You have to wonder how long Israel can let this kind of stuff go:
Iran said it successfully test-fired a new generation of long range surface-to-surface missile on Wednesday — one that could easily strike as far away as southeastern Europe with greater precision than earlier models.
The Sajjil is a solid fuel high-speed missile with a range of about 1,200 miles, Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar said on state television. At that range, it could easily strike Iran's arch-foe Israel and go as far as southeastern Europe.
President Bush has repeatedly encouraged Israel to let the sanctions work. These sanctions have not made a dent in Iran's rush toward the destruction of Israel. I know, Obama has stated that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear missiles. Do you believe he will take the actions that will be required to stop them? If Bush won't do anything to stop it, why would you think Obama would?
I expect Israel is thinking the same thing. At least I hope so. I expect there will be an attack by Israel before the end of the year. I hate to see this happen, but I do not believe Israel will have any other option than to stop them with force. I only hope the President will back Israel when they do have to stop Iran.
I know I have not been posting the last few weeks. The truth is, I have been adjusting to a big change in my life. I would rather not go into specifics. Let's just say the world is going to be gaining a bachelor soon. That on top of being busy at work has made my life a little hectic. Things are settling down now, and I just can't stay away any longer. Even though this is the most screwed up election process I have witnessed.
So, what have I missed? Oh yes, the most liberal person in the Senate picks the third most liberal to be his running mate. I think he is underestimating this whole (we are supposed to win this time) thing. I know, I know with the hatred of Bush it's a sure thing right? I just don't see it that way. I am not saying he won't win mind you. I am just saying it will be harder than he thinks. But then again, McCain does have an uncanny ability to piss off his base. The truth is it is hard to tell at this point what the hell is going to happen.
We are right in the middle of the big circus they call the Democratic Convention. And what would it be without a little "free and open debate" democrat style?:
Michelle Malkin is live blogging, in case your interested. I think I would rather watch paint dry, but I must admit I have it on the TV myself. It's like a car crash, you don't want to look, but you can't look away.
Syria's President Bashar Assad has publicly stepped up his outreach to old ally Russia in recent days, seeking aid to build up Syrian military forces and offering Moscow help in return — in an apparent effort to exploit a new Russian-American rift.
U.S. officials have noticed: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Mideast leaders this week that they should worry about Syria's efforts to gain more sophisticated weapons.
I disagree with this statement in this article:
"The Russian move into Georgia has begun a tectonic shift in the (Mideast) region," said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert in the United States. "It has emboldened Syria, Hezbollah and Iran to push harder against Israel and the U.S."
I submit that the weakness the US has shown against Iran has emboldened the others, including Russia.
It is no big secret that Russia has worked against US interests for a long time now. But it has always been covertly. I believe they have determined it to be the time to put it out in the open. They feel that the US has lost the ability to unite against rouge nations. I fear they are correct in their assessment.
What can be done now is beyond me, but our leaders in Washington had better get their heads out of their asses before we are stuck right in the middle of another cold war.
"We hope the Iranians will provide a positive answer," to world powers offering incentives for Iran to halt to sensitive nuclear fuel work, national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
But "if they do not, the international community is united that more sanctions are coming," he said.
Think it will work? Me neither:
"The Iranian people are steadfast and will not step back an inch against the oppressive powers," Ahmadinejad told a rally in the southwestern province of Kohgelouyeh-Boyerahmad.
I am tired of hearing about sanctions. Every time we bring them up we give Ahmadinejad the chance to thumb his nose at us and call us an "oppressive regime". It makes us look weak, which only encourages him more.
Could the White House be using this as cover, and secretly be assisting Israel with plans to actually deal with Iran? I sure hope so. But I am inclined to believe they are still hoping it will work.
Note to republicans: Go back to the days when you were prepared to do what it takes to get the job done. Leave the hoping to the democrats. It is a pretty simple concept really. I can hope the yard mows itself all day long. It will not be mowed unless I get off my ass and do something about it.
