Saudi FM al-Faisal doubts Iran sanctions plans
Imposing more sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme would not be a quick enough solution, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has said.
Prince Saud al-Faisal said the threat posed by Iran demanded a "more immediate solution" than sanctions.
He spoke in Riyadh alongside US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who earlier said Iran was "becoming a military dictatorship".
#2
"Let's you and him fight, because I need protecting." The House of Saud really do think we're their janissaries, and they no longer bother to be subtle about it.
U.S. intelligence officials appear to have obtained access to what could turn out to be a significant trove of phone numbers, photographs and documents detailing the links between Al Qaeda's leaders in northwest Pakistan and the terror group's increasingly menacing affiliate in Yemen, two counter-terrorism sources tell Declassified.
In late January, an Al Qaeda operative headed from Pakistan on his way to Yemen was arrested in the Persian Gulf country of Oman, a U.S. counter-terrorism official confirmed.
There has been no public announcement of the arrest. But in a possible indication of the operative's importance, just a few days later, two postings on a jihadi web forum suggested that Al Qaeda leaders were worried and wanted their "commanders" to take immediate precautions.
The postings stated that the "captured brother" -- identified as a "field commander" named Abdullah Saleh al-Eidan who went by the name of "Barud"- - was "on his way back from Afghanistan" and had been turned over to Saudi authorities.
Even more noteworthy, the postings -written by a fellow Al Qaeda "brother" - reported that Al Eidan had with him 300 "important phone numbers" as well as pictures, names and documents from Afghanistan.
"The brother requested that this information reach the commanders in Yemen and Afghanistan as soon as possible," read one of the postings, which appeared on a web forum known as Fallujah Islamic Forum. "He also asked.the commanders to change their places of residence and mobile phone numbers as soon as possible."
While unable to confirm the specific figures in the web postings about Eidan's phone numbers and documents, the U.S. counter-terrorism official said that Eidan was in fact an Al Qaeda courier on a mission to Yemen and that his capture was providing "useful" intelligence about the terror group's operations.The official did not provide any details on how Eidan came to be arrested by authorities in Oman.
It is difficult to assess at this stage how significant the arrest of the Al Qaeda operative may be. But Evan Kohlmann, a counter-terrorism specialist who provides analysis for U.S. government agencies and who first spotted the web postings, told Declassified: "These kind of grabs are not all that common." "The idea that he would have personnel files on such a large cross section of Al Qaeda fighters is a remarkable gain," said Kohlmann.
At the same time, the capture of Eidan may suggest that the connections between Al Qaeda's central leadership and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)-as the group's affiliate in Yemen is called-- may be greater than U.S. officials have previously thought.
Just last month, when asked at a White House press briefing what was the most "shocking, stunning thing" he had learned from the administration's review of the Christmas Day bombing incident, John Brennan, President Obama's counter-terrorism advisor, replied: "Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is an extension of Al Qaeda core coming out of Pakistan. We had a strategic sense of sort of where they were going, but we didn't know they had progressed to the point of actually launching individuals here."
Just a few weeks later, Osama bin Laden released a brief audio message-from "Osama to Obama"-in which he praised the attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit and called bombing suspect Omar Farouk Abdulmutallab a "hero."
At the time, U.S. security officials and others noted that bin Laden didn't actually take credit for ordering the bombing of the Northwest flight.
But the capture of Eidan-and his documents showing the apparent communication flow between Al Qaeda commanders in Afghanistan and Yemen-- could at least raise questions about whether bin Laden or his top confederates may have known more about it in advance than anybody initially suspected.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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when asked at a White House press briefing what was the most "shocking, stunning thing" he had learned from the administration's review of the Christmas Day bombing incident, John Brennan, President Obama's counter-terrorism advisor, replied: "Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is an extension of Al Qaeda core coming out of Pakistan.
Hadn't a number of us guessed this from news reports here on the Burg?
#9
Mr. Cheney did approve how the president is running the Afghan war, once he finally stopped agonizing long enough to make a decision, gorb. Credit where due, and all that.
#11
Mr. Cheney did approve how the president is running the Afghan war, once he finally stopped agonizing long enough to make a decision, gorb. Credit where due, and all that.
Grumble grumble. Well, maybe OK. Too bad he has to take a quick step back for every two agonizingly slow steps he takes forwards.
