The Obama Perpetrated Iran Disaster Emerges

Posted on 06/02/2014 by terrortrends

Well, the deed is all but done. The Obamanistas have gotten what they wanted all along: a false detente with the Ayatollahs.

John Kerry would have us believe that the Iranian nuclear program has been frozen by the “agreement” he “hammered” out with Iranian negotiators, but the subsequent remarks from Iranian leaders are very telling; they don’t appear to believe that they agreed to anything that truly curtails their nuclear ambitions.

Kerry is lying.

At BEST, this agreement seems to have set back the Iranian nuclear program all of 6 weeks. It is now inevitable that one day we will wake up and turn on the cable news shows and be treated to the news that Iran has nuclear weapons.

Make no mistake, Obama was NEVER committed to preventing the Iranians from becoming armed with nuclear weapons. To Obama’s world view, this is simply a balancing of world power. We have more nukes than anyone, so, what difference does it make that Iran has nukes? (Incidentally, this is essentially the same position that some Republicans, notably Rand Paul, have taken.)

Obama also has an underlying animosity toward Israel and no doubt sees Iran as a nuclear power in much the same light as Israel as a nuclear power.

Probably the most disappointing to liberals in the US who purported to support Israel, Hillary Clinton has gone along with the charade. To Hillary Clinton, everything is about political expedience and she sees it in her best political interests not to disagree with Obama on Iran.

In other words, there is no one in power in Washington who is truly concerned about Iran having the atomic bomb.

Leon Panetta may actually have believed it a few years ago when he said that the US would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, but he was being lied to by his colleagues in the Obama administration who claimed to hold that view. No one in the Obama administration is talking like that now.

John Kerry would have us believe that we can just turn sanctions back on like a light switch if the Iranians don’t hold up their end of the faux bargain. This is perhaps the biggest lie.

Maybe the US can turn on sanctions again, but such unilateral sanctions will have little effect because the Chinese and the Russians are running full-speed into expanding their operations in the Iranian market now and our allies in Europe, Japan and South Korea are headed back in too. None of those countries, all of whom have closer economic ties to Iran than the US, is likely to turn sanctions back on any time soon. Nope, the genie is out of the bottle.

Meanwhile, the Iranians are up to their usual nefarious activities. They are playing chess and we still think the game is checkers.

A high ranking member of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps recently stated that Iran has IRGC and Hezbollah sleeper cells inside of America ready to strike targets:

http://dailycaller.com/2014/02/01/iranian-commander-we-have-targets-within-america/

I absolutely believe his claim to be true. There is no reason to doubt it.

President Rouhani took office last year amid wide speculation that he would finally be the long-lost “moderate” who would reach out lovingly to the West. This broken record is really getting tiresome. As if to ensure that the myth is once again disposed of properly, the Iranians have ramped up executions on his watch:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/3/iranian-executions-spiking-despite-thaw-with-west-/

Meanwhile, Iran is using its oil wealth to exert its influence in America’s backyard. Through Hezbollah and activities emanating from Iran’s diplomatic facilities in the region, the Iranians are becoming involved in terrorism and criminal enterprises…

http://freebeacon.com/experts-iran-exerting-troubling-influence-in-latin-america/

And as we have pointed out previously, the nuclear agreement with Iran doesn’t even mention the Iranians’ ballistic missile program:

http://freebeacon.com/iranian-ballistic-missile-program-can-continue-under-deal/

Finally, amid all their nuclear ambitions, ballistic missile testing and sponsorship of terror, the US, thanks to the Obamanistas, is facilitating the Iranians’ access to long frozen financial resources. Money is the most fungible of all commodities. The Iranians might actually tell John Kerry and Barack Obama that this money won’t be spent on things like uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles and Hezbollah, but it makes no difference because it would definitely free up Iranian money elsewhere for such activity. We’ve known for decades that this is what the Ayatollahs do. That’s why this deal that John Kerry has perpetrated upon all of Western Civilization is criminal in its effect…

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/joseph-klein/pay-day-for-the-mullahs/

 

 

 

 

Filed under: ballistic missiles, Hezbollah, human rights, Israel, John Kerry, Latin America, missiles, nuclear program, nuclear talks, Obama, sanctions, Terrorism, USA, Useful Idiots | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Iranians Walk

Posted on 14/12/2013 by terrortrends

The Washington Free Beacon is reporting something that the so-called “mainstream” media has chosen to ignore, namely that the Iranians have pulled out of nuclear talks with the P5+1 nations after the US further tightened sanctions on the Islamic Republic, as had been planned for some time.

