Ahmadinejad: 9/11 scenario dubious

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Western media hyped the September 11, 2001 attacks to pave the way for the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

"What was the story behind September 11? In the space of five to six days, and with the aid of the media, they swayed public opinion to the point of considering an attack on Afghanistan and Iraq permissible and a right [for themselves]," he said in a televised speech.

The president went on to add that while 3,000 deaths had been announced, no report containing the names of these victims had been released.

"Presently, more than 110,000 people [have been killed] in Afghanistan and over one million people have been killed across Iraq. But they will not allow [the figures to be made public]. How? [By] using media and fabricated news," he was quoted by IRIB as saying.

The Iranian president made the remarks on Saturday at a ceremony in Tehran marking the eve of the National Press Day.

Ahmadinejad said Western media had enabled the US to mount its campaign against Iran's nuclear program.

He said that the media had helped the US which has amassed thousands of Atomic bombs to claim another country might move towards building an A-bomb.

Tehran argues that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.

Source

israel's objective in Iran is regime change, ^not nuclear containment

Sunday, 08 August 2010 20:15 by Samira Quraishy

Over the past few years Iran has been the subject of intense international scrutiny. High ranking Israeli and US officials backed by their respective media packs have led the charge of accusations. In recent days a bizarre series of events has left commentators wondering what is brewing underneath the surface. The events include a rocket attack in Eilat and Aqaba; skirmishes between the IOF and Lebanese army which left four dead and the confusion surrounding the supposed assassination attempt of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

More intriguing into the mix is the recent 'memorandum' sent to President Barack Obama in which former high ranking US intelligence officers have put forward a damning analysis of Israel's calculating actions with all the signs indicating it is planning a pre-emptive strike on Iran. The document warns Obama that Israel will embroil the US in another war where 'intelligence judgements are being fixed around policy' and could potentially lead to another foreign policy disaster.

The dubious rocket attacks in Aqaba and Eilat have yet again evoked a barrage of Israeli threats against Hamas and the Gaza Strip. Initially, both the Egyptian and Israeli officials claimed that the attacks were instigated by Hamas from the Gaza Strip; however after a Jordanian investigation it was found that the rockets were launched from the Egyptian Sinai. Whilst Egypt conducts its investigation into these claims, the contradictory details of events have left many questioning Israel's role in the affair. One official from Jordanian's opposition political party the Islamic Action Front (IAF) questions the limited damage in Eilat when five rockets were launched in both regions, but only caused significant damage and death in the Jordanian populated city of Aqaba, with limited damage to the Israeli Eilat city. He warned that these series of events were being used as a pretext to justify any retaliation on Israel's part and to "unsettle the safety and stability of Jordan and drag countries in the region to increase security coordination with 'Israel'." Israel's history has been riddled with such cases, as it had previously 'mounted provocations against its neighbors, in order to provoke a response that could be used to justify expansion of its borders'. Is this just another excuse to invade and bombard the Gaza Strip? Or, is it an attempt by Israel to distract international criticism for its failure to lift the blockade of Gaza after the flotilla massacre?

The skirmishes on the Lebanese/Israel border, which lead to four deaths have also been scrutinised. Confusing reports have emerged this past week as to who exactly was responsible for instigating the attack. IOF officials and Israeli MKs claim that Lebanese forces and Hizbullah had made a co-ordinated 'terror attack' against its forces. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were accused of inaction as three Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and one Israeli soldier were killed during the fire exchange. The Lebanese authorities accused the IOF of breaching a border fence and moving into the Adeissah village in southern Lebanon. Both the US and UK came out calling for restraint on both sides. But was this just another provocation from Israel to get the Lebanese army to react? Provoking a reaction from the Lebanese army will more than likely draw Hizbullah into battle with devastating consequences for the region. And what of Syria? A long term ally of both Hizbullah and Iran, Syria may see no alternative but to join forces with them against Israel. Moreover this will mean the US would be forced into a war that it has no desire for but would, at the same time, be 'politically untenable' for it to not support Israel.

Meanwhile, the Iranian President recently claimed he believed he was on an Israeli hit list and was sure there would be assassination attempts made to force regime change in Iran. A few days later there was a flurry of media activity after some Iranian news outlets mistranslated 'firecracker' into 'grenade' and for a moment the international media were entranced by the news that Ahmedinejad had escaped an assassination attempt. There is now mounting speculation in the political arena as to what will trigger a probable war if Obama does not pull in the reins and publicly condemns Israel for escalating tensions in the Middle East. What has somewhat frustrated Israel more than any thing else is the fact that Iran is not making it any easier for it to make this pre-emptive strike having recently agreed to a tripartite deal, brokered by Turkey and Brazil (with the US's 'personal encouragement'), that would see half of Iran's low enriched uranium move outside Tehran's control. A recent announcement made by the US that it would be resuming talks with its Iranian counterparts to discuss ways to halt uranium enrichment to 20 per cent, enough for medical research, to which Iran is ready to agree to, has weakened Israel's scaremongering campaign that Iran is arming itself with nuclear weapons. The only way to counter this is by 'striking Iran sooner than later', making it impossible for the US to avoid military confrontation with Iran.

