Check your web pages at SiteReportCard
Who Links Here
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Jeff Jarvis of the BuzzMachine has posted a roundup of blogs covering the Iraq election. The FreeRepublic is also running a live news thread. Check them out. A lot of us will be up late tonight!
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 05:47:00 PM
Excerpts of SMCCDI's open letter to President Bush:
1. Implementation of full international economic and military sanctions on the Islamic Republic regime via UN security council resolution based on human rights, support for terrorism, and this to be tabled with or without IAEA board recommendation on the nuclear threat the theocracy poses. These two issues alone should be viewed as circumstance the world cannot turn it's back upon, at risk of civilization itself. Such measures should include coordination with oil producing nations to ensure stable world supply while sanction persists, as well as the halting of any and all arms transfers to the Islamic Republic regime.
Note: We believe it is unwise to continue nuclear power discussions until such time as secular government ratified by the people in Iran comes to power. And rest assured Mr. President, any new government, abiding by the rule of law, can and will work with the IAEA in full cooperation to implement the safeguards and protocols, to address all aspects and concerns regarding the peaceful use of atomic power, and to dismantle any and all existing programs that may violate them.
2. Full diplomatic sanction and closing of Iranian embassies world-wide, removal and deportation of regime representatives, their agents and spies from all nations. Diplomatic sanction by the UN, and removal of representation from this international forum till such time as a legitimate interim government can be established in Iran. Iran is party to the 1948 UN charter, yet not having been a signatory the Islamic Republic regime is abysmally derelict in it's adherence to the provisions contained within it.
Note: We ask that concerns regarding lack of consular functions as a result of this action be cooperatively addressed, so as to continue to allow emergency visas to be issued. (i.e. family emergencies, etc.) It may be possible to retain the minimum consular functions, under tight supervision, but they are well known in their recruiting of, and issuing visa to potential martyrs and terrorists. As well, We feel it is unwise to allow the Islamic Republic regime to maintain a UN staff of aprox. 400 "diplomats", who consistently violate the 12 mile limit, engage in activities not associated with diplomatic function, and pose a threat to US interests and Iranian opposition groups located in the US.
3. Freezing of any and all financial assets of the Islamic Republic regime, their current and former leadership, and corporate interests world-wide, till such time as a new interim government can be established. As well as allocation of portions of these assets now to legitimate non-violent opposition groups inside and outside Iran, to realize the goals, and to provide the tangible support needed as civil disobedience becomes manifest in action. Only in this way can this action be self sustaining till it succeeds.
4. Repeated statements by world leaders publicly calling for the leadership of the Islamic Republic regime to step down peacefully, and to relinquish the government to the hands and will of the Iranian people.
5. The coordinated post-regime rebuilding of vital social institutions and infrastructure of democracy should be implemented now. The training of judges, civil servants, police, etc. The Iranian exile community can provide the talent, initially and there are many more inside Iran supporting the opposition who will answer the call to service as the situation permits. This will speed up the post-regime process, and greatly enhance stability in the interim government. ...
To facilitate this, we would humbly request that you grant audience to the opposition's young leaders, be they Monarchist, Republican, Democrat, moderate, left, or right as may be represented by their group's opinions, allowing them to express their thanks and support for the greater Middle East project, in a roundtable "Forum for the Future" of Iran. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 05:16:00 PM
Hindrocket of Powerline:
After decades of tyranny, Iraqi expatriates have already begun to elect leaders to draft a new constitution. In the photo below, seventy-year-old exile Mehsin Imgoter weeps after casting his vote at a polling place in Southgate, Michigan. Imgoter explained to a reporter that he was crying because his son, who was killed during the 1990-91 Shiite uprising, was not able to vote with him.DoctorZin: I agree with Hindrocket. Lets hope that Iran will soon experience the joy of a true and democratic state soon.
Here's a prediction, by the way, for what it's worth. In order to benefit the terrorists, violent acts will have to deter Iraqis from going to the polls. For the most part, attacks that take place on Sunday will be too late to achieve that objective. So I would expect the terrorists to go all-out on Saturday, not Sunday. If there are to be spectacular attacks, watch for them tomorrow.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 04:08:00 PM
Middle East Newsline:
Oman has been struggling with increasing infiltration from Iran. Officials said thousands of Muslims from Pakistan and South Asia have used Iran as a launching pad for illegal entry into Oman. They said the infiltrators charter boats to cross from Iran into the sultanate.
Iran has been approached to help stop the infiltration into Oman. But so far little has been done to tighten security along the 900-kilometer Iranian-Pakistan border.
Officials said thousands of Pakistanis and others nationals from South Asia have infiltrated Oman in a search for work. But they said the infiltrators were also believed to include Islamic insurgents and criminals.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 03:57:00 PM
Saul Singer, of the Jerusalem Post, challenges the "realists." A worthwhile read:
We can be sure that there was jubilation among political prisoners all over the world as the news inevitably filtered through to them of the gauntlet thrown down to their tormentors by President George W. Bush. We know this, because we know how Natan Sharansky and his fellow inmates celebrated in the Soviet gulag when Ronald Reagan gave his "evil empire" speech.
If there is panic, it is among a dominant school in Western foreign policy, the misnamed "realists."
Swiftly riding to the defense of the old order came Richard Haass, a former senior State Department official and current president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "It is neither desirable nor practical to make democracy promotion the dominant feature of American foreign policy," he writes in The Washington Post, and proceeds to outline how dangerous, difficult, impractical and irrelevant promoting democracy can be. Pushing democracy is a fine sentiment, but in China, Russia, come to think of it, almost everywhere, Haass claims it's just not true that "America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one." ...
I will grant the realists this: They are right that Bush's broad framework must be translated into practical, implemental policies. That wasn't the job of an inaugural address...
What the realists don't realize is that if there is a problem with Bush's speech, it is neither utopianism nor excess ambition. If anything, Bush has made the goal of securing the world seem more daunting than it really is.
The terror the world is at war with is not quite as amorphous and global as it is made out to be. It is limited to one particularly virulent subculture within one civilization: to militant Islamism. And that subculture can only count two governments and one society as active allies: Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Of these, Syria is small and weak and the Saudis are also quite vulnerable and divided. This leaves Iran, the one regime in the world whose fate will determine whether the war takes a significant step forward or backward.
Iran, Haass chimes in, is a classic example of where Bush's vision falls short. "There is no realistic way that democracy will arrive in either North Korea or Iran before nuclear weapons do. And even if 'freedom' were somehow to come to Teheran, it is almost certain that free Iranians would be as enthusiastic as the mullahs are about possessing nuclear weapons."
