Iranian official: UN sanctions may lead us to seal off Persian Gulf

courtesy of rogerlsimon.com, the conventional wisdom on middle eastern oil may not be all that it's cracked up to be. Roger J. Stern, of John Hopkins U, has written a peer-reviewed journal published on-line by the National Academy of Science that casts doubt on the notion of the "oil weapon" in a six page paper entitled "Oil market Power and US National Security".

Hyperlink to the PDF here: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0503705102v1

Hmmm... They couldn't pull it off in the eighties but god knows how many silkworm or exocet missles they have all over the coast by now. Is it time to invest in nuclear power stocks?

Despots and theocratic maniacs are so predictable, aren't they? As if the US has not forseen and wargamed this scenario a hundred times in our infidel supercomputers.

Hmm, guys, we dont use their oil. The russians and chineses and indians do, on the other hand. The only way this is going to affact us is by an higher oil price, which will slow down the economy. If its too sever, we'll have to go there ourselves to reopen the valves, but the russians and chinese might go there before us. Surely they know they wont stop the US from going?.

As for a Persian Gulf bloackade, I dont think it'll be much of a problem for America and Europe' navies to clear out.

There is no oil weapon. There never was. The pricing of oil, the availability of oil, by the members of OPEC has always been a market matter, designed to maximize the value over time of whatever reserves a particular state may happen to possess. This was discussed long ago in an article by Douglas Feith in "Policy Review."

There may be trouble with the oilfields in Iran, but it will not be because the Iranian government would ever cut off its only real source of income. It could happen because the ethnic Arabs of Khuzistan might begin to attack those oilfields, possibly taking a leaf from the Iraqi playbook, in order to weaken their Persian masters. Others who might relish such sabotage, of whatever oil fields and pipelines may be within their particular range, might include those Persians within and without who cannot stand the Islamic Republic of Iran and wish to weaken it, or representatives of the Baluchis, or the Azeris in the north, a once-and-future part of Azerbaijan, possibly, and no longer part of the detested Islamic Republic?

The threat is as false as the Saudi threat, over the years, to employ the "oil weapon."

And not only would the Iranians never wish to cut off their only source of funds, but whatever forces they possess could be quickly eliminated by the Americans.

Besides, it is not the Americans who should worry about the Iranians blockading oil shipments in the Gulf. It is the Iranians who should be worrying about the Americans blockading oil shipments.

And at any point, in case of dire necessity, it would not be hard, it would be easy, it would be a matter of four brigades, for the Americans to seize, for "the good of the world," the gas of Qatar, the oil of Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and the eastern Shi'a-inhabited province of al-Hasa in Saudi Arabia. All on the up and up, of course. All done with whatever funds received held "in escrow" and perhaps even spent on the locals, bypassing the royal families of these assorted tribes with flags, and their usual cut. Screaming, outrage, marches in Karachi and Gaza and possibly Cairo (but muted once it becomes clear that the Americans can cut Egypt off without anymore jizya, and that getting away with the mixture as before will not be possible).

Why doesn't the American government issue,or let one of its blunter and less delicate representatives -- say, John Bolton -- suggest that this threat to "block oil supplies" should not be repeated by Tehran -- for it might give "some of us ideas."

When they blockade the Persian Gulf, will they hold their breath and stomp their feet, too?

They must really love the idea of martyrdom, because the Iranian Navy bottled up in the Persian Gulf would be like the proverbial "fish in a barrel."

Hugh, for those of us without access to academic libraries, can you supply a link to the Feith article? It's not available at the Policy Review site.

re: " we have the power to halt oil supply to the last drop from the shores of the Persian Gulf via the Straits of Hormuz."

Go ahead.......I dare you. You will get bombed to pieces.

President Ahmadinejad is the most foolish leader of the Middle East.

There will be serious consequences if Iran halts the oil supply line in the Starits of Hormuz.

Waterdragon:

Excellent article. Thanks.

This whole conflict comes down to a struggle for power: Who has the power to impose their will on others of different persuasion, Who can project the illusion of power to increase and consolidate their actual power assets.

So, if the oil weapon is a bogeyman and if the Straits of Hormuz are closed down, then the loudest shouts of protest are likely to spotlight the parties most interested in protecting their power investments. It should prove to be instructive.

longtime lurker -- If you can't find it by googling "Policy Review" and "Douglas Feith" I would suggest calling the offices of Policy Review at the Heritage Foundation for 1) exact date of the issue and 2) to find out if it is on-line or if reprints are available. The essay merely discussed what should, but was not, obvious to everyone (then or now): that Saudi Arabia, like the other OPEC producers, wishes to maximize its stream of revenues over time, that its pricing policy is based on calculations different from that of oil-producters with much smaller reserves, who might want as high a price as possible right away, knowing that they will sell all their oil at that price, and do not care if, for example, oil consumers switch to other forms of energy. The article is at least 10 years old, possibly more.

The more such threats there are, the more the government -- even one as paralytic as this one -- will be forced to realize it will have to do everything it can to diminish 1) its own reliance on Middle Eastern oil and 2) the reliance of others on Middle Eastern oil and 3) and to work on sources of energy not only for this country, not only for allies in Europe and elsewhere, but even for countries that are not allies, such as China.

Of course, there will be no terribly dire consequences because in the end, so much of the oil and gas is concentrated in such militarily insignficant places as Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar, and the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. If necessary, to avert a world-wide eocnomic collapse, of course they would, should be seized. Why not? Is Saudi Arabia a good friend, or an enemy, the chief funder of the world-wide spread of Islam? Is Qatar a friend, simply becuase it gives us a base (more to protect the Qataris from Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, not out of love for American Infidels -- look at the Al-Jazeera station, or the tip-off to an Al Qaeda operative, about to be seized by the Americnas, by an Al-Thani family member). There are a hundred ways to placate a pro-forma protest from a pro-forma outraged world; it would all die down very quickly; nothing like being without oil to make you forget any phony scruples you might have had.

Imagine, for example, that there was fighting in and around Dammam between Shi'a and Saudi soldiers. And that this fighting threatened to damage the oil wells? Would not the Americans move in to protect these sources of oil? And would Europe or Latin America or sub-Saharan Africa, or Japan, or anyone else outside the Arab and Muslim lands, be upset at all? Answer: No.

In that case, then they're likely to meet U.S. Navy SEALS, and their counterparts from other countries. But then this threat comes from a land where they would shoot a whale and say they hit a large naval target.

Does Iran did't received any lesson from showdowns with US.Navy in 1980's? But personally I fear, that Iran would use it's "secret" weapon: suicide bombers on motorboats…

Besides, it is not the Americans who should worry about the Iranians blockading oil shipments in the Gulf. It is the Iranians who should be worrying about the Americans blockading oil shipments.

[...]

Posted by: Hugh at January 24, 2006 08:48 AM

Hugh:

I wrote a little while back something to this effect, in the context what other source of export income do the mullahs have -- outside of pistachio nuts and some dried fruits -- and assume that is your point too.

But I would add to the list of rightly "concerned" parties, those purchasers of Iranian crude and -- I hope I'm not presuming too much -- but we all know who they are and that they are the problem here, more than US action/inaction vis the Islamic Republic.

More run-on verbal diarrhea from ahmadinejad and the 12 stooges. It's like having a plexiglass window into their diseased brains.

fatnun asks: "Is it time to invest in nuclear power stocks?"