I thought the Bush administration had really decided to confront Iran on their nuclear weapons program:
Iran must choose between cooperation and confrontation: US
...The statement from State Department spokesman Sean McCormack came after US Undersecretary of State William Burns joined international talks with Iran in Geneva in a bid to make Iran suspend sensitive nuclear work.
Burns, it said, delivered a "clear simple message" that Washington was "serious" in backing proposed international incentives for Iran to halt uranium enrichment and that it will only engage in negotiations with Iran when it does so.
The statement added: "We hope the Iranian people understand that their leaders need to make a choice between cooperation, which would bring benefits to all, and confrontation, which can only lead to further isolation."
But alas, just more appeasement talk. Iran is not interested in deals. Is that not painfully obvious by now?
Iran's test salvo of ballistic missiles last week together with recent threatening rhetoric by commanders of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards emphasizes how close the Middle East is to a fundamental, in fact an irreversible, turning point.
Tehran's efforts to intimidate the United States and Israel from using military force against its nuclear program, combined with yet another diplomatic charm offensive with the Europeans, are two sides of the same policy coin. The regime is buying the short additional period of time it needs to produce deliverable nuclear weapons, the strategic objective it has been pursuing clandestinely for 20 years.
Read the rest at the link. You will not be disappointed.
I had to add this paragraph:
Thus, instead of debating how much longer to continue five years of failed diplomacy, we should be intensively considering what cooperation the U.S. will extend to Israel before, during and after a strike on Iran. We will be blamed for the strike anyway, and certainly feel whatever negative consequences result, so there is compelling logic to make it as successful as possible. At a minimum, we should place no obstacles in Israel's path, and facilitate its efforts where we can.
How true this line is: "We will be blamed for the strike anyway, and certainly feel whatever negative consequences result..."
Oh, how I wish this man still represented us in the United (against American Issues) Nations.
In this post he gives an explanation of how diplomacy works, that I had to share with you:
...diplomacy can only work when one side wants something from the other side, which the other side is prepared to give. This situation does not exist with respect to Iran. For diplomacy to work, the situation would have to change -- the most obvious (though unlikely) game-changer would be US jets pounding Iranian nuclear, military, and governmental sites for a few weeks. In such a case, Iranian would want something from us, namely, to stop with the bombing already.
Read the rest at the link. It's worth it.
Iran does not need anything from us. Therefore they are not going to negotiate.
Meanwhile, they are working feverishly to develop nuclear weapons. How many times have we heard that all options are on the table? When are we going to decide that the diplomacy option is not working? I think it should be sinking in, even to a politician, that it is time to give up on this option and look into another one. It is irresponsible and stupid to keep doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have begun a military exercise and issued a warning that Israel and U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf would be prime targets if Iran is attacked.
...The Iranian Web Site quoted guard official Ali Shirazi as saying that Israel's coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv and U.S. warships in the Gulf would be among the first targets if Iran comes under attack.
"The Zionist regime is pushing the White House to prepare for a military strike on Iran," Shirazi was quoted as saying. "If such a stupidity is done by them, Tel Aviv and the U.S. naval fleet in the Persian Gulf will be the first targets which will be set on fire in Iran's crushing response."
..."The first shot by the U.S. on Iran will set the U.S. vital interests in the world" at risk, Shirazi said, according to the Web site.
The worst part about this whole thing is that we have given them a long time to plan for these type of attacks. While we have been hoping for them to change (no offense Barack) they have been getting ready for the inevitable. While we are offering to make deals with them, they are pushing ahead with their nuclear program and issuing threat after threat. Iran has been providing assistance any way they can to keep the war in Iraq going in order to take the heat off themselves. With so many people disgruntled with the war, Iran can continue on.
Do I feel like Iran can threaten the US interests? Yes I do. I am not as worried about our Navy ships as much as I am about terrorists in this country and around the world. How many have come into this country over the last seven years? With our government too concerned with kissing the rest of the world's ass, and not taking care of US interests (which by the way, is their only job), they have opened us up to attack.
