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GUEST: Pepe Escobar, foreign correspondent for the Asia Times, and a news analyst for the Real News

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking on Israeli TV, characterized the prospects of a US attack on Iran as a “significant challenge.” In his statements made on Monday, Admiral Michael Mullen cited the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in his reasoning, and noted that he was hopeful the U.S. could avoid a conflict with the Tehran regime. Still, Mullen maintained that all military options should remain on the table against Iran while other forms of pressure continue to increase. The admiral’s comments come a week after he announced the Pentagon is planning for “potential military courses of action,” against Iran and said a conflict would be “extremely stressing,” but not impossible for the U.S. military. Also last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates dispatched a second U.S. aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf. He called the move “a reminder” not an escalation. As pressure against Iran continues, Asia Times foreign correspondent Pepe Escobar, in his most recent article, offers five important ways to think about the current Iranian situation, from President Ahmadinejad’s real hold on power to the prospects of a velvet revolution. In assessing Iran under the gun, Escobar’s piece, “The Iranian Chessboard,” concludes that any attack on Iran would be disastrous.

Read Pepe Escobar’s article here: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174926