nuclear program

McCain's Own Way Of Saying "Crusade"

The Boston Globe questions McCain's constant chastising of Middle East adversaries by saying they don't embrace our "Judea-christian values":

At the end of a long list of reasons to be suspicious of the Iranians, McCain declared: "And they sure don't share our Judeo-Christian values."

It seemed at the time to be an odd thing to say about a Muslim country. After all, even if there were no nuclear program, no oil, and no rabble-rousing president, Iran still wouldn't have Judeo-Christian values. And it's troubling to wonder if that alone would be a reason for suspicion.

Even President Bush has resisted framing the war on terrorism as a clash of religions; his inexpert use of the word "crusade" early in the conflict set off a wave of criticism and backtracking. He's never repeated it.

This is yet another example of why John McCain is the most dangerous person to be President. His ignorance on the subject will put us into a "holy war". Somebody really needs to tell that war-monger to either learn about the world or shut the hell up.

"They Could Restart Their Nuclear Program"

That is exactly what war monger in chief Bush said today.

Let's look at that logic from our President, and applying it to other countries.

Germany - They could let Nazis take back over the country

Russia - They could restart the cold war

UK - They could try to put us back under their rule.

Japan - They could bomb Pearl Harbor again.

The world is full of "they coulds", but do we wage war on everyone because of that? No - but Bush appears to now use that as his justification. It's no wonder the whole world frowns upon us now. Before long they might develop their own lists of "they could", except we will be the subject of it.

Waking up yet Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid?

Why Does The GOP Want Americans To Die In A Nuclear Attack?

This is a very serious question. When you look at the responses today from the GOP over the NYT's article on the government having nuclear secrets published on the web.

Let's first look at how the publication of this information came to being:

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

So we got the Republicans (you know - that party that always accuses the Democrats of living in the past on the Iraq War), releasing all this information to the internet in a strange hope to make their justification for the war return from the realm of fantasy land. To make this even worse, Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, admits this:

These documents also raise several additional issues of interest. First, it is extraordinary that the New York Times now acknowledges that the captured documents demonstrate that '[Saddam] Hussein's scientists were on the verge of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.' This only reinforces the value of these documents in understanding the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime. Only 1 percent of the estimated 120 million pages of captured documents have been reviewed, and we must continue working to promptly understand these materials. If there is concern about Saddam's nuclear program, there should be similar concern about potential connections between Saddam and al-Qaeda suggested in the documents.

Will Condi Go to the U.N. -

And give a Power Point presentation of all these secret nuclear facilities in Iran?

In an echo of the intelligence wars that preceded the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a high-stakes struggle is brewing within the Bush administration and in Congress over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program and involvement in terrorism.

U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials say Bush political appointees and hard-liners on Capitol Hill have tried recently to portray Iran's nuclear program as more advanced than it is and to exaggerate Tehran's role in Hezbollah's attack on Israel in mid-July.

The struggle's outcome could have profound implications for U.S. policy.

President Bush, who addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, has said he prefers diplomacy to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, but he hasn't ruled out using military force.

If you just switch the N in Iran with a Q, you got 2003 all over again. In fact there is very little change. In 2003, Bush kept saying the same thing about "wanting diplomacy to work", right up till the first bomb dropped in Baghdad. Since then we have all learned that no matter what, Bush was going to war with Iraq.

Here's the question. If this Iran threat is so urgent, then why isn't the rest of the world helping to lead this fight? Why is it the U.S. has to once again be in charge. I believe the answer is very simple - because the U.S. is the only country run by such war mongers.

And We Got Another One.

How many more people must come forward before people start to listen? Here is the latest-

A CIA official who had a top role during the run-up to the Iraqi war charges the White House with ignoring intelligence that said there were no weapons of mass destruction or an active nuclear program in Iraq.

The former highest ranking CIA officer in Europe, Tyler Drumheller, also says that while the intelligence community did give the White House some bad intelligence, it also gave the White House good intelligence — which the administration chose to ignore.

Drumheller talks to 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley in his first television interview this Sunday, April 23 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Drumheller, who retired last year, says the White House ignored crucial information from a high and credible source. The source was Iraq's foreign minister, Naji Sabri, with whom U.S. spies had made a deal.

