate to hold that spot since the mid-AugustIowa GOP Straw Poll. This is the second recent poll showing a Paul lead.

In the ISU poll, Paul is the first choice for 27.5 percent of the registered Republicans andregistered independents contacted. That’s up from 20.4 percent in November. Gingrich is thesecond choice with 25.3 percent, and Romney was third at 17.5 percent.

For months, the Republican elites and corporate media have treated Paul like that cranky olduncle that continues to show up at family gatherings. They’ve tried ignoring him and they’vetried dismissing him. They’ve been running a continuous communication loop that says, “RonPaul can’t win.” Yet, here he is, on the cusp of an Iowa victory and showing remarkable strengthin New Hampshire.

A common refrain from Republicans is: “I like most of what Ron Paul says, but I can’t vote for

him because of his ‘isolationist’ foreign policy.” When they say that, what are they saying?

After all, many Republicans say they can easily vote for Gingrich even though they don’t agreeon some of his positions: i.e. infidelity, national database of gun owners, support for the recentlypassed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that permits the indefinite detention ofAmericans upon the President’s order, support of cap-and-trade, support of individual mandatesto purchase healthcare, support of TARP and bailouts, etc. And many Republicans say they canvote for Romney, the author – essentially — of Obamacare (through his Romneycare), who hasflipped and flopped on core Republican issues like a fish in the bottom of a boat. And they saythey can vote for Michele Bachmann, who voted for the USA Patriot Act and the NDAA.

They are saying, simply, that they have been so terrorized by their government and themainstream media they are willing to surrender all their freedom and wealth to the militaryindustrial complex and big government so people in a foreign land can be bombed intosubmission and subjugation. Years of government propaganda and years of war have cemented intheir minds the need for perpetual war.

For my conservative friends who don’t like Paul because of his noninterventionist — becausethat’s what his policy is, and he describes what that means here — foreign policy, consider howlong we have been at war in the Mideast.

America and the CIA have been meddling in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries for decades.Read The Secret History of The American Empire, by John Perkins. In 1990, after an Americanambassador hinted to Saddam Hussein that the United States would not stand in his way were heto take over territory that was in dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, President George H.W. Bushand the United Nations formed a coalition to bloody his nose. We have been in a shooting war inthe region ever since.

After 21 years of war in the region, are things any better? Apparently not, because the war hasexpanded from Iraq into Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya, and it is about to expand into Syriaand Iran. And American troops are in Central Africa in an “advisory” role. Yet Americans thirstfor more war and the top Republican candidates, according to the elites, are advocating more.

“But,” Republicans say, “Iran is about to get The Bomb. We can’t let Iran get The Bomb!” Andhow do we know that Iran is about to get The Bomb? From those same people who told us —inaccurately, it turns out — that Iraq was about to acquire nuclear weapons.

Iran, which is OPEC’s second largest oil producer, can’t even refine enough gasoline for its ownpeople. It has no reliable missile system. And we are to believe it’s technologically capable ofproducing a nuclear weapon?

“But what about Israel?” Republicans then ask. Israel has a couple hundred, at least, nuclearweapons sitting at the ready and is perfectly capable of defending herself.

Consider that there is much more at work here than meets the eye. To understand what is reallygoing on, you must peel back the layers of conventional wisdom, like peeling an onion. There arenefarious maneuverings of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) at work. Few are able toescape their normalcy bias to see this.

The plan for the takeover of the vast oil reserves and riches of the region have been in the worksfor a long time. NGOs have worked behind the scenes and in secret to shape the policy. But theBrookings Institute became so confident the policy had reached the point of no return that itreleased its blueprint in 2009.

This is why Presidential candidates are vetted by the Council on Foreign Relations and theBilderberg group before receiving approval to run. They must sign on to the New World Order toreceive the proper backing and financial support. And it’s why the knives will be out in full forcein the coming weeks to destroy Paul and his candidacy. (Previously debunked claims of racismsurfaced again last week.)

Another question to ask yourself: If a potentially nuclear-armed Iran is such a danger to us, whatabout an actually nuclear-armed North Korea? Why are we the elites not cowering in fear thatNorth Korea could launch a missile at any second? After all, North Korea actually has a missilethat can reach our friends and fellow democracies in South Korea and Japan — and can probablyreach portions of the U.S. West Coast.

What about a nuclear-armed Pakistan, which likes us less and less with each drone strike andviolation of their territorial integrity?

What about Russia and China, who will be very offended if the United States leads an assault onIran and Syria? Russia has already stationed warships near Syria, and China is unhappy withPresident Barack Obama’s military buildup in Australia and is responding by beefing up itsmilitary in the Indian Ocean. And you think this militarism is making the United States safer?

Finally, my conservative friends, one last question for you to consider: If Paul’s foreign policy is“crazy,” as many of you say, why have members of the military given more to his campaign thanto anyone else’s? Could it be they have seen the dark core that lies beneath?

And before the “Ron Paul can’t beat Obama. We must elect someone who can defeat Obama,”chorus chimes in, a new CNN/ORC International Poll shows Paul faring the same againstObama in a head-to-head matchup as the “more electable” Romney. Gingrich fares far worse.

The Secret History of The American Empire:The Truth About Economic Hit Men, Jackals,and How to Change the World

by John PerkinsOctober 9, 2009

The Republican establishment has become apoplectic over Congressman Ron Paul’sgrowing strength in Iowa.

Last week, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad attempted to delegitimize his own State’s vote whenhe said that if Paul wins the Iowa Caucus, it won’t matter. Of course, if Newt Gingrich or MittRomney wins, he won’t say that. In fact, according to Branstad, a second- or third-place finish byGingrich or Romney will be more important than a Paul win.

“People are going to look at who comes in second and who comes in third. If Romney comes in astrong second, it definitely helps him going into New Hampshire and other states,” Branstadreportedly said. What Branstad did not say was that he’s been offered a potential Vice Presidentspot on a Romney ticket.

