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Despite being mired in two increasingly costly and bloody wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration appears to be on a collision course with another official foe: Iran. Beyond the usual pronouncements that shy away from suggestions of war, the Pentagon has continued its military build-up in and around the Persian Gulf with the deployment of a second aircraft carrier battle group and a battery of Patriot missiles. While Defense Secretary Robert Gates has emphatically stated that the United States has "no intention of attacking Iran," government officials have continued to conjure up a host of scare tactics designed to whip the war-weary population into supporting a new war. The administration has continually cited Iran's nuclear program as a dire threat, despite the fact that their own intelligence analysts have said that the country is five to 10 years away from processing uranium for nuclear weapons. The Iranian regime also lacks the missile technology required to propel such weaponry outside the region. In addition to conjuring up the mushroom cloud specter, President Bush and Pentagon officials have cited Iran's alleged involvement in attacks on US troops in Iraq. Following the dubious presentation of the evidence backing these claims, the administration has yet to concede the fact that the vast majority of attacks on US forces have been carried out by Sunni insurgents, many of whom are also at war with their Shiite counterparts backed by Iran (including the Badr Brigade, the armed wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which has close ties to the US). As the White House has continued to weave together the rhetorical threads necessary for military engagement with Iran, the mainstream media has by and large dutifully followed the administration's lead. In an article last month citing anonymous "civilian and military officials," The New York Times highlighted White House claims on the Iranian role in supplying the "deadliest weapon" targeting US troops, the roadside bomb. The author of this article and series of others on the same subject, Michael R. Gordon, also wrote a host of articles trumpeting misinformation on weapons of mass destruction in the lead up to the Iraq War. Despite the paper's belated public apology over its misleading articles four years ago, "the newspaper of record" is letting one of its reporters repeat the same fallacies. The Washington Post also followed the official line in its coverage of Iranian involvement in Iraq, stating that "Iranian security forces… are funneling sophisticated explosives to extremist groups in Iraq," citing "senior defense officials" as a source. With the rest of the mainstream following suit and the increasing powerful right-wing media pushing the envelope even further, local and national alternative media outlets must step up and help put the brakes on the current drive towards yet another war. The Asheville Global Report has consistently provided local residents with the necessary means to navigate the world and filter out the propaganda of the corporate news media. Now our publication has the opportunity to play a dual role: in addition to providing an alternative perspective with our local print edition and radio show, we will now be providing the same hard-hitting news on a national level beginning in April with the broadcast of our television program to millions of people throughout the country. Despite our recent success, we still need adequate funding from our local supporters to get us through this month and beyond. Your contribution to the AGR and other like-minded media outlets can help lessen the blow of the latest effort to drag us all into another ill-fated conflict that could be right around the corner. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Asheville Global Report. Send a check or money order to: AGR PO Box 1504 Asheville, NC 28802 We also accept credit cards via PayPal on our website, agrnews.org