When CIA Director George Tenet delivered this news to the president, the vice president and other high ranking officials, they were excited — but not for long.

"[The source] told us that there were no active weapons of mass destruction programs," says Drumheller. "The [White House] group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they were no longer interested. And we said 'Well, what about the intel?' And they said 'Well, this isn't about intel anymore. This is about regime change.' "

War Drums Are Getting Louder

Here we go - reliving the year 2003 all over again:

Iran, which is defying United Nations Security Council demands to cease its nuclear program, may be capable of making a nuclear bomb within 16 days if it goes ahead with plans to install thousands of centrifuges at its Natanz plant, a U.S. State Department official said.

``Natanz was constructed to house 50,000 centrifuges,'' Stephen Rademaker, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, told reporters today in Moscow. ``Using those 50,000 centrifuges they could produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in 16 days.''

In fact, Iran will move forward to ``industrial scale'' uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges at Natanz, the Associated Press quoted deputy nuclear chief Mohammad Saeedi as telling state-run television today.

If we are planning on attacking Iran then we better be damn sure what we are claiming is true. This means sharing all the information with both parties so oversight can take place properly.

Israel will have to act on Iran if UN can't

The troubles in the Middle East thickens. Knowing Israels impateince in waiting for the UN to act on things which might affect it's security, how long will Israel sit there and wait for the UN to go back and forth with Iran on this issue?

Source: Reuters

By Louis Charbonneau

BERLIN (Reuters) - If the U.N. Security Council is incapable of taking action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself, Israel's defense minister said on Wednesday.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was asked whether Israel was ready to use military action if the Security Council proved unable to act against what Israel and the West believe is a covert Iranian nuclear weapons program.

"My answer to this question is that the state of Israel has the right give all the security that is needed to the people in Israel. We have to defend ourselves," Mofaz told Reuters after a meeting with his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung.

Iran denies wanting nuclear weapons and says it is only interested in the peaceful generation of electricity. It has also threatened to retaliate if Israel or the United States were to bomb any of its nuclear facilities.

In 1981, Israel bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor to prevent Saddam Hussein from getting nuclear weapons. Saddam's covert atom bomb program continued until U.N. inspectors dismantled it after the 1991 Gulf War, but the Israeli strike set progress back many years.

"The Israeli approach is that the U.S. and the European countries should lead the issue of the Iranian nuclear program to the table of the U.N. Security Council, asking for sanctions. And I hope the sanctions will be effective," Mofaz said.

Living In 2003

Well things are really heating up with Iran. You can tell that Bush's approval ratings are in the crapper and they really need something else to divide this country. What a better way to do this then to get Cheney out there opening his mouth (from the WAPO)

Though Lavrov said it was too early to discuss U.N. sanctions against Iran, Vice President Cheney had already issued a blunt threat that Iran will face "meaningful consequences" if it fails to cooperate with international efforts to curb its nuclear program.

OK. Now remember last summer when Cheney was running his mouth about Kim Jong-Il? He said he was the worse leader in the world and this of course upset the North Korean leader and he even broke off talks on the nuclear stand off between us and them. Well Cheney's motor mouth is doing it again (from the AP).

Iran threatened the United States with "harm and pain" Wednesday for its role in hauling Tehran before the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program.

What does Cheney not get about the word diplomacy? I guess he is just following the normal suit for this entire administration. When numerous other countries disagreed with us on Iraq then we acted like a pack of spoiled brats and even said "whaaa we won't call them French Fries anymore".

It has become obvious how this administration operates. Bush is the spoiled brat that has to always get what he wants. Cheney is the big bully that helps George out so when George needs something its Cheney to the rescue. What will it take to get these two to go on a hunting trip together?

Who Is Winning In Iraq?

The LA Times has a very interesting article today that takes an in depth look
at the Middle East and who is really becoming victorious with the Iraq War:

The Islamic government in neighboring Iran watched with trepidation in
March 2003 when U.S.-led troops stormed Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein's
regime and start remaking the political map of the Mideast.

