Free Republic

Reincarnation of Chakra 16:54 | 08/ 07/ 2008 MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Ilya Kramnik) - The leasing by India of a Project 971 nuclear submarine built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is the latest hot news. The agreement, whose significance for Russian-Indian cooperation has yet to be assessed, could have a profound impact on the balance of forces in the region. Russia's role in creating the Indian submarine fleet is hard to overestimate - Soviet/Russian-built vessels have been its core since the 1970s. Of the current 16 Indian submarines on duty, 12 were built in the Soviet Union or Russia, including two...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday his country would not stop enriching uranium and rejected as "illegitimate" a demand by major powers that it do so, the official IRNA news agency reported. Ahmadinejad's comment came as a British newspaper, quoting intelligence reports received by Western diplomats, reported Monday that Iran has resumed work aimed at producing a nuclear bomb.

There is some excitement in the nuclear focused blog world about “The World’s First Commercial High Temperature Nuclear Reactor” based partly on a recent article in Power Engineering by Jana Miller titled “Powering Up A Growing Nation”. This project in Shandong Province will be a unique plant whose reactor heat source is two containers full of spherical fuel elements, each one of which is about the size of a billiard ball. I am a bit reluctant to call this plant a “first”, but I can get just as excited about the third, 10th or 100th plant in a progressive...

Nuclear power is gaining momentum in the United States as the nation seeks environmentally friendly and affordable sources of energy that can meet growing demand. France is an example of a country that developed nuclear energy to reduce foreign energy dependence after the oil shock of the 1970s. It now receives nearly 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power and is a net exporter of electricity. Finland, ranking fifth in the world for per capita electricity consumption, has a significant incentive to secure long-term energy solutions. Embracing nuclear energy as part of an effort to decrease the nation's dependency...

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes in the Second Coming of the Iranian Messiah. The Messiah will appear when the globe is in utter chaos. Spell “chaos” as meaning “nuclear blow up.” Add to that the egocentric eccentric personality of Ahmadinejad. Add to that his delight in demanding center stage daily worldwide. That is why it is imperative for the free nations’ politic to translate their politic parlance into theological language. I don’t think they know how to do that. They are consumed with political vernacular and not versed in theology of a killing cult. In that is their weakness. In...

You would think that this story is right out of science fiction. But the facts appear to be that the US Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the Republican middle class with $11 per gallon gasoline. The Democrats’ base -- wealthy white “limousine liberals”, and very poor people -- won’t be harmed, but the families who live in suburbia will be devastated. The multi-millionaires like billionaire Senators John Kerry & Jay Rockefeller, financial speculator George Soros, filmmaker Michael Moore, and actors George Clooney & Meg Ryan can easily pay for their auto and private jet fuel. Poor people are forced to...

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's military chiefs warned on Saturday that the Islamic republic would shut down the Strait of Hormuz vital for oil exports and use "blitzkrieg tactics" in the Gulf if it came under attack.

THE HAGUE (AFP) — The Netherlands will ban Iranian students from studying nuclear technology, a source of tension between Iran and world powers, at its universities, the government said Friday. "It is forbidden... to grant Iranian nationals access to special training or teaching that could contribute to nuclear proliferation activities in Iran and the development of systems for transmitting nuclear arms," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Some powers including the United States suspect Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at producing energy to serve a growing population. Friday's measure...

LONDON - The Former US ambassador to the UN says a military action against Iran is dangerous and risky yet it has to be on the table as a last resort, PressTV reported. "I don't think anybody views the use of military force against Iran's nuclear program as an attractive option. I think it's dangerous, risky, and not something that you would look at except as a last resort," John Bolton said in an exclusive talk with al-Jazeera on Thursday. "Five years of European diplomatic efforts have failed and left us with very few alternatives. That's why I think the...

The Netherlands will ban Iranian students from studying nuclear technology, a source of tension between Iran and world powers, at its universities, the government said Friday. "It is forbidden... to grant Iranian nationals access to special training or teaching that could contribute to nuclear proliferation activities in Iran and the development of systems for transmitting nuclear arms," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Some powers including the United States suspect Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear bomb. Iran insists its nuclear program is aimed at producing energy to serve a growing population. Friday's measure adds to a Dutch...