The memorandum ends predicting a serious global backlash against Israel and the rise in anti-Semitism within the US, as once again US forces will be thrown into a war under false pretences by the warmongering pro-Israelis in the US Senate.

It is high time that Obama takes hold of the reins. Any pre-emptive attack on Iran will no doubt mean the US would drag the US into another war of choice to support Israel's military and political objectives. Will Obama allow Netanyahu to make a fool out of another American president? We will soon find out the answer.

Iran Steps up Anti-lsraeli Boycott

The Iranian government has upped its boycott of Israeli goods, saying it will closely monitor the enforcement of a ban on Israeli products.



“No state- or non-state-owned company is allowed to sell Israeli products in the Islamic republic and the government closely monitors the matter,” said Iran's Vice President for Parliamentary Affairs Hojjatoleslam Mohammad-Reza Mir-Tajeddini.

Speaking at a conference titled "Popular Intifada and Boycotting Israeli Goods" late Thursday, Mir-Tajeddini condemned the "occupying nature" of the Israeli regime, IRNA reported.

He said that the only thing standing in the way of the regime attacking Middle East nations to realize its dream of an Israeli homeland stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates is the Islamic resistance.

The Iranian official added that Israel's policies are facing growing international condemnation an example of which was the global outcry against the deadly attack on a Turkish-flagged aid convoy on May 31 and the recent reaction of the Lebanese army to the border violation of Israeli soldiers.

Quoting the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Mir-Tajeddini said purchasing any Israeli commodities and contributing to Israeli interests is forbidden.

“Existing laws on boycotting Israeli products are not comprehensive,” said Mir-Tajeddini, adding that the 'ministries of commerce, foreign affairs and intelligence as well as a judiciary institution would need to give their opinion on new companies so that necessary action can be taken against them by the government.'

Source

Ahmadinejad Wants Face-to-Face Debate with Obama

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday he was ready for face-to-face talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama on "global issues."

"We are hopefully coming for the UN assembly," Ahmadinejad said in an address to expatriate Iranians which was broadcast live on state television. "We are ready to sit down with Mr Obama face-to-face and put the global issues on the table, man-to-man, freely, and in front of the media and see whose solutions are better. We think this is a better approach."

Ahmadinejad is expected to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting next month.

Ahmadinejad criticized Obama for missing "historic opportunities" to repair relations with Iran, with whom the United States has had no direct diplomatic ties for more than 30 years. "He (Obama) said he wants to make changes and we welcomed (that). Unfortunately, he did not correctly exploit historic opportunities," the president said, adding that Obama "overly values Zionists."

Ahmadinejad said he was informed that Obama "is under a lot of pressure." "Somebody should answer questions whether the US government is dominated by the Zionists or the Zionist regime is controlled by the US government."

In a cabinet meeting on Sunday Ahmadinejad condemned the recent sanctions by the UN Security Council, the US and the EU against his country. “The nature of sanctions on Iran is a political game.” He said that the enemies of the country and arrogant powers are opposed to a developed Iran “since it can break their delusions of grandeur.” He added that “the enemies are plotting to portray Iran as a weak country” through what he called theatrics, aimed at “convincing the nation to back down.”

Iranian president further stressed that “it is a false belief that Tehran can ease pressures by retreating,” adding the nation “must take advantage of such threats and propaganda and turn them into opportunities.”

Despite Western-imposed sanctions targeting Iran's energy and financial sectors, Ahmadinejad told senior managers in Iran’s oil industry that the Islamic Republic is capable of meeting its needs at home. "We believe that all parts related to Iran's oil industry can be produced inside the country. We hope to promise that all needs of the oil industry will be met inside Iran within the next few years," Ahmadinejad said in the meeting on Monday.

He called on oil officials to "complete the process of nationalization of Iran's oil industry." "Iran's oil industry will be completely nationalized when all oil production procedures and its turning into goods with added value will be carried out in the country."

Ahmadinejad praised nationalization of Iran's oil industry as among greatest events in the country's history. "This decision did not have only political aspects while it had influence on the destiny of Iran and many other countries in the region," he said.

"However, the process has not been completed yet because two factors make the oil industry being influenced by foreign powers," he went on to say.

President Ahmadinejad pointed out that oil prices are still under the influence of foreign powers which are major oil customers and added that current oil prices are not real.

