Wars across the world will be caused by global warming, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett warned yesterday.
Iranian naval patrols Drought, floods and rising sea levels pose a major security risk and businesses must come together to try to find a way to combat the threat, she told a UN meeting. In developing countries climate change could "make it more difficult for them to secure the energy they need to power their homes and their businesses. They might decide to go out and take what they need for themselves. The resources available to us are already stretched and under immense and growing strain. An unstable climate threatens to exacerbate all these existing tensions."
Meanwhile, in a presentation to the Security Council, Britain warned the potential for instability and conflict would be increased as a result of migration by up to 200 million people.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
DEFENSETECH.org > WATER WARS OF YEAR 2050. Is the USA + World ready for such wars of necessary or biological [human species-wide?]survival???
#5
Reminds of an article a very earnest coworker turned me onto about 10 years ago. Something about a 'weather war' with the Soviets. Some kind of gizmo that could do something-or-another with the ionosphere and also change the jetstream.
Very scaring. But then, I guess that's not exactly what these people are on about.
#8
If they're right about global warming, then the water currently locked up in glaciers will be free to flow downstream, ending neatly a major current cause of conflict: water scarcity. To me this seems a good thing rather than otherwise. But then, I'm not important enough to spout my unqualified opinion to the entire world, unlike the honourable Foreign Secretary of Great Britain.
#11
Gloom and doom get politicians elected, so we're going to get a steady diet of it for the unforeseeable future. In the meantime, the crappulence they try to feed to the public needs to be fisked at every opportunity.
Carbon dioxide is NOT a "pollutant", but an essential ingredient to all life on Earth. The entire "global climate change" scenario is predicated on the unfounded idea that it's all mankind's fault, and the politicians can "solve" the problem by taking away more freedom from individuals. Forget the rest of the ballyhoo - it's all about a massive power grab perpetrated by the leftist loons in our society, and abetted by the mainstream media, academia, and government. Ms Beckett is an obvious example. Ridding the world of all of these loons would raise the average world IQ by several points.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2007 15:35 Comments ||
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#12
IF carbon dioxide is a problem why don't the Al Gores of the world buy up vast tracks of land to plant trees. Why don't they get UN money (wouldn't use their own and you know it) to buy up chunks of the Amazon to make UN Nature preserves to ensure the jungles aren't depleted.
#13
And far more profitable to complain than try to do anything, no money in actually solving the problem.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/19/2007 18:43 Comments ||
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#14
I say, bring back the Carboniferous Period. We had CO2 up the Ying Yang, Lots of O2, lots of green stuff growing. Thunderstorms were a b*tch, though. With so much tinder and oxygen, fires roasted things.....big time.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/19/2007 22:36 Comments ||
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A clampdown on unofficial mosques in the Tajik capital is aimed at weeding out extremist preachers, but critics warn that heavy-handed tactics risk alienating moderate Muslims.
Like the rest of this predominantly Muslim country, Dushanbe has witnessed a boom in mosque construction in recent years. Mosques sprang up all over, the place, often built on charitable donations or growing out of local community centers.
Islamic institutions such as mosques and madrassahs or religious schools formally come under an official "directorate" with close links to the state. The Tajik authorities keep a close eye on Muslim groups outside that structure, and have for example arrested many members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an outlawed group with extremist views. At the same time, Tajikistan is the only Central Asian state to have a legal and mainstream Islamic political party, the Islamic Rebirth Party (IRP).
Two years ago, the city authorities in Dushanbe decided to take a closer look at the situation for fear that the unsanctioned prayer houses might be being used to preach radical messages. A specially created commission ran checks on the city's mosques both for their legal status and to see whether the buildings met planning and public health requirements. When that investigation concluded at the end of 2006, the prosecution service stepped in. Three months on, prosecutors have recommended that 13 mosques should be demolished, and that another 28 should be allowed to stay open as long as they formally register with the authorities. They also found that 29 of the "unofficial" mosques should be reclassified as legal.
An official from the Dushanbe prosecutor's office told IWPR that it was a question of ensuring that everyone complied with the law. "We are all Muslims and we observe the precepts of Islam. But at the same time, we must obey the law. Any organization has to operate within the law," said the official, who did not want to be named.
One imam in Dushanbe told IWPR that the reason many mosques remain outside the law is that the bureaucracy involved in winning registration is daunting. "Sometimes they don't register us, or they delay granting legal status to mosques," he explained. "So it's simpler for us to operate illegally."
Said Ahmedov, a senior office-holder at a business institute in Dushanbe who formerly served as advisor to President Imomali Rahmon on religious affairs, believes that the authorities are right to clamp down on unregistered mosques because of concerns that some might have been used by extremist preachers.
Ahmedov said there was a danger that more radical forms of Sunni Islam the main faith in Tajikistan were being imported by clerics who had spent time abroad. "If there are no controls, there's a risk that other strands [of Sunni Islam] will be propagated and gain influence. Some imams [prayer leaders] have studied abroad, a number of them in Saudi Arabia, where they fall under the sway of Wahhabism, which is alien to Tajikistan. That poses some risk," he said. "Religious figures must work alongside the state to monitor the situation and ensure that these teachings are not purveyed in the mosques and madrassahs."
Ahmedov concluded that while the kind of people who veer towards extremist views tend to be "uninformed about Islam and poorly educated," the government should take care to ensure that supervision of religious affairs takes place within the law, "so that the rights of [other] believers are not abused."
But critics of the mosque clampdown say it is part of a long-running and heavy-handed government campaign to contain and control the practice of Islam, and as such risks alienating devout Muslims and making them more receptive to extremist views.
#2
Ahmedov concluded that while the kind of people who veer towards extremist views tend to be "uninformed about Islam and poorly educated,"
While this might be true in poorer countries the opposite in fact is true of terrorist outside the middle east. Better educated middle class to rich. They typically understand Muhammad's call for murder and violence. Something the so called moderates refuse to follow and thus are actually heretics in the Islamic faith.
#1
Go read BrerRabbit's link. Please. Then click through to the Counter Jihad Coalition, all of you who've wanted to do something more, and see what you can do to help.
#1
If it hopes to tame Iran, the United States must rethink its strategy from the ground up. The Islamic Republic is not going away anytime soon, and its growing regional influence cannot be limited. Washington must eschew superficially appealing military options, the prospect of conditional talks, and its policy of containing Iran in favor of a new policy of détente. In particular, it should offer pragmatists in Tehran a chance to resume diplomatic and economic relations. Thus armed with the prospect of a new relationship with the United States, the pragmatists would be in a position to sideline the radicals in Tehran and try to tip the balance of power in their own favor.
Wotta tripe volcano!
"the pragmatists would be in a position to sideline the radicals"
What "pragmatists"? Iran is a thugocracy dead set on regional hegemony. Resupmtion of "diplomatic and economic relations" will only embolden them and validate their current strategy of delay and deceit. Iran's vision of theocratic Islam is simply unacceptable and must be dismantled at the earliest opportunity. Those who think otherwise are seriously deluded. Allowing such persistent and egregious violations of human rights to continue unhindered would be a disaster of monumental proportions. It would amount to a crime against humanity, equal to the one which is already in progress in Iran. A course of detente would only lead to a nuclear armed Iran. That one single development would rank as the most hideous strategic blunder of this new century.