Pakistan's Military Knew Of Nuclear Technology Transfer To N Korea, Says Scientist 7/4/2008 2:52 PM ET Abdul Qadir Khan, who is considered to be the father of Pakistan's nuclear program, said on Friday that the country's former military regime was aware of the transfer of nuclear technology to North Korea. AQ Khan told media on Friday that the Pakistani army, which was headed by President Pervez Musharraf then, was aware of the technology transfer as the uranium enrichment equipment was dispatched onboard a North Korean plane under the supervision of Pakistani army officials in 2000. Khan's statements on Friday contradicts...

TEHRAN (AFP) — The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards has warned that any Israeli or US attack on its nuclear sites would mean the outbreak of war, the official IRNA news agency reported on Friday. "Any action against Iran will be interpreted as the start of a war," General Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted as saying late on Thursday. "Iran's response to any military action will make the aggressors regret their decision." The United States has never ruled out an eventual resort to force against Iran over its contested nuclear programme, which the West fears is cover for a...

THERE is, I would guess, somewhere between a 30 and 40 per cent chance that the Bush administration will bomb Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of the year. This is, naturally, a personal judgment. It is based on two weeks of intense conversations I have had with American national security figures. Washington, all the capitals of Europe and Canberra are united in their determination to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran are obvious. Its leaders are theologically motivated and believe Israel should be wiped off the map. It is the chief global sponsor...

LE CREUSOT (FRANCE): President Nicolas Sarkozy announced on Thursday that France will build a second third-generation EPR nuclear plant, arguing nuclear power was the country's best answer to soaring energy prices. Sarkozy, who has made exporting French nuclear know-how a priority of his presidency, made the announcement during a speech on energy policy at an ArcelorMittal steel factory in central France. France's first European Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) -- one of only two under construction worldwide -- is being built by utilities giant Electricite de France (EDF) in Flamanville in northern France, set for completion in 2012. Sarkozy said a...

You would think that this story is right out of science fiction. But the facts appear to be that the US Democrat-controlled Congress intends to destroy the Republican middle class with $11 per gallon gasoline.

The threats, counterthreats, and counter-counterthreats between Israel, Iran and the United States have reached new levels of hysteria in recent days. Israel openly threatens to attack Iran's nuclear program, Iran threatens to shut down oil-shipping lanes, and the commander of the U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf, Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, says this would be an "act of war" requiring an American military response. That was the backdrop yesterday as Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, faced the cameras in the Pentagon briefing room. Mullen, just back from a trip to Israel that further raised speculation...

In the famous fairy tale, the Persian Queen Scheherazade strings out stories for a thousand and one nights until her matricidal husband, the king, finally accepts her in his household. On Tuesday, as I sat listening to Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's genial foreign minister, come up with yet another enticing response to the latest Western proposal for halting the country's alleged nuclear weapons program, I wondered again whether Tehran was taking a tactical cue from its ancient forebear. Is Iran playing the West the way Scheherazade played the king, by making occasional agreeable noises—thereby sowing self-doubt among its adversaries—and avoiding conclusive...

The recent leaks to the U.S. news media (New York Times and ABC News) have created a wrong impression and sent a false message that an Israeli attack on Iran is imminent. Far from the truth. No decision to attack Iran has been made in Israel. Certainly no date has been fixed. Israel will decide, if at all, to disrupt Iran's nuclear program only as a last resort after international diplomacy fails. More importantly, such a decision will be taken only after serious consultation with the American administration. Coordinating its actions with America is the key factor in all Israeli...

Less than a year ago, diplomats in the Middle East were taking bets on the likelihood of a US military attack on Iran, with some assessing it at higher than 50 per cent. Those odds subsided after the National Intelligence Estimate, the co-ordinated view of US intelligence agencies, concluded in December that Iran had halted its weapons programme in 2003. But now the betting is back on. As Tehran has accelerated its uranium enrichment programme instead of suspending it, speculation has mounted that Israel is preparing to do the job itself, possibly even before the US presidential elections in November....

An Egyptian-born nuclear physicist is suing the US Department of Energy over the revocation of his security clearance. Moniem El-Ganayni worked from 1990 as a scientist at the Bettis Laboratory, a contract lab for the energy department near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that works on nuclear propulsion. El-Ganayni, a US citizen since 1988, is an active member of the local Islamic community...[snip] In May, the energy department revoked El-Ganayni's security clearance, in part because he was suspected of “conflicting allegiances”. Shortly thereafter, he was fired from the laboratory. El-Ganayni's suit, filed with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, claims that...

