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All options open, US warns 'rogue' countries
Financial Times ^
| December 2 2003
Posted on 12/03/2003 11:09:16 AM PST by Mossad1967
The Bush administration on Tuesday defended its strategy of pre-emptive action against Iraq - even while admitting that US intelligence had been imperfect - and warned that the US was ready to use all options against five other "rogue states".
John Bolton, under-secretary of state for arms control and international security, singled out Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya and Cuba as being "hostile to US interests" during a speech in Washington.
Mr Bolton, known as a hardliner, also cautioned negotiating partners in Asia and Europe that the US remained sceptical over efforts to induce North Korea and Iran to abide by nuclear safeguard commitments, amid reluctance to take firmer action.
Focusing on Iran and North Korea, the remaining members of what President George W. Bush has dubbed the "axis of evil", Mr Bolton questioned Tehran's commitment to the agreement it reached last month with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Hassan Rohani, an Iranian official who negotiated Iran's acceptance of comprehensive UN inspections, made clear on Saturday that Tehran intended to resume its uranium enrichment programme. He said Iran would provide its own fuel for at least one of the eight reactors it intended to build.
A resolution passed by the IAEA last week - a compromise between European carrots and the US stick - "requests" Iran to adhere to its voluntary suspension of all enrichment and reprocessing activities, two routes that can lead to building a nuclear weapon.
A senior Iranian official told the Financial Times that hardline clerics had warned they would pull out of its commitments to the IAEA if Iran was not allowed to pursue uranium enrichment, under supervision, as entitled to do so under international agreements.
Mr Bolton expressed doubt over Pyongyang's readiness to resume six-party talks in Beijing this month. He defended Japan's insistence that it raise the issue of its abducted citizens at the talks and said attempts by North Korea to delay the negotiations "should be rejected". In general, he said, the US would pursue diplomatic solutions when possible, while also deploying more robust methods such as the interdiction and seizure of illicit goods.
"If rogue states are not willing to follow the logic of non-proliferation norms, they must be prepared to face the logic of adverse consequences," Mr Bolton said. "It is why we repeatedly caution that no option is off the table."
He acknowledged that US intelligence over covert weapons of mass destruction programmes was "not perfect", and noted that no such weapons had yet been found in Iraq. Still, he insisted the US invasion was justified.
TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bushdoctrineunfold; dprk; iran; korea; pyongyang; tehran
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To: plain talk; swarthyguy
You come at all this from a different angle having been born as a hindu in Bombay etc I'd cut hims some slack considering his countrymen are being threatened by Pakistani nukes which we allowed our good friends, the Saudis, to provide.
61
posted on
12/03/2003 3:37:10 PM PST
by
AdamSelene235
(I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)
To: plain talk
Your premise is too broad and sloppy for serious discussion. Congratulations on using two adjectives in one sentence.
62
posted on
12/03/2003 3:48:39 PM PST
by
AdamSelene235
(I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)
To: plain talk
Swarthyguy is gold. Learn from him, he's informed.
63
posted on
12/03/2003 4:22:18 PM PST
by
txhurl
To: Always Right
Without the French, France would be a great place to live.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
64
posted on
12/03/2003 4:26:52 PM PST
by
LonePalm
(Commander and Chef)
To: swarthyguy
oil makes the industrial world go round...it is a simple case of survival which the terrorists do not understand....the new world order does not tolerate a group of religious fanatics upsetting their cash cow....it will come down to a simple case of elimination of the terrorists...because they get in the way of profits!
65
posted on
12/03/2003 5:10:14 PM PST
by
chuckr
To: Mossad1967
wide open nuclear war is coming and the middle east will be finished because the Arab countries' rulers turned loose the terrorists...why? because Arab countries lost too many wars since WWII - it is now their only choice (saving face)...by attacking western countries and their citizens the middle east has sealed its doom and the world will be better off without them and their lust for perceived revenge..
66
posted on
12/03/2003 5:15:38 PM PST
by
chuckr
To: AdamSelene235
Yeah, and you are an anal retentive, nitpicking, rules-based grammar nazi. So take that! :-)
To: plain talk
Doesn't anal-retentive have a hyphen?
