View Full Version : i KNEW it!!
EXCLUSIVE: Iranian Weapons Arm Iraqi Militia
ABC News
By JONATHAN KARL AND MARTIN CLANCY
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2006 — U.S. officials say they have found smoking-gun evidence of Iranian support for terrorists in Iraq: brand-new weapons fresh from Iranian factories. According to a senior defense official, coalition forces have recently seized Iranian-made weapons and munitions that bear manufacturing dates in 2006.
This suggests, say the sources, that the material is going directly from Iranian factories to Shia militias, rather than taking a roundabout path through the black market. "There is no way this could be done without (Iranian) government approval," says a senior official.
Iranian-made munitions found in Iraq include advanced IEDs designed to pierce armor and anti-tank weapons. U.S. intelligence believes the weapons have been supplied to Iraq's growing Shia militias from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is also believed to be training Iraqi militia fighters in Iran.
Evidence is mounting, too, that the most powerful militia in Iraq, Moktada al-Sadr's Mahdi army, is receiving training support from the Iranian-backed terrorists of Hezbollah.
Two senior U.S. defense officials confirmed to ABC News earlier reports that fighters from the Mahdi army have traveled to Lebanon to receive training from Hezbollah.
While the New York Times reported that as many as 2,000 Iraqi militia fighters had received training in Lebanon, one of the senior officials said he believed the number was "closer to 1,000." Officials say a much smaller number of Hezbollah fighters have also traveled through Syria and into Iraq to provide training.
U.S. intelligence officials believe the number of Al-Sadr's Mahdi army now includes 40,000 fighters, making it an especially formidable force.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/IraqCoverage/story?id=2688501
Alecto
12-01-2006, 06:58 PM
We should have taken that guy out 2 1/2 years ago. I don't know what they're thinking over there.
Racthalas
12-01-2006, 07:04 PM
Laying the foundation for an invasion into Iran? Nukes+possible arms supply = Bush's reason to give Iran "democracy" too =p
Drunklight
12-01-2006, 08:28 PM
weve been saying it for years.
its practicly common knowledge here.
/sigh
world ends 2012?
Sorry to be political but in case you haven't heard......
January 11, 2007 Edition > Section: National > Printer-Friendly Version
Bush Warns Iranians
BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
January 11, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/46481
http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=46481
WASHINGTON — President Bush says we are effectively at war with Iran.
Mr. Bush, in a much-anticipated televised speech to the nation last night, accused the Islamic Republic of "providing material support for attacks on American troops." Eschewing advice from his father's secretary of state, James Baker, to open a dialogue with Iran and Syria, the president said American forces in Iraq would "disrupt" attacks from Syria- and Iran-backed terrorists, "interrupt" the supply lines reaching back to those countries, and "seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies in Iraq." That last sentence is the closest Mr. Bush has come to announcing attacks on Iranian territory, where American intelligence and military leaders have said the most destructive improvised explosives used against American convoys are made.
The new strategy yesterday also eschewed the advice of the outgoing general in charge of Central Command, John Abizaid, and committed America to a two front war to save Iraq from Shiite death squads and Al Qaeda.
The new war strategy will focus on defeating Al Qaeda forces gathered predominantly in the Anbar province of Iraq and will officially end the American-brokered talks with Sunni insurgents in Amman. A new surge of 20,000 troops, predominately for securing Baghdad, will for the first time consider members of the Shiite Mahdi Army legitimate targets in the quest to win back Iraq's capital.
The strategy is in sharp contrast to the counsel of General Abizaid, who warned against the prospect of opening a two front war in Iraq that was narrowly avoided in 2004 when American troops faced down Mahdi Army political leader, Moqtada al-Sadr. Mr. Bush said that the plan to secure Baghdad would be developed by Iraq's leaders. But he also announced that as part of the plan, American soldiers would be embedding with the Iraqi national army units sent out around Baghdad to establish regular patrols.
A Power Point summary of the new Iraq strategy released yesterday by the White House notes that Iran has been "burrowing" Iranian actors inside the Iraqi government. Yesterday a senior administration official told reporters that members of Mr. Sadr's Mahdi army would no longer be off limits. The new war strategy also contradicts the most prominent recommendation of the Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker, which called for opening new negotiations with Iran and Syria and also for pressing negotiations with Israel. Indeed, Mr. Bush did not specifically mention the Arab-Israeli conflict, only referencing in passing the Middle East mission this week from Secretary of State Rice as a quest for Middle East peace.
Just as the president announced yesterday the new war plan to reinforce American soldiers in the country, America's closest ally, British prime minister Tony Blair, said he saw no need to send new troops to his country's contingent stationed in Basra. The Telegraph is reporting today that later this year the British would begin to withdraw their soldiers. Mr. Blair has long advocated for new a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative as part of the strategy to secure the Middle East.
On the domestic front, Mr. Bush faced a Democratic Congress in near rebellion after the leaders of both chambers announced plans to hold at least a symbolic vote on his new strategy, though it is unlikely Congress will vote to cut funding for a new troop surge through the annual budgeting process.
In the speech he announced that he would form a bipartisan working group to meet regularly on strategy for the war on terror. He credited the recommendation to Senator Lieberman, the Independent from Connecticut who was defeated by a challenger in his state's primary this September.
A growing number of Republicans have come out against a surge in troops. Yesterday, Senator Brownback, a Kansas Republican hoping to win his party's nomination for the 2008 presidential contest, said in Iraq that he did not favor a troop surge. One of Mr. Brownback's rivals for the nomination, Mayor Giuliani, yesterday said he supported increasing the troop presence in Iraq. Senator McCain and Governor Romney, other 2008 Republican hopefuls, also supported Mr. Bush's decision.