It will be interesting to say the least to see if the Obama administration “blinks” in order to get the Iranians back to the negotiating table. Up to this point the Iranians have played the Obama administration like a fiddle in the negotiations. Other nations, most notably Red China and Russia, are already moving to ease sanctions on Iran based on the prior announcement of a deal with the Iranians, in return for which the Ayatollahs essentially gave up nothing of note.

It is also very important to note that the $7 billion figure for sanctions relief being thrown around is just the tip of a politico-economic iceberg. Opening up Iran’s oil and gas exports will produce a bonanza many times that figure for the Ayatollahs. Anyone who says any different is either lying or ignorant.

Iranians Pull Out of Nuke Talks

Iranian negotiators abruptly ended nuclear talks with Western powers in Vienna on Friday just a day after the Obama administration announced tighter sanctions on Tehran.

Iran had threatened that new or tighter sanctions would nullify the recently reached Geneva interim deal, which is not yet in effect.

{Snip}///

However, Carney said that the administration continues to oppose new sanctions.

“Let’s be clear also that we continue to oppose passage of new nuclear-related sanctions,” Carney said.

http://freebeacon.com/iranians-pull-out-of-nuke-talks/

 

Filed under: China, nuclear program, nuclear talks, Obama, Russia, sanctions, United Nations, USA | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a comment »

Why is Iran Developing ICBMs?

Posted on 03/12/2013 by terrortrends

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Why is Iran working on Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles?

There is no possible peaceful purpose for ballistic missiles. Iran may claim that their nuclear program is peaceful, but they cannot possibly make that claim when it comes to ballistic missiles. The only reason to have ballistic missiles is to target enemies with high explosives and WMD.

Iran’s Shehab-3 Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles have sufficient range to hit Israel, Saudi Arabia and US bases in Afghanistan, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait and Turkey.

Why are the Iranians working with the North Koreans on multi-stage Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)?

Who might the Iranians be targeting with such missiles?

NATO? Probably, but parts of NATO in Europe are already in range of the latest versions of the Shehab-3. Iran is working on missiles with much greater range than that.

Clearly, Iran seeks to target countries much further away.

Certainly, Great Britain and France are possible targets. China and Russia both sell Iran weaponry, so it is unlikely that either would be targeted.

The answer is obvious. Iran wants ICBMs to target the US homeland. And one does not build ICBMs and arm them with conventional warheads. ICBMs are not generally accurate enough to make a high explosive warhead effective. ICBMs are armed with nuclear warheads.

Now, Iran claims it does not want nuclear weapons. But the Ayatollahs have a history of lying, going all the way back to 1978-79 when the Ayatollah Khomeini claimed that he had no interest in governing Iran after the Islamic revolution. He made this statement repeatedly to the international media. He was, of course, lying–just as the Iranians are lying today about their nuclear ambitions. Khomeini ruled Iran as a totalitarian dictator for an entire decade until his death.

The problem is, we have a president in Washington who doesn’t seem to care that Iran has a history of lying and cheating as part of their duty under Islamic doctrine.

Filed under: ballistic missiles, Israel, Khomeini, missiles, North Korea, nuclear program, nuclear talks, Obama, Useful Idiots | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Other Threat Obama and Kerry Ignored: Ballistic Missiles

Posted on 27/11/2013 by terrortrends

334241_Iran-Qadr-missile

 

For over a decade, Iran has had a robust, active ballistic missile development program. There are new developments on this front that are being covered ably by the crew over at the Free Beacon. Before we link those, here are the basics of the Iranian ballistic missile program…

Iran has several types of ballistic missiles, ranging from Short Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM) to Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBM). Some are imported systems, some are domestic copies of foreign systems and some are indigenous systems. Iran is also known to be working on ICBMs–Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

According to the Obama Defense Department’s “Annual Report on the Military Power of Iran,” published in April of 2012, US intelligence estimates indicate that Iran will be capable of testing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in 2015.  A May 2009 joint US-Russian assessment published by the East-West Institute estimated that Iran was 6-8 years away from fielding an ICBM. The United States Institute of Peace estimates that Iran will have an ICBM capable of striking the US by 2020.