If this seems like a slam dunk against what Newsweek called "Sharanskyism" (as described in Bush's favorite new book, The Case for Democracy), it is actually where "realism" cracks up completely.
First, it is ridiculous to assert that the Iranian regime is stable or permanent. In a month, a year, or a decade, it will collapse under its own weight, with much help from the Iranian people. As early as this summer, when the regime plans to rig its next election, the people could pull a Ukraine and stay out in the streets until the regime steps down.
How long this takes is determined less by the ample bravery and desire for freedom of the Iranian people, than by the entirely optional hypocrisy of the West. The Ukrainian government understood that it couldn't steal an election and roll in the tanks when the people protested, because the world would no longer accept its legitimacy. By the same token, if Europe and the US together side with the people in the streets against the thieves of their government, the mullahs will not be able to retain power.
Second, it is absurd to argue that it makes no difference which finger is on the nuclear button, the mullahs or their much more democratic, pro-Western successors. The best would be neither, but the latter is vastly preferable.
Realists should get this: Unless they have an idea how to stop the coming Islamist nuke, they have nothing to offer. Bush potentially has three ideas that should be pursued at once: challenge the UK, France, and Germany to impose stiff sanctions (through the UN or not) on Teheran linked to nukes and terror; back sanctions with the threat of force; and ramp up support for the Iranian people.
Is it "realistic" to believe that it is impossible to stop one hated government from effectively terrorizing the entire world? Only if one believes the West, despite its overwhelming military and economic superiority, is congenitally incapable of lifting a finger in its own defense.
For 50 years, the realists said the Soviet Union could not be defeated, only held at bay by Western power. They said that democracy had no hope in Latin America and Asia. They saw the refusal to confront Middle Eastern tyranny as the preservation of "stability."
The heart of "realism" is the willingness to settle for defeat.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 03:32:00 PM
The Herald UK, published the following letter. Here a few excerpts
In the late 1970s I was conducting seismic surveys relating to the stability of two sites, near the cities of Isfahan and Hamadan, for nuclear power plants. ...
In those places I was the only non-Iranian. On a personal level I was made welcome. The ordinary Iranians have the same aspirations as we do, namely, to have a reasonable standard of living and to raise a family. Like us, they are mostly a generous people. As with us, there is generally a lack of religious fervour and, like us, very many are pretty disgusted with their system of government. ...
There are two basic problems in Iran. The first is a general lack of real organisation in the country, although it manages to operate reasonably well. The second is the two-tier form of government.
After 25 years of the ayatollahs, their popularity has waned, especially after the last rigged election to the parliament. ...
My colleagues – most were Muslim but they included several Armenian Christians – are confident that, left alone, Iran will develop into a working democracy. But everyone said that, if Iran were attacked, they would unite around whoever would defend them, even if that had to be the ayatollahs. If the neo-conservatives in the White House believe that they could reimpose another Shah on the Iranians, they really are living in another world.
John Scott Roy, 19 Blenheim Court, Kilsyth.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 03:24:00 PM
Power and Interest News Report has produced an analysis if the effects of a nuclear Iran on its neighbors.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 02:58:00 PM
Louis Charbonneau writing for Reuters:
Iran, which the United States accuses of secretly pursuing nuclear weapons, has a stake in the world's biggest open-pit uranium mine in the African state of Namibia, the mine's owner told Reuters.
Rossing Uranium Limited, which is majority owned by Anglo-Australian firm Rio Tinto, sells its uranium to nuclear power plants in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Sweden.
Graham Davidson, the general manager for operations at Rossing, said in a letter to Reuters that the company's board of directors only permits the sale of uranium for use in generating electricity.
"The government of Iran has held a 15 percent shareholding in Rossing Uranium Limited since 1975," he said. The U.S.-backed shah ruled Iran until the 1979 Islamic revolution. ...
Davidson said there were no contracts with Iran for the sale of milled uranium oxide, better known as "yellowcake." The company has yet to respond to a question of whether Tehran had purchased any Rossing uranium in the past. ...
U.S. officials said they were not aware of Iran's stake in Rossing and a senior Iranian official in Tehran declined to comment. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 01:18:00 PM
Reuters:
An Egyptian man angrily pleaded not guilty on Saturday to charges that he spied for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and said Egyptian intelligence had tortured him while he was in detention.
The court also heard one charge against Iranian diplomat Mohammad Reza Hosseindoust, who is on trial in absentia for giving Mahmoud Eid Mohamed Dabbous money for information about the petrochemical complex in the Saudi port city of Yanbu. ...
According to the charge sheet, Dabbous sent Iran’s Revolutionary Guard information about important and vital places in Egypt and about conditions in Saudi Arabia, including at the Yanbu complex “in order to target it”.
“He also shared information with people working for the Revolutionary Guard to plan to carry out terrorist operations inside the country,” the charge sheet added. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 08:58:00 AM
Khaleej Times Online:
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned European powers Saturday that they must take their nuclear negotiations with Iran seriously, otherwise Tehran will reconsider its cooperation.
“The Europeans negotiating with Iran should know that they are dealing with a great, cultured nation... if Iranian officials feel that there is no seriousness in the European negotiations, the process will change,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by the Iranian media. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/29/2005 08:53:00 AM
NY Times:
President Bush's second term has barely begun, and Iran is already shaping up as its most serious diplomatic challenge. But conflicting pronouncements by Mr. Bush and his national security team have left Iran frustrated and angry about the direction of American policy, and the Europeans more determined than ever to push Washington to embrace their engagement strategy.
To the outside world, the administration seems divided over whether to promote the overthrow of Iran's Islamic Republic - perhaps by force - or to tacitly support the approach embraced by the Europeans, which favors negotiations and a series of incentives that would ultimately require American participation.
"You need to get everybody to read from the same page, the Europeans and the Americans," said Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in an interview in Davos on Friday.
"This is not a process that is going to be solved by the Europeans alone," he added. "The United States needs to be engaged. If you continue to say they are going to fail before you give them a chance, it will be a self-fulfilling policy."
France's foreign minister, Michel Barnier, echoed those remarks in an interview in Paris on Friday. "I cannot explain American policy to you," he said. "That would be French arrogance and I am not someone who is arrogant. But I think that the Americans must get used to the fact that Europe is going to act. And in this case, without the United States we run the risk of failure." ...
Instead of embracing the initiative, Mr. Bush began his second term with a sweeping pledge to defend the United States and protect its friends "by force of arms if necessary" and a refusal to rule out military action against Iran.
