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Politics : Should The West Bomb Iran? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SARMAN who wrote (58)	9/28/2007 12:02:46 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

World meets to turn up heat on Iran CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott Decrease font Decrease font Enlarge font Enlarge font NEW YORK (CNN) -- NEW YORK (CNN) -- World powers met Friday to discuss a third U.N. Security Council resolution imposing additional sanctions against Iran for failing to suspend its uranium enrichment program. art.iran.gi.jpg Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke about the issue of Iran's nuclear program at the U.N. this week. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met her counterparts from the "P5 plus one" -- the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States) along with Germany. Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief who has held nuclear talks with Iran, also joined the meeting. The Security Council has repeatedly demanded that Iran suspend enrichment of uranium and has imposed limited sanctions on Tehran for refusing to comply. The United States has been trying to cut Iran off from the international financial system and the European Union is weighing its own unilateral sanctions. The international community has failed to get Iran to take an offer of a package of economic incentives and better relations with the West in exchange for suspending its nuclear program. Friday's meeting comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West. In addition to increased U.S. rhetoric against Iran, France's foreign minister last week said the world should be prepared for a war with Iran as a worst-case scenario if Tehran developed a nuclear weapon. This week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told world diplomats that an agreement reached last month between his country and the International Atomic Energy Agency over its disputed nuclear program has, in the Iranian view, settled the matter. "Iran decided to pursue the issue through its appropriate, legal path, one that runs through the IAEA, and to disregard unlawful and political impositions by the arrogant powers," Ahmadinejad said in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. "I officially announce that in our option, the nuclear issue of Iraq is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter." Don't Miss * Iran's leader slams 'arrogant' powers in U.N. address * Rice tells nuke watchdog to butt out of Iran diplomacy * Sarkozy: Toughen Iran sanctions Under the deal brokered in August -- which received a tepid reception from the United States and other Western countries who fear Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons -- the Iranian government agreed to a timetable for resolving outstanding issues with the IAEA over its nuclear program, which the Iranians insist is solely for peaceful power generation. Ahmadinejad said Iran's nuclear program is intended solely for peaceful purposes, which it has the right to pursue. He called the issue is a political one, not a legal one. The IAEA "has verified that our activities are for peaceful purposes," he said. Rice has cautioned the U.N. nuclear watchdog to stick to what it does best and not interfere with international diplomacy over Iran. That was in response to recent comments made by Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, in which he criticized U.S. rhetoric regarding Iran. ElBaradei has called for a slowdown in discussions of additional U.N. sanctions in favor in favor of enhanced cooperation from Tehran with the nuclear watchdog. Ahmadinejad dismissed discussions within the U.N. Security Council about further sanctions, saying that the body has been "influenced by some bullying powers and failed to uphold justice and protect the rights of the Iranian people." His visit to the United States, to attend the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations and give a speech Monday at Columbia University, has generated controversy and sparked demonstrations. "There are two or three powers that think that they have the right to monopolize all science and all knowledge, and they expect the Iranian people, the Iranian nation, to turn to others to get fuel," he said. "What position are you in to question the peaceful purposes of other people who want nuclear power? We do not believe in nuclear weapons. Period. It goes against the whole grain of humanity." E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend All About United Nations Security Council • International Atomic Energy Agency * E-mail * Save * Print

To: SARMAN who wrote (58)	9/28/2007 12:47:32 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

US-led forces kill top al-Qaida leader By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago WASHINGTON - U.S.-led forces have killed one of the most important leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq, a Tunisian believed connected to the kidnapping and killings last summer of American soldiers, a top commander said Friday. ADVERTISEMENT Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson said the death of the suspected terrorist and recent similar operations have left the organization in Iraq fractured. "Abu Usama al-Tunisi was one of the most senior leaders ... the emir of foreign terrorists in Iraq and part of the inner leadership circle," Anderson said. Al-Tunisi was a leader in helping bring foreign terrorists into the country and his death "is a key loss" to al-Qaida leadership there, Anderson told a Pentagon news conference via videoconference from Baghdad. "He operated in Yusufiyah, southwest of Baghdad, since the Second Battle of Fallujah in November '04 and became the overall emir of Yusufiyah in the summer of '06," Anderson said. "His group was responsible for kidnapping our American soldiers in June 2006," Anderson said. He did not name the soldiers and Pentagon officials said they did not immediately know whom he was referring to. But three U.S. soldiers were killed that month in an ambush-kidnapping that happened while they were guarding a bridge. Spc. David J. Babineau was killed at a river checkpoint south of Baghdad on June 16, 2006, and Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas Tucker were abducted. The mutilated bodies of the kidnapped soldiers were found three days later, tied together and booby-trapped with bombs. Anderson said recent coalition operations also have helped cut in half the previous flow of foreign fighters into Iraq, which had been at about 60 to 80 a month. He credited the work of the Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement and U.S. teams. Commanders have said previously that the increase in troops ordered by President Bush in January — and the increased operations that followed — have pushed militants into the remote parts of the north and south of the country. Additional operations have been going after those pockets of fighters. "We're having great success in isolating these pockets," Anderson said. "They are very broken up, very unable to mass, and conducting very isolated operations," he said.

To: SARMAN who wrote (58)	10/1/2007 3:59:01 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

Bhutto says she might allow U.S. strike on bin Laden 1 hour, 18 minutes ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said on Monday that she might allow a U.S. military strike inside Pakistan to eliminate al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden if she were the country's leader. ADVERTISEMENT click here "I would hope that I would be able to take Osama bin Laden myself without depending on the Americans. But if I couldn't do it, of course we are fighting this war together and (I) would seek their cooperation in eliminating him," Bhutto said in an interview on BBC World News America. Bhutto, who has vowed to return to Pakistan on October 18 after eight years of exile, was speaking less than a week before an October 6 election that President Pervez Musharraf is expected to win despite his slumping popularity. She has been in talks with Musharraf about a post-election power-sharing deal that would shore up his position, which has become more precarious amid violent clashes with Islamist militants. U.S. intelligence officials believe bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders are being protected by tribal leaders in an area of northwestern Pakistan near the Afghanistan border that is largely inaccessible even to Pakistani forces. Bush administration officials fear that unilateral U.S. action against the al Qaeda safe haven could destabilize Pakistan and jeopardize the government of Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in Washington's struggle against militants. Asked by the BBC whether she would agree to let the Americans take action against bin Laden in Pakistan, Bhutto said her decision would depend on the strength of the evidence. "I think one really needs to see the information. So I would really, really need to see the evidence," she said, according to a transcript of the BBC interview. "But if there was evidence, my first reference would be to go in myself and if ... there was a difficulty on that I'd like to cooperate with the Americans." Bhutto has remained in exile rather than face corruption charges at home. On Monday, one of her lawyers filed an application for bail in case authorities arrest her when she returns.

To: SARMAN who wrote (58)	10/1/2007 7:33:44 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

Bush wants diplomatic end to 'Iran problem' Mon Oct 1, 2:01 PM ET WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush wants a peaceful end to "the Iranian problem," the White House said Monday after a fresh report that the United States is looking at possible military options. "The president has said that he believes there is a diplomatic solution that we can use to solve the Iranian problem. And that's why we're working with our allies to get there," said Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino. Perino refused to comment on an article in The New Yorker magazine about alleged US preparations for war except to express frustration with its unnamed sources and with other US media outlets for reporting what the piece said. "We don't discuss such things. What we have said and what we are working toward is a diplomatic solution in Iran," she said. "What the president has also said is that as a president, as a commander in chief -- and any commander in chief would not take any option off the table -- but the option that we are pursuing right now is diplomacy," said Perino. The magazine reported that the White House had asked the Pentagon earlier this year to redraw longstanding contingency plans for a possible attack on the Islamic republic amid concerns over its nuclear program and allegations of aiding fighters who target US troops in Iraq. The New Yorker, which cited anonymous sources, said that Bush told the US ambassador to Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, a few months ago that he was thinking of hitting Iranian targets across Iraq's border and that he had British support. At that point, the magazine said, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice interjected that Washington needed to proceed carefully because of diplomatic outreach to Tehran, and Bush ended up telling Crocker to warn Iran of retribution if it continued to interfere with US-led efforts in Iraq. "I'm not going to comment on that," said Perino. "I'm not going to comment on any possible scenario that an anonymous source continues to feed into (investigative reporters Seymour) Sy Hersh. I'm just not going to do it."

To: SARMAN who wrote (58)	10/1/2007 11:26:03 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

Iran MPs warn over Benetton stores by Hiedeh Farmani Mon Oct 1, 8:10 AM ET TEHRAN (AFP) - A group of prominent MPs have warned over the presence of Italian clothing retailer Benetton in Iran, saying its fashions are a bad influence on female consumers, newspapers said on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT The reformist Etemad-e Melli said the five MPs -- four members of parliament's cultural commission and a member of its legal commission -- had issued their warning in a written protest to parliament. The protest comes amid a crackdown by Iranian police on dress deemed to be un-Islamic, which has already seen warnings handed out to over 100,000 women. "The MPs on Sunday made a warning about preventing the influence of the Benetton investor in fashion and women's clothing design," the newspaper said. It added that parliament speaker Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel received their protest by himself protesting that Benetton was not using Farsi language or script on its shop signs in the Islamic republic. "The two shops that I have seen did not use Farsi inscriptions and all signs were in English, this must be prevented in line with the law," the newspaper quoted him as saying. The ultra-hardline Siasat-e Ruz also carried the report, saying the MPs had warned the interior ministry "to prevent the influence of the Zionist millionaire Benetton in the field of women's clothing and fashion." It also claimed that Benetton was operating "with the support of the municipality" led by Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a political rival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. According to Etemad-e Melli, the MPs included Fatemeh Alia -- a female lawmaker who has taken a leading role in women's fashion issues -- and the cultural commission's deputy head Javad Arianmanesh. Over the past year, several Benetton stores have been opened in Iran, mainly selling its casual line of products for men, women and children -- not the outer garments women have to wear on the streets in Iran. According to the retailer's website, it now has four stores in the capital, two in Iran's second city of Mashhad, and one in the central town of Yazd. Global brands were largely absent from Iranian malls after the 1979 Islamic revolution but in recent years glossy billboards advertising top labels such as Louis Vuitton, Dolce and Gabbana, and Dior have gone up in Tehran. In 2006 Iran's parliament passed a bill to promote Iranian and Islamic fashion to combat the "cultural invasion" of the West and has encouraged fashion shows and exhibitions to show the right trends. After the Islamic revolution ousted the pro-US shah, it was made obligatory for all women, including non-Muslims, to cover their heads and all bodily contours in public. But tight coats, short pants and flimsy headscarves have increasingly become a feature of Tehran streets in recent years and are still widely evident in the capital despite the police crackdown that began in April. Police have also shut down stores selling skimpy clothing and arrested men whose hairstyles were seen as too Western or clothing judged to be promoting Satanism. Some moderates have condemned the crackdown as a waste of energy that could be channelled into tackling other social ills but conservatives have applauded the drive as necessary to "increase security in society".