Recently in Iran Category
It's a fairly slow news day (for the moment, anyway), here's a few miscellaneous items:
- Eric Ruth at the WNJ suggests that Delaware businesses will gain from the upcoming bump in Maryland sales tax. Good thing, if it happens, but color me skeptical. Folks wishing to dodge Maryland sales tax already come here to shop. Last night I went to Elkton with the family to shop at the only decent Wal-Mart in the region, and parked in a sea of Delaware-tagged vehicles. It would seem that that sales tax isn't the only thing folks consider in choosing where to shop.
- Fox News has been flogging this story about a dog from the Washington Square area possibly being held for ransom. Not to take away from the story itself, as it's truly difficult not to empathize with the dog-owner's loss, but why is this a national top story for Fox? Have they run out of MAWWs (missing attractive white women)?
- I stayed away from the story about the NIE last week. Opinions on the right are as varied as I've seen, and the left predictably has flip-flopped on their view of our intelligence agencies. Before, they were untrustworthy tools of the administration, suddenly the CIA is back in vogue now that the meme is convenient to the reflexive purveyors of hatred toward all things Bush. All kinda predictable, I suppose. A couple of points, though. Applying pressure on a rival nation and actually going to war are very different, and I've seen nothing substantive to indicate that Bush has crossed that line or even plans to. With even many on the right (including me) conceding that the administration has made plenty of errors, why does the left feel compelled to engage in fantastic conspiracy hype and downright dishonesty?
- Okay, one more thought on the NIE. In industry, it's not uncommon to design something even go so far as to prototype it, then shelve the design while waiting for some outside event to occur, such as new availability of raw materials, or the maturing of complementary technology, or an anticipated change in market conditions or politics. The elephant in the middle of the room regarding Iran is that they did indeed have a nuclear weapons program, and they are still enriching uranium they don't need. Isn't it possible that they shelved it for reasons having nothing to do with us? Wouldn't it be folly to assume that "shelved" is the same as "scrapped"? Just asking...
- On the CIA's destroyed interrogation tapes - everyone knows that we waterboarded two or three terrorists a few years ago, and haven't done it since. Does a tape of an event already admitted to really add anything new to anyone's argument on either side? Other than to be used as fuel for demagoguery, that is. Speaking of which, all of the "obstruction of justice" talk seems to be a little overboard in light of the fact that no one was objecting to the CIA's techniques at the time, including some key Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Jane Harman, Bob Graham, and John D. Rockefeller. But I don't hear anyone calling for investigations on their complicities in the matter...
- I agree that Huckabee is starting to look like he has too many warts to go the distance. Shame, too, as he seemed pretty likable before his record started coming to light. Maybe there's still time for Fred to come alive...
- Lots of folks seem to agree with the sentiments in this opinion piece. I can't remember Ron Williams' message, though - all that stuck with me was the childish and petty tone of the piece. Shame, too, as Ron might have had something important to say...
Sigh. But it all seemed so... so real:
Seriously, though, opinion of this seems to be all over the map, judging by the talking heads I saw on the tube last night. And sadly, too much of it appears to be centered around whether this looks good or bad for the Administration or others.
Me, I'm more concerned about making damn sure we're right before it's too late.
Is that too much to ask?
H/T LGF.
Lamentably, I killed your cat while trying just to sting it. It was crouched, as usual, under one of our bird feeders & I fired from some distance with bird shot.
Had the Iranians been hanging around under his bird feeder in 1979, we might not have a terrorist threat today.
Have been watching C-SPAN and the drama unfolding with Dennis Kucinich's impeachment resolution. Steny Hoyer tried to table the resolution, but the Republicans all switched votes to keep the resolution alive. This was to embarrass the Democrats who are already under fire for the endless and fruitless investigations.
Currently, there's a motion to send it committee, where it could be kept low-key (and unembarrassing to house Dems). Looks like that motion will pass.
