http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/axisofevil/ en-us Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:11:24 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420036/posts Reports say Washington distancing itself from earlier intelligence assessment suggesting Tehran had suspended work on weapons designs. The key sources of new intelligence are likely to include two recent Iranian defectors – Ali Reza Asgari, a Revolutionary Guards general who vanished in Istanbul in 2007, and Shahram Amiri, a leading Iranian nuclear scientist, who disappeared while on a pilgrimage to Mecca last summer. The Iranian government has blamed the US for their disappearance. However, the Obama administration believes there is still time to try sanctions as a means of stemming Iran's nuclear ambitions. Guardian UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420036/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:11:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411392/posts Iran confirmed Saturday that its forces had taken over East Maysan oil field, located on the Iran-Iraq border. The move caused a 2.4% spike in oil prices. "The Iranian forces are on Iranian soil, as defined by known international borders. This oil field is Iran's" said an Iranian armed forces statement quoted by the Islamic Republic Arab-language television station, al-Alam. Proprietary of the East Maysan oil field had been the center of a dispute between Tehran and Bagdad for a lengthy period of time. Iraq's Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Ali al-Khafaji said the move was the latest in a series... Y-Net News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411392/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:45:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406099/posts Thai security forces seized more than 35 tonnes of arms from a cargo plane and arrested five crew members after the aircraft made an emergency landing to refuel at a Bangkok airport, officials said on Saturday. Monthon Sutchukorn, a deputy spokesman for the Thai air force, said the plane had departed from North Korea but had no further details. An air force official involved in the inspection, who declined to be named, said the Thai authorities had been asked by the United States to investigate the plane and its cargo. "We were approached by the United States, seeking our cooperation... Reuters via Yahoo! News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406099/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:40:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380501/posts Mideast: Iran tests an advanced warhead design as it gets caught shipping weapons to Hezbollah. Syria is reported to give the group operational control over Scud missiles. It's five minutes to midnight. Tyranny abhors a vacuum. While the U.S. and the West dither in Hamlet-like fashion over whatever we shall do in places such as Afghanistan and Iran, the Axis of Evil is in full swing in its plans to destroy Israel and threaten Europe and America. Israel last week seized what it said was the largest arms cache ever intercepted in the region. Israeli navy commandos boarded the Francop,... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380501/posts#comment Sat, 7 Nov 2009 01:10:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379665/posts The UN's nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian has learned. The very existence of the technology, known as a "two-point implosion" device, is officially secret in both the US and Britain, but according to previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of the design. The development was today described by nuclear experts as "breathtaking" and has added urgency ... UK Guardian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379665/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 02:49:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370772/posts As the United States and its allies haggle with Iran over its nuclear program, Moscow has fueled Western unease about its military links to Tehran by pledging to continue selling arms to the Islamic republic. This has raised speculation that it may brush aside the strident objections of the United States and Israel and supply Iran with advanced S-300PMU surface-to-air missiles that would greatly enhance its defenses against airstrikes. The Russians, who have rejected the proposed imposition of economic sanctions on Iran as "counterproductive," are keeping the waters muddied with contradictory and ambiguous statements regarding the S-300s. On Wednesday, Russia's... Space War http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2370772/posts#comment Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:05:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364494/posts A military delegation from Iraq will visit Moscow in the near future to discuss the purchase of Russian weaponry, an Iraqi parliament member has said. "A large delegation from the Iraqi Defense Ministry will travel soon to Moscow for talks on arms purchases [from Russia]," Abbas al-Bayati said in an interview with the Al Iraqiya television. According to the Iraqi MP, Baghdad is seeking to sign arms contracts with Russia, Germany, France, Serbia and the United States by the end of 2011 "to complete the creation of Iraqi Armed Forces and security forces." Al-Bayati said the Iraqi leadership is interested... RIANovosti http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364494/posts#comment Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:09:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361108/posts Russia bewildered by N.Korea missile launch-Tass Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:24am EDT MOSCOW, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Russia is bewildered by the latest North Korean missile launch, Itar-Tass news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry source as saying on Monday. "The launch of short-range missiles by the Korean People's Democratic Republic causes bewilderment," the source said. "It was not the most suitable time to do this now, when all efforts are made to restart six-way talks on Korea's nuclear problem." Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361108/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:09:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357717/posts <p>It began with a thinly sourced but highly explosive report Monday in a British newspaper: Arab oil sheikhs are conspiring with the Russians and Chinese to quit using the dollar to set the value of oil trades – a direct threat to the global supremacy of the greenback.</p> Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357717/posts#comment Thu, 8 Oct 2009 18:22:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2357203/posts North Korea wants to placate key benefactor China by offering to return to disarmament talks and it is unclear whether it really intends to give up its cherished nuclear deterrent, analysts said Tuesday. Leader Kim Jong-Il told visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao late Monday the North is willing to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations -- on condition it first holds talks with the United States to improve "hostile relations". Some analysts expressed scepticism about the North's conditional offer to return to six-party dialogue, almost six months after it quit the forum and announced it would restart its bomb-making programme.... Space War http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2357203/posts#comment Thu, 8 Oct 2009 01:13:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354298/posts Netanyahu, has handed the Kremlin a list of Russian scientists believed by the Israelis to be helping Iran to develop a nuclear warhead. He is said to have delivered the list during a mysterious visit to Moscow. UK Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354298/posts#comment Sat, 3 Oct 2009 21:20:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2349360/posts Iran did something fairly important this week, in the grand scheme of things. Iran proved that President Bush and his “Axis of Evil” comment was accurate, and that President/Senator Obama (and all his liberal allies with blinders on) with his Pollyannish “Iran is not a threat” was wrong. Deadly wrong.(snip) Who is that naive and stupid? (Read Barry Buffoon)Combine this news with their known missile program (and their mad leader’s claims to wipe Israel off the map) and it becomes clear that Iran is taking this world into the abyss of hell. Strata-Sphere http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2349360/posts#comment Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:57:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2349170/posts 3 Wrongs DonÂ’t Make a Right 17 September 2009 By Robert R. Amsterdam The recent visits to Moscow and Tehran by Hugo Chavez raise a number of concerns about the deepening relations between Russia, Iran and Venezuela. The motivation behind the Russia-Iran-Venezuela alliance is often misunderstood. On the one hand, there is the narrative that these governments are pursuing national interests, seeking to deepen their security against ever-present external threats and accrue regional power. Others argue that the alliance is driven by an attempt to build an “alternative architecture” of global relations, one that is conveniently unconcerned with democracy and... The Moscow Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2349170/posts#comment Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:48:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2341736/posts The bad old Axis of Evil is back in the news. That's not because President Barack Obama has resurrected the label, but because he's now planning to hold direct talks with its two surviving charter members, Iran and North Korea. It's one of many signs of change (if not hope) that the phrase itself, "axis of evil," has become less welcome in Washington's diplomatic calculus than envoys of that axis itself. Even before Obama scrapped the entire concept, President George W. Bush during his second term had abandoned the formulation. ... If the term "evil" has now been written out... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2341736/posts#comment Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:26:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338738/posts link only http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aK4daf8MD.Bw bloombert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338738/posts#comment Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:00:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338226/posts Barack Obama Starts US Talks With 'Axis of Evil': North Korea and Iran President Barack Obama has approved plans for the US to start direct talks with both North Korea and Iran, in a significant shift in policy. By Philip Sherwell in New York and David Eimer in Beijing 12 Sep 2009 Barack Obama's new approach marks a significant change in American diplomacy The State Department said it would meet one-to-one with Pyongyang negotiators in an effort to persuade the reclusive Stalinist state to return to multilateral talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons programme. Washington has also accepted a vague... Telegraph(UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2338226/posts#comment Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:49:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2337686/posts WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department said on Friday it was prepared to hold direct talks with North Korea to try to coax it back into multilateral negotiations on ending its nuclear programs. Previously, U.S. officials had sent mixed signals about direct meetings, at times saying Pyongyang must first commit to resume multilateral discussions and at others saying bilateral talks could only occur "in the context" of the multilateral discussions. The department denied changing its policy on direct talks, saying any bilateral meeting would be to bring Pyongyang back to multilateral talks. "We are prepared to enter into a... Reuters on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2337686/posts#comment Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:33:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336864/posts The US and Russia have given differing responses to Iran's latest proposals on its nuclear programme. The proposals, aimed at ending the impasse over Iran's nuclear ambitions, were submitted to a group of six global powers on Wednesday. The US State Department said the proposals fell short of satisfying international demands. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they contained something to work with. "Based on a brief review of the Iranian papers my impression is there is something there to use," Mr Lavrov said in Moscow. "The most important thing is (that) Iran is ready for a comprehensive discussion... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336864/posts#comment Fri, 11 Sep 2009 01:30:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2330113/posts Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi marked the 40th anniversary of the bloodless coup that brought him to power, with celebrations attended by African, Arab and Latin American leaders but largely ignored by the West. At the end of a two-hour show late Tuesday retracing the 40 years since Kadhafi ousted King Idriss in 1969, a brief video clip showed the return to Libya last month of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, but the western delegations present did not react. Kadhafi's party kicked off around midnight on Monday at the former US military base of Matega near Tripoli with a two-hour... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2330113/posts#comment Wed, 2 Sep 2009 05:57:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328830/posts It has the makings of the opening sequence in an apocalyptic thriller. A ship enters the Gulf, carrying a secret, illicit cargo of munitions, bound for Iran from North Korea. The ship is seized by the United Arab Emirates, where authorities discover that instead of the oil boring equipment listed on the manifest, the cargo includes some 10 containers filled with rocket launchers, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades and detonators. The UAE seizes the cargo and notifies the United Nations Security Council. But for weeks, the public is told nothing about it – not by the UN, and not by Washington. The... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328830/posts#comment Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:16:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2328472/posts The Term "Axis of Evil" has been a source of liberal derision ever since President Bush coined the phrase in his 2002 State of the Union address... Seven years later Iraq is a fledgling democracy, but North Korea and Iran are still at it, in fact they are working together: The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo ship earlier this month bound for Iran with a cache of banned arms from North Korea, the first such seizure since sanctions against North Korea were ramped up, diplomats and officials told The Associated Press Friday. The seizure was carried out in... CNEWS/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2328472/posts#comment Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:07:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2326941/posts NEW YORK (CNN) — The United Arab Emirates seized a ship carrying banned arms from North Korea to Iran, diplomats told CNN Friday. The incident occurred in early August and was reported to the U.N. Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions committee, Western diplomats at the United Nations said. The diplomats did not disclose which country owned the vessel. It also was not immediately clear whether this was the first time such an incident had happened, or only the first time such a case had been revealed. A U.N. resolution passed in July imposes an embargo on the shipment of arms... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2326941/posts#comment Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:55:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2325988/posts Amy Goodman of the Marxist Democracy Now! network reported yesterday on the arrest of a “leading Democratic donor” named Hassan Nemazee. Here is the story, in its entirety: Back in the United States, a leading Democratic donor has been arrested and charged with seeking to defraud the financial giant Citibank. Hassan Nemazee is accused of submitting forged documents to secure a $74 million loan. Nemazee has given at least $150,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee since 2006 and supported several other leading Democratic politicians. Not much to sink your teeth into there. Could it be that Goodman is downplaying... NewsReal Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2325988/posts#comment Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:07:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2324366/posts Gaddafi: Terrorism Is Justified By Western Arrogance Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi sure was quiet during the Bush years. But, that's all changed. Yesterday, Gaddafi said terrorism was justified by Western arrogance. ANSAmed reported, via RIP: The scheduled visit by Italy's prime minister to Libya on August 30 is "most opportune" and will go ahead. Any rumours of second thoughts on the part of Silvio Berlusconi were thoroughly quashed yesterday by Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, and his visit to Tripoli, scheduled for the end of this month to celebrate the first anniversary of the signing of the Cooperation and Friendship Treaty... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2324366/posts#comment Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:12:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2324335/posts Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hinted today that Syria was responsible for last week’s bombings in Baghdad. In an unusually belligerent tone Maliki added that Iraq could respond in kind but refrains from doing so because of “our values and keen interest to reach an agreement with this country to get rid of those elements they host”. This is the first time the Prime Minister points at a particular state for involvement in violence in Iraq. Previous statements usually used the loose “neighboring countrie(s)” term. Although he only spoke about Syria, he also hinted that Syria might have a partner in... Iraq the Model http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2324335/posts#comment Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:25:44 GMT