Branstad and his elite bedfellows are trying to draw you into an alternate universe. Never mindthat two out of the past three winners of the Iowa Caucus have gone on to win the Republicannomination, a Paul win will mean the Iowa vote is irrelevant.

According to a new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of likely Republican caucus-goers, Paul has moved into first place – the fifth candidate to hold that spot since the mid-AugustIowa GOP Straw Poll. This is the second recent poll showing a Paul lead.

In the ISU poll, Paul is the first choice for 27.5 percent of the registered Republicans andregistered independents contacted. That’s up from 20.4 percent in November. Gingrich is thesecond choice with 25.3 percent, and Romney was third at 17.5 percent.

For months, the Republican elites and corporate media have treated Paul like that cranky olduncle that continues to show up at family gatherings. They’ve tried ignoring him and they’vetried dismissing him. They’ve been running a continuous communication loop that says, “RonPaul can’t win.” Yet, here he is, on the cusp of an Iowa victory and showing remarkable strengthin New Hampshire.

A common refrain from Republicans is: “I like most of what Ron Paul says, but I can’t vote forhim because of his ‘isolationist’ foreign policy.” When they say that, what are they saying?

After all, many Republicans say they can easily vote for Gingrich even though they don’t agreeon some of his positions: i.e. infidelity, national database of gun owners, support for the recentlypassed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that permits the indefinite detention ofAmericans upon the President’s order, support of cap-and-trade, support of individual mandates

to purchase healthcare, support of TARP and bailouts, etc. And many Republicans say they canvote for Romney, the author – essentially — of Obamacare (through his Romneycare), who hasflipped and flopped on core Republican issues like a fish in the bottom of a boat. And they saythey can vote for Michele Bachmann, who voted for the USA Patriot Act and the NDAA.

They are saying, simply, that they have been so terrorized by their government and themainstream media they are willing to surrender all their freedom and wealth to the militaryindustrial complex and big government so people in a foreign land can be bombed intosubmission and subjugation. Years of government propaganda and years of war have cemented intheir minds the need for perpetual war.

For my conservative friends who don’t like Paul because of his noninterventionist — becausethat’s what his policy is, and he describes what that means here — foreign policy, consider howlong we have been at war in the Mideast.

America and the CIA have been meddling in the affairs of Middle Eastern countries for decades.Read The Secret History of The American Empire, by John Perkins. In 1990, after an Americanambassador hinted to Saddam Hussein that the United States would not stand in his way were heto take over territory that was in dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, President George H.W. Bushand the United Nations formed a coalition to bloody his nose. We have been in a shooting war inthe region ever since.

After 21 years of war in the region, are things any better? Apparently not, because the war hasexpanded from Iraq into Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya, and it is about to expand into Syriaand Iran. And American troops are in Central Africa in an “advisory” role. Yet Americans thirstfor more war and the top Republican candidates, according to the elites, are advocating more.

“But,” Republicans say, “Iran is about to get The Bomb. We can’t let Iran get The Bomb!” Andhow do we know that Iran is about to get The Bomb? From those same people who told us —inaccurately, it turns out — that Iraq was about to acquire nuclear weapons.

Iran, which is OPEC’s second largest oil producer, can’t even refine enough gasoline for its ownpeople. It has no reliable missile system. And we are to believe it’s technologically capable ofproducing a nuclear weapon?

“But what about Israel?” Republicans then ask. Israel has a couple hundred, at least, nuclearweapons sitting at the ready and is perfectly capable of defending herself.

Consider that there is much more at work here than meets the eye. To understand what is reallygoing on, you must peel back the layers of conventional wisdom, like peeling an onion. There arenefarious maneuverings of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) at work. Few are able toescape their normalcy bias to see this.

The plan for the takeover of the vast oil reserves and riches of the region have been in the worksfor a long time. NGOs have worked behind the scenes and in secret to shape the policy. But theBrookings Institute became so confident the policy had reached the point of no return that itreleased its blueprint in 2009.

This is why Presidential candidates are vetted by the Council on Foreign Relations and theBilderberg group before receiving approval to run. They must sign on to the New World Order toreceive the proper backing and financial support. And it’s why the knives will be out in full forcein the coming weeks to destroy Paul and his candidacy. (Previously debunked claims of racismsurfaced again last week.)

Another question to ask yourself: If a potentially nuclear-armed Iran is such a danger to us, whatabout an actually nuclear-armed North Korea? Why are we the elites not cowering in fear thatNorth Korea could launch a missile at any second? After all, North Korea actually has a missilethat can reach our friends and fellow democracies in South Korea and Japan — and can probablyreach portions of the U.S. West Coast.

What about a nuclear-armed Pakistan, which likes us less and less with each drone strike andviolation of their territorial integrity?

What about Russia and China, who will be very offended if the United States leads an assault onIran and Syria? Russia has already stationed warships near Syria, and China is unhappy withPresident Barack Obama’s military buildup in Australia and is responding by beefing up itsmilitary in the Indian Ocean. And you think this militarism is making the United States safer?

Finally, my conservative friends, one last question for you to consider: If Paul’s foreign policy is“crazy,” as many of you say, why have members of the military given more to his campaign thanto anyone else’s? Could it be they have seen the dark core that lies beneath?

And before the “Ron Paul can’t beat Obama. We must elect someone who can defeat Obama,”chorus chimes in, a new CNN/ORC International Poll shows Paul faring the same againstObama in a head-to-head matchup as the “more electable” Romney. Gingrich fares far worse.

Brookings' "Which Path to Persia?" The war has already begun, total war is a possibility.by Tony Cartalucci

While the corporate owned media has the plebeians arguing over whether or not Iran should havenuclear weapons or if it intends to commit genocide against the Jews (the

1. largest population of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel actually resides in Iran), thedebate is already over, and the war has already quietly begun. Before it began, however, someonemeticulously meted out the details of how it would unfold. That "someone" is the mega-corporatebacked Brookings Institute.

