Iranians in Latin America spook
US By Ramzy Baroud
The
text of a bill signed into law by US President
Barack Obama would likely instill fear in the
hearts of ordinary Americans. Apparently,
barbarians from distant lands are at work. They
are gathering at the US-Mexico border, cutting
fences and preparing to wreak havoc on an
otherwise serene American landscape.
Never
mind that crazed, armed to the teeth, homegrown
American terrorists are killing children and
terrorizing whole cities. It is the Iranian menace
that we are meant to fear, according to the new
law. When compounded with the other imagined
threats of Hezbollah and Hamas, all with sinister
agendas, then it seems the time is right for
Americans to return to their homes, bolt their
doors and squat in shelters awaiting further
instructions. Evidently, "The Iranians are
coming."
It is as comical as it is untrue.
But "The Countering Iran in the
Western Hemisphere Act",
which as of December 28 became official US law, is
not meant to be amusing. It is riddled with
half-truths, but mostly complete and utter lies.
Yes, Iran's influence in Latin America is
on the rise. However, by US standards, the
expanding diplomatic ties, extending trade routes
and such are considered a threat to be "countered"
or as per Forbes magazine's endless wisdom,
"confronted".
Language in politics can be
very dangerous as it can twist reality, turning
fictitious scenarios into facts. Despite its
faltering economy, the US continues to experience
a sharp growth in its think tank industry - men
and women whose sole purpose is to invent and push
political agendas, and who often belong to some
foreign entity; in this case Israel. Ian Barman,
Vice President of the American Foreign Policy
Council reflected that sentiment exactly in a
recent article in Forbes.
Only in the past
year, "policymakers in Washington have woken up to
a new [Iranian] threat to US security", he wrote,
citing an alleged Iranian assassination plot in
Washington. According to Barman, that was the
wake-up call leading to a "deeply worrisome"
reality. In a moment of supposed level-headedness,
he writes: "exactly how significant this threat is
represents the subject of a new study released in
late November by the US House of Representatives
Homeland Security Committee. That report, entitled
"A Line In The Sand", documents the sinister
synergies that have been created in recent years
between Iran and Hezbollah on the one hand, and
radical regional regimes and actors - from
Venezuela to Mexican drug cartels - on the other."
But according to Agence France-Presse,
reporting on the new law on December 29,
"Washington has repeatedly stated it is closely
monitoring Tehran's activities in Latin America,
though senior State Department and intelligence
officials have indicated there is no apparent
indication of illicit activities by Iran."
Indeed, on the issue of Iran's influence
in Latin America there are two contradicting
narratives. One merely acknowledges Iranians
growing diplomatic outreach in Latin America since
2005while another that speaks of massive
conspiracies involving Iran, Venezuela, Ecuador,
Bolivia, drug cartels, and yes, even underground
music piracy groups.
The alleged
conspiracy is not only far-fetched; it is
purposely fabricated to further punish Iran, on
behalf of Israel, for its nuclear program. The
panic over Iran's "infiltration" of the US
"neighborhood" in Latin America didn't start a
year ago (as alleged by Barman) but rather
coincided with old Israeli-Western propaganda that
painted Iran as a country ruled by religious
fiends whose main hobby was to assemble bombs and
threaten western civilization.
When
pro-Israeli think tank "experts" began floating a
scenario of "what if Iran and Hezbollah join
forces with Mexico's Los Zetas drug cartel" a few
years ago, the idea seemed too absurd to compel a
rational response. Now it is actually written into
the new bill turned law as if a matter of fact.
(Sec. 2, Findings 12)
The bill doesn't
only lack reason, proper references and is dotted
with a strange amalgam of politically-inspired
accusations, it also relies on wholesale
allegations of little, if any plausible foundation
whatsoever: "Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies
with a presence in Latin America have raised
revenues through illicit activities, including
drug and arms trafficking, counterfeiting, money
laundering, forging travel documents, pirating
software and music and providing haven and
assistance to other terrorists transiting the
region." (Sec. 2, Findings 8)
Of course,
since the whole exercise is fueled by Israeli
anxiety, Hamas also had to somehow be pulled in,
if not indicted through the same inexplicable
reasoning: "The US Drug Enforcement Administration
concluded in 2008 that almost one-half of the
foreign terrorist organizations in the world are
linked to narcotics trade and trafficking,
including Hezbollah and Hamas." (Sec. 2, Findings
10)
US author and journalist Belen
Fernandez has been looking into this matter for
years. In all of her writings on the topic she
seemed to trace the very thread that unites the
invented upheaval over Iran's supposed takeover of
the "Western Hemisphere". In an article entitled:
"Distorting Iranian - Latin American Relations",
nearly two years ago, she wrote: "Iranian
'penetration' in Latin America has in recent years
become a pet issue of Israeli Foreign Ministry
officials and American neoconservative pundits,
many of whom take offense at the perceived failure
of the US government to adequately appreciate the
security threat posed by, for example, the
inauguration of a weekly flight from Caracas to
Tehran with a stop in Damascus."
