Posted on 08/07/2006 3:43:15 PM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?
Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.
The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”
As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.
The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.
The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.
A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.
What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.
Lopez: So…did the Cedar Revolution fail?
Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.
The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.
The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.
The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.
More at link...
Without active state support for terrorism on the part of Iran, Syria, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Libya, Russia, Pakistan, N. Korea, and China, terrorism would devolve into local gang warfare and criminal activity with some tenacles reaching into Europe, America, and elsewhere. It would not be the threat to our very existence that it now is. From the start we should have held states responsible for their terrorist proxies. States are something we can fight, whereas terrorist groups are amorphous entities difficult to identify and fight.
7/23/2006 roozonline.com
Soheil Asefi
23 Jul 2006
The fire in the Middle East is approaching the unpredictable point by the day. What are the long term goals of Israel and the United States in this process? Will this crisis pull Iran into it as well? Dr Dawood Hermidas Bavand is an analyst and university professor on international affairs spoke with Rooz about the US plans for this event, and how Hezbollah was ambushed in to it. Read on for his views.
Rooz (R ): What are the goals of the escalating crises in the Middle East?
Dawood Hermidas Bavand (DHB): Two goals may be mentioned. At one time counting on their hardware they had a plan to democratize the region etc which ran into problems. In other words, after getting bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq, and also an unfavorable public opinion, the US could not pursue this program. So now they are trying the same goal through a different strategy, logic and motivations.
R: There is evidence that the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier by Hamas and Hezbollah are only the beginnings of a detailed scenario for the region.
DHE: Yes. It is very clear recent events are not taking place simply because of the two Israeli soldiers.
R: So what is the goal?
DHE: The goal is to cripple Hezbollah in Lebanon or make it inoperative. But if the conflict extends to Syria, it will certainly not stop there because governments that support Syria will get into the conflict, expanding the clash. At that point, the US would intervene. And based on formulated plans, the US would act on different premises.
R: What is Israel’s long-term strategy in this?
DHE: Foremost it is to destroy all opposition levers around itself. This means the destruction of any means that exist on its borders that can harm it.
R: With the continuation of the current trends, is there likelihood for a regional war?
DHE: For those who are blamed for some of these events, such as Syria, such a possibility exists very seriously militarily and also from a distance. Today the US is following its goal of democratization differently, without provoking a reaction from its population. In short, since the US could not achieve its goals using traditional instruments, that goal will be pursued through the creation of a crisis, which appears to be through Israel and its neighbors. Regarding the other countries in the region, which have been identified in the past, the US will probably use a different approach [through the military]. That will depend on how the attack on Syria progresses. If Syria is militarily attacked, then other countries in the region will most likely be militarily attacked as well.
R: It is said that Damascus, and more than that Tehran, has been the principal supporters of Hezbollah. How does this play into all of this?
DHE: This is just an excuse. Hezbollah is not the real issue. There is a wider plan in the making. Wider than the Bekka valley and Hezbollah. If these events are, as the Prime Minister of Israel has said, to eradicate the roots of the crisis in the region, it is clear that the operations will not be limited in scope. And no matter how passive Syria plays it, eventually it will be dragged into the conflict because of its support for Hezbollah. And once Syria is pulled in, inevitably other countries too will be attacked.
R: Is this crisis specifically threatening Iran?
DHE: If it gets to Syria, it will get to Iran as well.
R: So can one say that Hezbollah has got into this situation through the careful planning of its opponent, i.e. the neocons of the US?
DHE: Perhaps it has been trapped. They (the Americans) do create traps and then follow up with their long term interests.
R: How do you think Iran’s policy towards Israel (annihilating it from the map of the world, the Holocaust, etc) has impacted the position of Israel and the US towards Iran?
DHE: You see we are now past the phase of talk and theories. The Holocaust etc are not the issues any longer. They believe that the Islamic Republic is a potential danger to them and so they use every occasion to its utmost. When they accept the consequences of attacking innocent people, it is clear that intend to pursue their plans on a larger scale.
R: Which means an attack on Iran?
DHE: They will not enter ground forces into Iran. With their advanced weapons, they will hit almost all the strategic and economic facilities. A strike from a long distance.
R: So do then they will implement their regime change plans?
