In order to sell more weapons, the United States needs to create phantom enemies for countries targeted as markets. This is definitely the case in regard to the tiny Arab states on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.

U.S. officials are seeking ways to recapture the petrodollars amassed by these countries as a result of high oil prices over the past few years. Thus, an imaginary enemy is needed, and Iran is currently the best available imaginary enemy.

The U.S. is currently attempting to convince the tiny Persian Gulf states that they must buy U.S. arms to counter the imaginary threat posed by Iran in order to create jobs in the United States and to partly compensate for the cost of the war in Iraq. On Thursday, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler said Iran's neighbors -- including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates -- are talking to the United States about ways to bolster their defenses. In a Reuters interview, Kohler claimed a refusal by Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment has "awakened some major concerns" among all its neighbors.

"We're in discussion with their services and their leaders to see what capabilities are required and how the United States can best fulfill those needs."

Long before the Bush administration and its master Israel fabricated the recent commotion about Iran’s nuclear program, previous U.S. administrations had tried to demonize the Islamic Republic in the eyes of regional Arab states. For example, during the Clinton administration then defense secretary William Cohen made frequent visits to regional states to sell arms.

"Our job is not to rack up sales," Kohler said hypocritically.

"Our job is to help people get the capabilities they need."

Revealing the motive behind the move, Kohler said he expected competition from France and possibly others for Middle East arms sales.

Similarly, The Los Angeles Times reported in its Saturday edition that the United States has begun developing what it called a “containment strategy” with Iran's Persian Gulf neighbors that aims to spread missile defense systems across the region and interdict ships suspected of carrying nuclear technology.

"Iran without nuclear arms is a threat," Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, told the paper in an interview.

"With nuclear weapons it would become even more emboldened, in terms of moving forward with its aggressive designs."

However, opinion polls show that Arabs have a positive view of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its peaceful nuclear program. Likewise, most Arabs have a negative view of the U.S. and regard Washington as their enemy.

Thus, when it is said that Arabs hate the United States, it is not merely sensational rhetoric but what opinion polls suggest. So, as far as the United States, Israel, and Iran are concerned, the Arab world surely knows which country is a threat to the region.

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly stated that the Islamic Republic regards the security of Persian Gulf Arab states as “its own” security and wants the Persian Gulf to become a “gulf of peace and friendship.” The previous Iranian governments of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami also extended the hand of friendship to regional Arab states, despite the fact that those countries had provided logistical and financial support to Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

The true face of Washington can no longer be hidden. The U.S. is not marketing advanced weaponry to tiny regional states out of concern for their safety. Indeed, before Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, which some analysts argue was encouraged by Washington itself, Kuwait had purchased billions of dollars of arms from the U.S., but Kuwait was not able to fire a single shot at the invading Iraqi troops.

Meanwhile, Iran has established friendlier relations with Arab states since the Islamic Revolution. Whereas the shah’s regime turned a blind eye to the suffering of the Palestinians, ignored humanitarian values, and supported Israel in its struggle with Arab states, the Islamic Republic has been a defender of the rights of the Palestinian people since 1979, which in turn has fostered a sense of unity and friendship among regional states. Moreover, it is not in Iran’s nature to act like a bully in order to frighten small states.

So if defense contractors from the U.S. military-industrial complex like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and Raytheon are seeking to make money, it would not be wise for them to demonize the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities, because Iran’s nuclear program is transparent and every single activity is monitored by cameras installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

At the end of the day, U.S. defense contractors must come to their senses and realize that creating phantom enemies is not profitable over the long run.