Background

"Which Path to Persia?" was written in 2009 by the Brookings Institute as a blueprint forconfronting Iran. Within the opening pages of the report, acknowledgments are given to theSmith Richardson Foundation, upon which Zbigniew Brzezinski sits as an acting governor.

The Smith Richardson Foundation funds a bizarre myriad of globalist pet projects includingstudies on geoengineering, nation building, meddling in the Caucasus region, and even studies,as of 2009, to develop methods to support "indigenous democratic political movements andtransitions" in Poland, Egypt, Cuba, Nepal, Haiti, Vietnam, Cambodia, Zimbabwe, and Burma.Also acknowledged by the report is the Crown Family Foundation out of Chicago.

The Brookings Institute itself is a creation of the notorious globalist funding arms including theCarnegie Corporation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation, all who recently hadbeen involved in the fake "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy. Today, Brookings boasts a fullcomplement of support and funding from America's biggest corporations. Upon the BrookingsInstitute's board of trustees one will find a collection of corporate leaders from Goldman Sachs,the Carlyle Group, the insurance industry, Pepsi (CFR), Alcoa (CFR), and various CFR affiliatedconsulting firms like McKinsey & Company.

Full details can be found within the pages of their 2010 annual report here.

To say Brookings is of big-business, by big-business and for big-business is a seriousunderstatement. This is crucial to keep in mind as we examine their designs toward Iran andconsider the terrible cost every single option they are considering has towards everyone but,unsurprisingly, their own bottom-lines.

Motivations Should be Obvious

We must look into the minds of those that shape US foreign policy and sweep aside thedistracting rhetoric they feed us. US foreign policy is shaped by organizations like the BrookingsInstitute which consist of members of the largest corporations and banks on earth. Thesecorporations are not only disinterested in security, but thrive on the war and conflict insecuritybreeds. (See "War is a Racket" and Eisenhower's Warning.)

Iran not only possesses massive oil reserves and an economic, political, and militarily strategiclocation in relation to Russia and China, it also boasts a population of 76 million. This is a largepopulation that if left sovereign and independent can viably compete against the West'sdegenerate casino economy, or if invaded and corrupted, can become 76 million moreconsumerist human cattle.

The sheer scale of the military options considered by Brookings' strategy would be a boom alonefor the defense contractors that sponsor it, whether the operation was a success or not. Theincentive to domineer over Iran is quite obvious and only made more attractive from a corporateAmerican point of view when considering all the risks of such domineering are completely"socialized," from the dead troops, to the broke tax payers. No matter how insane the followingreport may sound, keep in mind, "they have nothing to lose."

The globalists run think-tanks all over the world like Brookings where their policy wonksgenerate an immense amount of strategic doctrine. This doctrine then converges to form ageneral consensus. Knowing the details of this doctrine beforehand can give us clues as to whatto look for on the geopolitical chessboard as their gambits play out.

Green revolutions, resigning admirals, bizarre troop build-ups in Afghanistan and Iraq, terroristattacks within Iran, and high profile assassinations all make sense if you are aware of theplaybook they are working from. The hyped and very fake "war on terror" being ratcheted upon the home-front is also a telling and alarming sign, perhaps the most alarming of all.

Page 1: Bottom Line

With frank honesty, the report opens by declaring Iran a confounding nation that underminesAmerica's interests and influence in the Middle East. Not once is it mentioned that the IslamicRepublic poses any direct threat to the security of the United States itself. In fact, Iran isdescribed as a nation intentionally avoiding provocations that would justify military operations tobe conducted against it.

Iran's motivations are listed as being ideological, nationalistic, and security driven - veryunderstandable considering the nations to its east and west are currently occupied by invadingarmies. This is the crux of the issue, where it's America's interests in the region, not security, thatmotivate it to meddle in Iran's sovereignty, and is a theme that repeats itself throughout the 156page report.

Page 11: The Nuclear Non-Threat

The report concedes that Iran's leadership may be aggressive, but not reckless. The possession ofnuclear weapons would be used as an absolute last resort, considering American and even Israelinuclear deterrence capabilities. Even weapons ending up in the hands of non-state actors isconsidered highly unlikely by the report.

Similar reports out of RAND note that Iran has had chemical weapons in its inventory fordecades, and other reports from RAND describe the strict control elite military units exerciseover these weapons, making it unlikely they would end up in the hands of "terrorists." The factthat Iran's extensive chemical weapon stockpile has yet to be disseminated into the hands of non-state actors, along with the fact that these same elite units would in turn handle any Iraniannuclear weapons, lends further evidence to this conclusion.

Brookings notes on page 24, that the real threat is not the deployment of these weapons, butrather the deterrence they present, allowing Iran to counter US influence in the region without thefear of an American invasion. In other words, the playing field would become level and Americamay be forced to recognize Iran's national sovereignty in regards to its own regional interests.

Page 23: Persuasion

The first option on the table is a means to coerce the Iranian government, without regime change,through crippling sanctions verses incentives. The incentives, in turn, seem more a relief fromAmerican imposed torment than anything of actual substance.

One incentive in particular is very telling. Brookings suggests "security guarantees" from anAmerican invasion to address the very real concerns that would motivate Iran to constructnuclear weapons in the first place. Brookings notes that concrete action would would be neededby the US in order to fulfill this incentive, including drawing down US forces in the Middle East,a concession Brookings itself admits is highly unlikely over the next several decades.

Brookings interjects at this point, a brazen admission that under no circumstance should the USgrant Iran a position of dominance nor should there be any ambiguity about what the US sees asIran's role in the region. It is most likely postures like this that have driven Iran to such extremesto protect itself, its interests, and its very sovereignty.