Should we try not to provoke Iran? I do not think this will do any good. As soon as Iran develops a nuclear weapon we will know. They will announce it to the world. The announcement could be in a speech from Ahmedinejad, but could just as easily be Iran doing what it has promised to do, wiping Israel off the map.
The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes.
"I am in favor of using the power of force against Iran, because if we let things go as they are we will find ourselves in a very dangerous situation," Amit said. "We have good intelligence, and we shall decide what is the right timing for any attack."
Asked about media speculation and statements from officials and former officials that the best window of opportunity for Israel to attack Iran is before President Bush leaves office in January, Amit responded that U.S. politics should not be a consideration.
...
Pressed on the issue of media reports quoting anonymous Israeli and American officials speaking about the timing of an Israeli strike, Amit replied, "When you decide to attack someone, you don't let that person or country know anything about the timing in advance. You do it at the right moment without any initial warning or announcement."
He is absolutely right. The U.S. will have to deal with Iran sooner or later. For Israel it will have to be sooner. Iran has called for Israel's complete inhalation. They have called for our destruction too, but given the hatred Iran has shown toward Israel there is little doubt that Israel will be first on their list. The time to act is rapidly approaching.
Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Several American officials said the Israeli exercise appeared to be an effort to develop the military's capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran's nuclear program.
More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters participated in the maneuvers, which were carried out over the eastern Mediterranean and over Greece during the first week of June, American officials said.
Israeli officials claim it was routine training. But, the article goes on to say:
...the scope of the Israeli exercise virtually guaranteed that it would be noticed by American and other foreign intelligence agencies.
Was Israel training for an attack on Iran? If they were smart they would. Check out my last post for a perfectly good reason for it.
One official thinks it's purpose was to send a message to other countries that Iran will act militarily if needed. I would hope so. The Iranian government has expressed their desire to "wipe Israel off the map" dozens of times. Nobody can dispute that fact. I just wish the rest of the world were as concerned about Iran gaining nuclear capabilities as Israel seems to be. While it is true that Israel would probably be the first to be attacked, they would not be the only country that gets attacked.
One more thing I would like to discuss about the article:
Iran has shown signs that it is taking the Israeli warnings seriously, by beefing up its air defenses in recent weeks, including increasing air patrols. In one instance, Iran scrambled F-4 jets to double-check an Iraqi civilian flight from Baghdad to Tehran.
"They are clearly nervous about this and have their air defense on guard," a Bush administration official said of the Iranians.
Iran being nervous about this is a good reaction. A lot better than the reaction the U.S. and their counterparts got from their last try at appeasement:
"In the nuclear issue, the bullying powers have used up all their capabilities but could not break the will of the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by state television.
World powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- on Saturday offered Tehran a new package of technological and economic incentives in exchange for suspending uranium enrichment activities.
Keep it up Israel. You are proving that some people will not pay any attention to sanctions or bribes. They do seem to respond to the threat of force though.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday the West has failed to break Iran's will in the nuclear standoff, days after world powers presented Tehran with a new offer aimed at ending the crisis.
"In the nuclear issue, the bullying powers have used up all their capabilities but could not break the will of the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by state television.
...
Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali AsgharSoltanieh ruled out on Wednesday that the country could freeze enrichment, saying: "Iran will never submit to such an illegal act.
Iran is not going to peaceably stop. That is what they are saying. That is what they have been saying since the beginning. As crazy as I believe Ahmadinejad to be, I think he means exactly what he is saying here.
This time it was not sanctions. They tried to bribe Iran into submission with money and technology. So you see, we have went from standing up to Iran with sanctions to trying to appease Iran with money. Whats next? Crawling around on our hands and knees begging him to stop?
Don't you think it is time for our elected leaders to lead? I sure as hell do.
Unfortunately, it looks like it will come to that. What can be done has been a key issue the last several years. Charles Krauthammer's opinion is that we will have to treat Iran the way we treated the USSR during the cold war:
During the Cold War, we prevented an attack not only on the U.S. but also on America’s allies by extending the American nuclear umbrella — i.e., declaring that any attack on our allies would be considered an attack on the United States.