Iranian Short-Range Ballistic Missiles

Fateh-110

This solid-fueled, mobile missile system was developed jointly with Red China, North Korea and Syria as a replacement for SCUD missiles. It entered production in 2002 and has a range of 185 miles. This is far enough to hit targets into US installations in Afghanistan, Kuwait and Qatar.

Shehab-1

Developed from the Soviet-era SCUD-B, this mobile, liquid-fueled rocket has a range of 185 miles. This is far enough to target US bases in Afghanistan, Kuwait and Qatar.

Shehab-2

Developed as an improvement from imported North Korean SCUD-C ballistic missiles, this liquid-fueled, mobile missile system has a range of 435 miles. This is sufficient range to reach US bases in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.

Tondar-69

This is the name given by Iran to its CSS-8 rockets acquired from Red China. This solid-fueled, mobile missile has a range of 90 miles and is more of a battlefield rocket, though it could reach targets outside Iran if fired near Iran’s coast or borders.

Medium Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBM)

Shehab-3

This mobile, liquid-fueled missile was developed from North Korea’s NoDong 1 missile. Estimate’s of the Shehab-3’s range capabilities vary; some estimates place it in the IRBM category, rather than the MRBM category. The range estimates vary between 550 and 1500 miles. The upper end of this range would include all of Israel, as well as the eastern Mediterranean, all of Turkey, parts of Greece and all of Saudi Arabia. The lower end of the spectrum would place much of Saudi Arabia within range. There are several variants of the Shehab-3 with different names.

Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBM)

Sajjil

There are at least three generations of this ballistic missile. It is a solid-fueled, mobile rocket and represents a significant advancement in Iranian capability because it is two-staged and thus lays the foundation for intercontinental flight. Also, because it is solid-fueled, it can be launched relatively quickly with little preparation. Range estimates vary from 1200 to 1800 miles, potentially putting targets as far as parts of Poland and parts of Italy within range.

Iranian Space Rocketry

Of particular significance and concern are Iranian efforts at space rocketry, through which it is in the process of mastering the multi-stage rocketry that is required for long-range Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles capable of hitting the US from Iran. Readers may recall that North Korea has also used the cover of a space program to develop ballistic missile technology.

Iran’s Safir rocket was used to place a satellite in orbit in 2009. That launch displayed a new level of capability in propulsion and multi-stage rocketry that the Iranians had previously not demonstrated. The rocket appears to be a development of the Sajjil with greater length but a similar diameter.

Iran has unveiled a prototype of a larger, more capable multi-stage rocket known as the Simorgh, designed to achieve higher orbits with heavier payloads than the Safir. Thus far, the Simorgh has not flown.

*******************************************

We provide this background because of announced developments by Iran’s ballistic missile program that have coincided with the Obama-Kerry-Ayatollah Agreement.

This morning, Bill Gertz of the Free Beacon detailed the latest on Iranian-North Korean cooperation on ballistic missiles. House Republicans revealed that US intelligence is warning them that Iran and North Korea are developing new engines for ballistic missiles at the same time that Obama and Kerry are asking Americans to back an agreement on nuclear technology with the Ayatollahs:

Iranian collaboration with North Korea on a new rocket booster for long-range missiles undermines the deal with Tehran on its nuclear program, key Senate and House Republicans said on Tuesday.

“While the president was undertaking his secret negotiations—which Congress wasn’t informed of—he had to know Iran and North Korea were testing new engines for ballistic missiles to target the United States,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.) chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces.

The chairman, whose subcommittee is in charge of overseeing U.S. strategic weapons, ballistic missile defenses, and space programs, made the comments in response to a report Tuesday revealing that Iran is covertly working with North Korea on a new 80-ton rocket booster that can be used in both nations’ long-range missile programs.

In the Senate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) also criticized the Iran nuclear deal for not addressing the threat of Iran’s ICBM program.