In a May report to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, a panel of prominent international leaders recommends that the agency assume additional responsibilities and perhaps double its budget by 2020 in order to ensure a substantial expansion in nuclear power while preventing nuclear weapons proliferation. IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei established the commission in the fall of 2007 with the purpose of addressing future challenges to the agency. The 18-member group, composed of ministers, academics, politicians, scientists, and business leaders, was chaired by former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and included other notable figures such as former U.S....

The warning by the senior US military commander Adm Mike Mullen that an attack on Iran would be "extremely stressful" for US forces must lessen the chances of the US taking part in any strike against Iran. But the admiral, who is chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and who has just visited Israel, spoke of Israel's vulnerability to "very real threats". So the possibility remains that Israel might undertake an operation against Iran by itself. Recent large-scale Israeli air force exercises have strengthened this possibility, according to military observers. Nor does Adm Mullen's intervention resolve the ambiguity of...

The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran is the biggest threat facing the world, according to one of Barack Obama’s senior foreign policy advisers. He also signalled that the US Democratic presidential candidate would push Europe to agree tougher sanctions against Tehran. In an interview with the Financial Times, Anthony Lake, a former US national security adviser who has worked with Mr Obama since the start of his campaign, also urged the US to learn lessons from its traumatic withdrawal from Vietnam regarding pulling out of Iraq. “The most dangerous crisis we are going to face potentially in the next three...

WASHINGTON - U.S., Iranian and Western diplomats played down worries about a looming Israeli military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities on Tuesday after reports of heightened tensions rattled nerves and helped drive oil prices near record highs. "The military option is the last thing that we need to do and it will not be used easily," said a Western diplomat in Tel Aviv. "I don't think there will be an attack in the next six months." Efforts to ease public fears of a possible confrontation between Israel and Iran followed more than a week of speculation touched off by a...

TEHRAN - Iran's parliament issued a statement on Tuesday saying the country could cease to cooperate with the United Nations nuclear watchdog if new sanctions are imposed over Iran's controversial nuclear program. Iran is currently under three sets of relatively mild UN Security Council sanctions for defying demands to halt uranium enrichment, which it says it needs purely for electricity generation despite Western suspicions that the program is geared toward weapons production. The statement signed by 201 of 209 lawmakers urged the European Union to pursue the diplomatic route rather than impose sanctions, saying that pressure will only prompt Tehran...

Senior Pentagon officials are concerned that Israel could carry out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities before the end of the year, an action that would have enormous security and economic repercussions for the United States and the rest of the world. A senior defense official told ABC News there is an "increasing likelihood" that Israel will carry out such an attack, a move that likely would prompt Iranian retaliation against, not just Israel, but against the United States as well. The official identified two "red lines" that could trigger an Israeli offensive. The first is tied to when Iran's...

John McCain says new plants can help solve the energy crisis and address climate change. It's not that simple. To power America's future, Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) has an energy plan with a distinctly French accent. "The French are able to generate 80 percent of their electricity with nuclear power," the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee points out. "There's no reason why America shouldn't." In a mid-June speech, part of a continuing blitz on energy issues, McCain laid out his vision for 100 new nuclear plants -- 45 of them to be built by 2030. They would help meet America's energy...

Iran: Nuclear Rumblings by: Rachel Paulk, June 30, 2008 The trouble looming with Iran’s nuclear aspirations is potentially one of the most significant problems the new President will inherit from the Bush administration. As Iranian nuclear facilities are developing, international efforts at prohibiting the rogue nation from expanding into nuclear weaponry are proving ineffective. Despite multiple sanctions from the UN Security Council, repeated requests for explanation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and lucrative negotiation offers from Western powers, Iran seemingly remains committed to the path towards an advanced—and dangerous—nuclear program. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) outlined...

It has been nearly two years since the United Nations ordered Iran to stop enriching uranium. Tehran continues to defy that order, and its scientists are getting closer to mastering a process that is the hardest part of building a nuclear weapon. So we welcome the European Union’s decision — after much foot-dragging — to impose new sanctions on Iran that go beyond what the United Nations Security Council has mandated. That means that 61 Iranians or companies — all with alleged links to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs — will now be subject to a European visa ban,...

