Sep

23

They Found Nuclear Material

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In the raid that nobody important is speaking about yet, Israel apparently also managed to steal some nuclear materials from the Syrians.  That originated from North Korea (H/T Big Pharoah):

Israeli commandos seized nuclear material of North Korean origin during a daring raid on a secret military site in Syria before Israel bombed it this month, according to informed sources in Washington and Jerusalem.

The attack was launched with American approval on September 6 after Washington was shown evidence the material was nuclear related, the well-placed sources say.

They confirmed that samples taken from Syria for testing had been identified as North Korean. This raised fears that Syria might have joined North Korea and Iran in seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Sep

21

The Upcoming U.S-Iranian War

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I say upcoming, although the war has already begun, non-officially of course.  Today another accusation of Iranian support for the great Jihad emerged, with commander in the U.S military warning that they would “act decisively” in order to curb support for the Taliban.

Heavy battles in the violence-plagued south, meanwhile, killed 75 Taliban and at least six civilians, and a suicide car bomb in the capital killed a French soldier and an Afghan bystander.

Adm. William Fallon, the head of U.S. Central Command, said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is supplying roadside bomb parts for the type of sophisticated and deadly bombs found in Iraq known as explosively formed penetrators.

“The Iranians are clearly supplying some amount of lethal aid,” Fallon told The Associated Press during a trip to Afghanistan. “There is no doubt … that agents from Iran are involved in aiding the insurgency.”

Fallon said the U.S. was carefully watching the flow of weapons from Iran and said the U.S. would “act decisively” if the cross-border flow continues. His comments were not meant as a threat of military action against Iran but a suggestion that border interdiction efforts may need to be increased, Fallon’s aides said later.

Iran has denied that it is supplying arms to fighters in Afghanistan.

And this week, another push for sanctions against Iran, with a meeting of world powers in Washington.  The sanctions don’t seem to be having the desired effect for the West, and with Iranian meddling continuing to escalate in the Middle East, it seems a sales pitch for a possible strike at nuclear targets is underway.  In the U.S, Senator Lieberman and John Bolton have both been very vocal about discussing the possibility of an attack. 

Also this week, France’s FM is still trying to fan the flames his comments on Iran created, in another step of a Western figure preparing the public for what seems to be an eventuality.  Seperating themselves from the conflict are Russia and China, which have both publicly protested  an upcoming war.

Sep

21

Egypt, Syria Look To Condemn Israel

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Egypt and Syria, in possible retaliation to the unconfirmed air strike everyone has been talking about recently, pushed hard for a resolution to be passed by the IAEA condemning Israel for possessing nuclear weapons:

VIENNA/CAIRO, 20 September 2007 — Egypt and Syria urged the UN nuclear watchdog yesterday to pass a resolution condemning Israel for possessing nuclear weapons. Israel insisted there was no basis for the resolution, scheduled to be presented today, and called upon the other member states of the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to reject the proposal.

Egyptian Ambassador Ihab Fawzy said the IAEA must pass the resolution against Israel to show it is committed to “the principles and declared stances regarding peace, stability and security in the Middle East region.” Syrian Ambassador Ibrahim Othman told the IAEA general conference in Vienna “Arab countries will with greater determination … present to this conference a draft resolution for its adoption.”

Israel’s policy is one of “nuclear ambiguity,” neither confirming nor denying it has nuclear weapons even if, in an apparent blunder, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appeared to imply late last year that his country does in fact have the bomb.

That didn’t work out so well:

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt criticised the European Union on Friday for failing to support a U.N. atomic watchdog resolution calling on all Middle East nations to renounce atomic weapons — a clear reference to Israel’s undeclared arsenal.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed the resolution with a 53-2 vote on Thursday, but 47 abstentions by Western and developing states exposed reservations that the move politicised the U.N. agency’s work.

The Egyptian foreign ministry signalled out EU states in its criticism for the lack of Western support for the non-binding resolution, which highlighted Arab frustration about Israel’s presumed nuclear might.

“The European Union movement was a clear contradiction with the principles it claims to defend regarding nuclear disarmament and the prevention of nuclear proliferation,” the official Middle East News Agency quoted a ministry statement as saying.