In the speech delivered from the White House library, the president said the current situation in Iraq was unacceptable. He also laid out how he believed last year's military offensive to secure Baghdad had failed. "There were not enough Iraqi and American troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists and insurgents. And there were too many restrictions on the troops we did have," he said.
The new plan for Baghdad, however, is different, Mr. Bush said. "In earlier operations, political and sectarian interference prevented Iraqi and American forces from going into neighborhoods that are home to those fueling the sectarian violence. This time, Iraqi and American forces will have a green light to enter these neighborhoods — and Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated."
The president yesterday hammered home his view that the struggle in the Middle East was not so much sectarian as it was ideological. "On one side are those who believe in freedom and moderation," he said. "On the other side are extremists who kill the innocent, and have declared their intention to destroy our way of life." Nor did the president yesterday abandon the goal of defending an Iraqi democracy. But unlike other speeches on the war, the president was careful not to raise expectations. "Even if our new strategy works exactly as planned, deadly acts of violence will continue and we must expect more Iraqi and American casualties," he said.
He said that America's commitment in Iraq is "not open-ended," and said, "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me."
In response to the speech, Senator Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois, said the president's plan was to send more Americans into the "crossfire of a civil war." A statement released last night from Mr. Durbin; the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, the House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, and Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House Majority leader from Maryland said the president's plan "endangers our national security by placing additional burdens on our already over-extended military."
Senator Hagel, an anti-war Republican from Nebraska, said last night the president's new strategy would "sink us deeper into the bog of Iraq making it more difficult to get out."
Senator Clinton issued a statement saying she "cannot support" what she called Mr. Bush's "proposed escalation of the war in Iraq." She said the president's Iraq policy "has been marred by incompetence and arrogance."
A former chairman of the Defense Policy Board, Richard Perle, said, "It was a pretty good speech. The big question in my mind is whether we can implement some practical and prudent measures. I don't know if we can. It will depend significantly on the command in the country."
Mr. Perle said, "I don't think the additional troops are the key to the strategy he has announced, it is how effectively those troops are managed."
He said, "Bush has a decent chance of improving public opinion on this because the Democratic response was so feeble and sniping."
January 11, 2007 Edition > Section: National > Printer-Friendly Version
weve been saying it for years.
its practicly common knowledge here.
/sigh
world ends 2012?
:(
Politics are a pretty touchy subject, so I am just leaving it to the article.
Racthalas
01-12-2007, 06:58 PM
Georgie playing top gun at the OK Corral, a childhood dream come true to kill off the badies no doubt. Question is, can America ever fully recover from the economic blow its taken/will take during his presidency.
Drunklight
01-12-2007, 07:15 PM
sure it will, after the first nuclear bomb gets tosses on iran or by iran, or one malfunction there and destroys alot of ground, everybody will run to american and cry "protect us!" ...
Currently takeing bets, if iran makes nuclear weapon, where would they send the first one? israel or US?
(sorry im just being sarcastic about politics and war, side effect of living here)
Racthalas
01-12-2007, 07:35 PM
I don't think any country will ever use a nuke as an 'offense' attack, because regardless of the situation they will loose all diplomacy/favor with all other countries. Governments play on peoples fears and scare them with all this nuke talk.
Yeah I'll take that bet, Iran won't use nuclear weapons even if they do manage to make them. Like all countries that want this technology, its for the sole purpose of being used as a deterrant. Nations can't walk all over you/take advantage of you when you have the ability to strike back with equal force. Thats all it is. And countries that do have nuclear weapons don't want to relinquish their position of power in the world by allowing others to obtain it.
In short, my belief is, if X country/countries don't want other nations making nukes, give up their own nuclear programs completely and then those other nations might be willing to have a discussion.
just my .02 :hmm:
Drunklight
01-12-2007, 11:20 PM
i would agree thats possible, but you got the wrong country to claim it about, going to lay of the subject
edit:
My limited amount of common sense has told me:
Keep politics out of the guild.
Wophat
01-14-2007, 01:49 PM
As a side note to DL's comment about the world ending in 2012- the mayans (who had a more advanced and accurate calendar than anyone to this day) predicted that the end of the would would occur on december 12th, 2012. Maybe DL is right!
Demetrius
01-14-2007, 01:59 PM
Pretty sure this is what will happen:
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end.php
Bastila
01-14-2007, 03:01 PM
dec 21st 2012, some say 22nd.
http://www.levity.com/eschaton/Why2012.html
US threatens Iran as troops plan attacked
By Toby Harnden, Damien McElroy and Thomas Harding
Last Updated: 2:07am GMT 13/01/2007
America delivered a thinly-veiled threat to Iran yesterday, declaring that it would not "stand idly by" if Teheran continued to arm Iraq's insurgents.
George W Bush cries during a medal ceremony for a Marine killed in Iraq
As President George W Bush digested the reaction to his plan to send another 21,500 troops to pacify Iraq, his administration escalated the pressure on Iran.
In Iraq's northern city of Irbil, US forces raided an office housing Iran's representatives. Six Iranians were arrested and documents seized. The operation infuriated Teheran, which said the office enjoyed diplomatic protection. But American officials said Iranians agents were covertly aiding Shia militias and meddling in Baghdad's new government.
In Washington, Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, told the Senate foreign relations committee that Iran and Syria were "de-stabilising" Iraq and said that America would respond.
"I don't want to speculate on what operations the United States may be engaged in, but you will see that the United States is not going to stand idly by," she said.
America's new plan for Iraq depends on the attitude of Baghdad's government under Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia prime minister. Success will hinge on whether he is willing to act against militias drawn from his Shia power base.