ANSWER: Yes, and the smart money already has. Toshiba is buying Westinghouse. Westinghouse has always been a leader in nuclear power plant technology, and Toshiba needs that technology because it wants to build additional plants, with many planned for construction in CHINA.

Too bad our left liberal environmentalist idiots are so myopic about nuclear power. In their religious zeal, they are trying mighty hard to make the USA a backward country.

Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu Adonai Echad;Yeshua Ha'Mashiach.

Sects of Islamic Jihad, by any of many names, have persisted since the eighth Century and must be eradicated, using tactical nuclear weapons if necessary! Christian worship is forbidden in Moslem nations, which are ruled by Islamic Sharia law, yet they demand that we use our blood bought Bill-of -Rights to defend them. Christians are allowed to defend themselves! Demand the Moslem Countries cease the persecution of Christians.

This why we need to drill in Alaska!!! This is why al Quida wants to attack Alaska. If Iran wants to pull this boneheaded stunt, then let them. They've tried this before. They may hurt the economy for a minute, but like always, as the American economy goes, so goes the world economy.
"Nuts to Iran!!!" This should serve as encouragement to drill ANWR, but environmentalist wackos will protest. Demanding that "We the People" drive more fuel effective vehicles. Cars with lawnmower motors. "Nuts to that!!!" As an American if I can afford it, I should be able to drive whatever car or SUV that I want. Our cars and SUVs are more fuel efficient now than at anytime in automotive history!!!
Let Iran try to bully the world with holding back on the oil. In the long run, they'll only destroy their economy. Oil is the only thing that they produce. Okay, they make Persian rugs. They don't raise crops. They don't produce cars or trucks. They need our technology to drill for their oil in the first place!!! Other than burning our flag, harboring terrorists, produce oil and sew rugs, WHAT ELSE ARE THE IRANIANS GOOD FOR??? They'll only hurt the Russian, Chinese, and Indian economies. The Russians even need our technology to drill for their oil!!!
The United States is the "cock of the walk", the "big boy on the block." During World War II, our country set records for the amount of items it produce in the effort against the Axis enemy.
When faced with adversity, the American spirit rises to the ocasion with optimism and a "can do" attitude. This is what causes the Muslims to miscalculate the average American. We're above average!!! We know how to create, to build. There is never a shortage of ideas in America. That is, unless you're talking about Hollyweird and their lack of imagination for oringinal movies nowadays.
Our grandparents and greatgrandparents showed us how to sacrifice for the greater good. It's just that this new generation refuses to learn what our forefathers taught us. Be SELF RELIANT!!! That is how our ecnomy survived the Arab oil embargo of the 70s. We took what we had and built on it. We carpooled until there was an oil glut.
OPEC then had to lower the price of oil to accommidate the instant lowering of the price of oil. American know how and inginuity saved the economy. National and international. Now there's ANWR. The Muslims are afraid that once we vote the democratic obstructionists out of the way, we'll drill that untapped oil source and put them our of business here. There's no need for us to sweat about Iran closing the Persian Gulf. "We the People" will make due, like always. Rise to the opportunity and perserveer like always.!!!

The question; Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad mad (crazy) enuff to starve and slowly kill his own people? Of course he is. He is ushering in the reurn of the lost Imam. Think Jim Jones, David Koresh and many others with this mentality.

There is an oil weapon and it is in the hands of the Americans. That is why China is not too happy about the American military presence in the region. The Americans have been looking for an opportunity to deploy the present level of forces in the region since the mid-1970s but it could never do it without provoking a serious confrontation with the Soviets and the Chinese that could have easily escalated into strategic brinkmanship. Saddam solved that problem for the Americans.

Recommended reading: The Thirty-Year Itch.

Hugh, no joy. I suspect your memory is off, though I would never say so publicly. Google produces no hits on it (I did that the first time you cited it), and Feith is nowhere listed as an author who published in Policy Review:

http://www.policyreview.org/authorindex.html

Can you help with a citation?

Cordially,

LL

"Too bad our left liberal enviromentalist idiots are so myopic about nuclear power." Post by Texan

I beleive the last US nuclear power plant was built in the mid 80s at Seabrook. There are over a hundred plants in the USA. The safety records are perfect, but yet somehow people are still afraid of them. Every time there is a mining accident and dozens of miners are killed, I just scratch my head.

Nuclear power emits no greenhouse gases. Radioactive waste is a problem, but on the whole nuclear powere is safe and clean.

I just read an interview in the Jerusalem Post via the Drudgereport where UN Ambassador Bolton states "Bush has made it clear that a nuclear Iran is not acceptable." Neither Bush nor Bolton are known for making statements that they are not prepared to back up.

He goes on to say that Bush worries that a nuclear equipped Iran under its current leadership could well engage in a nuclear holocaust "AND THAT IS JUST SOMETHING HE IS NOT GOING TO ACCEPT." Yikes.

The safety records are perfect, but yet somehow people are still afraid of them. - posted by GFB

I agree that we need more nuclear power, as well as to replace/upgrade the aging facilities we do have. I wish I could also agree that the safety records were "perfect."

The Davis-Besse plant in NW Ohio, not far from where I grew up in Toledo, makes the plant on The Simpsons look well managed.

Early in 2002, it was discovered that an acid leak had eroded a basketball-sized hole in the reactor head (some 6-8 inches thick), leaving less than an inch of steel lid between our region and this scenario described by the Toledo Blade: "If the reactor head had burst, radioactive steam would have formed in the containment building and put northern Ohio on the brink of a nuclear accident akin to what happened in the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in central Pennsylvania in 1979, the NRC has said."

Source: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/NEWS03/60120012

It was divine providence, not professional excellence, that saved our bacon.

It seems reasonable to believe that newer plants would come with a newer "safety culture," but the outside oversight must be forever vigilant to offset the omnipresent factor of human incompetence and corruption, even when stakes are that high.

...Shifting gears, it also makes me wonder about the state of the aforementioned "safety culture" in Iran's operations, recalling how irresponsible the USSR, another secretive, fanatical, and totalitarian regime was about individual safety and environmental protection.

Nationalism and a sense of urgency will probably induce Iran, too, to cut corners for the sake of expediting their nuclear development, and just may also end up, like the USSR at Chernobyl, both shooting themselves in the foot and blowing the lid off the culture of secrecy.

"......we have the power to halt oil supply to the last drop from the shores of the Persian Gulf via the Straits of Hormuz."

Go for it Rudaki! Inspire the industrial nations to replace oil as fast as possible! Growing pains are growing pains - terrorists will then have to hold cookie sales to buy bombs.

Hydrogen economy anyone?

http://www.emagazine.com/view/?171
http://www.energy.gov/news/1548.htm
http://www.hydrogen.co.uk/h2/h2_page2.htm

An interesting read on Iran Press Forums.

The Russian supplied missiles appear formidable, especially the SS-N-22 Sunburn, capable of over mach 2.5 and carries conventional or nuclear warheads.

http://www.iran-press-service.com/z_htdocs_z/dcforum/DCForumID2/804.html#1

Is the U.S.A. seriously lagging behind Russia in missile technology and considering that China has destroyers armed with the Sunburn is the U.S. aircraft carrier obsolete?