The remarks came less than a week after the 27-member European bloc adopted new tougher measures against Tehran, which includes a ban on investment in Iran's oil and gas industry by member states as well as investment and technical assistance to the country's refining, liquefaction and natural gas sectors.

The punitive measure goes beyond a fourth round of UN Security Council sanctions imposed last month, targeting Iran's oil and gas sectors.

Source

White House rebuffs Iran call for talks

US Dictator Barack Obama (L) & Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The White House has rejected a call from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for face-to-face talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama.

"We have always said that we'd be willing to sit down and discuss Iran's illicit nuclear program, if Iran is serious about doing that," AFP quoted White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs as saying on Tuesday.

"To date, that seriousness has not been there," he added.

Gibbs, however, held the door open to US-Iran talks as the State Department saw signs that Iran may now be seeking a dialogue with Tehran under the pressure of "new sanctions."

Also, US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said, "Iran may now be seeking a dialogue with Washington because it is feeling the bite of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States, European Union and others."

"The cost of doing business for Iran is going up," Crowley said.

His comments come as Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will not relinquish the legitimate nuclear rights of the Iranian nation under Western pressure.

"We're encouraged by what we're seeing... We sense that there may well be a willingness on the part of Iran to enter into the kind of dialogue that we have long sought," he added.

"We are willing to meet Iran any time any place within the P5-plus-1," he concluded, referring to the US, Britain, Russia, France, China and Germany.

On Monday, Ahmadinejad criticized Obama for missing "historic opportunities" to repair the broken relations with Iran and expressed readiness to meet him for face-to-face talks based on justice and mutual respect.

In an address to a gathering of Iranian expatriates in Tehran, Ahmadinejad said that he is ready to hold talks with Obama at the end of September, when he plans to go to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

"We are ready to sit down with Mr. Obama face-to-face and put the global issues on the table, and see whose solutions are better. We think this is a better approach," Ahmadinejad said.

The Iranian president went on to say that he is ready to hold talks with President Obama "in front of the media" at the end of September, when he plans to go to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Mehr News Agency reported.

AS/MGH/MMA

The ‘War President’s’ latest fiasco

While Bush and his bozos are busy 'spreading democracy' at the barrel of a gun, others - like Eric Margolis at Lew Rockwell.com - diligently demonstrate the awesome power and influence of the greatest democracy on earth - THE INTERNET.

With skill and precision, Margolis rips our self-declared 'War President' a new one over his track record for overseeing one unmitigated disaster after another.

President George W. Bush likes to call himself "the war president" and strike martial poses against patriotic backdrops, a trick he learned from another president who never saw military action, Ronald Reagan.

In spite of Iraq and other foreign policy misadventures, and failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks, polls show that when it comes to national security many Americans still regard the Bush Administration with approval and trust.

Their confidence is not well placed. To date, the "war president" was asleep on guard duty on 9/11, involved the US in four lost wars, and has stirred up a hornet’s nest of anti-American hatred around the globe.

Defeat I: Five years after Bush ordered Afghanistan invaded and proclaimed "total victory" there, US and allied forces are struggling to defend their bases and supply lines against rising attacks from a growing number of Afghan resistance groups. The war costs $1.5 billion monthly. US-ruled Afghan now produces over 80% of the world’s heroin. The US just quietly deployed thousands more troops to Afghanistan to hunt al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in a desperate attempt to save Republicans from heavy losses in November mid-term elections.

Defeat II: Remember "Mission accomplished!" in Iraq? President Bush’s war in Iraq is clearly lost, but few dare admit it. The US has spent $300 billion on Afghanistan and Iraq, with nothing to show there but chaos, civil war, body bags, and growing Iranian influence in Iraq and western Afghanistan. The Bush/Cheney "liberation" of Iraq has now cost more than the Vietnam War. So much for the "cakewalk." Iraq is likely the biggest American foreign policy disaster in living memory – even worse, in many ways, than Vietnam.

Defeat III: Off in the strategic Horn of Africa, another dangerous fiasco is unfolding. The White House had CIA and Pentagon spend tens of millions bribing Somali warlords to fight Islamist reformers trying to bring law and order to their strife-ravaged nation. The Islamists whipped CIA-backed warlords and ran them out of Somalia. Following this defeat, the US has encouraged and financed ally Ethiopia – shades of Lebanon – to invade Somalia, thus raising the threat of a wider war between Somalia, Ethiopia, and its old foe, Eritrea. Meanwhile, growing numbers of US Special Forces and CIA teams are getting drawn into obscure tribal mêlées in the Horn of Africa and the Saharan regions.