This option of "persuasion" appears to have already played out and failed, both in drawingconcessions from Iran through meaningless offers and at marshaling the international supportneeded to make additional sanctions effective.

Page 65: Total War

Indeed a conventional war with Iran is currently impossible. The globalists at the BrookingsInstitute acknowledge that. What is worrying is that they believe it would not be impossible ifonly America was presented with the "proper" provocations. Brookings' experts go on to say thatWashington could take "certain actions" to ensure such provocations took place.

Furthermore, Brookings states that Iran has already gone through extreme measures specificallynot to react to American provocations, raising the specter that provocations may take the shape ofa staged event instead, should full-scale invasion be sought.

This is where the tireless efforts of 9/11 Truth have paid off and now stand between theAmerican people and a costly, unprecedented war. They have at the very least made the term"false flag" mainstream, raising the stakes exponentially for anyone attempting to stage provocations.

Page 103: Supporting a Color Revolution

Hailed as the "most obvious and palatable method" of bringing about the Iranian government's

demise, Brookings suggests fostering a popular revolution. It brazenly admits the role of the"civil society organizations" in accomplishing this and suggests massive increases in funding forsubversive activities in Iran.

Of course the United States has already passed the Iran Freedom Support Act, directly fundingIranian opposition groups inside of Iran with the explicit objective of overthrowing the currentgovernment. The passage of the act was followed by the 2009 "green revolution," which Iraniansecurity forces were able to put down.

Currently, the "green revolution" in Iran is gearing up again. The US State Department andcorporate sponsored Movements.org has been following and supporting the US-backed Iranianuprisings since the beginning. Iranian-American Cameran Ashraf, described as a senior fellowat Movements.org, participated in the 2009 event. Movements.org featured on their front pagerecently, information on the upcoming "green" revolution set to feed off the US backedoverthrow of the Mubarak regime in Egypt.

Indeed this option is currently being pursued. Brookings specifically mentions threatening Iranwith instability as a means to leverage concessions from the government. It goes on to explicitlycall for the promotion of unrest within Iran's borders, and when coupled with the cripplingsanctions Iran is already under, constitutes an overt act of war as pointed out numerous times byCongressman Ron Paul.

Brookings also suggests the use of military force in conjunction with their staged colorrevolutions, recognizing Iran's well developed internal security apparatus. This was not done in2009, but should be considered and looked out for each time the "green" revolutionaries comeout into the streets.

Page 113: Supporting Real Terrorism

Despite the shameless bravado displayed throughout the entire report, no section is as shockingas the one titled "Inspiring an Insurgency." Brookings is outright advocating the funding,training, and triggering of a a full-blown armed insurgency. The report specifically mentionsAhvazi Arab separatists, which would later be the subject of Seymour Hersh's "Preparing theBattlefield" where he exposes the option as already being set in motion within Iran.

Kurds in the north, and Baluch rebels near Pakistan in the east are also mentioned as potentialreceipients of US aid in conducting their campaigns of armed terror against the Iranian people.The CIA is selected to handle supplies and training, while Brookings suggests that options formore direct military support also be considered.

In their subsection, "Finding a Proxy," Brookings describes how the use of ethnic tensions couldfuel unrest. It laments the fact that many ethnic minorities still hold nationalism as a priorityalong with their fellow Persians. And despite being on America's official terrorist list for havingpreviously killed US military men, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) are given ample considerationwithin Brookings' report.

In their subsection, "Finding a Conduit and Safe Haven," Brookings describes various methodsof harboring their stable of US funded terrorists within the nations currently occupied by UStroops and how to ferry them in and out of Iran between operations.

Page 145: Bringing it all Together

Brookings suggests that no single option is meant to stand alone. It suggests that options bepursued concurrently. Apparently Brookings' advice has been taken to heart as we have seen inthe news, from Seymour Hersh's reports of covert US-backed terrorists, to the overtly staged"green" revolutions, to the sabotage and assassinations plaguing Iran's nuclear program.

While it is quite obvious that many of Brookings' policies are being carried out verbatim, what ismost alarming is what's suggested next should these combined ploys fail.

From the report itself, page 150:

"A policy determined to overthrow the government of Iran might very well include plans for afull-scale invasion as a contingency for extreme circumstances. Certainly, if various forms ofcovert and overt support simply failed to produce the desired effect, a president determined toproduce regime change in Iran might consider an invasion as the only other way to achieve thatend.

Moreover, the United States would have to expect Iran to fight back against American regimechange operations, as it has in the past. Although the Iranians typically have been careful to avoidcrossing American red lines, they certainly could miscalculate, and it is entirely possible thattheir retaliation for U.S. regime change activities would appear to Americans as having crossedjust such a threshold.

For example, if Iran retaliated with a major terrorist attack that killed large numbers of people ora terrorist attack involving WMDs—especially on U.S. soil—Washington might decide that aninvasion was the only way to deal with such a dangerous Iranian regime.

Indeed, for this same reason, efforts to promote regime change in Iran might be intended by theU.S. government as deliberate provocations to try to goad the Iranians into an excessive responsethat might then justify an American invasion."

Considering Operation Northwoods, the falsified Gulf of Tonkin event, the myriad of lies thatbrought us into war with Iraq and Afghanistan, not the least of which was 9/11 itself, it is truly afrightening specter to think about what might come next.

We already see the absurd security apparatus being put into place across America and thevarious declarations by European leaders that "multiculturalism" has failed, setting the stagefor a "clash of civilizations." There is also an uptick in rhetoric by American leaders warning ofan impending terrorist attack. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that the US might attempt

to provide their own "provocation" for war in the Iranians' stead.