Had the Republican's gambit worked, the house would have debated for an hour followed by a vote. Republicans would have had a field day shaming the ludicrous assertions in the resolution, such as "Keeping all options on the table" meaning that Cheney was conspiring to wage war with Iran.
Back later with more...
Update from Yahoo/AP:
Debate on Cheney impeachment avertedWASHINGTON - House Democrats on Tuesday narrowly managed to avert a bruising debate on a proposal to impeach Dick Cheney after Republicans, in a surprise maneuver, voted in favor of taking up the measure.
Bruising indeed. It would have been fun to watch, too. Statement from the White House in the same article:
The White House, in a statement, said Democrats were shirking responsibilities on issues such as childrens' health insurance "and yet they find time to waste an afternoon on an impeachment vote against the vice president. ... This is why Americans shake their head in wonder about the priorities of this Congress."
And I managed to make it all the way through the post without exploiting the extraterrestrial angle!
Only in the extraterrestrially-addled brain of Dennis Kucinich could the phrase " ... if we fail in Iraq, it will advantage Iran" be transmogrified into "From the Oval Office on down, this Administration has been targeting Iran as the next domino it wants to topple..."
Shame and embarrassment over being associated with an obvious loony like Kucinich is surely going to cause a drop in the numbers for the next national poll about UFO sightings and abductions.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Friday he would step down as Palestinian prime minister if that would persuade the West to lift debilitating economic sanctions.
Now if he can convince the rest of his pals to join him, we might have something.
Early yesterday morning I emailed another blogger on an unrelated topic, but included my thoughts on the NYT's story:
I'm staying away from the NYT nuke story for now. The article was clear that the documents were pre-gulf war, I think some of the arguments being made on the right are a little thin. More info is sure to come out, maybe I'll be proven wrong. I hope so. Right now, though, I see this as a negative, albeit a minor one that probably won't have much effect on the election.
I think the Times' story hasn't even lived up to my mild prediction, as apparently the story hasn't gained much traction. Indeed, Dan Riehl notes:
More than 12 hours after the New York Times dropped perhaps what they thought was a nuclear bomb on the Bush administration four days before the coming election, a look at Google News puts the story at second tier status with no more than 265 additional stories linked to the breaking news.
The argument from the left that this somehow helped Iran will sway few outside the BDS echo-chamber. Iran has worked on their program for years with plenty of help, it's unlikely these old Iraq documents will help them.
As for the right side, while I feel that there should now be some increased attention to all the captured documents, the notion that the Times has somehow validated all 48,000 boxes of them is somewhat silly. I would like to think we can come up with a better vetting standard than the New York Times. (yes, I know, Ed isn't being entirely serious with this. But he was among the first to say it, and many other blogs are flogging this as if it's a big "gotcha", and I simply don't think it is.)
Folks on my side are also hyping the fact that the documents place yet another dagger in the heart of the "BushLied" meme. ""Iraq is a year away from building a nuclear bomb" was supposed to be a myth, a lie that Bush used to trick us into war."
True, but there were more than enough daggers in that heart already, and yet the "BushLied" meme is still alive and well. It's a comforting and fun rallying cry for the anti-Bush/anti-war crowds, they're not going to stop beating that drum no matter how much truth they ignore. Just this week, Kerry repeated it:
John McCain ought to ask for an apology from Dick Cheney for misleading America. He ought to ask for an apology from the president for lying about the nuclear program in Africa.
Of course, when the higher levels on the left still say it, the low will follow. For example, this deserter:
"The whole story behind it, it all feels like a big lie," Glass said. "I ain't fighting for no lie."
Hmmm. Kerry might have been right about this particular fellow - he's obviously not applied himself to his studies. Point is, though, the article in the Times turned out to be a big, fat, hairy zero.
If this is the best the NYT can muster, maybe Tuesday won't be such a disaster after all.
