"Why Might a Saudi King Want the US to Attack Iran?

It's not about Iran as a regional threat. It's about rival elites defending oil wealth.

Lawrence Wilkerson on www.therealnews.org, December 1, 2010

www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php

Mainstream media has been quick to highlight WikiLeaks' cable reporting a statement from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia that the U.S. should attack Iran, because it is a danger to the region. Larry Wilkerson, the former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, gives The Real News a series of reasons why such information requires questioning. He questions the media's willingness to treat the cables as the gospel truth, as well as pointing out that a Saudi King would have reasons beyond security to want an attack on Iran. Namely it would hinder an oil competitor and financier of groups like Hamas and Hezbollah which Saudi Arabia opposes, while also causing the price of oil to sky rocket.

Bio
Lawrence Wilkerson is a retired United States Army soldier and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. Wilkerson is an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary where he teaches courses on US national security. He also instructs a senior seminar in the Honors Department at the George Washington University entitled "National Security Decision Making."

Chomsky on Israel and Palestinians, www.therealnews.com, December 1, 2010

www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php

Bio
Noam Chomsky has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, contemporary issues, international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. His works include: Aspects of the Theory of Syntax; Cartesian Linguistics; Sound Pattern of English (with Morris Halle); Language and Mind; American Power and the New Mandarins; At War with Asia; For Reasons of State; Peace in the Middle East?; Reflections on Language; The Political Economy of Human Rights, Vol. I and II (with E.S. Herman); Rules and Representations; Lectures on Government and Binding; Towards a New Cold War; Radical Priorities; Fateful Triangle; Knowledge of Language; Turning the Tide; Pirates and Emperors; On Power and Ideology; Language and Problems of Knowledge; The Culture of Terrorism; Manufacturing Consent (with E.S. Herman); Necessary Illusions; Deterring Democracy; Year 501; Rethinking Camelot: JFK, the Vietnam War and US Political Culture; Letters from Lexington; World Orders, Old and New; The Minimalist Program; Powers and Prospects; The Common Good; Profit Over People; The New Military Humanism; New Horizons in the Study of Language and Mind; Rogue States; A New Generation Draws the Line; 9-11; and Understanding Power. His most recent book is called “Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel’s War Against the Palestinians” published in November of 2010.

Chomsky on Democracy Now on Wikileaks Cables

therealnews.com/t2/component/seyret/

Bernie Sanders on Tax Breaks for the Rich

therealnews.com/t2/component/seyret/

Wikileaks and Iran

Gareth Porter: Media selecting cables that support Iran war narrative

www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php

Gareth Porter is a historian and investigative journalist on US foreign and military policy analyst. He writes regularly for Inter Press Service on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. Author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam.

NY Times Beats Drums for War

Ray McGovern: NYT ignores intelligence there is no evidence of Iran's nuclear weapons program. The National Intelligence Team concluded Iran stopped its nuclear program in 2003.

www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php