In her Senate confirmation hearings as secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice did not say no when asked whether the goal of the United States was to replace the Islamic Republic in Iran.
Vice President Dick Cheney, too, has put Iran at the "top of the list" of the world's trouble spots and suggested that Israel might attack Iran militarily because of its nuclear program. ...
At one point in her confirmation hearings, Ms. Rice suggested that the United States implicitly supported the European negotiating approach, saying the Bush administration is "trying to see" if it will produce concrete results, though she and other officials in Washington have bluntly told the Europeans they are skeptical.
Ms. Rice also repeated a threat to ask the Security Council for censure or possible sanctions against Iran, and specified that even a complete halt to Iran's nuclear and missile programs would not translate into American support for a policy of engagement and incentives.
There were "other problems" that precluded such an approach: "terrorism, our past, their human rights record," she said. ...
The Europeans have made the determination that any negotiation that slows and perhaps eventually halts Iran's nuclear program is better than the alternatives proposed by the United States.
"Is this approach free of risks? No," said Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, in a telephone interview. "Does it have a guarantee of success? No. But at this point in time it is the only game in town, no doubt about that. The other options are worse." ...
All of Iran's European negotiating partners have argued that one of the best ways to promote democracy would be to force more transparency into Iran's economy. That could help break the stranglehold of the vast system of government-protected "foundations," most of them the private fiefs of powerful clerics, European officials said.
"You cannot just ask Iran to renounce its nuclear program," said Mr. Barnier. "You have to allow it to be a positive actor, to enter in this constructive logic of stability. It's a 'win-win' deal that we have proposed."
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 08:16:00 PM
Iran Focus:
Iran is secretly transporting weaponry to Lebanese insurgents and its own agents carrying out operations throughout Iraq, according to a Kuwaiti daily.
Al-Siasa (Politics) revealed, "The weapons, to be used by Iranian agents and terrorists in Iraq, are being transported by mercenaries via Syria".
"Ships full of surface-to-surface missiles were bought from an eastern European state and were being transported to Syria", the daily adds in its Wednesday issue. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 08:13:00 PM
Financial Times:
John McCain, the influential US senator, on Friday gave voice to resistance in the Republican party to the use of force in Iran, signalling that the US had no appetite to fight “two wars”.
Force should not be ruled out as a last resort against the country's suspected nuclear facilities, he said, but cautioned: “I do not think it would be successful. There is no guarantee we would get all these facilities. If you have a strike and leave them with nuclear capability, you have got a hell of a challenge on your hands.” more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 08:07:00 PM
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM:
China is marketing missiles it earlier designed for Iran.
China's Hongdu Aviation Industry Group has exhibited three variants of two new guided missiles that were designed and developed for Iran, the London-based Jane's Defence Weekly reported. ...
China has become a leading supplier of missile systems and technology for Iran. Iran has claimed several Chinese missiles as its own, including the C-701 anti-ship missile.
The anti-ship missiles, displayed at the China Air Show 2004 in November 2004, were identified as the JJ/TL-6B, JJ/TL-10A and KJ/TL-10B. ...
"It is now clear that two missile programmes revealed a few years ago by China National Aero Technology Import & Export Co (CATIC) - the FL-8 and FL-9 - were the TL-10 and TL-6, respectively, under yet another name," the article stated. ...
At the China Air Show, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation displayed a radar-guided version of the C-701, dubbed C-701R. China Aerospace is the parent of China Precision Machinery Import Export Co.
The range of the C-701R was said to be 25 kilometers and contains a longer body. The missile has a radar seeker that replaces the electro-optical seeker of the C-701T. more
TODAY'S FREE REPUBLIC THREAD & COMMENTS CAN BE FOUND HERE!
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 07:56:00 PM
The Associated Press:
Sen. Joseph Biden and Iran's foreign minister clashed Friday over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, with Biden hinting at the possibility of armed conflict unless fears of an Iranian weapons program were put to rest.
The rare and frank public exchange between a senior American politician and a ranking member of the Iranian government came at a dinner during the World Economic Forum held in this Alpine resort town. ...
Biden, D-Del., favors dialogue with Iran and as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Comittee has occasionally met with officials from the Islamic Republic. ...
"You have to grow up and my administration has to grow up, with all due respect, and find out if there is any common ground," he said." We are on the course of unintended consequences." ...
Biden said he favored a commitment from the U.S. administration "that we are not interested in regime change" in Iran in exchange for concessions by Tehran that would banish suspicions about its nuclear programon its nuclear program.
He said that both liberal and conservative U.S. government politicians believed "that it is not in our interest ... for you to acquire nuclear capability for nuclear weapons and intermediate or long range missile technology."
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 07:49:00 PM
Reporters Without Borders:
Reporters Without Borders strongly condemned the hounding by the authorities of Taghi Rahmani, who since 1981 has spent a total of 5,000 days in prison, sentenced each time in connection with his journalistic work.
Rahmani has been in jail this time for 19 months without charge and the worldwide press freedom organisation called on the Iranian authorities for his immediate and unconditional release.
With ten journalists behind bars, Iran is the Middle East's largest prison for the profession and is one of the world's ten most repressive countries in terms of press freedom.
"Under the direct orders of Supreme Guide Ayatollah Khamenei, the conservatives in power have made use of the country's courts to gag the media", the organisation said. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 07:40:00 PM
Reuters:
A United Nations human rights body called on Iran on Friday to abolish the death penalty as well as amputation, flogging and stoning for people who committed crimes as minors. ...
The U.N. committee, in its 17-page conclusions on Iran, said it "deplores the fact that such executions have continued," and urged it to "abolish the death penalty as a sentence imposed on persons for having committed crimes before the age of 18." more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 07:30:00 PM
Reuters, Daily Times:
The United States, determined to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, is piling pressure on European firms to stop them doing business with Tehran, diplomats say. ...
“They’re being pressured by Washington. Major European companies are unwilling to deliver,” an EU diplomat said. “This means we really have no incentives to offer Iran at this point”. ...
In November, US ambassador Jackie Sanders told the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that selling even small items with potential military use would be punished.
“We want any proliferators, from multinational conglomerates to small exporters of dual-use machine tools, to understand that the US will impose economic burdens on them, and brand them as proliferators,” Sanders said.
The pressure seems to be working, diplomats say, by deterring European companies wary of damaging their business in the United States from trading with Iran. ...
“We were surprised by this,” one European diplomat said. But diplomats said European companies had also complained they had not been consulted before their governments promised Iran goods and equipment that they would be unable to provide.
“The politicians should have talked to industry before starting negotiations with Iran, not after,” one said. ...
