Summary: Israel and America appear to be conducting a “psy-war” or information operation against Iran. Whatever its effect on Iran, it has contributed to skyrocketing oil prices, making it the most expensive psy-war ever — at least in terms of what we (Americans, the world) are paying for this game. I hope the benefits are worth the cost, but I doubt it.
Here is the latest volley of rumors, in chronological order: about Israel aircraft landing at US bases in Iraq. I attempt to get as close as possible to the original sources; accuracy decreases rapidly — even among “professional media” — as these stories are passed along.
(1) The original news story: Nahrainnet, usually described as an “Iraqi news service” or “Sadrist web site”. No English translation available, that I can find. As Roger notes in the comments, this story might have been planted by Israel’s government — or ours, or Iran’s. Any number can play the info-ops game.
One interesting detail of this show the sloppiness of our media professionals: the source is widely given as Nahrainnet.com, an unrelated online gambling faux-site (the AFP story, #3 below, even includes a link to this). Perhaps the reports are confusing it with Naharnet.com, the Lebanese news site.
(2) “Israeli jets using Iraq’s airspace?“, Iran’s Press TV, 10 July 2008 — The first English-language report I found. Opening:
The US has allowed Israeli jets to use US airbases in Iraq and fly over Iraqi airspace for a likely attack against Iran, Iraqi media say. It is more than a month that some Israeli planes belonging to Israeli air force use the US military bases in Iraq to land and take off, Iraqi Nahrainnet news network said Wednesday, quoting informed sources close to Iraq’s Defense Ministry.
The activities and traffic of warplanes- especially at nights- has lately increased in the US air bases in Nasiriya southeast of Baghdad and Haditha a city in the western Iraq province of Al Anbar, the Iraqi residents and sources said. They said the US fighters, cargo planes, helicopters and unmanned planes have intensified their flights in the last three weeks.
The US military officials have imposed severe security measures around the bases, they said.
They said some aircraft suspected to be Israeli warplanes coming from Jordan, have landed in the US controlled al-Assad airbase near Haditha. It is believed that these activities are parts of a joint Israeli-US training, preparation and coordination to launch an air raid against Iran’s nuclear plants.
(3) “Israeli jets use Iraqi airspace to practice Iran strike“, AFP, 11 July 2008 — Excerpt:
{Iraq} Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari dismissed the report on Friday. “We have no information about Israeli jets using Iraqi airspace for rehearsals,” he told AFP.
(4) Reuters, 11 July 2008 — Excerpt:
Issuing an official denial, the Israeli military spokesman said: “Reports about putative Israeli air force (IAF) activities in Iraq are utterly baseless.” The Pentagon also dismissed the report. “I find that report inconceivable, and clearly someone is either misinformed or intentionally trying to create mischief,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
(5) “Israel Denies Report of Iraq Military Air Exercises“, Bloomberg, 11 July 2008 — Excerpt:
Government spokesman Mark Regev said the report was “erroneous” and added that Israel has no hostile intentions toward Iran, when contacted by Bloomberg News about the report, which cited Iraqi officials through local media.
(6) “Israel and the Psywar Campaign Against Iran”, Stratfor, 11 July 2008 — Subscription only. Excerpt:
The Iraqi news report is intended to give the impression that the United States is already actively cooperating in an Israeli attack against Iran – and that such an attack could be imminent. … The mysterious report in the Iraqi press appears to be yet another link in an ongoing and intensifying psywar campaign against Iran.
My posts about a strike at Iran by Israel
Esp. note #2!
- Is Iran dangerous, or a paper tiger? (13 November 2007)
- Will Israel commit suicide? More rumors of a strike at Iran (22 December 2007)
- Does reading Debkafile make us smarter, or dumber? (15 June 2008)
- A new story about a possible war with Iran (21 May 2008) — About the 20 May Jerusalem Post story, originally reported by Army Radio.
- “As things look, Israel may well attack Iran soon” (3 June 2008) — About the Fischer story in the 30 May Daily Star.
- “Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable” (8 June 2008) — War-talk by a former Defense Minster of Israel.
- Der Spiegel: “Israeli Ministers Mull Plans for Military Strike against Iran” (17 June 2008) — Rumors in Der Spiegel of a strike by Israel on Iran.
- More rumors of a strike at Iran by Israel (1 July 2008)
- Leaks about a possible strike at Iran (are there any hotter issues today?) (7 July 2008)
Here is the full archive of my posts about a possible strike at Iran by Israel or the US.