DHE: Of course. They tried it one way, it did not work. Now they are pursuing their goals on the pretext of destroying the supporters of terrorism. Syria will most likely see changes, as will others. It all depends on the kind of strikes they utilize. They certainly do have a plan for regime change, but whether it will take place or not depends on how things develop.
R: Many observers believe that George Bush intends to settle the Iranian issue before the end of his term?
DHE: Yes, it appears so. As I said earlier, this issue is not related to simply two soldier prisoners. This was a trap. Especially as the Americans have supported Israel’s actions to be in self defense, which is really laying the groundwork for their own intervention and the advancement of their plans.
http://www.cyrusnews.com/news/en/?mi=1&ni=465
http://www.cyrusnews.com/news/en/
Hunger strike by Iranian asylum seeker in The Hague enters critical phase/Save the life of a refugee in The Netherlands!
The Hague, August 7th 2006 - Negotiations between the Immigration and Naturalization Department (IND) of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and the Iranian asylum seeker Ali Anoushei, have entered a decisive, critical phase. Anoushei has been on hunger strike near the Dutch Parliament building for 57 days. During talks 4 days ago, the IND offered him a review of his recently rejected asylum request, promising his case the utmost in care and consideration.
SUMMARY REPORT ON STATE OF AKBAR’S BODY
The security and intelligence forces of the tyrannical and despotic government of the Islamic Republic placed the naked body of my son in a estate car in a very inappropriate conditions and threatened us that they would return Akbar’s body to Tehran, would bury him secretly and would not inform us of his burial location, if we were to hold a funeral procession or to cause any disturbance.
Iran: Death of Jailed Student Dissident
The United States condemns the Iranian government's severe repression of dissidents, and its continued crackdown on civil society and those fighting for personal freedom in Iran. The regime's actions resulted in the recent death of imprisoned Iranian student activist Akbar Mohammadi. Mr. Mohammadi died on July 30, reportedly as a result of a prolonged hunger strike, still in the notorious Evin Prison where he has been held for his role in pro-democracy student demonstrations in July 1999. Unfortunately, Mr. Mohammadi's detention was notan isolated case.
Another Prisoner of Conscience Died in Prison in Iran
We are writing to inform you that yet another innocent human being has died in Iran under the Islamic Republic╝s watch. His crime was to practice his right to assemble, as stated in the Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Reza Pahlavi's message on Mohammadi's murder
Seven long and terrible years of torture, abuse and maltreatment, tragically ended yesterday for our courageous compatriot, Akbar Mohammadi, with his murder at the hands of his jailers, who carried out the execution order issued by the security apparatus of the criminal clerical regime.
A letter to The conference of the so-called 5+1 / Fred Saberi
Last night, Akbar Mohammadi, a 36 year-old pro-democracy activist who was on a hunger strike to protest his own detention and call for the release of all political prisoners, died in the Evin Prison in Tehran. Mohammadi, who had spent several years in prison, had been arrested along with thousands of other students (including his brother Manocheher Mohammad) following the 1999 students protest triggered by the vigilantes attack on a peaceful campus rally in support of freedom of the press.
Alarm to all human rights organisations !/Yesterday Ahamd Batebi arrested.!
Ahmad Batebi in connection with peaceful student demonstrations in July 1999,yesterday the 29 of July was violently arrested in his home and taken a way to an unknown area. They searched his home and took away his private documents which put’s Mr Batebi´s life in even greater danger. Last year, after several years of external struggle by politicians outside the country and human rights organisation, Mr Batebi, after having served half of his prison punishment was awarded one year’s conditional furlough which was now broken by this illegal and inhuman arrest.
the UN's new Human Rights Council and Saeed Mortazavi
We, the undersigned, who are fighting for achieving democracy in our country, would like to have your attention for the following serious matter: Recently, you accepted Mr. Saeed Mortazavi (a government prosecutor widely known to have sanctioned the torture and the execution of political prisoners)as a part of Iranian delegation to the UN's new Human Rights Council. Saeed Mortazavi is responsible for the custody and interrogation of many prominent Iranian political prisoners.Among them the canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi of Montreal, who died while in prison in Iran, of wounds suffered at the hands of her jailers.
