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UN Inspectord say US lying again - this time about Iran nuclear goals.

Posted By: Liberal on 2006-09-14
In Reply to:

Here we go again.  :-(


U.N. Inspectors Dispute Iran Report By House Panel
Paper on Nuclear Aims Called Dishonest


By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 14, 2006; A17


U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document outrageous and dishonest and offering evidence to refute its central claims.


Officials of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said in a letter that the report contained some erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements. The letter, signed by a senior director at the agency, was addressed to Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the House intelligence committee, which issued the report. A copy was hand-delivered to Gregory L. Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA in Vienna.


The IAEA openly clashed with the Bush administration on pre-war assessments of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Relations all but collapsed when the agency revealed that the White House had based some allegations about an Iraqi nuclear program on forged documents.


After no such weapons were found in Iraq, the IAEA came under additional criticism for taking a cautious approach on Iran, which the White House says is trying to build nuclear weapons in secret. At one point, the administration orchestrated a campaign to remove the IAEA's director general, Mohamed ElBaradei. It failed, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.


Yesterday's letter, a copy of which was provided to The Washington Post, was the first time the IAEA has publicly disputed U.S. allegations about its Iran investigation. The agency noted five major errors in the committee's 29-page report, which said Iran's nuclear capabilities are more advanced than either the IAEA or U.S. intelligence has shown.


Among the committee's assertions is that Iran is producing weapons-grade uranium at its facility in the town of Natanz. The IAEA called that incorrect, noting that weapons-grade uranium is enriched to a level of 90 percent or more. Iran has enriched uranium to 3.5 percent under IAEA monitoring.


When the congressional report was released last month, Hoekstra said his intent was to help increase the American public's understanding of Iran as a threat. Spokesman Jamal Ware said yesterday that Hoekstra will respond to the IAEA letter.


Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.), a committee member, said the report was clearly not prepared in a manner that we can rely on. He agreed to send it to the full committee for review, but the Republicans decided to make it public before then, he said in an interview.


The report was never voted on or discussed by the full committee. Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), the vice chairman, told Democratic colleagues in a private e-mail that the report took a number of analytical shortcuts that present the Iran threat as more dire -- and the Intelligence Community's assessments as more certain -- than they are.


Privately, several intelligence officials said the committee report included at least a dozen claims that were either demonstrably wrong or impossible to substantiate. Hoekstra's office said the report was reviewed by the office of John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence.


Negroponte's spokesman, John Callahan, said in a statement that his office reviewed the report and provided its response to the committee on July 24, '06. He did not say whether it had approved or challenged any of the claims about Iran's capabilities.


This is like prewar Iraq all over again, said David Albright, a former nuclear inspector who is president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security. You have an Iranian nuclear threat that is spun up, using bad information that's cherry-picked and a report that trashes the inspectors.


The committee report, written by a single Republican staffer with a hard-line position on Iran, chastised the CIA and other agencies for not providing evidence to back assertions that Iran is building nuclear weapons.


It concluded that the lack of intelligence made it impossible to support talks with Tehran. Democrats on the committee saw it as an attempt from within conservative Republican circles to undermine Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has agreed to talk with the Iranians under certain conditions.


The report's author, Fredrick Fleitz, is a onetime CIA officer and special assistant to John R. Bolton, the administration's former point man on Iran at the State Department. Bolton, who is now ambassador to the United Nations, had been highly influential during President Bush's first term in drawing up a tough policy that rejected talks with Tehran.


Among the allegations in Fleitz's Iran report is that ElBaradei removed a senior inspector from the Iran investigation because he raised concerns about Iranian deception regarding its nuclear program. The agency said the inspector has not been removed.


A suggestion that ElBaradei had an unstated policy that prevented inspectors from telling the truth about Iran's program was particularly outrageous and dishonest, according to the IAEA letter, which was signed by Vilmos Cserveny, the IAEA's director for external affairs and a former Hungarian ambassador.