In retrospect, the Islamic Republic could have celebrated: The war has
left America's longtime nemesis with profound influence in the new Iraq and
pushed it to the apex of power in the region.

Emboldened by its new status and shielded by deep oil reserves, Tehran is
pressing ahead with its nuclear program, daring the international community
to impose sanctions. Iran is a Shiite Muslim nation with an ethnic Persian
majority, and the blossoming of its influence has fueled the ambitions of
long-repressed Shiites throughout the Arab world.

At the same time, Tehran has tightened alliances with groups such as
Hamas, which recently won Palestinian elections, and with governments in
Damascus and Beijing

Article continues

here

Bush says that "democracy is a gift from God". Unfortunately he only thinks
of one God and there is a massive difference between his God and the God of the
Middle East. We are not going to change the way the Middle East operates and
attempting to do so by force is a big mistake. Instead we need to work with them
and come to an agreement where we can all share this planet together.

Plame Was Working On Iran

With all the talk recently about Cheney ordering Libby to disclose the
identity of Valerie Plame, the timing of this story is very relevant.

The unmasking of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson by White House
officials in 2003 caused significant damage to U.S. national security and
its ability to counter nuclear proliferation abroad, RAW STORY has learned.

According to current and former intelligence officials, Plame Wilson, who
worked on the clandestine side of the CIA in the Directorate of Operations
as a non-official cover (NOC) officer, was part of an operation tracking
distribution and acquisition of weapons of mass destruction technology to
and from Iran.

Speaking under strict confidentiality, intelligence officials revealed
heretofore unreported elements of Plame's work. Their accounts suggest that
Plame's outing was more serious than has previously been reported and
carries grave implications for U.S. national security and its ability to
monitor Iran's burgeoning nuclear program.

Article continues

here.

So in a time as delicate as this, the Vice President of the United States
felt it more important to try and protect their lies for a war with Iraq instead
of protecting an intelligence asset working on a real threat? How much more can
the White House do before it is considered treason?

BREAKING: Cheney Told Libby Of Plame's Identity

The New York Times has just broken the story that it was Dick Cheney who told
Scooter Libby about plame.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Â I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick CheneyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s
chief of staff, first learned about the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the
leak investigation in a conversation with Mr. Cheney weeks before her
identity became public in 2003, lawyers involved in the case said Monday.

Notes of the previously undisclosed conversation between Mr. Libby and
Mr. Cheney on June 12, 2003, appear to differ from Mr. LibbyÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s testimony to
a federal grand jury that he initially learned about the C.I.A. officer,
Valerie Wilson, from journalists, the lawyers said.

The notes, taken by Mr. Libby during the conversation, for the first time
place Mr. Cheney in the middle of an effort by the White House to learn
about Ms. WilsonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV, who was questioning the
administrationÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s handling of intelligence about IraqÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s nuclear program to
justify the war.

Lawyers said the notes show that Mr. Cheney knew that Ms. Wilson worked
at the C.I.A. more than a month before her identity was made public and her
undercover status was disclosed in a syndicated column by Robert D. Novak on
July 14, 2003.

Nuclear Fear?

Iran restarted work on its nuclear program today. This
comes after talks have stalled out. Tomorrow the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) is supposed to meet and decide what further actions should be
taken against Iran. This could even lead to a referral to the Security Council
which may result in further sanctions.

Also on the nuclear front, the six party talks with North
Korea have become somewhat of a stalemate. They are taking a three week recess
in order to regroup before continuing the talks.

These talks are of importance, and we should take warning
by the failed attempts. This could very well lead to the world once again living
with the cold-war era style fears of a nuclear war. It is ironic how two of the
three nations that President Bush coined ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã…â€œthe axis of evilÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â are now the center
of failed nuclear talks. The third part of the axis, Iraq, we are already in.

With the failing talks with Iran, we need diplomacy now
more than ever. The scariest part is our chief diplomat, who is far less than
diplomatic. You can almost be certain John Bolton will sit there and try his
bullying tactics on Iran and further alienate any chances for a compromise.

The major concern would lie in a low-level atmospheric
detonation. Korea has previously test fired missiles and had them detonate in
the atmosphere. While people joke about that as being a failed test, what if it
in fact was a successful test?