Bavand: The Middle East Crisis is an American Scenario
The fire in the Middle East is approaching the unpredictable point by the day. What are the long term goals of Israel and the United States in this process? Will this crisis pull Iran into it as well? Dr Dawood Hermidas Bavand is an analyst and university professor on international affairs spoke with Rooz about the US plans for this event, and how Hezbollah was ambushed in to it. Read on for his views.
Iranian Opposition Divisions Mar Visit to White House/BY ELI LAKE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
CAIRO, Egypt — A planned meeting in the White House of Iran's opposition fell short of expectations yesterday as a rift among the factions emerged.While two senior Bush administration officials met with 30 Iranian activists and academics to discuss the future of Iran, the son of the late shah, Reza Pahlavi, and Iran's leading dissident, Akbar Ganji, who is touring America this month, did not attend.
Ramin Jahanbegloo Forced to Confess before Camera/Omid Memarian
While hundreds of Iranians around the world participated in the three-day hunger strike called by prominent investigative journalist Akbar Ganji, and called for the release of Ramin Jahanbegloo, Akbar Mousavi Khoeini and Mansour Osanloo, hard-line Resalat daily announced that a film showing Ramin Jahanbegloo’s confessions was ready for airing.
Ganji: Violence in the name of Islam
On Monday evening Akbar Ganji, Iran’s most prominent investigative journalist who spent 6 years in prison and was finally released after a prolonged hunger strike 2 months ago and who is on a world tour, received the 2006 international Aubuchon award to his journalistic work in Iran. John AUbuchon was a veteran television correspondent.
SOS /UN Secretary General, Mr. Kufi Annan /Dr. Zahra Erfani
I am writing to bring to your attention, That Mr. Keyvan Rafiee the Iranian Human Rights activist has been arrested on charge of dissemination of news about the situation of Students Movement and political prisoners in Iran.
Iranian activist on hunger stike in New York
Ganji:We must organize a broad peace coalition Interview with writer and radio producer Goudarz Eghtedari on various aspects of the hunger strike Ganji: We should not legitimize or cooperate with the IRI Ganji: The U.S. is too preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan to inavde Iran. The danger is that the U.S. would bomb Iran's infrastructure Gani: Change impossible within the framework of IRI constitution Interview with Banoo Saberi political activist who's husband Abbas Ali Monshi Roodsari was executed
Tabarzadi On Ahmadinejad: Not Pinning Our Hopes on Him/Farnaz Ghazizadeh
Heshmatollah Tabarazadi was a revolutionary student leader who later turned reformist and was imprisoned for dissident activities. He shares his views on his contemporary president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in an interview with Rooz Online.
Varjavand: Dangerous Decisions Loom Over Iran/Soheil Asefi
As the G8 summit progresses, Rooz Online talked with Iranian international affairs expert Parviz Varjavand. He believes that the streamlining of the views and positions of China and Russia with those of the US would lead to harsher decisions over Iran regarding its nuclear stand off at the meeting. In view of the new Middle East crises and Tehran’s diplomatic and domestic postures, decisions at the summit could be very threatening to the national security of Iran, he added. Read on for excerpts of the interview.
Last Day of Hunger Strike in London
It was the last day of the hunger strike in London, which took place in solidarity with Iran's prisoners of conscience.Those who took part in the hunger strike had two common denominators. They were Iranians and they wanted to see the prisoners of conscience in Iran set free.Whether they were republicans, monarchists, Left or Right, they respected each other for the hardship they put themselves through to publicise Iran's political prisoners of conscience.
Hunger Strike for Human Rights in Iran
The human rights situation in Iran continues to deteriorate. Petitions and protests to end the abuses have gone unanswered. During the past year, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government has sought to monopolize power in Iran by silencing and suffocating all independent and dissenting voices. The suppression of demonstrators in Azerbaijan, Khuzestan, and Kurdistan, the silencing of labor, women, and student movements and the vicious attacks on demonstrators throughout the past year, are all evidence of the ongoing and abhorrent human rights violations by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
This page continues at the link..............
Irankhabar Official Web site of the Iranian in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta – Canada
http://www.iran-khabar.com/
Jobs, immigration help, links and news links, schools also.
Not much, just a good way to figure out how to get in.
Majlis speaker calls on youth to maintain their high morale
Tehran, Aug 7, IRNA
Iran-Israel-Lebanon
Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel said here Monday that the self-sacrificing spirit of the Lebanese combatants has thwarted Israel's savage attacks.
