Iran

Graham talks of attacking Iran

by Howard on November 6, 2010

Here we go again.

From CNN:

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada, told reporters that there will come a point where Iran’s nuclear program will reach the state that a conventional limited air strike “won’t take them out.”

“We’re probably even past that point,” he said.

“Instead of a surgical strike on their nuclear infrastructure, I think we’re to the point now that you have to really neuter the regime’s ability to wage war against us and our allies. And that’s a different military scenario. It’s not a ground invasion but it certainly destroys the ability of the regime to strike back.”

The United States believes Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Iran claims its program is for peaceful purposes.

The senator said that if the United States did attack Iran’s navy and air force, Iran could retaliate with unconventional attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan and launch terrorist attacks in other parts of the world.

“You can expect that,” he said. “You can expect, for a period of time, all hell to break loose. You must have to almost plan for that. And weigh that against the idea of a nuclear-armed Iran and what that means to the future of the world.”

Graham told reporters he believes there still is time for economic sanctions to work, but he says the sanctions currently in place are not “crippling.”

“If [the Iranians] don’t believe we will hit the military, if they believe that’s not a possibility, then I think our ability to turn this around is very limited with sanctions.”

Does anybody else see the irony in the U.S., the only nation to use nuclear weapons against another nation, trying to dictate who should and should not be allowed to have nuclear weapons?

I understand Iran is party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state. But heck, the U.S. is party to the U.N. Convention Against Torture. So much for taking all treaties seriously.

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Iran reportedly paying off Afghan president’s chief of staff

by Howard on October 23, 2010

The New York Times reported that Iran has paid millions of dollars to Umar Daudzai, the chief of staff to Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai.

The Iranian payments are intended to secure the allegiance of Mr. Daudzai, a former ambassador to Iran who consistently advocates an anti-Western line to Mr. Karzai, the officials said. Mr. Daudzai briefs Mr. Karzai each morning.

“Karzai knows that without the U.S., he is finished,” an associate of the president said. “But it’s like voodoo. Daudzai is the source of all the problems with the U.S. He is systematically feeding him misinformation, disinformation and wrong information.”

The payments to Mr. Daudzai illustrate the degree to which the Iranian government has penetrated Mr. Karzai’s inner circle despite his presumed alliance with the United States and the other NATO countries, which have sustained him with military forces and billions of dollars since the Taliban’s ouster since 2001.

Earlier this year, Mr. Karzai invited the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the presidential palace, where Mr. Ahmadinejad gave a virulently anti-American speech. When Mr. Ahmadinejad visited Kabul, he brought two boxes of cash with him, an Afghan official said. “One box was for Daudzai personally, the other for the palace,” the official said.

Update

From BBC News:

Mr Karzai said the money was not for an individual but to help run the president’s office.

Speaking at a news conference, he said many countries had given money to Afghanistan in this way, including the US.

“The government of Iran has been assisting us with five or six or seven hundred thousand euros once or twice every year, that is an official aid,” he told reporters, according to the AFP agency.

He said his chief of staff, Umar Daudzai, “is receiving the money on my instructions”.

“The cash payments are done by various friendly countries to help the presidential office and to help dispense assistance… in various ways to the employees around here, to people outside, and this is transparent,” he said.

“This is something that I have also discussed… at Camp David with President Bush. This is nothing hidden.

“We are grateful for the Iranian help in this regard. The United States is doing the same thing, they’re providing cash to some of our offices.”

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Arab opinion down on Obama, but not on idea of nuclear Iran

by Howard on August 8, 2010

The videos linked to below help explain the noteworthy results of the 2010 Arab Public Opinion Poll, which was produced by Brookings Institution along with Zobgy International.

This year’s poll surveyed 3,976 people in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates, during the period of June 29–July 20, 2010.

Among the key poll findings are:

  • A substantial change in the assessment of President Obama, both as president of the United States and of Obama personally.
  • Remarkably stable views on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the prospects of its resolution.
  • A majority of the Arab public now see a nuclear-armed Iran as being better for the Middle East.

Click here for video

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