[Bangla Daily Star] Detained former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and former National Security Intelligence chief Maj Gen (retd) Rezaqul Haider Chowdhury both admitted yesterday that they were aware of the smuggling of 10 truckloads of firearms and ammunition.
The confessions came as the Criminal Investigation Department brought the two face to face at the CID headquarters for interrogation in connection with the smuggling.
"Babar admitted that he had directed police personnel to hide the truth as several top ranking and influential persons of the four-party alliance were involved in the smuggling," said a CID source.
"The former NSI boss [Rezaqul] said although he knew about the smuggling, he had nothing to do in this regard because of the involvement of top officials of the then government," the source said.
The CID officials, however, said both Babar and Rezaqul were still trying to hide the truth and save themselves.
When contacted, Assistant Superintendent of Police Maniruzzaman, the investigation officer of the arms haul case, declined to make any comment.
Babar was brought to the CID headquarters in Dhaka from Habiganj after he was taken on a six-day remand in connection with the killing of former finance minister SAMS Kibria. Rezaqul Haider was brought from Chittagong after he was placed on a five-day remand in connection with the smuggling case.
CID officials said Babar was being interrogated in connection with both the arms haul and Kibria murder cases.
According to the CID, the former state minister claimed that retired ASP Munshi Atiqur Rahman, who was the investigation officer of the Kibria murder case, had misguided him with wrong information.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The nine BDR men accused of mutiny claimed themselves innocent in written statements submitted to the Special Court-4 of Bangladesh Rifles in Rangamati yesterday.
The jawans of 12 Rifles Battalion at Rajnagar in the district submitted the statements following a court directive, reports our Rangamati correspondent.
They also said the allegations brought against them by their officers (prosecutors) are completely fabricated and untrue. They claimed that they are not guilty.
Some of the BDR members even broke down in tears while placing statements in the court. They also submitted some documents and papers to the court as evidence in support of their statements.
The three-member court headed by BDR Director General Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam sat at the Mechanical Transport Shed at the BDR sector headquarters in the town. On December 30 last year, the court had adjourned its proceedings till yesterday.
Two other members of the court are Lt Col Md Abdur Rouf and Maj Golam Mostafa Al-Mamun.
After receiving the statements from the accused, the court yesterday adjourned its proceedings till 8:30am tomorrow.
Earlier, during the hearing on framing charges against the BDR men, all nine accused denied the allegations against them.
All of the nine BDR members from Rangamati jail were produced before the court around 2:00pm as proceedings started. They were sent back to jail after adjournment of the proceedings around 5:30pm.
On December 30, some 12 witnesses in this case gave their statements supporting the allegations brought by the prosecution against the nine accused.
"The trial proceedings are almost completed. More arguments will be held the next day of proceedings [tomorrow]. We expect the court to deliver verdict as early as possible," Mosharraf Hossain Kazal, a senior public prosecutor of the case told journalists.
Kazal and Md Mohiuddin Dewan, another senior PP were present in the court.
Deputy Attorney General Md Sohrawardy was present on behalf of the attorney general.
Major Enamul Karim aided the mutineers in the court as friend of the accused.
Trial of 75 alleged BDR members of 9 Rifle Battalion of Marishya of Baghaichhari in Rangamati would begin today at the same court at 9:00am.
The mutiny in Rangamati took place at three of the sector's five battalions. The three battalions are 12 Rifles Battalion at Rajnagar in Longudu, 9 Rifles Battalion at Marishya in Baghaichhari and 18 Rifles Battalion at Chhotohorina in Barkal upazila.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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Baroness Jenny Tonge has been sacked as the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for health in Britain's House of Lords for urging an inquiry into charges that Israeli forces in Haiti harvested organs.
Baroness Tonge told the Jewish Chronicle on Friday that there should be an inquiry into reports that Israeli forces harvested the organs of victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti.
"To prevent allegations such as these -- which have already been posted on You Tube -- going any further, the IDF and the Israeli Medical Association should establish an independent inquiry immediately to clear the names of the team in Haiti," she said.