Oh - something struck me as I read the response to the article by Rep. Hoekstra, specifically this paragraph:
"With respect to the possibility that documents may have been released that should not have been released, I have always been clear that the Director of National Intelligence should take whatever steps necessary to withhold sensitive documents. In fact, as of today the DNI had withheld 59 percent of the documents that it had reviewed, and has become more risk-averse over time. If the DNI believes that the documents that were released were in the safe 40 percent, imagine what the 60 percent being withheld must contain.
Am I the only one who thinks Rep. Hoekstra isn't waxing rhetorical? And could the media be sedate in their coverage of this because they fear being thrown off track by that "60 percent"?
Just asking...
Iran continues it's quest for nuclear weaponry:
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has expanded its controversial nuclear work by starting a second cascade of centrifuges to enrich uranium, a semiofficial news agency reported Wednesday.The news came as world powers moved toward introducing a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council that would impose limited sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to cease enrichment — a process that can produce material for nuclear power reactors or weapons.
The Iranian Students News Agency quoted an anonymous official Wednesday as saying that Iran had started a second cascade of centrifuges two weeks ago and that "gas will be injected into the cascade during the current week."
"We will exploit the new product from the injection," ISNA quoted the official as saying, meaning that Iran would use the enriched uranium obtained by inserting gas into the centrifuges.
Will we soon be seeing more creepy celebrating as before?
In a stunning display of firm resolve, the major nations blink:
VIENNA, Austria - In a major concession, world powers are no longer demanding that Iran commit to a prolonged moratorium on uranium enrichment and are now asking only for a suspension during talks on its nuclear program, diplomats and officials said Wednesday.
This is starting to look like a Monty Python movie. How much longer before we threaten to "taunt" them?
This is exactly the kind of weakness that will ensure that any talks will be non-productive. The world has told Iran to expect more concessions.
Update (6:20 AM EST): As predicted.
Breaking over at AP/Yahoo:
VIENNA, Austria - Six world powers meeting to discuss the crisis over Iran's nuclear program have reached an agreement on a package of incentives and penalties to be presented to Tehran, diplomats told The Associated Press on Thursday.The diplomats were speaking on the sidelines of a meeting between officials from France, Britain, Germany, the United States, Russia and China. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to make a public announcement.
I'll go out on a limb and predict Iran will not accept the package. Having a nuke gives Tehran such enormous regional power (and beyond) that I feel they would turn down any offer no matter how generous. More as this develops...
NEW YORK - Iran's president declared in a letter to President Bush that democracy had failed worldwide and lamented "an ever-increasing global hatred" of the U.S. government. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice swiftly rejected the letter, saying it made no progress toward resolving questions about Tehran's suspect nuclear program.
"This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort," Rice said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It isn't addressing the issues that we're dealing with in a concrete way."
Rather than the important diplomatic opening Iran bragged of, it appears that it was just a more personal way to thumb their noses at the rest of the world. I see a distinct pattern to the rhetoric described in the AP article:
...it lambasted Bush for his handling of the Sept. 11 attacks, accused the media of spreading lies about the Iraq war and railed against the United States for its support of Israel. It questioned whether the world would be a different place if the money spent on Iraq had been spent to fight poverty.
"Would not your administration's political and economic standing have been stronger?" the letter said. "And I am most sorry to say, would there have been an ever- increasing global hatred of the American government?snip...
In the letter, Ahmadinejad says that people around the world have lost faith in international institutions and questions whether the Bush administration has covered up some evidence surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks.
Liberalism and Western-style democracy "have not been able to help realize the ideals of humanity," said the letter, obtained late Monday by The Associated Press. "Today these two concepts have failed. Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the Liberal democratic systems."
The Iranian government spokesman who disclosed the communication did not mention the nuclear standoff and said the missive spoke to the larger U.S.-Iranian conflict. Gholam-Hossein Elham said the letter proposed "new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation of the world."
