Iraqi Prime Minister warns Iran, Syria to stop disrupting peace

The Iraqi interim-Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi, speaking on Iraqi TV today echoed comments made yesterday by Iraq’s Defence Minister, about Iranian and Syrian meddling in Iraq.

“There are countries which host those who are involved in activities that are harmful to the people of Iraq”, ...

“We are waiting for a response from them (Iran and Syria)” ...

“The Iraqi people will soon see footage of the confessions of one of the perpetrators who has information about the meddling of these two countries in Iraq”. ...

He said that his government would not turn a blind-eye to “foreign meddling”, forever. more

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E.U. moves to profit on Iran: Will Bush stand alone to protect U.S.?

Dr. Jerome Corsi takes a look at the EU's new fondness for Iran and warns:

"We are in for a big fight in 2005." more

Will the US be forced to go it alone again?

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Al Qaeda : Democracy is Apostasy

From the AFP via ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation):

Radical Islamist groups in Iraq said in an Internet statement Thursday they considered democracy "farcial and un-Islamic" and warned that no-one who took part in next month's polls would be safe.

"Those who participate in this dirty farce will not be sheltered from the blows of the mujahedeen," said a statement posted on an Islamist website signed by the Al Qaeda linked Ansar Al-Sunna, the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of the Mujahedeen.
[...]

"Democracy is a word of Greek origin meaning the sovereignty of the people... this concept is considered apostasy, contrary to the doctrine of one God and Sharia (Islamic law)," the statement from the three groups said.

"Democracy is a farce created by our enemies to confer what they call legitimacy on the new government which is subservient to the crusaders and executes their orders." more

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Special Analysis: The 12/04 Bin Laden Tapes

Dan Darling takes a look at Bin Laden's recent flurry of video tapes. A lengthy but interesting read.

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Iran launches Hebrew radio station

Hebrew-speaking Arab radio stations are meant as propaganda efforts to influence Israelis' view of their own society, but there can be other side effects... more

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Iran's domestic crisis: Its youth

For those who think the Iranian people are content with their situation:

The Research and Planning Institute for Higher Education, an Iranian government agency, conducted research on Iranian youth. The project focused on young Iranians with an average age of 21.

The results are alarming: 53 percent of the participants see death as a way out of their lives and more than 77 percent believe there is no future for them. more

Iran's youth just need a "spark" of hope.

President Bush, faster please!

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EU to build nuclear reactor in Iran

Top Iran's nuclear official said that the Europeans announced they were ready to build nuclear plants in Iran. more

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Iran, Russia to study UFOs

Worldnetdaily.com reports:

With a rash of recent sightings of unidentified flying objects in the Eastern Hemisphere, Russia and Iran have agreed to jointly study the UFO phenomenon. ... more

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We Need a Real Iran Policy

Even the Washington Post is calling for a real Iran policy? But their analysis is pathetic.

Negotiations require making concessions. Neoconservatives argue that such concessions would help sustain the current Islamist government, but most analysts agree that the regime is well entrenched. The alternative to negotiating is for the United States to continue to do nothing. ... more

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“Car bomb work of Iranian intelligence”: Najaf chief of police

The police chief in Najaf said that the commander of three terrorists arrested on Sunday in connection with a car bomb that exploded in the holy city, had extensive connections to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).

He said that intelligence for when and where to attack was given by an MOIS agent to the terrorist cells. more

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Bloggers tortured in Iran, says ex-VP

The former VP of Iran, Mohammed Ali Abtahi -- renowned for blogging himself has reported on the imprisonment and torture of bloggers in Iran. It is his report on a committee meeting with imprisoned bloggers, called for by the president of Iran. An excerpt:

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Roger L Simon on Ledeen's Critics

[T]hey have no answer, no proposal, at all. They offer fashionable hard-boiled realism which, in the end, is only laziness. more

Pejmanesque weighs in as well.

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Iran biggest producer of ballistic missiles in region

The dean of the Police Academy said on Tuesday that Iran ranks third in the region in producing ballistic missiles after China and Russia. more

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In the end, it all comes down to Bush, and his priorities

Ambassador Edward S. Walker, Jr. on Iran:

While some Pentagon planners may be considering air attack options for the U.S. or by a surrogate Israel, it is by no means clear that the proliferation threat can be effectively destroyed or delayed by air - similar attempts by the Clinton administration in Iraq proved fruitless.

Covert efforts to destabilize the Iranian regime do not appear to be any more realistic, nor would they likely remain covert. No single event would trigger the strong nationalism of the Iranian people and preserve and extend the rule of the ayatollahs more than an American attack... more

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The Ayatollah & I

Jerusalem Post:

'Muslim women don't have a problem with the fact that their husbands have a few other wives," declared the Iranian ayatollah with great conviction. Sitting across the conference table from him, in the magnificent 17th-century Villa Serbelloni on Lake Como in Italy, I disagreed.