#2
'growing regional influence' ? Iranians are indoeuropeans in arab environment, shiite in a sunni environment. What can they offer to their neighbours ? They allied themselves with insurgent organizations in the region, and that is what their influence is about.
#4
The DemoLeft may like to PC talk "detente",
"bilateral" or "multipolar negotiations" and "dipomacy", etc. feel-good labels vv Iran, but they know that after Dubya leaves the WH come January 2009, THE USA WILL BE NEGOTIATING FROM OVERWHELMING, UNILATERAL, MILPOL STRENGTH ala Ronald Reagan, Bush 1 or Nixon, NOT JUST REGIONALLY, BUT GLOBALLY THAN EVER BEFORE. Iff POTUS = CO-POTUS Hillary wants eight years of Bill-style, Dem-credited, relative geopolitical "quiet" ala 1990's, then the WOT must be resolved or mostly resolved by the time she assumes the WH, ERGO THE DEM DEMAND FOR "TIMETABLES" [March 2008], where "ending the War" + "pulling out of Iraq-ME" > only ending ACTIVE US-LED/SUPP GROUND COMBAT OPERATIONS INSIDE IRAQ, NOT BRINGING THE TROOPS HOME TO LET IRAQ FEND FOR ITSELF.
I'm not sure this approach is going to work with today's voters:
Another man wondering if an attack on Iran is in the works wanted to know when America is going to send an air mail message to Tehran. McCain began his answer by changing the words to a popular Beach Boys song. Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran, he sang to the tune of Barbara Ann. Iran is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. That alone should concern us but now they are trying for nuclear capabilities. I totally support the President when he says we will not allow Iran to destroy Israel.
Subtle, John; real subtle...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 11:40 ||
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#1
Now that's what I call courtin' the Rantburg Vote.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
04/19/2007 12:45 Comments ||
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#2
Works for me.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/19/2007 12:50 Comments ||
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#3
McCain's really been working on polishing his "conservative" image lately. Aside from the WoT, I wish I trusted him more.
#9
So now candidates are trying so hard to emulate Reagan that they're copying his comedic misfires?
While I appreciate the sentiment, the presentation seems a tad... flip for a serious candidate.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/19/2007 16:03 Comments ||
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#10
Hmmm, John McCain must read Rantburg, or someone on his staff does. I posted that ditty here about a month ago.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2007 16:17 Comments ||
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#11
If memory serves, the Beach Boys themselves did this little variant of their song, at a July 4 concert on the Mall, in the shadow of the Washington Monument, in 1980. I was riding my bike past, and heard it myself. I recall the crowd cheering wildly - different time, different country ....
#13
"Better than the Donks song 'Shari-a' (to the tune of Frankie Valli's Sherry)"
Oh, God... now I've got that song in my mind. And I can't get it out. Thanks a lot, DMFD...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 17:12 Comments ||
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#14
Local Guam radio played BARBARA ANN this AM while referring to McCain comments. I also hummed TINY BUBBLES to myself in honor of DON HO's recent death.
#1
It would be interesting to get the Supreme Court to rule once and for all on the constitutionality of the War Powers Act. It would also take years to resolve and be an academic exercise as far as Iraq goes.
If we could just get Lieberman and a Democrat to be named later to defect to the Republicans in the Senate, we could get on with things...
Posted by: Jonathan ||
04/19/2007 15:42 Comments ||
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A Distinguish group of ambassadors mostly from the European Union consisting of Germany, Finland, Austria, Sweden, Netherlands, Hungry and United Kingdom accompanied by their families and friends visited Khyber Pass onboard the Khyber Steam Safari.
The group was warmly welcomed at the Jamrud Railway Station with bagpipe band display. Two vintage Victorian steam engine pushed and pulled the train carrying the honored guests on the wheels through 18 tunnels, numerous bridges and culverts through the historic and rugged Mountains of the Khyber Pass amidst excitement and fascination. On arrival at Landi Kotal the Distinguished guest were escorted by smartly dressed contingent of Khyber Riffles to Michni check post where they were briefed about the Pak-Afghan Border, its location, history, Strategic and trade importance over the years.
Later on the group visited Khyber Riffles Mess for Lunch, followed by the presentation of martial dances and Visit to the Gallery and they also visited the Tribal Heritage Museum developed by the Khyber Riffles to educate visitors about the lifestyle, culture heritage and handicrafts of the native tribes. The guest hailed the arrangements and the hospitality extended on the Khyber steam safari trip which is a joint venture of PR, FC and Sehrai Rail tours.
The pass was (is) famous even during the Russian Afghan occupation for the smuggling. In the last year of the war I can remember seeing Russian refrigerators coming through on the back of trucks. A very surreal sight.
A meeting of the Punjab University Deans Committee held on Wednesday that the heads of all departments should expel any university student claiming to be an Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) nazim, nominee for the post or IJT activists. The meeting, headed by PU vice chancellor Lt Gen (r) Arshad Mahmood, was held to discuss the gravity and strategy after the recent incidents of hooliganism by the IJT on the PU campus.
The meeting strongly condemned the IJTs actions and alleged threats to the students, teachers and their families. In the meeting, some members confirmed that IJT activists had issued death-threats to the families of Pharmacy College principal Dr Muhammad Jamshed and a senior faculty member (IJT has denied this allegation). The committee condemned the disruption of the Pharmacy College exhibition by the IJT.
Insiders told Daily Times that the VC had allowed chairpersons, department heads, principals and directors of institutes had been asked to expel any university student claiming to be an IJT nazim, nominee for IJT nazim or an IJT activist. The sources said no show cause notice would be necessary for the expulsion of IJT nazims or activists because the organisation was trying to run a parallel administration and terrorise peaceful university students through that.
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#1
Can we do the same to Allan's asshats who are infiltrating UK universities and intimidating asian students? Oh no no no no...
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/19/2007 8:36 Comments ||
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#2
Can we do the same to Allan's asshats who are infiltrating UK universities and intimidating asian students? Oh no no no no...
That would be interfering with University Functions and quite possibly put in jeopardy the Tuitions and Grants from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Ummah...
surely you jest..
Posted by: The Regents of the University ||
04/19/2007 10:45 Comments ||
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#3
I'm not sure I'd wish to be an alumni of P U.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2007 16:20 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: Women activists of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday thrashed a supporter of President General Pervez Musharraf outside the Supreme Court ahead of the Supreme Judicial Councils hearing of the presidential reference against suspended Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Rana Abdul Hakeem, a senior member of the ruling PML, attracted the attention of PML-N women workers when he started shouting slogans supporting President Musharraf while carrying his [Musharrafs] poster. Angered to see a government supporter among them, the PML-N workers rushed the man and hit him with punches and kicks while tearing apart his clothes.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 00:00 ||
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There is widespread global concern that the United States cannot be trusted to act responsibly in the world, according to a multinational poll released here yesterday. But while there is broad international frustration with how the United States conducts its foreign policy, few people around the world want the United States to completely back off from its role as a global policeman, the poll found.