Israel is widely believed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal. The Jewish state has never confirmed or denied it.

A similar resolution urging all Middle East nations to adopt IAEA safeguards on nuclear work passed overwhelmingly at last year’s IAEA general assembly, with only Israel and top ally the United States opposed, as they were again on Thursday.

Sep

20

Lebanon Loses Another MP

Filed Under Terrorism, Syria, Lebanon, Politics, War, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Another anti-Syrian MP as well.  And a few days before the Lebanese parliament is supposed to elect a new president.  I wonder who could be meddling in Lebanon’s affairs?

MP Antoine Ghanem was killed, along with four other people in a massive car bombing Wednesday in a busy, mainly-Christian neighborhood of Beirut, the latest in a spate of attacks against prominent anti-Syrian figures.

Lebanese newspapers said the assassination was a clear message ahead of a parliamentary session Tuesday to elect a president, amid a near total deadlock between the Western-backed majority and the pro-Damascus opposition.

“Antoine Ghanem, a bloody message for the majority and the presidential election,” said the front-page headline of the leading An Nahar newspaper.

World powers condemned the attack as a blatant bid to destabilize Lebanon ahead of the vote, but the country’s former power-broker Syria denied any involvement.

How is it that Lebanon is still considered sovereign? How many more politicians need to be murdered by foreign governments, or wars need to be started by an illegal militia which is stronger than the nation’s army before the world’s powers begin to discuss Lebanon as one of the key battlegrounds for regional influence in the Middle East?

Check out Beirut Beltway for updates.

The PM makes a statement: “Bomb won’t stop Lebanon poll”

Update: Antoine Ghanem has been buried. Lebanon grieves.

Sep

20

Egypt-Iran Look To Restore Ties

Filed Under Peace, Sunni-Shia Divide, Iran, Egypt, News, Politics, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

The past few days have been a flush with news of the ongoing process of restoration of ties between Egypt and Iran.  Although the two nations have not had relations since President Sadat made peace with Israel, officials from the two governments have made varying statements about renewed efforts at establishing diplomatic ties.  Iranian officials have regularly claimed they are ready for normalized relations with Egypt, most significant of which was President Ahmadinejad’s statement expressing his willingness to speed along the process.  The ball has effectively been put in Egypt’s court, which the North African nation has seemingly been treading a fine line with.  Egypt’s interests are very much tied to those of America, whose position is obvious.  However, Iran has played the Islamic card as well, and Egypt’s government is trying desperately appease the growing Islamic sentiment in the country.  Thus, we occasionally hear FM Ahmad Aboul-Gheit issue statements of peace and relations alongside critiques of the IRI’s activities in the region, which seems to be finally becoming an issue of priority for all in the Middle East (Although most nations seem to be tredding a fine line too). 

There is definate progression on this (Egypt-Iran) issue, and reports today and yesterday convey attitudes on both sides as ‘optimistic’ (AHN):

“There has been an agreement to continue dialogue between both sides in particular over bilateral relations on the level of senior officials and then foreign ministers,” Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.

The call for renewed efforts to jump start Iranian-Egyptian relations comes as France warned that the world should be preparing for war with Iran over that country’s nuclear steps.

“The Iranians want to talk, have contacts, and Egypt won’t close the door,” Zaki continued. “Both sides are willing to develop relations and advance towards removing the questions obstructing.”

Early last summer, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said his nation was ready to restore full diplomatic relations with Egypt and said it would open its embassy in Cairo the “very day” Egypt accepted the offer.

Aboul Gheit also hinted at the opportunity to meet Iranian FM Mottaki at upcoming meetings in New York.

Meanwhile, Iran has issued a new warning shot to Israel, with a military official declaring their capability and determination to hit Israel if they are attacked.  Many in the Middle East are known for exaggerating, especially in when boasting about military prowess, but you have to think Iran has calculated any American or Israeli response and have prepared their proxies accordingly.

Sep

20

Irregular Posting

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I’ve been largely absent recently, primarily because of school and other commitments, but I’m going to slowly get back in the process of posting regularly.  Thanks for visiting this young blog, and I look forward to starting to write regularly on here.