“Iranian expectations are too high. We can’t order our companies to do business with Iran. All we can do is create a political atmosphere to build confidence,” an EU diplomat said. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 07:21:00 PM
AFP. Yahoo! News:
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has told French lawmakers that Iran is at "the point of no-return" on building nuclear weapons, according to a transcript of his remarks to the National Assembly.
Mofaz, who warned openly in London this week that Iran would not be permitted to build a nuclear bomb, has in the past said that Israel has operational plans in place for a strike against Iranian targets. ...
Even if Iran recognized Israel's existence, Mofaz said "the possession of a nuclear weapon by an extremist regime is not acceptable."
"The danger is great," he said. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 07:16:00 PM
Forbes:
The oil services conglomerate Halliburton Co. will wind down its operations in Iran and seek to separate its engineering and construction subsidiary KBR from the parent, chairman and CEO Dave Lesar said Friday. ...
Halliburton does business in Iran through a foreign-owned subsidiary, which is allowed as long as Americans don't participate in or direct that business. But a federal grand jury is investigating whether the Houston-based company or its executives deliberately violated a U.S. ban on trade with Iran.
Lesar said services the company provides in Iran aren't illegal, but they are "miniscule" in comparison with the company's other work and that Iran's business environment "is not conducive to our overall strategies and objectives."
"We have decided to wind down our operations there while fulfilling our existing contracts and commitments," Lesar said on the conference call.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 07:12:00 PM
Václav Havel writes, in The Miami Herald a wake-up call to Europe:
It is suicidal for the EU to draw on Europe's worst political traditions, the common denominator of which is the idea that evil must be appeased and that the best way to achieve peace is through indifference to the freedom of others.
Just the opposite is true: Such policies expose an indifference to one's own freedom and pave the way for war. After all, Europe is uniting to defend its freedom and values, not to sacrifice them to the ideal of harmonious coexistence with dictators and thus risk gradual infiltration of its soul by the anti-democratic mind-set.
I firmly believe that the new members of the EU will not forget their experience of totalitarianism and nonviolent opposition to evil, and that that experience will be reflected in how they behave in EU bodies. Indeed, this could be the best contribution that they can make to the common spiritual, moral and political foundations of a united Europe. more
Václav Havel is former president of the Czech Republic.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 06:58:00 PM
Xinhua News Agency (china.org.cn):
Germany stands firmly against a military strike on Iran despite Washington's recent military threat against the Middle East country. ...
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said Monday that the efforts to find a political solution must continue and "it should not come to military intervention." ...
If Iraq's story is re-told in Iran, Europe's stability and security may be affected by such consequences as illegal immigration, dirty bombs and shaky oil prices, all of which Germany is unwilling to see. ...
In the first 10 months of 2004, Germany's exports to Iran rose 30 percent to 3 billion euros (about US$3.9 billion), according to the data released by the German Chamber of Industry and Trade. "Without the nuclear program dispute, the scale would be larger," said Jochen Clausnitzer, the Middle East expert of the chamber. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 06:36:00 PM
Dow Jones Newswires:
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder firmly maintained that any solution with Iran over concerns it may plan to use nuclear material to make weapons should be resolved by diplomacy, not force. ...
"We are most decidedly in favor of that fact that Iran completely gives up use of military power forever, if at all possible, but this is a target that has to be achieved through diplomatic means." ...
"The last thing we need is another military conflict in that region," he said, to applause.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 06:32:00 PM
Reuters:
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Friday urged the United States to join forces with the EU to persuade Iran to give up atomic processes that could be used to make weapons. ...
Asked if recent U.S. statements that military action could be used to stop Iran from getting a bomb, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei said he hoped the United States would opt for diplomacy.
"I would hope that the U.S. eventually would be actively engaged with the Europeans in the dialogue with Iran," ElBaradei told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in this Alpine ski resort.
"So far, we are getting good cooperation and I think we still have work to do. But I'm optimistic that we're getting good positive cooperation." ...
"There is still a lot of concern about the Iranian program," he said. "The more Iran cooperates the better for them and for the international community."
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 06:27:00 PM
The Wall Street Journal:
Some big European companies are distancing themselves from Iran amid growing concern the Islamic state could become the next U.S. military target -- and growing pressure by Washington to sever ties with Tehran.
Recent moves by Germany's Thyssen-Krupp AG and BP PLC, the British oil titan, underscore both the heightened nervousness in some European boardrooms about Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions and the sway Washington has over foreign companies that do business in the U.S. ...
"Iran can look forward to a richer relationship with the European Union, as long as the international community can be confident that Iran's nuclear program is not being developed for military purposes." more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 06:05:00 PM
Amb. Jackie W. Sanders writing for The Wall Street Journal reviews Iran's lack of compliance with it's promises to the international community and offers advice on how to encourage Iran to back down from its nuclear weapons program.
First, the IAEA should not allow Iran a moment's rest until all outstanding questions about Iran's activities are answered. Iran's safeguards violations should be reported to the Security Council as required by the IAEA Statute. If Iran breaks its suspension pledge, the IAEA Board must also report this as a threat to international peace and security. There is no need to remove the issue of Iran from the IAEA, and we do not wish to do so. But there is every reason to involve the Security Council, which has the international legal and political authority that will be necessary to address this situation. Only the Council has the power to require Iran to take all necessary measures to restore international confidence, and to reinforce the IAEA's authority to ensure that we all get the necessary assurances of its peaceful intentions.
Quite apart from how the IAEA chooses to handle the Iran situation, the U.S. reserves all of its options with respect to Security Council consideration of the Iranian nuclear weapons program. After all, under the U.N. Charter, any member may bring to the Council's attention any situation that might endanger international peace and security.
If we take controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons seriously, we must all work to ensure that non-compliance becomes more costly than compliance. The EU-3 and other Board members must make clear to Iran that it faces a stark choice. ...
The choice is Iran's, but all nations are obliged to persuade Iran to make the right choice by escalating these issues in their own relations with it. ...
Amb. Sanders is the President's Special Envoy for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and led the U.S. delegations to the September and November 2004 IAEA Board of Governor meetings in Vienna.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 05:34:00 PM
The Guardian:
When the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, met Condoleezza Rice in Washington this week, he did not ask whether the US had plans to use military force against Iran. And the new secretary of state did not offer to tell him. "The issue was not raised once by either side," Mr Straw said afterwards. "It was not on the table." ...
A senior European official based in London said yesterday: "It is clear that Straw wants to make plain to Blair that he will not support another adventure if he is still in government. But Blair is less prudent. If Blair is saying implicitly that we must keep all our options open, that will encourage the neo-con hardliners in Washington just like in Iraq.