Theres clearly a trend in terms of deepening negative attitudes to the US in how it executes foreign policy, said Christopher Whitney, executive director for studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs which helped coordinate the 18-country study.
The US has long faced criticism internationally for its interventionist foreign policy, Whitney said. This survey found that the frustration is broader in scope than previously thought and has deepened in the wake of the war in Iraq. But mixed with this frustration is an understanding that the US has a significant role to play internationally and should not withdraw completely, Whitney said.
The most stark results were those showing a lack of trust that the United States would act responsibly and a sense that it had overreached on the global stage. A majority of respondents in Argentina (84 percent), Peru (80 percent), Russia (73 percent) France (72 percent), Armenia (58 percent), Indonesia (64 percent), China (59 percent), Thailand (56 percent), South Korea (53 percent) and India (52 percent) and more than a third of those in Australia (40 percent) and Ukraine (37 percent) answered not at all or not very much when asked how much they trusted the US to act responsibly in the world, the poll found.
The Philippines and Israel proved the staunchest supporters with 85 percent and 81 percent of respondents, respectively, saying they trusted the US either a great deal or somewhat, followed by Australia at 59 percent and Poland at 51 percent. More than three out of four Americans think their country tends to take on the role of international enforcer more than it should. Large majorities elsewhere also felt that way: France at 89 percent, Australia at 80 percent, China at 77 percent, Russia at 76 percent.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 00:00 ||
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Yeah, well, when the look at an Imbicillic congress (Madison), they have less faith.
#2
What a stupid question to ask and what arrogant replies to assume the US would act in ways that non-Americans define as "responsible", i.e. in their (not American) interest. The only thing the US government is responsible for is to act in America's interest. Matter of fact, US leaders should do their constitutional duty to act strictly in America's interest and stop taking in everybody else's interest above America's.
Posted by: ed ||
04/19/2007 1:16 Comments ||
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#3
But while there is broad international frustration with how the United States conducts its foreign policy, few people around the world want the United States to completely back off from its role as a global policeman
#4
But while there is broad international frustration with how the United States conducts its foreign policy, few people around the world want the United States to completely back off from its role as a global policeman, the poll found.
Don't forget sugar daddy. They REALLY don't want us to back off of THAT role.
#6
Cut off preferential access to United States markets, finance, etc. to countries scoring above, say, 40% negative. Declare the United States Navy will not prevent piracy against the shipping of nations scoring above, just picking a number out of the air, 66% negative. If the French don't appreciate the help they can feel free to pay for their own lunch.
#14
I notice that Japan was not included in the poll, along with Germany, the UK, Canada, Mexico, etc.
Actually, it kinda' looks like the poll was skewed to include countries that have been more or less traditionally hostile to the USA for the last 50 years or so.
Okay, I can be down wit' dat. Tell ya's what - the USA don't needs youse neither. Fact is, 'nuff o' our blood's already done been spilt tryin' t' be the world's cop. 'Nuff already, mofo's. We's jus' gonna' wait over here's on the corner till youse has done gone and kilt each ot'er off - then we's gonna' step in ands picks us up all the juicy pieces left over.
#15
I'm actually impressed that the Philippines rated so high. There was a lot of anti-Americanism a decade or so when they wanted us to abandon the base and bugger out.
Redacted by moderator for plain stupidity. Come back when you can post coherently. Contents will not be viewed in the sinktrap. Further violations will result in banning.
#20
Zenster, I believe that the US was suckered into World War I. It was strictly a fight between the European countries and the Ottoman Empire. England convinced us through the sinking of the Lusitania and a few other tricks that we should join on their side. We should have stayed out of it and let them bleed each other to death.
WWII was different, obviously.
Kirkuks terrorists are, my Kurdish hosts explained, mostly Baathists, not Islamists. Their racist ideology casts Kurds and Turkmens as the enemy. Theyre boxed in on all sides, though, and in their impotent rage murder fellow Arabs by the dozens and hundreds. They have, in effect, strapped suicide belts around their entire community while their more peaceful Kurdish and Turkmen neighbors shudder and fight to keep the Baath in its box.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/19/2007 15:07 ||
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Iraq could hold almost twice as much oil in its reserves as had been thought, according to the most comprehensive independent study of its resources since the US-led invasion in 2003. The potential presence of a further 100bn barrels in the western desert highlights the opportunity for Iraq to be one of the worlds biggest oil suppliers, and its attractions for international oil companies if the conflict in the country can be resolved.
If confirmed, it would raise Iraq from the worlds third largest source of oil reserves with 116bn barrels to second place, behind Saudi Arabia and overtaking Iran. Of Iraqs 78 oilfields identified as commercial by the government, only 27 are currently producing. A further 25 are not yet developed but close to production, and 26 are not yet developed and far from production.
The study from IHS, a consultancy, also estimates that Iraqs production could be increased from its current rate of less than 2m barrels a day to 4m b/d within five years, if international investment begins to flow. That would put Iraq in the top five oil-producing countries in the world, at current rates. Production methods have advanced greatly in the past two decades, and methods such as horizontal drilling have yet to be deployed in Iraq. The introduction of modern technology by foreign companies has the potential to deliver steep increases in oil recovery.
Who then will need Iran's oil? Another point in favour of JosephMendiola's prediction of Iran's implosion! :-)
Pressure is building within the United Nations for the gradual return of expatriate relief staff to Iraq to organise aid despite the ongoing violence there, officials said Wednesday. The UN refugee agency is in the course of boosting its permanent presence in Iraq to two people, including one in Baghdad, while the UN's humanitarian coordination office last week gained approval for a strategic plan outlining a return to Iraq, aid chiefs said.
Two people! Why - they've doubled their presence!
"UNHCR has already decided to upgrade our presence in Iraq. We will have an international presence in Baghdad. And we will increase our operations in the country," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said after a two-day conference on Iraq's displacement crisis."We know there are difficulties, there are security concerns, but there are things we can do and it's time to do our best to take profit of all opportunities to help really the people in distress," he told journalists.
John Holmes, the world body's new Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, told the meeting Tuesday: "We cannot afford to look away and duck our responsibilities. I can assure you that the UN system will certainly not do so."
Currently the United Nations has a security ceiling on the number of staff located in Iraq following the deadly truck bomb attack on the world body's headquarters in Baghdad in 2003 which prompted a pull out from the country. Most operations by international agencies are conducted by remote control, mainly from neighbouring Jordan. Relief is currently delivered by local Iraqi staff or subcontracted local agencies which know how to navigate the sectarian divide and negotiate with tribal elders, often at huge risk, aid workers said.
#2
"UNHCR has already decided to upgrade our presence in Iraq.
LOL! better quality thieves and posers.
John Holmes, the world body's new Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs, told the meeting Tuesday: "We cannot afford to let others steal our plunder and rape our quota of Iraqi wymins and duck our responsibilities. I can assure you that the UN system will certainly not do so."
