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Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!
"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail DoctorZin”
Posted on 07/23/2004 11:59:43 PM PDT by DoctorZIn
The US media still largley 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.” 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.
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
I believe he is referring to Iraq. I believe, the Mullahs of Iran must ignite a civil war in Iraq if they are to remain in power. The conflict with Iran is inevitable.
Iran's next
Posted: July 24, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
For at least two years, the Bush-Cheney administration has been demanding that the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors judge Iran to be in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Should the IAEA Board make such a judgment, it would then be obliged to report that to the U.N. Security Council. It would then be up to the Security Council to decide what action, if any, was appropriate.
If the council concluded that Iran's nuclear program constituted a danger to peace in the region, it could pass a resolution that Bush-Cheney could use – once re-elected – as an excuse to do unto Iran in 2005 what they did to Iraq in 2003.
But first Bush-Cheney has to get IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to report that Iran is not fulfilling its NPT obligations.
The IAEA was made the international "Safeguards" inspectorate under Article III of the NPT.
Each non-nuclear-weapon state party to the treaty undertakes to accept Safeguards [as set forth in an agreement to be negotiated and concluded with the International Atomic Energy Agency in accordance with the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Agency's Safeguards system] for the exclusive purpose of verification of the fulfillment of its obligations assumed under the treaty, with a view to preventing diversion of nuclear energy from peaceful uses to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
As it became obvious to Iran and to North Korea that Bush-Cheney intended to invade Iraq – purportedly to eradicate Saddam's illicit nuke program – they reacted very differently.
The state-run Korean News Service of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea issued this statement on April 6, 2003, just days after Bush-Cheney invaded Iraq.
The United States is gravely encroaching upon the sovereignty of Iraq for the purpose of removing the present leadership of Iraq – in defiance of even the elementary international code of conduct – and, furthermore, putting the Mideast region under its control.
The present Iraqi crisis teaches a serious lesson: that the imperialists' inspection of weapons in sovereign states leads to disarming, it spills into a war and any concession and compromise with the imperialists allow the sovereignty and interests of countries and nations to be encroached upon and, in the long run, they will fall victim to imperialism.
The U.S. intends to force the DPRK to disarm itself.
The Iraqi war shows that to allow disarming through [U.N.] inspection does not help avert a war but rather sparks it. Neither international public opinion nor the U.N. Charter could prevent the U.S. from mounting an attack on Iraq.
Only the physical deterrent force – tremendous military deterrent force powerful enough to decisively beat back an attack supported by any ultra-modern weapons – can avert a war and protect the security of the country and the nation. This is a lesson drawn from the Iraqi war.
However, by the time Bush-Cheney invaded Iraq, Iran was already committed to the U.N. inspection route so disdained by the DPRK.
As ElBaradei reported to the board last November, "Iran has committed itself to a policy of full disclosure and has decided, as a confidence-building measure, not only to sign the Additional Protocol – making way for more robust and comprehensive inspections – but also to take the important step of suspending all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and to accept IAEA verification of this suspension."
Furthermore, Iran thought it had an agreement with UK-Germany-France that by committing itself to that policy and pursuing it, UK-Germany-France would ensure that the IAEA would never make a report of NPT non-compliance to the Security Council.
So last month Bush-Cheney attempted to take things directly to the Security Council. They got the leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized countries – which includes UK-Germany-France – to demand that Iran comply with the NPT.
How did Iran react to this Bush-Cheney attempt to end-run the IAEA?
They've resumed enrichment-related activities. The Israelis claim they'll have nukes by 2007.
Bush-Cheney also got the G-8 leaders to call on North Korea to "visibly, verifiably and irreversibly dismantle any nuclear-weapons programs."
How did the DPRK react to the Bush-Cheney attempt to end-run the "six-party" talks?
Do the countries styling themselves "advanced nations" like so much to spark the same miserable crisis as that in Iraq?
The paragraphs related to the DPRK in the document adopted at the G-8 summit only provides it [DPRK] with enough justification to increase its [DPRK] nuclear deterrent force for self-defense with the help of strong catalyst.
Report describes bin Laden contact with Iran and Iraq
By Jim Landers
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Posted on Sat, Jul. 24, 2004
WASHINGTON - In 1999, Saddam Hussein apparently invited Osama bin Laden to move to Iraq. In 2000, Iran reportedly "made a concerted effort to strengthen relations" with al-Qaida.
