From AP:
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Sunday it has ended all voluntary cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog but would still hold talks with Moscow on a proposal to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia, reversing an earlier decision to abandon those talks...President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had ordered the move Saturday in response to the U.N. agency decision to refer Iran to the Security Council over fears the country is trying to develop a nuclear bomb. It means Iran will resume uranium enrichment and will no longer allow snap IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities — voluntary measures it had allowed in recent years in a gesture to build trust.
"We ended all the voluntary cooperation we have been extending to the IAEA in the past two-and-a-half to three years, on the basis of the president's order," Mottaki said. "We do not have any obligation toward the additional protocol (anymore)."
When did Iran ever volunteer for any thing that was
not of the terrorist sponsor kind? the sooner charges and brought up to them..the sooner they can be bombed!
"We do not have any obligation toward the additional protocol (anymore)." - from the article
Translation: the inspection charade reached the end of its usefulness.
Translation of translation: Iran has BS'ed itself into a corner.
It was only a matter of time, before Iran's 'It's only for peaceful purposes' gig was up. Now, like it always happens, the truth is exposed, Iran's 'peaceful' colors are for all to see.
Ofcourse, A Q Khan's (from our 'allies against terror', Pakistan) nuclear smuggling ring made sure that there is no turning back.
So they break ties with every one but RUSSIA and pursue enrichment programs, what will we do to stop Russia from helping them?
Maybe the Cold War never really ended...
"Maybe the Cold War never really ended..."
--posted by chuck
Vladimir Putin certainly acts like a cold warrior in everything he does. Apparently, the Russians think they can manipulate the Islamic fervor to sap the strength of the west. Putin may, in the end, acutally precipitate the destruction of mother Russia as the Islamists turn the tables, doing what they always do, infiltrating. terrorizing, and finally wrecking civilization.
Chuck,
Russia needs the rest of the world more than they need a pariah state like Iran which can't be trusted.
to the muslims of the world:SORRY!
we are sorry for giving you food
we are sorry for giving you shelter
we are sorry for giving you money
we are sorry for giving you an education
we are sorry for providing you with a job
we are sorry for creating a safe place for you and your family
we are sorry for sending money to your homecountry
we are sorry for giving you the freedom and right to practice your religion in our christian country
but you will NEVER get an appology for our freedom of speech!!!!!
sincerely:The Norwegian and Danish people.
93 percent of the world's conflicts involve Muslims, according to Amir Taheri. To be precise, of the 30 active conflicts in the world today, 28 involve Muslims. Also here. He also notes that:
Nearly two-thirds of the world's poorest, those who live on under $2 a day, are Muslim.
Two-thirds of political prisoners are held in Muslim countries.
Muslims account for nearly 80% of the world's refugees.
All but one of the world's last military regimes are in the Muslim world.
The Islamic world must change, not the West.
http://markhumphrys.com/islamic.world.html#moderate
From article:... but would still hold talks with Moscow on a proposal to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia,...
What a crock that is, the fox guarding the henhouse...
I'm hoping this is the basic outline of the plan.
___
SPEAKING FREELY
Iran and the jaws of a trap
By Paul Levian
"...An initial Israeli air attack against some Iranian nuclear targets, command and control targets and Shahab missile sites. Iran retaliates with its remaining missiles, tries to close the Gulf, attacks US naval assets and American and British forces in Iraq. If Iranian missiles have chemical warheads (in fact or presumed), the US will immediately use nuclear weapons to destroy the Iranian military and industrial infrastructure. If not, an air campaign of up to two weeks will prepare the ground campaign for the occupation of the Iranian oil and gas fields..."
"The character of this war will be completely different from the Iraq war. No show-casing of democracy, no "nation-building", no journalists, no Red Cross - but the kind of war the United States would have fought in North Vietnam if it had not had to reckon with the Soviet Union and China.
Paul Levian is a former German intelligence officer.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HB03Ak02.
html
No surprises here, we all knew it was coming.
Im not so sure about the ground invasion as a means to occupy the oil fields. Iran would spend all its resources simply destroying its own oil infrastructure in an effort to keep us from getting it.
I can see an extended air campaign, and who know, perhaps the long-suffering people would rise up, with luck a few generals would too.
BTW, that was just my humble opinion, Im not trying to step on anyones toes. I wouldnt mind having a military discussion on the options with someone though, as the thought is eerily fascinating to me what with Israeli forces in the mix.
I'm presuming that secret operations are already ongoing and I expect when the shooting starts that Isreal will take the first steps aided by the US.
We are already in WW3 its just that most of the world and many here in this country don't realize it.
Russia wants to delay things until March, that is just about the time Iran should have its first nukes coming on line. Talking time is VERY limited here.
Iran has been the head of this terror snake since the begining. It's time to take the head off.