Defeat IV: Lebanon is, of course, the fourth major American military disaster. Bush and Cheney encouraged Israel to launch the hugely destructive but militarily fruitless war in Lebanon as the first part of their long-nurtured plan to militarily crush Hezbullah, Syria and Iran. The Bush Administration brazenly thwarted world efforts to halt the conflict while giving Israel the green light to tear apart Lebanon. Now, just over a month later, Bush announces he will send $230 million to "help rebuild" Lebanon – the same Lebanon blasted apart by US smart bombs rushed by air to Israel.

To Washington and London’s shock and awe, Hezbullah, Iran, and Syria emerged the war’s victors. Hezbullah is now the Muslim World’s new hero after battling Israel’s mighty armed forces to a humiliating draw. Even Syria’s President Bashar Asad, who played dead during the Lebanon War in fear of an Israeli attack, is now thumping his chest and crowing that Syria played a major role in the unexpected Arab victory.

Hezbullah’s triumph thwarted, at least for the moment, Bush/Cheney plans to attack Lebanon, Syria and Iran. The US and Israel have become so used to smashing nearly helpless foes armed with obsolete weapons – like Iraq, Taliban, or Palestine – that they were stunned to meet a force that had modern arms and could actually fight.

No sooner had bombing stopped than Hezbullah bulldozers were busy clearing rubble, and Hezbullah social workers resettling refugees. Perhaps President Bush should ask Hezbullah to take over rebuilding New Orleans and resettling all its refugees.

Hezbullah’s big brother, Iran, has also emerged from the Lebanon War with its political, moral and even military stature greatly enhanced. America’s Arab vassals – Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt – were left badly shaken by Hezbullah’s victory and Iran’s surging influence which was already giving them nightmares well before Lebanon.

Israelis have now turned from fighting Arabs to furious finger-pointing. Politicians and generals are blaming each other for the Lebanon debacle that killed 118 Israeli soldiers and 41 civilians, cost at least $6 billion, ruined the summer tourist trade, and, after a burst of initial sympathy, brought worldwide condemnation. And no captured soldiers – this war’s supposed objective – have been yet returned.

Still, a swap of Israeli for Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners remains likely, as this column predicted at war’s beginning. The killing of 1,000 Lebanese civilians, a million Lebanese made refugees, and billions of dollars of wanton destruction, could all have been avoided.

By turning a routine border skirmish into a big war, Israel’s PM Ehud Olmert showed he had no more grasp of military affairs than those other amateur warlords, Bush, Cheney and Tony Blair. Lebanon also showed that the western leaders learned nothing from their debacle in Iraq.

Now, some Washington hawks are wondering if invading Iran may not be the "cakewalk" that pro-Israel neoconservatives promise. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards helped train and arm Hezbullah’s victorious fighters. Suddenly, neither the Israelis nor the Americans look so invincible. As Napoleon said, in war, the moral is to the physical as three to one.

America was the big loser in the Lebanon war. From Morocco to Indonesia, each night 1.5 billion Muslims watched the carnage in Lebanon on TV and blamed America. Even the poorest shepherd in Uzbekistan heard the US was airlifting the precision bombs and deadly cluster munitions to Israel used against Lebanese civilians.

Any hope of damping down the Islamic World’s surging hatred of the US, Britain, Australia and Israel (now add Canada) was killed in Lebanon. Even the interestingly-timed airport hysteria in London over alleged bomb plots failed to divert attention from the latest US-British Mideast policy disaster.

Yet the White House still keeps listening to absurd military advice from the same neoconservatives thirsting for conquest, oil and Muslim blood. Undaunted even by the fiasco in Lebanon, the Bush/Cheney White House is now heading into a full-blown crisis with Iran over its nuclear enrichment program.

Call this the "guns of August." All the pieces are still in place for a bigger war. Israel will keep violating the Lebanon cease-fire and attempting to assassinate its new nemesis, Hezbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. Bush’s pre-November surprise remains to be unveiled. Iran is gearing up for war. Even Hezbullah may still have a few tricks up its sleeve.

The self-declared "war president" could yet have a few more defeats in store for the nation.

The Red, White & Economic Blues

download: (1) or (2)

The current median house price in Detroit is $6000.

