Iran Tells The IAEA "No."
From Yahoo News and Little Green Footballs:
Iran has turned away U.N. inspectors wanting to examine its underground nuclear site in an apparent violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty, diplomats and U.N. officials said Monday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the information, told The Associated Press that Iran’s unprecedented refusal to allow access to the facility at Natanz could seriously hamper international efforts to ensure that Tehran is not trying to make nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader said Tehran will pursue nuclear technology despite a U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment by the end of the month or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has made its own decision and in the nuclear case, God willing, with patience and power, will continue its path," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to state television.
His declaration came on the eve of Iran's self-imposed Tuesday deadline to respond to a Western incentives package for it to roll back its nuclear program. The United Nations has given Tehran until the end of August to suspend uranium enrichment.
Khamenei accused the United States of putting pressure on Iran despite Tehran's assertions that its nuclear program was peaceful. "Arrogant powers and the U.S. are putting their utmost pressure on Iran while knowing Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons," he said.
Iran said Sunday it will offer a "multifaceted response" to the incentives proposal. It insisted that it won't suspend uranium enrichment altogether.
At a news conference Monday, President Bush said the United States is getting an inkling of Tehran's response.
"We are beginning to get some indication, but we'll wait until they have a formal response," Bush said. "Dates are fine, but what really matters is will. And one of the things I will continue to remind our friends and allies is the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran."
Tomorrow is the deadline for Iran's response to the United States proposal of talks to end the uranium enrichment process that Iran trumpeted back on April 11th of this year. (Many of us remember the elaborate show put on by President Ahmadinejad, complete with actors holding up vials of the enriched uranium.) It was at that point that the West started wetting its collective pants. The worry was even greater than when the Soviet Union announced it had obtained the technology and ability to make a nuclear weapon. Back then, M.A.D. kept both sides in check. But that is not the case with a nuclear-armed Iran, as evidenced by a piece written by Bernard Lewis, and picked up by Charles Johnson:
In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time—Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as “by the end of August,” but Mr. Ahmadinejad’s statement was more precise.
What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to “the farthest mosque,” usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.
A passage from the Ayatollah Khomeini, quoted in an 11th-grade Iranian schoolbook, is revealing. “I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another’s hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours.”
In this context, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning. At the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the dead—hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers. For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement.
When one is dealing with a nation full of zealous leaders, preaching martyrdom against the infidels, M.A.D. is not going to stop them. As we have seen since the rise of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the leaders of Iran care nothing for their people. They are ardent religious fanatics with the sole puprpose of reestablishing their Persian caliphate; indeed, a caliphate the engulfs the world. The innocent people who would die in a nuclear conflagration would be viewed and presented as martyrs for the greater goal of Islam. The mullahs in Iran look at their people as tools, and little more.
This is why we believe that negotiating with Iran is a futile effort, providing nothing but empty promises and signatures on deals they have no intention of upholding. Indeed, President Ahmadinejad would view his signature on such an agreement as nothing more than ink on a page, and the overall agreement with the infidel West one that could, under the beliefs of Islam, be broken. This dog-and-pony show being performed by the West with Iran is just that; it will not be adhered to, and it will be broken. Byt the time the United Nations gets around to issuing stern sanctions, rather than harsh words in letters, it will be too late. Iran will be a nuclear-armed nation, and the world is likely to suffer for its procrastination in dealing with a mad regime.
And then there is the matter of the date. The 22nd is tomorrow, and many pundits, experts, and prognosticators are anxiously holding their breath. We, at The Asylum, are among them. What little trick does the president of Iran have up his sleeve? Will we awaken tomorrow to the news that a WMD has been launched on Israel? Will we see mushroom clouds blooming over the greater Misddle East? Or will Ahmadinejad prop some unknown up as his vaunted 12th Imam; a man who will surely call for all-out war on Israel and the West? We know that the Iranian military is conducting military exercises along their borders, and that the leadership there has boasted that they will be testing new missile technology. What if one of those missiles "inadvertently strays off course" and lands in Israel? At that point, the cease-fire Israel is trying to maintain with Hezbollah will be moot. The region will go to war. And when I say "region" that is precisely what I mean.