Hoekstra's committee is working on a separate report about North Korea that is also being written principally by Fleitz. A draft of the report, provided to The Post, includes several assertions about North Korea's weapons program that the intelligence officials said they cannot substantiate, including one that Pyongyang is already enriching uranium.


The intelligence community believes North Korea is trying to acquire an enrichment capability but has no proof that an enrichment facility has been built, the officials said.


© 2006 The Washington Post Company






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I wasn't being nasty. The issue is why Iran has a nuclear program.

They have stated repeatedly it is for energy. 


I have a real difficult time knowing who to believe.  Bush has paid the media to present his point of view.  This tactic used to be called propaganda when it referred to Communists.  Communists were supposed to be the ones who wanted to take over the entire world and force their form of government on everyone.


Today it's America doing the very same thing.


It's not difficult to find an ever growing list of Bush lies.


If you can provide me with a similar list of lies told by Ahmadinejad, I'd love to read it. 


The issue here is credibility and who has the biggest history of lying.  Unfortunately, a pack of lies is what got us where we are in Iraq today.  To me, it looks like Bush is trying the very same tactics to get us into a war with Iran. 


Although Ahmadinejad is a terrible, psychotic, murderous, dangerous individual, Bush is the person who has the five-year history of lying to the American people and to the world.


Quite frankly, if I were the president of Iran and saw my neighbor, Iraq, invaded based on a pack of lies, I believe I'd want to flex my muscles and try to scare the USA into backing off and not attacking my citizens as they did in Iraq. 


Israel has nuclear weapons (that I believe WE paid for).  The USA has nuclear weapons.  Why is that okay?


The real threat is Korea, but Bush is too much of a coward and doesn't have the courage to address that threat.


The propaganda machine of George W. Bush has cast Syria in a very negative light, yet Syria was responsible for saving American lives the other day by thwarting a terror attempt.


That, in and of itself, in addition to Bush's refusal to get the Taliban that were in plain view the other day, has me questioning every single word that comes out of this lying president's mouth.


Yes, I'll say it again.  He is a liar.  A LIAR!  Maybe in your neck of the woods, lying is an accepted form of communication.  Where I come from, it does nothing but destroy credibility and create distrust in the person who is doing the lying.  You can respond with all the snappy **you hate bush** and **you're on the side of the terrorists** comebacks you want (seems to be the usual conservative talking point response), but the bottom line is he is a chronic liar.  I don't hate Bush, but I sure as heck don't like (or trust) liars. 


What's listed here for Iran-Iraq War time
USA (as in us). We already knew about that stuff. In terms of these 2006 links, you might want to try reading up on this subject a little more. There are whole libraries of publications, including exhaustive US govermental studies, that refute your claim and, in fact, WMDs have yet to be found there. Saddam had abandoned this program, but of course, we hung him anyway. This is what we do with uppety puppets that go rogue on us.
Iran warns US. Israel Livini Blasts O's Iran plan

Iran warns US.


http://www.startribune.com/world/33937339.html?elr=KArks:DCiUBcy7hUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU


Israel concerned about ties with new US administration.


http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=060dd72c-c876-4e0d-b39f-c835c26b256c


And we have to worry about our own economy.  Afraid to find out what is next.


Feelings, goals, interests, families...
yes. Normal no. Tolerance is far different than acceptance. I and no one in my huge family has ever harmed a person who indulges in homosexual acts. We are as tolerant as you can get as I imagine millions of others are. Just saying that homosexuality is wrong is construed to be intolerance or verbal abuse by the homosexual community.
And yet you just keep lying and lying and lying. Not too bright.