These kind of explosions from Ahmadinejad prove that he is not posturing or looking for an advantage. If he wanted a nuclear arsenal as a strategic deterrent, he would be all smiles and peace offers, to throw us off his scent. His constant threats and posturing, the holocaust denail, are preparation. Here is an interseting article on this subject:

http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20060120-091648-2928r.htm

I am hoping Bush has the nerve to follow through. I cannot help but think we cried wolf vis a vis WMD in Iraq, and now that the real wolf is at our door we are going to be on the receiving end of even more flak than we otherwise would for doing what needs to be done.

Quijybo

Hmm. Lots of woolly thinking, seems to me.
1. Why assume that Ahmadinejad etc pursue the same "revenue maximising" goals that an average Western leader would pursue? They have explicitly stated that they seek the destruction of Anglo-Saxon civilisation. Shouldn't we be taking them at their word?
2. Roger Stern's article ignores several realities about the oil situation, as well as point 1. above (tell me please, what is the 'wt' gained from a US depression??) Saudi Arabia was only able to act as a swing producer (taking over from the US in the mid 70s after US production had begun to decline) because it had spare capacity and could thereby influence the market. They no longer have that spare capacity. Indeed, if Matt Simmons (Twilight in the Desert) is right, their production is about to go through the floor.
3. The Oil weapon DID have an effect in the 70's - didn't he notice? - the Saudi's just realised that it was ultimately self-destructive (they were rational in the sense that Ahmadinejad almost certainly isn't).
4. The US may not be able to take back the Straits of Hormuz quite as quickly as believed, see http://www.rense.com/general69/dayone.htm to get the imagination working properly, and then Google "Iran Sunburn missile" and look at the article alleging that they have that particular Russian missile. It doesn't mean that the Straits couldn't be re-opened, just that it won't be as straightforward as blind optimism might make it seem.
5. The reality is that Iran is in a tactically extremely strong position - and knows it, which is why they feel they can be so aggressive.
6. The US is in fact MORE vulnerable to oil hikes than China et al, not least because in a few years time places like Kazakhstan will overtake Iran as oil exporters - and it is Chinese companies that have bought the rights to use Kazakh oil.

There are no easy answers to this. The situation is fubar.

longtime lurker -- I did a quick search and found this quote:

"Back in 1981, Douglas Feith, who is now US undersecretary of defence, pointed out in a study published by the conservative Heritage Foundation that after the 1973 embargo was declared, multinational companies that distributed Arab oil juggled supplies so that all oil-importing nations shared the shortfall.
Feith pointed out that during the October 1973 to March 1974 embargo period, crude oil supplies in the United States were tightest in February 1974. Even then, they were only 5.1 % lower than the daily average for the first three-quarters of the preceding year.
Although the Arabs singled out The Netherlands to be punished as an especially enthusiastic supporter of Israel, it experienced less of a shortfall than France and Britain, which had led Europe's pro-Arab politicalinitiative. Zycher and like-minded analysts answer the argument that Arab and other OPEC members could drive up oil prices enough to cause real damage to the world economy by contending that OPEC won't do so. All regimes -- from monarchies to dictatorships to democracies -- need revenue.
Therefore, argue the hawkish analysts, if the Bush administration decides to act against "rogue" regimes acquiring weapons of mass destruction or backing terrorists, the supposed oil weapon is only a ghost from the distant past, and should not be used as an argument to prevent action."

Call the Heritage Foundation, or email them, and they should be able to find the article in, I now realize, a 1979 or 1980 Policy Review.

Sorry I dated it as being about 10-15 years old, when it is closer to 25. These things happen when one is doing 90 or above, on the black ice of old age.

longtimelurker -

Hugh is more than likely correct . . .National Review (online) isn't archived back to the article in question. One would have to contact NR directly to retrieve it.

I did locate this online, however . . .

Back in 1981, Douglas Feith pointed out in a study published by the conservative Heritage Foundation that after the 1973 embargo was declared, multinational companies that distributed Arab oil juggled supplies so that all oil-importing nations shared the shortfall. Feith pointed out that during the October 1973 to March 1974 embargo period, crude oil supplies in the United States were tightest in February 1974. Even then, they were only 5.1 % lower than the daily average for the first three-quarters of the preceding year. Although the Arabs singled out The Netherlands to be punished as an especially enthusiastic supporter of Israel, it experienced less of a shortfall than France and Britain, which had led Europe's pro-Arab politicalinitiative. Zycher and like-minded analysts answer the argument that Arab and other OPEC members could drive up oil prices enough to cause real damage to the world economy by contending that OPEC won't do so. All regimes -- from monarchies to dictatorships to democracies -- need revenue. Therefore, argue the hawkish analysts, if the Bush administration decides to act against "rogue" regimes acquiring weapons of mass destruction or backing terrorists, the supposed oil weapon is only a ghost from the distant past, and should not be used as an argument to prevent action.

Hugh has also suggested exploring Professor M. A. Adelman's work,
Genie">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262011514/002-3868912-8130423?v=glance&n=283155">Genie Out of the Bottle: World Oil since 1970 (Hardcover)

I say let them use the "Oil Weapon".

It will hurt the economy short-term, but if there is money to be made we will find way to do so without oil.

the Arabs singled out The Netherlands to be punished as an especially enthusiastic supporter of Israel...

And now that country is approaching the point where it will be renamed the Islamic Republic of Holland.

Oil shock triggers the historic stupidity called the EAD. EAD causes the EEC to decide to reconstitute itself in the form of Islam. The EU (rebadged EEC) becomes the primary world force on behalf of pro-Dhimmi and antisemitic politics.

Looks like the Moslem oil shock works

1) Form an alliance of non-Moslem oil consumer nations.

2) Issue to the Moslems a severe military/economic reprisal plan that will share the pain across all Moslem nations, and not just Iran, for Iranian aggression.

"Nuts to Iran!!!" This should serve as encouragement to drill ANWR, but environmentalist wackos will protest. Demanding that "We the People" drive more fuel effective vehicles. Cars with lawnmower motors. "Nuts to that!!!" As an American if I can afford it, I should be able to drive whatever car or SUV that I want. Our cars and SUVs are more fuel efficient now than at anytime in automotive history!!

That is rediculous. We need to make more fuel efficient cars and stop driving on SUVs that give 10MPG. Our goal isnt just cleaning up the environment Ironman. It running our cars on water or french fry grease so we dont give our Islamic enemies money to kill us with to begin with. If we didn't buy so much oil, they dcan't make bombs, build propganda, or build Nuclear Power plants...

If we could run our SUVs on the political hot air of the left and the politically correct media lies, we'd never run out of energy.

zaki badawai 1918-2006 R.I.P. (rest in perdition)

"will be remembered for forging close ties with jewish community" - albeeb

Re. the oil weapon - a point seldom mentioned is that the world faces two imminent bottlenecks: dwindling reserves within ~20-30 years, but before that, the rate of consumption will overtake the rate at which it can be lifted & refined - with all producers pumping at full capacity. Imamahdijihadee envisions a post-apocalyptic oil-starved West a la Mad Max, while the islamocommie alliance sits pretty.

If only he'd seen Mad Max 3, he'd know the future's in pig farming. Although that flick also featured a loud-mouthed midget, riding a retarded "master-blaster", enforcing an "embargo" to take control of Bartertown.

Umm, if i had a point, i lost it somewhere in the last paragraph. Sorry.