In response, Liberal Democrat Party Leader Nick Clegg sacked Tonge and dismissed her comments as unacceptable, provocative, and distasteful.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Clegg said, "Following discussions with the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Lord McNally, I have decided that Jenny Tonge will stand down as Liberal Democrat health spokesperson in the Lords following her unacceptable comments suggesting an inquiry into highly offensive allegations against the IDF humanitarian operation in Haiti."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
YouTube. It must be true. It's your "go to" for the highest standards of reporting, isn't it, your Bareness?
The United States should break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver badly needed supplies by sea, a U.S. congressman told Gaza students. Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, ...
A Dhimmi from Washington? There's the free space on the daily Bingo card ...
... also urged President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy to visit the Hamas-ruled territory to get a firsthand look at the destruction caused by Israeli's military offensive last year.
Baird, who has announced his retirement from Congress, told a group of Gaza students Sunday evening that the U.S. should not condone the blockade. "We ought to bring roll-on, roll-off ships and roll them right to the beach and bring the relief supplies in, in our version of the Berlin airlift," he said, adding that the supplies could be delivered to U.N. aid agencies.
The Berlin airlift was an act of war, it's just that it wasn't kinetic against the Soviet Army, so they were unable to find justification to start a hot war with the U.S., or even Germany. It's a good thing Rep. Baird will be retiring soon, if he thinks going to war with long-time ally Israel is a good and admirable thing.
#1
Between this guy and "Baghdad Jim" McDermott... jeez. What is it about Washington State's Congressional delegation/
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/15/2010 9:44 Comments ||
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if they can smuggle a car through thier tunnels they can smugggle food and med supplies
Posted by: chris ||
02/15/2010 10:13 Comments ||
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also urged President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy to visit the Hamas-ruled territory to get a firsthand look at the destruction caused by Israeli's military offensive last year
Wait a minute - isn't Europe already paying to fix all that? You can't have your cake and eat it too. Unless your "Palestinian", I guess.
Via Jihad Watch
President Obama's newly appointed envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference was quoted in 2004 as saying an American who aided a Palestinian terrorist group was the victim of politically motivated persecutions' who was being used to squash dissent.'
Rashad Hussain was quoted as telling a Muslim students' event in Chicago that if U.S. Muslims did not speak out against the injustices taking place in America, then everyone's rights would be in jeopardy.
The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (WRMEA) cited Hussain as making the remarks in connection with Sami al-Arian, a university professor and activist sentenced in 2006 to more than four years in prison (including time already spent in custody) after he had pleaded guilty to conspiring to aid the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Sounds like Hussain will fit right in.
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2010 12:16 ||
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interesting that the WRMEA edited their archives 3 years ago to remove references to Rashad Hussain's comments about Al Arian.
either they were preparing him for a job in a Donk admin or perhaps Rashad changed his mind about Al Arian (if the latter, the edits should however have noted that).
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/15/2010 12:55 Comments ||
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Sadly, this fellow considers himself a political operative rather than a security official
still at least he did stand up for the 20% figure when it was challenged by a terrorism apologist (although why he was speaking to this group, which is also basically a pro Sharia org, is a question is its own right)
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/15/2010 9:19 Comments ||
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....as far as return to crime. Twenty percent isn't that bad."
Unless of course among the casualties this 'recidivism' creates is your own uniformed son or daughter in Afghanistan, or some other third world cesspool. This bastid must go!
Tanzeem al Jihad, a local organisation held a protest rally on Sunday, in favour of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and demanded that the government play a role in securing her release. The organisation's patron Naveed Kamal Bhatti led the rally and around 200 citizens participated in it. They carried placards and banners in favour of Aafia and chanted slogans against the US government.
The rally started from Krishan Nagar and concluded at Charing Cross where the protesters also burnt an effigy of former president Pervez Musharraf holding him responsible for Aafia's arrest.
The Iraqi Army is continuing to increase in size, restructuring to fill its mission of external defense. Now the Iraqi Army appears to be redeploying/rotating most, if not all, of the Iraqi Army divisions to support training, operations, and to break any untoward local political or criminal influence.
In December 2009, the Kurdish press reported the planned transfer of the Iraqi Army's 6th Division from Baghdad to Ninawa and the 10th Division from southern Iraq to Kirkuk.
This indicated 2 planned rotations: 6th Division in NW Baghdad swapping areas with 2nd Division in Mosul and 10th Division in DhiQar swapping with 12th Division in Kirkuk. Both of these transfers would facilitate training by moving well trained divisions to hot zones for experience while moving divisions in hot zones to quieter areas where they could receive advanced training.
