Posted on 11/14/2004 9:45:03 PM PST by DoctorZIn
The US media still largely ignores news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Tony Snow of the Fox News Network has put it, “this is probably the most under-reported news story of the year.” As a result, most American’s are unaware that the Islamic Republic of Iran is NOT supported by the masses of Iranians today. Modern Iranians are among the most pro-American in the Middle East. In fact they were one of the first countries to have spontaneous candlelight vigils after the 911 tragedy (see photo).
There is a popular revolt against the Iranian regime brewing in Iran today. I began these daily threads June 10th 2003. On that date Iranians once again began taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Today in Iran, most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy.
The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movement in Iran from being reported. Unfortunately, the regime has successfully prohibited western news reporters from covering the demonstrations. The voices of discontent within Iran are sometime murdered, more often imprisoned. Still the people continue to take to the streets to demonstrate against the regime.
In support of this revolt, Iranians in America have been broadcasting news stories by satellite into Iran. This 21st century news link has greatly encouraged these protests. The regime has been attempting to jam the signals, and locate the satellite dishes. Still the people violate the law and listen to these broadcasts. Iranians also use the Internet and the regime attempts to block their access to news against the regime. In spite of this, many Iranians inside of Iran read these posts daily to keep informed of the events in their own country.
This daily thread contains nearly all of the English news reports on Iran. It is thorough. If you follow this thread you will witness, I believe, the transformation of a nation. This daily thread provides a central place where those interested in the events in Iran can find the best news and commentary. The news stories and commentary will from time to time include material from the regime itself. But if you read the post you will discover for yourself, the real story of what is occurring in Iran and its effects on the war on terror.
I am not of Iranian heritage. I am an American committed to supporting the efforts of those in Iran seeking to replace their government with a secular democracy. I am in contact with leaders of the Iranian community here in the United States and in Iran itself.
If you read the daily posts you will gain a better understanding of the US war on terrorism, the Middle East and why we need to support a change of regime in Iran. Feel free to ask your questions and post news stories you discover in the weeks to come.
If all goes well Iran will be free soon and I am convinced become a major ally in the war on terrorism. The regime will fall. Iran will be free. It is just a matter of time.
DoctorZin
The message of "DEATH, KILL, AND MORE DEATH" comes loud and clear from the representitives of the "religion of peace", sigh.
I wouldn't even call it a hudna. They most likely haven't stopped a thing. Why should they? No one can tell what they're doing.
Sure sounds good to say that they're making some kind of concessions, though, doesn't it? And Europe buys it every time.
"The message of "DEATH, KILL, AND MORE DEATH" comes loud and clear from the representitives of the "religion of peace", sigh."
They portray themselves as muslims. The regime is/are Khomeinists.
Fanatics are never true representatives of ANY religion.
The report will include an agreement Iran reached with EU states last week to halt uranium enrichment plans. Iran is facing a 25 November deadline to comply with an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution ordering the suspension. The agreement to halt enrichment is expected to ward off the threat of UN sanctions, correspondents say. The IAEA report will cover two decades of what the US views as clandestine nuclear activities aimed at developing the capacity to build nuclear weapons. Sanction threat easing IAEA board members from 35 countries will review the report on 25 November before deciding if Iran is in breach of a resolution, passed in September, calling for the suspension of uranium enrichment and related activities. The US has pushed for the IAEA to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions. The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna, where the IAEA is based, says if the European enrichment freeze can be verified over the next few days, the US is unlikely to have enough support to send Iran to the Security Council. The EU has offered to Iran increased co-operation on trade and energy in exchange for the freeze. Successful uranium enrichment could be seen as a key stage in the development of weapons-grade nuclear material. Agreement 'temporary' On Sunday chief Iranian negotiator Hassan Rohani said the suspension would be in force until a final settlement is reached. Speaking in Tehran, Mr Rohani said Iran would suspend "almost all" its enrichment activities until a long-term agreement on Iran's nuclear programme is reached. Talks will begin next month, he added. Another senior negotiator, Hossain Mousavian, told Iranian state television the agreement was a "confidence-building" move and not a legal obligation. He stressed that the suspension was temporary, the Associated Press news agency reported. A deal reached last year between the EU and Iran on a uranium-enrichment freeze later unravelled. Iran has said it has a legal right to nuclear energy - and in particular to securing their own source of fuel for power stations, rather than being dependent on outsiders. |
TEHERAN - Iran will “suspend” uranium enrichment but will never agree to a total halt, Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday after a crucial deal on easing nuclear concerns was struck with Britain, France and Germany.
“We stayed within our red lines, and this red line meant we could suspend enrichment but not stop it,” foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.
Faced with the threat of being referred to the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities, Iran agreed late Sunday to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment-related activities in a deal with the three European Union states.
“In the text, we insisted on the fact that the suspension is a voluntary decision and not a legal obligation,” Asefi asserted. ”Iran’s acceptance is political.”
“This is an important change. In the past, the Europeans insisted on Iran stopping its enrichment programme, but the question now is how Iran can continue its programme without worrying other countries.”
