What's happening the week of June 8th to 15th

[Shammu]

Turkey is calling for a jihad against Israel
Joshua Teitelbaum
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 June 2010 13.30 BST
Erdogan's bellicose support for the flotilla has sacrificed Israeli relations in the service of retrograde east-facing aspirations

Support for Turkey is at an all-time high in the Arab world. The last time Turkish flags were carried through the streets of Middle Eastern capitals was during the first world war, as people took to the streets in continued support for the Ottoman sultan-caliph against the western entente powers. The sultan-caliph had proclaimed a jihad. Thanks to Turkish government support of a blockade-running mission led by a group of Hamas sympathisers, they are flying once again. No ruling Arab leader is as popular as the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose discourse amounts to calls for a jihad against Israel.

Israel's relations with Ankara – military, economic, and tourist (Israelis once flocked to Turkey) – have been sacrificed on the altar of Turkey's retrograde aspiration to lead the Islamic world and establish itself along with Iran as an alternative to American power. Turkey is once again turning eastwards.

The Erdogan government's outrageous provocation of Israel could have been prevented. Israel begged the Turkish government not to let the Mava Marmaris depart with its meagre cargo of humanitarian aid (meagre compared to the aid Israel facilitates every day) and Islamist extremists armed to the teeth with clubs, wrist rockets that fire deadly projectiles, switchblades and military-style night vision equipment.

The provocation is all the more shameful since the Turkish government has proclaimed that all passengers were checked thoroughly. Is this the behaviour of a friendly country? Of the six ships, only the Turkish ship resisted violently; all the others were boarded without incident.

But the gall of Erdogan and his foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu knows no bounds. Erdogan's bellicose exhortations were beyond belief. "The heart of humanity has taken one of her heaviest wounds in history," he cried. "Bloody massacre" … "spilling the blood of innocent humans" … "in the history of humanity this has been recorded as a major shame" … "a despicably cowardly and vicious act." Turkey, unlike Israel, bellowed Erdogan, is not an "adolescent, rootless state". "As precious as Turkey's partnership is, so harsh will be her hostility." He concluded, no less: "Today is a turning point in history … Nothing will ever be the same again."

While Erdogan was engaged in war-mongering, Davutoglu was urging the west to drop sanctions against Iran. He next expressed his "disappointment" that the US had not condemned the Israeli raid, which he termed "murder conducted by a state". (In contrast, the sinking of a South Korean ship in May by North Korea, killing 46 sailors, was of "great concern" to the Turkish foreign ministry.)

It is difficult to imagine that Turkey would be engaging in this kind of behaviour were the US demonstrating world leadership and not abandoning the field to the likes of Erdogan. While the administration works to assure Israel's security with co-operation on missile defence, it has yet emboldened Israel's enemies by publicly pressuring Jerusalem at every turn, not taking decisive action against Iran, and caving to Egypt by singling out Israel – to the exclusion of Iran – at the nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference last month. Post-conference palliatives offered up by US officials did little to ameliorate the impression in the region that the US was hanging Israel out to dry. Turkey was simply bandwagoning.

Israel will now be closely examining its relationship with Turkey. Turkish Jews are afraid to leave their homes. Israel has withdrawn the families of its diplomats out of fear for their safety. Israel has excellent relations with the armed forces of Turkey, but they have had their wings clipped by the massive assault against them in the murky episode known as Ergenekon, in which several military officers and others are accused of trying to overthrow Erdogan's party.

Turkey's over-the-top behaviour has Israelis scratching their heads. How would Ankara react, for instance, if Israeli "humanitarian organisations" decided to run aid missions to the terrorist PKK, the Kurdish separatist group in Turkey? Do the Turks really want an Iranian port on the Mediterranean in Gaza? And for that matter, do the western countries, which have so roundly castigated Israel?

There may be an international commission of inquiry into the incident. An unbiased commission must certainly also examine the possible complicity of the Turkish authorities in arming the militants.

There is still hope for Turkey. While old-style Kemalism probably needs to be revamped, the person to do it just might be Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the newly elected head of the Republican People's party (CHP). As the Washington Institute's Soner Cagaptay notes in the Jerusalem Post, he could bring about a "New Kemalism – Kemalism 2.0 – [which] would be updated and recast to preserve the liberal aspects of a Kemalist polity, while jettisoning authoritarianism and anachronistic aspects of traditional Kemalism."

Spurned by the EU, where it has applied for membership and ruled by an Islamist party with delusions of grandeur, Turkey is determined to lead the Muslim world once more and is promoting a clash of civilisations in order to compete strategically with the US. Turkey is no longer a friend, but not yet an enemy of the US. It is a "frenemy," writes Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations. Let's hope that Ankara's Islamist rulers pull back from the brink represented by its risky and irresponsible policies.