And just think of the press conferences where Antonio Guterres can needle Israel and pressure America into taking a million head pounding refugees.
#4
what would the UN do besides run up a bar tab the US would have too pay for and molest children. fuck the UN and throw their asses out of new york
hell i say we attack the UN before we attack iran
Recent political gains by Iraqi Kurds are raising alarms in neighboring Turkey and increasing the risk of greater instability in Iraq's oil-rich north.
The moves -- among the most significant involving Kurds since the 2003 invasion of Iraq -- have been largely overshadowed by the struggle to curb violence around Baghdad, but they could have a strong impact on Iraq's future, including whether it remains a united country.
Kurdish boldness also comes at a critical time for Turkey, which is facing a growing threat in its own Kurdish region from separatist guerrillas raiding out of northern Iraq and has a presidential election coming up that could aggravate tensions between Islamist and secular Turks.
The fallout already has shaken relations between the United States and Turkey, a longtime ally increasingly frustrated that the overstretched American military in Iraq cannot crack down on Kurdish guerrillas.
That has the United States in a bind -- ''unwilling to open a new front in northern Iraq. Nor can it afford to lose its support from Iraq's Kurdish population,'' said Dr. Andrew McGregor, a security analyst and Kurdish expert in Canada, writing on the Web site of the Jamestown Foundation, a conservative think tank.
At the center of the fight are Kurdish aspirations for the ancient city of Kirkuk, the center of Iraq's northern oilfields.
The Kurds want to incorporate Kirkuk into their self-governing region in northern Iraq. They won a major concession in March when they pressured the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki into approving plans to move thousands of Arabs out of Kirkuk and resettle them elsewhere.
The program targets Arabs who moved to Kirkuk after July 14, 1968, when Saddam Hussein's party took power. Saddam sent thousands of Arabs, many of them impoverished Shiite Muslims from the south, into Kirkuk to dilute the Kurdish presence there.
The Kurds' aim is to reduce the Arab population of the city before Kirkuk residents vote later this year whether to join the Kurdish self-governing region.
Opponents hope to delay the referendum or cancel it altogether. They fear that gaining control of Kirkuk would lead the Kurds, who make up 15 percent to 20 percent of Iraq's population, to set up an independent country entirely.
Nevertheless, the opponents within al-Maliki's administration caved in after the Kurds threatened to resign from the Cabinet -- a move that would have spelled the end of the fragile, U.S.-backed governing coalition.
''For the Kurds, Kirkuk is nonnegotiable,'' said Dr. Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. ''Violence will only continue and spike toward the referendum.''
The Kurds used similar hardball tactics in February to win concessions granting them a major say in what companies are granted rights to exploit Iraqi oilfields in Kurdish-controlled areas.
But the March decision on relocation was even bigger, sending shock waves into neighboring Turkey, which has long feared the rising stature of Iraqi Kurds will further embolden Kurdish guerrillas fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey.
The insurgent Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, use bases in northern Iraq to launch attacks into southern Turkey, and Turkey is growing angry over the failure of U.S. and Iraqi forces to curb the attacks.
After the Iraqi Cabinet's decision to relocate Arabs from Kirkuk, Turkey warned publicly that its interests in the region cannot be ignored.
The hardline head of Turkey's military, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, went further, requesting permission last week to attack Kurdish guerrillas inside Iraq. Turkey's government isn't likely to approve, but the request alone has strained relations between Ankara and Washington.
The president of Iraq's Kurdish self-governing region, Massoud Barzani, further angered Turkish leaders by warning that Kurds ''will not let the Turks intervene in Kirkuk.''
Some analysts believe Barzani pushed for the Arab relocation plan because he fears the U.S. might block the referendum on Kirkuk's status, both to ease ethnic tensions and placate Turkey.
''He's trying to create a sense of inevitability that would make it impossible for the (U.S.) administration'' to stand in the Kurds' way on Kirkuk, said Mark Parris, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey.
Barzani also may have timed his move to exploit political uncertainty in Turkey, as the Islamic-leaning prime minister seeks to be president, raising fears of serious friction with the secular-minded Turkish military.
Barzani also may be using the PKK guerrillas as leverage in exchange for Turkey's acceptance of a Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk.
''The one card (Barzani) has to deal with the Turks is the PKK,'' Parris said. ''He could tell them, 'Don't forget, I'm the only guy who can solve your PKK problem.'''
#1
The NYT has been running this anti-Kurd line for a while. Note that there no mention of the fact repatriating Arabs is in the constitution, and Kurdish parties won the last election with a large majority. The Kurds will win the referundum with or without repatriating Arabs. And short of invading, there is bugger all the Turks can do about it.
#2
Add in the fact that the Turks want to suppress any people that aren't Turkish, and you have a mess in Turkey. The Armenian Genocide isn't the only time Turks have suppressed minorities within their borders. Religiously, they're currently trying to force out Christians, Jews, and other non-Muslim, non-Turkish groups. The Kurds have been a target for decades, whether they deserved it or not. The problem with Turkey is the idiocy of the Turks toward non-Turkish people, not the intransigence of the Kurds.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2007 16:30 Comments ||
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Thailand's powerful army chief on Thursday rejected an American offer to help quell an Islamic insurgency in the country's restive south, saying his forces can cope with the situation that has claimed more than 2,000 lives in three years. He said Thailand would nonetheless appreciate access to U.S. intelligence.
"Thailand appreciates the offer but we regard the situation in the southern region as an internal affair," Army Commander Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin told The Associated Press, maintaining that no international terrorists operate in the area. "But we would appreciate it if the United States could provide assistance to us in the area of information since the United States has experience in the Middle East and Afghanistan," especially, he said, in how to track foreign financial contributions to the insurgents, he said.
The army commander was responding to comments by the U.S. special operations commander for the Pacific who expressed concern about escalating violence in the region. Maj. Gen. David Fridovich said on Wednesday that U.S. troops could help to train Thai forces to quell the insurgency, if Thai authorities asked for assistance.
No U.S. special operations troops would fight in southern Thailand, but they could teach Thai troops how to apply a "softer touch" in gaining the support of local people and in isolating the insurgents. "If there's an entree the Thai government gives us to help them with the southern issue, we'll gladly take it," Fridovich said on the sidelines of a special operations conference in Waikiki, Hawaii.
But he said the U.S. was not attempting to impose a military agenda on Thailand. "It's for them to ask us, 'We think you might be able to help. What do you think you might be able to do for us?'" Fridovich said, adding that there had been no formal discussions between Thai and American military officials on the matter.
The violence in Thailand's three southern Muslim-majority provinces Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani has escalated in recent months with drive-by shootings and bombings occurring almost daily. In response, the government has recruited an additional 3,000 paramilitary rangers to beef up security in the area.
Human Rights Watch, however, warned against the use of paramilitary forces and government-backed village defense volunteers in fighting the insurgency. The "growing reliance on abusive militias" has placed civilians at greater risk, the New York based group said in a statement Wednesday. "These cases of deadly use of force show how dangerous it is for the government to arm and deploy poorly trained militia forces," Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said.
