The 1%'s New Battle: Selling War on Iran

UPDATE: While this article was being edited and processed, The Obama Administration announced new tighter sanctions on Iran. That was quick.

Why War?

To understand why the 1% regard war as the best solution to these problems, one must begin by considering war as a commodity, the way ruling elites do. War serves many functions: It forces the exchange of goods regardless of economic status, and it employs huge swaths of young, low-skilled laborers. For America, war also offers a third, frequently overlooked benefit: It gets young people out of the way, separated from loved ones, communities, and current events by thousands of miles. Soldiers must obey orders and detail or risk losing everything, effectively allowing a sociopathic ruling class to exploit their dedication to country. Most information received by soldiers overseas is carefully controlled, meaning the government has an unparalleled opportunity to attempt to shape the opinion of these individuals after sending them across the world.

All attempts at economic stimulus thus far have had the impact of a Band-Aid over an arterial hemorrhage. Fortunately, America’s military budget is virtually guaranteed to emerge intact from supercommittee negotiations, despite President Obama’s assurances that a trigger would be in place mandating cuts within the Pentagon’s budget. With the war in Iraq ending and thousands of deployed men and women poised to enter the worst job market in recent American history, creating a new war seems like the only real avenue a discerning ruling class would take to avoid ballooning the population of jobless young people.

Which War?

Having established war as a treatment for the ruling elite of America’s ills, one must consider which target best fits the mold. Syria has admitted nuclear ambitions, and the brutal repression of those demonstrating against the Assad regime make it an easy target for any government advocating human rights or liberty. And be certain: Just as in Libya, U.S. Intelligence and Military agencies nearly certainly are arming Syrian revolutionaries, with drone/missile support and NATO ground forces just around the corner.

Yet it is not Syria that likely will soon hear is being subjected to new sanctions--sanctions of course being the ideal transition device between a state of peace and war (Think Iraq: Once sanctions begin, it takes only a gradual tightening of sanctions and arbitrarily creating new standards until any number are broken and/or an arbitrary amount of time passes. Then invasion is then justified on the grounds of any perceived violations). That honor is reserved for a different country, one which has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue for some time: Iran.

Why Iran?

The narrative that is already emerging stems from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) recent conclusion that Tehran’s regime is determined to acquire a nuclear weapon. That’s right; the impending and immediate urgency of newly developed WMD’s by a harsh dictatorial regime is once again rearing its ugly head. The same narrative that sold America the war in Iraq is back again, this time with a new lineup of talking heads to sell the tale. Nevermind that Saudi Arabia is considering one too. Nevermind that as recently as January 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged that sanctions against Iran were proving effective. Nevermind that, also in January 2011, the retired leader of Israel’s intelligence agency said Iran would not have the capability to develop a bomb before 2015. No, all of a sudden, right now is about to become a critical time to abandon the diplomacy that Mr. Obama famously chastised then-President W. Bush for not pursuing, in favor of direct action.

So, Truly Why Iran?

The simple answer is that Syria does not present a difficult-enough entanglement to create the multiyear conflict the ruling elites need. Contrary to public opinion, drawn-out conflicts with no easy exit strategy can be perfect for some. They provide excellent cover for creating a money sinkhole that allows plutocrats to suck America’s defense budget dry of cash. The defense industry has never grown as during the Iraq war period, and it is no accident that one of the principal architects of the Iraq invasion, Dick Cheney, was CEO of Halliburton before entering the White House, and retains those ties to this day.

Much like stock market crashes, prolonged, quagmire-like conflicts offer an opportunity for a small segment of the population to wildly enrich themselves. No economic situation in America will ever allow the U.S. military to run out of bullets, and every plutocrat dining on Almas caviar in a private jet knows this. The constant spending of cash is also known as “economic stimulus.” Couple this with the unrest facing America’s homefront, and the following statement, rather than seeming like dissuasion, suddenly begins sounding like an opportunity:

But an attack on Iran would be hugely difficult, highly dangerous and likely to fail, because the most important facilities are hidden deep underground.

Air strikes probably wouldn’t be enough. That means special forces would have to go in. Even if they succeeded, the Iranian government would stop at nothing to punish the Israelis, the Americans and their allies, including us.

This excerpt is drawn from a Canadian news source, another red flag. Why is Canada, not exactly a champion of global conflict, suddenly pre-empting tougher U.S. sanctions against Iran by vocalizing support? It seems difficult to reach any conclusion other than that Canada is being encouraged by the United States to float the news of impending action, both to enlist coalition support, and to rely upon Canada’s credibility as a source of troubling news for an increasingly skeptical American public.

Why Now?

American military personnel have been engaged in ceaseless warfare for a decade. Many of these heroic men and women lack essential skills necessary for peaceful reintegration into society during the best of times. But right now, with the economy at a standstill and unemployment topping 12% in many states, the notion that these men and women will find gainful employment anywhere but perhaps within the ranks of the private armies the 1% now have at their disposal is laughable. Allowing these men and women a break from conflict is not an option; free from the meticulous news filter employed to craft military opinion while overseas and cutoff from everyday life, many of these folks would be in the streets within months of returning. How could they not; after risking their lives for a country, to return to it and find a broken police state, particularly one on the brink of impending economic collapse, and where there are no jobs to be had?

The greatest fear for the powers that be, with regard to the Occupy movement, should be massive numbers of active duty soldiers swelling the ranks of protestors. Not only would this bring greater legitimacy to the movement, it would threaten the 1%’s control over the police as their present enforcement mechanism. The only thing cops revere more than themselves is men and women who actually give up everything for their country. When the cops split ranks the illusion begins to crumble, the ruling elite would either be left defenseless or would be forced to pit their private armies against those who would defend justice and liberty in America. Neither one of these is acceptable, yet this fate is essentially predetermined by the recalling of any troops from anywhere. Unless the ruling elite have somewhere else where these soldiers immediately must go. Somewhere far, far away.

What Do We Do?

The ruling elite’s strategy of divide and conquer is at work within this issue; few things are as polarizing as nuclear proliferation, particularly when one considers the present tumult throughout the Middle East. Israeli-American politics further complicate the matter, particularly when one considers specifically tensions between Israel and Iran. In addition to dividing people among political and national lines, this conflict promises to divide along religious ones as well. A fragmented populous seldom revolts.

The American people and people of the world are about to be sold a story of impending nuclear doom, but the story is a lie. It is yet another manufactured illusion, designed to conceal the true motives at play: scattering America’s young people as far and wide as possible, utilizing human life as a tool for corporate plunder, creating new enemies to misdirect peoples’ angers toward, and manufacturing another crisis that will derail the dialogue within the country. The greatest enemy to the powers that be is persistent conversation about the titanic domestic problems America currently faces, and the Occupy movement has, for once, focused the world on the correct target.

This story has been sold before; it must not be successful this time. America cannot allow its youth to once again be used as disposable resources to be killed, maimed, or psychologically crippled in the name of corporate profits and status-quo preservation. No more, not now. They have more important things to be doing. First up is defeating from the treasonous tyrants who are demolishing America’s 235-year-old house, which we are all privileged to share. Next is rescuing the world from those intent upon permanently toxifying the planet we call home.

-word.