Final Thoughts

It is quite obvious Brookings' suggestions and their execution are detrimental to all involved,from our brave but gravely misled troops, to the tax payers fleeced by underwriting the war, tothe decimated Iranian people. Boycotting the very corporations sponsoring this policyundermines their self-serving objectives regardless of the means by which they try to accomplishthem. Their very ability to fund studies like this, let alone carry them out is a direct result of ourdaily patronizing of their mega-corporations. Raising awareness that corporate interests, notsecurity concerns, are the prime motivations for conflict with Iran is also essential in convincingcitizens of both countries to step back from the brink.

In this world today, events seem astronomically bigger than any one of us. We feel there is nocertainty we can succeed against such odds. What is essential to understand though, is that whileacting does not guarantee success, not acting most certainly guarantees defeat. Follow the braveexample of 9/11 Truth and other activists in the growing alternative media - fight against themanufactured consensus by adding yourself to a consensus on truth.

Which Path to Persia?: Redux

The war has already begun, total war is a possibility.

by Tony Cartalucci

Bangkok, Thailand May 18, 2011 - While the "easier" nations of Tunisia and Egypt were pickedapart by

1. foreign-funded color revolutions, the global corporate-financier oligarchs knew well inadvance nations like Libya, Syria, and Iran would be fundamentally different. Nations includingBelarus, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Thailand, come next, posing similar hurdles, and of courseRussia and China remain at the end of the road and will require the most vigorous of allcampaigns to effect regime change and assimilate them into the Wall Street/London corporate-financier dominated "international community."

For all intents and purposes this is the final battle between nation-states and this abhorrent,illegitimate "international community." The battle is building up to what many geopoliticalanalysts call World War III, but with an insidious twist. It is a battle where festering imperialnetworks operating under the guise of "civil society" and "NGOs" are turning populations againsttheir governments and serving as impetus to usher in stooge replacements. National institutionswill be supplanted by this global "civil society" network, which in turn will interface withcontrived international institutions like the parasitic IMF, the World Bank, and the increasinglyfarcical United Nations.

The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt were meant to serve as the moral and rhetorical backdropfor successive and increasingly more violent and costly campaigns against Libya, Syria, and Iran.

In Libya's case, nearly 30 years of on-and-off armed insurrection, fully backed by the US,UK, and America's Arabic foreign legion of Al Qaeda have defined the campaign againstQaddafi. When the call was made on February 17, for a "Day of Rage" by Libyan leaders exiledin London, war was already a foregone, fully provisioned conclusion. So too are operationsagainst Syria and Iran. These are admitted facts articulated clearly within the global elite's ownthink-tanks and parroted verbatim by the feckless puppets that constitute the governments of the West.Laying to rest any doubt regarding the global elite's designs toward the remaining sovereignnation-states of the world, is the Brookings Institution's "Which Path to Persia?" report.Previously covered, the report has more meaning now than ever, defining verbatim theapproach, the tactics and the outcomes expected in this next, decidedly more violent phase ofgeopolitical reordering worldwide. We can see the stratagems and methodology defined withinthis report have played out not only in Iran, but in Libya and Syria as well, with preparations andposturing being made in regards to targets further along China's "String of Pearls" and alongRussia's vast borders.

As we reexamine thistreacherous plot, funded by some of thelargest corporations and bankinginterests on earth, we can see theplaybook the global elite have beenclearly using, starting in Iran, andcreeping its way toward Moscow andBeijing. Understanding this report,disseminating it to both the people beneaththe governments criminally pursuing it andthose desperately defending against it, maybalk what is perhaps the greatestattempted geopolitical reordering inhuman history.Which Path to Persia?

Virtually a handbook foroverthrowing nations, the 156 pagereport focuses on effecting regime changewithin Iran. However, it is quite clear itdraws on a body of knowledge derived fromthe Anglo- American empire's longhistory of fomenting unrest, division,insurgencies, coups, and regime change around the world. It is irrefutable proof that the globalelite, not our legislators, are the arbiters of Western foreign policy.

1. Which Path to Persia? .pdf....

It is also irrefutable proof that indeed the global elite are capable and willing to foment popularstreet protests, use murderous terrorism against sovereign nation-states, buy off treasonouslegions within a foreign military to effect coups, and use violence of their own creation as apretext to intervene with full military force.

Sanctions

Sanctions, page 39 (page 52 of PDF): "For those who favor regime change or a military attack onIran (either by the United States or Israel), there is a strong argument to be made for trying thisoption first. inciting regime change in Iran would be greatly assisted by convincing the Iranianpeople that their government is so ideologically blinkered that it refuses to do what is best for thepeople and instead clings to a policy that could only bring ruin on the country. The ideal scenarioin this case would be that the United States and the international community present a package ofpositive inducements so enticing that the Iranian citizenry would support the deal, only to havethe regime reject it.

In a similar vein, any military operation against Iran will likely be very unpopular around theworld and require the proper international context—both to ensure the logistical support theoperation would require and to minimize the blowback from it. The best way to minimizeinternational opprobrium and maximize support (however, grudging or covert) is to strike onlywhen there is a widespread conviction that the Iranians were given but then rejected a superboffer—one so good that only a regime determined to acquire nuclear weapons and acquire themfor the wrong reasons would turn it down. Under those circumstances, the United States (orIsrael) could portray its operations as taken in sorrow, not anger, and at least some in theinternational community would conclude that the Iranians “brought it on themselves” by refusing

a very good deal."

Regime change and perhaps even military operations against Iran are talked about as a foregoneconclusion, with Brookings using the pretext of sanctions as merely a means of incrementalescalation to tip-toe the world into backing regime change, including war with the nation if needbe. This is exactly what has been done in regards to Libya, with disingenuous humanitarianconcerns translated into a no-fly zone, which incrementally transitioned into attacks onQaddafi's ground forces, targeted assassinations against Qaddafi himself, and now talk ofdestroying civilian infrastructure and a full-out ground invasion.

A repeat scenario is playing out in Syria where foreign-fueled violence is being used as ameans to engage in broader intervention. While Western governments feigns inaction andhesitation in the face of a bloodbath they themselves instigated, in reality they are creating thesame sense of "bringing it upon themselves" for Syria as Brookings talks about in regards to Iran.