Addressing a gathering of university students, he said members of University Jihad should maintain their jihad-oriented spirit.
High morale of the Iranian people led to triumph of the Islamic Revolution and bloods of thousands of people helped them restore spirit of jihad in the country, he said.
This is such an jihad-oriented spirit of Muslim youths that has defeated Israel's acts of savagery being perpetrated under support of the US and the West, he said.
"We are able to overcome all difficulties in the world through the jihad-oriented spirit and reliance on Almighty God," he said.
It is possible to make good on all backwardness of the past thorough commitment and hard work, he underlined.
1430/1412
---> Iran-Israel-Lebanon
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0608072724181349.htm
[To me, the last couple posts, sounds like a good dose of brainwashing]
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0608070384181717.htm
New ME in the offing despite US demand: Velayati
Tehran, Aug 7, IRNA
Iran-Lebanon-Advisor
An advisor of the Supreme Leader, Ali-Akbar Velayati, said here Monday that a new Middle East would undoubtedly be created despite US demands.
Velayati's remarks came as he addressed an international conference which opened here Monday on the regional and international repercussions of the Zionist regime's continuing offensive in Lebanon.
"Regional states have long known that they can overcome the paper tiger -- the Zionist regime -- which superpowers have created." He compared measures taken by Western states in the Balkans war and measures now being undertaken in the war in Lebanon, saying the emphasis is on wasting time and letting the greatest number of Muslims be massacred."
Pointing to the massacre of 200,000 Bosnians and the silence of the West during the Balkans war, he added that "the same events are being repeated in Lebanon."
The United Nations Security Council is mandated to preserve international peace and security, he said, and regretted that the "US has prevented establishment of a ceasefire in Lebanon while Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice) in her regional tour makes it clear that a new Middle East would have to be based on US demands." He said the US-France draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon has been changed under US pressure, and added that the change is intended to meet the Zionist regime's interests.
"If the Zionist regime continues its attacks on Lebanon, it will sustain more damage. This is while the Lebanese Hezbollah will continue to resist like a mountain.
"The United States and West intend to materialize parts of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that they could not implement. They intend to materialize parts of their new Middle East plan in Lebanon and Palestine.
"The Islamic world and Lebanon will not yield to their sinister designs," Velayati stressed.
2327/2321/1414
---> Iran-Lebanon-Advisor
from one of your links lets all hold hands and sing.....
****Note go to the link and click on chapters and it explains all they intent to do.
Agenda 21
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The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
Agenda 21
Chapter 1 Preamble
Section I. Social and Economic Dimensions
Chapter 2 International Cooperation for Sustainable Development
Chapter 3 Combating Poverty
Chapter 4 Changing Consumption Patterns
Chapter 5 Demographic Dynamics & Sustainability
Chapter 6 Human Health
Chapter 7 Human Settlements
Chapter 8 Decision Making
Section II. Conservation and Management of Resources for Development
Chapter 9 Protection of the Atmosphere
Chapter 10 Land Resources
Chapter 11 Deforestation
Chapter 12 Desertification & Drought
Chapter 13 Sustainable Mountain Development
Chapter 14 Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development
Chapter 15 Conservation of Biodiversity
Chapter 16 Biotechnology
Chapter 17 Protection of the Oceans
Chapter 18 Freshwater Resources
Chapter 19 Toxic Chemicals - Management
Chapter 20 Hazardous Wastes - Management
Chapter 21 Solid Wastes - Management
Chapter 22 Radioactive Wastes - Management
Section III. Strengthening The Role Of Major Groups
Chapter 23 Preamble Major Groups
Chapter 24 Women
Chapter 25 Children & Youth
Chapter 26 Indigenous People
Chapter 27 Non-Governmental Organizations
Chapter 28 Local Authorities
Chapter 29 Trade Unions
Chapter 30 Business & Industry
Chapter 31 Scientific & Technological Community
Chapter 32 Role of Farmers
Section IV. Means of Implementation
Chapter 33 Financial Resources
Chapter 34 Technology Transfer
Chapter 35 Science for Sustainable Development
Chapter 36 Education, Public Awareness & Training
Chapter 37 Capacity Building in Developing Countries
Chapter 38 International Institutions
Chapter 39 International Legal Instruments
Chapter 40 Information for Decision-making
Download
Agenda 21 WordPerfect 5.1, zipped
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Framework Convention on Climate Change
Convention on Biological Diversity
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http://habitat.igc.org/agenda21/
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0608070598181631.htm
Mottaki's message on Lebanon submitted to Russian counterpart
Moscow, Aug 7, IRNA
Iran-Russia-Message
Iran's Ambassador to Russia Gholam-Reza Ansari here Monday submitted a message of the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the Zionist regime's aggression on Lebanon.