Reports of Iran-North Korea ICBM collaboration follow new anti-America and anti-Israel outbursts from the Islamist regime in Tehran, Cruz said.

http://freebeacon.com/iran-north-korea-missile-cooperation-undermines-recent-geneva-nuclear-deal/

On the heels of Gertz’s article, Adam Kredo posted an article about a report directly from Iranian state-run media quoting an announcement on ballistic missile technology from a leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC):

A top Iranian military leader announced late Tuesday that Iran has developed “indigenous” ballistic missile technology, which could eventually allow it to fire a nuclear payload over great distances.

Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the lieutenant commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), made the critical weapons announcement just days after Iran and the West signed a deal aimed at curbing the country’s nuclear activities.

Salami claimed that “Iran is among the only three world countries enjoying an indigenous ballistic missile technology,” according to the state-run Fars News Agency. [Editor’s note: this claim would no doubt come as a surprise to Great Britain, France, Red China, India, and Israel.]

Of particular interest and significance from Kredo’s article are these passages from Michael Rubin:

Former Pentagon adviser Michael Rubin said that the United States is not paying great enough attention to Tehran’s military advancements.

“Perhaps, [Secretary of State] John Kerry believes that Iran only wants ballistic missiles for peaceful purposes,” said Rubin, author of Dancing with the Devil: The Perils of Engaging Rogue Regimes.

“The fact of the matter is that Kerry and crew left both ballistic missiles and the nuclear warhead trigger experimentation at Parchin [military site] off-the-table” during talks in Geneva, Rubin said. “It’s the diplomatic equivalent of installing a burglar alarm system in your house but leaving the keys in the door.”

http://freebeacon.com/iran-announces-development-of-ballistic-missile-technology/

 

 

 

Filed under: ballistic missiles, IRGC, John Kerry, missiles, nuclear program, nuclear talks, Obama, space program, U.S. Congress | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

The Coming Bonanza for Jihad from the Obama/Kerry-Ayatollah Nuclear Bargain

Posted on 26/11/2013 by terrortrends

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Lost in the discussion about the disastrous P5+1 agreement on nuclear technology forced on the world by Barack Obama, John Kerry and the Ayatollahs in Tehran are the profound implications for Jihadist terrorism.

No where in the agreement is the issue of Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism even addressed. For all we know, John Kerry didn’t even raise it as an issue in his talks with the Iranians.

It’s not like the Obama administration can deny Iran’s role in the sponsorship of terrorism. The State Department has for years called Iran the world’s most active state sponsor of terrorism. We have chronicled that in the past:

https://iranbulletin.me/2010/08/06/irans-sponsorship-of-terror-detailed-in-new-state-department-report/

Note that in the State Department report we cited in our 2010 post on Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism, the Obama State Department acknowledged not only Iran’s sponsorship of Shia Hezbollah, but also Sunni terrorist organizations, such as HAMAS and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In addition, Iran was cited for providing safe haven for Al Qaeda and for providing arms and training to the Taliban, who were fighting US forces in Afghanistan.

Iran’s complicated, on-again, off-again relationship with Al Qaeda was the subject of an article I wrote for National Review way back in 2008 as well:

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/223992/iranian-entanglements/christopher-w-holton

Meanwhile, TerrorTrendsBulletin detailed Iran’s ongoing support for the Taliban as long ago as 2009:

http://terrortrendsbulletin.com/2009/06/08/taliban-continue-to-get-heavy-weapons-from-iran/

How does all this fit in with the nuclear agreement?

The point is, it takes money to arm, train, supply and provide safe haven for Hezbollah, HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Money is the lifeblood of Jihad and no one supports Jihad more than Iran does. That money has to come from somewhere. For the most part Iran gets money from oil and natural gas. Divestment and sanctions policies in the US and the West over the past 8-10 years have been geared toward reducing Iran’s oil revenue.

Now, with the stroke of a pen, Obama and Kerry have provided a renewed stream of revenue to the Ayatollahs by easing sanctions that were designed to pressure the Iranians into changing their behavior. This was done with the hope that the Iranians would not build nuclear weapons, a fool’s errand most likely. But even so, the deal was done in a vacuum of consideration for Iran’s sponsorship of Jihadist terrorism. So, whether the Iranians build an atomic bomb next week, next month or next year, Obama and Kerry obviously don’t care that Iran is the world’s foremost sponsor of Jihadist terrorism.

How much of a financial bonanza will the Iranians enjoy as a result of Obama and Kerry’s handiwork?

