Reports Say Pentagon Planning Attack on Iran

Interview with Robert Scheer, journalist and author, conducted by Scott Harris

Just days before Iranian officials announced to the world that they had successfully enriched uranium needed to fuel a nuclear power plant, Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker Magazine and the Washington Post reported that the Bush administration is actively planning a military attack on Iran's nuclear research facilities. Although Iran's President Ahmadinejad has stated that his nation is only seeking technology to build a civilian nuclear power program, President Bush and the European Union have been pressuring his government through the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.N. Security Council to halt all nuclear research.

The Post and New Yorker articles indicate that as the U.S. steps up surveillance of Iran's infrastructure, plans are being drawn up for a range of military options, including a limited airstrike aimed at key nuclear sites and a more extensive bombing campaign designed to destroy an array of military and political targets. Both accounts report that Pentagon planners are considering the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11 to destroy hardened facilities that are buried underground or under mountains. President Bush dismissed the reports as "wild speculation" during an appearance at Johns Hopkins University on April 10.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with journalist Robert Scheer, who for 30 years covered politics for the Los Angeles Times. He considers the possible dire consequences of a U.S. attack on Iran.

Robert Scheer is author of the book, "Playing President." Read Scheer's columns at his new online investigative website: www.truthdig.org

Related links:

* "U.S. Is Studying Military Strike Options on Iran: Any Mix of Tact, Threats Alarms Critics," by Peter Baker, Dafna Linzer and Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post , April 9, 2006

* "The Iran Plans: Would President Bush go to war to stop Tehran from getting the bomb?" by Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker, April 17, 2006

* "The Nuclear Bunker Buster: Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator," animation from the Union of Concerned Scientists at www.ucsusa.org

* "U.S. Plans Strike to Topple Iran Regime - Report," The Guardian, April 10, 2006

* "How Crazy Are They?" by William Rivers Pitt, www.truthout.org, April 11, 2006

* "Yes He Would," by Paul Krugman,The New York Times, April 10, 2006

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