The issue
for Israel and its US conduits is entirely
political. Iran is indeed expanding its political
and diplomatic outreach, but entirely through
legal and official means, something that the US
has failed to do since The Monroe Doctrine gave
the US exclusive hegemony over Latin America
starting in December 1823. But much has changed
since then, especially in the last two decades
when the US swung towards disastrous Middle East
foreign policies, much to the pleasure of Israel.
The suffering endured by Arabs and Muslims
was the needed break for some Latin American
countries to challenge US policies in their
respective countries. This period was the era in
which powerhouses like Brazil rose and popular
governments took the helm. US policies in Latin
America are not failing because of Iranians
"sinister" plans, but because of something
entirely different.
Demeaning Latin
America as a hapless region waiting for US saviors
and pinning US political stocks on Iran might
serve immediate Israeli purposes, but it will
certainly contribute to the growing political
delusion that permeates Washington. Alas, there
are few indications that Washington's politicians
are anywhere near waking up from Israel's
overbearing spell. Just examine the author of the
anti-Iran bill: Republican Jeff Duncan of South
Carolina's 3rd District. He is a "freshman" but
has massive ambitions.
He joined congress
in 2011 and quickly learned the ropes. He knows
that in order to succeed on Capitol Hill, one must
win favor with the pro-Israeli lobby. He sponsored
the bill on January 3, just a few days before the
Iranian president went on a major diplomatic tour
in Latin America to expand his country's
international relations.
That alone was
unacceptable, for Latin America has long been
designated as the US "backyard", per the
belittling perception of US mainstream media. The
trip ignited the ire of Israel, which media and
officials considered a travesty at a time that Tel
Aviv was tirelessly working to isolate Iran. The
bill was clearly a coordinated move, as its
language indicates textbook Israeli hasbara.
Duncan might have been a novice, but he is
quickly catching up. On May 20, he proudly posted
a statement on his House of Representative page
that sharply censures his own president's remarks
on Israel, while fully supporting the political
stances of the leader of another country, Israel's
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He decried
Obama's siding with the "Hamas - led government",
thus "undermined(ing) Israel's position in the
negotiation process".
"President Obama's
statement that Israel should retreat to its
impossible to defend 1967 borders breaks a promise
to one of our strongest allies, threatens Israel's
security, and jeopardizes the future of democracy
in the region," he wrote. Of course, Duncan
wholeheartedly agreed with Netanyahu's right-wing
policies.
"[The Israeli] prime minister
understands the hard reality of Israel's
precarious security situation and daily threats of
terrorism. I agree with the Israeli prime minister
that President Obama's position is simply
unrealistic." He concluded with a very telling
statement: "As a Christian, I ask Americans to
continue lifting up the people of Israel with
prayers for safety and the hope for a lasting
peace."
This strange attitude towards
politics and American national security is the
real threat, not Iranian embassies and water
purification projects in some Latin American
countries. But considering the rising religious
zealotry, shrewd Israeli lobby and the numerous
think tanks of catered wisdom, there is little
space for pragmatic politics or a sensible
approach to anything that concerns Israel.
Thus, Obama enacted the bill into law, and
funds have been secured to evaluate Iran's growing
"threats" in "America's backyard" so that proper
measures can be taken to counter the frightening
possibilities.
What Duncan doesn't know
however, is that Latin America is no longer
hostage either to the whims of Washington or to
his South Carolina 3rd District. Nor is the
"Western Hemisphere" any longer defined by the
confines of US foreign policies, which seem to be
narrowing each year to meet Israeli expectations
and not those of America.
Ramzy
Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an
internationally - syndicated columnist and the
editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book
is: My Father was A Freedom Fighter: Gaza's
Untold Story (Pluto Press).
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