In a meeting with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andre enisov, Ansari outlined Iran's stance on the ongoing developments in the region and called for establishment of a ceasefire in Lebanon.
He expressed his regret over the great human and financial loss inflicted to the Lebanese people after 26 days of savage attacks by the Zionist regime.
"Any possible resolution will not be acceptable if it does not establish a reasonable balance and refuses to take into account the rights of the Lebanese people and their resistance.
"The United States, along with certain other countries, intend to issue a one-sided resolution in favor of the Zionist regime calling for a ceasefire, exchange of prisoners, settlement of international forrces and even putting limitation on military aid.
"Those issues will be undoubtedly the base for future disputes and will not end in sustainable peace," Ansari said.
Denisov, for his part, said that as of now establishment of a ceasefire is the most important issue and that Russia has made great efforts to include the issue in the draft resolution.
Russia would continue its efforts to create greater balance in the resolution so the Lebanese government and nation would accept it, he added.
He also urged all influential countries in the region to immediately end the massacre in Lebanon.
2327/2321/1414
---> Iran-Russia-Message
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0608071773181509.htm
Arab League foreign ministers hold emergency meeting on Lebanon
Beirut, Aug 7, IRNA
Lebanon-Arab League-Emergency Meeting
The foreign ministers of the League of Arab States held an emergency meeting in Beirut on Monday to voice solidarity with Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appealed to fellow Arab states to help stop Israeli aggression against Lebanon.
according to IRNA, Siniora burst into tears while delivering his speech to the audience and reading a report on death of more civilians at the Lebanese village of Houla.
Meanwhile, Arab leaders are considering holding an emergency summit on Lebanon in Saudi Arabia later this week.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal was expected to make the call during the current emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Beirut Monday.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was quoted by Lebanese newspaper As-Safir as saying that there was agreement in principle among Arab countries to hold a summit.
Moussa, who arrived in Beirut Sunday, added that chances for a summit would become clearer after the meeting of Arab foreign ministers.
Moussa, following a meeting with President Emile Lahoud Monday, said the ministers would also consider whether those Arab countries having diplomatic relations with Israel must summon their ambassadors.
"This has become a widespread demand," he said.
The Arab foreign ministers' meeting comes as senior Lebanese officials have objected to the context of a draft resolution the US and France have drawn up for the UN Security Council.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said upon his arrival in Beirut on Sunday that the Franco-US draft resolution is a recipe for further aggression on Lebanon.
He said that the resolution should call for withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and Shebaa Valley.
"Otherwise, ceasefire would be meaningless, because, the Lebanese defense force should fight occupation."
1416/1412
---> Lebanon-Arab League-Emergency Meeting
News sent: 18:15 Monday August 07, 2006
I think I am going to be sick.
Local Agenda 21
The U.N. Plan for Your Community
By Berit Kjos - 1998
"...current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class - involving high meat intake use of fossil fuels, appliances, home and work-place air-conditioning, and suburban housing - are not sustainable. A shift is necessary. which will require a vast strengthening of the multilateral system, including the United Nations..." [1] Maurice Strong , opening speech at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0608075325181431.htm
Iran calls for dismantling of WMD: envoy
Kuala Lumpur, Aug 7, IRNA
Iran-New Zealand-Envoy
Iran's Ambassador to New Zealand Kambiz Sheikh-Hassani said in Wellington on Monday that Tehran calls for dismantling of all weapons of mass destruction in the world.
"(Former Iraqi president) Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons of the US and Europe against the Iranian nation during the Iraqi- imposed war...We called for dismantling of weapons of mass destruction particularly dangerous weapons of the Zionist regime.
"We have followed up this goal at the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) for several years," he said.
