DAVID VINE, [email protected].
Vine just wrote the piece “Did Iran Attack Diego Garcia?” for Foreign Policy in Focus. He is author of the books Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia, Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World and The United States of War: A Global History of America’s Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State.
Vine writes: “The details about an alleged Iranian attempt to attack the U.S.-UK military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia last week are as mysterious as the secretive base itself. Although the Iranian government has denied attacking Diego Garcia, Israeli and other government officials as well as members of the Euro-American media have seized on the story of an Iranian attack to ring alarm bells about a supposedly increased Iranian threat. Previously, Iran’s missiles were understood to have a much smaller range, making Diego Garcia and most European capitals safe from their power. Some clearly stand to benefit from a version of events in which Iran is a threat to Europe. …
“Last Friday, the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed U.S. government officials in reporting that Iran ‘fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia,’ the tiny British-controlled island in the Chagos Archipelago. … Over the weekend, an Iranian government official denied that Iran fired missiles at Diego Garcia, calling the claim an Israeli ‘false flag’ operation meant to deceive people into thinking that Iran was responsible. …
“Another group that stands to benefit from reports of an Iranian missile attack on Diego Garcia are the people involved in a campaign to kill ratification of a treaty that would see the UK formally return sovereignty over all the Chagos islands to the western Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius, a former British colony. …
“Descendants of enslaved Africans and indentured Indians, the Chagossians have lived in exile ever since, struggling to win the right to return home and receive proper compensation for their expulsion and more than half a century of impoverished exile. The UK/Mauritius treaty would allow Chagossians to return to all their islands except Diego Garcia and provide a compensation fund for their benefit. …
“The mysteries surrounding the alleged missile attack on Diego Garcia could be clarified if the U.S. government provides evidence about the missiles involved, their trajectories, and thus their potential firing range. Until government or independent evidence emerges, observers should avoid repeating unverified claims and drawing conclusions based on statements from governments that stand to benefit from inflating the Iranian military threat.”