Good Morning!
You Shall Be Made Tenants On Your Own Land
Beyond Greed ~ How Bear Stearns ***ed Us All
The Great Depression ~ by design
The Dark Side Of The Looking Glass
Hollywoodism ~ Jews, Movies & The American Dream
israel admits no Hamas rockets were fired during Ceasefire
Red Cross declares humanitarian crisis in Gaza worse than Darfur
The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights
Vandalism to Palestinian property (graphic)
zooks surround Palestinian man and open fire
Gazan speaks of white phosphorus use
Like giving a piece of candy to the dying
Neil Young ~ When God Made Me
Hannukost ~ Mount Zion womb service
The Story Of Ikhlass
The Story Of Nadya
Johnny Cash ~ Hurt
Palestinian Land Ownership (map)
a contiguous, sovereign Palestinian state?
Endangered red-herring may become extinct
Jordan's refugees live in despair
Aimee & Henry Sing the Blues
Judged guilty until proven affluent
Three years in jail for journalist who threw shoe at bush
Mike Farell on taking a stand
Gaza War Crimes Investigation
George Galloway's Gaza Speech
Refugees in Lebanon
Obama = zionist puppet
operation enduring aftermath
Dear God, let me purge pure my heart, and be of Heaven's Hope a part!
Meet The Greatest President
Steve Vai ~ Alien Love Secrets

downloads:
How to kill the hate bills ~ Rev. Pike (Feb.17,2009)
Do it for the tribe ~ Unrepentant liars (Oprah)
Who brought the slaves to America?
jewish ritual murder on Oprah
israel runs over babies with tanks
Orthodox Christian Russia under communism
Ali-G show (Sacha Noam Baron Cohen) ~ Hunting the Jew
Ali-G show (Sacha Noam Baron Cohen) ~ "Throw the Jew down the Well"
israeli army vandalizes Palestinian homes and smears shit everywhere
Borat movie (Sacha Noam Baron Cohen) ~ "Make My Day, Jew!"
israeli soldiers swim in Palestinian drinking water
israeli Karen Levy ~ "I'm a little bit fascist"
racist israeli settlers ~ Tel Rumeida, Palestine (HQ)
Z100 (NY) The Morning Zoo jewish prank call
Obama's plan the same as bush

.

Gem of truth in the filthy Kossack cesspool: "Middle East Show of Farce"

A rare authentic quality post that purports to be truthful in the world of censor-happy, delusional, Zionist outpost Daily Kos.

The expertly crafted structure suggests the author carefully threaded the line since DailyKos's policy expressly forbids "conspiracy theory" as a bannable offense as well as unofficial policy the liberal, pro-Obama blog web site supports political Zionism as evidenced by the list of banned anti-Zionist posts (qrswave and me remain banished with posting privilege disabled).

___________

Middle East Show of Farce

by Jeff Huber

Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 04:32:03 PM PDT

The demonizing of Iran has become the lamest running gag in the history of international relations.

A July 17 article at The Guardian leads with, “In preparation for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, two Israeli missile class warships have sailed through the Suez Canal 10 days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike.”

The fifth paragraph begins, “The deployment into the Red Sea, confirmed by Israeli officials, according to the Associated Press (AP) yesterday was a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice.”

This is utter bosh: nothing but Iran baiting.

Israel’s German-made, diesel-electric powered Dolphin class submarines supposedly carry nuclear missiles with a range of over 900 miles. If that’s the case, the subs don’t have to deploy to the Suez to hit Iran; they can do that pier side in their homeport in Haifa. Israel’s Sa’ar class corvettes carry self-defense weapons and the Harpoon anti-ship missile that has a range of between 58 and 196 miles, far too short to hit Iran from the Suez.

Israel and Iran both possess sea denial navies that are glorified coast guards. To attack Israel’s navy, Iran’s navy would have to pass down the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, cross the North Arabian Sea into the Gulf of Aden, then hike up the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal and enter the Mediterranean. Israel’s navy would have to take the reverse route to attack Iran’s. Either navy would likely run out of gas or sink of natural causes before it reached its destination. They might agree to meet in the middle, but in an expanse the size of the North Arabian Sea they probably couldn’t find each other. We might give Israel’s navy a lift to the Gulf of Oman on a Nimitz class aircraft carrier, but as soon as it unloaded and steamed into the Hormuz, the Iranians would shoot its tokhes off with shore launched missiles (they might shove one up the carrier’s fantail as well.)

Israel’s cardboard saber rattling supposedly signals concerns about Iran’s intentions to develop nuclear weapons. That would be well and good if Iran had intentions to develop nukes, but all indications are that they don’t. As I’ve often noted, our own intelligence admits that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapons program, and the International Atomic Energy Commission can’t find any trace of one. For the Iranians to develop nukes would be astronomically stupid, tantamount to painting a bull’s eye on their backs. Israel would have a perfect excuse to schwack Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure with a preemptive strike, and from what we just saw the Israeli’s do to Gaza, they’d likely fire bomb every one of Iran’s cities as well.

Despite what hate radio and FOX News and the Polly-cracker mainstream media have told you over and over, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has never said Iran would use nukes to destroy Israel, or anything remotely like that, and neither has anyone else in Iran’s government. Iran is incapable of projecting land power more than a few miles from its border, it has a coastal navy and its air force is almost as old and broken down as North Korea’s.