"I'm not even sure the military option, or international sanctions, would be a deterrent. Everyone forgets that the [1981 Israeli] attack on Iraq's Osirak reactor did not prevent Saddam [Hussein] building a nuclear arsenal - it may strengthen the ayatollahs, not weaken them. They will say to Iranians, 'See, the west is threatening us.' It will provide them with a sort of glue." ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 05:20:00 PM
Hyscience posted a disturbing report that it suggest N Korea has recently purchased a nuke. If true, Iran could and/or may have done the same. It could explain some of the regime's recent statements. Such as:
"We will counter any stupid action by Israel and its master with firmness and in an astonishing way," Brigadier-General Mohammad-Ali Jafari told the paper. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 02:52:00 AM
Mark Steyn writes an interesting piece in The Spectator. It is well worth reading. He illustrates the lunacy of the geo-political "realists" using the illustration of the vanishing-penis hysteria of 2003. Got your attention?
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 01:45:00 AM
ABC News:
The United States believes its row over Iran's nuclear program can be resolved by diplomacy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview. ...
Rice said it was important for the world to unite and show Iran, which President Bush has called part of an "axis of evil," that it could not pursue its nuclear ambitions and remain an active member of the international community. "I think this is something we can solve through diplomacy," Rice told France's Le Figaro magazine in an interview due to be published on Saturday.
"But the most important thing, whatever the agreements reached, is that we have the means to check what the Iranians are doing and that they can't get away with it by lying."
She reiterated Iran could be reported to the United Nations Security Council for possible economic sanctions if it does not freeze work that could lead to making nuclear weapons. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 01:38:00 AM
The Middle East Media Research Istitute (Memri) has collected statements by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. They are followed by a recent Khamenei message to Muslim pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia for Hajj. Here are a few excerpts:
"The U.S. and the Western imperialists have finally concluded that Muslim countries and nations, especially those of the Middle East, form the core of this awakening and resistance to their plans for global domination. They foresee that if they fail to control or suppress this Islamic awakening in the next few years with political and economic measures, through propaganda, and as a last resort through military aggression, all their plans for absolute global hegemony and control of the most vital oil and gas resources, which constitute the sole powerhouse of their industrial machinery and [the sole] cause of their material edge over the rest of humanity, will come to nothing. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 01:21:00 AM
Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri) TV Monitor Project releases the latest in the anti Semitic series shown on Iranian TV. To View Video Click Here.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 01:14:00 AM
The Financial Times:
The EU has pursued a policy of engagement [with Iran], while the US does not have a policy so much as an attitude. Neither will get anywhere on its own. ...While I have serious reservations with the FT's policy recommendations, I agree with the need of a declared US policy on Iran.
The US and the EU together need to devise compelling incentives and sanctions and enlist regional allies. To forswear the nuclear option Iran needs security guarantees that ultimately only the US can provide. For instance, US allies in the Gulf are tentatively discussing security architecture that would bind in the Saudi-led Gulf Co-operation Council with Iran and a sovereign Iraq. If the US and the EU were to back this, that could advance desperately needed regional and international stability. But for that the second Bush administration would need to recognise the limits of US military power and revive its under-employed diplomacy. It will take the combined clout of the two to make any headway with Iran.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/28/2005 01:01:00 AM
The Telegraph (UK):
Democracy - much talked about but little practised in the Arab world - is a daunting prospect for regional leaders as they ponder the Iraqi elections. ...
Leaders have mostly done their worrying in private. But recently King Abdullah II, the reformist ruler of Jordan, voiced the anxiety felt by the mainly Sunni Muslim overlords of the region at the prospect of Shias taking power in Iraq.
The monarch resurrected the spectre of the creation of a "Shia crescent" that would overturn the religious and political balance of the area. Though the majority in Iraq, Shias have historically been subjugated by the Sunnis. ...
King Abdullah claimed later his words had been distorted. But the prospect of Iran, an aggressive exporter of the Shia faith, expanding its influence through its Iraqi Arab co-religionists, alarms even countries where there is no religious divide.
"You have to acknowledge that the fear is real," said a western official in Jordan. The real concern, he believes, is a "long-term stealth strategy" by the Persians of Iran to dominate the Arab world. ...
"They know better than anyone that it would not be just a civil war but a conflict that brought death to everyone's door," said George Hawatmeh, a Jordanian political analyst yesterday.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 11:56:00 PM
The Associated Press report:
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton urged the Bush administration Thursday to stick to diplomacy to get Iran to abandon its nuclear program, which the United States and other countries fear is part of a plan to make nuclear weapons.
Clinton also said that even if Iran developed such weapons, it would find it tough to use them.
"If they ever use them, they'll be toast," the former U.S. president said in a freewheeling, 90-minute appearance at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 11:50:00 PM
People's Daily Online (China) reports:
A top Iranian officer has said that Iran has 10 million volunteers determined to fight to death against aggression, as a further reaction to recent US verbal hostility, the hardline daily Kayhan reported on Thursday.
"Iran doesn't want war, but if the United States makes the mistake (of attacking Iran), we will give them a lesson and they will have no chance to remedy. We have 10 million volunteers for martyrdom," Bagher Zolghadr, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), was quoted as saying.
"Iran, capable of launching deadly blows against any aggressors, has no limits when defending itself," Zolghadr said.
"If the United States attempts to attack Iran, Iran will be their nightmare," Zolghadr added. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 11:46:00 PM
Iran Focus:
An independent Shiite cleric accused Iran of spying on Iraq's most influential religious figure.
In an interview with Al-Arabia television, senior cleric Ayad Jamaloddin said, "Iranian intelligence agents have bought a number of houses in the road of the residence of [Ayatollah Ali] Sistani, and listen to his private conversations. There is no doubt that Iran is meddling in the affairs of Iraq".
"The Iraqi people, especially Shiites, will not allow Iranian or non-Iranian meddling in the affairs of Iraq", he added. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 11:42:00 PM
Sorraya Sarhaddi Nelson writes for Knight Ridder Newspapers a brief primer on the Shite community. For instance:
While Shiites make up a majority of the population in Iraq, they belong to a minority sect of Islam, encompassing roughly 15 percent of Muslims worldwide and often discriminated against by the dominant Sunni sect.
The branches disagree about who succeeded Islam's prophet Muhammad after his death in 632. Shiites believe religious authority should have gone to Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali, and 11 of his descendents. ...