Miss Rice had a tough warning for Mr Maliki. "I think he knows that his government is, in a sense, on borrowed time, not just in terms of the American people but in terms of the Iraqi people," she said.
Last month, the Iraq Study Group — comprising some of America's most senior statesmen — recommended a conciliatory approach towards Iran and Syria coupled with a gradual withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. Mr Bush has adopted the opposite course.
His decision has stirred great unease. Chuck Hagel, a Republican senator, called Mr Bush's move the "most dangerous foreign policy blunder since Vietnam".
Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic congressman and presidential candidate, asked: "Isn't one war enough for this president?"
With American troop levels about to rise, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, confirmed The Daily Telegraph's report that thousands of British forces were set to leave.
"Over the course of the this year, we can expect to see a reduction in our troops by a matter of thousands," he told MPs.
This withdrawal would allow forces to be transferred to Afghanistan, where the onset of spring is expected to bring a renewed offensive by the Taliban.
But the prospect of British troops leaving southern Iraq has left Sunni leaders fearing for their lives.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=4HL5D3YKUK1HLQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2007/01/12/wiraq12.xml
US forces turn on Iranians
By Philip Sherwell in New York, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:38am GMT 15/01/2007
President George W Bush has ordered US forces to launch a military offensive against Iranian officials and Revolutionary Guards officers behind a support and funding network for anti-American fighters in Iraq.
Mr Bush signed the clandestine directive after he was given new intelligence on the scale of Iranian operations to foment violence in Iraq.
US troops were operating under the new instructions when they raided an Iranian "liaison office" in northern Iraq last week, detaining five men, in the latest showdown with Teheran's agents.
The swoop, which was condemned by Iran and its political allies in Iraq, came less than two weeks after a senior Revolutionary Guards commander was seized in another raid near Baghdad with documents linked to the bloodshed. It has fuelled fears of direct armed clashes between US forces and Iranian operatives.
In a further development, US intelligence has learnt that the Shia-led Islamic regime is backing Sunni insurgents in Iraq, as well as the murderous militia operated by its fellow Shia clerics.
Iran's policy of pursuing "managed chaos" in Iraq is mainly conducted by the Revolutionary Guards' Quds (Jerusalem) Force, the military's foreign arm, which also supports the Shia Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Sunni Hamas in the Palestinian territories.
Shia and Sunni armed factions have for months been fighting a vicious sectarian conflict, murdering thousands of civilians. But the top Quds commander arrested late last month - known by the alias Chizari - was carrying documents that showed links with both sides, according to a senior official.
It comprised "a smoking gun," he told The New York Sun. "We found plans for attacks, phone numbers affiliated with Sunni bad guys, a lot of things that filled in the blanks on what these guys are up to," he said.
One document contained a Quds assessment of the Iraqi conflict that throws fresh light on the growing battle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for influence in the region. It said that because Iraq's Sunni neighbours - including Saudi Arabia - were likely to intensify their support for Sunni insurgents in Iraq, Iran should also step up its aid to those groups.
Iran has set up a network of fake import-export companies in Iraq's Anbar province to channel funds to Sunni fighters, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
At secret meetings, tribal sheikhs with close ties to the insurgents revealed details of the money-laundering to Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and political adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority.
"Truckloads of Iranian appliances like televisions are shipped into Iraq, apparently legitimately, and then sold for cash that can be channelled to Sunni insurgents," said Mr Rubin, now at the American Enterprise Institute think-tank. "The Iranians are very pragmatic about who they will deal with.
"The underlying assumption of those like Tony Blair and the Iraq Study Group, who back talks with Teheran, is that a stable Iraq is somehow in Iran's interests. But that's not so. Iran does not want a new Somalia on its borders, but nor does it want to live next to Switzerland. They are happy with managed chaos."
Iran has worked with individuals linked to al-Qa'eda-related groups responsible for some of the worst atrocities against Iraqi Shias, including the attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra last February.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, the Iranian exile leader who first revealed Teheran's secret nuclear programme to the world, has compiled a dossier detailing the vast network run by Quds in Iraq. Its operations are centred on Basra and Najaf, and use a series of supposed religious and cultural organisations as well as diplomatic consulates across the country to develop, fund and arm militia and rebel groups.
Thousands of Shia militiamen have reportedly travelled to Iran for training and indoctrination, while Quds sends millions of dollars cash in the other direction each month, through diplomatic pouches and border crossings it controls.
British and American officials have also identified Iran as the source of the materials and manufacture of a new, more lethal variety of roadside bomb that has claimed coalition lives.
"New information from sources in Iran further confirms that the Revolutionary Guards Corps and its notorious Quds Force are the biggest threat inside Iraq," said Mr Jafarzadeh. "Unless Iran's influence is curbed, its agents arrested and brought to justice and its proxies exposed, a genuine national unity government cannot take shape in Iraq."
In a sign of Iran's influence at the highest levels in Baghdad, the Quds Force commander captured by US forces last month was released at the insistence of the Iraqi government. He was said to have diplomatic status.
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, revealed in an interview published yesterday that President Bush had signed the order authorising force to break Iranian networks in Iraq.
She said: "I don't think there is a government in the world that would sit by and let the Iranians, in particular, run networks inside Iraq that are building explosive devices of a very high quality, that are being used to kill their soldiers."
Some Democrats have accused Mr Bush of using events in Iraq as an excuse to plan military action against Iran. His spokesman, Tony Snow, denied that any "war preparations were underway", but said the president was determined to defend US forces.
Iran later demanded the immediate release of the five captives, who it says are diplomats "involved in consulate affairs".