TOKYO — International television crews were invited to reclusive North Korea on Friday to witness the destruction of the cooling tower at the country’s main nuclear weapons plant. Viewers around the world later watched the most visible symbol of the North’s nuclear ambitions collapse in a cloud of shattered concrete. In North Korea itself, however, the explosion was a nonevent. The state news agency carried no information about it on Friday, and the images had not found their way onto state television. News blackouts are not big news in isolated North Korea, which also let a full day pass before...

Is George W. Bush a reckless cowboy? Or is he a legacy-seeking sellout willing sign off on any deal, even a bad one, that allows him to claim a diplomatic achievement? The guess here is neither, at least in reality, but the media consensus is either or both. When President Bush announced on Thursday that North Korea had agreed to offer a declaration concerning its nuclear activities, and further had agreed to destroy its nuclear reactor tower at Yongbyon, it was one of the most carefully worded, qualified announcements Bush has ever made. At no point did he entertain the...

See my translation below

See below for translation:

Jordan and the United Kingdom are this week signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cement cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, the British Embassy in Amman said. Chairwoman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority Barbara Judge arrives in the kingdom on Saturday for a two-day visit to sign the MoU with her counterpart at the Jordan Nuclear Energy Commission. The deal is the latest in a series of agreements Jordan has signed with other countries to develop its nuclear energy program. An MoU was signed between Jordan and the United States last year. Jordan and France signed an...

PARIS (Reuters) - Greenpeace France activists on Wednesday blocked for the second day the entrances of three of the four quarries used by EDF to build its new-generation nuclear reactor, the environmentalist group said. But French power group EDF said the action was not preventing building of the 1,600-megawatts reactor. "The action is not hindering the works," an EDF spokeswoman said, without giving more details. Work at the building site of Flamanville were partly halted at the end of May following an order from France's nuclear safety authority (ASN) due to several irregularities, but EDF was given the go-ahead to...

The US has removed its nuclear weapons from Britain, ending a contentious presence spanning more than half a century, a report will say today. According to the study by the Federation of American Scientists, the last 110 American nuclear weapons on UK soil were withdrawn from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk on the orders of President George Bush. The report's author, Hans Kristensen, one of the leading experts on Washington's nuclear arsenal, said the move had happened in the past few years, but had only come to light yesterday. He described the withdrawal of the B-61 "freefall", or "gravity", bombs as...

North Korea will soon make a declaration of its nuclear programs, facilities and materials. This is an important, if initial, step and we will demand that it be verifiable as complete and accurate. Amidst all the focus on our diplomatic tactics, it is important to keep two broader points in mind. One, we are learning more about Pyongyang's nuclear efforts through the six-party framework than we otherwise would be. And two, this policy is our best option to achieve the strategic goal of verifiably eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons and programs. North Korea now faces a clear choice about its...

<p>WASHINGTON - North Korea handed over a long-delayed account of its nuclear activities on Thursday, prompting a still-wary U.S. President George W. Bush to ease some sanctions on a country he once deemed part of an "axis of evil."</p> <p>Bush cautiously welcomed the action but warned North Korea, which tested a nuclear device two years ago, that it faced "consequences" if it did not fully disclose its operations and continue to dismantle its nuclear programs and facilities.</p>

VIENNA - Syria gave U.N. investigators a good look at the site of what Washington says was a secret nuclear reactor before Israel destroyed it, but initial checks were inconclusive and more are needed, they said on Wednesday. Chief U.N. inspector Olli Heinonen said his team was able to take extensive environmental samples at the remote desert location and the sensitive inquiry was off to "a good start", with Syria's cooperation generally satisfactory at this stage. Heinonen, speaking to reporters on his return to Vienna after four days in Syria, said it was "too early" to draw conclusions about the...

The powerful speaker of Iran's parliament warned Wednesday that his nation could take drastic steps in response to economic, political and military pressure meant to halt controversial parts of its nuclear program. Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran's parliament and a former nuclear negotiator, said there was "only a little time left" for talks before Iran would make unspecified moves that the West would regret.

The buzz circulating now is that IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei said on al-Arabiya that Iran could be months away from producing a nuclear weapon, as noted by AllahPundit at Hot Air and Jeff Stein at Congressional Quarterly. Hot Air actually nails it in interpreting that ElBaradei is not so much making a statement about the state of the Iranian nuclear-weapons program as he is projecting himself and the IAEA as the world's only line of defense against a nuclear-armed Iran. Frankly, there is no substantiative historical reason to place faith in such a claim. What's more, just about all analyses...