The statement came after defense volunteers shot dead four Muslim youths on April 9. Thai army authorities said the volunteers acted in self-defense as they thought they were being attacked.
#1
He said Thailand would nonetheless appreciate access to U.S. intelligence.
Oh, great, the CIA. There's help in blinding one self to the obvious. It's the muzzies and it's that simple. Notice the Ethiopian approach when the Islamic Courts in Mogadishu threatened? It worked.
Malaysia on Tuesday said legal concerns were holding it back from joining a US-led global anti-terror initiative aimed at preventing trafficking in weapons of mass destruction. Malaysia has baulked at joining the initiative for legal reasons, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told a maritime security conference organised by the US Pacific Command.
The PSI calls for the interdiction of vessels and airliners suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction or related materials and allows for on-board searchs. The aim of the PSI, which has more than 70 member or observer nations is to stop militants and rogue states getting hold of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.
"We are still studying it. There are some items in the Proliferation Security Initiative which the legal side are not so comfortable with," said Najib, without giving details.
"Malaysia is certainly concerned over proliferation of weapons of mass destructions and its components and supports the ideals of PSI," Najib said. "Malaysia, however, has some reservations with regards to certain aspects of the initiative which we feel do not conform to accepted international norms," he added. Najib, also the defence minister, said Malaysia had been participating as an observer in PSI exercises for the past two years, and described defence ties with the US as "good."
Malaysia pulled the same stunt when it came to dealing with piracy in the Straits of Mallacca; they balked at any joint effort. It took Lloyds of London jacking up rates to force them to cooperate. Unfortunately the effects of nukes aren't just fiscal...
#1
Malaysia may be hoping to have another occasion to celebrate a major attack on the continental US. Note that Malaysia used to host al Qaeda conferences.
#2
When and if the King of Thailand gets fed up with their current domestic leadership and withdraws forcing the current Chief of Staff out, the Thais may well bring the 'problem' home to Malaysia. It won't be the Americans they'll be concerned about.
The Iranian Supreme Court has overturned the murder convictions of six members of a prestigious state militia who killed five people they considered morally corrupt. The reversal, in an infamous five-year-old case from Kerman, in central Iran, has produced anger and controversy, with lawyers calling it corrupt and newspapers giving it prominence.
The psychological consequences of this case in the city have been great, and a lot of people have lost their confidence in the judicial system, Nemat Ahmadi, a lawyer associated with the case, said in a telephone interview. Three lower court rulings found all the men guilty of murder. Their cases had been appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the guilty verdicts. The latest decision, made public this week, reaffirms that reversal. The objection by the relatives of the victims is dismissed, and the ruling of this court is confirmed, the court said in a one-page verdict.
The ruling may still not be final, however, because a lower court in Kerman can appeal the decision to the full membership of the Supreme Court. More than 50 Supreme Court judges would then take part in the final decision.
According to the Supreme Courts earlier decision, the killers, who are members of the Basiji Force, volunteer vigilantes favored by the countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, considered their victims morally corrupt and, according to Islamic teachings and Irans Islamic penal code, their blood could therefore be shed. The last victims, for example, were a young couple engaged to be married who the killers claimed were walking together in public.
Members of the Basiji Force are known for attacking reformist politicians and pro-democracy meetings. President Ahmadinejad was a member of the force, but the Supreme Court judges who issued the ruling are not considered to be specifically affiliated with it.
Irans Islamic penal code, which is a parallel system to its civic code, says murder charges can be dropped if the accused can prove the killing was carried out because the victim was morally corrupt. This is true even if the killer identified the victim mistakenly as corrupt. In that case, the law requires blood money to be paid to the family. Every year in Iran, a senior cleric determines the amount of blood money required in such cases. This year it is $40,000 if the victim is a Muslim man, and half that for a Muslim woman or a non-Muslim.
In a long interview with the Iranian Student News Agency, a Supreme Court judge, Mohammad Sadegh Al-e-Eshagh, who did not take part in this case, sought Wednesday to discourage vigilante killings, saying those carried out without a court order should be punished. At the same time, he laid out examples of moral corruption that do permit bloodshed, including armed banditry, adultery by a wife and insults to the Prophet Muhammad.
The roots of the problems are in our laws, said Mohammad Seifzadeh, a lawyer and a member of the Association for Defenders of Human Rights in Tehran. Such cases happen as long as we have laws that allow the killer to decide whether the victim is corrupt or not. Ironically, such laws show that the establishment is not capable of bringing justice, and so it leaves it to ordinary people to do it.
The ruling stems from a case in 2002 in Kerman that began after the accused watched a tape by a senior cleric who ruled that Muslims could kill a morally corrupt person if the law failed to confront that person. Some 17 people were killed in gruesome ways after that viewing, but only five deaths were linked to this group. The six accused, all in their early 20s, explained to the court that they had taken their victims outside the city after they had identified them. Then they stoned them to death or drowned them in a pond by sitting on their chests.
Three of the families had given their consent under pressure by the killers families to accept financial compensation, said Mr. Ahmadi, the lawyer.
Such killings have occurred in the past. A member of the security forces shot and killed a young man in 2005 in the subway in Karaj, near Tehran, for what he also claimed was immoral behavior by the victim.
A judge caused outrage in 2004 in Neka, in the north, after he issued a death sentence for a 16-year old girl for what he said were chastity crimes. After the summary trial, he had her hanged in public immediately, before the necessary approval from the Supreme Court. Neither man has been punished.
Such laws are not acceptable in our society today, said Hossein Nejad Malayeri, the brother of Gholamreza Nejad Malayeri, who was killed by the group in Kerman. That means if somebody has money, he can kill, and claim the victim was corrupt.
#1
Courts? Police? We don't need no steenking courts or police. We have the Basiji Force. They are judge, jury, AND executioner. More efficient, ya know?
#3
This incident shows the "Islamic Problem" is a nutshell: Anyone can commit any crime as long as they mumble a few words from the Koran. It's the ultimate Get Out of Jail Free card.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/19/2007 13:12 Comments ||
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#4
This year it is $40,000 if the victim is a Muslim man, and half that for a Muslim woman or a non-Muslim.
Never forget, our lives are worth only half that of these barbaric savages. This is why Islam must fail. Its overweening delusions of adequacy are more than dangerous.
#5
who killed five people they considered morally corrupt.
Irans Islamic penal code, which is a parallel system to its civic code, says murder charges can be dropped if the accused can prove the killing was carried out because the victim was morally corrupt. This is true even if the killer identified the victim mistakenly as corrupt.
Syria or Iran continues to provide weapons to Hizbullah in Lebanon in violation of a UN arms embargo, a senior US official said Wednesday. "The border between Leba-non and Syria remains highly porous," Assistant Secretary of State David Welch told a Congressional panel.
Welch said that Washington agreed with a recent report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asserting "serious breaches" of the arms embargo imposed under a Security Council resolution which ended last year's summer war with Israel.