Reciprocating pistons and valves that use exponentially more energy the bigger they get. Variable resistance loads on cams and cranks, which are at their most inefficient phase of rotation while the power stroke is at it's most energetic, and then more than half of all the energy released in the burn has to be flushed out of the cylinder to make room for the next cycle.... this is an absolute joke. We're wasting around 75% of the available energy by using a barely-modified steam-engine design from a bygone era. The most highly-tuned IC engine converts no more than 25-35% motive energy.

It's possible to build a single-stroker into the rim of a wheel, producing the power exactly where it's needed, in a car that's a tonne lighter `coz it don't need no driveshaft, transmission, differentials etc. and with no vibration 'coz it's only got one moving part going in one direction - ie. 70-90% efficiency. We could all grow our own carbon-neutral fuel at profit. Ford could save all those jobs and take the helm. But i doubt it'll happen 'till every last drop of crude has been fought for and converted to smog. Ho-hum.

Maybe it is not the USA that needs to worry about a Block-aid but the Iranis??

HOW THEY GOING TO CONTROL THE WORLD WITHOUT OIL??

I SAY TAKE OUT THEIR OILFEILDS AND STOP THIS MADDNES??

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601244298180919.htm
Pakistan cautions action against Iran to destabilize region
Islamabad, Jan 24, IRNA
Pakistan-Iran
Pakistan has opposed any military option against Iran, cautioning this would destabilize the whole region.
Talking to newsmen Pakistan's Ambassador Jehangir Karamat said Pakistan's stance on the stand-off about Iran's nuclear program was very much clear.
"Pakistan does not let its neighbor be subject to any military action that will have extremely serious repercussions for the whole region," he maintained, largely-circulated Urdu newspaper 'Nawai Waqt' reported in its Tuesday issue.
He said that Islamabad believed in settlement of the issue through diplomatic means and for this the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the European Union and other countries could play an effective role.
The envoy made it clear that any 'extreme step' by the United States or any other country against the Islamic Republic would have negative impact on the region, already confronted with a number of issues and disputes.
Iran has rejected the US and the European Union's concerns about its nuclear program, saying its program was for peaceful purposes to generate energy, and that it had no intention of making nuclear arms.
WONDER IF BUSH HEARD THIS SEAMS OUR FRIEND HAS PICKED THE WRONG BED MATE??

OR MAYBE THEY WERE NEVER REALLY FRIENDS??

OH WINTER IS COMING HOW MUCH BLACK OIL CAN YOU EAT??

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/24/92401.shtml?s=lh
Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Musharraf Says U.S. Likely Hit al-Qaida
NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006
OSLO, Norway -- Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday there were indications that al-Qaida members were killed in a U.S. airstrike near the Afghan border on Jan. 13.
"Investigations have found that there are foreigners there, that is for sure, in the general area," Musharraf said of the airstrike in Damadola, a village in northern Pakistan.
"There is an indication that there were some people also, al-Qaida people, who have got killed and we need to ascertain that. I'm not 100 percent sure of that," he said.
Pakistani government officials have said there were foreign militants in the area and that some were killed in the airstrike, but they have yet to find the bodies.
Musharraf is a close ally in Washington's war on terror. The missile strike, which the Americans say targeted but missed Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, has infuriated many Pakistanis.

LIKE I SAID??

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601241870173303.htm
EU interested in supply of Iranian gas
Brussels, Jan 24, IRNA
EU-Iran-Energy
The European Union's top energy official said Tuesday that he will be glad if Iranian natural gas would flow to the energy-hungry Europe.

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601245080175001.htm
160 Pak pilgrims died during pilgrimage
Islamabad, Jan 24, IRNA
Pakistan-Pilgrims
As many as 160 Pakistani pilgrims were killed during the pilgrimage this year.

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601244616200723.htm
January 24, 2006
Separatists rebels blow up power installation in Assam
Guwahati, India, Jan 24, IRNA
India-Assam-Blasts

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-18/0601248367203159.htm
Text of Pakistan-Iran joint statement on gas pipeline talks
Islamabad. Jan 24, IRNA
Pakistan-Iran-Gas Talks

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-25/0601245331201123.htm
Malaysia-Iran- Nuclear
Kuala Lumpur, Jan 24, IRNA

SOME THING YOU MAY HAVE FORGOT??

Malaysia Arrests Key Figure in Nuclear Trafficking
NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, May 28, 2004
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A Sri Lankan businessman accused of brokering black market deals for nuclear technology was arrested Friday in Malaysia, government officials said.
Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, who allegedly worked with disgraced Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan to sell nuclear secrets to rogue states, was detained for threatening Malaysia's national security, officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity

NOW YOU HAVE TO SAK YOURSELF WAS IT REALLY BLACK MARKET??

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0601245130194636.htm
Lebanese Hizbollah condemns explosions in Ahvaz
Beirut, Jan 24, IRNA
Iran-Explosion-Hizbollah

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0601217945151146.htm
Iran says Palestine is center of Islam, fight against arrogance
Tehran, Jan 21, IRNA
Syria-Iran-President
President Ahmadinejad said Friday Palestine is the center of the final stages of the battle between Islam and arrogance, saying the Palestinian Intifada is progressing.

LIKE I SAID TAKE OUT THEIR OIL STOP THEM IN THEIR TRACKS AND REMEMBER WHO YOUR REAL FRIENDS ARE?? IF YOU TAKE OUT IRANS OIL THEY WILL HAVE NOTHING TO BLACKMAIL OTHERS WITH??

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601244616200723.htm
January 24, 2006
Separatists rebels blow up power installation in Assam
Guwahati, India, Jan 24, IRNA
India-Assam-Blasts

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601241870173303.htm
EU interested in supply of Iranian gas
Brussels, Jan 24, IRNA
EU-Iran-Energy

DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY WILL NOT CAVE TO ISLAMIC TERRORIST??

REMEMBER FRANCE DID NOTHING WHILE ISLAMIC TERRORIST BURNED THEIR CARS??

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601249388164335.htm
Pak ministers, officials physically searched in US
Islamabad, Jan 24, IRNA
Pakistan-US
The entourage of Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was subjected to body search in the United States.

OH REALLY??

ALLORA

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601242521164804.htm
Iran pipeline to be built in segments: Pak daily
Islamabad, Jan 24, IRNA
Iran, Pakistan and India are likely to adopt a segmented approach on the construction of over US dollar 7 billion trans-Pakistan gas pipeline to ward off effects of possible US sanctions against Iran over the nuclear issue.

HOW MUCH DOES BILL CLINTON GET??

WHERE ARE THE GREENES ON THIS ONE WE ARE TALKEN ABOUT EARTHQUAKE COUNTRY??

Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WISDOM, SIGHT, AND COURAGE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM LET NOT THE WORLD BE DECEIVED BY THEM AMEN

PS
GOOD ON YOU CANADA!

I say we should take their oil before we are screwed by the wimps??

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/24/122128.shtml?s=lh
Iran Ready to Supply Gas to Georgia
NewsMax.com Wires
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006
TBILISI, Georgia -- Iran has expressed a readiness to export natural gas to Georgia to make up for a sharp drop in Russian deliveries, the energy minister of this former Soviet republic said Tuesday.

LET'S SEE HERE ISLAMIC TERRORIST TAKE OUT PIPE LINES AND THEN OTHER ISLAMIC TERRORIST MOVE IN??