Such a threat is never 100 percent credible. Nonetheless, it made the Soviets think twice about attacking our European allies. It kept the peace.
Go over and read the rest. It is a good article.
I don't think this will be as strong a deterrent as it was with the Soviets. This worked with them because we had just proven our strength and determination during WWII.
Iran does not fear the US. They have thumbed their noses at us for a long time now, and they now feel the US is weak. They have declared this many times over the last 20 years. I agree to some extent. Not about our military mind you, about our leaders. They have proven time and again that they are more interested in popularity than keeping the US safe. As far as the UN goes, that whole organization is a joke and Iranian leaders know it.
What I think needs to be done is this. We need to give Iran a reason to fear us. We need to stand with Israel to ensure Iran does not get these weapons in the first place.
I do not see that happening though.
So then we would have to take Mr. Krauthammer's advise:
How to create deterrence? The way John Kennedy did during the Cuban missile crisis. President Bush should issue the following declaration, adopting Kennedy’s language while changing the names of the miscreants:
It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear attack upon Israel by Iran, or originating in Iran, as an attack by Iran on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon Iran.
Of course I don't think this will happen. If this warning were given, Iran would not take it seriously. Given the actions of our leaders over the last 20 years I can't say as I blame them.
"Obviously, they're ... heavily involved in trying to develop nuclear weapons enrichment, the enrichment of uranium to weapons grade levels," Cheney said in an interview with ABC television transcribed by the White House.
Do ya think? I believe everyone in the world knows that Iran is still at it. Everyone also knows that Iran has vowed to destroy Israel and the United States.
What to do now? The sanctions are not working. Not even a little. Part of the reason for this is the fact that a lot of the countries that have signed on with the sanctions are still dealing with Iran. Iran has something that all countries need. Oil!
We need to ensure that Iran is not successful in the development of weapons grade uranium. If we are going to use sanctions, every country is going to have to abide by these sanctions. The world cannot afford an Iranian nation that has nuclear weapons.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejects a plea from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to resume peace talks with Israel.
Miss Rice is trying to save a barely started Israeli-Palestinian peace process from collapsing today amid continuing exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
Miss Rice, who met with Mr. Abbas after talks with Egyptians officials in Cairo, told Palestinians that she feels their pain from a weekend Israeli military campaign that left more than 100 dead, but she put the blame squarely on Hamas.
Read the rest at the link.
It is sad that the Bush Administration will not wake up and smell the coffee. The chance that we will see peace in that region is almost 0%. The goal for these people is to destroy Israel. They are not going to go by any peace deal. Even if they do agree to one.
Miss Rice also said:
“Hamas gets armed by the Iranians, and if nobody helps to improve the security capabilities of the legitimate Palestinian Authority security forces, that’s not a very good situation,” she said at a press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
Wonder if Hamas will get any of the nuclear weapons from Iran, if and when Iran is successful in developing them?
The new sanctions are not going to deter the Iranians any more than the last two did. We need to take serious action against Iran to make sure they do not get nukes. We also need to stop them from supplying terrorists with these weapons.
Forget about the threat to Israel for a minute. We know what would happen there. Read this:
Two more Iraqis with false Bulgarian passports were detained by Mexican officials in Monterrey – bringing the total to four this month.
Wisam Gorgies, a 34-year-old man, and Rana Nazar Peyoz, a 26-year-old woman, reportedly flew from Madrid and landed in Monterrey, according to reports in two Mexican newspapers today.
Following questioning, the pair admitted they intended to reach the United States. They were taken to Saltillo in the state of Coahuila, for final determination of their status.
They claimed to be fleeing the war, but the last time I checked there wasn't a lot of war related activities going on in Iran. Look we all know how easy it is to get into this country. Given that the next president will not do anything to curtail this, we must not allow rouge countries to get nukes.
Of course they are. The sanctions are not working because other countries (even some in the UN) are not following them. These reports should be taken seriously. Iran has been doing everything in it's power to establish itself as a world power. They are not going to stop on their own. It is that simple. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly told us that. He is going to do whatever he wants to do and will not stop until Israel and the US is destroyed. I am not just saying this, he said this.