Well, one estimate forecasts that the Iranians will see an increase in their oil exports of as much as 50%. Given that Iran exports 1 million barrels of oil per day, that figure could rise to 1.5 million barrels of oil per day. Assuming a price of oil of $100 per barrel, that comes to an increase of $50 million each and every day over and above what the Iranians bring in now. Multiply that times 365 days per year and you get a figure of $18,250,000,000.

http://freebeacon.com/analysts-iran-oil-experts-could-increase-50-percent/

In other words, over the next year, the Iranians will earn an extra $18 billion thanks to Barack Obama and John Kerry.

How much of that ends up in the form of weaponry and training for Hezbollah, HAMAS, Islamic Jihad, Al Qaeda and the Taliban is anyone’s guess. Surely a portion of it will also go to Iran’s ballistic missile development program as well…which is yet another nefarious Iranian activity that Obama and Kerry actively ignored in putting together this unprecedentedly horrible deal.

 

 

 

Filed under: Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, ballistic missiles, Country Reports on Terrorism, Gas & Petroleum, HAMAS, Hezbollah, Jihad, John Kerry, missiles, nuclear program, nuclear talks, Obama, Oil, sanctions, sunni groups, Terrorism, US State Department, Useful Idiots | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Why the Iran Nuclear Agreement is NOT Designed as a Distraction from the Obamacare Debacle

Posted on 25/11/2013 by terrortrends

There is speculation in the blogosphere and on the airwaves this morning that the timing of the Obama/Kerry/Ayatollahs Agreement was designed to distract Americans from the Obamacare debacle.

This speculation is wrong for two reasons:

1. Look at the timing of the announcement of the agreement with Iran. It was announced late on Saturday night before a short holiday week, hardly the time you’d want to announce something to distract the citizenry from anything. If anything, the timing of the announcement seems to have been designed to cloak the agreement with Iran in hopes that by the time the next news cycle began other news stories would push it down the order.

It was released so late on Saturday night, in fact, that the agendas for the Sunday morning news shows had been set and there wouldn’t be any opportunity for administration officials to be called before the cameras to be questioned about the deal in any depth.

In other words, just the opposite of what a lot of people supposed about the announcement of this horrible deal with Iran, this announcement was designed to be timed so as few people as possible would be paying close attention.

2. The ObamaBomb, as the Center for Security Policy’s Frank Gaffney is calling the agreement with Iran, is as significantly scary in its own way as Obamacare is.

At least theoretically, Obamacare can be undone. The American people can choose to vote new Congressional representatives and a new president in 2016 who have the intention of rolling back or even repealing Obamacare.

That isn’t the case with the agreement with Iran. It is a multilateral capitulation that puts the Ayatollahs firmly on the road to building nuclear bombs. Even if America changed its mind and decided to re-tighten its sanctions against Iran, there is no way that China and Russia would allow such a move to succeed in the UN Security Council. Pandora’s Box has been opened and closing it now won’t do any good.

The American people can elect new leaders who think differently that Obama and Kerry on this, and they will still be powerless to undo what Obama and Kerry have done to the entire western civilization.

The only thing future leaders can do thanks to this agreement is try to prepare for a world in which the foremost state sponsor of Jihadist terrorism–and avowed, sworn enemy of the United States–is a nuclear power. Iran will now be untouchable in much the same way that North Korea became untouchable once Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter facilitated their construction of nuclear weapons through an agreement that fell outside the constitutional requirement for senate ratification.

Once Iran fulfills its dream of becoming a nuclear power, which is perhaps only months away, the world geopolitical landscape will become completely changed forever. Not only will Iran approach superpower status as it weaponizes its ballistic missiles capable of at least hitting all of Europe, but it will increase Iran’s economic power in the world as countries seek to establish ties so as not to be on the bad side of a genocidal regime armed with nuclear weapons. Most significantly, Iran will be able to operate and facilitate its global terror networks under a nuclear umbrella. Never again will striking Iran when a Jihadist organization they sponsor carries out a terrorist attack be an option. You can’t just go bombing a nuclear power, even if that nuclear power is sworn to your (America’s) destruction and has a constitutional mandate to export its Islamic revolution.

Future generations will ask:

How did they ever let it happen?

