CIA Vet: Israel to Bomb Iran Later This Year

Reaganite Republican ^ | July 18, 2011 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

Nuclear Iran? Not on Bibi's watch-

Retired CIA officer Robert Baer -a man with extensive Middle East experience- made the claim yesterday on KPFK (LA) that Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister are "planning to bomb Iran this fall".

Alas, Mr Baer is clearly dead-set against the kind of beating Iran will need to be dealt ("But yer honor... he needed killin'!") if these apocalyptic ogres in Tehran are ever to be contained... so take his pacifist-alarmist tone with a fistful of salt- same bit you get from Farrakhan, actually.

Baer's angle appears to be "warning" us that Israel will be "dragging us" into another war... when the reality is that what tiny Israel is planning to do is precisely what any responsible US presidency would have already dealt with by now. 

He claims to be non-partisan as a TIME Magazine security issues columnist (also WSJ, etc), but with Baer has expressed an odd sympathy for the Iranian regime in the past- including this in the wake of them stealing the last 'election':

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"For too many years now, the Western media have looked at Iran through the narrow prism of Iran's liberal middle class — an intelligentsia that is addicted to the Internet and American music and is more ready to talk to the Western press, including people with money to buy tickets to Paris or Los Angeles..."

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He also once purported that the CIA was holding "proof" that Iran was behind the Lockerbie bombing... odd since Gaddafi has copped to it. Maybe Baer is just some kind of kook, and I notice in some blogs out there that neo-Nazis seem to fancy his slant.

But the guy was surely an accomplished spook, and George Clooney actually won an Oscar for playing a character based on him in the film Syriana. That script came from the storyline of a book written by the same Robert Baer. His CIA career included the task of organizing opposition to Saddam Hussein. (He was recalled and investigated by the FBI re. trying to organise Saddam's assassination.)

Of course he's not naming sources now, but Baer claims to be in contact specifically with Israeli security figures who warn Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are "hell-bent" on war, one of which must surely be former Mossad chief Meir Dagan.  

The western Left and Muslim world have made much of Dagan calling an attack on Iran the "stupidest" thing he could imagine, but he of course has ties to the Israeli Left. What I found amusing was Al Jazeera joining in to help isolate Netanyahu -as may be expected- but in painting the picture of many Israeli figures up in arms re. plans to attack Iran, they link Think Progress as a news source- please.

But I do believe Israel will attack the existential threat posed by Iran, and sooner-than-later: nobody's come up with any other viable option yet, and I for one feel Iran should always be denied nuclear weapons... only grown-ups get to play with those.

One thing Baer said that I found interesting was that in his view, many in Iran would welcome a war with Israel, and yes even the United States... they know the regime is teetering, and badly need external enemies to continue propping it up.  After all the brainwashing and wild superstitions, they probably actually think they could perform miracles on the battlefield too, same 'thinking' that lead squadrons of 12-year olds to clean Iraqi mine fields with their lives in 1980...

Pics/links/more at Reaganite Republican

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Haaretz   Al Jazeera   Wikipedia

[Diogenesis]

Why did the CIA attack Pres. Bush with fake “reports”
to force the ineligible undocumented Obama on the USA?

[Reaganite Republican]

Good question!

[Perdogg]

Kim Kardashian is more credible than Bob Baer.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Reaganite Republican.

• On Hardball: Worried Next Terror Attack Could Strengthen Tea Party

  Chris Matthews... agreed with Robert Baer who feared another attack could lead to "The Tea Party being strengthened" which could lead to "people blaming the White House for a situation it didn't create." Baer also hit Matthews' sweet spot of talking points when he went on to warn that the last successful terror attack "got us into a war in Iraq we didn't need to be in."

• Top CIA officer: Israel will probably attack Iran in Sept.
• Israel Plans to Strike Iran in September
• Israel-Iran War in September?
• Ex-CIA Agent: War With Iran May be Coming
• Interview: Robert Baer (SYRIANA)
• Twelve Pair Visit Syriana:Matt Damon & George Clooney come back together for political thriller
• Iran Deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles To Eritrea
• Israelis warn of Eritrea flashpoint
• Netanyahu reaffirms Israel claim to parts of West Bank
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baer#September_2001_attacks
• http://ianmasters.com/sites/default/files/mp3/bbriefing_2011_05_2a_robert_baer.mp3
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/interviews/baer.html

[mazda77]

Thanks, could not have said it better myself. But, there are curious developments occuring with our carrier task forces. One carrier in the Persian Gulf, one at the straights of Hormuz and yet another on the way from Japan to the area. The Enterprise is on a port call to Mayport (Jacksonville) this weekend.

[maddog55]

Hopefully they’ll publish a date and time so we can watch on TV.

[Tainan]

Bob Baer....a "spook" with a high publicity profile...you do the math...:shaking head in amuse/amazement:

Background this guy and see what you're dealing with.

[He Rides A White Horse]

One thing Baer said that I found interesting was that in his view, many in Iran would welcome a war with Israel, and yes even the United States

A sub could end their miserable lives in minutes. Be careful what you wish for.

[MestaMachine]

Right you are. baer gets on my last nerve. He and scheuer both think Israel is the source of all the world’s problems.

[Reaganite Republican]

Much obliged Sunken

[MestaMachine]

So he could *fix* all the problems Israel caused us with the frakking muslims. Now that the bruthahood is running everything, thanks to hussein, we is much better off, doncha know.

[Reaganite Republican]

I sure don’t trust him, tried to make that obvious lol

[Echo4C]

Bob Baer’s “life” was the basis for the movie Syriana, which is quite possibly the worst movie I’ve ever seen in the theater. The girl I was dating at the time actually fell asleep during it. It’s rated highly on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, which should tell you something.

[Reaganite Republican]

Nobody ever said they were smart... except them maybe lol

[He Rides A White Horse]

Nobody ever said they were smart... except them maybe lol

With everything going on there, the area is probably crawling with subs. None of our enemies there have any chance of detecting one. It's always that unknown factor that is the deterrent.

[He Rides A White Horse]

I do not see the Israelis talking to this guy at all. Unless they wanted to seed some misinformation. They won’t tell anybody. They certainly won’t tell Zero, you can count on that.

[Venturer]

Iran has been supplying IED’s to Iraq, and Afghanistan, and supplying suicide bombers and they are trying to build a Nuclear bomb.

If Israel does draw us into war with Iran let that war be a real war,not one of these political wars we have been fighting.. It’s time we stopped them once and for all.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Great sort of prediction to make. If it doesn’t actually happen you can say that it was because of your publicity that the plans were scuttled.

[elcid1970]

When (not if) the Israelis attack, will it be conventional manned aircraft, UAV’s, or cruise missiles?

I’ve always hoped that they’ll first pop an EMP over Tehran which would scramble Iranian telecommunications and severely degrade the regime’s ability to control the country.

It would be so neat if a nuclear tipped cruise missile headed straight for Tehran, then suddenly hung a sharp right turn and zeroed in on Mecca. Obliteration of the capital of Islam is a goal to be fervently wished by all civilized human beings.