The Bush administration’s committee for regime change in Iran

The Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group (ISOG), set up nearly a year ago, is modelled on the Iraq Policy and Operations Group established in 2004 to consolidate the US-led occupation of Iraq. Syria, as a close ally of Iran, has been included in the ISOG’s brief, but, according to the Globe, “is a lesser focus of the group”. Emile El-Hokayem, a research fellow at the Stimpson Centre, a US-based thinktank, told the newspaper: “There is a perception in the Gulf that Iran is really on the rise. Washington wants to prepare for a potential showdown.”

The article, based on interviews with half a dozen officials, pointed out that the ISOG’s activities are highly secretive. To handle its administrative work, it employs the same private contractors—BearingPoint—as the Iraq Policy and Operations Group. Several officials in the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs bureau—which covers Iran and Syria—told the Globe they were unaware of the group’s existence.

Kate Starr, a National Security Council spokeswoman, played down the ISOG’s significance, saying it was nothing more than “a forum for ongoing interagency group discussions on Iran and Syria”. But a former official involved in the early stages of its establishment indicated that the group’s purpose was far from routine. He told the newspaper, “he got the impression that regime change was a key goal of many of the meetings’ participants”.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2007/jan2007/iran-j05.shtml