OT
OR IS IT??

http://www.exn.ca/volcanoes/weather.cfm
1816: The year without a summer
The most famous example of this is the 'Year without a summer' after the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in the spring of 1815 – what many experts believe to have been the most explosive eruption in the past 10,000 years. By the end of its convulsions, the peak had lost 4,200 feet of its 13,000-foot height. A one-foot thick layer of volcanic ash covered the surface of the sea, and over the next year, the heavy ash fall blocked out the Sun's rays and changed weather patterns in most of the Northern Hemisphere.
Frosts killed crops in New England and Canada, causing serious food shortages. In Europe, it was much worse. Cold weather and heavy rains caused widespread famine. Food riots broke out in France and Switzerland. In Ireland, a cold rain fell for 142 out of 153 days during the summer of 1816, and 65,000 people died of hunger and from an ensuing typhus epidemic. After spreading to other parts of Europe, the epidemic ultimately killed 200,000 people.
And it all started with a volcanic eruption…
http://www.indodigest.com/indonesia-special-article-20.html
An example is the famous cold year of 1785, which followed the frightful eruptions of Mount Asama in Japan and Skaptar Jokull in Iceland. These produced a widely observed "dry fog " the phenomenon that led Benjamin Franklin to suspect a relationship between cold weather and volcanic eruptions.

Volcanic dust is believed to have played a role and perhaps a major one in the great climatic changes of past ages. Even relatively small variations in the Earth's annual mean temperature can cause widespread changes in Arctic ice packs and world sea levels, in desert boundaries, and in the geographic limits of plant, animal, and human life. According to Humphreys, volcanic dust blown into the stratosphere once a year or even once every 2 years, would continuously maintain temperatures low enough to cover the earth with a mantle of snow so extensive as to be self perpetuating, and thereby initiate at least a cool period, or, under the most favorable conditions, even an ice age.

The New England farmer of 1816, of course, knew nothing of such theories, he knew only that something had gone wrong with the weather. And when that dreadful summer was followed by a winter so severe that the mercury froze in the thermometers, he must surely have thought the change was permanent.

Extracts from History of Madison County, New York... "Town of De Ruyter, Madison County, New York.

In 1816 came the "cold season". There was frost in every month. The crops were cut off and the meager harvest of grain was nowhere near sufficient for the needs of the people. The whole of the newly settled interior of New York was also suffering from the same cause. The inhabitants saw famine approaching. (The alarm and depression so wrought upon the community, that a religious revival ensued.) What little grain there was that could be purchased at all was held at remarkable prices and this scant supply soon failed.

JUST THINKING OF ALL THE FLOODS AND ERUPTIONS LAST YEAR AND ALL THE COLD WEATHER IN EUROPE AND RUSSIA??

"Weather in Europe and other regions of the globe were abnormal in 1816. In Europe, the cold and wet weather contributed to a disastrous harvest as crops rotted in the field. Famine, food riots, grain hoarding, and government embargoes resulted. These cold, moist weather patterns may have contributed to the typhus epidemic of 1816-19 in Europe, and the cholera outbreak of 1816-17 originating in Bengal and spreading throughout the world."

THIS IS A QUOTE I THINK ABOUT EVEN TODAY AND THIS WAR ON ISLAMIC TERRORIST YES THIS TOO WILL BE OVER...

It was a winter of misery, hardship and hunger. But spring came again, and the summer of 1817 was normal - as it has been ever since.

The people who survived the ordeal remembered it all their lives, in tales told to their grandchildren about 'The Year Without A Summer'."

YES LIFE DOES GET BETTER!!

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer
Europe, still recuperating from the Napoleonic Wars, suffered from food shortages. Food riots broke out in Britain and France and grain warehouses were looted. The violence was worst in landlocked Switzerland, where famine caused the government to declare a national emergency.
The lack of food inspired Karl Freiherr von Drais to research new ways of horseless transportation which led to the invention of the velocipede or Draisine, a predecessor of the modern bicycle.
In July 1816 "incessant rainfall" during that "wet, ungenial summer" forced Mary Shelley, John William Polidori and their friends to stay indoors for much of their Swiss holiday, leading Shelley to write Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus and Polidori to write The Vampyre. High levels of ash in the atmosphere led to unusually spectacular sunsets during this period, a feature celebrated in the paintings of J. M. W. Turner. (A similar phenomenon was observed after the 1883 Krakatoa eruption.)
In 1920, American climatologist William Humphreys eventually determined the cause of the year without a summer, after reading a treatise written by Ben Franklin in 1783 blaming the unusually cool summer of that year on volcanic dust coming from the eruption of Laki in Iceland.
A BBC documentary using figures compiled in Switzerland estimated that fatality rates in 1816 were twice that of average years, giving an approximate European fatality total of 200,000 deaths.
A comparable episode, the climate changes of 535-536, happened earlier in the 6th century.

Just a thought we know that there were mulsum wars all around these dates but the West never let the mulsums totally destroy the Jews??

Just a thought??

Hell I hear Saddam[YELLOW COWARD FOUND IN A HOLE DON’T SHOOT I’M A YELLOW COWARD] is pissed something iran is pulling?? Something about taken over Iraq maybe or could he be worried about Israel??

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Climate_changes_of_535-536

In a 1999 book, David Keys, supported by work of the American volcanologist Ken Wohletz, suggested that the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded at the time and caused the changes. He further speculated that the climate changes may have contributed to various developments, such as the emergence of bubonic plague (the Plague of Justinian), the migration of Mongolian tribes towards the West, the end of the Persian empire, the rise of Islam and the end of various civilizations in Central and South America. PBS based a documentary, Catastrophe!, on Keys and Wohletz' ideas. These ideas are not widely accepted at this point.

HELL SURF LONG ENOUGH AND WILL FIND OTHERS OUT THERE JUST AS CRAZY??

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Plague_of_Justinian
Plague of Justinian
The Plague of Justinian in 541-542 is the first known pandemic on record, and it also marks the first firmly recorded pattern of bubonic plague. This outbreak may have originated in Ethiopia or Egypt and moved northward until it reached Constantinople (formerly known as Byzantium). The huge city of Constantinople imported massive amounts of grain to feed its citizens, mostly from Egypt. Grain ships may have been the original source of contagion for the city, with the massive public granaries in the city nurturing the rat and flea population.
The Byzantine historian Procopius records that, at its peak, the plague was killing 10,000 people in Constantinople every day.

JUST MAKES YOU WONDER ABOUT THE BIRD FLUE??

The plague went on to destroy up to a quarter of the human population of the eastern Mediterranean. A second major plague wave in 588 spread through the Mediterranean into what is now France. A maximum figure of 25 million dead for the Plague of Justinian is considered a fairly reasonable estimate.

OH MY ARE WE READY TEX???

FOR THOSE FRANK LOVERS OUT THERE!!!

http://www.beecy.net/frank/
JUST A LITTLE OT TODAY??

http://ams.allenpress.com/amsonline/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0477(1996)077%3C2077:SLAYWA%3E2.0.CO%3B2

AND OF COURSE THIS SHOWS THAT HISTORY IS IMPORTANT!!

http://www.mentalfloss.com/archives/archive2003-05-02.htm
What made 1816 the Year without a Summer? Wise old Ben Franklin had all but predicted it.
Franklin was the first to record the hypothesis that volcanic eruptions could affect the weather. He noted that the bitterly cold winter experienced throughout Europe in 1783-84 coincided with a massive eruption from Iceland's Mt. Laki.
As it turned out, he was right. In 1815, Indonesia's Mt. Tambora spewed an estimated five trillion cubic feet of ash (150 times more than Mount St. Helens). The mighty eruption killed about 10,000 people immediately, but its destruction was far from over. The huge amount of sulfuric acid released into the stratosphere blocked out most of the sun's radiation. Eventually so much debris clogged the Earth's atmosphere that the climate of the entire planet was temporarily changed.