"It is clear in [Ban's] judgment, and it is clear in our own independent [judgment] that Hizbullah continues to rearm and we can see no other source for such assistance than Syria or Iran," said Welch, the top State Department official for the Middle East.
"We are encouraging the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL to take a more assertive role in stopping smuggling," he said, referring to an expanded United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in Lebanon following the July-August war.
Welch accused Hizbullah, which is also a political movement in Lebanon, of campaigning to overthrow the elected government of Premier Fouad Siniora, with Syria's backing.
He said one aim was to thwart the establishment of a UN-backed special tribunal to investigate the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Welch said that if Lebanon is unable to formally endorse the creation of the special tribunal due to opposition from Hizbullah and other pro-Syrian parties in parliament, the US could back unilateral action by the UN.
"If the Lebanese government is unable to approve the agreement, the [Security] Council may need to consider other mechanisms for establishing the Tribunal, including under UN Security Council Chapter 7 authority," he said.
Chapter 7 of the UN Charter gives the Security Council the power to impose mandatory actions on member states.
For a senior State Department guy, an explicit threat of "going Chapter 7, someday, I don't know when" is some serious saber-rattling.
Welch was speaking after the Security Council on Tuesday asked Ban to send an independent mission to investigate reports of illegal arms movements across the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The council expressed its "serious concern at mounting information by Israel and another state" of arms smuggling across the border in violation of UN resolution 1701.
#1
The countries involved will continue and accelerate the delivery of arms, and when figure they are about done, which will be timed to be five minutes before the boom comes down a year from now, they will suddenly get "compliant", and after that they will trickle stuff in as necessary. This is basically pointless in my mind.
#2
Someone with some actual knowledge on this please correct me with all the harshness necessary, but isn't the destruction of damascus (through atomic fire, one presumes) written somewhere in the biblical prophecies? Seems syria is doing its best to follow the Divine script, that's very nice of them.
#3
Well, it's not like we didn't already know they're idiots....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/19/2007 12:57 Comments ||
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#4
One single release of such a chemical agent would wholly justify a nuclear response by Israel or any other Western nation. Such weapons represent a threat only to Syria itself and no one else.
#5
They said the same thing about Saddam in GWI. Saddam dared to fire missiles into Israel, but didn't dare put chemical weapons on them. I think the same comes with Syria. They want you to know they have them. They want you to think they will use them. But when zero-hour comes, they won't have the guts, or stupidity to use them since they know Israel's follow up will erase any hope of a country to continue ruling.
#8
Clint Eastwood's famous saying & ".44 Magnum" could also easily apply to between Dubya & Moud, as Dubya is spreading and entrenching US influence all around Iran, and all but daring Moud to do something. The only thing that will stop Dubya is CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION, i.e. DEATH = LEAVING THE WH AFTER 2008 ELEX. Radical islam as represented by IRAN is facing certain defeat, containment, isolation, and implosion unless something occurs to cause the USA to dump everything and leave the ME. Moud may already be aware the Dems are CYA'ing-Hedging, getting ready to PC sacrifice him to the four winds iff necessary in order to salvage their own political positions ala 2008 + beyond back in Washington. MOVE ALONG BOYZ - NO POLITIXIAL "POSTURING" HERE, as PICARD told the Romulans.
Hizbollah informed on Wednesday the UN Undersecretary-General for Legal Affairs Nicholas Michel that it would give its ideas on the international tribunal only within the framework of a special committee as part of an overall Lebanese agreement. A statement issued by Hizbollah said that the idea of the international tribunal should be vetted by "a constitutional government" and asked the UN to assist Lebanon in accepting such a tribunal rather than taking sides over this issue. Hizbollah cautioned the UN against getting involved in the nitty-gritty of domestic Lebanese politics, if it really sought a stable Lebanon.
"Yeah. We don' like it when transnational organizations meddle in the internal politix of sov'reign nations. So piss off!"
Recently Hizbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah had launched a scathing attack against the notion of the international tribunal, which is a bone of contention between the majority MPs and their opposition in the parliament.
Michel's thankless and quite probably, futile mission is to meet government and opposition leaders and encourage the two sides to renew dialogue and accept parliamentary ratification of a Lebanon-UN agreement to set up the international court or tribunal. The United Nations and Lebanon's government have signed a deal to set up the tribunal, but it must be ratified by the country's divided parliament.
Ministers of foreign affairs of Russia and Spain here Wednesday called for resuming direct talks with Iran aimed at reaching consensus over Tehran's nuclear program. According to IRNA reporter in Madrid, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos, "In our talks we focused on Middle East status, Iran, Afghanistan, and Kosovo." He added, "We believe the only exit way from these shared crises is holding direct talks with involved parties."
The Russian Foreign Minister, in line with the same initiative, also voiced Moscow strong support for the Spanish Socialist Government's plans for "coalition among civilizations", as "an exit way from world crises."
Moratinos, too, confirming his Russian counterpart's remarks, said that Spain is looking for partners among other players at the international scene in a bid to solve the current crises with which the world is entangled, evaluating Russia's role in that respect as very significant. He said that the Spanish Prime Minister is planning to pay a visit to Moscow next fall to pursue that objective, and to further strengthen comprehensive bilateral ties.
#1
And there's NICHOLAS CAGE, trying to avoid a sniper scope bullet + stop a deadly nuclear attack since the 1990's. * MISSION IMPOSSIBLE > "Should you or any of your Madonna Force be killed or captured, the Secretary and Director will disavow any knowledge of your person and actions. This tape will self-destruct in 10 seconds".
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that U.N. sanctions slapped on his nation over its nuclear program had no effect on Iran's armed forces, claiming that his military was self-sufficient.
"Some bullying powers imagined that by implementing sanctions they would weaken our army, (but) today our army is self-sufficient and secures its needs in general," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in Tehran marking National Army Day.
...A military parade that followed his speech included the display for the first time of a locally manufactured air defense system said by the announcer to have the capability of simultaneously launching two surface-to-air missiles.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
IRAN = NORTH KOREA > Dubya is still surrounding them wid the USA's own "String-of-Pearls", as a FREEREPUBLIC Poster says. * FREEREPUBLIC > USA asking INDIA [other Asia-Pacific Nations]for PORT + BASING RIGHTS; + DRUDGE > US INFOWIRE > 21st US NAVY BASED ON GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS.
OTOH, HERITAGE.ORG > CHINA'S SUBMARINE CHALLENGE. SecDef Gates back in 2005 said China's PLAN may be larger than America's in 10 years [2015-17?]. Amer may not have either enuff numbers of SSN or attack subs nor superior qualitative edge anymore come Year 2025 or after - may have only 30, or fewer, subs than the 54 or higher actually needed to counter China's anticipated larger sub fleet.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff with Iran over its disputed nuclear program are "working" and should be given a chance to succeed. Any evidence that it's working? Please?
Both the U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons -- a charge Iran denies. Gates said the international community "is united in telling Iran what it needs to do with respect to its nuclear program." "United"???
