Sanctions, Nobels and mushroom clouds ~ By Gabriel Erem

My comment for this column is that I can't believe anyone ever thought that Iran wasn't in the process of developing nuclear weapons. Who were they kidding? Anyway, let me conclude with this thought-provoking graphic:

"Altogether, this raises concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile," said the report.


In plain English: The nuclear clock is ticking very, very fast.

By Gabriel Erem

Posted: February 24, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern

© 2010

I am happy to announce that I have won the 2011 New York City Marathon.

Truthfully, I don't deserve the coveted trophy, as I don't even go jogging, never mind running.

But, using the same logic the self-righteous International Nobel Committee of misguided European liberals used to award Barack Hussein Obama and Mohamed Mostafa ElBaradei the once-meaningful Nobel Peace Prize for doing absolutely nothing that would make our world safer, it appears that I also deserve the recognition.

The IAEA – the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog – last Thursday finally expressed "concern" for the first time that Iran may currently be working on ways to turn enriched uranium into a nuclear warhead, instead of having stopped several years ago.

Do we need to see a mushroom cloud before the Impotent Assembly of Eminent Incompetents (IAEA) sees the light after the often-repeated threats of Iranian madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has publicly advocated wiping off the map another member of the United Nations?

Such well-established "free democracies," like Iran, Cuba, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, China, the Vatican, Venezuela, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Syria are prominent among IAEA's member states, and until recently it was headed by a colorless Egyptian puppet, ElBaradei, who upon his triumphant retirement was last week welcomed back to Cairo and hailed as a national hero.

The IAEA's report appears to contradict the appallingly naive assessment by Washington that Tehran suspended such activities in 2003. It appears to coincide with the concerns of several U.S. allies that Iran may never have suspended enrichment.

The U.S. assessment itself may be revised and is currently being looked at again by American intelligence agencies.

In a report prepared for its 35 board nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency also said that Iran managed to make a batch of near 20-percent enriched uranium within days of starting production from lower-enriched material.

Higher enrichment brings Iran nearer to the capability of making fissile warhead material, should the Islamic republic opt to do so.

Iran, of course, with a straight face continues to deny any interest in developing nuclear arms. But the confidential IAEA report, made available to the Associated Press, said Iran's resistance to agency attempts to probe for signs of a nuclear cover-up "give rise to concerns about possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program."

The language of the report – the first written by Yukiya Amano, who became IAEA head in December – appeared to be more directly critical of Iran's refusal to cooperate with the IAEA than most previous ones under his predecessor, Mohamed ElBaradei.

For the first time ever, the IAEA report strongly suggested that intelligence supplied by the U.S., Israel and other IAEA member regarding Iran's attempts to use the cover of a civilian nuclear program to move toward a weapons program was more than compelling.

READ FULL STORY at WorldNetDaily.com

Iran diplomats: 'Israel is bluffing' ~ By Michael Evans

From WorldNetDaily

By Michael Evans Posted: October 01, 2009 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 In 20 minutes at the Intercontinental Hotel in New York City where Iran's infamous president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stayed during the U.N. General Assembly, six Revolutionary Guard diplomats responded to my question, "How will you avoid an attack upon your nuclear reactors, especially in view of President Ahmadinejad's belligerence at the U.N.?" In my conversation with the Iranian diplomats, the men made it quite clear Iran had nothing to fear. They said there would not be an attack. "Israel is bluffing," confidently averred one of the men. "There is absolutely nothing for us to concern ourselves with because neither Israel nor the United States tried to save its ally, the shah. They could have with their military, but were too weak to do it. If you think either one will go to war with us, I can tell you, it will never happen." He went on to say that stringent sanctions, including an oil embargo imposed by the West or an attack by Israel or the U.S., would serve only to unite the people behind Ahmadinejad, who has been under attack since the mullahs in Iran confirmed his re-election earlier this year. These men consider President Obama just another Jimmy Carter who would never attack Iran. They believe he is already losing two wars on their borders – Iraq and Afghanistan – and would not dare instigate a third – especially a war that could mean a 10-year ground offensive with the probability of over one-quarter million body bags. Ahmadinejad's bravado suffered a major blow, however, when it was disclosed last Friday that Iran had constructed a secret uranium enrichment facility near its holiest city, Qom. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be had failed to inform the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency. The disclosure prompted the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany to schedule a meeting Thursday in Geneva to discuss Iran's rogue nuclear program. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]

The Time Clock Has Run Out: Israel Ready to Strike Iran

Monday, January 12, 2009 3:56 PM By: Jim Meyers Informed sources in Washington tell Newsmax that Israel indeed will launch a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities soon – possibly in just days as President George W. Bush prepares to leave office. The reason: The time clock has begun to run out. Iran is close to acquiring a nuclear device under the control of its radical president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said in June that Iran would have a nuclear weapon in as little as six months. That six-month period has passed. Reports of Israel’s decision to imminently launch strikes, although unconfirmed, would seem to contradict the Bush stance outlined in a front-page New York Times story last week, which asserted that Bush rejected a plea from Israel last year to help it raid Iran’s main nuclear complex. The Times said Israel was rebuffed after it requested from the U.S. specialized bunker-busting bombs that it needs to attack Iran’s nuclear complex at Natanz. The U.S. also reportedly nixed permission to the Israeli warplanes to fly over Iraqi territory to reach Iran. Israel’s requests to the U.S. for military assistance came as the Jewish state was reportedly angry over a U.S. intelligence assessment in late 2007 that concluded Iran had effectively suspended its development of nuclear weapons. [Continue reading]

digg story, submitted by johnny2k

Covert Ops Reveal Syrian Plutonium

December 5, 2008 - Western agents recently carried out a daring covert operation to collect water samples from the Orontes river in Syria where it drains into the Mediterranean. Their discoveries were presented to a closed session of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency's board on Nov. 27-28. read more | digg story, submitted by covertress