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

To: RMF who wrote (103)	10/9/2007 10:42:25 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

I am a supporter of women's rights...........

To: RMF who wrote (103)	10/13/2007 8:24:37 PM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Urges Muslims to Boycott U.S. -Led Mideast Peace Conference Saturday, October 13, 2007 AP Oct. 13: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers the Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran, Iran. TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's supreme leader called on Muslim countries Saturday to boycott a U.S.-sponsored international peace conference on the Middle East, saying the meeting would hurt the Palestinians. "Efforts are being made to once again make an imposition on the Palestinian people in the name of peace. ... The result of all conferences held in the name of peace so far have been to the detriment of the Palestinian nation," Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. Khamenei was referring to an upcoming U.S.-hosted international peace conference on the Middle East planned for next month. The United States has kept quiet on the most basic details about the meeting, including precise dates, the guest list and the location — though it is expected to be in Annapolis, Maryland. U.S. officials have said the November session will be a serious run at problems that have proved insoluble in the past. But Khamenei said the conference was a "deception" that must be shun by Muslims all over the Middle East. "When the Palestinians see this is as a deception, everybody has to see it as a deception. This U.S. initiative is an effort to save the Zionists," Khamenei said. Iran doesn't recognize Israel and wants the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, has repeatedly called Israel in the past a "cancerous tumor" that need to be removed from the Middle East. Khamenei comments come amid growing skepticism of the conference among some Arab governments, which have expressed doubts the planned gathering will tackle the main issues of the conflict with Israel. The Bush administration has said it will invite adversary Syria to the conference, but Syrian President Bashar Assad has all but ruled out his country's participation. Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have not said whether they will attend. The head of the Palestinian Hamas government, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Gaza Strip also has urged Arab countries not to attend the conference. The Islamic militant Hamas, which is backed by Iran, seized power in Gaza from Fatah security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June. Abbas retaliated by expelling Hamas from government and setting up a Western-backed government in control of the West Bank. "Palestinians have rejected this (conference). How can other governments attend this conference?" Khamenei said, referring to Hamas. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have met every few weeks in recent months in an effort to formulate a framework for the peace talks. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has said they have come to some agreements, but he would not elaborate.

To: RMF who wrote (103)	10/15/2007 10:26:02 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 109

Al Qaeda Dealt Devastating Blow in Iraq Monday, October 15, 2007 The U.S. military says it has dealt devastating and potentially irreversible blows to Al Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq, the Washington Post reported Monday. But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States, the newspaper said. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved. Simultaneously, the intelligence community, and some military members, worry about underestimating an enemy that has shown surprising resilience in the past. "I think it would be premature at this point," a senior intelligence official said to the Washington Post of a victory declaration over AQI, as the group is known. Despite recent U.S. gains, he said, AQI retains "the ability for surprise and for catastrophic attacks." Earlier periods of optimism, such as immediately following the June 2006 death of AQI founder Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in a U.S. air raid, not only proved unfounded but were followed by expanded operations by the militant organization, the Post reported. Click here to continue reading at WashingtonPost.com There is widespread agreement that AQI has suffered major blows over the past three months. Indications cited include a sharp drop in suicide bombings, the group's signature attack, from more than 60 in January to around 30 a month since July, said the Washington Post. Captures and interrogations of AQI leaders over the summer had what a senior military intelligence official called a "cascade effect," leading to other killings and captures. The flow of foreign fighters through Syria into Iraq has also diminished, although officials are unsure of the reason and are concerned that the broader al-Qaeda network may be diverting new recruits to Afghanistan and elsewhere, the paper reported Monday.