Israel's Mossad spy agency estimates Iran will develop a nuclear weapon within three years and continue to provide rockets to regional armed groups, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Mossad director Meir Dagan, in an intelligence assessment presented to Israel's powerful foreign affairs and defence committee on Monday, said the Jewish state would face increased threats on all fronts, Maariv daily said.
Dagan's estimate of Iran's nuclear ambitions differs sharply from an assessment by the US intelligence community late last year that said Iran had mothballed its nuclear weapons programme in 2003.
This is a major problem for Israel. They have to keep a close watch on Iran, while dealing with the reluctance of the US in dealing with Iran's nuclear program. One thing is for sure; we will know when Iran gets a nuke. They will use them. Or they will supply a terrorist organization with one. My only hope is that one does not end up here.
Look people, we need to get our heads out of the sand on this. Iran is at war with us the same as Al-Qaeda is. Whether we want to accept it or not. I understand the desire to have peace over there. The only problem is we do not have a choice in the matter. I know that is hard for a lot of Americans to accept. We will have to deal with Iran in the future. The only question is how much pushing are we going to take before we wake up and deal with this issue.
I know, you are saying we have sanctions against them. The only problem is; the countries that are supposed to be with us on sanctions are still trading with Iran.
This post is in response to this New York Times article:
A new assessment by American intelligence agencies released Monday concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting a judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.
The conclusions of the new assessment are likely to reshape the final year of the Bush administration, which has made halting Iran’s nuclear program a cornerstone of its foreign policy.
The assessment, a National Intelligence Estimate that represents the consensus view of all 16 American spy agencies, states that Tehran is likely to keep its options open with respect to building a weapon, but that intelligence agencies “do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons.”
Read the rest at the link above.
I hope this is true. I am pretty sure it is not.
The way I understand it that one defector from Iran has stated the country stopped their nuclear arms program in 2003. That is great, but were is the hard proof. There is not any.
I can't help but think this has something to do with the "Middle East" peace plans Bush and Rice have been working on. I know they are willing to bend over backwards to convince the Israeli government to hand over land to the Palestinians.
What it will do is allow countries to ease restrictions on trade with Iran. It will be used against Bush every time you turn around. (Bush lied again). It will embolden Iran. Hell it already has:
A new U.S. intelligence review concluding Iran stopped developing an atomic weapons program in 2003 is a "declaration of victory" for Iran's nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday.
Russia's foreign minister, meanwhile, indicated that the U.S. report's findings undermined Washington's push for a new set of U.N. sanctions against Iran.
The U.S. intelligence report released Monday concluded that Iran had stopped its weapons program in late 2003 and shown no signs since of resuming it, representing a sharp turnaround from a previous intelligence assessment in 2005.
"This is a declaration of victory for the Iranian nation against the world powers over the nuclear issue," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people during a visit to Ilam province in western Iran.
"This was a final shot to those who, in the past several years, spread a sense of threat and concern in the world through lies of nuclear weapons," Ahmadinejad said, drawing celebratory whistles from the crowd.
Several reports I have read in the past few years said all that was holding Iran's nuclear program up was the ability to enrich uranium. So of course the program was frozen so they could learn how to accomplish this. Well, back to the New York times article:
Iran is continuing to produce enriched uranium, a program that the Tehran government has said is intended for civilian purposes. The new estimate says that the enrichment program could still provide Iran with enough raw material to produce a nuclear weapon sometime by the middle of next decade, a timetable essentially unchanged from previous estimates.
BIRJAND, Iran - Iran has achieved a landmark, with 3,000 centrifuges fully working in its controversial uranium enrichment program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Wednesday.
"We have now reached 3,000 machines," Ahmadinejad told thousands of Iranians in Birjand in eastern Iran, in a show of defiance of international demands to halt the program believed to be masking the country's nuclear arms efforts.
How much longer can we wait folks?
Iran is working feverishly to develop nuclear weapons. We cannot let this happen.
