by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 24, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

pewing vile propaganda, Iran's Supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his mouthpiece President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed the U.S. and Israel for bombing the holy Shiite Golden Mosque in Samarra, Iraq. Iran's official word left no doubt that Ahmadinejad speaks directly for Khamenei waging the most vicious disinformation campaign since Joseph Goebbels led the propaganda machine of Hitler's Third Reich. Since the Al Askariya Golden Mosque bombing Feb. 22, over 100 Iraqi have been killed in sectarian violence, blaming Sunnis for blowing up the hallowed shrine. Khamenei and Ahmadinjad say nothing about Al Qaeda's most wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, whose calculated attacks seek to plunge Iraq into civil war. While Khameini urged restraint against Sunnis, he called the attack a “political crime,” perpetrated by “occupiers and Zionists.”

      Only Baghdad's fortified Green Zone has escaped escalating violence and anarchy, leaving Iraq's capital and surrounding areas among the most dangerous spots on the planet. Nearly three years after Cruise missiles hit Baghdad March 20, 2003, a growing insurgency destabilizes efforts to bring order to lawlessness prevailing on Iraqi streets. Nearly 2,300 U.S. troops have lost their lives in what looks like an untenable mission, prompting calls from Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Penn.) for an urgent withdrawal of U.S. forces. Bogged down in Iraq, the U.S. has difficulty containing Iran's pernicious propaganda and feverish efforts to enrich uranium and build its first atomic bomb. Khamenei and Ahmadinejad's whipping up Shiites and Palestinians diverts attention away from Iran's nuclear confrontation with Mohammad ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

      While Iraqis bury the dead and clean up rubble of the Golden Mosque, Ahmadinejad blames the U.S. and Israel. “These heinous acts are committed by a group of Zionists and occupiers that have failed. They have failed in the face of Islam's logic and justice,” the Iranian president told thousands of supporters chanting, “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” Mired in Iraq, President George W. Bush finds little he can do to confront Iranian propaganda, playing continuously in the Islamic media, especially Qatar-based Al Jazeera and Dubai-based Al Arabiya, both serve as propaganda tools for radical Islam. It's ironic that Bush calls the United Arab Emirates a “valued partner in the war on terror,” trying to push Dubai Ports World to take over port operations in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami, despite the Arab media.

      Since Iran has been under increased international pressure to abandon its nuclear enrichment program, Ahmadinejad began his aggressive propaganda campaign. Last October, the Iranian president called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” prompting condemnations in the world community. In January, Ahmadinejad called for a “scientific conference” denying the Holocaust, asking Europe to relocate Israel out of the Middle East. Since Hamas won Palestinian elections Jan. 26, Iran has thrown its support to the radical group whose charter calls for Israel's destruction. Iran's meddling in Mideast peacemaking causes headaches for the White House, trying to read Hamas' intentions, as the radical group picked Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister to set up the new Palestinian government. Iran likes to exploit the Palestinians, much the same way Saddam promised cash to families of suicide bombers.

      Confronting pernicious propaganda is a losing battle for the U.S., competing with unfriendly media outlets like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. Both networks whipped their audience into a frenzy over Danish cartoons, depicting unflattering images of the Prophet Mohammad. Riots around the Muslim world claimed hundreds of lives, as the Islamic media blamed the United States and Israel for the distasteful images. Now Iran—and the Islamic media—pins the Golden mosque's bombing on the U.S. and Israel. “We cannot imagine that the Iraq Sunnis did this,” said influential Sunni Cleric Sheik Youssef Qarawdawi, an Egyptian who lives in Qatar. Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya glorify radical Islam as heros, failing to mention how Al Qaeda's Al Zarqawi, a Waahabist Sunni, seeks a civil war to end U.S. occupation. Al Zarqawi has two missions: Expelling the U.S. and radicalizing Iraq.

      Iraq's political and religious leaders haven't denounced Al Qaeda and Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, whose mujahedeen terrorists are responsible for bombing the Golden Mosque and other Shiite and Sunni holy places. Despite electing a new government, a sizable portion of Iraq's new security forces are infiltrated by insurgents and foreign terrorists committed to toppling the U.S.-backed regime. “If responsibility is not in the hands of the Iraqi government, then I consider the responsibility for this event lies with the occupation forces which should either leave immediately or according to a timetable,” said radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr, spewing more lies while Al Zarqawi continues his rampage to sabotage the U.S. mission. Allowing psychopaths like Al Sadr, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad to call the shots in Iraq—and the Palestinian territories—guarantees failure and more anarchy.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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