Invasion

Justifying Invasion, page 65 (page 78 of the PDF): "If the United States were to decide that togarner greater international support, galvanize U.S. domestic support, and/or provide a legaljustification for an invasion, it would be best to wait for an Iranian provocation, then the timeframe for an invasion might stretch out indefinitely. With only one real exception, since the 1978revolution, the Islamic Republic has never willingly provoked an American military response,although it certainly has taken actions that could have done so if Washington had been lookingfor a fight.

Thus it is not impossible that Tehran might take some action that would justify an Americaninvasion and it is certainly the case that if Washington sought such a provocation, it could takeactions that might make it more likely that Tehran would do so (although being too obviousabout this could nullify the provocation). However, since it would be up to Iran to make theprovocative move, which Iran has been wary of doing most times in the past, the United Stateswould never know for sure when it would get the requisite Iranian provocation. In fact, it mightnever come at all."

This is nothing less than US policy makers openly talking about purposefully provoking a nationin order to justify a full-scale invasion that would otherwise be untenable. If such treachery at thecost of thousands of American lives and perhaps millions of Iranian lives is openly talked aboutwithin the halls of these corporate-funded think-tanks, what do they talk about that isn't onrecord? For those who reject out-of-hand the notion that 9/11 was an inside job, on grounds thatWestern policy makers are not capable of such a horrific calculus, the evidence is here, starringback from pages of this Brookings Institution report for all to see and to come to grips with.

In Libya, provocations for NATO bombardment were a rash of entirely unverified reportscoming from the rebels themselves and verified lies about aircraft strafing unarmed protesters.With the targeted assassination of Qaddafi resulting in the death of his son and three of hisgrandchildren, NATO appears to have taken "actions that might make it more likely" for Qaddafi

to be provoked into justifying some sort of wider NATO ground invasion. If the litany of lies thatset the groundwork for the current NATO campaign is any indication, even if Qaddafi doesnothing, a provocation will be manufactured for him. With the operations against Syria still intheir opening phases, we can be sure as military options are brought to the table, so willappropriate provocations, induced or manufactured.

United Front Against Iran

An Iranian Sponsored 9/11 & a change of leadership throughout the Middle East, page 66 (page79 of the PDF): "Most European, Asian, and Middle Eastern publics are dead set against anyAmerican military action against Iran derived from the current differences between Iran and theinternational community—let alone Iran and the United States. Other than a Tehran-sponsored9/11, it is hard to imagine what would change their minds. For many democracies and somefragile autocracies to which Washington would be looking for support, this public antipathy islikely to prove decisive. For instance, Saudi Arabia is positively apoplectic about the Iranians’nuclear program, as well as about their mischief making in Lebanon, Iraq, and the Palestinianterritories. Yet, so far, Riyadh has made clear that it will not support military operations of anykind against Iran. Certainly that could change, but it is hard to imagine what it would take.

Given that this situation has not been enough to push the GCC to support military operationsagainst Iran, what would? Certainly Iran testing a nuclear device might, but at that point, italmost certainly would be too late: if the United States is going to invade Iran, it will want to doso before Iran has developed actual nuclear weapons, not after. It is hard to know what else Irancould do that would change GCC attitudes about the use of force unless new leaders took powerin the Gulf who were far more determined to stop Iran than the current leadership is."

Quite obviously, "new leaders" are taking power throughout the Gulf now via the US-created"Arab Spring," with Saudi Arabia being tacitly threatened with destabilization in Bahrain andYemen, while Iran's axis of influence through Syria and into Lebanon is being destabilized.Egypt and Northern Africa are being thrown into precarious political chaos as well, with globalistpuppets poised to take over and eagerly pursue any dictate coming from Washington. Thisconfirms the worst fears of geopolitical analysts like Dr. Webster Tarpley who predicted as farback as mid-February 2011 that the US-created "Arab Spring" was an attempt at reorderingthe Middle East against Iran and eventually against China and Russia.

Manufacturing Provocations

Goading Provocations for an Air Strike, page 84-85 (page 97-98 of the PDF): "...it would be farmore preferable if the United States could cite an Iranian provocation as justification for theairstrikes before launching them. Clearly, the more outrageous, the more deadly, and the moreunprovoked the Iranian action, the better off the United States would be. Of course, it would bevery difficult for the United States to goad Iran into such a provocation without the rest of theworld recognizing this game, which would then undermine it. (One method that would havesome possibility of success would be to ratchet up covert regime change efforts in the hope thatTehran would retaliate overtly, or even semi-overtly, which could then be portrayed as an

unprovoked act of Iranian aggression.)

This suggests that this option might benefit from being held in abeyance until such time as theIranians made an appropriately provocative move, as they do from time to time. In that case, itwould be less a determined policy to employ airstrikes and instead more of an opportunistic hopethat Iran would provide the United States with the kind of provocation that would justifyairstrikes. However, that would mean that the use of airstrikes could not be the primary U.S.policy toward Iran (even if it were Washington’s fervent preference), but merely an ancillarycontingency to another option that would be the primary policy unless and until Iran provided thenecessary pretext."

Here we see again, the plotting of a deceitful gambit to goad a sovereign nation into war, a nationBrookings notes time and time again has no interest in armed conflict with the United States.Also notice the first mention of "covert regime change efforts" used as a means to applysufficient pressure to exact a particular reaction used for further political escalation andsubsequent military intervention.

Such a gambit has been recently used in Libya and now in Syria where foreign-support createdviolence, to which regimes were forced to react to - the subsequent violence then serving as animpetus for expanded US intervention. Brookings notes that such goading must be done in such away so as to not raise suspicions of the "game" throughout the world. Hopefully, as people readthis written and signed confession of criminal conspiracy, they will never fall for this "game" again.

