Turns out Iran has a deal going (with Turkey) to ship fuel from Turkmenistan to Europe. Which would sideline Chevron’s Baku Pipeline gig big time. I’m sure they gotta be wicked pissed.

Condi done be stompin on her hat for SURE.

It’s not like nuking Iran is their ONLY strategy

OPEN QUOTE

Moscow certainly took note of these strange goings on – a stream of senior US diplomats attired in pinstripe suits with top executives of oil majors with suspiciously heavy-looking attache cases in tow, trooping out of Ashgabat hotel rooms almost every week. If there was any doubt about what they were up to, that became clear in late July when US-based energy company Chevron announced its intention to open an office in Ashgabat and participate in the development of Caspian energy resources.

Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan.

Pretty close, as you can see, to the border with Iran. And a few other borders worth noting :

Here’s how Big Oil’s Baku pipeline runs (from the Caspian Sea) :

Big Oils’ got a stooge gubment installed in Georgia and Blackwater’s got Baku under control.

Here are the field’s they’re currently exploiting — with a nice little who’s who. North American, British and French but mostly North American.

So the gig now is to cozy up to Turkmenistan and get those babies sowed up.

Turkmenistan is also pretty close to 100% oil and gas :

They gonna have to build a pipeline under the Caspian Sea and that’s the plan. That’s what they’re going to do.

So but OPEN QUOTE

Turkey and Iran signed a memorandum in Ankara on July 13 on gas deliveries from Turkmenistan and Iran via Turkey to Europe.

END OF QUOTE

The oil would, I expect, go the same way it’s going now, from Iran and the Gulf States. South into the Arabian Sea, North by Northwest into the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean.

Russia also wants the privilege of shipping that oil and gas — in case you were wondering why they aren’t being more aggressive about covering Iran’s tuckus. But Russia, China and Iran area all uncomfortable about having the world’s number one psycho-capitalists installed in the region — so they’re united in that sense.

Russia and China, as you know, both have permanent seats in the UN Security Council. So.

I think maybe we can all see a bit better now what all the arguments dancing around Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities are about — facilities that even the CIA says don’t exist.

So basically the bomb iran gig is an attempt to paralyze their decision forks. The US MIC doesn’t “go in” unless they think there’s going to be a cake walk. Like they had in Korea and Yugoslavia. Vietnam didn’t turn out to be the greatest cake walk in town and Iraq also looked a lot easier than it turned out to be.

But Iran definitely is not looking defenseless, even without the nuclear weapons. So that’s why they’ve thrown the element of surprise out the window — as far as strategies go.

Iranians fought Iraq’s invasion at all cost. Mothers who have lost sons to this war say they are happy their son had a martyr’s death. With a population of 70 million of which at least 10 million are capable of bearing arms and are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend their country; who in his right mind would invade Iran?

we’re not talking about people in their right mind though mike.

it’s a good bet nevertheless that even the criminally insane are not seriously entertaining the idea.

Russian techs evacuate Iranian reactor

jc, DEBKAfile? LOL squared.

Widening rift between major powers over Iran’s nuclear programs

A foreign ministers meeting of the UN Security Council permanent members—the US, Britain, France, Russia and China—plus Germany broke up last Friday without agreeing to the Bush administration’s call for the immediate imposition of tough new sanctions against Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons programs. Russia and China, which both hold a veto in the Security Council, opposed the US demands.

France: political fall-out from Kouchner’s calls for aggression against Iran

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner’s calls for an aggressive policy against Iran has created anxiety within the French ruling elite, as the popularity of recently elected President Nicolas Sarkozy rapidly falls in opinion polls. Sections of the French bourgeoisie are not only concerned for their huge investments in Iran, but that Sarkozy may undermine his own government by becoming the Bush administration’s junior partner in its war crimes.

. . .Kouchner also said that the French government was discouraging new investment in Iran—even though French companies have already invested US$30 billion there.

May I remind everyone also that that’s US $30 billion of real French franc invested in real Iranian assets with a real potential for real productivity.

Unlike the US$ 483 TRILLION of Shock Doctrine Economy collateralized debt based on the FN unemployed US consumer.