A senior Iraqi official says Washington and Riyadh are supporting the return of former Baath party members to power in a bid to counter what they call Iran's influence in the country.
Iraq's Justice and Accountability Commission head, Ahmed Chalabi, told Press TV that what motivates the United States and Saudi Arabia to back the return of Baathists to power is "their continuing conflict with Iran."
"They think that the presence of Baathists in the parliament of Iraq would be an important card in their hands to stop the so-called spreading influence of Iran in Iraq."
Chalabi went on to compare former dictator Saddam Hussein's Baath party to the Nazi party in Germany, saying "the Baath party in Iraq is a totalitarian racist party."
"They practiced genocide and killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and promoted war just like the Nazi party in Germany," said Chalabi.
"The crimes they committed in Iraq are comparable to the crimes that were committed by the Nazi party," he added.
His remarks follow a decision by an appellate court to ban 145 candidates from participating in parliamentary elections, expected on March 7, over ties to former Baath party.
The appeals panel reinstated only 26 of the 171 candidates, who appealed their disqualification last month by a parliamentary body, known as the Accountability and Justice Commission.
The committee barred 500 candidates from participation in election over 'ties Saddam Hussein's political and military apparatus.'
Amid the dispute last month, US Vice President Joe Biden paid a visit to Baghdad. His visit was aimed at persuading Iraqi officials to reverse the ban on candidates with alleged links to the Baath party, according to Chalabi.
He said the US attempts to reverse the ban made no headway with the Iraqi leadership.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
In hindsight would we have been better off throwing out the Mullahs in Iran than Saddam as we have played into Irans hands?
We seem to be caught in the middle of a Sunni/Shia power struggle choosing to side with the Sunni side which we did not help by taking out Saddam.
Personally i dont trust either side.Who is a bigger threat Saudi/Pak connection or the Iran/Syria connection?
Israel has decided not to deploy its new Iron Dome anti-rocket system to Gaza, but to keep it in reserve so that it can quickly (within a day), be deployed against Gaza or Lebanon.
This upsets the people in southern Israel, but the government points out that only a few rockets are fired out of Gaza each week, and rarely do those hit anything.
But if Hezbollah started another war, Iron Dome could save lives if it was deployed quickly enough. Hamas is less likely to launch a major rocket offensive (the Israelis watch Gaza more closely), but Iron Dome missile batteries and radars can be quickly moved south.
Iron Dome can handle hundreds of incoming rockets an hour, because the radar system calculates where each rocket will land, and only launches a missile against rockets that are going to hit a residential area. Over 90 percent of rockets fired, in the north or south, hit open terrain. As an objective observer, I'm noting a pattern here. Tel Aviv won't defend Sderot, but it won't let it defend itself. This seems to indicate that Sderot is not loved by Tel Aviv.
#2
It seems this new system may be a limited asset at the moment. It makes sense to keep it where it can respond to the greater threat quickest and Lebanon is the greater threat. As more units become available they will most likely be deployed.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/15/2010 19:10 Comments ||
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I'm afraid the rationalizations for not defending Sderot are pretty thin. For example, a C-RAM system costs about $2M, but the government refused to let Sderot have one, or even buy one, "because Israel is working on its own version."
But then, a short time later, the government decides on a different system, but nothing for Sderot. It is all to be deployed in the North. A convoy of citizens from the city go to Tel Aviv to protest, and get considerable on-the-street sympathy, but the government blows them off.
To me, this sounds like Chicago politics. Likely Sderot supporting the opposition, so they are being punished.
A British journalist has been arrested in Gaza on suspicion of endangering the security of the state. Paul Martin, a freelance journalist and documentary film-maker who has previously written for The Times, was taken into custody yesterday by Hamas security forces. A Hamas police spokesman, Ehab Ghussein, said that they had obtained confessions that the British journalist violated Palestinian law and the security of the state'. He is being held in a central Gaza prison.
It was reported that Mr Martin had travelled to Gaza to testify at the trial of a militant from a group called the Abu Rish Brigades who is accused of passing information to Israel. The small militant organisation has previously claimed responsibility for kidnappings and firing rockets into Israel. A spokesman for the group told the Associated Press that a Gaza judge had ordered Mr Martin to be held for two weeks during the trial.