Filed under: ballistic missiles, China, John Kerry, missiles, nuclear program, nuclear talks, Obama, Russia, sanctions, Terrorism, U.S. Congress, United Nations, Useful Idiots | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

A Truly Horrible Article on Israel and Iran from Catholic.org

Posted on 31/03/2012 by terrortrends

Catholic.org has published a truly horrible article on the conflict between Iran and Israel: Israeli War with Iran May Be More Costly Than Believed.

In that article, the author makes specious assertions about what the Israeli government is telling its people and advises naively that Israel and the West can negotiate with the Iranian regime in good faith to find a peaceful settlement.

Has the person who wrote this article calculated the possible cost of a nuclear armed gang of Mullahs in Tehran? And if war with Iran is costly now, what would the cost be once Iran goes nuclear? Does anyone with a serious view really believe that it is possible to negotiate in good faith with the Ayatollahs after all these years?

To lump the democratically elected government in Israel with the despotic, terrorist regime in Iran as being equally “devil may care,” as the author explicitly states in the article, is totally irresponsible.

The article falsely asserts that the Israeli government is telling people that they have little to fear from a war with Iran. That is a total fabrication. No one in Israel has any illusions about war; they’ve lived it non-stop for decades, in all its forms, and no one is telling anyone that there is nothing to fear. On the other hand, the Israelis know that they have MORE to fear from a NUCLEAR Iran.

As a Catholic I am ashamed that this article appears on Catholic.org. Given the church’s shameful record in facilitating Nazi war criminals making their escape after World War II, it is highly disturbing to me to find an article on Catholic.org essentially equating the two sides-Israel and Iran–with one another.

Finally, when making up your own minds about whether or not Israel or other nations need to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power, consider that Iran considers Israel the Little Satan. America is the Great Satan. Iran has a national holiday called “Death to America Day.” Maybe that’s why they armed, trained and supplied Jihadists in Iraq and Afghanistan who killed US GIs. I for one am not comfortable with an Iran armed with atomic bombs.

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=45504#.T3cgk_mHv3w.twitter

Filed under: Israel, Missile Defense, missiles, nuclear program, nuclear talks, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

Another Meaningless Offer From Tehran to Buy More Time

Posted on 05/09/2011 by terrortrends

Every so often, when the Ayatollahs in Iran start to feel the heat from the international community about their nuclear weapons program, they begin to make noises about compromising and negotiating. These noises are always meaningless. They result in weeks and months of fruitless talks and always amount to nothing.

Last week, French President Nicholas Sarkozy proclaimed that Iran’s nuclear program could very well get it attacked.

True to form, the Iranians then trotted out a proposal–without details of course–to allow supervision of its nuclear program (at least the parts that aren’t secret). And, just as predictably, the Iranians add the caveat that they will continue enriching uranium in violation of UN resolutions.

In other words, the Iranians want us to buy into a scheme in which the UN will supervise a nuclear program that the UN has already declared illegal! In return, all the world has to do is lift sanctions on Iran!

Such a deal!

Not surprisingly, the Los Angeles Times dutifully reported the Iranian proposal as if it meant anything at all.

What this proposal is designed to actually do is to buy the Iranians more time to work on their nukes…

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-nuclear-20110906,0,615223.story#tugs_story_display

 

Filed under: Diplomacy, IAEA, nuclear program, nuclear talks, sanctions, United Nations | Leave a comment »

17 Years Too Late, the UN Decides that Maybe Iran IS Working on Nuclear Weapons!

Posted on 02/09/2011 by terrortrends

 

More than seventeen years after a Clinton administration State Department spokesperson told USA Today that Iran’s nuclear program had  none of the characteristics of a peaceful energy program and all of the hallmarks of a weapons program, the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has released a statement indicating that they are “increasingly concerned” about intelligence that shows that Iran is in fact working on nuclear weapons.

This 11th hour admission is enough to make sane, sober people flip their lid. For those who may not remember, the head of the IAEA for too many years was an Egyptian politician named Mohammed El-Baradei. Baradei went to great lengths–repeatedly–to give the Iranians the benefit of the doubt on their nuclear program, despite evidence that they were lying and cheating. One has to wonder if El-Baradei was in fact running interference for the Iranians and whether he was doing so out of religious fervor, a hatred of Israel, for money or all of the above.