The slaughter of some of these Shiite successors or "imams" by the ruling caliphs 13 centuries ago led the sect to idealize suffering and martyrdom more than its Sunni counterpart. Caliphs were the religious and political leaders for Sunnis, although unlike Shiite imams, they were not considered infallible.
Shiite theology subsequently evolved under the auspices of the sect's spiritual leaders, or marja'iya. They interpret Islamic law and dogma for most of the world's Shiites and issue commandments known as "fatwas" that adherents are expected to obey. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 11:35:00 PM
Reuters:
Iran has vowed never to dismantle its uranium enrichment program, a day after a confidential EU document showed that France, Britain and Germany had told Tehran they would not settle for anything less. ...
Asked whether Iran would dismantle the program, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Gholamali Khoshroo, who is visiting Malaysia for a meeting of the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, replied:
"Never. For what reason? We are not terrified by the U.S. We have had this kind of relations with the U.S. for 25 years. We don't want to upgrade tension with U.S. but we want to live as a sovereign country and nobody has the right to threaten others." ...
Khoshroo accused the United States of attempting to disrupt his country's talks with the EU.
"We are not living in the jungle, we are living in accordance with international law," he said.
"In accordance with international law, those who have force should not use it unless legitimacy by the international community is given to them. America wanted to put pressure on the EU not to continue negotiations (with Iran)."
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 07:24:00 PM
The NY Times is on the record, Iran is developing nuclear weapons:
There is no question that Iran has been covertly developing the capacity to build nuclear weapons, and that diplomacy has so far failed to end these efforts.So what is the NY Times solution?
The most effective leverage available to Washington is international economic sanctions. ...The Iranian Regime are sponsors of terrorism:
A nuclear-armed Iran is an alarming prospect, given the radical nature of the Iranian regime, with its long and continuing record of sponsoring international terrorism, its undiluted hostility to the United States and Israel, and its intense regional rivalries with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. ...What does the NY TImes think of Europe's position?
But the mullahs are unlikely to give up their nuclear weapons efforts, which are popular among Iranians of all political persuasions, unless they are plainly told that refusing will bring punishing economic isolation in the very near future. European leaders have not been willing to send that firm message yet, and need to do so.Let's see how long they hold this position.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 06:49:00 PM
Henry A. Kissinger and George P. Shultz, writing for the Washington Post, try to set expectations for what is to come next in Iraq. Results matter.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 06:39:00 PM
Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi writes for FrontPageMagazine.com a sobering look at the horror the Iranian people are subjected to by the terror masters. Below is a photo of a woman being prepared for stoning in 1992. It was smuggled out.
And here is an example of the kinds of stones the regime suggests using.
Read the entire article here.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 10:19:00 AM
Eworldwire:
'Iran: Progenitor of the New Cold War' by Dr. Michael Schnorr is a new book from Authorhouse publishing that describes Iran's burgeoning nuclear program and its involvement with terrorist organizations including al-Qaeda. "The next attack on the US may involve nuclear weapons, which makes Iran America's number one enemy!" says Schnorr. ...
Since 1993, Iran and al-Qaeda have been allies in a war against the U.S. in which they attack embassies, troops, the U.S. economy and endanger Americans' sense of security with the ultimate goal of destroying the government and killing every American.
The Jihad against the U.S., declared first by Ayatollah Khomeini and then Usama bin Laden, has linked the Islamic militants to the Iranian theocracy. Iranian nuclear weapons in the hands of al-Qaeda is a likely scenario if the U.S. does not stop the Iranian nuclear program.
Potential flashpoints for nuclear war include Iraq, Europe, Central Asia, Afghanistan or even a nuclear missile attack on the Israel. Schnorr's book makes evident facts and opinions that the U.S. will be involved in the Persian Gulf Missile Crisis, covert civil discourse and possibly regime change in Iran.
Iran persists in developing nuclear weapons and is resolved to attack and destroy the 'Great Satan' (US) and the 'Lesser Satan' (Israel). Currently defined as the New Cold War, confrontation can become a hot war in one nuclear moment. Nuclear terrorism, military confrontation and further involvement in the Persian Gulf are certain in the near future.
"Iran is the real danger," adds Schnorr.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 03:00:00 AM
Independent:
Israel's Defence Minister refused to rule out a pre-empt-ive strike on Iran yesterday, claiming that Tehran was "close to a point of no return" on its suspected development of a nuclear weapon. ...
Mr Mofaz said: "I believe that none of the Western countries can live with Iran having a nuclear capability - not the US, not the European countries and nor other countries." ...
"The way to stop Iran is by the leadership of the US, supported by European countries and taking this issue to the UN, and using the diplomatic channel with sanctions as a tool and a very deep inspection regime and full transparency."
Asked what Israel would do if diplomatic channels failed, Mr Mofaz went on: "The US is a strong power that can stop any kind of nuclear programme, especially in the hands of an extreme regime." ...
He warned that Tehran was "less than a year" from enriching uranium, which he described as the "point of no return"...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 02:16:00 AM
Richard Sale, UPI Intelligence Correspondent:
The U.S. Air Force is playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Iran's ayatollahs, flying American combat aircraft into Iranian airspace in an attempt to lure Tehran into turning on air defense radars, thus allowing U.S. pilots to grid the system for use in future targeting data, administration officials said.
"We have to know which targets to attack and how to attack them," said one, speaking on condition of anonymity. ...
"These Iranian air defense positions are not just being observed, they're being 'templated,'" an administration official said, explaining that the flights are part of a U.S. effort to develop "an electronic order of battle for Iran" in case of actual conflict. ...
A serving U.S. intelligence official added: "You need to know what proportion of your initial air strikes are going to have to be devoted to air defense suppression." ...
Ellen Laipson, president and CEO of the Henry L. Stimson Center and former CIA Middle East expert, said of the flights, "They are not necessarily an act of war in themselves, unless they are perceived as being so by the country that is being overflown."
Laipson explained: "It's not unusual for countries to test each other's air defenses from time to time, to do a little probing -- but it can be dangerous if the target country believes that such flights could mean an imminent attack."
She said her concern was that Iran "will not only turn on its air defense radars but use them to fire missiles at U.S. aircraft," an act which would "greatly increase tensions" between the two countries. ...
"They've been active in the south for some time," said former CIA counterterrorism chief, Vince Cannistraro.
The MEK are said to be currently launching raids from Camp Habib in Basra, but recently Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff granted permission for the MEK to operate from Pakistan's Baluchi area, U.S. officials said. ...
A former senior Iranian diplomat told United Press International that the Kurds in the Baluchi areas of Pakistan can operate in freedom because the Baluchis "have no love for the mullahs of Iran." ...