The Sept. 11 commission's report, which describes both overtures, says bin Laden rebuffed them - more from expedience than conviction. There were other times when he found friends in both places.
The 10 commissioners presented their report Thursday. They found plenty of contacts between al-Qaida and Iraq, and with Iran. They found no evidence directly tying either government to the Sept. 11 attacks.
But after learning that Iran and the Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah helped several of the Sept. 11 hijackers in their travels, they urged the U.S. government to investigate.
Last month, the commission's staff reported that U.S. intelligence agencies had nothing pointing to a partnership between Iraq and al-Qaida. The conclusion raised a furor because it seemed to undermine one of the Bush administration's arguments for war with Iraq.
Vice President Dick Cheney criticized the finding and said he "probably" had access to intelligence the commission hadn't seen.
Commission chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton said they had the same information as Cheney. In Thursday's final report, they put more of it on the table.
In 1990, bin Laden offered to organize an army of Islamic warriors to drive Saddam Hussein's army from Kuwait. Later, he sponsored anti-Saddam Islamists in Iraqi Kurdistan.
This animosity faded after bin Laden made Sudan his base of operations. Sudan persuaded the al-Qaida leader to stop supporting activities against the Iraqi regime.
Bin Laden met a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, in late 1994 or early 1995. Bin Laden wanted weapons and training camps, but nothing apparently came of the requests.
In 1998, after bin Laden had moved to Afghanistan, more contacts were reported. Bin Laden's deputy, Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, reportedly used his own ties with Iraq to arrange a visit to Afghanistan by an Iraqi delegation.
The next year, after four days of U.S.-British air strikes against Iraq, bin Laden was offered a safe haven in Iraq.
That was all the commissioners found.
Cheney has pointed to a Czech intelligence report of a meeting in Prague on April 9, 2001, between an Iraqi diplomat and Mohammed Atta, the leader of the hijackers and the pilot of the first plane to hit the World Trade Center.
The commission looked at the Czech report about a meeting in Prague but concluded the only evidence that it took place was the Czech government's informant. Other evidence placed Atta in Florida both immediately before and after April 9.
"(T)he available evidence does not support the original Czech report," the commission concluded.
Cheney said earlier in July the Czech report hasn't been proven one way or the other.
The Sept. 11 commissioners reported they had no evidence indicating Iraq cooperated with al-Qaida "in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States."
Osama bin Laden's religious beliefs spurn Shiite Muslims as apostates. But he put those convictions aside to establish cooperative ties with Iranian operatives as early as 1991.
The two sides reached an informal agreement covering training and cooperation in actions against Israel and the United States. The Sept. 11 commission concluded this relationship demonstrated that divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims "did not necessarily pose an insurmountable barrier to cooperation in terrorist operations."
The Sept. 11 commission said al-Qaida might have had a role in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia. U.S. investigators have blamed the attack on Saudi Hezbollah and Iran.
Tawfiq bin Attash, a captured senior al-Qaida operative, told U.S. interrogators Iran tried to upgrade the relationship after the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole.
Bin Attash, also known as Khallad, said bin Laden put off the Iranians because he didn't want to alienate wealthy Saudi supporters. But bin Laden accepted an Iranian offer to help al-Qaida's Saudi members get in and out of Afghanistan.
The Saudi government was confiscating passports of Saudis with travel stamps showing they'd gone to Afghanistan via Pakistan. Iranian border guards were instructed to let Saudis into Afghanistan without stamping their passports.
The Sept. 11 commission said as many as 10 of the Saudi hijackers went through between October 2000 and February 2001. The trips were usually arranged by Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Despite the travel arrangements, the Sept. 11 Commission found no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah was aware of the planning for the Sept. 11 attacks. "This topic requires further investigation by the U.S. government," the commission concluded.
Brookings foreign policy specialist O'Hanlon agreed.
"Iran's the problem. Iran's the big problem," he said.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/nation/9231375.htm
Push to secure Iraq's borders reveals Iran's concerns
By Susan Sevareid
ASSOCIATED PRESS
7:56 a.m. July 23, 2004
CAIRO, Egypt – Iran, by offering to host a summit on security for Iraq, is signaling its commitment to stopping the flow of foreign fighters into its neighbor.