Yet the document makes no concrete proposals and does not suggest new talks. Instead, Ahmadinejad suggests that Bush should look inward, saying there was an increasing hatred worldwide of the United States, and that history shows how "repressive and cruel governments do not survive."
"How much longer will the blood of the innocent men, women and children be spilled on the streets, and people's houses destroyed over their heads? Are you pleased with the current condition of the world? Do you think present policies can continue?"
I'm sure others will see it as well - this reads like a speech at an ANSWER anti-war rally combined with the latest Democratic talking points. The Bush administration is repressive and cruel, we've wasted our money in Iraq when we could have been solving third-world starvation, it's a failed administration, even a little bone was tossed to the 9/11 conspiracy theorists. The mention of Israel is hardly news, but makes for a well-rounded letter from a government that can multitask anything as long as one of the tasks is hating Israel.
While timed to coincide with discussions by the UN security council, it appears that Ahmadinejad is also trying to cozy up to the American left and Europe. Considering the constant drumbeat of negativity from the media combined with recent polls, it's not surprising. I suppose that Cindy Sheehan, John Conyers, and Ray McGovern will find their hearts warmed at the discovery of new friends, but the left will maintain an embarassed silence about much of the letter's content.
In the Iranian media, this is being billed as diplomacy - Iran is "reaching out" to the great Satan, and expects positive results. I expect that this is the only success Mahmoud will get from the letter, as the insults to the U.S. and Israel plays well to his own people.
AP claims to have the whole letter - I wonder if our media will publish the entire thing?
Britain and France have introduced a resolution to the UN Security Council:
UNITED NATIONS - Britain and France introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday demanding that Iran abandon its uranium enrichment program, possibly setting the stage for sanctions if Tehran does not comply.
Several ambassadors said they hoped the resolution, backed by the United States, will be adopted before a meeting of foreign ministers in New York next Monday. Yet other diplomats questioned whether negotiations could wrap up that quickly.
The draft could lead to a showdown with Russia, which has arms and technology deals with Iran, as well as China. Both nations have said they adamantly oppose tough council action, and the two could use their veto-power on the council to spike it.
And of course, as we know from experience, the "UN Security Council" phase is the most productive...
At least it is when compared to the "useless investigation" and "refusal to act" phases.
After all the statements about eliminating Israel from it's highest officials, apparently the threats from one of it's generals caused Iran to consider what the rest of the world thought about their doomsday policies - well, at least their military is getting worried, anyway:
UNITED NATIONS - The Iranian military on Wednesday rejected a statement from a top Revolutionary Guards commander that Israel would be Iran's first target in response to any U.S. attack, an Iranian news agency reported.
Brig. Gen. Alireza Afshar, deputy to the chief of Iran's military staff, said the statement by Mohammad Ebrahim Dehghani "is his personal view and has no validity as far as the Iranian military officials are concerned," according to the Entekhab News Agency.
A translation of Afshar's remarks was provided to The Associated Press.
Dehghani was quoted by the Iranian Student News Agency on Tuesday as saying: "We have announced that wherever (in Iran) America does make any mischief, the first place we target will be Israel."
Of course, maybe they're backing off because they don't yet have the tools they want to fulfill Mahmoud's sick dream...
in that it was much more busy than most.
Protests from the left that there is too much war in Iraq, followed by protests from the left that there isn't enough in Darfur.
Colin Powell confirms that different folks have different ideas, and the left goes nuts because the President followed the Pentagon's plan instead of the State department's.
Bush gets lots of laughs from the press, and a lefty comedian's jokes are answered with the sound of chirping crickets.
Iran is starting to fear the UN Security Council, so they're now sqirming to avoid them.
And we've still got tomorrow's May Day to get through as the illegals and their supporters protest for something they had a better chance of getting if they hadn't.
And in spite of all the negativity from the press and the left, we're still winning in Iraq. The goal of having the Iraqis take over their own security isn't yet achieved, but is in sight. And Al Qaeda in Iraq is running out of nutcases willing to blow themselves up.
