Posted on 10/17/2007 2:00:08 PM PDT by 300magnum
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush warned on Wednesday a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War III as he tried to shore up international opposition to Tehran amid Russian skepticism over its nuclear ambitions.
Bush was speaking a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has resisted Western pressure to toughen his stance over Iran's nuclear program, made clear on a visit to Tehran that Russia would not accept any military action against Iran.
At a White House news conference, Bush expressed hope Putin would brief him on his talks in Tehran and said he would ask him to clarify recent remarks on Iran's nuclear activities.
Putin said last week that Russia, which is building Iran's first atomic power plant, would "proceed from the position" that Tehran had no plans to develop nuclear weapons but he shared international concerns that its nuclear programs "should be as transparent as possible."
"The thing I'm interested in is whether or not he continues to harbor the same concerns that I do," Bush said. "When we were in Australia (in September), he reconfirmed to me that he recognizes it's not in the world's interest for Iran to have the capacity to make a nuclear weapon."
Bush, who has insisted he wants a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue, is pushing for a third round of U.N. sanctions against Iran.
Russia, a veto-holding member of the Security Council, backed two sets of limited U.N. sanctions against Iran but has resisted any tough new measures.
Stepping up his rhetoric, Bush said a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a "dangerous threat to world peace."
"We've got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," he said. "So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
PUTIN'S "SPECIAL MESSAGE"
Iran rejects accusations it is seeking to develop a nuclear bomb, saying it wants nuclear technology for peaceful civilian purposes such as power generation, and has refused to heed U.N. Security Council demands to halt sensitive uranium enrichment.
Chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani was quoted by Iran's official IRNA news agency on Wednesday as saying that Putin had delivered a "special message" on its atomic program and other issues. No other details were given.
Putin's visit on Tuesday was watched closely because of Moscow's possible leverage in the Islamic Republic's nuclear standoff with the West. It was the first time a Kremlin chief went to Iran since Josef Stalin in 1943.
Asked about Putin's "special message," U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said he was not aware of any deal or offer put forward by Moscow to Tehran over the nuclear program.
On Russian opposition to Caspian Sea states being used to launch attacks against Iran, Casey reiterated that Bush kept all his options on the table but that the United States was committed to the diplomatic path with Tehran.
(Additional reporting by Frederick Dahl in Tehran and Sue Pleming in Washington)
And IV? How does one define IV in such a way that the described "V" would be distinct from it?
Just riffing off the Podhoretz book — if WW4 is already underway, a new war would be 5.
So you are expecting IV would end before Iran deploys its nukes?
If you consider IV to be underway now, I would expect it would most likely still be underway when Iran steps things up.
“Again I ask - How do you fit all of the armies of the kings into this small area?”
give them blue helmets and make them an international force... representatives of each king...
then keep sending them... wave upon wave.
teeman
.
NEVER FORGET
.
Praise GOD that...
President BUSH has promised...
Freedom’s return to:
Communist Vietnam
Communist North Korea
Communist Cuba
..as well as..
Freedom’s arrival to:
All the Countries of the Middle East
...as America’s own best self defense against future terrorist attacks here at home.
BUSH = TRUMAN
.
NEVER FORGET
.
Does this qualify for the End Times Ping List?
I’ll ping them and they can decide if it’s worth their time.
Thx.
imho, it’s sure worth prayer.
WOULD ALSO APPRECIATE PRAYER FOR MY BODY . . . fighting off something—fever, aches, . . .
Thanks in advance.
cold wars don’t count as “world wars.” 40 million died in ww1. 70 million in ww2.
should have done it before today.
Thanks for the ping!
hey quix you got my prayers for your body. My daughters got a bit of a flu right now, too.
BTW Watched President Bush tonight on cspan....Prayers are needed.
Thanks tons.
Greatly appreciated on all counts.
Nostradamus said they wore blue turbans.
AND IS SHE PISSED!
I'm sure you have access to the Presidential briefings each day, the FBI, CIA and other intel. So I guess I'll have to take your characterization as fact. Thanks for your insight.
Your on my list Quix. Feel better soon.
No I don’t have access to this supposedly golden information provided by the agencies you cite. ButI do know from public sources that we’ve lost nearly 4,000 of our best young men and women, that thousands of others hve been maimed, that the most talented Iraqis have left the country, that this war will cost at least a trillion dollars, and that it has rendered the US dollar, the world’s reserve currency, increasingly worthless. All for what? To depose a worthless dictator who was no threat to the US and actually posed a bulwark to Iran? I don’t need a “presidential briefing” for any of this information; perhaps Mr. Bush and the “Bushbots” should take notice of a few publicly available facts.
He was wrong ... WWIII was fought with everything from pistols to physics and engineering laboratories. The USSR lost.
Thanks to your prayers and God’s Grace,
am feeling much better this morning. PRAISE THE LORD.
THANKS ENORMOUSLY. This is my three-hours-at-one-whack class day.
LUB,
BLPH,
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.