Nuclear missiles could blow up 'like popcorn' By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent Last Updated: 8:59PM BST 25/06/2008 A design flaw in Britain's nuclear arsenal means that warheads could set off a chain reaction "like popcorn" if they were accidentally dropped, according to Ministry of Defence documents. More than 1,700 warheads are affected by the problem which would cause them to explode one after another, an effect known as "popcorning." A typical Trident nuclear missile contains three to six warheads, and some submarines carry up to 24 missiles, meaning the potential for disaster could be huge. Defence companies try to prevent...

France has signed a far-reaching nuclear agreement with its former colony Algeria. President Nicolas Sarkozy is committed to improving co-operation between Mediterranean countries and the European Union. However, not everyone is happy about Paris' attempts to find favour with Algeria. 'A memorandum of trust' is how French Prime Minister François Fillon described the agreement that he signed last weekend. The French prime minister was in Algiers to persuade Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to take part in the Mediterranean Union, a project that is dear to President Sarkozy's heart. The organisation aims to boost ties between the European Union and nations...

EarthTalk - June 24, 2008 What Does the U.S. Do with Nuclear Waste? What are the future plans for U.S. nuclear waste storage? Dear EarthTalk: I’ve heard that there are plans to build a large repository for nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain in Nevada, but that plans have been slow and are very controversial. Where is our nuclear waste kept now and what dangers does it pose? -- Miriam Clark, Reno, NV Plans to store the majority of our nation’s spent nuclear fuel and other highly radioactive waste at a central repository underneath Yucca Mountain in the Nevada desert 80...

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday criticized his rival John McCain's proposal to encourage the building of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030. Obama, a Democrat, said the Republican candidate lacked a plan for storage of the waste. It was among several energy-strategy ideas that Obama said were "not serious energy policies." Obama was speaking in Nevada, a state where proposals to build a nuclear waste disposal site at Yucca Mountain have generated strong opposition. He also took aim at McCain's plan to allow more offshore U.S. oil drilling. "It doesn't make sense for America,"...

Curious things are going on in the Middle East. On the one hand, Israel seems to be taking some early, tentative steps towards peace with its nearest enemies. It has just agreed a six-month ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza; it is deep into indirect peace talks with Syria, aimed at a comprehensive treaty; and earlier this month came word that Israel is keen to have direct negotiations with Lebanon. Yet all these welcome murmurings of peace are fighting to be heard above a growing drumbeat for war - against the country Israel fears more than any of its immediate neighbours:...

President George W Bush refuses to use the word "legacy", but he is clearly thinking about it. During his trip to Europe two weeks ago, he sounded very different from the man who was ready to go it alone on Iraq in 2003. "One of the things that I'll be leaving behind is a multilateralism to deal with tyrants so problems can be solved diplomatically," he said during a press conference. In his comments he was referring to Iran - but also to North Korea. The US is intensifying negotiations with the government in Pyongyang about its nuclear disarmament, as...

Israel believes that Syria was planning to supply Iran with spent nuclear fuel for reprocessing into weapons-grade plutonium from the site it bombed last September, and which is currently being inspected by the UN's nuclear watchdog. The claim from an adviser to Israel's national security council, came yesterday as speculation mounts about a possible Israeli attack on Iran. The Israeli government officially backs UN sanctions to force Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment but has little faith they will succeed. Details about the alleged Syrian reactor and the Israeli raid remain shrouded in secrecy. Syria denies it has or had...

WMD: Only last fall, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear "watchdog" said Iran would need three to eight years to acquire an atomic bomb. Now he says six months to a year. Is he dishonest or incompetent — or both?The new estimate by Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), came in an interview with Al-Arabiya TV last week. The interviewer followed up by asking the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner if he was asserting that "if Iran decides today to expel the IAEA from the country, it will need six months to produce weapons." To...

Israel is remaining silent on reports it has rehearsed an attack on nuclear sites in Iran. An Israeli F-16 fighter A massive military exercise in the eastern Mediterranean earlier this month involved more than a hundred Israeli F16 and F15 fighters, according to American officials.They have said it looked like a practice drill for a possible operation taking out Iran's nuclear installations.The Israelis are keeping their enemies guessing. Officials here will only say the Israeli Air Force is "prepared for all the threats Israel faces" and that it regularly drills to prepare for such threats. But the operation in the...