Former IAEA Chief Mohammed El-Baradei Meets With Iranian President Ahmedinejad: What Did El-Baradei Know And When Did He Know It?

Here are some highlights of the new 9-page report that the IAEA just released about Iran’s nuclear program:

• Iran is working secretly on developing a nuclear payload for ballistic missiles.

Iranian Ballistic Missile

• Iran has developed a new, hardened facility at Fordow in which to enrich uranium, a facility thought to be more resistant to air attack than the existing facility at Natanz.

New Hardened Iranian Uranium Enrichment Facility At Fordow, Near The Holy City of Qom

Iranian Uranium Enrichment Facility at Natanz

• It is possible that Iran has undisclosed nuclear-related activities and facilities. [In our estimation this should be a forgone conclusion!]

• Iran has enough enriched uranium right now to produce 6 nuclear bombs.

• Iran’s secrecy and lack of cooperation make it impossible for the IAEA to conclude the Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful.

This last statement is especially infuriating because Iran has been secretive and uncooperative about its nuclear program from the very beginning. For the IAEA to now suddenly admit that the Iranians’ policy is suspicious can only mean either the IAEA has gotten wiser or previous IAEA personnel looked the other way while Iran worked on nuclear weaponry.

We still maintain that should Iran be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, the world will be forever altered for the worse and future generations of Americans will ask of our generation: “How did you ever let that happen?!”

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=14435627

Filed under: ballistic missiles, Fordow, IAEA, missiles, Mohammed El-Baradei, Natanz, nuclear program, nuclear talks, United Nations | Leave a comment »

Sarkozy issues veiled threat to Iran

Posted on 02/09/2011 by terrortrends

French President Nicholas Sarkozy warned Iran this week that its continued evasiveness with reagard to, and pursuit of, its nuclear ambitions could result in some country attacking Iran. Sarkozy didn’t name any countries when he said this.

We have mixed emotions when it comes to this statement from Sarkozy. On the one hand, it’s about time someone played hardball with the ayatollahs and reminded them that they are subject to unpleasant consequences if they keep up their horrible behavior. Obama’s policy of taking the possibility of force off the table with regard to Iran sends a terrible signal that they will simply suffer no consequences of note for any of their actions. It’s not a bad idea to remind the Iranians that they are far from invulnerable and they have opponents in the world who are a lot stronger and more militarily competent than they are–by a long shot.

Moreover, Sarkozy is correct in his statement that the Iranians have not conducted any meaningful negotiations with regard to their nuclear program. In fact, it was the French who pointed out just how naive Obama’s expressed policy of engagement of Iran was when Obama announced it while running for president way back in 2008. The French had already tried to negotiate with the Iranians and it was abundantly clear that the Iranians had no interest in negotiating, simply because they were determined to move forward with uranium enrichment no matter what. Obama has basically wasted two years trying to wave enough carrots in front of the Ayatollahs to get their attention, not realizing, despite ample evidence, that they don’t like or want carrots!

But Sarkozy is hardly the best man to be delivering this tough message to the Iranians.

First of all, France is not militarily capable of unilaterally cutting Iran’s nuclear program down to size. France could conceivably play a role as part of a coalition in such an operation, but France wouldn’t even be a leader of that coalition. Make no mistake, only America possesses the military power–and the capability to project it–to severely damage or destroy Iran’s nuclear program. So, Sarkozy is the equivalent of the kid in school at the playground who picks a fight and then ducks behind his big brother when the fists start flying.

Second of all, France could do much–and should have done so years ago–to isolate the Iranians economically. The fact is, few nations can rival the amount of corporate life support that French firms have given the ayatollahs over the years, as United Against Nuclear Iran has done a superb job of detailing here:

http://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/ibr?order=field_country_value&sort=asc

So Sarkozy literally needs to put his money where his mouth is and impose meaningful sanctions on Iran if he really is serious about pressuring Iran.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.08e95fba9a75ed31e6c5e4213995533c.111&show_article=1

It is a shame that the Free World is essentially leaderless on the issue of Iran and we have to resort to the president of France to issue warnings to the regime in Tehran.

Filed under: France, nuclear program, nuclear talks, sanctions | Leave a comment »

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