Foreign-Funded Color Revolution

Finding and Building up Dupes for a Color Revolution, page 105 (page 118 of the PDF): "TheUnited States could play multiple roles in facilitating a revolution. By funding and helpingorganize domestic rivals of the regime, the United States could create an alternative leadership toseize power. As Raymond Tanter of the Iran Policy Committee argues, students and other groups“need covert backing for their demonstrations. They need fax machines. They need internetaccess, funds to duplicate materials, and funds to keep vigilantes from beating them up.”

Beyond this, U.S.-backed media outlets could highlight regime short comings and makeotherwise obscure critics more prominent. The United States already supports Persian-languagesatellite television (Voice of America Persian) and radio (Radio Farda) that bring unfiltered newsto Iranians (in recent years, these have taken the lion’s share of overt U.S. funding for promotingdemocracy in Iran). U.S. economic pressure (and perhaps military pressure as well) can discreditthe regime, making the population hungry for a rival leadership."

Here Brookings makes outright calls to create the conditions within Iran, or any target nation forthat matter, that are more likely to create unrest. They then call for funding and organizing thatunrest and using domestic, and quite obviously foreign media to manipulate public perceptionand perpetuate US-backed propaganda. We see this in nearly every country targeted fordestabilization, generally funded by organizations like the National Endowment for Democracy(NED), so-called "independent media" organizations and human rights NGOs that "make

otherwise obscure critics more prominent."

The NED-funded Project on Middle East Democracy is one such propaganda outlet operatingthroughout the Middle East, propagating the official US narrative in regards to unrest fomentedfrom Egypt to Syria. Voice of America is openly mentioned by Brookings within this report,while examples in Eastern Europe include Radio Free Europe, a subsidary with VOA under theBroadcasting Board of Governors upon which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sits as amember. Also note worthy is Southeast Asia's NED-funded Prachatai of Thailand.

Together this nefarious global network feeds the mainstream, corporate-owned media theirtalking points which are then repeated verbatim or cited outright as reputable sources. It shouldbe remembered though, that within the 156 pages of the "Which Path to Persia?" report it isexplicitly and often stated that these gambits are to protect and expand US interests throughoutthe region while diminishing Iran's ability to challenge said interests in any shape, form, ormanner - not promote democracy, protect freedom, or even protect America from a genuinesecurity threat.

Using Military Force to Assist Popular Revolutions, page 109-110 (page 122-123 of the PDF):"Consequently, if the United States ever succeeds in sparking a revolt against the clerical regime,Washington may have to consider whether to provide it with some form of military support toprevent Tehran from crushing it." "This requirement means that a popular revolution in Iran doesnot seem to fit the model of the “velvet revolutions” that occurred elsewhere. The point is thatthe Iranian regime may not be willing to go gently into that good night; instead, and unlike somany Eastern European regimes, it may choose to fight to the death. In those circumstances, ifthere is not external military assistance to the revolutionaries, they might not just fail but bemassacred.

Consequently, if the United States is to pursue this policy, Washington must take this possibilityinto consideration. It adds some very important requirements to the list: either the policy mustinclude ways to weaken the Iranian military or weaken the willingness of the regime’s leaders tocall on the military, or else the United States must be ready to intervene to defeat it."

Quite clearly, after previously conspiring to implement foreign-funded unrest, the predictablecrackdown by Iranian security forces to restore order "requires" some form of deterrent ormilitary support to be employed to prevent the movement from being crushed. We see that thisexact scenario has played out verbatim in Libya, where "protesters" were in fact armed rebelsfrom the very beginning, the recipients of decades of US and UK support, and shortly after theirrebellion began, NATO forces were brought in via a clumsy series of staged pretenses to preventthe armed uprising from being crushed by Qaddafi's forces.

A lead-up to the exact same scenario is playing out in Syria, where US and UK puppet politiciansare menacing the Syrian government with threats of military intervention under the "LibyanPrecedence." We see in reality, this "precedence" had been clearly articulated in this 2009 report,and is based on a familiar "problem, reaction, solution" methodology used by imperialiststhroughout human history.

In both Libya, Syria, and Yemen, and in other immovable targeted nations like Thailand, armedmilitants are brought in by opposition groups to augment street protests. Often these armedelements are brought in without the knowledge of the protesters themselves, and in some cases,especially in Syria and Yemen, it appears armed groups of "mystery gunmen" are clashingwith both security forces and protesters in order to escalate violence and unrest further. Shouldthe escalating violence fail to tip the balance in the protesters' favor, the violence itself willbecome the pretext for the next level of more overt US intervention.

US Sponsored Terrorism & Armed Insurrection

Arming, Funding, & Using Terrorist Organizations, page 113 (page 126 of the PDF): "TheUnited States could work with groups like the Iraq-based National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI) and its military wing, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), helping the thousands of itsmembers who, under Saddam Husayn’s regime, were armed and had conducted guerrilla andterrorist operations against the clerical regime. Although the NCRI is supposedly disarmed today,that could quickly be changed."

"Potential Ethnic Proxies," page 117-118 (page 130-131 of the PDF): "Perhaps the mostprominent (and certainly the most controversial) opposition group that has attracted attention as apotential U.S. proxy is the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran), the politicalmovement established by the MEK (Mujahedin-e Khalq). Critics believe the group to beundemocratic and unpopular, and indeed anti-American.

In contrast, the group’s champions contend that the movement’s long-standing opposition to theIranian regime and record of successful attacks on and intelligence-gathering operations againstthe regime make it worthy of U.S. support. They also argue that the group is no longer anti-American and question the merit of earlier accusations. Raymond Tanter, one of the group’ssupporters in the United States, contends that the MEK and the NCRI are allies for regimechange in Tehran and also act as a useful proxy for gathering intelligence. The MEK’s greatestintelligence coup was the provision of intelligence in 2002 that led to the discovery of a secretsite in Iran for enriching uranium.