Turkey is calling for a jihad against Israel

[Shammu]

Please note;

Turkey never states that they are calling for a "Jihad" in the article. The Author makes an assumption here because of Turkey's calls for an end to the gaza embargo. that is a huge difference in rhetoric (even if we believe Turkey is turning into what she will be) until she says so, it cannot be reported as fact.

I don't think there is a better example of the spread of radical Islam than Turkey right now......... Which is gradually becoming more and more sympathetic to the most extreme Fundamental Islamic viewpoints.

The Bible also tells us that, Turkey WILL go against Israel. This is the main reason I did post this article.

[Shammu]

Mosque vandalized in northern Israel
1 day ago 

ERUSALEM — Police say vandals defaced a mosque in northern Israel, a day after Israeli troops demolished unauthorized construction in a West Bank settlement.

The mosque in Ibtin village was spray-painted Wednesday with the Star of David and phrases such as "Slated for demolition" and "There will be war over Judea and Samaria" — the biblical name Israel uses for the West Bank.

There was also graffiti saying "price tag" — a practice by some settlers to go after Palestinian targets to avenge Israeli actions against the settlers.

"Price tag" incidents have increased recently over the government's decision to scale back settlement construction until September.

Settlers on Tuesday clashed with police after the demolition of two shacks built in the West Bank settlement of Beit El.

Mosque vandalized in northern Israel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've already said it today but:, What's good for the goose, is good for the gander.........

[Shammu]

Abbas arrives for Obama talks amid Gaza raid tensions
Tue Jun 8, 7:34 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived in Washington Tuesday seeking "bold decisions" from President Barack Obama on the Middle East despite tensions after Israel's deadly raid on aid ships.

The Palestinian leader's first stop in Washington will be the White House on Wednesday, for talks with Obama that are certain to touch on the May 31 raid on a group of boats seeking to break a blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The raid left nine civilians dead, and Obama will be eager to tamp down regional fury and ensure the incident does not doom indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks that Washington spent months setting up.

The United States has joined other foreign governments and the United Nations in calling for an inquiry into the raid to have an international component, saying it was key to any investigation's credibility.

Obama will discuss American efforts to break through a "status-quo" on the blockaded Gaza Strip, which his administration described as "untenable" following the deadly Israeli raid.

"The president looks forward to receiving president Abbas to review progress in the proximity talks and discuss our common efforts to achieve Middle East peace," said Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman.

The visit comes a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his own White House trip to deal with the fallout from the Gaza crisis.

But tensions have barely eased since then. Abbas arrived in Washington from Turkey, which condemned as "state terrorism" the maritime raid, in which nine of its citizens were killed, including one who also held US citizenship.

Abbas last week set a clear rhetorical framework for his long-awaited summit with the US president.

"My message to Obama during our meeting in Washington next week will be that we need bold decisions to change the face of the region," he said at an investment conference in the West Bank.

But it remains unclear exactly what Obama can offer Abbas, other than a public embrace, a vow not to give up navigating the treacherous diplomatic thicket of the Middle East and some hope of future humanitarian gestures to Gaza.

Privately, Obama may commit to continue pressing Netanyahu and to seek a commitment from the Israelis to enter eventual direct talks, but relations between the White House and Netanyahu have been testy, leaving the US leader little room to maneuver.

In addition to White House talks, Abbas is scheduled to meet with US national security advisor Jim Jones, and with US lawmakers.

Abbas arrives for Obama talks amid Gaza raid tensions

[Shammu]

Obama to offer Gaza aid to Abbas in flotilla aftermath

In effort to contain fallout over Israel Navy raid, US president expected to offer Palestinian president fresh US aid for Gaza during Abbas' visit to Washington

Reuters
Published:    06.09.10
Israel News

President Barack Obama on Wednesday is expected to offer Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fresh US aid for Gaza as Washington seeks to contain the fallout over Israel's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

Hosting Abbas at the White House, Obama will also try to ensure that heightened Middle East tensions over last week's deadly Israeli commando operation do not derail sputtering US-led peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

He will face a difficult balancing act.

Obama is likely to assure Abbas he will press Israel to loosen its Gaza blockade and allow in more humanitarian supplies, but at the same time the US leader wants to avoid further strains between Washington and the Jewish state.

Abbas' visit comes amid an international backlash against close US ally Israel after its forces boarded a Turkish aid ship bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on May 31 and nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed.

The Obama administration has deemed "unsustainable" the three-year-old blockade, which Israel says is needed to stop weapons smuggling and Palestinians call collective punishment.

