Free Republic

Gollust report - Download 304k Listen to Gollust report U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday Iran will not suspend uranium enrichment and it is time for the U.N. Security Council to move on sanctions against Tehran. Rice is expected to meet with fellow foreign ministers from the other permanent Security Council member countries and Germany on the issue as early as this week. Condoleezza Rice Though a Security Council deadline for Iran to halt enrichment expired August 31, the major powers allowed a dialogue between the European Union and Tehran to continue.But EU chief diplomat Javier Solana declared...

TEHRAN A letter written by Iran's former supreme ruler, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and published last Friday refers indirectly to Iran's needs to pursue nuclear weapons and has become part of the struggle between moderates and the military as it tries to expand its power under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - U.S. and world emergency crude oil reserves could replace a complete shut-off of Iranian oil exports for 18 months, avoiding an estimated $201 billion in damage to the American economy, the Government Accountability Office said on Tuesday. There has been concern among energy traders that tough action by the United States and other western countries against Iran's nuclear program could cause Tehran to retaliate by cutting off the country's oil exports. Iran is the world's fourth biggest oil exporter, selling about 2.7 million barrels a day. Such a disruption would remove close to 1.5 billion...

WASHINGTON - Former advisers ridiculed ex-President Bill Clinton yesterday for saying he had a plan to invade Afghanistan, topple the Taliban and kill Osama Bin Laden after jihadists nearly sank the destroyer Cole. "The only order we got from [Clinton] after the Cole was to put together a target list for air attacks," said Michael Scheuer, who led the CIA's hunt for Osama Bin Laden under Clinton. "What I was involved in could in no way be called a full-fledged plan to attack and overthrow the Taliban," he said. In his fiery interview on "Fox News Sunday," Clinton claimed he...

Muslims For America Endorses Senator George Allen - The Senator Allen That We Know By Muhammad Ali Hasan As an American Muslim activist, I am growing upset over the accusations that Senator George Allen is facing. Granted, the use of the word “macaca” was completely inappropriate, but I forgive Senator Allen for good reason. I have met Senator Allen personally, our organization has provided advice to his campaign, and I want to confirm it now and for all – Senator Allen is not racist; in fact, he is one of the Senate’s most open-minded and unbigoted leaders. Senator Allen has...

BERLIN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - France, Britain and Germany would be willing to begin talks with Iran even if it has not suspended its nuclear enrichment programme first, but Washington would not take part, a German magazine reported on Saturday. So far Iran has refused to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which could refine uranium for atom bombs, saying its nuclear fuel ambitions are limited to fuelling power stations. Western countries suspect Tehran wants to produce weapons. Citing unnamed German diplomatic sources, weekly Der Spiegel said the goal of this new strategy would be to lure Tehran to the negotiating...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - President Bush accused Iran's rulers on Tuesday of using their nation's wealth to fund terrorists and nuclear arms research but said he preferred to resolve differences with Tehran diplomatically before resorting to sanctions. In a speech to the United Nations rebuffing critics of his muscular promotion of democracy in the Middle East, Bush assailed the leaders of Iran and Syria while appealing to their peoples over their heads. In a week of Muslim protests over Pope Benedict's criticism of their faith, the U.S. leader said the West was not hostile to Islam, contrary to "propaganda and...

But, Bush added, the United States was pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis over Iran. In a 21-minute speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Bush directly addressed the people of a number of Middle Eastern countries, saying that the United States wanted to support democratic reforms, defeat extremism and convince them it was not acting against Islam.

Ahmadinejad more generally accused the United States and Britain of manipulating the Security Council to further their own agendas. "The question needs to be asked: if the governments of the United States or the United Kingdom who are permanent members of the Security Council, commit aggression, occupation and violation of international law, which of the organs of the UN can take them to account?" he said.

We remember where we were that day. At 9:38 a.m., the entire Pentagon shook. I went outside and saw the horrific face of war in the 21st century. Those present could feel the heat of the flames and smell the burning jet fuel -- all that remained of American Airlines flight 77. ...Yet, even with these victories in the war, President Bush reminded us that it is important to understand the nature of this enemy, and what it is seeking to do. The extremist movement that threatens us is not a reactionary force -- it actively looks for opportunities to...