..."We agreed it was important to deal with the Iranian nuclear problem through diplomacy, which appears to be working," Gates said at a news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Amir Peretz. "These things don't work overnight, but it seems to me clearly the preferable course to keep our focus on the diplomatic initiatives, and particularly because of the united front of the international community at this point," he added.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Very alarming, yet unsurprising.
The idea is not to "resolve" a "standoff" - it's to get 100% of our essential goals, period. Same as with North Korea. There's zero value to us in anything but a 100% surrender by the other side, as Pyongyang has attempted to explain to us numerous times by their actions since the 90s. This is NOT haggling over a price, or posturing to give yourself leverage in that haggling process. It's a binary, black/white situation: either they get the bomb or they don't. No diplomatic "compromises" have any meaning here.
Is it 1997, or 2007? Who are those people in power?
#2
Say Rob, how is the warhead refresh program doing? Speeding things up a bit, you know, just in case?
Posted by: ed ||
04/19/2007 1:22 Comments ||
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#3
SPACEWAR/RIAN > Iran says will work on advanced weapons iff UN sanctions + USA warns RUSSIA Iran's missles target it first due to Iranian missles' present and projected capabilities, also advises Russians not to feel threatened by US BMD bases in Eastern Europe + to work together on protecting Europe.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/19/2007 19:15 Comments ||
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#6
Flatten them I hope, Redneck Jim. That kind of nonsense can't be allowed, even if the recipient is a country we're not terribly fond of at the moment.
Iran has assembled some 1,300 centrifuges at a key underground nuclear plant and has started to feed them with the uranium gas necessary for enriching uranium, the UN atomic watchdog said Wednesday.
Iran has eight cascades of 164 centrifuges each at a heavily-bunkered underground facility in Natanz and "some UF6 (uranium hexafluoride) is being fed," a diplomat said.
The diplomat was quoting to AFP a confidential document the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent Wednesday to the 35 member states of its board of governors.
The IAEA had agreed to "a combination of unannounced inspections and containment and surveillance measures," the diplomat said, adding that the IAEA had backed off from its insistence that cameras had to be installed to monitor the centrifuges.
Is there any POINT to continuing this charade?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#3
WAFF/UPI/RIAN > IRAN'S WIN-WIN STRATEGY. All signs point to Radical Iran dev nuke weapons one day, but hard or difficult for UNIAEA to specifically prove right now due to swavvy politicking/PC by Moud & Mullahs. IRAN, HOWEVER, IS LIKELY DESPERATE FOR FDI = INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS. * STRATEGYPAGE > ISLAM TRIUMPHANT article > aka How Radical Islamists have RUINED = MADE WORSE every country = areas they've taken over or tried to. WANT TO GOVERN BUT EVIDENCES THUS FAR INDIC DON'T KNOW HOW TO [Rule by Faith, NOT by Fact].
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/19/2007 10:26 Comments ||
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#6
Don't tell them, but they are running the centrifuge motors backwards, bwahahahah!
[/disinformation campaign aimed at MMs]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/19/2007 22:47 Comments ||
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#7
Don't forget, JosephM, that the head of the IAEA, el Baradai, was involved in starting up Egypt's nuclear weapons development program... which I'm under the impression didn't get very far. He's much more concerned with shielding Iran from interference until a second Muslim Nuclear Bomb is achieved than in enforcing IAEA rules. (Pakistan's was the first, of course.)
A policy I (and I am sure all RBers) can support, but will General Pelosi support it?
Western countries must unite in an effort to assassinate Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former head of Mossad Meir Amit said on Wednesday night.
"Even though in the past I have been opposed to assassinating Arab leaders, this case is different because it alone is the center of the nuclear issue," Amit told the weekly Kfar Chabad magazine set be published on Thursday.
Amit said he did not perceive an existential danger to Israel following Iran's nuclear development - "but that is only on condition that we do something about it."
The former Mossad chief went on to say that the nuclear facility in Dimona presented a deterrent against Ahmadinejad's intentions. "I think that this is the only reason that he won't attack us," he said.
Meanwhile, Iran has started enriching small amounts of uranium gas at its underground plant and is already running more than 1,300 of the machines used in the enrichment process, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency document obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The confidential document - a letter to Iranian officials from a senior IAEA staff member - also protests an Iranian decision to prevent agency inspectors to visit the country's heavy water facility that, when built, will produce plutonium. Enriched uranium and plutonium can both be used for the fissile core of nuclear warheads.
The letter, signed by IAEA Deputy Director General Olli Heinonen and dated April 18 - Thursday - said the agency wanted to "take note of the information provided by Iran ... that Iran has put into operation" 1,312 centrifuges - the machines used to spin the gas into enriched uranium.
The letter also cited Iranian information to the agency that "some UF6 is being fed" into the centrifuges, referring to the uranium gas that can be enriched to levels potent enough to be used for nuclear arms.
Iran says it wants to enrich only to lower levels suitable to generate nuclear power. But suspicions about its ultimate intentions, after nearly two decades of nuclear secrecy exposed only four years ago, have led to UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to freeze its enrichment program.
It was unclear what the purpose of the uranium gas feed was. A diplomat accredited to the IAEA, who demanded anonymity because he was disclosing confidential information, said the operation appeared to be part of "stress tests" meant see if the machines were running smoothly.
But he and another diplomat said that, even if the operation was not meant to enrich large amounts of uranium, it appeared to be the last step before larger-scale enrichment begins.
Last week, Iran said it had begun operating 3,000 centrifuges at its Natanz facility - nearly 10 times the previously known number. The US, Britain, France and others criticized the announcement, but experts - and several world powers - expressed skepticism that Iran's claims were true.
Still the letter reflected a swift advance in the program. A little more than two weeks ago, diplomats familiar with Iran's nuclear dossier had said Teheran was running only a little more than 600 centrifuges, and had not introduced any uranium gas into them.
Its heavy water enrichment facilities at Arak also are under suspicion, because the plant produces plutonium, which can also be used in an arms program. Iran argues it needs the plant for medical research, despite a Security Council demand that it also freeze construction at Arak.
When it is completed within the next decade, Arak will produce enough plutonium for two bombs a year.
Iran last month announced it was unilaterally abrogating part of its Safeguards Agreements linked with the IAEA under which Teheran is obligated to report to the agency six months before it introduces nuclear material of any kind into any facility. In his letter, Heinonen suggested that Iran invoked this move in denying his inspectors the right to visit the Arak facility, but argued it was illegal, because such agreements "cannot be modified unilaterally."
Beyond that, Heinonen said, IAEA inspectors should be allowed to visit Arak because the section abrogated by Iran had to do with early provision of design information of new nuclear facilities and "not to the frequency or timing of" agency inspections to verify information on design already provided by Iran.