Next week will have to be busy indeed to top it.
VIENNA, Austria - The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that Iran has defied a U.N. Security Council call for a freeze on enriching uranium and its lack of cooperation with nuclear inspectors was a "matter of concern."
Meanwhile, Mahmoud is thrilling crowds with his atomic Rhett Butler imitation:
Via AP/Yahoo:
JERUSALEM - Iran has received its first batch of North Korean-made surface-to-surface missiles that put European countries within firing range, Israel's military intelligence chief said in an interview published Thursday.
The BM-25 missiles have a range of 1,550 miles and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the Haaretz daily reported.
The report came as U.N. members consider slapping sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its uranium enrichment. The United States, Israel and other Western countries say Iran is trying to get nuclear arms, but the Islamic regime says its atomic program is for civilian purposes only.
And I'm sure that these are peaceful civilian missiles. Right?
Hey - does this mean we get to see the Neutron Dancers again?
Via AP/Yahoo:
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hinted Monday that Iran was considering withdrawing from the worldwide Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and said he did not think the U.N. Security Council would impose sanctions on Iran.
In other words, "we're gonna do what we want, and you don't have the spine to stop us". He also mentioned Israel:
"We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot not logically continue to live," he said.
Of note is that the press got to see the jovial side of this genocidal maniac:
Ahmadinejad often gives long, rambling speeches but Monday was one of the rare occasions when he allowed foreign journalists to question him. He seemed to enjoy the encounter, joking and bantering with reporters.
Mahmoud gave the speech in front of a poster showing a child holding up a glowing object:
Kinda sick if you think about it. Spouting hatred and genocide in front of doves and children used as props shows Mahmoud to be something else entirely:
Added: I wonder if the children Ahmadinejad uses as props really understand what they're celebrating?
This week, the terror of Tehran raises the spectre of higher oil prices:
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the crude oil prices now at record levels still were below their "real value," state-run Tehran radio reported.
In his first remarks on the current price of oil, the hard-line Iranian leader also said developed countries were benefiting most from the high prices.
"The global oil price has not reached its real value yet. The products derived from crude oil are sold at prices dozens of times higher than those charged by oil-producing countries," the radio quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
He did not say what oil prices should be.
Today's must read is a Mark Steyn article in the WSJ online - "Facing Down Iran"
He spells out the differences between a nuclear Iran and a nuclear anywhere else:
"If, say, Norway or Ireland acquired nuclear weapons, we might regret the "proliferation," but we wouldn't have to contemplate mushroom clouds over neighboring states. In that sense, the civilized world has already lost: to enter into negotiations with a jurisdiction headed by a Holocaust-denying millenarian nut job is, in itself, an act of profound weakness--the first concession, regardless of what weaselly settlement might eventually emerge."
Mr. Steyn offers a pretty complete picture of the stakes involved - go read it all.
In response to a few emails on an earlier post - yes, I had a few others:
Right on the heels of the announcement that Iran had successfully enriched uranium, their leader is again yapping about the destruction of Isreal:
TEHRAN, Iran - The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.
"Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm."
Ahmadinejad provoked a world outcry in October when he said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
On Friday, he repeated his previous line on the Holocaust, saying: "If such a disaster is true, why should the people of this region pay the price? Why does the Palestinian nation have to be suppressed and have its land occupied?"
The land of Palestine, he said, referring to the British mandated territory that includes all of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, "will be freed soon."
He did not say how this would be achieved, but insisted to the audience of at least 900 people: "Believe that Palestine will be freed soon."
"The existence of this (Israeli) regime is a permanent threat" to the Middle East, he added. "Its existence has harmed the dignity of Islamic nations."
The three-day conference on Palestine is being attended by officials of Hamas, the ruling party in the Palestinian territories.
"eliminated by one storm" doesn't sound good, does it?