Not only take the head off, but see what spills out of the body afterward. Think of the treasures to be found were we able to get inside.
World War III or World War IV........when the west defeats the Islamic Enemy, will we demand the destruction of this CULT? Or will we allow it to exist in some other kind of form? I personally think this religion should not be allowed to exist. If any western government wants it to exist.....then wall of one of the Middle East Countries and ship the remaining practicers of this CULT to their walled in paradise on earth. They can breed to their hearts delight....but they should never be allowed to leave their CULT paradise.
D.I.W.,
I expect it will be an Airborne type attack on the oil-fields,it will have to be some kind of lightning strike, probably ahead of the(possibly coinciding with the air campaign)"conventional" ground campaign that will specifically target political/religious power, keeping their minds focused on personal safety and on the run. I don't really believe the Iranian forces stand a chance. They will be annihilated-- exterminated. I am aware the oil stuff will be booby-trapped, but there are ways to neutralize that, at least some of it.
I think the Islamic world may be in for a BIG dose of reality. Of course, I fully expect there will be terrorist attacks in the West when this happens, as part of the Iranians contingency plans, but hopefully they are not very effective.
The main occupation objective should be the oil-fields, and they can be rebuilt either way. And easily protected once consolidated. That is the only source of real power they have. The mullahs are deadmenwalking.
Another consideration--- Electro-magnetic-pulse.
Rebuilding the electronics would be much easier than rebuilding everything from the ground-up.
Sadly, i don't think that any sort of conventional ground offensive is likely for the simple fact that we don't have the troops. The military is already strained by the Iraqi deployment (which already has too few troops) and the military is barely able to meet the goal of two years between deployments for regular army units (for refit, training, morale etc... Good but dull RAND report in this regard) as things are now. Conflict with Iran would probably require MORE troops in Iraq just to counter stepped up Iranian infiltration were we to bomb them. This coupled with the need to maintain some sort of credible deterrent to the North Koreans doesn't leave much for a march through the mountains of Iran to Tehran (The days of massing 500,000 guys like Desert Storm are over for now). Now, if you are talking about taking and holding some strategic coastal points that might be possible but what do you do once you have them? WHat terms do you bargain for? Those guys are nuts! They'll just send human waves of teenagers like they did against the Iraqis until we get sick of it or can no longer stand the probable OPEC oil boycott that would result from an invasion of Iran in the first place.
I'm all for knocking off Iran but the prospects arent that great until we finish in Iraq and or build a much bigger Army (which no one in office seems willing to admit is a necessity)
So i just read Levien's analysis. The idea that "US and British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan could easily redeploy to Iran" strikes me as silly. How do you explain to the countries you have been striving to liberate, democratize, etc... that you are about to split to go knock the Iranians around for a couple of months? This would be seen as a profound betrayal and only play into the hands of those who say we are a fickle and unreliable ally (we already screwed the Afghans once before by ignoring them once the Soviets were out allowing the Taliban to set up shop eventualy). What happens in Iraq while American troops are fighting fanatics in the rugged Iranian terrain? Is everyone going to play nice with the underequipped, and undertrained Iraqi defence forces while we are away? They would be totally screwed and we would have an even bigger mess to fix later after dealing with Iran for god knows how long. We really just need a much bigger army and it takes a long time to fund, train, and equip one.
hello guys ,are you deaf ?
can't you hear what all muslims and their dihmmis tell you everyday ? islam is ze religion of piss !
So don't hesitate, Convert to islam and you will live in piss.
Nota bene :sorry for my dreadful accent , but english is not my motherlanguage
"but would still hold talks with Moscow on a proposal to enrich Iranian uranium in Russia" from AP story.
The objective is to hold talks, but never to actually go through with the proposal and actually do it. The role of Russia at this point is to stall, delay and buy as much time as possible. They do not want to actually vote against sanctions, they want to drag the process out.
I read that Israel has an internal March 1 deadline.
My question is, how much oil other than Iranian oil goes throught the Straights of Hormuz? Could the entire flow be shut down? What will the price of oil be - $100 per barrel, $200 perhaps? Time to buy oil futures?
I have been reading this site for some time now. And I find most of the responces to be the most thought out and impressive. My question is why cant our governments see the danger that lurks underneath this scourge called ISLAM. If only the MSM would televise and print some of the articles I have read here from other parts of the world. I firmly believe the American people would rise up and demand that ISLAM be stopped dead in its tracks. Now is no time to be PC, now is the time to save the world as we have come to know it. GOD help us in the name of your son OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. AMEN
It looks like Senate Majority leader Frist has publically endorsed the military option. When asked whether Congress had the political will to use military force against Iran, if necessary Frist said "The answer is yes, absolutely."
Good question GFB.