The United States has accused Iran of hosting terrorists, including al-Qaeda leaders, and the U.S. Sept. 11 commission said Thursday that Iran had provided safe passage to the al-Qaeda terrorists who carried out the 2001 suicide hijackings. Iranian analysts say the security meeting shows the country is concerned about such accusations.
The new cooperation also shows just how much fear there is of an unstable Iraq, a stronger Islamic extremist network and an angry United States in a region where regimes often shelter each other's opponents.
In recent weeks, the United States has stepped up demands on Iran to do more to stop foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq and accused Tehran of meddling.
Tehran does not deal directly with Washington. But in the initiative on Iraq, it is working with such close U.S. allies as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.
On Wednesday, Iraq proposed an eight-nation conference to discuss the Iraqi infiltration, and Iran agreed to host it. Iraq's five other neighbors and Egypt also will attend, but no date has been set.
Such a gathering in Tehran would be unprecedented after decades of animosity between Iran and some of the nations it has invited – including Iraq, with whom it waged a 1980-1988 war. It is expected to be only the first of regular meetings.
Officials realize it may take time for high-level exchanges to have any calming effect on Iraq, where foreign fighters and Iraqi insurgents are fighting U.S.-led forces and the U.S.-backed interim government.
Still, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Europe's envoy to the region both said they were satisfied, for now. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, who was in Cairo to encourage Iraq's neighbors to help, said "things are going at the pace they can go."
Iranian analysts say Tehran's offer to host the meeting is a message, especially to Washington, that Iran understands al-Qaeda is a threat to Iraq and itself, and it wants the situation in Iraq to improve.
"Iran wants to show that it is willing to have a better and more positive position on Iraq," said Saeed Laylaz, a political and security analyst in Tehran. "It is, of course, a message to the new Iraqi government and the United States (that) al-Qaeda is a threat ... but it is also a card in a game ... (in which) we are trying to keep a very sensitive balance."
Laylaz noted Iran, Iraq and Turkey all have political, ethnic and religious interests in Iraq and a history of supporting each other's opposition groups.
"They are all strong enough to destabilize each other, and they are all threatened by al-Qaeda," he said.
It is in their interest, he said, "to keep each other peaceful and satisfied."
Davoud Hermidas Bavand, a professor of international law and a former Iranian diplomat, said holding the meeting in Iran indicates Tehran can play a key role in Iraq's political development.
Iraq has asked its other direct neighbors as well – Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia – to ensure secure borders, and has said the foreign fighters detained in Iraq include Saudis, Jordanians, Iranians, Syrians and Egyptians.
The biggest problem has been the long, porous borders with Iran and Syria. Also, Iran's influence in Iraq – which like Iran is predominantly Shiite Muslim – is far greater than Syria's, so it makes sense to have Iran take a leading role in high-level security cooperation, Laylaz said.
Conflicting political, religious and ethnic interests and vastly different relationships with Washington have made it difficult for Arab nations to cooperate on Iraq. The task is compounded by their suspicions of the interim Iraqi government, which Iran and Syria consider a Washington puppet regime.
Zebari said Arab leaders welcomed Iraq's proposal for cooperation because they know that giving militants full rein to flourish now could hurt them in the future.
"They recognize that the situation can backfire on them. There is a limit on how far they can be indifferent," Zebari told The Associated Press. "I made that point very clear to them."
But he acknowledges getting the government ministers and security chiefs together, deciding what steps to take, sharing the necessary information and ultimately getting results on the ground will take time.
In the meantime, Zebari said, Iraq will continue to insist on other, unspecified steps to stem the flow of foreign fighters.
"All of them accepted to work with us on this issue, so it's up to us, really, to go back to them and approach them specifically on our requirements," he said. "And I think they will cooperate."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20040723-0756-iraqsinfiltrators.html
Iran cautions against attacking it
Tehran, Iran, Jul. 24 (UPI) -- The Iranian Republican Guards deputy commander warned Saturday against attacks on Iran's nuclear installations, which he said will be firmly defended.
"We will respond firmly and by all means to anyone who dares to attack any region of our country," Brig. Mohammed Zou al-Kader said, the Iranian News Agency reported.
He played down as "psychological war" threats and insinuations by the U.S. and Israel that Iran's nuclear facilities could be targeted.