You'd rather root for nuclear war than to see
nm
And that statement is ridiculous, Iran and Iraq enemies, remember the Iran-Iraq war? Iraq would jus
nm
They have been quite vocal about their nuclear program
as has been North Korea.  So who is lying?
Xcuse me? We Texans know how to say nuclear.
If it were supposed to be pronounced "nook-u-ler" it would be spelled nuculer. Maybe he can't read either, but the thing is, when you are commander in chief, in charge of overseeing the manufacture, storage, sale, trade, proliferation/nonproliferation and deployment of nuclear WMDs, it is a bit unnerving that the pres cannot even manage to say the word correctly, in spite of the criticism he has received about this over the years. Makes him look like he is, shall we say, uneducated on the subject, defiant and a bit on the stubborn side. Some of us have the sense to be embarassed for him and for ourselves, since he represents our nation.
SP: Build 45 more nuclear plants.
I am so sure.
Chinese to inspect our cargo for nuclear material

Looks like the foxes are now in charge of the henhouses.


http://www.nysun.com/article/29714


March 23, 2006 Edition > Section: National > Printer-Friendly Version


America Hires Chinese Firm To Inspect Cargo For Nuclear Material


BY TED BRIDIS - Associated Press
March 23, 2006
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/29714


WASHINGTON (AP) - In the aftermath of the Dubai ports dispute, the Bush administration is hiring a Hong Kong conglomerate to help detect nuclear materials inside cargo passing through the Bahamas to the United States and elsewhere.


The administration acknowledges the no-bid contract with Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. represents the first time a foreign company will be involved in running a sophisticated U.S. radiation detector at an overseas port without American customs agents present.


Freeport in the Bahamas is 65 miles from the U.S. coast, where cargo would be likely to be inspected again. The contract is currently being finalized.


The administration is negotiating a second no-bid contract for a Philippine company to install radiation detectors in its home country, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. At dozens of other overseas ports, foreign governments are primarily responsible for scanning cargo.


While President Bush recently reassured Congress that foreigners would not manage security at U.S. ports, the Hutchison deal in the Bahamas illustrates how the administration is relying on foreign companies at overseas ports to safeguard cargo headed to the United States.


Hutchison Whampoa is the world's largest ports operator and among the industry's most-respected companies. It was an early adopter of U.S. anti-terror measures. But its billionaire chairman, Li Ka-Shing, also has substantial business ties to China's government that have raised U.S. concerns over the years.


Li Ka-Shing is pretty close to a lot of senior leaders of the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party, said Larry M. Wortzel, head of a U.S. government commission that studies China security and economic issues. But Wortzel said Hutchison operates independently from Beijing, and he described Li as a very legitimate international businessman.


One can conceive legitimate security concerns and would hope either the Homeland Security Department or the intelligence services of the United States work very hard to satisfy those concerns, Wortzel said.


Three years ago, the Bush administration effectively blocked a Hutchison subsidiary from buying part of a bankrupt U.S. telecommunications company, Global Crossing Ltd., on national security grounds.


And a U.S. military intelligence report, once marked secret, cited Hutchison in 1999 as a potential risk for smuggling arms and other prohibited materials into the United States from the Bahamas.


Hutchison's port operations in the Bahamas and Panama could provide a conduit for illegal shipments of technology or prohibited items from the West to the PRC (People's Republic of China), or facilitate the movement of arms and other prohibited items into the Americas, the now-declassified assessment said.


The CIA currently has no security concerns about Hutchison's port operations, and the administration believes the pending deal with the foreign company would be safe, officials said.


Supervised by Bahamian customs officials, Hutchison employees will drive the towering, truck-like radiation scanner that moves slowly over large cargo containers and scans them for radiation that might be emitted by plutonium or a radiological weapon.


Any positive reading would set off alarms monitored simultaneously by Bahamian customs inspectors at Freeport and by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials working at an anti-terrorism center 800 miles away in northern Virginia. Any alarm would prompt a closer inspection of the cargo, and there are multiple layers of security to prevent tampering, officials said.


The equipment operates itself, said Bryan Wilkes, a spokesman for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency negotiating the contract. It's not going to be someone standing at the controls pressing buttons and flipping switches.


A lawmaker who helped lead the opposition to the Dubai ports deal isn't so confident. Neither are some security experts. They question whether the U.S. should pay a foreign company with ties to China to keep radioactive material out of the United States.


