Dr. Gareth Porter discusses his recent article about how the War Party’s excuses to attack Iran are actually great reasons not to, how the U.S. and Israel share the common roles of being both dominate forces and fearful victims, U.S. manipulation of the IAEA against Iran, the many political ploys the war party is using to provoke Iran into retaliating, the two war resolutions in Congress that are about to be passed, the attacks on the U.S. military in Iraq that will take place if we assault Iran, Gen. Petraeus’s direct line to the vice president, the Israel Lobby’s vast influence over U.S. foreign policy, the impotence of Bush’s character and Khalilzad’s plan to switch back to the Sunnis.

MP3 here. (44:36)

Dr. Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on U.S. national security policy who has been independent since a brief period of university teaching in the 1980s. Dr. Porter is the author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam (University of California Press, 2005). He has written regularly for Inter Press Service on U.S. policy toward Iraq and Iran since 2005.

Gareth Porter discusses his recent article “Fearing Escalation, Pentagon Fought Cheney Iran Plan,” about how the military leadership foiled Cheney’s plan of bombing Iran last summer by shifting the debate to the escalation factor, the rabid madness of Dick Cheney, how the Air Force’s over-confidence is encouraging his desire to bomb Iran, the media black-out of the questions surrounding probable Israeli origins of the “smoking laptop,” and what you can do to help avoid another war.

MP3 here. (36:30)

Dr. Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on U.S. national security policy who has been independent since a brief period of university teaching in the 1980s. Dr. Porter is the author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam (University of California Press, 2005). He has written regularly for Inter Press Service on U.S. policy toward Iraq and Iran since 2005.