In addition to the air strikes on allegedly Iranian nuclear weapons sites, the second aim of the operation is to secure the support in Iran of those "who view U.S. policy of hostility towards Iran's clerics with favor," he said.
The United States is also attempting to erect a covert infrastructure in Iran able to support U.S. efforts, this source said. It consists of Israelis and other U.S. assets, using third country passports, who have created a network of front companies that they own and staff. "It's a covert infrastructure for material support," a U.S. administration official said.
The network would be able to move money, weapons and personnel around inside Iran, he said. The covert infrastructure could also provide safe houses and the like, he said. ...
So the United States, backed by Israel, is deadly earnest about neutralizing Iran's nuclear weapons site. "The administration has determined that there is no diplomatic solution," said John Pike, president of the online think-tank globalsecurity.org. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 02:14:00 AM
Newsweek:
The rich and powerful gathered at the World Economic Forum this week named poverty as the world’s No. 1 problem. But many attendees seem more worried about Washington’s relations with Iran.
Once again, 2,000 of the world’s richest and “most powerful” people have descended on Davos, Switzerland, ... to brainstorm with one another about what values should infuse global governance. The most popular answers: honesty, transparency, compassion, fairness and tolerance of diversity. Then, by a show of digital hands, they voted on the top dozen issues that should command their attention over the coming year. By a two-thirds majority, poverty was the winner. Something called “equitable globalization” was ranked second, while global warming and climate change placed third. Peace in the Middle East came in fourth, garnering half the august body’s votes. “Managing the United States” was No. 10, with a mere 24 percent believing that America was the world’s biggest problem. ...
But this year brings a new concern: Iran. And once again, the question is: will the U.S. invade, and, if so, when? ...
Bush’s Inaugural Address may have inspired many Americans with its lofty rhetoric about liberty and freedom. But it alarmed the rest of the world. ...
70 percent of Germans think the United States will soon go to war with Iran, either by bombing or mounting a full-scale invasion.
James Hoge, editor of the New York-based journal Foreign Affairs, says the fears are absurd. “It’s not going to happen,” he says. And yet, an informal poll by NEWSWEEK at opening reception of the Davos conference suggests that much of the world isn’t so sure. When a Saudi pharmaceuticals executive agrees with Hoge, saying, “This administration is not crazy,” his German wife quickly chimes in. “Oh yes, it is,” she says, vehemently comparing Bush to Hitler. A British journalist lays odds on it: “They’ll bomb Iran within two years, 70 percent chance,” he says. His Argentine colleague offers a caveat: “It depends on Iraq,” he says. “Once that’s under control, Iran is next.” An editor of Davoser Zeitung says that “at least” half of all Swiss believe Bush will attack Iran. “America frightens me,” confesses a Latin American hedge-fund manager. He rates the prospect of war with Iran at better than 50-50. “Bush has defined his enemy,” he says. Out of 20 or so interviews, only a Swedish woman dismisses the possibility. “It would be suicide,” she says. “[Bush is] not crazy.”
Ironically, while Bush pursues his global war on terror, note this: when Davosians ranked their challenges for the coming year, terror wasn’t even on the list.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 01:55:00 AM
Dow Jones Newswires:
John Bolton, the State Department's top international security official, will confer with leaders of three Gulf countries on Iran and its nuclear weapons development program.
Bolton leaves on Thursday with stops planned in Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. All three Arab countries are on friendly terms with the U.S. and could be under the shadow of an Iranian nuclear threat if the program isn't halted. ...
Bolton is expected to depart as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, but may wind up in another key post in the rejuggled second Bush administration.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/27/2005 01:50:00 AM
The German publication, Deutsche Welle:
Clearly, it's high time everyone put their cards on the table. British Foreign Minister Jack Straw has spelt out that this time, Britain will most definitely not be backing any military action against Iran, and his international counterparts should waste no time following suit.Once again the Germans choose to blind themselves.
Washington should also wake up and realize it's playing with fire -- and that the people who point to Iran as the cause of escalating violence in Iraq are firebrands. In fact, like the majority of Iraqi Shi'ites, Tehran has proved the opposite is the case. And whatever its motives, Tehran has also cooperated with the International Atomic Energy Organization.
With this is mind, there seems to be no reason to resort to military action. If Washington and Jerusalem persist in their zero-tolerance strategy towards Iran, they must clearly have ulterior motives. What has happened in Iraq should have served as a valuable lesson -- proof, if any is still needed, that strong-arm tactics are not the answer.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 11:52:00 PM
Middle East Newsline:
Congress has been pressing the U.S. intelligence community to investigate claims by an Iranian defector that Teheran planned to crash an airliner into a nuclear reactor in the United States. ...
Rep. Curt Weldon, vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has met the unidentified defector several times in Paris over the last 22 months. Weldon said the defector has been accurate in predicting several important developments in the Iranian regime since February 2003. The developments were said to have included those in Iran's nuclear weapons programs and support for Al Qaida.
The informant, dubbed Ali, was said to have been in contact with two dissidents in the inner circle of the Islamic republic. They were said to have reported a secret government directive by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei who presided over the nation's strategic weapons programs and financed and controlled groups deemed terrorists.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 11:21:00 PM
Fox News:
President Bush said Wednesday on Al-Arabiya. "Let's be clear, the Iranians should not be in a position to influence the elections," Bush said.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 11:13:00 PM
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting:
Prime Minister Tony Blair Wednesday dismissed claims that the US was currently planning to attack Iran as a flight of the worst imagination. ...
But in an interview with the Financial Times, he sent conflicting signals by not ruling out an eventual US attack on Iran's facilities when replying `yes' to whether it may be theoretically the only way to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. ...
He sent further mixed signals by suggesting that Iran's genuine compliance would see the US backing the diplomatic rapprochement with Tehran fostered by Britain, France and Germany.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 10:54:00 PM
The Wall Street Journal:
Mr. Solana [EU foreign-policy chief] says he believes the EU will one day be as powerful a player in global foreign policy as it is today in trade, where its influence in cases like aircraft subsidies has proved to equal that of the U.S. "It's not so far away, if you take away military power in the sense of going to war," he says in an interview.The EU's dependence on diplomacy without threat of milirary force makes them impotent. This is why their efforts to disuade Iran from its nuclearambitions is unlikely to produce anything of substance.
That is a big if, given that effective diplomacy so often depends on the background threat of force. An even bigger threat to the EU's global influence may be its tendency to fracture over big foreign-policy issues, creating paralysis. That happened when Yugoslavia disintegrated into war in the 1990s, and again over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. With 25 nations instead of 15 to corral since the EU expanded in May last year, Mr. Solana's job has gotten harder. ...