Iran also demanded compensation for damage to the Iranian liaison office where the men were seized.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/14/wirq114.xml
http://www.savage-productions.com/Letter_from_troop_family.html
Muslims cite discrimination in denial of flight
By Audrey Hudson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
January 17, 2007
An Islamic civil rights group is calling for an investigation to determine why 40 Muslims were not allowed to board a flight from Germany to Detroit after their pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Northwest Airlines officials said the passengers arrived too late to catch the flight, but some of the Muslims, appearing at a press conference yesterday with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), called it religious discrimination.
The Muslims arrived at the Frankfurt airport at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 7 on a charter plane from Saudi Arabia. They did not show up at the ticket counter until about 20 minutes before the Detroit-bound Flight 51 left at 10:20 a.m., said Dean Breest, a Northwest Airlines spokesman.
The airline industry and governmental agencies have check-in and boarding deadlines to help ensure on-time departures, and Northwest Airlines policy states that passengers must check in for international flights at least 60 minutes before departure and be aboard the aircraft at least 30 minutes before departure.
"The rules are the rules," said Roman Blahoski, spokesman for Northwest Airlines. "It does not matter who they are; they would be turned away because the flight had already closed."
Mr. Blahoski said, "Northwest takes these accusations very seriously," but "these passengers were denied boarding because they did not meet the standard check-in deadline."
Imam Sayed Hassan Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Mich., told reporters that the travelers, who included two imams, were stranded and left on their own to find flights home.
Mr. Breest, however, said those who arrived at the gate in time with boarding passes were allowed onto the plane, and that those who could not be accommodated were rescheduled for other flights.
"It has nothing to do with religion, but when you have to be on the plane," Mr. Breest said. "They just were not there in time.
"We're sorry, but we did get them to the next destination as soon as possible. We were still able to process some of them and get them on the flight, then rebooked the rest of the group the same day for flights via Amsterdam."
Mr. Al-Qazwini demanded an apology from the airline as well as unspecified compensation.
If the airline does not meet their demands, Mr. Al-Qazwini said, he may call for a Muslim boycott of Northwest.
In November, six imams who were removed from a US Airways flight after exhibiting suspicious behavior called for a boycott of that airline. The Muslims retained CAIR as their legal representatives and have threatened to file a lawsuit.
US Airways spokeswoman Andrea Rader said: "We're in contact with them but we have no resolution."
Alecto
01-19-2007, 12:13 AM
Muslims cite discrimination in denial of flight
If the airline does not meet their demands, Mr. Al-Qazwini said, he may call for a Muslim boycott of Northwest.
"
Would be interesting to see whether they lose business from something like this or gain a massive amount from everyone wanting to book a flight with them.
Wanton
01-19-2007, 12:42 AM
Problem isn't them using it. The problem is them giving it to someone else that will.
Saddam/Uday/Whathisface should of all be shot in 1990. We just put it off for 13 years and paying for it. Happened before and will happened again.
The big thing that should have been considered was that when we went into this area, it should have been in the understanding that our enemies would twist it into a Muslim Vs. Christianity war, A modern-day version of the old Crusades.
It would only be a matter of time before the similar minds of the region and their supporters banded together to create a formidable foe. These are the makings of a world war.
To stay in it and win would bring about 2 cultures colliding, war within nations on all sides, as well as between them.
To pull out would allow the underdog to gain strength, because they are relentless.
Remember, no matter what reason you try to use, they believe YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXIST. They take pleasure in your death.
This is a bad situation for everyone, and no matter what happens or how, these are sadly just the beginnings of something much larger.
Iran: Israel, US will soon die
Ahmadinejad: Be assured that the US and Israel will soon end lives
Yaakov Lappin
Published: 01.23.07, 22:24
Israel and the United States will soon be destroyed, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday during a meeting with Syria's foreign minister, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) website said in a report. Iran's official FARS news agency also reported the comments.
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad… assured that the United States and the Zionist regime of Israel will soon come to the end of their lives," the Iranian president was quoted as saying.
"Sparking discord among Muslims, especially between the Shiites and Sunnis, is a plot hatched by the Zionists and the US for dominating regional nations and looting their resources," Ahmadinejad added, according to the report.
The Iranian president also directly tied events in Lebanon to a wider plan aimed at Israel's destruction. He called on "regional countries" to "support the Islamic resistance of the Lebanese people and strive to enhance solidarity and unity among the different Palestinian groups in a bid to pave the ground for the undermining of the Zionist regime whose demise is, of course, imminent."
Ahmadinejad has threatened the State of Israel with annihilation several times in recent months, and has recently added the US and Britain to the list of countries he says will be destroyed.
Syria's Foreign Minister, Wailed Mualem, accused the US of attempting to carry out a "massacre of Muslims" and of sowing "discord among Islamic faiths in the region."
Mualem called on "regional states to pave the ground for the establishment of peace and tranquillity… while preventing further genocide of the Muslims," the IRIB website said.
Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3356154,00.html
alaza
01-25-2007, 10:25 AM
I don't know if the muslims don't do business with any airline they might as well shutdown. No gas no flight. But on another note I know penty of Jews and Arabs get along jsut fine and many of them are their close friends. That's what's wrong with new media. They only show the worst side of everything and never show anything good. Ratings my friend is what drives the news. Who want to see people shaking hands when they have blood gore and more.
One thing I want to let you guys know is the stuff I link in this thread are from sources around the world that the American Media does NOT WANT the people to be aware of.
You won't be getting these stories from CBS, NBC, or FOX.
The media paints a picture that is not the full story.
What you need to do is take a piece of this and a piece of that, try to put the pieces together, and make your own decisions. One thing about gamers is they are very intelligent. A lot of you are young, but you are very smart.
Keep your eyes open and your ears listening. The days ahead are going to be difficult.
