Blessed are the Cheese Makers

Something sounds familiar in the media relm of late. ‘Long-range nuclear missiles’, ‘terrorist sleeper cells’, ‘WMDs’: terms which quickly became part of the media’s vocabulary in the run up to the US invasion of Iraq. Fast-forward 9 years later and they are featuring heavily once again, only now it is not about Iraq, but (gasp!) Iran. Last time, the media’s saber-rattling followed the Bush administration’s lead in selling the attack on Iraq. This time, the so-called ‘Iranian Threat’ is a narrative being constructed by the American media all by itself; with scant public support from the Obama administration. The stats today show that about 70% of the American population believes that Iran possess nuclear arms (oddly the exact same percentage who believed that Iraq had WMD’s).

 What’s bizarre about this, other than the fact that there is no credible evidence that Iran has nuclear weapons, is that no one in a position of official authority is claiming it either! Every report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, even when framed in a way to make Iran seem ominous, confirms the “non-diversion” of nuclear materials to weaponization purposes. The CIA has consistently stood by the National Intelligence Estimate findings that Iran has not sought a nuclear weapon since 2003 (and Iran doing so back then is only suspected based on very scant evidence produced by the Israeli government). 

Even if Iran wanted to make nuclear weapons, it would probably take three or more years. Iran is reportedly attempting to enrich its uranium to 19.75% LEU. Nuclear weapons require 95%; and there is no evidence that Iran has the means to do this. It is even more dubious to believe a nuclear-armed Iran would be some sort of unprecedented threat for the United States. If a war begins with Iran, it will largely be on the basis of propaganda believed by the public, propaganda that the government has never officially articulated. But don’t think for a moment that Americas rulers aren’t glad the people believe what they do. It makes wars so much easier to wage when the public buys into all sorts of nonsense. The plausible deniability that insinuated propaganda gives the ruling class is just icing on the cake.