Ray McGovern speaks out on Iran

'Iran war to ruin Israel, global economy'

Two former CIA analysts have advised US President Barack Obama to immediately put an end to the “torrent of war propaganda against Iran” as this will lead to the destruction of Israel and devastation of world economy.

Press TV,

1 January, 2012

Ray McGovern and Elizabeth Murray wrote on the consortiumnews.com that Obama's “repeated use of the bromide that 'everything is on the table'” indicates that the US president does not fully recognize the consequences of a military confrontation with Iran. 

They said a war with Iran would be to the advantage of “no one but the arms merchants,” adding, “If your advisers have persuaded you that hostilities with Iran would bring benefit to Israel, they are badly mistaken.” 

War with Iran is likely to bring the destruction of Israel in the long term, “not even to mention the disastrous consequences for the world economy, of which you (Obama) must be aware,” the duo contended. 

Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike, based on the allegation that Iran's nuclear work may consist of a covert military aspect. 

Last week, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said the US military is ready to launch a military strike against Iran, if occasion necessitates. 

"We are examining a range of options. I'm satisfied that the options that we are developing are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary," Dempsey said. 

Dempsey's warmongering tirades came on the heels of the equally aggressive remarks by US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta that "no options were off the table" regarding Iran's nuclear program. 

This is while the Israeli officials have similarly stepped up their war rhetoric against Iran. On November 21, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that "time has come" to deal with Iran. 

Israeli President Shimon Peres also threatened on November 6 that an attack against Iran is becoming "more and more likely." 

Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East. 

McGovern and Murray described the claims about the diversion of Tehran's nuclear program to a militarized dimension, the pretext for the war threats against Iran, as “incendiary but false,” which are propagated “fast and furious.” 

Iran argues that it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

The ex-CIA analysts have urged Obama to “be up-front with the American people,” and publicize the latest National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program. 

“You (Obama) know that the Herculean efforts of US intelligence to find evidence of an active nuclear weapons program in Iran have found nothing.”