N Korea helping Iran with nuclear testing
By Con Coughlin
Last Updated: 3:23pm GMT 24/01/2007
North Korea is helping Iran to prepare an underground nuclear test similar to the one Pyongyang carried out last year.
Under the terms of a new understanding between the two countries, the North Koreans have agreed to share all the data and information they received from their successful test last October with Teheran's nuclear scientists.
North Korea provoked an international outcry when it successfully fired a bomb at a secret underground location and Western intelligence officials are convinced that Iran is working on its own weapons programme.
A senior European defence official told The Daily Telegraph that North Korea had invited a team of Iranian nuclear scientists to study the results of last October's underground test to assist Teheran's preparations to conduct its own — possibly by the end of this year.
There were unconfirmed reports at the time of the Korean firing that an Iranian team was present. Iranian military advisers regularly visit North Korea to participate in missile tests.
Now the long-standing military co-operation between the countries has been extended to nuclear issues.
As a result, senior western military officials are deeply concerned that the North Koreans' technical superiority will allow the Iranians to accelerate development of their own nuclear weapon.
"The Iranians are working closely with the North Koreans to study the results of last year's North Korean nuclear bomb test," said the European defence official.
"We have identified increased activity at all of Iran's nuclear facilities since the turn of the year," he said.
"All the indications are that the Iranians are working hard to prepare for their own underground nuclear test."
The disclosure of the nuclear co-operation between North Korea and Iran comes as Teheran seems set on a collision course with the West over its nuclear programme, although it insists it is entirely peaceful.
Both countries were named in President George W Bush's famous "axis of evil" State of the Union speech in 2002.
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously authorised the imposition of "smart" sanctions against Iran.
This is because of its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which most Western intelligence agencies believe is part of a clandestine nuclear weapons programme.
France expressed concern yesterday over an Iranian decision to bar 38 UN nuclear inspectors from Iran, claiming that Teheran appeared to be singling out westerners from the inspection team.
Intelligence estimates vary about how long it could take Teheran to produce a nuclear warhead. But defence officials monitoring the growing co-operation between North Korea and Iran believe the Iranians could be in a position to test fire a low-grade device — less than half a kiloton — within 12 months.
The precise location of the Iranian test site is unknown, but is likely to be located in a mountainous region where it is difficult for spy satellites to pick up any unusual activity.
Teheran successfully concealed the existence of several key nuclear sites — including the controversial Natanz uranium enrichment complex — until their locations were disclosed by Iranian dissidents three years ago.
Western intelligence agencies have reported an increase in the number of North Korean and Iranian scientists travelling between the two countries.
The increased co-operation on nuclear issues began last November when a team of Iranian nuclear scientists met their North Korean counterparts to study the technical and political implications of Pyongyang's nuclear test.
The Iranians are reported to have been encouraged by the fact that no punitive action was taken against North Korea, despite the international outcry that greeted the underground firing.
This has persuaded the Iranian regime to press ahead with its own nuclear programme with the aim of testing a low-grade device, which would be difficult for international inspectors to detect.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/01/24/wkorea1.jpg
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/24/wiran24.xml
________________________
Papa's comment: Our enemies uniting = Very Bad Stuff. :(
Source: http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/osborne012707.htm
Shahab-3 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, satellite launch vehicle
Sooner Rather Than Later: Iranian Shahab-6 ICBM
By Sean Osborne
Northeast Intelligence Network
Saturday, January 27, 2007
According to a pre-release article by Craig Covault, the upcoming 29 January 2007 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine will reveal that Iran has converted it’s North Korean-cloned Shahab-3 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile into a satellite launch vehicle. According to a strategic analysis done by GlobalSecurity.Org, Iran conducted a successful test of its large IRIS solid propellant rocket motor in mid-2005. If these assessments are accurate, and there is no reason at this point to dismiss them, then the beast sitting on an Iranian launch pad today may very well be proof of the existence of Iran’s Shahab-6 Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile. The Shahab-6 is a weapon system specifically designed and capable of delivering an Iranian nuclear warhead to virtually anywhere on earth. It is a virtual clone of the North Korean Taepo-Dong 2C/3 ICBM which allegedly failed in a much publicized test in July 2006. [For the complete analysis click "read more" above"]
This technological leap is nothing less than stunning. Just twenty-two months ago, on March 17, 2005, the Director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, made public a statement for the record to the Senate Armed Service Committee,
"We judge Iran will have the technical capability to develop an ICBM by 2015. It is not clear whether Iran has decided to field such a missile."
Such an astounding technological leap makes the sudden appearance of the Soviet Union’s orbiting Sputnik satellite in October 1957 absolutely pale in comparison. A little further back in the same text we read,
”Iran is likely continuing nuclear weapon-related endeavors in an effort to become the dominant regional power and deter what it perceives as the potential for US or Israeli attacks. We judge Iran is devoting significant resources to its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”
As referenced above, and based upon the physical reality sitting on an Iranian launch pad this morning, it would appear that the overall sum of the significant resources invested by Iran has more than adequately funded the long-term missile proliferation and advanced technology transfer programs of Red China, Russia, Pakistan, North Korea, as well as a few western nations. These technology transfers have enabled Iran to leap-frog at least 8 years worth of indigenous development, as well as prove totally inaccurate - if not make a complete mockery of - the best official, unclassified intelligence assessment from the U.S. Government yet made public about Iranian missile capabilities. In fact, such a flawed assessment brings into serious doubt the assessment regarding Iranian nuclear weapons progress.
I have been reading the 2004 assessment done by Aharon Etengoff, editor of the website weaponssurvey.com, entitled “2004 Middle East Nuclear Update”. This outstanding assessment by Etengoff, a former staffer with the IDF Spokesmen’s Office, covers both nuclear and missile developments for a host of Middle Eastern nations, including Iran. It is based upon open source intelligence (OSINT) media reporting. Within the past three years and having read these same OSINT reports (I read copious amounts of such data 24/7/365), and I arrived at the same assessments and have so stated them publicly and privately, as well as on this website. This document should be reviewed in its entirety by all interested parties.
