October surprise?

From the Jerusalem Post:

Dutch intel: US to strike Iran in coming weeks
Sep. 1, 2008
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

The Dutch intelligence service, the AIVD, has called off an operation aimed at infiltrating and sabotaging Iran's weapons industry due to an assessment that a US attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is imminent, according to a report in the country's De Telegraaf newspaper on Friday.

The report claimed that the Dutch operation had been "extremely successful," and had been stopped because the US military was planning to hit targets that were "connected with the Dutch espionage action."

The impending air-strike on Iran was to be carried out by unmanned aircraft "within weeks," the report claimed, quoting "well placed" sources.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the De Telegraaf report.

According to the report, information gleaned from the AIVD's operation in Iran has provided several of the targets that are to be attacked in the strike, including "parts for missiles and launching equipment."

"Information from the AIVD operation has been shared in recent years with the CIA," the report said.

On Saturday, Iran's Deputy Chief of Staff General Masoud Jazayeri warned that should the United States or Israel attack Iran, it would be the start of another World War.

On Friday, Ma'ariv reported that Israel had made a strategic decision to deny Iran military nuclear capability and would not hesitate "to take whatever means necessary" to prevent Teheran from achieving its nuclear goals.

According to the report, whether the United States and Western countries succeed in thwarting the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions diplomatically, through sanctions, or whether a US strike on Iran is eventually decided upon, Jerusalem has begun preparing for a separate, independent military strike.

Financial impact of a strike on Iran

**ING, a major investment bank has warned the financial community that a preemptive strike, by Israel or anybody else, would have the following consequences:

The financial market impact would be dramatic, even if Iranian retaliation were restrained. Risk assets have risen strongly over the past three years, and a surprise attack on Iran would catch out markets pricing in little volatility. The US dollar, government bond yields, stock markets and industrial raw materials would all fall. Oil and gold prices, could spike, boosting related equities, debt and currencies. Other credit spreads would widen, and the unwinding of carry trades would see funding currencies benefit, although Japan, dependent on Iranian oil, might lag others such as the Swiss franc. A prime casualty might be the Turkish lira, which could fall 10-20%. The duration of these effects would depend on the extent of Iranian retaliation: a constrained response would make them short-lived.

Watch for "false flag" incident

**Rep. Ron Paul from - of all places - TEXAS says "I hope I'm wrong about this one" but he warns of a possible Gulf of Tonkin-type incident that could trigger a war with Iran. Israel might be the actual perpetrator, but for sure it will get the US involved once it starts. The US has probably already started by the recent Irbil action. But any shakeup now of the status quo - crappy as it is - would serve to hold the reformers at bay and keep Bush running things pretty much as he pleases for the next year or two.

This link includes video of the speech.

Furthermore by digby