CINCINNATI - Ohio's rules for primary elections make it too hard for minor parties to get on the ballot, a federal appeals court ruled. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said the primary requirements allow the Republican and Democratic parties to monopolize general elections. Ohio "is among the most restrictive, if not the most restrictive, state in granting minor parties access to the ballot," the ruling said. Parties automatically qualify for the primary ballot if their candidate for governor or president received at least 5 percent of the vote in the previous Ohio election. Any other party must...

The series of speeches the president has been giving on the global war on terror show how and why the Bush administration has batted 1.000 in protecting the homeland from terrorist assaults in the last five years. The speeches surely will rank among the most important addresses of any presidency, and they may be the boost congressional Republicans are looking for amid predictions that one or both houses are at risk of going Democratic. For all intents and purposes, the Republican Party now has a lock on the issue of national security. After President Bush described how the CIA’s much-criticized...

The Episcopal Church has approximately 2 million members and 7,200 churches in the U.S. and is part of the 77-million member Anglican Communion. Because of its presence in the U.S., the relative wealth of its members, and its connections to Anglicans throughout the world, the Episcopal Church is in a strategic position to influence attitudes toward Israel on both a national and global scale. - Sadly, the Episcopal Church is Not a trustworthy observer of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The church's leaders and constitutive bodies routinely issue one-sided statements about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and its publications portray Israel as exclusively responsible...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 -- At about 9 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Debra Wagner and her colleagues at the Pentagon got a phone call telling them to turn on the television. There had been a terrible “accident” in New York City. Debra Wagner, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, stands by a display honoring the people who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Wagner said she came through the tragic events with a profound belief in the resilience of America and its people. Photo by...

Iran unveiled its first locally manufactured fighter plane Wednesday during large-scale military exercises, state-run television reported. The report said the bomber Saegheh is similar to the American F-18 fighter plane, but "more powerful." It also said the plane was "designed, optimized and improved by Iranian experts." State TV said the Iranian air force had commissioned the Saegheh plane after many test flights in the past year. Television footage showed the airplane taking off and launching two rockets. The plane had a small cockpit and only one pilot. "Saegheh is capable of launching both rockets and bombs," the report said. General...

Iran said on Monday it had tested a new air defense system to counter missiles and aircraft during large-scale military exercises throughout the country, state-run television reported. "The upgraded missiles successfully destroyed the presumed enemies' missiles in low altitude simultaneously in several points," said Gen. Amir Amini, deputy commander of Iran's Air Force. The television footage showed at least four surface-to-air missiles being fired from mobile launching pads. The report did not say if the missile was equipped with a guidance system. During maneuvers dubbed "The Blow of Zolfaghar," which began in August 19, Iran test fired short-range surface-to-surface and...

THE scale of the Holocaust has been "greatly exaggerated", Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said today, adding he had visited several former concentration camps in eastern Europe. “When I was ambassador I saw several of these camps in (the former) East Germany and Poland. In my opinion it has been greatly exaggerated. It is far from what is being publicised,” Hamid Reza Asefi said. His comments come ahead of a conference to be held on December 11 in Iran which the Islamic republic hopes will present “hidden aspects” of the slaughter of Jews under Nazi Germany. “Different opinions which affirm and...

THE Italian Foreign Minister said today that Iran's desire to develop nuclear energy is "legitimate" provided the goal of the program was for "peaceful purposes"."If Iran is looking to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, it is not only legitimate, but can also clear the way for cooperation" with other countries, said Massimo D'Alema.He stressed that Iran's nuclear program must be peaceful."We must work so that Iran does not build a nuclear weapon," he said.The comments by Italy's top diplomat came one day before a deadline set by the UN Security Council for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment...

The United States has warned Iran that military option "is not off the table" as it mulls a multi-pronged strategy to prevent Tehran from going nuclear. "I think any president charged with responsibility for protecting the American people is not going to take the military option off the table when you confront a threat as grave as an Iran armed with nuclear weapons," US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said. "... He's (Bush) made it plain for some time that our preferred way of dealing with this problem is through peaceful and diplomatic means, and that's what we've...

SO, what now? Iran has defied the UN order to stop its most controversial nuclear work. It looks as if there will be a fudge by the European Union, dragging the US along behind. At yesterday's deadline, which was supposed to be the climax of this long-running standoff, Europeans blinked first. Germany and Italy, in particular, have taken the view that more talks would be preferable to sanctions, even at the cost of blurring the force of the UN Security Council demand. That has played into the hands of Russia and China, who never much wanted sanctions. It has left...