Demonizing Iran has been a long-term project of Dick Cheney’s. Through his Iranian Directorate and his lip-lock with Israel’s Likudnik cabal and America’s neoconservatives, he was able to have Iran declared to be our greatest “challenge,” even though Iran’s military budget is less than one percent ours and less than half the size of Israel’s, and despite the Cheneyacs’ failure to prove a single one of their assertions regarding Iran’s nuclear intentions or of its meddling in Iraq and the Bananastans.

Iran baiting has become so rabid that it’s practically a national pastime. Maybe that’s why Hillary Clinton has joined the likes of Newt Gingrich aboard Cheney’s crazy train.

I voted against Hillary in the primary because she’d so clearly rolled over for the neocons because she was afraid they’d call her a girly-man if she didn’t. As Secretary of State, lamentably, she’s still putting on a tough-girl act for them. In a July 22 speech in Thailand, Hillary said the U.S. would extend its “defense umbrella” to defend its Middle East allies against a nuclear-armed Iran. “We’ll take actions,” she said, “crippling action, working to upgrade the defense of our partners in the region.”

What a pantsuit load of bull plop. The Iranian’s don’t have a nuclear weapons program and common sense says they never will, they’re surrounded by U.S. forces and outgunned by their neighbors, if they ever did acquire a nuclear weapon and use it on someone our retaliation would mean the virtual end of the millennia-old Persian culture, and Hillary wants to further cripple our economy by dumping more American-made arms into the region. Where do we find such women?

The demonizing of Iran has become the lamest running gag in the history of international relations.

A July 17 article at The Guardian leads with, “In preparation for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, two Israeli missile class warships have sailed through the Suez Canal 10 days after a submarine capable of launching a nuclear missile strike.”

The fifth paragraph begins, “The deployment into the Red Sea, confirmed by Israeli officials, according to the Associated Press (AP) yesterday was a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice.”

This is utter bosh: nothing but Iran baiting.

Israel’s German-made, diesel-electric powered Dolphin class submarines supposedly carry nuclear missiles with a range of over 900 miles. If that’s the case, the subs don’t have to deploy to the Suez to hit Iran; they can do that pier side in their homeport in Haifa. Israel’s Sa’ar class corvettes carry self-defense weapons and the Harpoon anti-ship missile that has a range of between 58 and 196 miles, far too short to hit Iran from the Suez.

Israel and Iran both possess sea denial navies that are glorified coast guards. To attack Israel’s navy, Iran’s navy would have to pass down the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, cross the North Arabian Sea into the Gulf of Aden, then hike up the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal and enter the Mediterranean. Israel’s navy would have to take the reverse route to attack Iran’s. Either navy would likely run out of gas or sink of natural causes before it reached its destination. They might agree to meet in the middle, but in an expanse the size of the North Arabian Sea they probably couldn’t find each other. We might give Israel’s navy a lift to the Gulf of Oman on a Nimitz class aircraft carrier, but as soon as it unloaded and steamed into the Hormuz, the Iranians would shoot its tokhes off with shore launched missiles (they might shove one up the carrier’s fantail as well.)

Israel’s cardboard saber rattling supposedly signals concerns about Iran’s intentions to develop nuclear weapons. That would be well and good if Iran had intentions to develop nukes, but all indications are that they don’t. As I’ve often noted, our own intelligence admits that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapons program, and the International Atomic Energy Commission can’t find any trace of one. For the Iranians to develop nukes would be astronomically stupid, tantamount to painting a bull’s eye on their backs. Israel would have a perfect excuse to schwack Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure with a preemptive strike, and from what we just saw the Israeli’s do to Gaza, they’d likely fire bomb every one of Iran’s cities as well.

Despite what hate radio and FOX News and the Polly-cracker mainstream media have told you over and over, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has never said Iran would use nukes to destroy Israel, or anything remotely like that, and neither has anyone else in Iran’s government. Iran is incapable of projecting land power more than a few miles from its border, it has a coastal navy and its air force is almost as old and broken down as North Korea’s.

Demonizing Iran has been a long-term project of Dick Cheney’s. Through his Iranian Directorate and his lip-lock with Israel’s Likudnik cabal and America’s neoconservatives, he was able to have Iran declared to be our greatest “challenge,” even though Iran’s military budget is less than one percent ours and less than half the size of Israel’s, and despite the Cheneyacs’ failure to prove a single one of their assertions regarding Iran’s nuclear intentions or of its meddling in Iraq and the Bananastans.

Iran baiting has become so rabid that it’s practically a national pastime. Maybe that’s why Hillary Clinton has joined the likes of Newt Gingrich aboard Cheney’s crazy train.

