"Terrorist" Guardians

The U.S. government is contemplating to put Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Pasdaran, on its list of terrorist organizations, which already includes – among others – Hamas, Hizbollah, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (DFLP-GC) and the Communist Party of the Philippines. The biggest terror organizations in the world – the C.I.A. and the Mossad – are of course not included. While the IRGC is separate from Iran's regular armed forces, it is nevertheless part of Iran's defense establishment. It is the first time part of a country's armed forces are put on the list.

The U.S. authorities are claiming – as usual without the slightest proof – that the IRGC is delivering all kinds of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to Shiite groups in Iraq, which they use to kill American soldiers. (Mind you: according to international law, killing American soldiers in Iraq is perfectly legal, as an occupied people has the right to kill its occupiers) Indeed, a rising number of American soldiers is being killed by the Madhi Army, but that is because the U.S. itself is more and more targeting the Mahdi Army, which is only fighting back with the weapons they have, not because they get more deadly weapons from Iran. The U.S. government has never been bothered by the truth, whatever it can concoct together to justify a war of aggression will do.

By labeling the IRGC a terrorist organization, the U.S. is paving the way for air strikes on Pasdaran bases and installations. The war mongers in the White House – Dick Cheney first and foremost – are desperately trying to concoct a pretext to launch an aggression against Iran. The U.S. can start with bombing the Pasdaran, hoping that Iran will retaliate, so it could thereafter escalate the war. I am not the only one saying this. Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich “accused the Bush Administration's labeling of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization a prelude for war there.” (The Raw Story: “Kucinich: 'Belligerent' Bush Admin. trying to 'deceive' US into 'yet another war'”)

The IRGC also runs a vast business empire. Doing business with any companies associated with the Guard, would be declared illegal. The U.S. would thereby try to inflict an economic blow on Iran. Foreign banks will think twice about dealing with enterprises linked to the Guard. But the move is fraught with peril. Iran is perfectly capable of hitting American warships and commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf and even of completely disrupting tanker traffic and thereby the world's oil supply.

As usual, Washington is playing with fire while lighting a cigarette over an open oil barrel...