August 27, 2015–You may have heard that opponents of the Obama administration’s diplomatic agreement with Iran, designed to prevent Teheran from obtaining a near-term nuclear weapons capability, Have resorted to all kinds of chicanery.
One is the creation of a PAC lobbying group in the guise of a “grass roots” people-to-people type movement, the so-called Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran. That might sound promising, until you realize that American citizens have no say in Iranian politics, so the label “citizens” is a complete misnomer. As for the nuclear free part, this group opposes a treaty that will keep Iran nuclear free. What they’re really about is force versus diplomacy. They want to compel Iran to be nuclear-free. Not only is that Israeli, not U.S. policy, the only means to achieve it is war. And, not only is this a stalking horse for Israel, in Israel that policy is favored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and segments of the Israeli right wing, and opposed by many, including Israeli intelligence and military chiefs.
Today brings news of another pretend grass roots maneuver, likely orchestrated by the self-same “Citizens.” This is a letter sent to legislators in Congress, in opposition to the Iranian diplomatic deal. The letter, initiated by Admiral Leon A. Edney, is designed to counter a letter sent out some days ago by a group including several dozen of our most senior military officers that supports the nuclear nonproliferation measure. Admiral Edney managed to acquire signatures from 190 military officers.
Who are they? Vice-Admiral John A. Poindexter, a character who not only presided over selling weapons to Iran as the national security adviser to Ronald Reagan in the Iran-Contra Affair. In addition Poindexter pioneered the mass data-mining and photogrammetry techniques that today threaten the privacy of every citizen. Then there is Major General Richard Secord, the character the conspirators hired to deliver the weapons to Iran in the very same Iran-Contra Affair. And not to be forgotten is the born-again Lieutenant General William G. Boykin, whose religious fundamentalism is the polar opposite of that of Shiite Iranians, and who would rather fight than seek accommodation. On the NSC staff and at the Pentagon, Boykin played a disturbing role in the run up to the 2003 American invasion of Iraq. Look how well that turned out. You can read more about Boykin in my recent paperback The US Special Forces: What Everyone Needs to Know.