"The psychological war waged against us is aimed at intimidating the officials and stopping Iran from keeping up efforts to acquire nuclear technology for use in peaceful purposes," Zou al-Kader said.
He cautioned Iran has a great defensive capacity "coupled with the revolutionary spirit and courage of the Iranian people who will confront firmly any attack on their country."
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040724-044109-9549r.htm
Lifting the veil on a modern Iran
By Paul Jacob
THE lobby of the Parsian Hotel is a frenzy of activity. There's a convention in town. Telecommunications, a growth area that's attracting attention. And scores have descended.
Harassed porters try to organise the luggage away from the reception area. But that means less room for those making a beeline for the convention's registration desk: Koreans with a local contact, Germans, more Europeans, Africans. Was that an Australian accent?
Amid the buzz, more arrivals. The crew from an international flight. More luggage.
The adjoining lounge area is equally packed. Groups of threes and fours, others larger. Hurried waiters deliver tea, coffee and cakes.
Sorry, there's no alcohol served here, or anywhere else for that matter, but there's an alcohol-free beer that seems to be popular.
An Iranian woman adjusts her dark blue headscarf, then lights a cigarette. She's across a small table from two men holding documents. They look like they're talking about a company's business plan.
Welcome to Teheran. Capital of one of President George W. Bush's famously labelled 'axis of evil' countries.
It's a Sunday afternoon in mid-July. And good luck to you if you can find a free couple of seats for a sit-down and a coffee. There's a buzz here, a sense of energy. A yearning to 'let's make a deal'.
It's a potential that, in part, brought Mr Goh Chok Tong on an official visit here earlier this month, the first by a Singapore prime minister since 1975.
For the Singaporean or other businessman who isn't here already, the question is: 'Why not?'
Unlike American businesses which have to abide by Washington's long-standing embargo on Iran, there is nothing to stop the Singaporean entrepreneur - bar his own apprehensions and unwillingness to get out there and examine the possibilities.
From the looks of things, there really is a lot happening, and much to get excited about. New condominiums hug the slopes along highways, a new hotel looks to be nearing completion in a downtown area.
It's a whole new frontier and Iran is marketing itself as a gateway to other parts of Central Asia and the Middle East.
Officials in Teheran, clearly unhappy that Washington continues to regard it as a rogue state, have declared that they welcome the increasing economic and commercial contacts with Asia and elsewhere.
Twenty-five years after the Islamic Revolution deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the conservatives who still hold the reins of power do not appear to be as fanatical.
Clearly the younger leaders among them have recognised the realities of having to engage with the modern world, to attract investments and generate jobs.
Their population of over 69 million, of whom two thirds are under 30, demand no less, especially when unemployment among the younger Iranians, aged 15 to 20, hovers at around 30 per cent.
And if businessmen from here don't attempt to get a toe in, or better yet a foothold, they are going to be increasingly behind the pack of many who are already making deals and signing on the dotted line in the lobbies of Teheran's hotels.
Singapore's trade with Iran totalled US$2 billion (S$3.4 billion) last year, much of it being in petroleum products.
But officials on both sides see vast potential, in areas like infrastructure development, construction, food processing, telecommunications, education, tourism and medical services.
The thing for businessmen though - and come to think of it, for others as well - is to first throw off the blinkered view of Iran as some kind of orthodox state where firebrand, bearded clerics enforce stifling laws and where all things foreign are haram.
Or where cloaked women glide two steps behind husbands or peak out of windows from the confines of their homes, avoiding the stares of strangers and foreigners.
Within hours of arriving and wandering around the lively city streets and shopping areas, jokes about hands being chopped off or someone being stoned for an indiscretion begin to wear thin.
The reality is that there are probably far stricter regimes ruling elsewhere in the Middle East.
Iran may well have a conservatives-dominated political structure despite the election of reformist President Mohammad Khatami in 1997, but it by no means appears to be stifling.
Reports say that an estimated three million homes receive satellite TV; this is despite the fact that satellite dishes and receivers are banned officially. Some five million Iranians also reportedly log on to the Internet regularly.
Five days in Iran is by no means sufficient time to get under the country's skin. But as a first-time visitor, the first impressions are anything but negative, the vibes are good.
And that's from being able to wander without official minders in tow. The people were welcoming, the street life active, the parks alive with families and young couples strolling hand-in-hand without any sign of harassment from any kind of 'morality police', and the traffic brought back memories of being back in Jakarta.
