Published: 13 January, 2012, by RT NEWS
The escalating conflict around Iran should be contained by common effort, otherwise the promising Arab Spring will grow into a “scorching Arab Summer,” says Dmitry Rogozin, Russia’s former envoy to NATO.
“Iran is our close neighbor, just south of the Caucasus. Should anything happen to Iran, should Iran get drawn into any political or military hardships, this will be a direct threat to our national security,” stressed Rogozin.
Dmitry Rogozin, who served as Russia’s special envoy to NATO in 2008-2011, was appointed deputy prime minister by Vladimir Putin in December.
On Friday he was bidding farewell to his NATO colleagues in the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
As for Syria, if NATO persists in interfering in its affairs, a catastrophe will be hard to avoid, said Rogozin, talking to journalists on the premises of the Russian mission to the alliance.
“The example of Libya should have cooled everybody down in matters dealing with foreign civil wars,” he said, stressing that this is his personal point of view.
“Syria must be left alone and the sides to the conflict must be assisted in breaking the stand-off and starting negotiations. No one must interfere with Syria. This is dangerous,” added Rogozin.
The West’s attempts to improve democracy in the Middle East and North Africa have resulted in Islamists coming to power. It is now up to the West to decide how comfortable they feel with neighbors who determine their politics with Sharia law, says Rogozin.
“If we add the escalating tensions around Iran to the situation in Syria and the consequences of the Libyan war, then the upcoming 'scorching' Arab Summer, which is following the Arab Spring, will hardly be to anyone’s taste.”
Russia’s response will make AMD ‘a waste of money’
Despite his recent promotion, Rogozin is still in charge of Russia-NATO discussions on anti-missile defense (AMD) issues. A legal binding that the European and American missile defense systems will not target Russia has not been taken off the table, Rogozin pointed out.
“It seems strange that it is Russia who is required to show flexibility. This is not our project. If an architect is building a house, it is up to him to offer a design which would not violate property rights, area design and neighbors’ interests. So it is our US colleagues who should demonstrate miraculous flexibility to ensure that their AMD system does not violate the interests of other countries if it is to be located in Europe.”
Rogozin also called on European leaders to stop being “political puppets” in the AMD game, adding that everyone should stand for their own interests, not for some “Atlantic solidarity.”
If Moscow’s position is ignored and the range of the US anti-missile defense system covers the European part of Russia, this will be considered a situation requiring defensive action.
“I will certainly ensure Russia will give a corresponding technical response if the AMD system endangers our national interests. This will result in the American AMD being considered a waste of money,” said Rogozin. Russia has everything needed to annihilate any attempt “to strip” its strategic potential, he added. This also means the era of imported weapons is coming to an end.
In a farewell gesture, Rogozin said he was considering planting a tree in the alliance’s headquarters. Symbolically enough, this would be a poplar, or “topol” in Russian, which brings up associations with Russia’s modern intercontinental ballistic missiles Topol-M.
But NATO replied that planting a tree within the headquarters perimeter “is not possible,” so the tree will have to be planted nearby.
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US Backs Off Iran Attack?
Massive joint US-Israeli drill postponed
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Monday, January 16, 2012
The United States has cancelled a joint military exercise with Israel in a move some analysts are saying could represent a reluctance to support an attack on Iran.
“Israel and the United States have postponed a massive joint defense exercise, which was expected to be carried out in the coming weeks, in order to avoid an escalation with Iran,” reports Haaretz.
Although the United States has already sent 9,000 troops to Israel, a move described as a “deployment” rather than an exercise by US Commander Lt.-Gen Frank Gorenc, the Austere Challenge 12 drill, intended to be a wargame response to missiles fired by Iran, has now been postponed until the summer.
The Obama administration cited “budgetary constraints” as the primary reason for delaying the exercise, although observers suggest the move could be explained by a number of different circumstances, including Washington’s anger at how last week’s assassination of Iranian scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, all but admitted to have been the work of the Israeli Mossad, was conducted so brazenly.
The postponement could signal that the US is backing off its support for an attack on Iran, but it could equally mean that the attack plans have already been finalized and that the drill was cancelled because it would have coincided with the actual start of hostilities.
“Did the U.S. cancel them to show displeasure to Israel?” asks Richard Silverstein. “And if so, why? Does Obama know something about Israeli intentions we don’t know? Are plans underway to strike Iran? Is Obama seeking to show his displeasure?
Or is he trying to soothe Iran by not going through with a highly provocative military exercise which would’ve placed thousands of U.S. troops in the heart of Israel as a show of solidarity with Israel in its crusade
against Iran?”
The Israeli intelligence outfit DebkaFile speculates that the postponement of the drill is another sign that Washington is concerned about the effect tensions in the region are having on oil prices, which would also explain why the EU embargo on Iranian oil has also been delayed by six months.
Whether or not the Obama administration has cooled its support for an attack on Iran, the US military is undoubtedly preparing for turmoil in the region, with three US aircraft carriers now stationed just outside Iranian waters, in addition to 15,000 troops that were sent to Kuwait at the end of last week.
The naval build-up could also be because “the United States intends to beat Israel to the draw and attack Iran itself,” points out DebkaFile.
Even if the Obama administration does not publicly back a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, it is highly unlikely to stand in the way of Israel. Once Iran retaliates, the US will then claim its interests are threatened and won’t hesitate to become embroiled in the conflict.
In addition, the US has made it clear that should Iran try to block the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil choke point, a “red line” will have been crossed. Iran is currently studying a letter sent by the US concerning the Strait. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said Iran “will respond if necessary.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey is due to arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other senior defense and intelligence officials, a meeting at which the US will try to convince Israel to delay any attack until sanctions, which have already crippled the Iranian economy, are allowed to take full effect.
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