Conspiracy or Quack: The Secret War on Iran

Sometimes there are stories that are so wild sounding and so ridiculous that one assumes it’s all fantasy. Did we really land on the moon, or was it all faked? Many people have now bought the theory that it was all Hollywood magic. Are there aliens being kept in a secret base called Area 51? Some people seem to think so. Did Lyndon Johnson contribute in some to the assassination of John F. Kennedy? Lord knows that conspiracy theories abound about that topic.

In December of 2004, while writing a story about scientist having found a possible cure for AIDS, one reader tipped me to yet another conspiracy theory. Out of curiosity I looked at the information and like all themes of this nature, the story sounded so far out there that it was difficult for me to take it seriously. However, being an independent writer and not having anyone to answer to gives me the freedom to cover a wide swath of topics ranging from the serious to the sublime. So I wrote about it anyway under the heading of, “Conspiracy or Quack?” I figured if you the reader have all the information then you can make your own decision whether or not this stuff is true.

I have found myself in that quandary again. Iran and the multitude of permutations in dealing with it sucked up most of my attention last year when it came to covering foreign policy topics. First it seemed imminent, then not so much. Many writers such as myself began trying to cover the presidential elections in that country in the hopes that a more moderate leader would ascend into a position of Iranian authority. Instead, our hopes were dashed as Iranians seemingly elected an even more conservative and brazen president than the man whom was vacating the seat.

Despite calls from the expert community for “covert regime change,” it seems that the possibility of war is back on the table. But as I stated above, is there something more malevolent in the works?

While researching Iran last year I came across probably one of the most bizarre conspiracy theories I’ve ever read. The post is called, “The War of Gog & Magog AKA The Iran War.” The writer proposes that a war against Iran is biblical prophecy. It is believed, according to Michael Carmichael, that there are those in President Bush’s administration whom are purposely guiding us toward war in order to carry out God’s wishes. I swear I’m not making this up.

Carmichael writes, “According to current reports on the rapidly escalating preparations for a US war against Iran, it now appears that the prophecies of the Bible are driving President Bush, Vice President Cheney and their inner circle of neoconservatives to design a strategic platform for the prosecution of the final war for control of Planet Earth. In the Bible, this conflict is called The War of Gog & Magog, and the final battle of that war is Armageddon. This scenario has been graphically detailed in the best-selling Left Behind fantasies authored by the Rev Tim LaHaye, a true believer and a devout political supporter of George Bush.

You might well ask, "Who, what and where are Gog and Magog?" According to the literature of fundamentalist Christianity as it is peculiarly practiced in America, Magog, is the prince of Gog, an area that is frequently described as including many of the following nations: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. While accounts of the geography of Gog vary, the consensus is that it includes the mass of central Asia, and may involve European nations as well who will form an alliance to attack Israel.”

As ridiculous as this may sound, there are some threads here that need further examination before casting this theory into the dustbin of insanity. First, though Bush has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a friend and there have been many moves to bring our former rival closer to the Western world, there are still old contrarians from the Cold War era in Washington that believe that no matter what changes in the world, Russia is still our enemy. If those people in both the Pentagon and the White are also fundamentalist Christians, it is possible that they might believe we are in the pre-stages of a final holy war.

Another important element of this story is the role of Israel. Carmichael suggests that along with the US, Israel is preparing for an aerial bombardment of Iran’s nuclear facilities at some point this year (the smart money says March). Now that’s not exactly earth shattering news as even the mainstream media has been reporting that Israel is readying itself for a military confrontation with Iran.

In fact, according to the Jerusalem Post, though the Israeli’s are denying that they had anything to do with last weeks plan crash in Iran that killed the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's ground forces, it has been suggested that covert action and sabotage is exactly the strategy that should be employed to take down Iran.

Israel and Russia are also enemies from the Cold War. However, these days it would seem that the lines between enemies and allies has been blurred by the almighty dollar. Russia and Israel now have joint oil concerns stemming from an Israeli pipeline called the Tipline. On the other hand, Russia is responsible for selling Syria anti-aircraft missiles and defended that sale when Putin visited Israel last year. Seeing has Syria has not serious enemies in the Middle East except Israel, I can only imagine what logic Putin used to sell this deal on Sharon.

The aforementioned piece titled, “The War of Gog and Magog,” sounds like it could be plausible when you read it due to the people highlighted within the administration whom are said to be pushing this agenda. John Bolton is mentioned as well as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and a whole host of “neo-conservative hawks.” Given what the mainstream press has reported about Bush’s White House, it’s not totally beyond the realm of possibility that biblical prophecy as well as global oil interests might actually drive this group.

It also doesn’t help that Iranian President Ahmadinejad says completely indefensible nonsense such as wanting to wipe Israel off the map and that the Holocaust was a myth. He’s not exactly a sympathetic character.

As with most conspiracy theories, I have no idea how true this all is. The mainstream media is reporting that Russia is now beginning to cool on its protection of Iran, mostly because Ahmadinejad is so completely hostile to the diplomatic world. It appears as if Putin is backing away from Iran in the hopes that if regime change comes to fruition, the next leader will still honor all of their trade deals and yet be less of a lunatic. China isn’t quite there yet but there is hope that where Moscow goes, Beijing shall follow.

Is this the entire precursor to biblical prophecy? Who knows? I’m putting it out there as something for you all to consider. I myself am inclined to believe that Washington is solely driven by monetary concerns but hey, religion has made people do some strange things over the years so again, even a wild conspiracy such as the “War of Gog and Magog,” is possibly true.

God Bless.