Giving a no-bid contract to a foreign company to carry out the most sensitive security screening for radioactive materials at ports abroad raises many questions, said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.


A low-paid employee with access to the screening equipment could frustrate international security by studying how the equipment works and which materials set off its alarms, warned a retired U.S. Customs investigator who specialized in smuggling cases.


Money buys a lot of things, Robert Sheridan said. The fact that foreign workers would have access to how the United States screens various containers for nuclear material and how this technology scrutinizes the containers _ all those things allow someone with a nefarious intention to thwart the screening.


Other experts discounted concerns. They cited Hutchison's reputation as a leading ports company and said the United States inevitably must rely for some security on large commercial operators in the global maritime industry.


We must not allow an unwarranted fear of foreign ownership or involvement in offshore operations to impair our ability to protect against nuclear weapons being smuggled into this country, said Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. We must work with these foreign companies.


A former Coast Guard commander, Stephen Flynn, said foreign companies sometimes prove more trustworthy _ and susceptible to U.S. influence _ than governments.


It's a very fragile system, Flynn said. Foreign companies recognize the U.S. has the capacity and willingness to exercise a kill switch if something goes wrong.


A spokesman for Hutchison's ports subsidiary, Anthony Tam, said the company is a strong supporter in port security initiatives.


In the case of the Bahamas, our local personnel are working alongside with U.S. customs officials to identify and inspect U.S.-bound containers that could be carrying radioactive materials, Tam said.


However, there are no U.S. customs agents checking any cargo containers at the Hutchison port in Freeport. Under the contract, no U.S. officials would be stationed permanently in the Bahamas with the radiation scanner.


The administration is finalizing the contract amid a national debate over maritime security sparked by the furor over now-abandoned plans by Dubai-owned DP World to take over significant operations at major U.S. ports.


Hutchison operates the sprawling Freeport Container Port on Grand Bahama Island. Its subsidiary, Hutchison Port Holdings, has operations in more than 20 countries but none in the United States.


Contract documents, obtained by The Associated Press, indicate Hutchison will be paid roughly $6 million. The contract is for one year with options for three years.


The Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration is negotiating the Bahamas contract under a $121 million security program it calls the second line of defense. Wilkes, the NNSA spokesman, said the Bahamian government dictated that the U.S. give the contract to Hutchison.


It's their country, their port. The driver of the mobile carrier is the contractor selected by their government. We had no say or no choice, he said. We are fortunate to have allies who are signing these agreements with us.


Some security experts said that is a weak explanation in the Bahamas, with its close reliance on the United States. The administration could insist that the Bahamas permit U.S. Customs agents to operate at the port, said Albert Santoli, an expert on national security issues in Asia and the Pacific.


Why would they not accept that? said Santoli, a former national security aide to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. There is an interest in the Bahamas and every other country in the region to make sure the U.S. stays safe and strong. That's how this should be negotiated.


Flynn, the former Coast Guard commander, agreed the Bahamas would readily accept such a proposal but said the U.S. is short of trained customs agents to send overseas.


Contract documents obtained by the AP show at least one other foreign company is involved in the U.S. radiation-detection program.


A separate, no-bid $4 million contract the Bush administration is negotiating would pay a Manila-based company, International Container Terminal Services Inc., to install radiation detectors at the Philippines' largest port.


The U.S. says the Manila company is not being paid to operate the radiation monitors once they are installed. But two International Container executives and a senior official at the government's Philippine Nuclear Research Institute said the company will run the detectors on behalf of the institute and the country's customs bureau. U.S. officials said they will investigate further how the Filipinos plan to use the equipment.


March 23, 2006 Edition > Section: National > Printer-Friendly Version


On teleprompter at Convention, they had nuclear spelled as newclear
so she would pronounce it correctly! Unfortunately, she did not have it there for Gibson interview, so she said nuculear. Pet peeve of mine.
For full impact: McC's nuclear safety policy:
That's blah x4. Got it?
Iran....
But, governments do speak for their people in diplomatic circles and at the United Nations, regional conferences with other nations where they live, etc.