And just as the reality of what Singapore is all about is sometimes misrepresented abroad, those from here who have the opportunity should go there and lift the veil, to see and judge Iran for themselves.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,263109,00.html
Iran delays visit by U.N. rights team
22 Jul 2004 16:46:21 GMT
GENEVA, July 22 (Reuters) - Iran has postponed a visit by a United Nations human rights team that had been due in Tehran next week, the office of the world body's High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Thursday.
A spokesman said Iran indicated that the visit -- led by Diego Garcia Sayan who chairs a working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances -- could take place in October or perhaps before.
There was no immediate comment from the Iranian mission in Geneva on the postponement, but diplomatic sources said the official explanation was that the Tehran judiciary had not been able to coordinate meetings with its officials next week.
The development comes in the wake of a major controversy between Canada and Iran over the trial of an Iranian intelligence official accused of killing an Iranian-born Canadian journalist.
Iran's reformist government on Monday sided with Canadian officials and defence lawyers to accuse the country's hardline judiciary of charging the wrong man with the killing of Zahra Kazemi while she was in custody for taking photographs of a Tehran prison.
The new U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, is Canadian and former chief prosecutor of the U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague.
At her first news conference she told reporters earlier on Thursday that for her "human rights are, above all, a question of justice."
She said that in her work she intended "to focus on the most vulnerable -- the very poor, the imprisoned, the disenfranchised, the targets of intolerance and hatred...."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L22619682.htm
'They're losing, because hope is spreading' in Iraq
by Dennis Ryan
Pentagrm staff writer
"They're losing, because hope is spreading," secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said in a Pentagon press briefing Wednesday.
He and Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, held their first news conference in almost a month.
The secretary called the invasion of Iraq a "speedy and skillful display of military power" to get rid of a man -- Saddam Hussein -- who had committed crimes against humanity. He cited the thousands of Iraqis serving in the defense forces and the opening of a stock market as hopeful signs.
Myers told how 39 of the 45 battalions in the Iraqi National Guard are at 75 percent strength. He also said 75 percent of eligible Afghanis have registered to vote. Iraqi insurgents have killed more than 100 civilians and security force members and wounded about 250.
Rumsfeld spoke about the National Guard's terms of mobilization, which is currently set at a two-year limit.
"We don't plan to extend beyond the 24 months, although one should never say never," Rumsfeld said. "We are at war. There is no doubt we have mobilized significant numbers of guard and reserve forces, and that the facts on the ground will determine what we do."
A question was posed about Sen. John McCain stating mistakes were made on the amount of troops used in the war.
"We always came down on the side of the combatant commanders," Myers said. "The answer is not more troops, according to Gen. [John] Abazaid."
Rumsfeld compared the Soviet's introduction of 200,000 to 300,000 troops in Afghanistan to our using "a few handfulls"and then said "the Soviets lost and we won."
The secretary answered a question about using force against Iran's nuclear facilities.
"There have been times when the United States has, for a variety of reasons, made judgements that preemptive actions have to be taken," he said. "We did in Afghanistan."
Myers said foreign fighters were the main opposition in Fallujah and former regime elements are prevalent in Samarra.
The secretary said NATO troops would be involved in security for the upcoming Olympic games as the government of Greece requests the security organization's help and "it's possible it will involve U.S. troops."
Recent revelations revealed Iran gave logistic support to al Qaeda before Sept. 11.
"Iran is on the terror list," Rumsfeld said. "They have been notably unhelpful on the borders. One can surmise Iran would be uncomfortable with democracy in Iraq."
http://www.dcmilitary.com/army/pentagram/9_30/national_news/30324-1.html
Iran's Parliament Approves Draft of Abortion Bill
Iran's parliament on Tuesday approved a draft of a bill to legalize abortion in the first four months of pregnancy. According to the bill, an abortion can be performed only when the woman’s life is in danger and/or when the fetus is malformed. According to Iran’s Payyand News, a woman will also need the consent of both parents to receive an abortion.
Another parliamentary vote is still required on the draft of the bill before it is made into law. In addition, Iran’s conservative Guardian Council also has to approve the bill, as it does all legislation, before it can be made law.