Expectations for a major breakthrough are low when the two leaders meet. But having pledged to help ease Gaza's plight, Obama will not send Abbas home empty-handed.

"The president and President Abbas will discuss steps to improve life for the people of Gaza, including US support for specific projects to promote economic development and greater quality of life," a senior Obama administration official said.

Obama's pledge will include a "long-term strategy for progress that we will advance through consultations with the Palestinians, Israelis, Egyptians and other partners."

Keeping funds out of Hamas hands

There were no immediate details on the amount and type of US aid to be offered for the impoverished coastal enclave, which since 2007 has been run by Hamas Islamists who seized control from Abbas's Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

But any fresh infusion of funds would come with strings attached to keep it out of the hands of Hamas, which is on the US list of terrorist organizations.

In recent years, US aid to the Palestinians has been sent mostly to the West Bank, where Abbas governs, or funneled to Gaza through international agencies. Washington pledged $900 million for the Palestinians at a donors conference in 2009.

Seeking to boost Abbas's standing with his people, reporters will be allowed into the Oval Office to see the leaders together. Press coverage was barred during a tense visit in November by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which Israeli media widely interpreted as a snub.

Despite heightened regional tensions, the Obama administration hopes to keep alive indirect US-brokered talks that have made little headway since starting in early May.

"We look forward to engaging with President Abbas to move the process forward so that we can get to direct talks to address all the final status issues, and to ensure neither side take provocative steps," the administration official said.

Obama's Middle East diplomacy, central to his outreach to Muslim world, has been complicated by the flotilla incident.

Abbas's meeting with Obama will take place a week after Netanyahu canceled talks in Washington and rushed home from Canada to deal with the crisis sparked by the flotilla raid.

Netanyahu's visit had been billed as a fence-mending session to move beyond discord over Jewish settlement construction on occupied land.

Abbas is expected to appeal to Obama, who has been more measured in his response to the flotilla raid than the broader international community, to take a tougher line with Israel.

Obama has little room to maneuver. With US congressional elections looming in November, he must be mindful that Israel is popular with US lawmakers and voters.

Abbas also backs a UN proposal for an international probe, but the White House leans toward Israel's insistence on its own inquiry with a role for foreign experts or observers.

Abbas will arrive from Turkey, a US ally that has condemned Israel's action and curtailed ties with it. Abbas called the raid a "massacre." Israel said its commandos defended themselves when attacked during the boarding.

Obama to offer Gaza aid to Abbas in flotilla aftermath

[Shammu]

So in his mind- basically, is.............. give them a bunch of money and a Palestinian state and peace and love will break out in the Mideast toward Israel. Scripture says something entirely different, then what Mr. Obama has planned.

As we can also see, Mr. Obama true colors are showing more and more, as time goes on...............

[Shammu]

Iran Revolutionary Guard elusive sanctions target
By BRIAN MURPHY, AP
2 hours ago

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates —  Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard is now in the cross-hairs of U.N. penalties over Tehran's nuclear program, and it's an elusive target — a master at the sanctions-busting strategies long used by the Islamic Republic.

Iran has used a combination of third-party companies, deals with deep-pocket allies such as China, and the financial cushion of its oil exports to get around sanctions. The Guard is the muscle behind the clerical rulers and has its hand in every level of the country's economic, military, foreign policy and nuclear planning. It also is at the center of evasive strategies.

Even with two of Iran's lifelines — Russia and China — backing the latest Security Council measures, Iran denied being boxed in. Commerce Minister Mahdi Ghazanfari said Thursday in Beijing that Iran would find "new ways" to overcome the U.N. action.

These could include simply setting up new companies to funnel equipment to Iran's nuclear and defense programs or leaning more on friendly states such as Venezuela and perhaps even neighboring Turkey to keep money channels open, experts said.

Mustafa Alani, head of security studies at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, said he did not see the Revolutionary Guard suffering a lot.

"The Revolutionary Guard has developed an elaborate system to circumvent the embargo, maneuver illegal trade, bypass restrictions," he said.

The Revolutionary Guard — as a pillar of Iran's Islamic ruling clerics — has been caught up in previous sanctions. But the latest steps take particular aim at the Guard, whose reach would be like bringing the CIA, Pentagon and Homeland Security under one roof.

The Guard also has overseen the withering attacks on opposition groups after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — who dismissed Wednesday's sanctions as "annoying flies." The Guard and its paramilitary allies are expected to stage a significant show of force Saturday on the first anniversary of the vote.

Just that seemed enough to rattle the opposition. A joint statement by protest leaders Mahdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, carried by the reformist website Sahamnews, said they were calling off plans for a rally Saturday because of fears of violence.

