June 24, 2008 (LPAC)--Briefed on continuing reports of planned Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, Lyndon LaRouche said today that these threats must be taken very seriously, and he directed LPAC to further investigate the reports. LaRouche said these reports occur in the following strategic context: The British imperial enemy has taken some defeats recently, on the Lisbon Treaty front, and on the FAO food crisis, and these setbacks have forced some policy pullback, because of the widespread recognition of the food/fuel hyperinflation, and other backlash to their policies. The enemy running "idiot George Bush" need to rescue their planned destabilization operations, and an Israeli strike versus Iranian targets would do just that.

LaRouche was especially concerned about these reports on Israel, given the early June maneuvers by the Israeli air force in the eastern Mediterranean, and given the push inside Israel to oust Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, which is supposed to come up in the Knesset on June 25. Reports on the Israeli military exercises now indicate that Greece, a member of the NATO alliance, played a major role in the anti-Iran maneuvers. Agence France Presse reported that the Greeks conducted training exercises with Israel, twice in recent weeks, on May 28 and June 12, in what is called “Glorious Spartan 08.” The Philadelphia Bulletin also reports that Israeli Blackhawk helicopters made an emergency landing in Cyprus, before proceeding to their destination—Crete, a Greek island. The involvement of European countries has raised serious questions about the involvement of NATO and the U.S. in planned actions.

Voicing utmost concern about the threat of an attack on Iran, Dr. Mohammed ElBaradei stated yesterday on Al-Arabiya TV that “a military strike against Iran would ... be worse than anything else... it would transform the Middle East region into a ball of fire.... A military strike would spark the launch of an emergency program to make atomic weapons, with the support of all Iranians, including those living abroad.” Some intelligence specialists reached by EIR on the Israeli threats against Iran said they could not yet tell whether there is an active strike plan, or the reports are elaborate “psychological warfare.” But LaRouche said, at this point, “it doesn’t matter,” because the planning is so elaborate, that it adds up to planning for the attack, and because the oligarchy’s strategic desperation is so pressing.