Among some of the nuclear-related information within this body of research is the following gem. “In February 2004, media reports indicated that IAEA inspectors had discovered traces of polonium-210, an element that can be used as neutron initiator in certain designs of nuclear weapons. “ In light of recent events, the purposes and/or recent uses of this highly radioactive substance have been discussed by the Northeast Intelligence Network at length. Note the discovery of Polonium-210 in Iran occurred nearly three years ago. Since Iran is not known to possess a working nuclear reactor or particle accellerator - where from did Iran acquire this Polonium-210? Obviously, a nuclear materials proliferator. Russia, Red China, North Korea or even the AQ Khan nuclear proliferation network run from within Pakistan are not likely to confess to such transfers, but they are without question the most probable sources. Combine this knowledge with the nuclear weapon plutonium core to be produced at Iran’s Khondab heavy-water reactor in Arak, or highly enriched uranium (HEU), and know that its destiny lies in a warhead perched atop an Iranian Shahab-6 ICBM.
Regarding advanced missile technology proliferation Etengoff provides us with the following paragraph, an exceptional compilation of OSINT data. The bottom line assessment of this paragraph is exactly correct and the focus of this article.
“In October 2001, John Kyl, the ranking Republican on the Senate Sub-Committee on Technology, stated that China was providing Iran with the technology to mount nuclear warheads on missiles. In October 2002, Ha’aretz reported that North Korea was testing long-range missiles in Iran, and in June 2003, U.S. intelligence officials disclosed that North Korea was exporting missiles to Iran via air routes. In July 2003, an Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman confirmed that Iran had successfully conducted the final test of its Shahab 3 medium-range missile. In August 2003, a Japanese newspaper reported that North Korea was negotiating with Iran over the export of its Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile and the possibility of jointly developing nuclear warheads. In January 2004, the Iranian Defense Minister stated that Iran intended to become "the first Islamic country to find a way into the space beyond the Earth’s atmosphere with its own satellite and indigenous launch-system.” It should be noted that such a launch-system would be equivalent to long-range intercontinental ballistic missile capability, and would serve as a “civilian” cover for an advanced weapons system.”
Indeed it would. And now, according to the chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Mr. Alaoddin Boroujerdi, the obviously dual-purpose launch vehicle sitting on the Iranian launch pad "will liftoff soon". Sooner rather than later the Iranian Shahab-6 ICBM is close to becoming a reality. As twin American armadas of surface and sub-surface naval combatants approach the Persian Gulf region, I just have to wonder, is an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) cruiser or destroyer among the surface combatants? Interesting thought nonetheless. The fact is that the policy of the United States is that Iran will not be joining the ranks of nuclear weapons capable states – ever. Can we assume that the delivery vehicles of such Iranian weapons will be allowed to exist in 2007, or at least retarded long enough to fit the current 2015 DIA guesstimate? Stay tuned.
Sean Osborne,
is the Associate Director, Military Affairs Northeast Intelligence Network. Sean can be reached at letters@canadafreepress.com
Other articles by Sean Osborne
Sydney conference speaker demands Islamic state
Sunday, 28 January 2007. 15:14 (AEDT)Sunday, 28 January 2007. 14:14 (ACST)Sunday, 28 January 2007. 14:14 (AEST)Sunday, 28 January 2007. 15:14 (ACDT)Sunday, 28 January 2007. 13:14 (AWDT)
A speaker at a conference in Sydney's south-west says a revolution or a civil war may be necessary in order to create an Islamic state, or caliphate.
The meeting has been organised by the controversial Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in several countries overseas.
A number of politicians have called for the group to be banned here.
One of today's speakers, Ashraf Doureihi, told the audience action needs to be taken to ensure an Islamic state is created.
"It is important... [to move] collectively in the Muslim world to demand this change from such influential people in our lands, even if it means spilling onto the streets to create a revolution or staging a military coup," he said.
Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Wassim Doureihi has told the audience a number of speakers will address the meeting today and discuss ways of establishing an Islamic super-state.
"As we were here today, what is at stake is not just the destiny of the Muslim world but indeed the whole of mankind," he said.
The conference runs all day.
Source: http://abc.net.au/news/items/200701/1834944.htm?nsw
Holy crap Hillary Clinton is a retard comparing her husband to Osama Bin Ladin......as both being "evil and bad men"........ in the same paragraph.....
Dear god, please let the Dems get someone better then Hillary!
Our nation deserves it!
This woman couldn't even handle her husband, how is she going to handle the entire Nation!?!??!
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2412722n
:o
Senators Warn Against War With Iran
By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer
3 hours ago
WASHINGTON - Republican and Democratic senators warned Tuesday against a drift toward war with an emboldened Iran and suggested the Bush administration was missing a chance to engage its longtime adversary in potentially helpful talks over next-door Iraq.
"What I think many of us are concerned about is that we stumble into active hostilities with Iran without having aggressively pursued diplomatic approaches, without the American people understanding exactly what's taking place," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told John Negroponte, who is in line to become the nation's No. 2 diplomat as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy.
Obama, a candidate for president in 2008, warned during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that senators of both parties will demand "clarity and transparency in terms of U.S. policy so that we don't repeat some of the mistakes that have been made in the past," a reference to the faulty intelligence underlying the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a possible presidential candidate, asked Negroponte if he thinks the United States is edging toward a military confrontation with Tehran. In response, Negroponte repeated President Bush's oft-stated preference for diplomacy, although he later added, "We don't rule out other possibilities."