It is not possible for other countries to differentiate between the people of Iran and the government leaders. They deal with the leaders.

You know, we were fed a line in this country as far as back the first George Bush administration back in 1988-1992 that the people of Iraq did not support Hussein and that he would be overthrown by internal forces. That did not happen. We went in there 3 years ago to free the Iraqi people and it is now a huge mess that has cost thousands of lives, mostly Iraqi, and cost an unbelievable amount of money. Now Iran is making more noise. They hated the Shah because of his close ties to the West, so they put in a lunatic Islamic cleric and turned the country into a religious state. Islam teaches brotherhood and tolerance, so why are the leaders of this religious state so full of hate and spite?

Frankly, I think we should completely withdraw from the Middle East, including Israel. We should deport all Middle Easterners from this this country and from our American territories. We should quit buying your oil and anything else you produce. Leave us alone and we'll return the favor.

I think it is apparent that democracy is not possible in Arab Islamic countries. It works in other Muslim countries, like Turkey and some other places, but obviously the Middle East is not evolved enough to be able to tolerate other people's viewpoints and value systems. Until that happens, there can be no democracy.
Iran

 • AP photographer: Gunmen fire on Iran protesters, killing one


 


I hope the link works!  If not,  sorry!


Iran

Looks like they're breaking out the tear gas and water cannons, along with the bullets.


http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/20/iran.election/index.html


Iran

I





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Ten Killed in Iranian Protests, Rafsanjani Relatives Detained



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Ten Killed in Iranian Protests, Rafsanjani Relatives Detained



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Ten Killed in Iranian Protests, Rafsanjani Relatives Detained



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Ten killed in Iranian protests, Rafsanjani  relatives detained







"




















Ten Killed in Iranian Protests, Rafsanjani Relatives Detained



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"  Rafsanjani, one of the most influential politicians in Iran, supports opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says that June 12 elections were rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. That puts him in conflict with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has approved of the electoral win. "







"




















Ten Killed in Iranian Protests, Rafsanjani Relatives Detained



Share | Email | Print | A A A


 


" In Washington, President Barack Obama urged an end to the crackdown. “We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people,” he said in an e-mailed statement. "


Till now the verbal support of Obama suffice to give the protesters enough moral support to continue with their just protests.  Khatami is detaining his own people and their relatives!


 


Iran is CLEARLY a threat and that was what he
was conveying.  Making a statement about AVOIDING World War III is not irresponsible and I didn't hear him assume WWIII would evolve out of Iran specifically.  ANY country with nuclear weapons could spawn WWIII. 
FYI, even though born in Iran, she is....sm
a natural-born American citizen.
why to worry about Iran
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89476
Acorn is over in Iran too?

LMAO.


situation in Iran

Iranian opposition leader calls for rally Thursday 



update on Iran














Barack Obama's comments have grown more pointed as the clashes intensified, and his latest remarks took direct aim at Iranian leaders.
Obama tells Iran's leaders to stop unjust actions.







'


update on Iran














Barack Obama's comments have grown more pointed as the clashes intensified, and his latest remarks took direct aim at Iranian leaders.
Obama tells Iran's leaders to stop unjust actions.







'


Iran already fading from the

I was listening to a variety of news shows and visiting a number of news sites this morning for my "daily dose" when it struck me that the coverage about Iran is already diminishing - even on sites like Fox News. 


Sometimes I think that we Americans have the attention span of a fruit fly...and I also think that people like the Ayatollah rely on the fact that after a brief period of outrage, Americans will forget that there may be thousands of Iranians either in hospitals or sitting in cells waiting to hear exactly how they will be executed.


More trouble in Iran

Iran's increasingly isolated opposition leader effectively ended his role in street protests, saying he'll seek permits for future rallies. A leading cleric demanded in a nationally broadcast sermon Friday that leaders of the unrest be punished harshly and that some are "worthy of execution."


