Pacific News Service > News > Washington's Iran Accusations Aimed at Justifying Regime Change

Pacific News Service > News > Washington's Iran Accusations Aimed at Justifying Regime Change: "Washington's Iran Accusations Aimed at Justifying Regime Change
Commentary, William O. Beeman,
Pacific News Service, May 27, 2003
None of the Bush administration's recent accusations against Iran - that it is developing nuclear weapons, that it harbors al Qaeda or that it is linked to the recent Riyadh bombing in Saudi Arabia - stand up to scrutiny, writes PNS contributor William O. Beeman.

The United States has accused Iran of harboring al Qaeda leaders. There is not a shred of evidence that this is true. The accusation is so insubstantial that it leads one to believe that the accusation is a prelude to some dramatic political or military move, such as an attempt at regime change in Iran.

The latest accusation is nothing new. The United States has a long list of unsubstantiated accusations against Iran. These fall into several categories of supposition:

Forward accusations about what Iran is likely to do in the future, such as develop nuclear weapons.

Unproven suspicions of Iranian involvement in past attacks against the United States, such as the 1996 attacks on the Al Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.

Complicity with American enemies, such as the accusation that Iran is harboring al Qaeda leaders.

All these charges fall apart upon closer examination.

Iran's nuclear program was advised and engineered by the United States. In the 1960s, before North Sea and Alaskan oil had been developed, the United States urged Iran to develop nuclear power, as a way of saving its oil reserves for high- value uses such as petrochemical and pharmaceutical production. In reality, America wanted Iran to save its oil for the use of the West. The United States"