Separately, the Navy admiral poised to lead American forces in the Middle East said Iran wants to limit America's influence in the region.
"They have not been helpful in Iraq," Adm. William Fallon told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It seems to me that in the region, as they grow their military capabilities, we're going to have to pay close attention to what they do and what they may bring to the table."
The Bush administration has increased rhetorical, diplomatic, military and economic pressure on Iran over the past few months, in response to Iran's alleged deadly help for extremists fighting U.S. troops in Iraq and the long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
Bush said Tuesday the United States "will deal with it" if Iran escalates military action inside Iraq and endangers American forces. But, in an interview with ABC News, Bush emphasized this talk signals no intention of invading Iran itself.
A day earlier, the president acknowledged skepticism concerning U.S. intelligence about Iran, because Washington was wrong in accusing Iraq of harboring weapons of mass destruction before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. "I'm like a lot of Americans that say, 'Well, if it wasn't right in Iraq, how do you know it's right in Iran,'" the president said.
Washington accuses Iran of arming and training Shiite Muslim extremists in Iraq. U.S. troops have responded by arresting Iranian diplomats in Iraq, and the White House has said Bush has authorized U.S. troops to kill or capture Iranians inside Iraq.
The United States also accuses Iran of secretly developing atomic weapons _ an allegation Tehran denies. Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment lead the U.N. Security Council to impose limited economic sanctions.
Senators including Hagel, George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., sounded frustrated with the administration's decision not to engage Iran and fellow outcast Syria in efforts to reduce sectarian violence in Iraq.
Negroponte, a career diplomat who is leaving a higher-ranked job as the nation's top intelligence official, gave only a mild endorsement of the administration's diplomatic hands-off policy toward Damascus and Tehran.
Negroponte would lead the department's Iraq policy if confirmed, as expected. He said Syria is letting 40 to 75 foreign fighters cross its border into Iraq each month and repeated the charge that Iran is providing lethal help to insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. Iran and Syria are not helping promote stability and peace in Iraq and understand what the United States and other nation expect of them.
"I would never want to say never with respect to initiating a high-level dialogue with either of these two countries, but that's the position, as I understand it, at this time," Negroponte said.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to approve Negroponte quickly for a job vacant since July.
Source: http://www.comcast.net/news/politics/index.jsp?cat=POLITICS&fn=/2007/01/31/575033.html&cvqh=itn_iran
:(
Appeasement takes hold again in Europe
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/02/04/mucci_wideweb__470x395,2.jpg
By Paul Sheehan
February 5, 2007
Last September Robert Redeker, a French high-school philosophy teacher and author of several scholarly books, published an opinion piece in Le Figaro entitled "What should the free world do in the face of Islamist intimidation?"
His piece concluded that while Judaism and Christianity are religions whose rites reject and delegitimise violence, Islam is a religion that, in its own sacred text, as well as in its everyday rites, exalts violence and hatred.
The article was posted on the internet, translated into Arabic, and widely distributed. Within a day, it was being condemned on Al-Jazeera TV and the offending issue of Le Figaro was banned in Egypt and Tunisia. Redeker received a large number of threatening emails. He was condemned to death on one Muslim site, which posted his address and a photograph of his home.
Redeker and his family went into hiding. Five months later they are still living in secrecy. Christian Delacampagne, writing in the latest issue of Commentary magazine, describes how the French reacted: "The communist mayor of Redeker's town condemned him, the headmaster of his school complained that he had included his affiliation at the end of the article, France's two largest teachers' unions, both socialist, issued statements saying they did not share Redeker's convictions. The leading leftist human-rights organisations denounced his irresponsible declarations and putrid ideas. The French Education Minister, Gilles de Robien, criticised Redeker.
"The editorial board of Le Monde, France's newspaper of record, characterised Redeker's piece as excessive, misleading and insulting. It called his remarks about Muhammad a blasphemy. To judge from this response, large sectors of the French intellectual and political establishment have carved out an exception to the hard-won tradition of open discussion: when it comes to Islam, as opposed to Christianity or Judaism, freedom of speech must respect definite limits.
"How did France reach this point?"
The last time France was faced with a large-scale threat from something similar - fascism - it reacted with denial, defeat and accommodation. Parallels are drawn by an American writer living in Europe, Bruce Bawer, whose book While Europe Slept describes rapidly growing Muslim enclaves across Western Europe in which women are oppressed, homosexuals are persecuted, infidels are threatened, Jews are demonised, "honour" killings are frequent, forced marriages are routine, and freedom of speech and religion are repudiated. European political and media establishments turn a blind eye to this in the name of an illusory multicultural harmony.
"Europe's media, when confronted with events or statements that vividly illuminate the goals of Muslim leaders and agitators, either don't report on them or edit out key facts," Bawer wrote recently on his website. "Few media accounts of the 2005 Paris riots, for example, mentioned participants' cries of 'Allahu Akbar'. A 2006 [London] Telegraph poll found that 40 per cent of British Muslims want Britain to become a sharia state, yet politicians still respond to every new riot, rape, honour killing or foiled terrorist plot by reassuring the public that the overwhelming majority of European Muslims are law-abiding, peace-loving supporters of democracy."
It's a bleak view, but Western Europe's 15 million Muslims today will be 30 million in 10 years. A similar argument is made in another book, Infidel, published last week by a former Dutch member of parliament and former Muslim, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who is fluent in Arabic and Somali, has lived in Saudi Arabia, and worked for 10 years as a translator with the Muslims of Holland. Since criticising Islam and the oppression of Muslim women, she has been subject to so many threats and murder attempts she now lives in the US.