The leader of the Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, was quoted Thursday by Iranian media saying that the postelection turmoil posed more of a threat to Iran's rulers than the 1980-88 war with Iraq.

Jafari said the risks were greater because of support for the opposition by the "international community," which has been one of the pretexts for waves of arrests and attacks on marchers.

At least 15 of the companies and groups named in the new sanctions list are linked to the Guard. Nearly all the rest have connections to nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which are directly under the Guard's control. The Security Council also banned Iran from buying certain categories of military equipment that are under the Guard's grip, including attack helicopters.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran's Esfahan Nuclear Technology Center has been added to a list of 40 people subject to both an asset freeze and travel ban.

The measures seek to punish Iran for rejecting proposals to halt uranium enrichment and take its nuclear fuel from abroad. The West and its allies fear Iran could be on the path toward nuclear weapons. Iran says it only seeks nuclear power for energy and medical research.

But Iran said the sanction vote may not go unanswered.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of parliament's influential National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, described the sanctions as "political, illegal and illogical" and said lawmakers would review Iran's relations with the U.N. nuclear watchdog group, the International Atomic Energy Agency. He offered no details of the possible fallout, but one option could be banning U.N. inspectors from Iran's nuclear facilities.

One hard-line member of the parliamentary committee, Mohammad Karamirad, suggested Iran should respond to Western "bullying" by quitting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — as North Korea did in 2003.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said imposing new sanctions "is not constructive and will destroy the grounds for solving the current crisis" with the West.

The new sanctions do not affect oil exports, the lifeblood of Iran's economy, because targeting them would have cost the U.S. essential support from veto-wielding Security Council members Russia and China, which have strong economic ties with Tehran.

Russia and China nixed any ban on gasoline imports, which would have struck a serious blow since Iran's refineries cannot keep up with domestic demand.

Iran also has room for more international jockeying even though its diplomatic push failed to block the sanctions. The resolution urges — but doesn't require — measures such as inspections of Iran-bound cargo and bans of financial transactions and other dealings.

This should give the Revolutionary Guard room to plan, said William O. Beeman, an expert on Iranian affairs at the University of Minnesota.

He pointed out the Revolutionary Guard and the ruling clerics must be seen as a single entity — with the Guard having all the tools to try to beat the penalties by shifting to banks not on the sanctions list or by being allowed to set up new shell companies.

"This is like a game of Whac-a-Mole," he said. "You hit them and they will just pop up in another place. It's like reflagging a vessel. You cannot really control something like the Guard."

A potential break for Iran came quickly from Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told journalists that the U.N. resolution does not block Russia from selling Iran its S-300 air-defense missile system. Israel and the U.S. have urged Russia not to supply the missile systems, which would substantially increase Iran's defense capability.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the sanctions should not block efforts for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff.

The years of various U.S. sanctions — going back to freezing assets after the U.S. Embassy takeover in 1979 — offer a case study in Iran's networks. Third-party firms have been used to bring in parts for Boeing aircraft and other U.S. equipment from before the Islamic Revolution. American consumer products, including those from Gillette and Coca-Cola, make it to store shelves through licenses with franchises in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.

Iran also has significantly widened its economic footprint in recent years with oil and energy deals across Asia, including a planned gas pipeline to Pakistan and a growing export drive into the former Soviet republics. Record oil prices in recent years have provided a steady flow of foreign currency into Iran — one of OPEC's major producers — but many analysts believe Iran could suffer if prices stay below $80 a barrel.

Iran, meanwhile, had to become a quick study in self-sufficiency with state money. A standout has been the automaker Iran Khodro Co., which exports to Central Asia and other markets.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said new sanctions will pave the way for tougher measures by the U.S. and its allies. France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud said European Union foreign ministers will be meeting Monday. While France would like tougher EU measures, all bloc countries must agree.

Iran Revolutionary Guard elusive sanctions target

[Shammu]

U.N. rebukes of Israel permitted in U.S. policy shift
Louis Charbonneau
Tue Jun 8, 2010

Under President Barack Obama, the United States no longer provides Israel with automatic support at the United Nations where the Jewish state faces a constant barrage of criticism and condemnation.

The subtle but noticeable shift in the U.S. approach to its Middle East ally comes amid what some analysts describe as one of the most serious crises in U.S.-Israeli relations in years.

Under Obama, the United States seeks to reclaim its role as an impartial Middle East peace broker which critics say it lost during the previous administration of George W. Bush.

"Israel became used to unconditional support of the United States during eight years of the Bush administration," said Marina Ottaway, director of the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

She said Bush's "extreme position" makes even mild criticism appear dramatic to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet.