Abortion has been illegal on most grounds in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
http://www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=8552
This just in from a student inside of Iran...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1177566/posts?page=21#21
Iranian Diplomats Should Be Expelled
July 23, 2004
Toronto Star
TheStar.com
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi is living on another planet if he thinks Canadian-Iranian relations will not be harmed by the sudden and inexplicable conclusion of the Zahra Kazemi murder trial behind closed doors.
Former Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham was correct to immediately recall Canada's ambassador to Iran. We recommend a further step — expel Iranian diplomats from Canada. Iran needs to hear clearly that Canada will not maintain diplomatic relations with a country that refuses to abide by the rule of law.
Kazemi was arrested last June after taking photographs of a student protest outside of an Iranian prison. Seventeen days later, July 10, 2003, the 54-year-old woman died while in custody, tortured by her captors and died of a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage.
Iran refused to return Kazemi's body to Canada despite her son Stephan Hachemi's requests, instead opting for a hasty burial in that country.
Kazemi's family have not been given access to autopsy reports.
Hachemi's lawyer was not granted a visa to enter Iran.
Canadian diplomats and the media were barred from the proceedings and the legal team representing the Kazemi family accused the court of covering up the facts.
It's an appalling denial of due process of law. Ottawa should do all in its power to bring this case before the International Court of Justice.
Meanwhile, Iran's diplomatic spokesman makes a grave error by shrugging off Canadian concerns. He has failed to understand that Iran has managed to truly anger one of the most patient countries on the globe.
Iran is, of course, free to conduct itself as a flagrant denier of human rights but rogue states deserve to bear the opprobrium of this nation and its friends.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1090534212048
US Worried By N. Korea, Iran Missile Link
July 24, 2004
Reuters
Khaleej Times Online
TOKYO -- There is strong evidence that North Korea and Iran are cooperating on missile development, a senior US official was quoted as saying on Saturday.
Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily did not name the US official, whom it quoted as telling reporters on Friday during a visit to Tokyo that Iran had given data on launch tests to North Korea.
Iran and North Korea are part of US President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil”.
“There is very strong evidence indicating that Iran and North Korea are cooperating on ballistic missile development,” Asahi quoted the US official as saying.
The comments coincided with a visit to Japan by US Undersecretary of State John Bolton, part of a drive by Washington to breathe life into six-party talks aimed at ending a 20-month-old standoff over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
Bolton was scheduled to leave on Saturday after talks with Japanese officials.
North Korea shocked Japan and the world in 1998 when it launched a Taepodong ballistic missile that passed over Japan before splashing into the sea.
Japan is also concerned about North Korea’s Rodong-1 missiles, which have a range of around 1,300 km (800 miles), and upon which Iran’s Shahab-3 ballistic missile was based.
In a September 2002 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pledged to extend a moratorium on ballistic missile launches.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2004/July/theworld_July484.xml§ion=theworld&col=
I think they are going to be too busy trying to keep freedom and democracy away from their own people to worry about what's happening in Iraq. Face it, if they pay for people to go to Iraq, there will be no one to help them. I think that's exactly what we had in mind. We are decimating the nutjobs by the dozens each day. As a matter of fact, just the other day a Hamas bigwig attempted a suicide bombing himself in Israel and he chickened out at the last minute, throwing the bomb away and running home. There are only so many nutjobs and they're already scraping the bottom of the barrel.
"There is strong evidence that North Korea and Iran are cooperating on missile development"
Gee, No Kiddin'?
"We recommend a further step — expel Iranian diplomats from Canada"
Well, let's see if Canada has the 'audace' to do that. Any wagers?
Have often wondered if this is not the country we should have attacked instead of Iraq.
Then we could have just "marched next door".
(...one Arab country at a time...)
Iran helping Al Qaeda Avoid US Intelligence Monitors
July 25, 2004
Al Qaeda is able to avoid US intelligence efforts to monitor their electronic communications with the help of Iran. The UK online news site, Telegraph.co.uk, in an interview with a Jamil Yousif, a former Pakistani police investigator, has learned that Al Qaeda and associated terrorists “are hiding near the Pakistan-Afghan border. They have sophisticated satellite phones which enable them to use Iranian land phone lines to log on to the internet.
"They are using land lines in one country and hiding in another, which enables them to dodge the security agencies."
Iran has long admitted to having an Al Qaeda presence. The evidence of Iranian support for terrorists is well known. Bi-partisan Congressional support for action against Iran appears to be building.
http://www.newsignored.com
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