Despite its defenders’ claims, the MEK remains on the U.S. government list of foreign terroristorganizations. In the 1970s, the group killed three U.S. officers and three civilian contractors inIran. During the 1979-1980 hostage crisis, the group praised the decision to take Americahostages and Elaine Sciolino reported that while group leaders publicly condemned the 9/11attacks, within the group celebrations were widespread.

Undeniably, the group has conducted terrorist attacks—often excused by the MEK’s advocatesbecause they are directed against the Iranian government. For example, in 1981, the groupbombed the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party, which was then the clerical leadership’smain political organization, killing an estimated 70 senior officials. More recently, the group hasclaimed credit for over a dozen mortar attacks, assassinations, and other assaults on Iraniancivilian and military targets between 1998 and 2001. At the very least, to work more closely withthe group (at least in an overt manner), Washington would need to remove it from the list of

foreign terrorist organizations."

Certainly if the United States went through with arming and funding MEK (and they apparentlydid), they themselves would become "state sponsors of terrorism" - even as they fight amidst adecade long war against supposedly just that. MEK is unequivocally a terrorist organization thatmurders and maims civilians indiscriminately along with their political opponents. MEK is evenon-record having targeted and murdered Americans. Yet for some reason, they are considered apotential proxy, and considerations for their removal from the apparently meaningless "foreignterrorist organizations" list, is based solely on their utility toward advancing US foreign policy.

With this we are given full insight into the unfathomable depths of depravity from which theglobal elite operate from. It turns out that the degenerates behind "Which Path to Persia?"including Kenneth Pollack, Daniel Byman, Martin Indyk, Susanne Maloney, Michael O'Hanlon,and Bruce Riedel, most of whom are regular contributors to the US's largest newspapers, wouldsee their plans brought to life. According to Seymour Hersh's New Yorker article "Preparingthe Battlefield," MEK had already been receiving weapons and funding as of 2008 for thepurposes described within the Brookings report that would come out a year later.

It would seem even as "Which Path to Persia?" was being compiled many of the options on thetable had already gone operational. Baluchi rebels residing in eastern Iran and western Pakistanwere also mentioned in both the Brookings report and Hersh's article. US support for this groupis quite ambitious. In addition to using them in terrorist operations against Tehran, they are alsobeing built up and directed toward destabilizing and Balkanizing Pakistan.

Fomenting a Military Coup

Staging a Coup, page 123-124 (page 136-137 of the PDF): "Mounting a coup is hard work,especially in a state as paranoid about foreign influence and meddling as Iran is. The UnitedStates would first have to make contact with members of Iran’s military (and likely its securityservices as well). This by itself is very difficult. Because of Iranian hypersensitivity toAmericans, the United States would likely have to rely on “cutouts”—third party nationalsworking on behalf of the United States—which invariably introduces considerable complexity.Then the United States would have to use those contacts to try to identify Iranian militarypersonnel who were both willing and able to stage a coup, which would be more difficult still; itwould be hard enough for Americans to make contact with Iranian military officers, let alonemake contact with those specific individuals willing to risk their lives and their families in a coupattempt.

Of course, it is possible that if Washington makes very clear that it is trying to support a coup inIran, the coup plotters will reach out to the United States. But this is very rare: history shows thatcoup plotters willing to expose themselves to another national government are usually discoveredand killed; furthermore, most of those coming to the United States to ask for help overthrowingthis or that government tend to be poseurs or even counterintelligence agents of the targetedgovernment."

If readers are wondering whether or not there is a historical precedence of the United States"mounting a coup," the Brookings report itself provides Operation Ajax as notable example:

"Although many coups are homegrown, one obvious historic model of a foreign-assisted coup inIran is Operation Ajax, the 1953 coup d’état that overthrew the government of Prime MinisterMohammed Mossadeq and reinstated the rule of Shah Reza Pahlavi. To carry out the coup, theCIA and British intelligence supported General Fazlollah Zahedi, providing him and hisfollowers with money and propaganda, as well as helping organize their activities."

The uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt were apparently assisted by members of the military, withsimilar defections being sought out in Libya and Syria to help along the collapse of the embattledregimes. Nations of Western interest might want to take time to reevaluate military officers whohave had historically close ties to the United States or who have reason or possible motivationsfor turning on their nation during a spate of foreign-engineered upheaval.

It should be noted that the Brookings report suggests that all of these options - popularrevolution, insurgency, and coup - be used concurrently in the hopes that at least one maysucceed. It also suggests that "helpful synergies" might be created among them to further mire thetargeted regime. (page 150, page 163 of the PDF.)

Conclusion

It is inconceivable that one could read the pages of "Which Path to Persia?" and not understandthe current "international community" as anything less than absolutely illegitimate. They contrivea myriad of laws with which to restrain and eliminate their competition with while they remainentirely uninhibited themselves in their own overt criminality. We also understand that theUnited States is not engaged in diplomatic relations with the world's nations as envisioned byAmerica's Founding Fathers, but rather engaged in extorting and coercing the world to conformto it's "interests."

This report represents a full array of options not only for use in Iran, but throughout the world. Inhindsight of the US-funded "Arab Spring" it is quite obvious that the methodology laid out in thereport has been drawn on to destabilize and depose regimes as well as instigate wars ofaggression. Upon studying this report, its implications for Iran and the surrounding region, wecan understand better conflicts yet to unfold beyond North Africa and the Gulf. It is essential thatreports like this are made public, their methodology exposed, and the true architects behindWestern foreign policy revealed. As the report itself states numerous times, the vast majority oftheir gambits require secrecy, "plausible deniability," and that their dark deeds be done "withoutthe rest of the world recognizing this game."

The world must realize who the true brokers of power are, and that by understanding theiragenda, we can wholly reject it and pursue instead one of our own, locally, self-sufficiently,independently, and in true freedom.

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