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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| INTERVIEW with Jalil Roshandel: |
| 2010-10-26 |
| Conducted by Antonia Dimou Reproduced by the Middle East Observer, Issue #1, January 2010, Institute for Security and Defense Analyses, Athens. Why Iran, according to your view, has invested a great political and national capital to become nuclear? Several different factors have contributed to Iran's decision to go nuclear. The readers remember that in the 1980s Iran was in the middle of a long war with Iraq and it is quite natural that it felt possession of any kind of weapons of mass destruction could make the life of war shorter. This initial feeling of insecurity was enhanced by the US and European pressures during the past thirty years followed by economic sanctions and attemps to isolate Iran in the international arena. Iran had to adjust its expectation of nuclear capability and limit itself to peaceful activities. At least since 2003, Iran has persistently claimed that it is not seeking military nuclear capacity. However, it looks like Iran has been unable to secure the international community's confidence and trust due to old controversies in its nuclear program and president Ah-madinejad's controversial remarks in his foreign policy goals. Caught in a real predicament, on the one, Iran wants to have something to bargain in its foreign relations with big powers. It understands that nuclear technology will give it more muscle and more power in its relations with others. In addition there is some misunderstanding in the way Iran and the international community interpret the text and the promise of the non-proliferation treaty (NPT)... Remainder of the (rather lengthy) article is available at the link. Cut to avoid copyright lawsuits... Jalil Roshandel is Associate Professor and Director of the Security Studies program at the Political Science Department, East Carolina University. He has held several research and teaching positions at various institutions, including the University of Tehran, the Institute for Political & International Studies (IPIS) in Iran, Copenhagen Peace Research Institute (COPRI), the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Turkey, the Stanford University, the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) , University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Duke University, North Carolina. |
| Posted by:Phinegum Ebbineque8989 |
| #2 OOOOPSIES, forgot as per above "FORBES" POST > * Year 2016 > US HOLDS FIRST INTERNET-BASED NATIONAL POLITICAL-ELEX VOTE. Hilarity ensues as accusations of WIDESPREAD NET-VOTE CORRUPTION = ELECTORAL "FRAUD-WASTE-N-ABUSE" fly around America = Amerika. * Year 2016 > NEW YORK STATE ELECTS CHELSEA CLINTON [pregnant?]TO THE US SENATE. VARIOUS POSTERS > CHELSEA = Mother of future ANTICHRIST DAMIEN? Sniff, sniff, And MADONNA? MARIAH? BRADGELINA JOLIE? CLOONEY? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-10-26 23:27 |
| #1 ION WAFF ? {Today's Zaman] WAR "INEVITABLE" WITH NUCLEAR IRAN, US EXPERT SAYS [IISS Pert Mark Fitzpatrick] | IFF IRAN ACQUIRES A NUCLEAR WEAPON(S), THERE WILL BE WAR. ARTIC > FITZPATRICK = argues that all of Iran's stockpile of HEU serves no realistic or pragmatic Civilian = "Peaceful/DOmestic" Purpose save for the LT, MILITARY-CENTRIC DEV OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Its UNCLEAR iff EITHER THE US-ALLIES includ UNO, as well as TEHRAN WILL BE ABLE TO EFFEC STOP OR DETER ANY IRAN-DEVELOPED NUCWEAPS OR RELATED NUC, MILTECHS FROM FALLING INTO THE HANDS OF ISLAMIST, INTERNATIONAL MILTERR GROUPS. Be they pro-Iran, anti-Iran, andor Neutral, etc. IIUC, ABOVE > US SOLE OR JOINT WAR AGZ IRAN MAY BE THE ONLY REALISTIC UNIVERSAL "SAFE" OPTION FOR THE UN + US-WORLD AGZ THE RISE OF DESTABILZ REGIONAL, GLOBAL NUCLEAR MILITANCY-TERRORISM. ---------------- PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > FORBES:THE LANDSCAPE OF GLOBAL POLITICS IN NEXT DECADE [2011- EOY 2020]. "Realistic" or "Highly Possible" Mix of Curr Trends + LT Speculation. To wit, * 2011 > NORTH KOREA - KIM JONG-IL II dies at age 70, succeeded in power by son KIM JONG-UN whom works to greatly improve bilateral Trade-Econ ties wid the USA [anti-China?]. * 2012 > ISLAMIST PIRATES NOT-IN-THE-CARIBBEAN SEIZE POWER = CONTROL OF SOMALIA, taking over + dominating the GULF OF ADEN agz Internat interests. * 2011 > CHINA + CPLA DEPLOY LR MISSSLES IN SUDAN to protect Chinese-specific Energy, Econ investments. SUDAN [mil] PROTECTED BY PLA MILFORS. * 2018 > LAST US-NATO/ALLIED COMBAT TROOPS LEAVE AFGHANISTAN. Both Taliban + US formally declare VICTORY [Also read, declare DE FACTO "DEFEAT" of the Other Side]. * 2020 > FIRST CLIMATE WAR I = Muslim population begins abandoning Sun/GW-sunk MALDIVES ISLANDS for SRI LANKA, sparking LOCAL, REGIONAL? INTER-RELIGIOUS MIL CONFLICT. * SAME/NET > BRITISH POLICE PREPARE FOR MUMBAI-STYLE TERROR ATTACKS [trained by SAS]. ARTIC = Unless the UK is willing to pay the prohibitive $$$ costs of a vastly expanded SAS. other Elite MilFor presence throughout the country, all Districts + Major Cities-Towns, LOCAL BRIT POLICE AS "FIRST RESPONDERS" MUST HAVE + RECEIVE INTENSIVE TRAINING IN THE USE OF HEAVY [Military-caliber] WEAPONS. * SAME > CAN THE EARTH SURVIVE HAVING A POPULATION OF OVER 9.0BILYUHN BY 2050? * CHINESE MIL FORUM > CHINA WILL BE THE WORLD'S SECOND [2nd] MOST POWERFUL COUNTRY BY 2050, ACCORDING TO THE PRC'S TOP THINKTANK [CASS = Chin Acadaemy of Social Sciences], as long as Beijing + CPC stay dedicated to continually improving Chin NATIONAL LEARNING, OPER CURVES = AGENDA OF NATIONAL MODERNIZATION. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-10-26 22:55 |