Or maybe she's LYING! sm
That's what the Dems always say when someone makes a mistake.  So she MUST be LYING!
Well of course I am lying! SM
You have accused everyone on the conservative board of being a liar, at least 50 times. The posts are gone and you know it.  They were removed and you said she was old and sick and would die soon and burn in hell.  I remember it well.  You should be so proud of that.  And you call us nasty.  Sorry, I can't match that one.  And wouldn't want to. You have your board back.  Discuss the important issues of the day, as you NEVER EVER DO on this board.  Buh bye!
K, if you say so but you might be lying. ;) nm

Sorry, I think you are lying. nm

I did not say anyone was lying...
the American Indians that is. I don't know how one could get an education claiming to be an American Indian when he is not. One only has to have 1/16 blood to qualify but it has to be proved. You can't just walk in there and say I'm and Indian, give me some money or put an X in the little box Other. I am only defending his accuracy in the 2 books I have read and I was trying to inform on the complexities of ***being an Indian*** in the tribal eyes, in the eyes of the state, in the eyes of grants, funding, etc.
Don't know if she was lying or not. SM
But I have lots of relatives on the West Coast from Oregon on down through Washington and California.  We talk about gas prices all the time so it just didn't sound right to me.  I like to keep things real.
What about Dumbya nuking Iran

with his *bunker busters*?


Now THAT'S an example of why certain countries (and/or their leaders) shouldn't be let loose with nuclear weapons!


This is a shocking and frightening story, and I don't recall reading anything about Congress giving Bush this power.


 


Bush's next war: NUKE IRAN!

Well, here it is, folks.  The beginning of the end of humanity, as Congress sits paralyzed and watches it happen (unless they finally grow a backbone and say *ENOUGH* to Bush). 


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060408/wl_mideast_afp/usirannuclearmilitary


US considers use of nuclear weapons against Iran





Sat Apr 8, 2:24 AM ET



The administration of President George W. Bush is planning a massive bombing campaign against Iran, including use of bunker-buster nuclear bombs to destroy a key Iranian suspected nuclear weapons facility, The New Yorker magazine has reported in its April 17 issue.


The article by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said that Bush and others in the White House have come to view Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a potential Adolf Hitler.


That's the name they're using, the report quoted a former senior intelligence official as saying.


A senior unnamed Pentagon adviser is quoted in the article as saying that this White House believes that the only way to solve the problem is to change the power structure in Iran, and that means war.


The former intelligence officials depicts planning as enormous, hectic and operational, Hersh writes.


One former defense official said the military planning was premised on a belief that a sustained bombing campaign in Iran will humiliate the religious leadership and lead the public to rise up and overthrow the government, The New Yorker pointed out.


In recent weeks, the president has quietly initiated a series of talks on plans for Iran with a few key senators and members of the House of Representatives, including at least one Democrat, the report said.


One of the options under consideration involves the possible use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, to insure the destruction of Iran's main centrifuge plant at Natanz, Hersh writes.


But the former senior intelligence official said the attention given to the nuclear option has created serious misgivings inside the military, and some officers have talked about resigning after an attempt to remove the nuclear option from the evolving war plans in Iran failed, according to the report.


There are very strong sentiments within the military against brandishing nuclear weapons against other countries, the magazine quotes the Pentagon adviser as saying.


The adviser warned that bombing Iran could provoke a chain reaction of attacks on American facilities and citizens throughout the world and might also reignite Hezbollah.


If we go, the southern half of Iraq will light up like a candle, the adviser is quoted as telling The New Yorker.