Yesterday, Iran anounced the successful enrichment of uranium:
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the enrichment success Tuesday in a nationally televised ceremony, saying the country's nuclear ambitions are peaceful and warning the West that trying to force Iran to abandon enrichment would "cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians."
As if we didn't have it already, thanks to years of conditioning from the Iranian government. The ceremony featured the passing around of samples of enriched uranium:
To show how serious and responsible about nuclear power they are, some of those samples were placed in the hands of dancers - that's right, dancers:
In light of all the statements by Ahmadinejad and the rest of his government in recent months, the dancers look out of place against the doves and blue sky. Indeed, they remind one of images like these:
The symbolism is the same, except that Iran isn't using rifles...
Alexandra says we are "Out of Time" (a must read, BTW). Perhaps. I'd like to think there may yet be time - provided we don't get blinded by the doves and flowers. Otherwise, the next glitzy presentation from Tehran may show us how late it really is.
Update (3:10 PM 25APR06): Welcome American Thinker readers (and thanks to J.R. Dunn for the link)! Please feel free to look around while you're here!
In the latest of numerous threats from Iran, from Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi:
"If (they) politicize our nuclear case, we will use any means. We are rich in energy resources. We have control over the biggest and the most sensitive energy route of the world," Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
For the benefit of those who had Jay Bennish for geography, here is a link to a map showing the Strait of Hormuz, the "biggest and most sensitive energy route" that Mostafa refers to. 90% of the oil the US gets from the Gulf passes through the strait.
It should be noted that Iran doesn't seriously argue the merits of their nuclear program anymore. Indeed, they can't, considering the statements their leaders keep making. That they now attempt blackmail should convince all of their intentions.
Iran has asked the United States to allow direct flights between the two countries after a break of more than two decades, a senior civil aviation official said on Thursday.
The request comes as the United States and its European Union allies are pressing for the Islamic Republic to be reported to the United Nations Security Council where it could face possible sanctions for its nuclear program.
"We sent a letter to the relevant American officials on Wednesday, announcing Iran's willingness to resume direct flights," Nourollah Rezai-Niaraki, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, told state television.
He said the decision to make the request was taken by hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to demand from the large Iranian community living in the United States.
"They have repeatedly complained about wasting time and losing their baggage on connecting flights," the official said.
Iranian airliners have been barred from the United States since the US government broke ties with Tehran after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
An Iranian civil aviation spokesman said Ahmadinejad's decision did not signal any move to try to improve relations between the two old foes. "I hope American officials do not adopt a political stance in making a decision on this request," said spokesman Reza Jafarzadeh.
The United States and the EU accuse Iran of trying to make nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Tehran says it needs nuclear technology to satisfy booming domestic electricity demand.
Iran is subject to US economic sanctions imposed in 1996, under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. Due to the sanctions, Iran has struggled to maintain its ageing fleet of aircraft, mostly US-built Boeing planes bought before the 1979 revolution.
And right on heels of their decision to resume nuclear development. Hmmmm. I really hope that no one in our government seriously considers this...
via AP/Yahoo:
Iran Leader Reiterates Holocaust Doubts
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reiterated his doubt about the Holocaust and called on Muslim nations to take a proactive stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, state media reported Tuesday.
The president's comments, published on Iranian state television's Web site, were the second time in a week he has expressed doubt about the Nazi genocide of Jews during World War II. In October, Ahmadinejad also said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
"If the killing of Jews in Europe is true," the Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a speech at an Islamic conference in Tehran, "and the Zionists are being supported because of this excuse, why should the Palestinian nation pay the price?"
You really have to wonder what his game is. Of course, this kind of speech is popular among his citizens, but last time he said this stuff, the rest of his government had to backpedal like crazy to the international media after widespread criticism. And this certainly doesn't help those that support their desire to build a nuclear bomb nuclear power plant. This is going to be a further embarrassment for Russia.
It will be interesting indeed to monitor reaction from the rest of the world as this progresses.
Other coverage: Yahoo/AFP, Reuters, Al Jazeera