Fadi Adeeb, a spokesman for the British consulate in Jerusalem, said: We are urgently looking into the matter and following up with the responsible people so we can sort this matter out on the consular level.'
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday suspended the director of his bureau, Rafik Husseini, who has been at the center of a major sex scandal. Abbas also established a three-man commission of inquiry to look into the matter. Ah yasss, a commission!
The commission consists of three senior Fatah officials Abu Maher Ghneim, Azzam al-Ahmed and Rafik Natsheh. No doubt they'll find Fatah pure as the driven snow ...
The panel will present its findings to Abbas and the PA leadership within three weeks, during which time Husseini will be suspended from work, Abbas's office said in a statement.
Husseini, meanwhile, on Sunday night made his first public appearance since the scandal broke out. He read a brief statement to journalists in Ramallah in which he claimed that he had fallen victim to a gang that worked for Israeli intelligence and that tried to extort him financially and politically. Blame it on the Joooz ...
Husseini, who refused to take questions, also said that the gang wanted to remove him from his job and force him to leave the country. He said that he would continue to fight corruption and challenge the Israeli occupation.'
Fahmi Shabaneh, the Palestinian General Intelligence Service official who exposed the scandal in an exclusive interview published in The Jerusalem Post on January 29, welcomed Abbas's decision to suspend Husseini as a right step in the right direction.'
However, Shabaneh, who was appointed several years ago by Abbas to combat corruption in the PA, warned that the suspension of Husseini was not sufficient. He must be fired and put on trial together with many officials involved in financial, administrative and sexual corruption,' Shabaneh told the Post.
Shabaneh also expressed fear that the members of the commission of inquiry all Abbas loyalists would try to bury' the cases of corruption that he exposed in the interview with the Post. That's step one. Step two is shooting you in the feet ...
He noted that one of the commission members, Ahmed, was himself involved in financial corruption. Azzam al-Ahmed and his brother, Allam, are suspected of embezzlement of more than $2.5 million,' he said. This was one of the hot cases that I investigated while I was in charge of the anti-corruption unit. How can someone like this be appointed to investigate corruption?'
Husseini has been under heavy pressure to quit after Shabaneh released secret video footage in which he appears naked in a woman's bedroom. Shabaneh said that the woman had sought the assistance of the PA President's Bureau in solving a personal problem. Husseini agreed to help her through a presidential decree signed by Abbas, in return for sex, Shabaneh added.
The intelligence official told the Post that the decision to secretly film Husseini in the woman's apartment was approved by a former commander of the General Intelligence Service, Tawfik Tirawi. He said that Tirawi personally authorized the payment of NIS 7,000 to the Ramallah-based company that installed the cameras in the woman's living room and bedroom.
Shabaneh said that when the scandal broke out, Tirawi offered him money to go on vacation until the storm settled.
The PA last week issued a warrant for Shabaneh's arrest on charges of collaboration' with Israel and harming the prestige and national sentiments' of the Palestinians.
Also last week, Shabaneh issued an ultimatum to Abbas, saying that if the PA president didn't dismiss Husseini within two weeks, he would expose even more serious cases of corruption involving senior PA officials.
In video footage, Husseini and his secretary are heard bad-mouthing Abbas and his two sons, Tareq and Yasser, as well as Yasser Arafat and Tirawi. Husseini mocks at Abbas for lacking charisma. He adds that Abbas does not like the Palestinian people. Husseini and his secretary are also heard denouncing Abbas's sons as crooks.'
At one stage, Husseini denounces Arafat as a big swindler who surrounded himself with thieves. The secretary is heard condemning Tirawi, the former General Intelligence Service commander, as trash.' All of which has the virtue of being true ...
It was not clear whether the decision to suspend Husseini included his secretary, who belongs to a prominent Christian family from Jerusalem.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Rafiq Al-Husseini, the former chief of staff to President Mahmoud Abbas, said Sunday he is innocent of allegations broadcast on Israeli TV days earlier.
Flanked by relatives, Al-Husseini told reporters that a videotape apparently showing him propositioning a job applicant for sex was a fabrication. He refused to answer questions.