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Yes, and regarding that final paragraph re: Iran
Seymour Hersh has yet to get it wrong, no matter how much the King George and his men attack.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060821fa_fact
I believe he made the statement concerning Iran...
because Ahmadinejad has said publically that Israel should be wiped off the map and he had a vision of the world without the United States. Don't recall North Korea saying anything remotely like that. The big difference in Kim Jong IL and Ahmadinejad is that Ahmadinejad does not care what happen if he nuked Israel or the US...because to him, being martyred is the most wonderful thing that can happen to anyone. And if his attack ushered in the coming of the 12th Imam, mores the better. If you will look at his statements, especially the one about the 12th Imam...that will tell you why he could very well be the one to start a world war III if he had nukes. I believe that is what was meant.

And one could surmise he used that word to shock some out of their complacency.

And Let's face it...if Iran nuked Israel, WW III would be on.
oops: I did mean Israel & Iran.
Afghanistan & Pakistan are no picnic, either.
And didn't we help Iran out when they were being invaded?(nm)

.


These remarks from Iran and Russia may not
RE: Response to Obama's election by Iran: What I see here is an opening for dialog in the recognition that there is a capacity for improvement of ties, not exactly the "Death to America" sentiments expressed in the past, this despite Obama's statement directed at those who would tear the world down (we will defeat you). I also see several implied preconditions. After all, preconditions are a two-way street:

1. I would be curious to have Aghamohammadi expand on what he means by Bush style "confrontation" in other countries. He is the spokesperson for the National Security Council in Iran, has been involved with the EU, Britian, France and Germany as a nuclear arms negotiator and would be directly involved in any dialog with the US on the subject of nuclear arms nonproliferation. We hardly have a leg to stand in this arena with our current "do as I say, not as I do and never mind the nuclear stockpiles in Israel we financed" approach. My guess would be he is condemning military invasion and occupation, hardly a radical position for any sovereign nation to take. In his own capacity, he should understand the US has unfinished business in Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan, so it is impossible to know in the absence of dialog what alternatives to military invasion may be possible. It might be worth a look-see.
2. His implied request for the US to "concentrate on state matters" might be seen by some as a little progress, especially since, at the moment, we do not even have an embassy in Iran. This also implies a possible opening to US business interests there (which were abundant under the Shah), a staging ground for diplomacy and establishing an avenue for articulating US foreign policy within their borders.
3. Concentrating on removing the American people's concerns would imply a desire on his part to repair and improve Iran's image abroad.

A well thought out response to these implied preconditions would be a logical place for Obama to start when speculating on his own preconditions.

RE: Russia's recent behavior and rhetoric is worrisome on many levels to more than a few countries in the region. Cold war with Russia is in NOBODY'S interest, including Russia's I fail to see how turning our backs, isolating ourselves or ratcheting up bellicose rhetoric toward them would do anything except give them a green light to proceed. It's an ugly world out there and Obama will inevitably be taking either a direct or an indirect diplomatic role in addressing this issue. Russia has expressed that same expectation.

I agree with you and find humor in the remarks from Sudan. Anyway, wait and watch is all we can do at this point. It certainly beats the heck out of prognostications of failure or defeat.

setting the stage for a war with iran
Maybe this will come to nothing, but the NYT reports today (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/world/middleeast/20nuke.html?hp) that ''the amount of uranium that Tehran had now amassed — more than a ton — was sufficient, with added purification, to make an atom bomb.''

So here we go again, people nudging us towards war, with the complicity of the Times. We'll pretend that a nuclear weapon is something you can cook up in your kitchen, once you have the requisite number of atoms. We'll pretend that this is The Greatest Threat We Have Ever Known. Even bigger than Saddam, who ended up not having all the WMD the NYT said he did. We've already begun playing around with 2007's National Intelligence Estimate (see LA Times http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-fg-usiran12-2009feb12,0,3478184.story) to make Iran seem more dangerous.

We really just can't leave *anyone* alone, can we?
I think if Israel slings anything at Iran....
it would not just be rockets, and if someone had said I had no right to exist, I might consider slinging some rockets at them myself. I'm just sayin.