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 10:40:00 PM
CBS News:
Islamic morality police tend to stay away from trendy places like fancy cappuccino bars. But even here, people would talk to CBS News only if they could hide their faces.
One couple says that if the police do raid the café, or even private parties, young people just bribe them to go away.
A party, they say, would cost $100.
It adds up to a cash bonus for the police but a long-term cost for the government and growing contempt for the Islamic state.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 02:12:00 AM
The Washington Times reports how Iran is attempting to fill the vacuum left by the death of Yasser Arafat. Not only are they increasing support for Hezbollah,
now believed to direct over 50 separate (mostly secular-nationalist) Palestinian terror cells — a seven-fold increase since 2002.Fatah,
is said to be the most deeply penetrated. In 2004 alone, 38 separate Fatah cells were identifiedbut also the Palestinian Authority.
The other Islamist terror outfit in the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, is already a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Islamic Republic — one whose resources have been dramatically increased by Tehran since mid-2002. It's no wonder that Israeli intelligence officials now say that Iran is "in control of terrorism in Israel." more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 01:57:00 AM
I just heard of a friend of mine, Roberta Green, on Hugh Hewitt's show discussing her primer on Islam entitled: Islam at the Crossroads. I recommend getting a copy if you haven't read it.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/26/2005 01:44:00 AM
Michelle Malkin reports on the recent controversy of Shohreh Aghdashloo, the lovely Iranian actress who plays a controversial role in FOX's hit TV series, 24. The Council on American-Islamic Relations recently launched protests over the series focus on Muslim sleeper cells.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/25/2005 11:58:00 PM
Hoder writes in (Editor: Myself):
In no other country than Iran, you'll hear politicians use "Orkut" and "Yahoo Messenger" in their sentences.
Nasser Nassiri, a radical MP last week called for a ban on Orkut and Yahoo Messenger, both extremely popular among Iranians, and suggested the parliament will start work on a bill to officially ban them. As always, the reason was to destroy the ethical foundations of the society.
Now another radical but connected MP, Emad Afroogh, who is the chair of the cultural committee of the parliament, has officially denied that they are going to ban Orkut and Yahoo Messenger.
However, people's comments have it that the Iranian Telecom has already filtered Orkut. OpenNet initiative guys have confirmed it in an email to me.
What a lovely dysfunctional and chaotic country Iran has become.
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/25/2005 11:43:00 PM
Michael Ledeen believes Sy's recent "expose" "The Coming Wars" is just a rehash of an earlier article, and just as inacurrate:
Slightly more than three years ago (in the issue dated November 5, 2001), he wrote something for the New Yorker (lightheartedly labelled "FACT") called "Watching the Warheads." It's about Pakistan; and Hersh warns us that our hunt for Osama "has evolved into a regional crisis that has put Pakistan's nuclear arsenal at risk, exacerbated the instability of the government of General Pervez Musharraf, and raised the possibility of a nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India." And of course, Hersh darkly notes that the smart guys in Washington (the "government's intelligence and diplomatic experts") and the fools in town ("the decision-makers of the Bush Administration") are at odds over the matter. Indeed, it's led to "a serious rift."
That's one of the main themes of his more recent piece. The only difference is the target of opportunity. ...
But not to worry. Most everything in the 2001 prophecy turned out wrong. Musharraf didn't fall, India-Pakistan relations have much improved, and the most obvious result of the liberation of Afghanistan is a happier country living in a remarkably freer polity. With free elections coming up in Iraq, and the Iranian people asking themselves why their neighbors are free while they are enslaved, it might well turn out that the entire vision of the Middle East was wrong. more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/25/2005 11:23:00 PM
United Press International:
A diplomatic spat in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan may lead to a bitter confrontation between two Islamic nations -- Pakistan and Iran -- and also adversely affect U.S. efforts to fight al-Qaida in neighboring Afghanistan.
The fact that Pakistan, already possesses nuclear weapons and Iran desires them to, makes the situation even more precarious. On Tuesday, Baluchistan's Chief Minister Jam Mohammed Yusuf blamed Iran for fomenting trouble in his province, although on the same day officials in the federal capital, Islamabad, denied any Iranian involvement in Baluchistan.
"Outside forces ... may be Iran, are involved," said Yusuf during an interview to Pakistan's private ARY Television when asked if he saw foreign involvement in Baluchistan. This is the first time that a senior Pakistani official has directly blamed Iran for stirring trouble inside Pakistan. In the past it was India which was usually blamed for such troubles.
Last week Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf had also blamed "outside forces" for exploiting the situation in Baluchistan after three days of fighting between security forces and rebels killed at least four soldiers.
"There are possibilities. Without proof we cannot accuse anyone. But yes, we know funds and weapons come from outside and activities against Pakistan is encouraged," he said in an interview to the private Geo TV.
Without naming them, he said the same powers were opposed to the construction of the Gwadar port in Baluchistan, which is being built with the Chinese help to make it a hub of trade connecting Pakistan, Central Asian States and Afghanistan.
Privately, Pakistani officials complain Iran is opposed to the construction of the port because Iranians want their own ports to be used for this potentially lucrative trade route. ...
"Instability in Baluchistan will definitely benefit the Taliban and al-Qaida movements," says Rashid Khalid, who teaches strategic studies at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University. Khalid believes that if the Pakistani military loses its grip on Baluchistan, there will be no other force to check religious militants who already have strong pockets inside the province.
"It will weaken Islamabad's control, allowing Taliban and al-Qaida suspects to move freely across this large province. They can simply conduct raids in Afghanistan and flee to Baluchistan to hide among local tribes."
One possibility, according to Khalid, to stop this from happening would be a direct U.S. intervention but with its forces already stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States may not want to undertake another major responsibility in the region. ...
A senior military official in Islamabad, who did not want to be identified, said that Iran, which is increasingly worried about being squeezed by U.S. forces already based in two neighboring countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, "sees Baluchistan as a place where it can fight back U.S. influence in the region and hope to create some problems for Washington." more
posted by DoctorZin @ 1/25/2005 07:49:00 PM
| Enter your e-mail address to receive our daily briefing! |
|
| Subscribe Unsubscribe | |
| Hosting by YMLP.com | |
The Iranian student activist above is Ahmad Batebi who was imprisoned for having this photo taken in a 1997 protest. He is now in prison on a hunger strike.
Want to exchanges links?
Or
My blog is worth $320,658.72.
How much is your blog worth?