I think most of the major Saudi fields are on the East coast and probably have to transit the strait of Hormuz and thus be subject to Iranian interdiction but i'm not sure. All Kuwaiti oil has to go through the straits as well as whatever Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain put out. I wouldn't be suprised if an Iranian attempt to close the straits put oil up past 100$ a barrel at least until the straits could be opened again.
We shall see, fatnun.
All that matters to me is elimination of WMD potential, and control of the oil.
I think we can do whatever the hell we please over there actually.
Kentim,
I hope you are right. I also thought we would suffer thousands of casualties during Desert storm but i was thankfully wrong there. Hopefully my pessimism is misguided this time as well.
Iran practices the old "bait and switch" sleight of hand tricks to confuse, distract, disorient and divide its opponents.
Look for major distributions of free oil (and pistachios?) to anti-Western countries by Iran to gain allies, ala Chavez' tricks in South America.
This Great Game in the EU and America will go one for a few more dithering years in the UN as Iran tries to gain a nuke.
The West is unwilling to clamp down tight on Mahmoud and the mad mullahs, now, because of the economic repercussions with oil losses.
But, if Islamic fanatics at large keep rioting over (to Westerners) trivia like cartoons, the pressure from Europe may shorten the time until Iran is either forced to give up their Islamic Bomb dream, or suffer the revenue losses through boycotts and isolation as the West gears up to act militarily, if all else fails (like an internal Iranian overthrow of the ayatollahs).
The shadow puppet show goes on.
i think the israelis will push the situation before it drags out long enough for Iran to actually get the bomb (if they don't already have a secret gift from Pakistan). I stand to lose several bets if the Israelis don't attack before April:)
LOL! Well put
OT
Did anyone see the History chanel (i think) show about the CIA operative who showed that the Iranians were behind the US embassy and Marine barracks bombings in Beirut 1983? This guy uncovered the plot but his superiors didn't like what he had to say so he was ignored and actually fired! Outrageous
fatnun,
I don't own a TV anymore.
But I know all about what Iran's been doing for the last 27 years. And it's payback time.
Profitsbeard,
We're just gonna have to bite the bullet and do without some of the extravagances for awhile, till we get the oil/gas production back on line that is.
I think we may have reached a turning point, I hope anyways, where taking these people seriously and as legitimate is coming to an end. We gotta take the oil from them, they simply cannot be trusted with that kind of power.
1 to 2 months and the next phase starts is my prediction.
Looks like our Air Force will get to clock in some hours by Spring. Now let's see.....will it be Strategic Weapons or Reliable Carpet Bombing.........around the clock...... for seven days and nights?
And as far as Americans going into this alone........well I think we'll have more company this time around.......don't you think?
it's really scary how this is all escalating so fast. it seems like 9/11, iraq, and the residual terrorism will truly be viewed as precursors to a much bigger war. a 100 years war, perhaps. and i'm still perplexed how the russians think this will all play out -- the consistently sponsor terrorism, instability, and violence for short term profit.
this would be the perfect time for the american left to show what they really stand for. if bush is such a "cowboy" and "warmonger" shouldn't they be posturing NOW before he does anything with iran. it's all bluster. wwIII is the death knell for liberalism.
p.s. how is it that every muslim in the world is free during the middle of the day to fire bomb and embassy? don't these jerks work?
Someone mentioned the Straits of harmouz (sp) being blockaded by Iran. With what? A few gun boats. We have at least three carrier groups in the area. Just one is enough to keep the straits open. within 48 hours of hostilities opening iran would have no air force and no navy. Only a nuke could take out a carrier force and the use of even one would mean the total annilation of Iran.
our military is not as thin as its made out to be, mostly by the media. The thinness is based on the constant revolving tours of troops to Iraq. And that has more to do with sending in experienced troops rather than new units that have to be trained. There are plenty more to draw on if the need arises.
Todays military is much different from what it was years ago. One brigade is the equivlant of 3 division from the Vietnam era. Build ups would be along the afgan and iraq borders. And the build ups could be done on a more covert level than with Iraq as we are alreay there and troops could be moved in on the guise of replacing troops. Another 100,000 troops could be in place with no one being the wiser. They just need to keep the reporters busy chasing bombers in baghdad.
Number 2 in the axis of evil is about to go down. you can bet when it starts N. Korea will begin sabre rattling again.
As for the human wave assaults that were used against the iraqi's. First they have to get past the gunships and other air support aircraft.
Saddam had 25 divisions to stand against us when we went in there with the equivalent of 3 divisions. what makes anyone think the Iranians could fare any better. The only difference is the terrain. So it might take three weeks to take the country instead of two. then ten years of occupation as it takes at least that long to get everything settled down and convert the muslims to a new way of thinking. There will be lots and lots of dead muslims.
I'm going to be watching it all very closely since my nephew is already over there for the third time.