JUST THINKING OFF ALL OF THOSES GOING OFF IN 2005 AND NOW 2006??

THINK THERE WAS AN ANSWER IN THE OLD BOOK LOOK TO THE ANSWER IN THE BOOK WITH THE COAT OF MANY COLORS??

Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WISDOM, SIGHT, AND COURAGE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM LET NOT THE WORLD BE DECEIVED BY THEM GIVE THE COURAGE TO GET MEDEVIL ON THESE MONSTERS AMEN

According to the US military
They have been warning the US and congress for the past 25 years that it wouldnt take much to close the straight..

Some Silkworm missles and others all land based
All placed along Irans Coast but far enough inland to be protected by russian anti aircraft defenses...

While the Environmentalists Ride to Conventions in Gas Guzzeling airliners..
Protesting the fact that president bush wanted to open up alaska to more oil exploration...

Which they didnt want

The environmentalists who all use Electricity all opposed nuclear power as an alternative..

The greenpeace nuts opposed sea power because a turtle might not be able to mate...

Then the regular Americans are so stupid to keep on buying suvs that get 10 miles per gallon..
and Huge power boats for use in a pond..

But on top of all this... and more...
The muslim nations Promised they would Never use
OIL as a weapon against the west...
And since we all know that bin laden told us muslims never lie...

I could never see iran trying to use Force to achieve nuclear armageddon..

I could never imagine muslims using this peaceful electricity to wipe Israel off the map...

but just in case i am wrong...
I suggest Americans begin by Re-arming themselves..

Because when Iran and other muslims nations turn off the spigot (and they might be crazy enough to do it) and all hell breaks loose...

I guarantee you that ALL of the Liberals, environmentalist nuts and greenpeace wakos wont be able to help you

you will be on your own..

Damn right, Hugh, seize them oilfields! It's about POWER and CONTROL, enough of the pansy games, we ain't really looking to "free them", we're looking to control them , for their own good of course, but they are too incorrigible, it's us against them, screw'em. No more damn games. Come fricken out and say it, WE WILL DOMINATE YOU, YOU WILL SUBMIT!! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.
Eventually, being "humane" becomes a luxury in war, sometimes survival requires ruthless and humiliating DOMINATION. That's what our enemy seeks. And they're up-front about it. Enough about "freedom" and "human rights", lets get fricken serious here, that's all hypocracy, screw HUMANISM, IT'S JUST ANOTHER COLLECTIVE, TOTALITARIAN CULT("communism with a human face", know where that originated?? hmm? probably not)
But then there's Russia and China, bastids. I don't trust them.
I could see China trying for Taiwan...

Oh my god, I heard the radio at work today, "people can you feel it, love is in the air/everywhere", or another one, I don't remember which one, but with the same message.
Oh, NO. THAT IS NOT REALITY. DAMNIT. It is wishful thinking. It is FANTASY!!!! We need to deal with REALITY. NOW!

but just in case i am wrong...
I suggest Americans begin by Re-arming themselves..

Because when Iran and other muslims nations turn off the spigot (and they might be crazy enough to do it) and all hell breaks loose...

I guarantee you that ALL of the Liberals, environmentalist nuts and greenpeace wakos wont be able to help you

you will be on your own..

Posted by: jingoist at January 24, 2006 07:23 PM

Gold Star for you toady!!

And better not forget to have the rootcellar full!!!

Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WISDOM, SIGHT, AND COURAGE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM AMEN

PS
IS THIS TREASON??

http://www.senate.gov/~rpc/releases/1997/iran.htm

January 16, 1997
Clinton-Approved Iranian Arms Transfers Help Turn Bosnia into Militant Islamic Base
"'There is no question that the policy of getting arms into Bosnia was of great assistance in allowing the Iranians to dig in and create good relations with the Bosnian government,' a senior CIA officer told Congress in a classified deposition. 'And it is a thing we will live to regret because when they blow up some Americans, as they no doubt will before this . . . thing is over, it will be in part because the Iranians were able to have the time and contacts to establish themselves well in Bosnia.'" ["Iran Gave Bosnia Leader $500,000, CIA Alleges: Classified Report Says Izetbegovic Has Been 'Co-Opted,' Contradicting U.S. Public Assertion of Rift," Los Angeles Times, 12/31/96. Ellipses in original. Alija Izetbegovic is the Muslim president of Bosnia.]
"'If you read President Izetbegovic's writings, as I have, there is no doubt that he is an Islamic fundamentalist,' said a senior Western diplomat with long experience in the region. 'He is a very nice fundamentalist, but he is still a fundamentalist. This has not changed. His goal is to establish a Muslim state in Bosnia, and the Serbs and Croats understand this better than the rest of us.'" ["Bosnian Leader Hails Islam at Election Rallies," New York Times, 9/2/96]
Introduction and Summary
In late 1995, President Bill Clinton dispatched some 20,000 U.S. troops to Bosnia-Hercegovina as part of a NATO-led "implementation force" (IFOR) to ensure that the warring Muslim, Serbian, and Croatian factions complied with provisions of the Dayton peace plan. [NOTE: This paper assumes the reader is acquainted with the basic facts of the Bosnian war leading to the IFOR deployment. For background, see RPC's "Clinton Administration Ready to Send U.S. Troops to Bosnia, "9/28/95," and Legislative Notice No. 60, "Senate to Consider Several Resolutions on Bosnia," 12/12/95] Through statements by Administration spokesmen, notably Defense Secretary Perry and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Shalikashvili, the president firmly assured Congress and the American people that U.S. personnel would be out of Bosnia at the end of one year. Predictably, as soon as the November 1996 election was safely behind him, President Clinton announced that approximately 8,500 U.S. troops would be remaining for another 18 months as part of a restructured and scaled down contingent, the "stabilization force" (SFOR), officially established on December 20, 1996.
SFOR begins its mission in Bosnia under a serious cloud both as to the nature of its mission and the dangers it will face. While IFOR had successfully accomplished its basic military task -- separating the factions' armed forces -- there has been very little progress toward other stated goals of the Dayton agreement, including political and economic reintegration of Bosnia, return of refugees to their homes, and apprehension and prosecution of accused war criminals. It is far from certain that the cease-fire that has held through the past year will continue for much longer, in light of such unresolved issues as the status of the cities of Brcko (claimed by Muslims but held by the Serbs) and Mostar (divided between nominal Muslim and Croat allies, both of which are currently being armed by the Clinton Administration). Moreover, at a strength approximately one-third that of its predecessor, SFOR may not be in as strong a position to deter attacks by one or another of the Bosnian factions or to avoid attempts to involve it in renewed fighting: "IFOR forces, despite having suffered few casualties, have been vulnerable to attacks from all of the contending sides over the year of the Dayton mandate. As a second mandate [i.e., SFOR] evolves, presumably maintaining a smaller force on the ground, the deterrent effect which has existed may well become less compelling and vulnerabilities of the troops will increase." ["Military Security in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Present and Future," Bulletin of the Atlantic Council of the United States, 12/18/96]
The Iranian Connection
Perhaps most threatening to the SFOR mission -- and more importantly, to the safety of the American personnel serving in Bosnia -- is the unwillingness of the Clinton Administration to come clean with the Congress and with the American people about its complicity in the delivery of weapons from Iran to the Muslim government in Sarajevo. That policy, personally approved by Bill Clinton in April 1994 at the urging of CIA Director-designate (and then-NSC chief) Anthony Lake and the U.S. ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, has, according to the Los Angeles Times (citing classified intelligence community sources), "played a central role in the dramatic increase in Iranian influence in Bosnia." Further, according to the Times, in September 1996 National Security Agency analysts contradicted Clinton Administration claims of declining Iranian influence, insisting instead that "Iranian Revolutionary Guard personnel remain active throughout Bosnia." Likewise, "CIA analysts noted that the Iranian presence was expanding last fall," with some ostensible cultural and humanitarian activities "known to be fronts" for the Revolutionary Guard and Iran's intelligence service, known as VEVAK, the Islamic revolutionary successor to the Shah's SAVAK. [LAT, 12/31/96] At a time when there is evidence of increased willingness by pro-Iranian Islamic militants to target American assets abroad -- as illustrated by the June 1996 car-bombing at the Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, that killed 19 American airmen, in which the Iranian government or pro-Iranian terrorist organizations are suspected ["U.S. Focuses Bomb Probe on Iran, Saudi Dissident," Chicago Tribune, 11/4/96] -- it is irresponsible in the extreme for the Clinton Administration to gloss over the extent to which its policies have put American personnel in an increasingly vulnerable position while performing an increasingly questionable mission.

