Atlantic Free Press was launched in September 2006 by Dutch-Canadian R.G.
Kastelein of V.O.F. Expathos, in the Netherlands and American Expatriate Chris Floyd of
Oxford, UK.
Brick Ogden, an American Expatriate in Amsterdam has been a key supporter of this project.
Assistant Editor Canadian Chris Cook hails from Victoria, British Columbia and Senior Writer Paul William Roberts is based in Toronto - but often on the road.
The mission of AF Press is simple: to dig out nuggets of truth from
the slag-heap of lies, ignorance and witless diversion that has buried
public discourse today. AF Press provides a new venue for
disseminating hard news and insightful, fact-based analysis of the
harsh realities too often ignored or distorted by the mainstream press.
By now, anyone with a lick of sense can see that the war in Iraq has been a dead-loss. Still, few people understand how it has disrupted the region’s strategic balance and is quickening America’s decline as a world power.
The US is already facing fierce headwinds in the near future withthe deflating housing market,the falling dollar, and the growing prospects of a deep recession. A sudden realignment in the Middle East would be a major hit to the American economy. Even so, it’s looking more and more like big changes are on the way.
The problem is that American power is waning just as Iran’s is ascendant. This doesn’t bode well for the “Great Satan” whose economy relies on dependable sources of cheap oil.
Iran is playing a clever game in Iraq using US occupation forces to crush the Ba’athist-led resistance while expanding their influence via the Shiite militias. This is a “lose-lose” situation for the United States. American troops must continue to focus on one enemy while they inadvertently strengthen the other. How long will it be before the Bush administration sees that they’ve been supporting the very group which is most hostile to American interests?
Who could have imagined that US forces would be acting as security guards for Iranian-backed militias?
In fact, members of the Iranian political establishment like Pirouz
Mojtahedzadeh are now openly calling “for the US to REMAIN in Iraq
until it has established a strong, stable central government capable of
providing adequate security.” (Kim Murphy LA Times)
Of course, Iranians have to be discreet in their support for the
ongoing occupation, but the truth is obvious; Bush is laying the
groundwork for a fundamentalist regime in Baghdad by quashing the
secular, Ba’athist-backed resistance.
Does Bush really believe he can control a Shiite-dominated government? Or does he really understand what’s going on?
Can’t he see that the US-Shiite alliance is simply a “marriage of
convenience” that will end as soon as the Sunnis are sufficiently
weakened and there is no longer a threat of them returning to power?
The Baker group was formed as a last-gasp attempt to avert the greatest
foreign policy train-wreck in American history. It’s no surprise that
Bush and Israeli PM Olmert decided to conduct their high-level meetings
on the same day that the Iraq Study Group met in the Oval Office. It
was clearly meant to subvert Baker’s impact on the news-cycle. As soon
as Bush had used Baker as a prop for his public relations photo-op
(showing Bush’s “openness to new ideas”) the ex-diplomats were bundled
out the servants’ exit so Bush could put the final touches on the plans
for bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The whole event was perfectly choreographed to marginalize Baker and undermine the group’s recommendations.
This just proves that Bush’s throttling in the midterm elections has
had no effect whatsoever. He’s still firmly in Cheney’s clutches and
edging ever-closer to Armageddon. There’s no indication that anything
substantial has changed.
Cheney’s approach is fundamentally flawed. It will take more than
laser-guided munitions or “bunker busting” bombs to beat Iran. In fact,
that will only speed up America’s inevitable withdrawal from Iraq. Even
if half of Iran is buried beneath glowing-nuclear rubble, they still
have the wherewithal to take out every oil tanker, every oil field,
every oil depot, every oil-platform, and every oil pipeline in the
entire gulf region. How long will America’s teetering economy persist
with itsMiddle Eastarteries slashed and oil futures shooting through
the stratosphere.
Then, of course, Iran has the option of smuggling high-tech weaponry,
anti-tank missiles and the whole array of military hardware into Iraq,
where they can swiftly cut off supply-lines, wreak havoc across the
country, and force an American retreat.
A war against Iran is a foolhardy scheme that has no chance of succeeding.
Communiqué connects Iran to Iraqi Militias
A chilling communiqué from the Shiite-led “Badr Brigade” has appeared
in Alliraqnews. The message warns of an agreement between the Sunnis
and the “Anglo-American occupation forces” which threatens the
continued dominance of the Shiite-led government. Leaders from the Badr
Brigade” intend to intensify their attacks on all “public offices and
institutions”, to “neutralize the activities of journalists, media and
intellectuals”, to undermine “any attempt to rebuild the Iraqi army”,
and prepare for “an armed confrontation” with the enemy.
The message calls on all Shiites, including employees in the “Ministry
of Defense and Interior Ministry to join the Badr Brigade, the Mahdi
Army, and the Al-Dawa Party, to continue stealing weapons and
equipment” to get ready for the conflagration.
The communiqué adds ominously: “The government of the Islamic Republic
of Iran, providing us with all weapons and equipment for the battle, as
well as the preparations of troops from the Revolutionary Guards for
rapid intervention near the border areas.”
The message is signed by the Secretary-General Badr Organization.
Whether the communiqué is authentic or not is almost irrelevant. The
blueprint is indistinguishable from the pattern of activity on the
ground. The militias are using the occupation to strengthen their base
and ready themselves for the inevitable confrontation with US forces.
Behind the scenes, Iran is patiently waiting for America’s hourglass to
run out of sand.
Prime Minister Al-Maliki has aligned himself with the main Shiite
militias. He has issued a warrant for Harith al-Dhari, the head of
Iraq’s prestigious Association of Muslim Scholars, on the charges of
“inciting violence and terrorism among the Iraqi people”. It is a
baseless claim intended to drive the Sunnis to out of the government
and set the stage for a Shiite dominated-regime.
The Sunnis have left according to plan. There will be no coalition
government and civil war is all but certain. The bloodbath has just
begun.
Bush has opened Pandora’s Box and there’ll be a terrible price to pay.
He has allowed Iran to take root in Baghdad and upset the regional
balance of power. Now, there really are no easy solutions. The only
question is whether the impending holocaust is containable or if it
will consume the entire region.
By now, anyone with a lick of sense can see that the war in Iraq has been a dead-loss. Still, few people understand how it has disrupted the region’s strategic balance and is quickening America’s decline as a world power. 
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