US DECLARES WAR ON IRAN

In a startling and frightening recent series of events the United States has declared war on Iran. Preemptive measures have been undertaken that, while not insuring a victory for the US, should minimally result in its achieving the primary  objective closing down Iran’s nuclear weapons program with a few civilian casualties. The US has positioned several aircraft carriers in the gulf, ostensibly for the protection of shipping routes, and amassed ground forces and supplies where they can be rapidly deployed to target strategic Iranian military infrastructure. At press time actions undertaken by the US have been limited to the tacit declaration of war and demands for immediate cessation of all activities related to the research and production of nuclear weapons and several coordinated cyber-attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities.

Lawyers for the Obama administration have deemed the actions to meet the requirements of international law, citing this previous announcement by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and the President has given his full consent to Defense Department plans to implement the preemptive strike. Paving the way for the current plan, a computer virus, dubbed Stuxnet, was released earlier to cause irreparable damage to centrifuges used in the uranium refining process. Several subsequent computer viruses have also been released, most targeting critical military installations, and civilian and commercial facilities ancillary to both the nuclear programs and the country’s military command. Assassinations of personnel important to the country’s nuclear program have also taken place, including several key scientists and individuals involved in the administration of the program. No admissions of involvement in these assassinations have  been made at this time but lawyers for the US have made it clear that the killings will fall within the doctrine of “Acts of War”, and thus be immune from prosecution.

The news has caused a spike in oil prices worldwide and markets are now expected  to reach a high well above $110 a barrel as it coincides with a recent California refinery fire and dire climate predictions from the NOAA. News of the declaration of war against Iran have largely been kept under wraps by the Obama administration in hopes that a timely announcement may aid in the November election results.

Iran, a country with about one fourth the population and area of the United States had previously been considered an ally of the US, aiding then President Ronald Reagan in the secret channeling of arms and monies to Nicaraguan contra rebels through the sales of arms.