Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps to be Labeled a Terrorist Group

According to a Washington Post article today the Bush Administration is ready to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard -- an elite military force -- a foreign terrorist organization.

The reason behind the move is the Guard's increased involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq and its support for military extremists in the Middle East. The U.S. is also concerned with Iran's nuclear program.

The Revolutionary Guard would be the first national military branch deemed a terrorist organization, a very unusual move because it is part of a government, not the usual non-state terrorist organization.

The primary goal of this designation is to stem the tide of the Revolutionary Guard's business network including foreign companies conducting business with the military unit.

But some see this a prelude to war with Iran. Will Bunch of Attytood:

The White House hawks in Dick Cheney's office and elsewhere who want to stage an attack on Iran are clearly winning the internal power stuggle. And an often overlooked sub-plot on the long road toward war with Tehran is this: How could Bush stage an attack on Iran without the authorization of a skeptical, Democratic Congress?

Today, the White House has solved that pesky problem in one fell swoop. By explicitly linking the Iranian elite guard into the post 9/11 "global war on terror" in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush's lawyers would certainly now argue that any military strike on Iran is now covered by the October 2002 authorization to use military force in Iraq, as part of their overly sweeping response to the 2001 attacks.

And Ken of the Seventh Sense:

Calling the military branch of another government a "terrorist" organization also allows Bush to skirt other nasty legal obstacles. For example, Congress won't have to declare war on them because now they would fall under the AUMF that was passed in the wake of 9/11.

And assuming we do go to war with Iran, we won't have to treat the soldiers of the opposing army under the Geneva Conventions.

So basically, by slapping the label "terrorist" on any person, or group, the Bush Administration can do anything it wants (i.e., attack them) and avoid complying with the U.S. Constitution and international treaties and human rights and stuff like that.

The administration has yet to decide exactly when to announce the measure, but officials said they would like to before the UN General Assembly convenes next month, where the U.S. intends to ramp up international pressure against Iran.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation