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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RinConRon who wrote (201506)	4/5/2007 1:43:55 AM
From: RinConRon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793682

Britons leave for London, ending Iran standoff By Edmund Blair and Parisa Hafezi 18 minutes ago The 15 British military personnel who had been held by Iran left Tehran on a flight to London on Thursday, ending a two-week standoff that raised international tension and rattled financial markets. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference broadcast round the world on Wednesday he had decided to forgive and free the 15 sailors and marines even though Britain was not "brave enough" to admit they had strayed into Iran's territory. The peaceful end to the standoff, which began when Tehran seized the 15 in the Shatt al-Arab waterway between Iraq and Iran on March 23, prompted a drop in oil prices from recent highs. U.S. stock futures and the dollar rose in relief. Iranian officials whisked the 15 through the airport building to the British Mediterranean Airways plane, keeping them away from journalists, witnesses said. "The plane has taken off," Iran Radio said. A British diplomat, asking not to be named, said the Britons would travel in the business class section and that no one apart from the 15 and people accompanying them would be allowed in that part of the plane. "The 15 will be accompanied by three or four British embassy staff and there will be no access for the media until the plane reaches Britain," said the diplomat. A 57-year-old Iranian businessman, one of at least two people downgraded to economy class to ensure the business section was only for the Britons, said: "We understood the reason. We are very happy this (standoff) has been concluded." At his news conference, Ahmadinejad said: "Under the influence of the Muslim Prophet, (Iran) forgives these 15 people and gives their freedom to the British people as a gift." In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the release of the 15. "Throughout we have taken a measured approach, firm but calm, not negotiating but not confronting either," Blair told reporters. "To the Iranian people I would simply say this: we bear you no ill will." The dispute centered on where the Britons were when they were seized. Britain says they were in Iraqi waters on a routine U.N. mission. Tehran says they strayed into its territorial waters. SMILES After his announcement, a smiling Ahmadinejad met several of the sailors and marines, dressed in smart suits, shaking hands with them and exchanging a few words through an interpreter. "We are very grateful for your forgiveness," one of the sailors told Ahmadinejad. "I would like to thank yourself and the Iranian people." President George W. Bush welcomed the news, as did European Union president Germany. In Britain, relatives of the 15 expressed their joy. "It is brilliant news. I am very happy with it," Nick Summers, brother of Nathan Summers, one of the captives, told Sky News. British newspapers also welcomed the end of the standoff but questioned how it came about. "They're coming home," read the headline in the Daily Telegraph, adding: "But was a secret deal struck to secure the release of 15 British prisoners?" The Daily Mirror carried the headline "Freedom!" but said: "Now the questions: Were they in Iranian waters? What deals were done? And has this been a diplomatic triumph for Blair or a humiliation for Britain?" Before making his announcement, Ahmadinejad awarded a medal to the naval commander who captured the 15 and criticized Britain, making it look as if he might not free the Britons. Iranian and British officials had negotiated to find a diplomatic solution to a standoff that had added to international tension over Iran's disputed nuclear program, the subject of U.N. Security Council sanctions. Ahmadinejad said he was willing to consider re-establishing ties with the United States if that country "changed its behavior," but did not expand on his remark. He defended Iran's right to develop nuclear technology and threatened to retaliate for sanctions imposed on Iranian banks. The United States, which has accused Tehran of having a secret program to build atomic weapons, said if Iran wanted to change relations with Washington it would have to halt uranium enrichment. Iran says its program is only for electricity. The Shatt al-Arab waterway, where British and Iranian naval vessels operate daily, remains an area of potential conflict because the border between Iran and Iraq is poorly defined. Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited.

To: RinConRon who wrote (201506)	4/6/2007 11:16:01 PM
From: KLP	Respond to of 793682

Speaking of chemical attacks:::: More Chemical Attacks By al Qaeda - WW III Posted by AJStrata on April 6th, 2007 strata-sphere.com It is interesting to step back and to see the two civil wars erupting in the West and in the Muslim communities. Of course we have the fantasists we all call ‘liberals’ who seem to think there is no enemy anywhere and Bashar Assad represents a better future for the world than George W Bush. That struggle is not bloody, but it will determine whether Assad is the icon of a world leader or Bush is one for the remaining part of this century. Make no mistake - Pelosi and the Dems are aligned with Assad and his thugs. Which brings me to the second struggle which is brutal on a historic level, where those who which to lead Islam to a state where it leads the World use any tactic they can to gain power. They too would prefer anyone but George W Bush as a symbol of this century - and his push to democratize the Middle East. These murderers have now moved to the regular use of chemical weapons, but their targets are not Americans - they are their fellow Muslims. And killing women and children is completely in bounds for these fanatics: wenty people were killed and 30 wounded in Ramadi today when a suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with explosives and chlorine gas toward a residential complex, police said. Another 50 had trouble breathing after the attack. The truck was headed toward a police checkpoint, but when policemen opened fire, the bomber veered toward the residential complex nearby and detonated the explosives, police said. Women and children were among those killed and wounded. The truck was headed toward a police checkpoint, but when policemen opened fire, the bomber veered toward the residential complex nearby and detonated the explosives, police said. Women and children were among those killed and wounded. This is an al Qaeda stronghold and therefore represents - clearly - their vision of the future of Islam and of mankind. The dictator of Syria has been allied with these fanatics before and since 9-11. And with other groups like al Qaeda which traffic in death in Isreal, Palestine and Lebanon. The Syrian export seems to be death and destruction. And yet Pelosi finds the path to peace (read “capitulation”) through Damascus. Yet the chemical weapon attacks in Anbar illustrate the other parallel civil war going on now within the Muslim world. They too are lining up between those that will follow the Bush doctrine and strive for peaceful democracies and those who follow Bin Laden’s brand of homicidal control. It seems the liberals are more than happy to side with the enemies of freedom, even though strata-sphere.com it is clear from Pelosi’s trip that these same enemies of freedom are losing the war. The upwelling of support for Pelosi from our enemies and the calls for her lead in negotiating a peace (that same “capitulation”) was an eye opener. While Pelosi stumbled and bumbled, the terrorist groups claimed with one voice America’s salvation (read “their salvation”) was here! Pelosi was in full Neville Chamberlain mode with high praise coming from all the Hitler wannabes in the Islamo Fascist ranks. Will History repeat? Is 60-70 years sufficient distance to allow mass waves of murderers and butchers to run free and become negotiating partners in world affairs? Clearly Pelosi and the Liberals have lost sight of what we are going through. But then again they were the boomers - who revolted against the Greatest Generation Ever. Or they were the ones who had to live in the shadow of those men and women who saved the world from the thousand year Third Riech. There views are ingrained and dangerous. Pelosi and Assad and al Qaeda must lose. That is now the modern Axis Alliance. That is the nature of World War III.