However, Washington continues to block what it sees as efforts to use the United Nations as a forum for bashing Israel -- which one U.S. official told Reuters was "nine out of 10 initiatives regarding Israel in New York."

Obama has also pushed hard to get a fourth round of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program, which Israel sees as its top security threats. A vote on new Iran sanctions is expected this week.

"There have been slight changes (in U.S.-Israeli ties), but they've caused a disproportionate reaction on the part of Israel," said Ottaway. "We haven't seen any drastic changes."

Last week the United States backed a Security Council statement on Israel's commando raid on an aid flotilla that tried to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. Nine people on one of the ships were killed in the action.

The statement regretted the loss of life and demanded a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.

Washington, U.N. diplomats and U.S. officials said, worked hard to dilute the text so the 15-nation council did not call for an independent investigation and to ensure it did not explicitly criticize Israel.

UNITED NATIONS "LYNCH MOB"?

Israel was still unhappy with the statement and its supporters accused Obama of abandoning the Jewish state.

In an article called "Joining the jackals," Elliott Abrams, who advised two Republican administrations and is now at the Council on Foreign Relations, accused Obama of exposing Israel to a virtual U.N. "lynch mob."

"The White House did not wish to stand with Israel against this mob because it does not have a policy of solidarity with Israel," Abrams said. "Rather, its policy is one of distancing and pressure."

Abrams also criticized the White House over the recent five-year review conference of signatories to the 1970 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that Israel, like nuclear-armed Pakistan and India, has never signed.

Washington backed a call for a 2012 meeting of all countries in the Middle East to discuss making the region a zone free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction -- a plan originally proposed by Egypt with Arab backing to add pressure on Israel to give up its nuclear weapons.

After allowing it to pass, the U.S. delegation criticized the NPT final declaration for "singling out" Israel, which neither confirms nor denies having atomic weapons.

This statement did not satisfy commentators like Abrams, who said Obama had "abandoned Israel in the U.N. and in the NPT conference in the course of one week."

Some analysts say Washington wants to improve ties with Arab nations and regain lost status as a neutral peace arbiter while being careful not to alienate pro-Israel voters.

"During the George W. Bush years, Washington's automatic siding with Israel on any issue seriously eroded what had been America's long-standing posture as an honest broker in the Middle East," said Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

"Obama has been trying to reclaim that status, while keeping in mind the domestic political need of not being seen as anti-Israel," he said.

Outside the United Nations, analysts say Obama tried to ease strains with Netanyahu after tensions spiked earlier this year over Jewish settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land.

He coaxed Israel into indirect talks with the Palestinians, his biggest tangible achievement in Middle East diplomacy.

But an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the jury is still out on the Obama administration's approach to the Jewish state.

"It's still difficult to decipher the intentions behind the changing U.S. policy at the United Nations, and not just in regard to the Middle East," the official said.

"If the Americans are convinced that, through adopting a softer approach ... they will achieve support from countries that heretofore opposed their policy -- they will discover that they are wrong," the official added.

U.N. rebukes of Israel permitted in U.S. policy shift

[Shammu]

Now thern, I don't want to sound like an alarmist but, this article plus the one where the Rabbinical Council of Judea finds the first flotilla to Gaza incident similar to the Gog & Magog Prophecy. It's starting to sound like things are gonna get a whole lot more intense.

For more on the Gog Magog story, Is flotilla battle signaling start of 'Gog and Magog'? This link is on Christians Unite forum.

[Shammu]

Arab states: Israel nuclear danger reinforced by its aggression
Arab states target Israel at UN nuclear debate, urge Israel to join global anti-nuclear arms pact NPT.
By Reuters
10.06.10

Arab nations backed by Iran urged Israel to join a global anti-nuclear arms pact at a rare and divisive United Nations atomic watchdog debate a day after new sanctions were passed against Tehran.

Israel, presumed to have the Middle East's only nuclear weapons arsenal, condemned the push at the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting on Thursday as being fuelled by countries which question Israel's existence.

Western countries warned that honing in on Israel could jeopardize broader steps aimed at banning weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

"What the region needs is to come together in a cooperative, consensual way," Washington's envoy Glyn Davies said. "This is not going to happen if the parties of the region engage in name-calling, if they wag fingers at each other."

It was the first time the IAEA's policy-making board tackled the topic since 1991, coinciding with wider scrutiny of Israel after its raid on a Gaza-bound aid convoy and a UN conference which put its nuclear policy in the spotlight.

"Israel continues to defy the international community through its continued refusal to accede to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," Sudan's envoy Mahmoud El-Amin told the 35-nation meeting in Vienna on behalf of Arab states.

"The Israeli nuclear danger is reinforced by [its] aggressive policies towards Arab countries," he said.