Pointing to Iran's peaceful nuclear program, he added that "Iran' just demand for recognition of its rights is based on international law, rules and regulations. Tehran has so far acted within the framework of international regulations and safeguard agreements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"We believe the IAEA is the only legal source to study Iran's nuclear case. Interference of the United Nations Security Council has no legal base and just adds more complications to the issue." Referring to ongoing developments in Palestine and Lebanon, the ambassador said the events were indications of evil acts in its most destructive form.
"Ongoing events are not limited to just Hizbollah, Hamas and arrest of three Israeli soldiers because the Zionist regime has imprisoned thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese for several years," he said.
He added, "Tragedies of Gaza and Lebanon are aim to have a control over the regional and the entire world.
"This hegemony is aim to overcome over developing states either through friendly channels or military occupation and economic and trade sanction."
Sheikh-Hassani stated, "We warn that ongoing moves in Lebanon and Gaza can be regarded as a deadly prelude for very greater events at regional and international levels.
"Mass use of military force, blind massacre and destruction will never bring in security, rather it will bear adverse consequences." 2327/2321/1414
---> Iran-New Zealand-Envoy
News sent: 18:14 Monday August 07, 2006
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0608076166181310.htm
US aims to distance Iran from its neighbors: Rafsanjani
Mashhad, Khorassan Razavi Prov, Aug 7, IRNA
Iran-Rafsanjani-US
The West, led by the United States, intend to create a wedge between Iran and its neighboring Islamic countries, Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here Sunday.
"The US opposes the Islamic Republic of Iran. Currently, it is working to cause discord and create a pessimistic view of our system in international circles," Rafsanjani said at a meeting with ulema and professors of Mashhad seminary.
"We have an Islamic mission. Our message is Islam. The Islamic Revolution came as a clear message of the Holy Quran for the world." Referring to Iran's nuclear case, Rafsanjani blasted a resolution passed last Monday by the UN Security Council, saying "Superpowers have carried out a very nasty job using Iran's nuclear case as a pretext and issued a statement against us based on Chapter 7 of the UN Charter."
He said the resolution had discredited the United Nations and other superpowers and revealed their true identity to the world.
He said Israel's attack on a small country like Lebanon was a trick pre-scheduled by the US for the region.
The EC chairman added that the Zionist regime's military offensive in Lebanon was a savage move planned by the US.
"Those powers who speak of democracy, freedom and defense for human rights are happy with these ominous events.
Pointing to the massive damage caused by the Zionist regime to Lebanon setting the country decades backward, he said "The effects of the war should be studied from different points of view, the most important of which is the damage that has been caused to its military by an Islamic move."
2327/2321/1414
---> Iran-Rafsanjani-US
It would not be the threat to our very existence that it now is. From the start we should have held states responsible for their terrorist proxies. States are something we can fight, whereas terrorist groups are amorphous entities difficult to identify and fight<<<
You state the problem very well.
I think that some of the states have been identifed, but if you strike one, you will have to fight all the neighbor states too.
Kinda like a gang fight of a bunch of drunks.
The thing that bothers me, is I am not sure we have enough support, but rather think that we may go into a battle thinking we are going to play the war game and find that the small group we are after is really, Iran, Russia, China, and a bunch of other countries, sending men and weapons.
No, i don't know the best answer.
War to me, is something you fight to win.
LOL, got so busy fighting that war, that I forgot to say, that,
we hope you will continue with us in finding the facts on the war on terrorism.
Glad you posted here.
This is one example of what Agenda 21 can do to common people...
Sagebrush rebellion puts rancher behind bars
Don Cox RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 4/20/2002 07:22 pm
One Nevada cattle rancher is incarcerated in a Reno halfway house by order of a federal judge, and another lost his herd when it was impounded and auctioned by the U.S. government.
Cliff Gardner of Ruby Valley and Ben Colvin of Goldfield are among the latest casualties in a battle against federal government management of public rangeland in the West. The conflict is fierce in Nevada, where the U.S. government controls 87 percent — about 60 million of approximately 70 million acres — of the land inside state boundaries.
Nevada’s percentage of federally managed land is the country’s highest.
It helped ignite the West-wide Sagebrush Rebellion against government authority in the 1970s and 1980s, a fight that continues to flare in Nevada’s high desert.