And as to Obama being able to hold them back...if he can't be bothered to shake his finger at Iran for crushing protests on worldwide TV, what on earth would make you think he could or would if he could hold Israel back? I have seen nothing to indicate that Barack Obama cares a hoot in heck what happens to Israel. If you look at his connections and who he has loaded his administration with...their agenda is certainly not pro Israel and to be frank I believe they consider Israel expendable, and if the palestinians get taken out as collateral damage...well...you should watch that posted video, and then you should look at a list of the Bilderberg group. Funny how the left always wanted to talk about it because there were many of right in the group...well, there are certainly a lot more of the left in it, and a ton of those are in the present administration. But now that they are in power, amazing how the Bilderberg group is no longer the big bad...sorry for borrowing your moniker there. lol.
Iran's meddling accusations....sm
I disagree TOTALLY with your suggestion how O should have reacted to the ongoing protests, I quote from your psot:


'Yes, it would have been better if he had just said ANYthing just a wee bit strong...hey Mahmoud...couldn't you just stop beating the crap out of protestors in front of the TV cameras? Bad form old boy. Makes you look bad.'

Bad tactic and bad advice.

Sounds like 'cowboy-jargon' to me.

BTW, read the accusations of the Iranian government, although Obama stayed passive and restraint:


'The Iranian government has directly accused the United States of meddling in the deepening crisis. A statement by state-run Press TV blamed Washington for "intolerable" interference.
The report, on Press TV, cited no evidence.'
So what? All legal votes, we are not Iran....nm
nm
lying in office
It was a personal matter between he and his wife and Monica.  He only lied when the govt tried to pry into his private life.  It had nothing to do with national security, and since he was impeached for lying, Im just waiting for Bush to get impeached or Rove to be fired for lying about giving out the name of Valerie Plame to reporters to out her.  If there is gonna be a standard about lying while in office, it should work for this administration too.  One saving grace on that, the prosecutor, Fitzgerald, seems like a tough guy who does not take sides but finds out the truth.
Nobody justifies lying like the Right.
And you know it's true. That is one major difference between the right and left. The right acts like schoolyard children saying nyah nyah, can't prove it can't prove it! My mom's the principal! So you just shut up!

Meanwhile on the left, frowns all around for whoever is caught being a sneak and a liar, and nobody defends the liar - we admit lying is a bad thing and nobody should do it, and if they lie they should be punished. Progressives will turn against any politician who shames him/herself by lying - they may feel bad for the person and even still like the person, but hey, if you did wrong, you should come clean and accept your reprisals, or you don't represent us anymore.

The Wrong Right on the other hand would DIE to a member before admitting wrongdoing,admitting lies, or even admitting they or their leaders COULD be wrong. It's not a wrong/right issue with them - nothing is, and that's why nobody believes their outrage over Clinton was moral. It was simply vindictive and hateful toward the man, not any reasonable objection to any true harm that he caused. Now your spokespeople are advocating the assassination of (democratically elected!) foreign leaders. Outrage anyone? People of truly moral character certainly are outraged. Still waiting to hear a peep from the Wrong Right.


NO THANKS. Just more lying SUITS.
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If you want to go into lying....Your #2 guy...we KNOW he is a liar...
so what is the difference? It is on tape and video that he said he would be proud to be on a ticket with John McCain. Certainly not the story he is telling now, is it? So he was lying then or he is lying now. Either way...he's a liar.
Farmer is lying to you.....
That is the number one excuse given by employers when their hiring of illegals became so prevalent that everyone was noticing their jobs were going away.

What else were they going to say.....I just wanted to hire illegals because they work for less than minimum wage, I don't pay taxes on them, and they won't report me because they're illegal!!?

Not to mention the Workers Comp break they get. An illegal gets hurt and they just go to the free care clinic, get treated, and walk away.....or to the local ER where they get treatment and I end up paying for it because they have no insurance....heck, they don't have to produce anything yet ANYONE else has to start pulling out their SS#, drivers license, or SOMETHING to prove they are who they say they are......

what a crock!!!!!!!!
And hopefully neither will lying crooks
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He stammers because he's lying....ya know,
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How you figure? She WAS lying
@