He said the accord “recognises the right of Iran to master nuclear technology.”
While Iran insists it only wants to make fuel for a nuclear reactor to generate electricity, there are fears that once the fuel cycle has been mastered the Islamic republic could choose to enrich its uranium to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has consistently refused to halt its fuel cycle work, saying such activities for peaceful purposes are the right of any signatory of the NPT.
The UN and France are creating a "Nukes for Oil" program.
Filed at 9:45 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The single greatest danger facing humanity, President Bush says, is the threat of nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands.
So in the next four years, Bush looks to work with other nations to prevent countries from developing nuclear weapons, to secure and dismantle weapons that already exist and stop black-market trafficking of nuclear materials.
This isn't exactly the arms control of past presidents -- the lengthy negotiations and detailed agreements, mostly between the United States and the Soviet Union or Russia over nuclear stockpiles, missile defense and weapons testing.
Instead, this is arms control rooted in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
``Those attacks also raised the prospect of even worse dangers -- of other weapons in the hands of other men,'' Bush said in February. ``The greatest threat before humanity today is the possibility of secret and sudden attack with chemical or biological or radiological or nuclear weapons.''
Bush has said terrorism is a global problem and he's looking for a multinational solution. He has worked with other nations to stop North Korea and Iran from developing nuclear programs. He has promoted new programs to encourage countries to intercept weapons components and to help nations secure or remove radioactive materials.
He has also promised to expand on the 1991 Nunn-Lugar program for dismantling weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union and finding work for former weapons scientists.
The program's co-founder, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said he will propose legislation this week to eliminate bureaucratic snags and to create a new program aimed at dismantling conventional weapons. He said he has worked with the administration on the plans.
But Democrats and some analysts say the president's efforts don't reflect the urgency of the threat. And they say his ability to rally nations behind his arms control measure has been undermined by his disdain for older weapons treaties and the faulty U.S. intelligence on Iraq's weapons programs.
Jack Mendelsohn, a U.S. arms control negotiator in the 1970s and '80s, said U.S. credibility on identifying nuclear threats ``is only slightly greater than zero'' because of Iraq.
When the United States describes dangers in Iran or North Korea's nuclear programs, ``the other countries say, `Yeah, but you guys tend to go off the deep end and you exaggerate,''' he said.
But to the administration, the threats from both nations are real. They are the two remaining points on Bush's ``axis of evil'' now that Iraq's Saddam Hussein has been toppled, and both are considered sponsors of terrorism.
The United States is working with South Korea, China, Russia and Japan in talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapon program. It is looking for France, Germany and Britain to persuade Iran to indefinitely suspend its uranium enrichment program. If no agreement is reached, the United States wants the U.N. Security Council to consider sanctions. Iran says its nuclear program is only for generating electricity.
To prevent problems similar to those in Iran, the administration is seeking support for protocols to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to make it harder for countries to use nuclear energy programs as a cover for weapons production.
Bush has shown less interest in traditional arms treaties. The one major agreement he signed with Russia, the Moscow Treaty, called for a two-thirds reduction in strategic nuclear warheads by 2012. But it requires weapons only to be removed from service, not destroyed, and either side could easily withdraw.
Bush withdrew the United States from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and is working on a limited missile defense system. He opposes the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which was never ratified by the Senate. Although his administration hasn't conducted tests, it has worked to speed up the time needed for tests to be conducted. He has also pushed for research on new types of nuclear weapons.
Some analysts say the president's rejection of older arms-control efforts will make it harder for him to persuade countries to agree to his nonproliferation proposals.
``It gives other countries an excuse,'' said Jim Goodby, who held various arms control positions from the 1950s to 1990s. ``If a country says we would rather not do something that constrains us, all they have to do is point to the U.S. behavior and they can justify it.''
Some analysts believe the greatest nuclear threat to the United States could come from Pakistan.
Bush has cited as a success the breakup of a proliferation network headed by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan, and President Pervez Musharraf has become an important ally in the fight against terrorism. But Islamic militants are active in Pakistan and its politics are turbulent.
Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said instability in Pakistan could ``mean a hemorrhaging of nuclear expertise, materials and possibly even weapons themselves.''
``Our policy toward Pakistan is basically the hope that everything stays OK,'' he said.
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Iran told the United Nations atomic watchdog on Sunday it would suspend uranium enrichment and processing activities as part of a deal with the European Union to avert any U.N. Security Council sanctions.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, hailed the deal on Monday at a weekly news conference, saying: "These were very important talks and the parties made the best decision.
"Accepting the suspension is a politically motivated move. In the agreement it says it is not a legal obligation for Iran and Iran has voluntarily accepted this," he said.
Iran, which denies U.S. accusations its atomic energy programme is a front for a nuclear weapons bid, has said the suspension will remain in place while it and the European Union discuss a lasting solution to its nuclear case.
The EU -- in talks with Iran led by Britain, Germany and France -- wants the oil-rich country to give up its nuclear fuel cycle activities like uranium enrichment for good.