By shunning the 40-year-old NPT Israel has not had to reject atomic arms or allow the IAEA to probe all of its nuclear sites. India, Pakistan and North Korea are also outside the NPT.

Signatories of the pact - nearly all of the world's nations - last month called for a conference in 2012 to discuss banning weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. If realized, the zone could ultimately force Israel to join the treaty.

Iran, angered by a fourth round of UN sanctions passed against it on Wednesday over its nuclear program seized on the debate to accuse the West of "double standards" and discrimination.

Iran rejects Western allegations it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, arguing that its nuclear program has only peaceful aims.

"There is only one potential threat to the security of the region...which is the nuclear weapons capability of Israel," Iranian ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh said.

He said the West's reluctance to discuss Israel while pressuring Iran was "very worrisome" because it protected those outside the NPT and could provoke members to withdraw from it. He said Iran had no intention of doing this as of now.

Iran is seen by Western nations as an NPT renegade and bomb risk for hiding sensitive nuclear activity. They say Israel is not comparable because it is not in the NPT while Iran is. Many developing nations say that this is precisely the problem.

The IAEA debate on "Israeli nuclear capabilities" was on the agenda at the behest of Arab nations who want watchdog chief Yukiya Amano to help implement an IAEA resolution urging Israel to enter the NPT and put its sites under agency oversight.

Amano said he would report on his progress in September.

Arab states: Israel nuclear danger reinforced by its aggression

[Shammu]

Right

Israel only has nuclear capabilities, for Israels protection. How many times have the arab world threatened to wipe out Israel?? More times then I can remember now. The only reason they haven't is because of Israeli nuclear capabilities!!

I've read better stories then to believe this bologna. Israel is ALLOWED to protect HERSELF, against ALL invaders, both domestic, and far............ The world needs to wake up, and start looking at the Bible, and prepare for what is coming. In the mean time brothers, and sisters.................

KEEP LOOKING UP!!

[Shammu]

Tehran defiant as UN passes tough Iran nuclear sanctions
By Scott Peterson Scott Peterson Wed Jun 9, 4:30 pm ET

Istanbul, Turkey – Iran quickly dismissed a fourth set of UN Security Council sanctions, imposed on Wednesday to further restrict Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

“These resolutions have no value…. It is like a used handkerchief that should be thrown in the waste bin,” Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told journalists while visiting Tajikistan.

The new Iran nuclear sanctions were hailed by President Barack Obama as "the toughest ever faced by Iran," but Iranian officials vowed to press on with their nuclear program.

UN Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee said that “no amount of pressure and mischief” would deter the Islamic Republic from pursuing what it says is a peaceful nuclear energy program. “Iran is one of the most powerful and stable countries in the region, and never bowed – and will never bow – to the hostile actions and pressures by these few powers.”

As the latest round of UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions appeared increasingly inevitable in recent weeks, the Islamic Republic fought back with devil-may-care rhetoric—as well as frenetic diplomacy aimed at finding more friends.

“Politically, it will be a great blow,” says an Iranian journalist in Tehran who asked not to be named for security reasons. “We are now moving away from gray and moving into the black-and-white phase; the political alignments will become more clear now.”

"Iran is losing Russia, China, and all those countries that matter," the journalist says. "Its dollars can no longer buy political credit [because of] the great isolation it faces…. This has brought great, and visible, fear to Iranian officials.”

When the vote came on Wednesday, the United States blasted what it called Iran’s “continued recklessness” over its nuclear program, and spearheaded 12 votes in favor of sanctioning 40 more Iranian businesses, banks, and shipping companies – double the number of the three previous sanctions votes combined.

ToughestVoting “no” were Turkey and Brazil—nonpermanent UNSC members that had brokered a May 17 deal with Tehran to export half of its low-enriched uranium, as a confidence-building measure. Both nations prefer diplomacy to sanctions. Lebanon abstained.

In recent weeks, senior Iranian officials have been hurriedly dispatched to distant capitals, from Austria to Uganda and Turkey to China, to lobby each of the 15 members of the UNSC, with the exception of the United States, an arch foe of Iran for 31 years.

Mr. Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that brandishing the “stick” of a UNSC sanctions vote would mean that Iran would not take part in future nuclear negotiations. He said the nuclear swap offer, the full details of which have not been worked out, was a one-time “opportunity.”

Just hours before the sanctions vote, the US, Russia, and France presented the UN's nuclear watchdog agency with a list of nine concerns it had about the tripartite nuclear swap deal – an agreement very similar to one the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) put to Iran last October.