In brief remarks, Al-Husseini read aloud a statement alleging that conspirators, who he did not name, dubbed his voice on the videotape for the purposes of blackmail, both political and financial. He described the videotape as manipulated, noted it was more than a year and a half old, and insisted he informed Abbas at the time.
Nevertheless, Al-Husseini said he would cede power as instructed and cooperate with the PA's commission of inquiry, which will be headed by Fatah Central Committee secretary-general Abu Maher Ghneim.
However, he also said he would not submit to supposed blackmail, which he suggested was intended to compel him to resign and "leave the homeland." Al-Husseini said he would "continue to fight corruption and confront the occupation in Jerusalem, my city, my battle, and my destiny, like all other Jerusalemites."
Al-Husseini termed the broadcast, which appeared Wednesday evening on Israel's Channel 10, "a meeting between corruption and collaboration with the occupation."
He applauded the Arab media outlets that opted not to air the allegations brought forward by Fahmi Shabanah, a former Palestinian Authority intelligence official who says he was forced to turn to an Israeli broadcaster after Al-Jazeera and Al-Hurra turned him away.
In a show of support from Al-Husseini's family, several relatives applauded after he finished reading.
Abbas dismissed the former aide earlier Sunday, days after the broadcast, and formed a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of corruption put forth in the footage and documents provided to the Israeli network.
Shabana, the intelligence officer who provided the footage, was head of the PA's anti-corruption department until his recent dismissal. Shabana said he initiated a sting when a job applicant informed PA intelligence of Al-Husseini's alleged misuse of his seniority in the US-backed government.
According to the official PA news agency Wafa, the committee will present its findings in three weeks. Abbas has officially dimissed Husseini from his post, pending the results of the investigation, Wafa reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Al-Husseini read aloud a statement alleging that conspirators, who he did not name, dubbed his voice on the videotape for the purposes of blackmail, both political and financial. He described the videotape as manipulated, noted it was more than a year and a half old, and insisted he informed Abbas at the time.
"But that was in another country and besides, the wench is dead."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration believes Iran is becoming a military dictatorship.
In remarks to Arab students at Carnegie Mellon's campus in Qatar, Clinton said the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran appears to have gained so much power that it effectively is supplanting the government.
[Al Arabiya Latest] U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton said Sunday that Iran faces "greater costs" for taking "provocative steps," and warned of "new measures" to convince Tehran to change course in its nuclear drive.
"Iran leaves the international community little choice but to impose greater costs for its provocative steps," Clinton said in a speech at the U.S.-Islamic World forum in Doha.
"Together, we are encouraging Iran to reconsider its dangerous policy decisions," the U.S. diplomatic chief said, adding that Washington wants peaceful solution to Tehran's nuclear issue.
"I would like to figure out a way to handle it in as peaceful an approach possible, and I certainly welcome any meaningful engagement, but ... we don't want to be engaging while they are building their bomb," she said in the Qatari capital, Doha.
During her visit to the Gulf Clinton will seek to enlist more Arab diplomatic pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, U.S. officials said.
The officials also said Clinton also hoped to win greater Arab support to revive Israel-Palestinian peace negotiations, which have been frozen for more than a year.
U.S. President Barack Obama has made little headway in his effort to restart the peace talks or to persuade Iran to rein in a civil nuclear program which the West, as well as many Arab states, suspect is a cover to develop atomic weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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ohhhhhhhhhh shit . yall done it now UN sanctions, I know i would be shitting my self right now
Posted by: chris ||
02/15/2010 10:15 Comments ||
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So, you think it is going to rain today?
Posted by: Kelly ||
02/15/2010 11:15 Comments ||
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Well, as of this moment, they're on DOUBLE SECRET PROBATION! - Dean Vernon Wormer
Tens of thousands of supporters of Lebanon's majority "March 14" camp flocked into downtown Beirut on Sunday for a rally marking the fifth anniversary of the slaying of former premier Rafiq Hariri.
"We are here for Rafiq Hariri and all the other Lebanese who were assassinated," said Souraya Saleh, a mother of two from Naameh, south of the capital.
"Hariri was our father, the father of all the Lebanese. We owe this city to him," she told AFP.
Hariri's assassination in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 saw the rise of a U.S.- and Saudi-backed alliance that became known as March 14, named after a day of massive anti-Syrian protests dubbed the "Cedar Revolution."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview that the Iranian nation is currently demonstrating the highest level of unity in its history.