#1
1. Ayman al-Zawahiri
2. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
3. Ayatolla Kahmeini
4. Mullah Muhammad Omar
5. Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (Bashir)
6. Moqtada Sadr,
7. Abu Hamza al-Masri,
8. Mullah Krekar (AKA: Abu Sayyid Qutb),
9. Khaled Meshal
10. Sheikh Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
11. Ismail Haniya
12. Mohammed Abbas
13. Yusuf al-Qaradawi
14. imam Ahmed Abu Laban
15. Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali
16. imam Omar Bakri Mohammed
17. imam Abdel-Samie Mahmoud Ibrahim Moussa
18. imam Sheikh SyeSyed Mubarik Ali Gilani
19. Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal
20. Sheik Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi
21. Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar
22. Prince Sultan Ibn Abd al-Aziz
23. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz
24. Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz
#3
IRAN > may want up to 50,000 centrifuges + is reportedly desirous of working wid NORTH KOREA to dev BALLISTIC MISSLES or related technologies.* PCorrectness > it doesn't matter iff Iran says before the World its has WMDS or wants nuclear weapons or energy, or even that it desires to attack US-WEstern-Israeli interests or targets, THE BURDEN IS ON THE USA AND ONLY THE USA TO DE FACTO PROVE IRAN IS MEANS + DOING WHAT IRAN'S OWN GOVT SAYS IT IS DOING, ELSE THE USA WILL BE ACCUSED OF FALSELY STARTING A NEW WAR??? ITs NOT for the UNO to stop the bad guys from being bad nor to stop them from threatening others, the greatest burden is on the good guys to prove their reasons for attacking the bad guys. IOW, e.g. GOD + HEAVEN MUST PROVE THEIR REASONS FOR TRYING TO STOP THE DEVIL + EVIL FROM THREATENING THE WORLD. THE BURDEN IS ON GOD TO PROVE + SHOW WHY NOSTRADAMUS' "HIDEOUS BEAST" SHOULD BE STOPPED FROM DESTROYING THE WORLD???
#7
See also STRATEGYPAGE > SYRIA HAS A NEW [WAR/BATTLE] PLAN [AGZ ISRAEL]. Possibly moving 300 SCUDS closer to Israel in order to seemingly let Israel know SYRIA CAN HURT ISRAEL WHILE NOT DESTROYING ISRAEL??? Also Syria wants to expand its 10,000-man "elite infantry" units + capabilities, aka Commandos.
#15
Zen, there is one missing on the list, unless you think he's pushing up daisies.
Putting Osama on the list seemed a little too obvious. I'll add him for decorum's sake. In some respects bin Laden is an also ran in that he cannot possibly maintain the sort of public profile that many on my list do in order to wield the influence they have. To that extent, Assad is a more suitable candidate. What the hell, I'll add both of them. They certainly aren't undeserving of it.
#16
You need not bother putting Binny on your list. He's already Tango Uniform.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/19/2007 18:12 Comments ||
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#17
I'd certainly like to think so, Mike. Has there ever been any audio or video showing bin Laden that has him making a solid reference to a specific post-9-11 (or thereabouts) event? A media whore like him usually is in the limelight every few months and this protracted silence is more than a little heartening.
The hundreds of high-school and college students who walked out of classes and gathered at Westlake Plaza on Wednesday afternoon had a message for adults, especially Iraq war supporters: Quit messing up the world for younger generations.
"They need to look at who this war is really affecting," said Mari Anderson, an Ingraham sophomore. "It's our future, and we're going to be the ones who have to deal with the consequences." You wanna spend the rest of your life wearing a bhurka and taking orders from nuclear-armed mullahs? No? Then shut up, you sophomoric little... sophomore.
Toting homemade drums, wearing anti-war buttons and carrying banners with slogans such as "Books not Bombs," Anderson and about 300 students rallied to protest the war and military recruitment in schools. more soft-brained, infantile liberal crap at link...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/19/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah? Well pull your damn pants up, ya snotty little bastards...
#6
Twice? I think you significantly underestimate, Icerigger.
How utterly unaware of the world around them to think they would be more impactful toting homemade drums -- although perhaps it's the reporter who lacks awareness. My first thought, and second too, was of the oatmeal carton drums made by the trailing daughters in preschool. The ones with the plastic Cool Whip lids were the best, because they could be hung around the neck with a bit of coloured yarn, and they really took a beating from the pencil drumsticks. They weren't nearly as loud as the singing voices of the three- and four-year old girls marching round the house with them.
#7
"They need to look at who this war is really affecting," said Mari Anderson, an Ingraham sophomoreic little twit. "It's our future, and we're going to be the ones who have to deal with the consequences."
Forget the people actually fighting and dying, it's all about you.
#8
Even with those Impactful Drums of Peace, being clothed clearly diluted their message. I mean, don't they know you have to be naked to prove how much you mean it? I for one would have found naked drumming much more persuasive. Naked, drumming, and hanging from trees would have been seriously impactful. But, apparently peace isn't that important to them, so I'll just have to keep mindlessly cheering for dead terrorists.
#9
The current crop of peaceniks are definitely not as large as they were in the 60s-70s. I guess there is something positive to be said for no marriage and abortion. Culls the gene pool.
#10
Darth,remember - no draft. If they don't want to go to war, they don't have to. When I was a kid, you could be opposed to the Viet Nam war and still end up there.
#16
I'm against the draft as it deprives citizens of rights and screws up the military. However, drafting some folks into the Peace Corps so they could see the third world is not all wine and roses being kept down by the man wouldn't be such a bad thing. I'd support tripling the funding for the Peace Corps because it would help a lot of these types grow up.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A Distinguish group of ambassadors mostly from the European Union consisting of Germany, Finland, Austria, Sweden, Netherlands, Hungry and United Kingdom accompanied by their families and friends visited Khyber Pass onboard the Khyber Steam Safari. 
A meeting of the Punjab University Deans Committee held on Wednesday that the heads of all departments should expel any university student claiming to be an Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) nazim, nominee for the post or IJT activists. The meeting, headed by PU vice chancellor Lt Gen (r) Arshad Mahmood, was held to discuss the gravity and strategy after the recent incidents of hooliganism by the IJT on the PU campus.
Recent political gains by Iraqi Kurds are raising alarms in neighboring Turkey and increasing the risk of greater instability in Iraq's oil-rich north.
The program targets Arabs who moved to Kirkuk after July 14, 1968, when Saddam Hussein's party took power. Saddam sent thousands of Arabs, many of them impoverished Shiite Muslims from the south, into Kirkuk to dilute the Kurdish presence there.
The hardline head of Turkey's military, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, went further, requesting permission last week to attack Kurdish guerrillas inside Iraq. Turkey's government isn't likely to approve, but the request alone has strained relations between Ankara and Washington.
Ministers of foreign affairs of Russia and Spain here Wednesday called for resuming direct talks with Iran aimed at reaching consensus over Tehran's nuclear program. According to IRNA reporter in Madrid, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos, "In our talks we focused on Middle East status, Iran, Afghanistan, and Kosovo." He added, "We believe the only exit way from these shared crises is holding direct talks with involved parties."
The hundreds of high-school and college students who walked out of classes and gathered at Westlake Plaza on Wednesday afternoon had a message for adults, especially Iraq war supporters: Quit messing up the world for younger generations.