A
MUST READ!!

And you people think North Korea, China and Russia are just going to watch as we attack their trading partner? GET REAL.

Posted by: parainvesta at January 24, 2006 09:28 PM

WHO SAYS THEY will not join Us?? If the cookie is big enough and say we let them have take Iran who cares??

Do you really think the Russians want to give up wine and SHORT SKIRTS??

You must be the person who wont walk the block because that big dog might come out??

Yet people walk that block every day.

Seams the Russians caught a George Sores move on guy the other day??

The Russians see these guys as a real threat too!!

as for the Chinese the Saudis have offered them oil??

NO we may not be the biggest dog on the block but we have a hell of a Bite..

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/International/story?id=1537040
Al Qaeda Sees Resurgence in Pakistani Tribal Areas
Videotape Shows Terror Network Actively Recruiting, Plotting Attacks
By BRIAN ROSS
Jan. 24, 2006 — Al Qaeda and its former protectors — the Taliban — are in the midst of a powerful resurgence, according to accounts by local officials and information contained in new al Qaeda videotapes obtained by ABC News.
U.S. troops are not permitted inside Pakistan, and the Pakistani army is barely seen in this part of Waziristan Province.
The new videotapes show open recruitment for the jihad, or holy war, to kill Americans and their allies.
SO IT IS PAKIS WHO ARE AIDING ARE ABEDING THE ENEMIES??
LET’S BE HONEST HERE The pakis are part of the Problem look at all who have been caught in Pakistan?? And Why will the Pakis not allow Forces across the border to thake out this evil?? Could it be they are a harborer??

Well the ABC video reminds me of??
http://media.putfile.com/French-riots

The narrator says, "Come join the jihad caravan."

although the Islamic terrorist in Pakistan asking jihadis to join the soooooooooulllllllllll train??

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601242521164804.htm
Iran pipeline to be built in segments: Pak daily
Islamabad, Jan 24, IRNA
Iran, Pakistan and India are likely to adopt a segmented approach on the construction of over US dollar 7 billion trans-Pakistan gas pipeline to ward off effects of possible US sanctions against Iran over the nuclear issue.

I DON'T HEAR RUSSIA OR CHINA CRYING DO YOU??

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-16/0601249388164335.htm
Pak ministers, officials physically searched in US
Islamabad, Jan 24, IRNA
Pakistan-US
The entourage of Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was subjected to body search in the United States.
The entourage included ministers and members of the Parliament, reported a private television channel on Tuesday.
It also telecast footage, showing the officials being searched by the US officials.
The aim of premier's visit to the US was to exchange views with President George W Bush on bilateral relations, issues relating to Afghanistan and Iran and other matters.

ALLORA

YOU SEE IT IS FREEZING IN IRAN AND PAKISTAN AND FOOD THEY DON'T HAVE??

http://www.forbes.com/finance/feeds/afx/2006/01/22/afx2466863.html
Iran blasts 'shameful' Chirac nuclear warning
01.22.2006
TEHRAN (AFX) - French President Jacques Chirac came under attack in Iran today after warning that France could use nuclear arms against state sponsors of terrorism, with officials in the Islamic republic branding the remark 'shameful' and 'unacceptable'.

NOW WHY WOULD THEY SAY THAT UNLESS??

http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2006/01/22/ap2467078.html
Update 2: Swiss Bank UBS Halts Iran, Syria Business
01.22.2006
Swiss banking giant UBS AG said Sunday it has stopped doing business with Iran because of the company's economic and risk analysis of the situation in the country.

UBS will no longer deal with individuals, companies or state institutions such as Iran's central bank, company spokesman Serge Steiner said. A similar policy is also being implemented in the case of Syria, he said.

NOW YOU SEE THEY HAVE GONE TO FAR THEY WERE MESSING WITH EURPOES MONEY NOT GOOD AND THEY HAVE BEEN ATTACKING THE COAL MINES IN CHINA??

Part of the merican Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WISDOM, SIGHT, AND COURAGE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM LET NOT THE WORLD BE DECEIVED BY THEM GIVE THE WORLD COURAGE TO STAN TOGETHER TO DESTROY THIS EVIL AMEN