"Today, the highest level of unity and social solidarity exists in the country," Ahmadinejad told Russia's VIP-Premier magazine. "Considering Iran's history, [such unity] is extraordinary."
"The recent presidential election, which demonstrated the highest level of eligible voter participation of 85 percent, shows that the solidarity has grown over the past 30 years [since the victory of the Islamic Revolution]," he said.
He also touched on the country's nuclear issue and said Iran does not need nuclear weapons.
President Ahmadinejad said nuclear weapons are of no use anymore and that Iran can defend itself without them.
Iran says its nuclear program is aimed at the civilian applications of the technology and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.
The West, however, accuses the country of seeking military objectives in its nuclear pursuit. The UN nuclear watchdog has failed to prove the allegation.
In his interview, President Ahmadinejad said the West had failed in its propaganda campaign against Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
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Ahmadinejad says
Stopped reading right there.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/15/2010 13:59 Comments ||
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Achmedboojibber is making a joke. Iran is a hollowed out shell. If it got into a war it couldnt get the average young Iranian male into the truck without a fight. One: They remember last time when they were herded into the mine fields at the charge to clear them. And Two: The Iranian govt is not their friend.The graveyards are Giganormous.
The country is gonna fold. WHY isnt Obama leading...by supporting a people who want freedom and democracy. But you dont see Skinny even having a clue about that. WHY isnt Obama leading? We dont have to occupy Iran. We can snap off Khuzestan and 87% of their Oil, split it with Iraq for using their troops to occupy it after we take it. Steal Iran's wallet. They would have to come over the Zagros moutains to take it back and we would have air superiority. Bleed 'em white.
Take Bandar Abbas with the Marines and NEVER give it back. Cut their one north/south railroad, every bridge and trestle. Bomb their SINGLE gasoline refinery. The Russians and Chinese would yell but they wouldnt do anything serious. And then with Achmed and the boyz out the Oil and without the Straits of Hormuz ....blow the big nosed buggers a kiss.
The Iranians can fire a few rockets at the Saudis and the Gulf Arabs and then we get the Gulf Arabs to ante up to pay for the war. Here fill this sack and keep it comin'. They want to show their bad and get nuclear. Perfect excuse to cook 'em.
They cant reach us..they can only reach their neighbors. That means we get their neighbors to finance us to "protect" them. Here fill this other sack. Hey, give me your watch too.
yeah Praise Allah, Bignose, gitsome.
Posted by: Black Bart ||
02/15/2010 21:40 Comments ||
Top||
The chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff has stated that any attack on Iran's nuclear facilities could have 'unintended consequences' throughout the Middle East region.
"Of course, there are limits and this (military strike) option is on the table, but we are not there yet," Admiral Mike Mullen said during a press briefing at the US embassy in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
He emphasized that US officials believe it is important to allow time for diplomacy and international pressure to work before they begin looking into military options.
Asked whether the United States would prevent Israel from attacking Iran, Mullen said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi made it clear to him that Israel backs the US administration's policy vis-à-vis Iran, adding that Washington is committed to Israel's security.
However, Tehran has made it clear that Israel will pay dearly for any adventurism targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have accused Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.
Yet, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes.
In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.
But Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal of at least 250 warheads, has never signed the NPT, and has never allowed IAEA inspections of all its nuclear facilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#6
He must have picked that up at the Naval War College. How profound.
That's really funny. Remind me some day to ask you for your CV.
PressTV is indeed spinning this. Mullen is not my favorite C-JCS CNO (or flag officer for that matter). But notice he said "throughout the Middle East region". Which pretty much lines up with the intel that's already out there.
#8
And unintended consequences are a problem? How?
Are you being serious, or is this yet another sardonic, HUA-moment?
Recall Ike, and his "enlarge the problem" advice.
IIUC, the context was in how to move large numbers of troops around the country, and at the time of his presidency, how to evacuate populations from cities facing nuclear attack. The problem was then enlarged to "how do we establish a viable large-volume, national transportation system?" (the answer being the interstate highways).
The question is really not only enlarging the problem, but then determining if there are viable solutions.
#9
Those of us in the Ranting ranks long for the day we might somehow attain your level of military strategy and foreign policy awareness o'great sage. My comment regarding the basketball college stands.