I voted against Hillary in the primary because she’d so clearly rolled over for the neocons because she was afraid they’d call her a girly-man if she didn’t. As Secretary of State, lamentably, she’s still putting on a tough-girl act for them. In a July 22 speech in Thailand, Hillary said the U.S. would extend its “defense umbrella” to defend its Middle East allies against a nuclear-armed Iran. “We’ll take actions,” she said, “crippling action, working to upgrade the defense of our partners in the region.”

A little song, a little dance; a little seltzer down your pantsuit. The Iranian’s don’t have a nuclear weapons program and common sense says they never will, they’re surrounded by U.S. forces and outgunned by their neighbors, if they ever did acquire a nuclear weapon and use it on someone our retaliation would mean the virtual end of the millennia-old Persian culture, and Hillary wants to further cripple our economy by dumping more American-made arms into the region. Where do we find such women?

Bush/Cheney foreign policy turned the Middle East into an analog of Cold War Europe, and incredibly, they managed to cast pismire Iran as the second coming of the Soviet Union. That the Obama administration is conducting the same slap shoe and fright wig statecraft is a sure sign that the American Empire will end not with a bang or a whimper, but with pie on its face.

Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes at Pen and Sword. Jeff's novel Bathtub Admirals (Kunati Books), a lampoon on America's rise to global dominance, is on sale now.

_________

60 Minutes propaganda segment on Israel Air Force readied to attack Iran at a moment's notice.

Ahmedinejad's Last Stand

After months of posturing and heated rhetoric, we've reached what appears to be the end of the road. The US, Israel, and their western allies have painted Ahmedinejad into a corner from which he cannot escape without surrendering his pride and the independence of his nation's domestic policies.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers retreat over the nuclear issue ... as breaking the country's independence which will impose huge costs on the Iranian nation," Khamenei said, according to state television.

"This path is irreversible and the foreign policy establishment has to bravely defend Iran's rights," [Khamenei] told the diplomats.

In a nationally televised speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also vowed to resist pressure from the Security Council, saying "no power" can take nuclear technology from Iran.

"They should know that through propaganda, political pressures and games they play nowadays ... (they) can't prevent the Iranian nation from pursuing its path," he said, referring to the West.

How can the US expect this strategy to work? What do they think they'll achieve? They may have military might, but they're fighting a losing battle when it comes to hearts and minds.

"[The] Enemy should know that Iranian nation will not keep calm against plots and heads of the bullying state should know that they are viewed as the most hated individuals by all and Iranian nation's slogan is the voice of all nations," said Ahmadinejad in an address to the locals.

Ahmedinejad is not only charismatic, enjoying broad and strong support from his countrymen, but his courageous stand against the world's greatest superpower has transformed him into a global legend.

Ahmadinejad called on the people to "be angry" at the pressure being put on Iran.

"Listen well," the president said to a crowd chanting "die" as they punched the air with their fists. "A nuclear program is our irrefutable right."

Much to their chagrin, the man's a hero. A sling-shot is the only thing that's missing in this image of Ahmedinejad's last stand against the neo-con Goliath.

To attack Iran without more, would be a strategic disaster. The neo-cons must have something else up their sleeve. Even if Iran defies the Security Council, goes ahead with full scale enrichment, AND decreases its oil output, something more would have to happen before the neo-cons could "sell" this war to the American people and the world without risking serious reprisals, even if only economic.

They wouldn't dare attack now with nothing more to justify their brazen aggression than an uncomprimising opponent and some threadbare evidence cooked up by dissaffected political dissidents. The West would not only incur the political wrath of its own populations, but they would unleash the unbridled fury of the world at large.

As it stands now, the Security Council is at an impasse.

China and Russia insisted . . . that negotiations with Iran be allowed to continue. France, Britain and the US want political pressure on Iran to stop its uranium enrichment activities.

Wednesday, the permanent members meet for the fifth day of talks, while the whole council is expected to meet again Thursday or Friday.

The question remains, what provocation do the neo-cons have planned and when will it unfold?

Iranian Jews not persecuted, not leaving Iran anytime soon

Whatever they say abroad is lies - we are comfortable in Iran - if you're not political and don't bother them then they won't bother you - Hersel Gabriel

Although Iran and Israel are bitter enemies, few know that Iran is home to the largest number of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside Israel. 

About 25,000 Jews live in Iran and most are determined to remain no matter what the pressures - as proud of their Iranian culture as of their Jewish roots. 

It is dawn in the Yusufabad synagogue in Tehran and Iranian Jews bring out the Torah and read the ancient text before making their way to work. 

It is not a sight you would expect in a revolutionary Islamic state, but there are synagogues dotted all over Iran where Jews discreetly practise their religion. 

"Because of our long history here we are tolerated," says Jewish community leader Unees Hammami, who organised the prayers.
He says the father of Iran's revolution, Imam Khomeini, recognised Jews as a religious minority that should be protected.  As a result Jews have one representative in the Iranian parliament. 