Gardner and Colvin are among what federal authorities say is a handful of ranchers in the state who refuse to recognize government authority over the land where thousands of cattle graze.
“I’m not obligated to sign the grazing permit or pay the grazing fee,” said Colvin, 63, who had 62 cows impounded and sold by the federal Bureau of Land Management last year. “It doesn’t apply to me.”
The BLM took Colvin’s cattle, claiming he owed the government $70,000 in grazing fees and fines. Colvin says he has about 25 cows on his central Nevada ranch that he’s preparing to graze on the range this year. He says he won’t pay for grazing permits.
Gardner, whose ranch is located in the northeastern part of the state, is serving a 30-day sentence in the halfway house for grazing without a permit, which was revoked in 1994. Gardner, 63, must also spend three months under house arrest for illegally grazing cattle on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Colvin and Gardner have become rallying points for states rights activists in Nevada.
At Gardner’s hearing, more than 50 protesters, with three wearing white wigs as American Revolutionary War patriots, jammed the U.S. District Court in Reno. Protesters also showed up at the auction of Colvin’s cattle in Palomino Valley north of Reno-Sparks. At one point, a BLM law enforcement officer drew his gun on a protester who also was armed.
“The BLM broke every law we’ve got when they confiscated those cattle,” said Colvin, who claims government regulation is ruining his ranching operation. “It’s like somebody coming out and stealing stuff right out of my front yard.”
BLM officials in Reno say the cases involving Colvin and Gardner are the exception, not the rule, as about 700 ranchers with federal permits graze cattle on 46 million acres of bureau-managed range in Nevada.
“I don’t consider those people trespassing on public land to be ranchers,” said Bob Abbey, the BLM’s state director. “We have 700 authorized to graze on public lands. With one or two exceptions, they work closely with us. These people are paying their fees and complying with the grazing system.”
Ranching by the rules
One of those people is Stephen Ferraro, 59, a rancher with about 500 cattle in Paradise Valley, 40 miles north of Winnemucca.
Because Nevada’s range is made up of so much public and so little private land, Ferraro’s ranching business, like many others in the state, is a combination. Ferraro owns 1,700 acres and holds two permits, one with the BLM and another with the forest service, to graze on about 12,000 acres of public range in the nearby Ranta Rosa Mountains.
But, the permits don’t allow unlimited grazing.
“It’s different each year,” said Ferraro, whose grandfather homesteaded in Paradise Valley in 1869.
This year, Ferraro can graze cattle on BLM range from March 1 to May 20. He can be on forest service land from May 20 to Sept. 1. He can return to the BLM allotment from Sept. 18 until about Christmas.
“They control you,” Ferraro said of the federal land managers.
It’s a delicate, sometimes contentious, relationship. Conflicts can arise, range experts say, because government land management policies can impact a rancher’s business.
“It’s a little better than it was under Clinton,” said Duane Boggio, a Paradise Valley rancher, who, like some of his neighbors, complains that grazing policies of the administration of former President Clinton were too restrictive.
Management patterns changed in the 1970s when Congress passed a variety of environmental laws, requiring the BLM and other agencies to balance ranching with conservation issues such as wildlife habitat.
“These interest groups think we’re destroying this stuff,” Boggio said of anti-cattle activists. “That’s not the case.”
Boggio holds two BLM permits and one with the forest service. Like Ferraro’s permits, they allow certain numbers of cattle in certain areas at certain times.
When they’re not grazing on public land, the cattle owned by Boggio and Ferraro are kept on the home ranches.
It’s the combination of private and public land, ranchers say, that allows them enough range to keep their cattle fed.
“You can’t have too many at one place,” said Boggio, referring to government grazing regulations. “You can’t allow cows in one area all year round.”
Protecting against overgrazing?
Many environmentalists claim the system isn’t working. But BLM officials say it is supposed to reduce cattle grazing’s impact on water sources and wildlife habitat.
“I believe, in the past, there has been some overgrazing,” Abbey said. “The ranching community is working closely with us to implement grazing practices that are more environmentally responsible.”
Activists who want cattle removed from public land say grazing is destroying the range. They also say grazing permits amount to taxpayer-supported welfare for ranchers.
Permits come with “animal unit months,” for which Nevada ranchers are paying $1.43 each this year. An AUM is a cow and a calf grazing on the public range for a month. The cost of an AUM can vary from year to year, depending on a complex formula tied to beef prices and other market forces.
