US/Israeli Iran Policy Remains UnchangedStephen Lendman Theyre cooperating on a new computer worm. They want one more destructive than Stuxnet. In 2010, it infected Irans Bushehr nuclear facility. Operations were halted. Israel was blamed. So was Washington. Had the facility gone online infected, Irans entire electrical power grid could have been shut down. Experts say Flame malware is 20 times more harmful than Stuxnet. Perhaps Israeli and Saudi dark forces want something even more destructive. Fars News quoted an unnamed informed source, saying: Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and director of Israels Mossad intelligence agency Tamir Bardo sent their representatives to a meeting in Vienna on November 24 to increase the two sides cooperation in intelligence and sabotage operations against Irans nuclear program. One of the proposals raised in the meeting was the production of a malware worse than the Stuxnet (a comprehensive US-Israeli program designed to disrupt Irans nuclear technology) to spy on and destroy the software structure of Irans nuclear program. Washingtons approach represents new wine in old bottles. Longstanding objectives remain unchanged. Former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping once said (i)t doesnt matter if a cat is black or white so long as it catches mice. America wants Iranian governance it controls. How its achieved is optional. War is currently unpopular. US-style diplomacy substitutes. It includes more than meets the eye. Its more duplicitous than sincere. How long current tactics continue remains to be seen. Bottom line objectives havent changed. If current strategy fails, expect Plan B. Itll be more confrontational. Ill include stiffer sanctions. Expect hawks to urge war. Attack plans were readied years ago. They can be implemented straightaway if ordered. False flag deception may precipitate it. Duplicity is longstanding US tradition. Trustworthiness isnt its long suit. Deals it offers arent worth the paper theyre written on. Anti-Iranian sentiment is decades old. Geneva reflected marked overt change from past policy. It did so tactically. Plans may shift going forward. Dont expect smooth sailing. Obama is no peacemaker. Hes waged multiple direct and proxy wars. Hes done so since day one in office. Syria is his war. He wants Assad toppled. Planned January peace talks change nothing. Conflict persists. Dozens die daily. On Thursday, insurgents attacked Russias Damascus embassy. A statement followed, saying: Today, the area where the embassy is located has undergone yet another intense mortar fire. One mine exploded on the territory of the diplomatic mission. There are no injuries on the site of the explosion. Another mine exploded near the fence outside the embassy. US support makes these type incidents possible. The State Department issued a disingenuous statement, saying: We condemn any attack against individuals or facilities protected by international law. The United States continues to emphasize that those responsible for atrocities on all sides must be held accountable. One side alone bears full responsibility. Its done so for over two and half years. Washingtons dirty hands facilitate things. High-level US manipulation controls whats ongoing. Americas imperial policy remains firm. It wants Syrian and Iranian regime change. It wants governments in place it controls. Waging multiple regional direct and proxy wars shows how far US policy goes to achieve strategic aims. Iranian officials know what challenges they face going forward. They know Washington and Israel cant be trusted. Negotiating with America in Geneva wasnt easy. Nor were reported secret talks preceding them. Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif excludes Israel from future negotiations. He does so for good reason. We will not attend a meeting in which the occupying regime participates, he said. His remark responded to possible future Israeli involvement. It negotiates like Washington. Its up to no good. It demands. Its all take and no give. Decades of failed Palestinian peace talks reflect its duplicity. It deplores conflict resolution. So does Washington. Violence, instability and deception serve their agenda. Longstanding policy calls for toppling Irans government. TheJewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA)advocate(s) on behalf of a strong US military, a robust national security policy and a strong US security relationship with Israel and other like-minded democracies. It supports the worst of US and Israeli crimes. Its militantly anti-Iranian. In October, it issued a report titled The 2013 JINSA Generals and Admirals Trip to Israel and Jordan. Pentagon officials involved recently retired. Theyre not household names. Theyre all high-ranking. They met with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. IDF chief of staff General Benny Gantz was involved. So were various other senior Israeli military and intelligence officials. JINSAs report covered lots of ground. One section dealt with Iran. It largely focused on its nuclear program. It called Geneva an ugly deal. It referred to enrichment as one element. It wants strict limits imposed. It wants operational centrifuges restricted to between 1,000 and 3,000. Iran wants thousands more for nuclear power generation. It wants an adequate supply of medical isotopes produced. It wants rights no different from other states operating nuclear facilities. It has every right to demand them. Israel falsely calls an Iranian nuclear weapons capability (an) existential threatand cannot be allowed. Containment is not a viable option. Israeli consensus is that attacking Iran at most will delay its (nonexistent) weapons program three to five years. Plans going forward require stiffer sanctions, diplomatic engagement, covert operations, regime change, and a credible military option, it said. Irans nuclear program is peaceful. Annual US intelligence assessments say so. IAEA inspectors concur. Israeli officials know it. So do visiting retired US generals and admirals. They falsely blamed Iran for a regional arms buildup. America is by far the worlds leading merchant of death and destruction. Tens of billions of dollars annually are involved. Its big business. The Commerce and State Departments actively promote arms sales. In October, the Obama administration relaxed exporting rules. Doing so bypassed longstanding federal export controls. According to the State Department, new rules strengthen the US defense and aerospace industrial base. They let Washington focus (its) export control resources on the most sensitive items. Independent groups explain otherwise. Arms and munitions exports serve Washingtons imperial agenda. They fatten warprofiteers bottom lines. They prop up friendly dictators. They further regional conflicts. They prevent peace and stability. Israel is a major beneficiary. According to JINSA: Covert operations have had a demonstrable effect on the pace of Irans nuclear development. Irans goal of 40,000 operational centrifuges by summer 2012 has been reduced to the 12,000 to 13,000 today by a wide range of special operations, though Iran recently began installing more advanced centrifuges. Tehran exploits the P5+1s eagerness for diplomatic engagement to buy time for additional uranium enrichment. Therefore the regime feigns interest in continued negotiations, only to drag its heels before ultimately rejecting compromise settlements proposed by the P5+1. Washington dominates negotiations. Its dirty hands prevented resolution numerous times before. Israel wants Irans nuclear program entirely dismantled. Its Lobby exerts enormous pressure in Washington. Last May, Israel said Iran would only consider a deal if sanctions generated far more pressure and if the US conveyed a much more credible threat of military action. Iran never wanted confrontation in the first place. It sought rapprochement years ago. Washington precipitated conflict. It stoked it for years. It subverted normalized relations. It still does. Iran is blamed for US duplicity. Syria is blamed for US-backed terrorist atrocities. All governments America targets face false charges. Big Lies substitute for truth and full disclosure. Doing so aims to advance Americas imperium. It comes at the expense of world peace, equity and justice. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.His new book is titled How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War.Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/ 