In an interview last week I asked her why there was such censorship, denial and silence from so many European liberals in the face of so many attacks on liberalism.
"There is a combination of imperial guilt, and the civil rights movement," she said. "It created an attitude that all cultures are equal, that Western culture is not superior, that Christianity is not superior. This is especially so in the intellectual elite, the media, the education systems, in politics. But for the intellectual elite this belief is only theoretical.
"It is the working-class communities who were the first to experience the realities of immigration and cultural differences. When there were the first protests in these communities about problems with immigration, and about problems with how immigrant women were being treated, the elite immediately turned on them by calling them 'racists'.
"Instead of facing up to this new face of misogyny, the elites pretended it was because of discrimination. The immigrants became the new working class. The proletariat was reinvented …
"Holland's multiculturalism has deprived many Muslim women and children of their rights. It is tolerance for the sake of consensus, but the consensus is empty. Many Muslims never learn Dutch and reject Dutch values of tolerance and personal liberty. I read rants about Islamophobia, but none of this pseudo-intellectualising had anything to do with reality.
"Until I came on the scene, no one wanted to say that the criminal behaviour of so many young Muslim men had anything to do with culture. There is such a resistance to quantifying, to statistics, because everybody knows where the statistics will lead. And if you publish that Muslims commit most violent crimes, there will be violence from the Muslims, and they will be supported by the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Socialist Party, which will explain away this behaviour as 'poverty'."
Faced with the rising tide of bomb attacks, plots, threats, demands and belligerent victimology from a violent, ignorant and sexually repressive subculture, the centre of European civilisation appears to be doing exactly what it did the last time blackshirts were on the march in Europe - appeasing, denying and capitulating.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/appeasement-takes-hold-again-in-europe/2007/02/04/1170523957031.html?page=2
http://www.myspace.com/americanvoices
Alecto
02-06-2007, 03:21 PM
My personal favorite anti-radical Islam reads if you're bored at work:
Strength (Part 1) (http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000099.html)
Strength (Part 2) (http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000100.html)
Seeing the Unseen (http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/000136.html)
And here's a blog with regular news updates.
http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/
FISH FOR DINNER MMMMMMMMM
Seafood imports from China raised in untreated sewage
Fish products consumed by Americans treated with dangerous drugs, chemicals
Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56004
Posted: June 4, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
By Joseph Farah
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – China, the leading exporter of seafood to the U.S., is raising most of its fish products in water contaminated with raw sewage and compensating by using dangerous drugs and chemicals, many of which are banned by the Food and Drug Administration.
The stunning news follows WND's report last week that FDA inspectors report tainted food imports from China are being rejected with increasing frequency because they are filthy, are contaminated with pesticides and tainted with carcinogens, bacteria and banned drugs.
China has consistently topped the list of countries whose products were refused by the FDA – and that list includes many countries, including Mexico and Canada, who export far more food products to the U.S. than China.
While less than half of Asia has access to sewage treatment plants, aquaculture – the raising of seafood products – has become big business on the continent, especially in China.
In China, No. 1 in aquaculture in the world, 3.7 billion tons of sewage is discharged into rivers, lakes and coastal water – some of which are used by the industry. Only 45 percent of China has any sewage-treatment facilities, putting the country behind the rest of Asia.
According to a new report by Food & Water Watch, the aquaculture industry crams fish and shellfish into facilities to maximize production, generating large amounts of waste, contaminating water and spreading disease if left untreated. The industry tries to control the spread of bacterial infections, disease and parasites by pumping the food supplies with antibiotics and the waters with fungicides and pesticides.
Many of the products used are banned in the U.S. Traces of these drugs have been showing up increasingly in imports – especially from China.
"In addition to potentially making people sick, overuse of such drugs is contributing to antibiotic resistance, a growing public health concern in a variety of foods," says Food & Water Watch in its report "Import Alert: Government Fails Consumers, Falls Short on Seafood Inspections."
But the grave news on China's seafood exports is worsened by the FDA's inability to inspect imports. The percentage of important seafood shipments with samples taken for laboratory inspection has decreased over the past four years, from 0.88 percent in 2003 to 0.59 percent in 2006 – this while seafood consumption in the U.S. was rising and more of that seafood was coming from China.
China became the leading exporter of seafood to the U.S. in 2004 – and amounts are rising fast. Chinese imports were up 14 percent in 2005 and 23 percent in 2006. This year, so far, they are up 34 percent over 2006.
"China's imports of aquaculture products are increasing despite the country's history of violations for veterinary drug residues," says Food & Water Watch. "Between 2003 and 2006, 35 percent of all refusals for veterinary drug residues were found on shipments from China. In 2006, 62.4 percent of all refusals for veterinary drug residues came from there."
Every year, one in four Americans is afflicted with a food-borne illness, with seafood being responsible for about 18 percent of 20 percent of those cases – or 15.2 million.
"The Food and Drug Administration can't find what it's not looking for," says Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter. "FDA's appalling record on inspecting seafood imports is irresponsible and poses a real threat to both the health of the American public and to homeland security."
Meanwhile, as the heat on China's export policies increases, Beijing is adamant that it is doing nothing wrong, and brands warnings issued by U.S. officials irresponsible – as in the case the latest scare over toothpaste contaminated with diethylene glycol.
"So far we have not received any report of death resulting from using the toothpaste," fumed China's General Administration of Quality Supervision. "The U.S. handling (of this case) is neither scientific nor responsible."
The FDA issued a warning Friday after toothpaste containing DEG was detected in a shipment seized at the border. The government says at least 100 people died after taking cough syrup containing DEG, an industrial solvent used in paint and antifreeze.
China's dismal drug-safety record was underscored this week by a Chinese court's decision to sentence to death the country's former top drug regulator.
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