Iran has dismissed the impact of UN sanctions dating to 2006, which have targeted an array of institutions – from banks to universities, many with links to the powerful Revolutionary Guard – that are connected to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

Sanctions have not so far forced Iran to comply with the key international demand: a suspension of its uranium enrichment program until the IAEA is satisfied Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran denies wanting to make a nuclear bomb.

Sanctions helping Iran? Iranian officials sometimes crow that sanctions have heightened the country's self-sufficiency. In addition to nuclear sanctions, the US has imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran since shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted the pro-Western Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

“Iranian state media [has been] playing it up, with Ahmadinejad literally saying ‘bring it on,’ says a young Iranian professional who left Iran a few days ago, and asked not to be named. “They are saying: ‘This is development for us; we’ve gotten so far [despite past sanctions].’ And to be honest, we have.”

That can-do spirit stems from the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. The men who now constitute Iran’s hard-line leadership believe that they repelled a 1981 invasion from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, which received US, Soviet, and European support over eight years of war, through ingenuity and faith.

“They used all their power, [and brought] all their resources to the battlefield to defeat or weaken the Islamic Republic, and what was the result?” Iran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said in a speech last Friday. “The world saw with amazement the emerging of the Islamic Republic with a much, much stronger defensive military capability."

“Whatever arm they’ve cut off [with sanctions], we’ve grown two; that’s the Iranian way,” says the professional. “State media was able to play this very well…. The public doesn’t know what [sanctions] cover, doesn’t remember what it covers, doesn’t know the effects – it just knows the US is bullying us.” (Right, they need to quit lying. DW)

Both Brazilian and Turkish ambassadors, explaining their no votes before the council, said further sanctions would not convince Iran to halt its nuclear programs, and were more likely to have the opposite effect.

But US Ambassador Susan Rice said the sanctions were “aimed squarely at the nuclear ambitions” of Iran, and provided “important new tools.” The purpose was to “change the calculation of the leadership of Iran."

“The animosity between Iran and the US – and the depth of it – has become quite clear now,” says the journalist in Tehran. “Khamenei’s speech [last Friday] clearly indicated what we already knew, that there will never be any mending of ties with the US, simply because [the Islamic Republic] was founded on the principle of US defiance. He clearly said: 'If we do anything that appeals to the US and the West, it means we have done something wrong and we should rethink our actions.' "

Tehran defiant as UN passes tough Iran nuclear sanctions

[Shammu]

Russia: Iran sanctions won't affect sale of S-300 missiles, will only impact deals regarding mobile missiles.
By News Agencies
10.06.10

Russia said on Thursday it was in discussions with Iran on possible new nuclear power plants in the Islamic state, the country's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

"We are discussing these [new plants] with our Iranian partners, we are practically discussing this now," Lavrov said.

Earlier Thursday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said that new United Nations sanctions against Tehran over its contentious nuclear program do not oblige Moscow to scrap a controversial deal to deliver surface-to-air missiles to Iran.

The clarification came after the Russian Interfax news agency cited an arms industry source as saying Russia would freeze its unfulfilled contract to sell S-300 missiles to Iran after the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told journalists, however, that the UN resolution does not apply to air-defense systems, with the exception of mobile missiles.

The report citing an unidentified source in Russia's arms industry contradicted Russian officials and others who have said the sanctions approved on Wednesday with Moscow's support would not affect the air-defense missile deal.

"The UN Security Council decision is binding for all countries and Russia is no exception," Interfax cited the source as saying. "Naturally, the contract to deliver S-300 missile systems will be frozen."

Russia has used its unfulfilled deal to provide Iran with S-300 missiles as a lever in its delicate diplomacy with Tehran and Western powers seeking to rein in Iran's nuclear activity, which they say is aimed at acquiring atomic weapons.

Israel and the United States have asked Russia not to deliver the missile systems, which can shoot down several aircraft or missiles simultaneously and could potentially be used to protect nuclear facilities.

Western diplomats in Moscow believe Russia is eager to keep the deal in reserve as a bargaining chip. Iran has expressed increasing frustration over the unfulfilled contract.
Russia's move toward support for the new sanctions against Iran has been accompanied by repeated assurances that the measures would not affect the S-300 deal.

The latest came on Thursday from the Kremlin-allied chairman of the International Affairs committee in Russia's lower parliament house. Konstantin Kosachyov said the S-300 is a defensive weapon and would not be affected, Itar-Tass reported.

In Washington, Republican U.S. Senator Jon Kyl criticized the UN sanctions resolution on Wednesday for excluding the S-300 deal and Russia's construction of Iran's first nuclear power plant near Bushehr.

Russia has close ties with Iran and has worked with China, also a veto-wielding UN Security Council member, to water down Western-backed sanctions resolutions against Tehran, including the latest one.