Last year, Nevada ranchers paid more than $1.6 million in grazing fees. Half the money funded range improvements, 12 1/2 percent went to state grazing committees and 37 1/2 percent ended up in the federal treasury.
It may be a cheap deal for ranchers, who also are taxpayers, but the BLM and some environmentalists contend the rest of the public can also benefit.
“We have a park here in the city and we pay to have the park taken care of,” said Carson City’s Elsie Dupree, president of the Nevada Wildlife Federation. “If ranchers are taking care of the public lands in the same way, then let them have their subsidy.”
http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2002/04/20/12593.php
In April 1997, President Clinton asked the council to advise him on: next steps in building a new environmental management system for the 21st century... and policies that foster U.S. leadership on sustainable development internationally. The council was also charged to ensure that social equity issues are fully integrated ... (Emphasis added)
<<<
Isn't Hilary always making speeches about the 21 st century?
If this was agreed to in 1992, that does not jive with the BLM and the wilderness study mess.
They were putting it into effect, before it was agreed to.
Again, read the communist manifesto...............LOL
1992, was the term of daddy Bush.
Agenda 21, NAFTA and now this new program that all are talking about, are they all daddy Bush plans???
About the time of 9-11, there were people who were coming with shovels to help keep Nevada open.
There was also about the same time, a big ruckus in Calif, over a river and farms, I don't recall the details, just the loads of hay that were donated for the animals and the efforts to get water back in the river for irrigation.
I am sure Freepers were in the convoys to help them.
Then there are the millions of Salmon killed, clubbed to death and thrown on the bank, that was calif or oregon, the Gov. employees were involved.
LOL, one of the Good Americans made a video of it, caused a big stink.
The reason for killing the fish, was that they had been bred in a hatchery and would therefor damage the habitat for the wild fish.
Dr. Bill fought on some of these messes, as he is a cowboy at heart and is against all that is wrong.
There may still be the video of the fish killing at:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Pushback.com&client=netscape-pp&rls=com.netscape:en-US
Check out this site, you should find a lot of what you are into, with the Agenda 21, only we didn't call it that, just the commie tree huggers.
Sierratimes.com, Johnson is the editor, he was involved in putting togather the loads of hay and some of the other things.
My area was an open cattle range, from the days of the Indians, area was settled, about 1850.
It is not today, one of the ways they closed the area to cattle, was to say the cows, walking the desert ground, stepped on the tunnels the Mexican vole lived in.
The mexican vole, is a "round eared mouse", and none that died in my house, ever looked special to me.
The year that they took the cattle off the land, was the start of the biggest mouse infestation that I have ever had, even with a house full of cats, you would be sitting, reading and all of a sudden, look up and see a vole crossing the room, going to another location.
I came home after dark one night and there was one on the top step, attempting to open the storm door.
In the car lights, he could have been one of your 3 foot jackrabbits.
When they worked on the gas pipeline, the big one, a short distance from my place, each day, they brought a bus load of tree huggers, who moved the mice, snakes, lizards and rattlesnakes, so they would not be harmed by the men working.
One of the pipe line men (boss) told me that it now took up to seven years to get the permits, to do the repairs that were needed to upgrade it.
That could well be what the problem was with the pipeline in Alaska, that is in the news today.
Now you see why I dumped the googles on you.
Asymmetrical warfare is nonlinear, so the definition of "winning" is going to be more of a heuristic than an equation. The old model was Winning=Defeat of Enemy. The new model does not emphasize winning, but favorable results. If the conflict can be kept to low levels of intensity, that is also a favorable result. An unfavorable circumstance would be a world dividing up again into blocs of hostile alliances. That increases the likelihood of another world war involving nukes. In this new paradigm military strategy and battle tactics are the smallest part of undertanding the whole picture. The new strategy must be holistic. G-2, selective assassination, bribery, blackmail, disinformation, propaganda, ad hoc alliances, stings, economic warfare, and a host of other things are as important as marshalling armies and navies. Asymmetrical warfare is a gray world where the good guys are sometimes unrecognizable from the bad guys. It will take PHDs with the skills of gangsters.
Thanks for the new thread and information and granny...thanks for the ping.
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