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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Iran referred to Security Council, vows retaliation | |
| 2006-02-04 | |
| The U.N. nuclear watchdog Saturday reported Iran to the U.N. Security Council in a resolution expressing concern that Tehran's nuclear program may not be "exclusively for peaceful purposes." Iran retaliated immediately, saying it would resume uranium enrichment at its main plant instead of in Russia. The landmark decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board sets the stage for future action by the top U.N. body, which has the authority to impose economic and political sanctions. Still, any such moves were weeks if not months away. Two permanent council members, Russia and China, agreed to referral only on condition the council take no action before March. Twenty-seven nations supported the resolution, which was sponsored by three European powers — Britain, France and Germany — and backed by the United States. Cuba, Syria and Venezuela were the only nations to vote against. Five others — Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Libya and South Africa — abstained, a milder form of showing opposition. Those backing the referral included India, a nation with great weight in the developing world whose stance was unclear until the vote. Iran reacted immediately, saying a proposal by Moscow to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia was dead.
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| Posted by:lotp |
| #10 Yes, Nimble, Born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Now a Long Islander. As to my reasoning, I don't think a congressional vote would be party line. Many of the donks have already said that Iran is the greater danger. They may be panderers to the left wing but not all of them are suicidal. I think they will realize that the mood of the people is in favor of taking care of the Iran situation and if they vote against it they are more likely to get tossed in November. Rovian, indeed! More to the point, I think Iran is going to make some further mistakes that will bring the day of reckoning sooner. The undermining of the Iranian regime has already begun as witnessed by the news report regarding the kidnappers of the Iranian border patrol in Eastern Iran. When asked about his use of a satellite phone and if he feared being tracked by Americans he smiled and said "We are not fighting America." I think Iran will go down almost as easily as Iraq. And a victory there will be a tremendous victory in the war on Islamofascism. Remove the moneymen behind many of the worst terrorist groups and they will either have to spend a lot more time getting finances through criminal activity or wither away for lack of funding. Finally, also, a selfish motive. Living in New York and having lost friends and almost a brother on 9/11, and knowing that NY remains very high on the enemy target list. I have a vested interest in wanting to secure total victory in this war before the enemy has the time to figure out a way to attack us again. So, more, faster, please... |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-02-04 23:19 |
| #9 Those who think its a positive advance have missed a minor news item. To wit, The US dropped its opposition to the Egyptian proposal that the Middle East be a nuclear-free zone. Which means that the discussion will be diverted into demands for Israel to disarm. Which means, best case*, there will be no resolution for sanctions against Iran. *Worst case: there will a resolution demanding Israel disarms & Iran given a free pass until that happens. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-02-04 22:41 |
| #8 Spemble, I got to agree with Dan. Can't wait till November. The donks are around 50 percent of the Congress, but they don't represent 50 percent of the people. If the Mullahs behave badly, then the people will want to spank them. Most of us thinkers want to already. And, the fuse is already lit, is it not ? 2 weeks ago, Israel said 10 weeks. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-02-04 19:23 |
| #7 Yes, DanNY is posting from NY. Or at least that's what his IP address says. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-02-04 17:41 |
| #6 DanNY, are you really from NY? There will definitely be a vote in congress. The pres does not have enough authority to go to war with Iran based on the war powers he has now and the absence of any aggression by Iran. We are going to have to go through the whole UNSC minuet weveral times before the reptiles from Europe are willing to sign on to us commencing hostilities. That will be a lot longer than March. If the vote is not taken before the elections, it will be a party line vote in which the donks will seek to embarass Bush and prevent him from going after Iran. And it would be difficult for Bush to conduct the kind of war I suspect he intends to, one similar to that in the excellent link doc provided. With the vote before the election, the donks will have to vote the way their constituents want, or face defeat in November. But if they vote the way their constituents want, the moneybags of the party and the Kos Kids will be really po'ed and will move heaven and earth to get a crazy liberal to run in '08, assuring a trunk hat trick. A rovian plot that ends up with lots of dead mullahs. What's not to like? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-02-04 17:29 |
| #5 Iran has made a grave miscalculation. Mahmoud may soon discover the true nature of Hell, according to a former member of German intelligence. |
| Posted by: doc 2006-02-04 17:04 |
| #4 n-2 Vote in Congress to authorize use of force pursuant to War Powers act. n-1 Congressional elections. Maybe the vote in Congress, but I don't think the Congressional elections are going to have anything to do with this. I think this is on the fast track now and should come to a head in March by my reckoning. |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-02-04 14:48 |
| #3 It's more than 12 steps, but however many it is, this is how it ends: n-2 Vote in Congress to authorize use of force pursuant to War Powers act. n-1 Congressional elections. n Kabloom The rest is filler. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-02-04 14:11 |
| #2 Hopefully more like step 10... 11. Security Council 12. Kabloom! |
| Posted by: DanNY 2006-02-04 14:01 |
| #1 step 7 in a 12 step program? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-02-04 12:49 |