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Iran, Israel, and the Muzzled US Press

Faramarz Farbod is a native of Iran and teaches politics at Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA, USA.

In a more than relevant piece "Iran, Israel, and the Muzzled US Press" on CommonDreams, Farbod reflects on Iran, the Middle East in general and Israel in particular - and asks more than pertinent questions, including how it is that Iran attracts sanctioning for not abiding by UN resolutions [whereas Israel does not] and why is it that the West, the US in particular, simply does not talk about Israel's nuclear arsenal.

"Iran must comply with United Nations resolutions," declared President Obama. Iran is "as defiant as ever" says a chorus of corporate employees otherwise known as mainstream journalists. Really! Is Iran defiant for testing missiles for its military? What military in the world fails to test missiles? Is Iran defiant for reporting the construction of a "secret underground" uranium enrichment plant at least a year in advance of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obligations require it to?

Speaking of "defiance" in the neighborhood where Iran resides and failing to mention Israel requires levels of disingenuousness and obedience to state propaganda that baffle the mind. And all this at a time when arguably the most significant news item to come our way this month was the UN Human Rights Council's damning report (Goldstone Report) on Israeli crimes in the winter assault on Gaza. (Here is the Executive Summary of the report: www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/12session/A-HRC-12-48_ADVANCE1.pdf.) Can you imagine the deafening corporate media ruckus had the UN issued a 452-page report condemning Iran of war crimes and even possible crimes against humanity on a massive scale? Instead, what we get is near silence on the Goldstone Report and all the other facts on the ground, such as:

* Iran has signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) but Israel, Pakistan, and India have not;
* Israel just rejected the call by IAEA to join the NPT and open up its atomic sites to international inspection: the IAEA motion on September 18 expressing concern about "Israeli nuclear capabilities" was adopted by 49 votes to 45, with 16 abstentions; the US and the EU initially tried to block the vote, and then voted against it while Israel said it "will not co-operate in any matter with this resolution";
* Israel has had nuclear weapons for three decades, and not only refuses to sign the NPT, rejects international inspections, but also does not even acknowledge the existence of these weapons, and even has gone so far as to jail a nuclear scientist for years for exposing the fact;
* Israel in defiance of international law continues to threaten Iran with military attack;
* Israel stands in violation of international law on several other accounts regarding waging of brutal wars of aggression and invasions of Lebanon and Gaza and continuing its brutal policies of occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the hapless Palestinians."

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