#10
If by "sage" you mean someone who knows that he doesn't know everything, tries to learn, and takes great pains not to display his ignorance during the process, then guilty as charged, meneer.
#13
So what unexpected consequences are we talking here?
We HAVE given diplomacy a thorough prance I think. Striped pants and french murmuring and the smell of dog piss all across the EU. The EUweenies are basically NEVER going to do anything. Besides, they CANT, they dont have a military or the capacity.
EUrope is nadless. Its priss perfect for just squeaking, knocking over its glass, and sitting there bigtime.
Israel doesnt have the overall to do anything but unleash hell if they get attacked first. They dont have the reach to do a First Strike..particularly if we wont let them fly all they way there or co-operate.
Ergo Israel is not going to start it. They would LIKE to, they have the nads for a fight. But they wont. You provoke them and they will blow your head off ,but they wont make the first move.
Iran is teetering like a drunk. Time is running out for the regime. We SHOULD be funding the dissidents and getting nasty behind the curtains. But no chance of that with Skinny as the hey what.
It a close race between allowing natural events INSIDE Iran pushing them in their own hole and waiting for them to get a warhead screwed down on a launch vehicle. They will eventually. If you think there is something else on their minds, well, I have some swamp for you at a very good price.
Admiral Mike Mullen is a man who eats with a linen napkin and has someone else do his driving for him while he sits in a tailored suit. He probably has never killed anything himself in his entire life. Hand him a rabbit and tell him to rip its head off...he wont be able to do it. His grandmother never showed him how. He's that kinda guy.
If a war breaks out with Iran most Arabs will squeal like ruptured stoats and wee wee on themselves. Its the kind of people they are.
Killing is always traumatic and no one likes to be out under the lights when they do it. But it CAN be done, and at the point of contact, its rather simple actually. You just stick the muzzle up against the Persians head and pull the trigger. Dont bring a trumpet and dont give any warning. And make sure you get everybody who looks you in the eye.
Wars are NECESSARY... that's why we have the guys in uniforms and give them guns. There is nothing wrong with wars... the killing is sanctioned and you dont go to Hell if its for a good cause.
You just look at the poor sod and try and do it so he doesnt get away or make a mess . Sometimes they make a fuss and its regrettable. You promise yourself you'll do it better next time.
But Iran has it coming. Dont lie to yourself like it will go away. It wont. You are going to have to DO IT eventually. Finish your milk and get your tools.
#14
February certainly has had an effect on you, TW.
Not February in general, Nimble Spemble. But this one has been... interesting, thus far. We can hope the rest of the year will be less so. The onanism comment is a reflection of nine years of sex ed. in the very progressive public school system I attended, however, and nothing more profound.
#15
That certainly is a rant, Shymaiden. A few quibbles: the Euroweenies in this case must include the Brits and the Germans, although Angela Merkel may step up to the plate, at least on the sanctions side; separately, Israel certainly didn't wait for a separate provocation before starting the Six Day War in '67, or more recently Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in Gaza. As for the rest, are you or have you ever been a sergeant? ;-)
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[Bangla Daily Star] Detained former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and former National Security Intelligence chief Maj Gen (retd) Rezaqul Haider Chowdhury both admitted yesterday that they were aware of the smuggling of 10 truckloads of firearms and ammunition.
The United States should break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver badly needed supplies by sea, a U.S. congressman told Gaza students. Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, ...
Tanzeem al Jihad, a local organisation held a protest rally on Sunday, in favour of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and demanded that the government play a role in securing her release. The organisation's patron Naveed Kamal Bhatti led the rally and around 200 citizens participated in it. They carried placards and banners in favour of Aafia and chanted slogans against the US government.
A British journalist has been arrested in Gaza on suspicion of endangering the security of the state. Paul Martin, a freelance journalist and documentary film-maker who has previously written for The Times, was taken into custody yesterday by Hamas security forces. A Hamas police spokesman, Ehab Ghussein, said that they had obtained confessions that the British journalist violated Palestinian law and the security of the state'. He is being held in a central Gaza prison. 
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday suspended the director of his bureau, Rafik Husseini, who has been at the center of a major sex scandal. Abbas also established a three-man commission of inquiry to look into the matter.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration believes Iran is becoming a military dictatorship. 