68
posted on
12/03/2003 7:26:33 PM PST
by
AdamSelene235
(I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)
To: BenLurkin
we really need those Army, Navy and Air Force assets which the corrupt former President saw fit to dissolve these were budget balancing initiatives
69
posted on
12/03/2003 7:28:09 PM PST
by
alrea
To: AdamSelene235
Touche' Very well done.
70
posted on
12/03/2003 7:29:15 PM PST
by
tet68
To: Mossad1967
I can see it now.
Operation Cuban Cigar
Designed to "smoke out" the crusty dictator of Cuba and install freedom and democracy in Cuba and shore up Florida among the red states in 2004!
To: AdamSelene235
LOL! Can't take this stuff too seriously I suppose. Peace.
To: Mossad1967; *Bush Doctrine Unfold; Grampa Dave; BOBTHENAILER; seamole
The right thing to do!
73
posted on
12/03/2003 10:10:58 PM PST
by
Ernest_at_the_Beach
(Davis is now out of Arnoold's Office , Bout Time!!!!)
To: appalachian_dweller
"This is just a bunch of hot air. If we were serious, we'd already be in Syria, Lebanon Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Sudan. The pending Iranian revolution would be over, North Korea would be a smoking, radioactive hole in the ground, and Taiwan would be independent."
Hot air? Be patient. Taking on 1.2 billion of allah's slaves at once isn't the only viable stratergy.
Divide em. Let some reform from within, if religiously and culturally possible. (I have big doubts). Regime change, until they contain themselves peacefully inside their lands.
Find who really wants very much to fight, and fight just them, at the time and place of our choosing.
To: AdamSelene235
When do kill the Saudis? You know they guys who bankrolled Al Queda, bought nuclears weapons for Pakistan, and are currently massing fighter planes near Israel exactly. Get these 2 and we've won the WoT
75
posted on
12/04/2003 2:44:02 AM PST
by
Cronos
(W2004)
To: plain talk
Can't take this stuff too seriously I suppose. Unfortunately, it quite serious and I fear a good number of innocent people are going to die.
76
posted on
12/04/2003 8:09:53 AM PST
by
AdamSelene235
(I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)
To: plain talk; txflake
You make so make mistakes in your assumptions it's hard to start to correct you.
Perhaps instead of following in lockstep with the conventional wisdom purveyed by those with vested interests, you should try and evaluate the situation for yourself.
If we''re killing 10 jihadis a day in Iraq and the madrassas of Saudi Pak are turning out thousands daily,
maybe Rumsfeld's talk of metrics and madrassas is a hint that the current strategy of protecting the Saudis and their American gravy train is WRONG.
Of course, all jabs at Bush are silly.,
He's damn infallible.
Doesn't it violate a couple of commandments to engage in such hero worship?
Don't you get it? Saudis fund terror. And we look the other way.
It's our money at the gas pump that finances the jihadis.
It'd be funny except.
To: thinktwice
Charles de Gaulle. This French aircraft carrier broke its port propeller on its first long-distance trials ... The thing was launched in 1994 and -- apparently -- it's still not seaworthy.It may not have all its' propellers, but I'm sure it has an ample supply of white flags...
;^)
78
posted on
12/04/2003 6:02:00 PM PST
by
Capitalist Eric
(To be a liberal, one must be mentally deranged, or ignorant of reality.)
To: Mossad1967
I'm glad someone has the
cojones to say it, and that this adminstration clearly has the will to do it, but let's look at the list: Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya and Cuba.
Iran - as the younger generations mature into adults, the percent of the population that openly WANTS Western-style reforms grows. With our troops on the border, and with the colleges becoming hotbeds of libertine thought, God willing, we won't be needed there.
North Korea - starving itself into oblivion. They may need to be addressed simply because their leader is a psychotic... but getting China to do the job would be much better.
Syria - Just do it. Now. Today.
Libya - They've very publicly distanced themselves from the radicals in the Middle East. Reward that, and encourage more. Threats are not needed right now
Cuba - Castro will kick off soon. Let's be ready with some exceptional alternatives for the people of Cuba. Again, even subtle threats are not the way to go with them right now.
IMHO
To: Onelifetogive
ROFL!
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