Marcie
From Yahoo News and Little Green Footballs:
Iran has turned away U.N. inspectors wanting to examine its underground nuclear site in an apparent violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty, diplomats and U.N. officials said Monday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidentiality of the information, told The Associated Press that Iran’s unprecedented refusal to allow access to the facility at Natanz could seriously hamper international efforts to ensure that Tehran is not trying to make nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader said Tehran will pursue nuclear technology despite a U.N. Security Council deadline to suspend uranium enrichment by the end of the month or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has made its own decision and in the nuclear case, God willing, with patience and power, will continue its path," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to state television.
His declaration came on the eve of Iran's self-imposed Tuesday deadline to respond to a Western incentives package for it to roll back its nuclear program. The United Nations has given Tehran until the end of August to suspend uranium enrichment.
Khamenei accused the United States of putting pressure on Iran despite Tehran's assertions that its nuclear program was peaceful. "Arrogant powers and the U.S. are putting their utmost pressure on Iran while knowing Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons," he said.
Iran said Sunday it will offer a "multifaceted response" to the incentives proposal. It insisted that it won't suspend uranium enrichment altogether.
At a news conference Monday, President Bush said the United States is getting an inkling of Tehran's response.
"We are beginning to get some indication, but we'll wait until they have a formal response," Bush said. "Dates are fine, but what really matters is will. And one of the things I will continue to remind our friends and allies is the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran."
Tomorrow is the deadline for Iran's response to the United States proposal of talks to end the uranium enrichment process that Iran trumpeted back on April 11th of this year. (Many of us remember the elaborate show put on by President Ahmadinejad, complete with actors holding up vials of the enriched uranium.) It was at that point that the West started wetting its collective pants. The worry was even greater than when the Soviet Union announced it had obtained the technology and ability to make a nuclear weapon. Back then, M.A.D. kept both sides in check. But that is not the case with a nuclear-armed Iran, as evidenced by a piece written by Bernard Lewis, and picked up by Charles Johnson:
In Islam, as in Judaism and Christianity, there are certain beliefs concerning the cosmic struggle at the end of time—Gog and Magog, anti-Christ, Armageddon, and for Shiite Muslims, the long awaited return of the Hidden Imam, ending in the final victory of the forces of good over evil, however these may be defined. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his followers clearly believe that this time is now, and that the terminal struggle has already begun and is indeed well advanced. It may even have a date, indicated by several references by the Iranian president to giving his final answer to the U.S. about nuclear development by Aug. 22. This was at first reported as “by the end of August,” but Mr. Ahmadinejad’s statement was more precise.
What is the significance of Aug. 22? This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to “the farthest mosque,” usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.
A passage from the Ayatollah Khomeini, quoted in an 11th-grade Iranian schoolbook, is revealing. “I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another’s hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours.”
In this context, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning. At the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the dead—hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers. For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement.
When one is dealing with a nation full of zealous leaders, preaching martyrdom against the infidels, M.A.D. is not going to stop them. As we have seen since the rise of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the leaders of Iran care nothing for their people. They are ardent religious fanatics with the sole puprpose of reestablishing their Persian caliphate; indeed, a caliphate the engulfs the world. The innocent people who would die in a nuclear conflagration would be viewed and presented as martyrs for the greater goal of Islam. The mullahs in Iran look at their people as tools, and little more.
This is why we believe that negotiating with Iran is a futile effort, providing nothing but empty promises and signatures on deals they have no intention of upholding. Indeed, President Ahmadinejad would view his signature on such an agreement as nothing more than ink on a page, and the overall agreement with the infidel West one that could, under the beliefs of Islam, be broken. This dog-and-pony show being performed by the West with Iran is just that; it will not be adhered to, and it will be broken. Byt the time the United Nations gets around to issuing stern sanctions, rather than harsh words in letters, it will be too late. Iran will be a nuclear-armed nation, and the world is likely to suffer for its procrastination in dealing with a mad regime.
And then there is the matter of the date. The 22nd is tomorrow, and many pundits, experts, and prognosticators are anxiously holding their breath. We, at The Asylum, are among them. What little trick does the president of Iran have up his sleeve? Will we awaken tomorrow to the news that a WMD has been launched on Israel? Will we see mushroom clouds blooming over the greater Misddle East? Or will Ahmadinejad prop some unknown up as his vaunted 12th Imam; a man who will surely call for all-out war on Israel and the West? We know that the Iranian military is conducting military exercises along their borders, and that the leadership there has boasted that they will be testing new missile technology. What if one of those missiles "inadvertently strays off course" and lands in Israel? At that point, the cease-fire Israel is trying to maintain with Hezbollah will be moot. The region will go to war. And when I say "region" that is precisely what I mean.
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 12:29 PM
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