PS
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/1/23/173442.shtml?s=lh
Iranian President Sees End of World Order
Kenneth R. Timmerman, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006
In a country of religious zealots, the extremism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has even his own countrymen sounding alarms
Dissidents within Iran say their country's president is such a crazed fanatic that he will try to usher in the end of the world as we know it.
On Dec. 16, gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he toured the southeastern province of Sistan, along Iran's border with Pakistan.
According to news reports, Ahmadinejad's personal bodyguard and driver were killed in the ambush, although the president was unhurt. The government-controlled media in Tehran attributed the attack to "bandits," a term used to denote a wide range of armed groups, from drug dealers to opposition guerrillas.
But in this case, the attack may have been part of a plot to remove the Iranian president by a faction within the ruling clergy. At least, so believes a Western source who has just returned from talks with top officials in Tehran.
The faction seeking to remove Ahmadinejad does not object to the substance of the Iranian president's repeated vows to "wipe Israel from the map" and destroy America. Nor do they believe Iran should abandon its secret nuclear weapons program, top Iranian government officials said, according to the source.
Rather, they object to the fact that he has made such comments openly and without ambiguity. They believe that his frankness dangerously exposes them to attack from the United States, Israel or both.
"This guy is not a politician," the source quoted one top Iranian official as saying. "He is certifiably insane. And he is obsessed with the Imam Zaman," the legendary 12th imam, or Imam Mahdi, whom many Shiite Muslims believe will return in the "end times" after a period of horrific battles, famine and pestilence.
Americans may find it curious that government officials in Tehran, who have actively supported the Islamic republic for years, object to Ahmadinejad's religious zealotry. After all, this comes in a regime whose constitution declares that the supreme leader is God's representative on earth whose edicts can not be challenged by elected representatives.
But for more than two decades, Iranian leaders such as former President Hashemi Rafsanjani have walked a fine line between openly defying the United States and conducting covert aggression through terrorists and sophisticated intelligence operations. Under Ahmadinejad, these officials believe, that fine line has been crossed.
Ahmadinejad's messianic beliefs and his obsession with the 12th imam have become an open subject of debate in Tehran. Meeting with his cabinet shortly after taking office last August, the new president reportedly had Cabinet members sign a loyalty oath to the 12th imam, which they dropped into a well near where the Shiite messiah is believed to be hiding.
In September, when Ahmadinejad took the podium to address the United Nations in New York City, he felt surrounded by light. It wasn't the stage lighting, he said. It was a light from heaven.
He related his otherworldly experience in a videotaped meeting with a prominent ayatollah in Tehran. A transcript of his comments and sections of the videotape wound up on a hard-line, pro-regime Web site, baztab.com
Ahmadinejad's "vision" at the United Nations could be dismissed as pure political posturing if it weren't for a string of similar statements and actions that clearly suggest he believes he is destined to bring about the return of the Shiite messiah.
The mystical 12th imam, who is venerated by many in Iran, disappeared as a child in the year 941. Shiite Muslims believe he will return and rule for seven years in perfect justice.
In a Nov. 16 speech in Tehran, Ahmadinejad said that the main mission of his government was to "pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi (May God Hasten His Reappearance)."
Reports in government media outlets in Tehran have quoted Ahmadinejad as having told regime officials that the 12th imam will reappear in two years. That was too much for Iranian legislator Akbar Alami, who publicly questioned Ahmadinejad's judgment, saying that even Islam's holiest figures have never made such claims.
At the same time he has made such statements, the new president has repeatedly vowed to pursue Iran's nuclear programs, in open defiance of the International Atomic Energy Agency and European Union negotiators.
While many Shiite Muslims worship the 12th imam, a previously secret society of powerful clerics, now openly advising the new president, are transforming these messianic beliefs into government policies.
Led by Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, who frequently appears with Ahmadinejad, the Hojatieh society is considered by many Shiite Muslims as their own bona fide lunatic fringe. During the early years of the Islamic Revolution, even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini found their beliefs too extreme for public commerce and sent them scurrying underground.
Since taking the reins of government in August, Ahmadinejad has placed Hojatieh devotees in his Cabinet and through the bureaucracy, where they are leading a crackdown on students, women, Western music and religious minorities.
On Nov. 22, a Christian pastor was murdered after the president told a gathering of some 30 provincial governors, "I will stop Christianity in this country." Other Christians have been arrested and Bibles confiscated in recent weeks.
The president's opponents within the regime believe that the widespread replacement of competent bureaucrats with Hojatieh supporters having little government experience could prove fatal to him. "The new guys don't know what they are doing, and the fired people are angry," said the source who just returned from Tehran. "So there is a window of opportunity."
But hints of "regime change from within," carried by emissaries to Washington, may not be enough to deter the United States and Israel from using military force to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
"The business community in Iran is afraid of two things," the source who just returned from Tehran told NewsMax. "They are afraid of international sanctions, and they are afraid of a military strike by the U.S. or Israel. And they believe Ahmadinejad is bringing both."
American Enterprise Institute scholar and former CIA operations officer Reuel Marc Gerecht agrees that the new president could be a blessing in disguise for those who would support regime change in Iran.
"The only way Iran is going to get better is for it to get a lot worse -- and Ahmadinejad may just possibly be the man to galvanize a broad-based opposition to the regime," he wrote recently.

On the subject of Iran I want to thank the dumbest President that this country ever had and thats Jimmie Carter, who in the name of human rights didn't stand behind the Shaw of Iran and allowed the Islamic Republican Army to take control, Thank You Jimmie Carter.

I think that we need to drill in Alaska in order to help lessen our dependency on foreign oil, and one thing that we should do is to flood the liberal Congressmen and Senators from our respected states, we need to let them know that there liberal ways are no longer accepted by the people of America and hopefully some of these are due for re-election.

"Is the U.S.A. seriously lagging behind Russia in missile technology and considering that China has destroyers armed with the Sunburn is the U.S. aircraft carrier obsolete?"
____________________

Perhaps not: The Mk-15 Phalanx CIWS is a ship mounted fast-reaction, rapid-fire 20mm gun system for short range defense against aircraft or missiles. The gun (six barrels) fires depleted uranium projectiles at 3,000 rounds per minute. French exocets,
Chinese silkworms, are snack time for this beast. As for Faruz in the suicide rubber boat - Phalanx would render him back to his base chemical components.

There is no lon-term oil weapon. The outcomes of Iran's bullying include, but are not limited to:

Rising oil prices -> higher prices at the pump
-> accelerating use of oil tar sands in Alberta, Canada.

High prices at the pump -> signifigantly improved engine technology. We saw this at 70's.

High price of heating oil -> complete abandoning of oil as heating source.

"Enough, already"-reaction to oil +(Iran/Saudi/Islam/Greenhouse effect)in general -> desire to sack oil as a energy source completely.

In total, Ahmadinejad could play the big guy for a while but ultimately he's shooting himself to a leg. "Economics is for monkeys" -- Ayatollah Khomeini. I bet the other Mid-east producers are in secret terrified about this bigmouth. The Saudi's are more calculative; they have, for instance protested European Union's greenhouse taxes. The Saudi's argue that their product - oil - is treated in an unfair manner. Call me nuts, but I claim that the Saudi's are at least a bit nervous about the prospect of replacing oil. To replace oil is impossible, if you ask the oilmen and the economics establishment, but if there is will there's a way.

Now, we neverthless have this problem that Ahmadinejad does not think that far and would indeed do what he claims to do. "Economics is for monkeys" -- Ayatollah Khomeini

Thank you Mussolini, I couldn't have said it better myself. But I'll try.

You see Avatar, it's leftist liberals such as yourself, that are the cause of "We the People" being dependant on foreign oil in the first place.
Your idea of water running automoblies was tried in the early years of the auto. It failed. And the french fry oil thing wouldn't work either. You libs would be complaining about the cholestorol in the fume emmissions.
And why should I stop driving my car or SUV to accommodated your leftist agenda? If I want to drive a vehicle that only gets 10 MPG, that is my "American" perogative!!! Our cars and SUVs are more fuel efficient than at anytime in history. But the mainstream media and leftist won't report this to the American public. Thus people such as yourself, are not informed about the many techinlogical advances that the auto industry have made as far as fuel conservation.
And as for enabling Iran to buy nukes, you've proven more than you know why we have to and need to drill in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve. So that we won't help Iran buy and be able to afford enriched uranium from the Russians.
And we're not the only ones buying oil from Iran. France and Germany are as well. But if we tap into ANWR, they can buy their oil from us.
And there is oil off the California coast, but once again, the environmentalist wackos won't let us get it. Furthering our dependence on foriegn oil.
Cooking oil is good for one thing, COOKING!!! But if you can build a better mouse trap, go for it. But leave me and my car and my SUV alone. I can afford the gas, for now. If I have to park my gas guzzelling SUV in the garage for the betterment of my country, I will. Until the weekend. But during the week, I'll be driving my gas guzzelling Cadillac De Ville DTS to work. I hope you leftist liberals don't mind.

Boy, that threat sounds familar. Has Baghdad Bob migrated to Iran to be their spokesman?