"Imam Khomeini made a distinction between Jews and Zionists and he supported us," says Mr Hammami. 

'Anti-Jewish feeling'
 
In the Yusufabad synagogue the announcements are made in Persian - most Iranian Jews don't really speak Hebrew well.
Jews have lived in Persia for nearly 3,000 years - the descendants of slaves from Babylon saved by Cyrus the Great. 

Over the centuries there have been sporadic purges, pogroms and forced conversions to Islam as well as periods of peaceful co-existence.
These days anti-Jewish feeling is periodically stirred by the media

Mr Hammami says state-run television confuses Zionism and Judaism so that "ordinary people may think that whatever the Israelis do is supported by all Jews".

During the fighting in Lebanon a hardline weekly newspaper, Yalesarat, published two photographs of synagogues on its front page full of people waving Israeli flags celebrating Israeli independence day.

The paper falsely said the synagogues were in Iran - even describing one as the Yusufabad synagogue in Tehran and locating another in Shiraz.

"This provoked a number of opportunists in Shiraz," explains Iran's Jewish MP, Maurice Mohtamed, "and there was an assault on two synagogues."

Mr Mohtamed says the incident was defused by the Iranian security forces, who explained to people that the news was not true.
And with the coming to power of an ultra-conservative like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, there has been increased concern internationally about the fate of Iranian Jews. 

'Holocaust denial'

Mr Ahmedinejad has repeatedly used rabid anti-Israeli rhetoric - slogans like "wipe Israel off the map" - and most controversially he has questioned the number killed in the Holocaust during World War II. 

Mr Mohtamed has been outspoken in his condemnation of the president's views - in itself a sign that there is some space for Jews in Iran to express themselves.
  

"It's very regrettable to see a horrible tragedy so far reaching as the Holocaust being denied ... it was a very big insult to Jews all around the world," says Mr Mohtamed, who has also strongly condemned the exhibition of cartoons about the Holocaust organised by an Iranian newspaper owned by the Tehran municipality. 

Despite the offence Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has caused to Jews around the world, his office recently donated money for Tehran's Jewish hospital. 

It is one of only four Jewish charity hospitals worldwide and is funded with money from the Jewish diaspora - something remarkable in Iran where even local aid organisations have difficulty receiving funds from abroad for fear of being accused of being foreign agents.
Most of the patients and staff are Muslim these days, but director Ciamak Morsathegh is Jewish. 

"Anti-Semitism is not an eastern phenomenon, it's not an Islamic or Iranian phenomenon - anti-Semitism is a European phenomenon," he says, arguing that Jews in Iran even in their worst days never suffered as much as they did in Europe. 

Israeli family ties
 
But there are legal problems for Jews in Iran - if one member of a Jewish family converts to Islam he can inherit all the family's property.
Jews cannot become army officers and the headmasters of the Jewish schools in Tehran are all Muslim, though there is no law that says this should be so. 

But their greatest vulnerability is their links to Israel - where many Jews have relatives. 

Seven years ago a group of Jews in the southern city of Shiraz was accused of spying for Israel - eventually they were all released. But today many Iranian Jews travel to and from Iran's enemy Israel.
  

In one of Tehran's six remaining kosher butcher's shops, everyone has relatives in Israel. 

In between chopping up meat, butcher Hersel Gabriel tells me how he expected problems when he came back from Israel, but in fact the immigration officer didn't say anything to him. 

"Whatever they say abroad is lies - we are comfortable in Iran - if you're not political and don't bother them then they won't bother you," he explains. 

His customer, middle-aged housewife Giti agrees, saying she can easily talk to her two sons in Tel Aviv on the telephone and visit them.
"It's not a problem coming and going; I went to Israel once through Turkey and once through Cyprus and it was not problem at all," she says. 

Gone are the early days of the Iranian revolution when Jews - and many Muslims - found it hard to get passports to travel abroad.
"In the last five years the government has allowed Iranian Jews to go to Israel freely, meet their families and when they come back they face no problems," says Mr Mohtamed. 

He says there is also a way for Iranian Jews who emigrated to Israel decades ago to return to Iran and see their families. 

"They can now go to the Iranian consul general in Istanbul and get Iranian identity documents and freely come to Iran," he says. 

The exodus of Jews from Iran seems to have slowed down - the first wave was in the 1950s and the second was in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. 

Those Jews who remain in Iran seem to have made a conscious decision to stay put. 

"We are Iranian and we have been living in Iran for more than 3,000 years," says the Jewish hospital director Ciamak Morsathegh.
"I am not going to leave - I will stay in Iran under any conditions," he declares.

Meet The Greatest President

download