In return the EU is prepared to offer Iran a range of incentives including help with a civilian nuclear programme and a possible trade deal. But Iran has said it will never give up its enrichment technology.
Asefi stressed that the talks -- and enrichment suspension -- would be brief.
"The talks will be for a short period of time ... and in the agreement it has been emphasised that Iran has the right to develop peaceful nuclear technology," he said.
The talks are due to commence on December 15 and would be handled by separate working groups for political, security, technology and economic issues, Asefi said.
He said a team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors now in Iran could verify the suspension.
Diplomats say Iran's decision to suspend enrichment should be enough to ensure a relatively favourable report at the IAEA's board meeting on November 25 and avoid referral to the U.N. Security Council which could have placed sanctions on Iran.
Text of EU - Iran nuclear agreement |
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| 15-11-2004, 13:57 | ||
On Monday (Nov. 15), the Mehr News Agency published the final text of the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the European Union. |
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CIA plans to purge its agency
Sources say White House has ordered new chief to eliminate officers who were disloyal to Bush
BY KNUT ROYCE
WASHINGTON BUREAU
November 14, 2004
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell and three other Cabinet members submitted their resignations, a senior administration official said Monday, as the shake-up of President Bush's second-term team escalated.
Besides Powell, who had argued Bush's case for ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein before a skeptical U.N. Security Council in February 2003, others whose resignations were confirmed Monday included Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Education Secretary Rod Paige and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
The departures of Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans had been announced last week. The resignations revealed Monday bring to six - out of 15 - the number of Cabinet members to leave so far.
Bush already has chosen White House counsel Alberto Gonzales to succeed Ashcroft.
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The White House was preparing an announcement. According to one official, Powell expects that his departure date will be sometime in January. It was not immediately clear whether he would leave before Bush's second inauguration, on Jan 20.
Most of the speculation on a successor has centered on U.N. Ambassador John Danforth, a Republican and former U.S. senator from Missouri, and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Abraham, a former senator from Michigan, joined the administration after he lost a bid for re-election, becoming the nation's 10th energy secretary. If he stays at the post until the end of this term, as is planned, he would become the longest-serving secretary at the department.
Sources said that Abraham intends to stay in Washington, where he plans to work in private law practice. Abraham struggled in attempt to get Congress to endorse the Bush administration's broad energy agenda, but was unable to convince Congress to enact energy legislation.
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The leading candidate to replace Paige is Margaret Spellings, Bush's domestic policy adviser who helped shape his school agenda when he was the Texas governor.
Paige, 71, the nation's seventh education secretary, is the first black person to serve in the job. He grew up in segregated Mississippi and built a career on a belief that education equalizes opportunity, moving from college dean and school superintendent to education chief.
The daughter of a California peach grower, Veneman, 55, was the nation's first woman agriculture secretary. Speculation on a potential replacement has centered on Chuck Conner, White House farm adviser, Democratic Rep. Charles Stenholm of Texas, who lost his seat in the Nov. 2 elections, Allen Johnson, the chief U.S. negotiator on agricultural issues and Bill Hawks, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs.
Powell has had a controversial tenure in the secretary of state's job, reportedly differing on some key issues at various junctures with Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. Powell, however, has generally had good relations with his counterparts around the world, although his image was strained by the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
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"It's been a joy to work with Colin Powell," British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said. He praised Powell as "a unique figure" who had made the transition "from being a great soldier to being a great statesman and diplomat."
Powell, who submitted his resignation letter to Bush last Friday, was scheduled to meet later Monday with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and was to attend a meeting of Asian officials in Chile Wednesday and a multinational conference on Iraq next week.
He told some two dozen staff members of his projected departure at the start of the day.
For many months, Powell had been viewed as a one-term secretary of state but he has always been vague about his intentions. He had said repeatedly in recent weeks that he serves at "the pleasure of the president."
Powell's role in shaping foreign policy was one of promoting moderation and traditional diplomatic alliances with friendly nations. His influence was measured, though, since most of Bush's other senior advisers generally took a harder line and they often prevailed.
Earlier, after the 9-11 attacks, Powell helped fashion a fragile coalition of countries for the war against terrorism, careful to request all the help a country could give without pushing any country beyond its limits. Similarly, when leaders decided to end or shorten their troops' duty in postwar Iraq the State Department avoided any harsh reaction, saying simply that it was up to each country to make up its mind.
Iraq has dominated Powell's attention during his nearly four years as secretary of state.
Clever!
"There has been a bipolar U.S. foreign policy in which the president has been receiving sharply differing assessments and advice from his most senior aides," an administration source said. "It has disturbed the president and I'm sure he wants this to end before his second term." moreA major shakeup of the CIA is now in the works, NewsDay.com reported: Sources say White House has ordered new chief to eliminate officers who were disloyal to Bush.
DoctorZin: A regime change in Iran is more likely now than ever.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1280126/posts?page=35#35
Love it!
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LOL, zots from Condi!
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