My conversations over the years with Muslim women colleagues had given me a quite different picture.

"I would suggest that you don't really know how women feel since you're a man. I'm a woman, and I can tell you that women do not want to be one of several wives." more

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Iraq and Iran

Iraq's interim defense minister, Hazem Shaalan:

"we discovered that the key to terrorism is in Iran, which is the No. 1 enemy for Iraq," ...

the Iranians "are fighting us because we want to build freedom and democracy and they want to build an Islamic dictatorship and have turbaned clerics to rule in Iraq." ...

the best antidote to imposition of the Iranian system in Iraq is the cleansing effect of democratic debate. more

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'Neo-Conservatives Abusing Spirit of Christ,' Iranian Leader

The head of the Iranian Expediency Council, Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani scolded American neo-conservatives on Christmas eve.

"Regarding what is going on in the Christian world, one must distinguish between most of the people, who are deprived of rights, oppressed, the people of the Third World and another part of the people -- such as the Americans," ...

"The American neo-conservatives, who are, in fact, the Zionists of our time, are now in control, and they are abusing the spirit of Christ,"...

"We expect that the scholars and leading men of the Christian world will not allow the exalted spirit [of Christ] to be contaminated by the sinister goals of these greedy, colonialist people. They must act in order to appease the spirit of Christ," ... more

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Imprisoned Student's Case Comes Up for Review.

Radio Free Europe reports the case of a young student whose image personified the Iranian student demonstrations of July 1999 in the international media came up for review on 20 December, according to the man's attorney. A photograph of Ahmad Batebi waving a bloody shirt was published by major international media, and he was subsequently imprisoned. more

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Iranians To Have A Television From Holland

IPS reports on the Dutch are providing $20 million for a persian television station.

The bill aims at filling the “void of free press in Iran”, explained Ms Farah Karimi, the 44 years-old Iranian-born member of the Parliament from the minority Green Party. ...

This is a television made and run by Iranians and for the Iranians. more

The LA based Iranian broadcasters could use this kind of support.

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Grand Strategy in President Bush's Second Term

John Lewis Gaddis writing for Foreign Affairs magazine provides some interesting insights into the need for President Bush to make his case for our efforts in the Middle East. A must read.

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Holding Tehran accountable

The Washington Times reports on the UN's recent resolution criticizing the Iranian government's abysmal human-rights record.

The resolution, which passed on Monday, expressed "serious concern"about "continuing violations of human rights" by the Iranian government. It pointed out that the situation has been worsening, and that problems include "crackdowns by the judiciary and security forces against journalists, parliamentarians, students, clerics and academics; the unjustified closure of newspapers and blocking of Internet sites." The resolution also expressed concern about other actions taken by the radical Shi'ite regime — amputations and stonings, discrimination against women, and arbitrary arrests and detentions against religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, Christians, Jews and Baha'is. more

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Freeing Ourselves to Take Bold Diplomatic Action

Now even the Washington Post is calling for President Bush to take bolder diplomatic action in the Middle East. Robin Wright recently visted Tehran and shares her suggestions:

President Bush won't be able to achieve his lofty goals of a democratic, peaceful and nuclear-free Middle East unless he takes bold and imaginative strokes -- a kind of "shock and awe" diplomacy -- to generate movement in a different direction. ...

Yet many in the Muslim world -- even admirers of the United States -- believe the Bush administration still charts Middle East policy with a double standard. It wants democratic change in Egypt, but it also wants President Hosni Mubarak's loyalty and intervention on Arab-Israeli peace. It wants Saudi Arabia to open up politically, but it also wants the royal family to crack down on Islamist dissidents and do whatever it takes to protect the oil fields. It wants free and fair elections in Iraq, but it also wants a pro-American government that will write a constitution to our liking. ... more

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Choices on Iran

The NY Sun has a few suggestions for President Bush in dealing with Iran.

He could go on a radio program aired by pro-democracy Iranians and express support for the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom. He could meet with pro-democracy Iranians in the Oval Office and distribute photos of the meeting, along with a statement of support, to pro-democracy Iranian bloggers. He could go to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a speech detailing Iranian-funded and supported terrorism against Americans and against Iranian opposition figures in Europe, and invoking Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty binding the other NATO allies to mutual assistance and collective action to restore security. more

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UFO's worry Tehran

Iran's military are getting nervous. Now they are seeing UFO's.

"All anti-aircraft units and jet fighters have been ordered to shoot down the flying objects in Iran’s airspace," spokesman of the regular Army, Air Force Colonel Salman Mahini, said. ...

"The unidentified flying objects could be satellites, comets or spying or reconnaissance craft trying to monitor Iran’s nuclear installations," Col. Mahini said.

"Flights of unknown objects in the country’s airspace have increased in recent weeks ... (they) have been seen over Bushehr and Isfahan provinces," more

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