But Moscow has been increasingly critical of Tehran's rejection of a proposal to ease concerns about the purpose of its nuclear program by having uranium shipped to Russia for enrichment.

U.S. President Barack Obama has courted Russian support for the new sanctions, and administration officials have pointed to Moscow's backing as a positive result of a "reset" aimed to improve long-strained ties.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday warned Russia not to side with "Iran's enemies" by supporting the sanctions.

Officials said Ahmadinejad, unlike last year, would stay away from a summit of a Central Asian security organization led by Russia and China starting on Thursday in Uzbekistan.
Israel and U.S. hail UN vote, as Turkey calls it a 'mistake'

Israel and the United States hailed the United Nations vote to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, which immediately vowed to continue with its nuclear program.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the new sanctions a "positive" step, but expressed hope that it would lead countries to take broader economic and diplomatic measures, including sanctions on the Iranian energy sector.

"The UN Security Council resolution passed today, led by the determination of President Obama, is a positive step," Netanyahu said. "The resolution made clear to Iran that the world's leading powers oppose its nuclear program."

"The biggest danger to peace is that the most dangerous regimes in the world will use the most dangerous weapons of all. The international community needs to continue to keep the prevention of this threat at the top its agenda."

Netanyahu's words echoed an earlier statement by the Foreign Ministry that described UN Security Council resolution 1929 as an "important step." "It is of great importance to implement the decision fully and immediately," the Foreign Ministry statement said.

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, said the sanctions "can serve as a viable platform for launching very far-reaching sanctions by the United States or like-minded nations against Iran."

Those sanctions could be aimed at Iran's ability to import gasoline, he said.

"They have a lot of oil, but not a lot of refined oil or the ability to export oil abroad," Oren said.

Obama, meanwhile, said the new sanctions send an "unmistakable message" that the international community will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Speaking shortly after the Security Council voted to impose some of the toughest sanctions on Iran so far, Obama faulted the Islamic state's leaders for failing to seriously address concerns about the country's nuclear activities.

"These are the most comprehensive sanctions that the Iranian government has faced," Obama said.

Turkey, which voted against the imposition of sanctions, called the UN move a "mistake" and said that together with Brazil it would continue to seek a diplomatic solution to remove concerns over Iran's nuclear program.
Iran on Wednesday rejected the resolution over its nuclear activities, vowing to continue enriching uranium. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed as "valueless" the resolution, which passed by 12 votes to two with one abstention, saying it should be thrown out.

"This resolution is not worth a penny for Iran and I sent a message to each one of them [UN Security Council members] that your resolution is like a used handkerchief which should go into a garbage can," the Iran Student News agency quoted him as saying.

"They [world powers] will not be able to harm us," added Ahmadinejad, who is currently on a visit in Tajikistan.

Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast called the UN Security Council vote to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran a "wrong move".

"It was not a constructive step...to resolve the nuclear issue. It will make the situation more complicated," Mehmanparast said.

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, said after the vote that Iran would not halt its nuclear enrichment activities. "Nothing will change. The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue uranium enrichment activities," Ali Asghar Soltanieh told reporters in Vienna shortly after the UN vote in New York

Russia: Iran sanctions won't affect sale of S-300 missiles
~~~~~~~~~~

Right.............
The Bible says, Russia WILL go against Israel. (in Ezekiel 38 & 39) The Bible tells me so, and I believe the Bible over man!!

[Shammu]

Obama sees Mideast 'progress' possible this year - (Okay I give, what's he smoking now?? DW)
by Stephen Collinson
Jun 10, 4:00 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama is pledging unwavering commitment to forging significant progress in the Middle East this year, despite the furor whipped up by Israel's raid on a Gaza aid flotilla.

Welcoming Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to the White House on Wednesday, Obama promised the "full weight" of US diplomacy on the latest crisis and vowed to coax Israelis and Palestinians out of a "dead end" and into direct peace talks.

He also unveiled 400 million dollars of US aid for Gaza and the West Bank for housing, education and infrastructure, as part of a US commitment to improve the "day-to-day lives of Palestinians."

The president also called the humanitarian situation "unsustainable" and warned a Palestinian state was the only long-term solution.

The White House talks came with the Arab world still livid about the Israeli raid on the aid flotilla on May 31, which killed nine activists, and amid frantic US efforts to stop the uproar derailing peace efforts.

Telling Abbas he remained deeply committed to spending personal political capital in the Middle East, Obama said he still believes there could be "significant progress" in the peace process this year.

The US leader said it may be possible to take the "tragedy" over the Gaza aid convoy and turn it "into an opportunity to create a situation where lives in Gaza are actually, directly improved."

Abbas said that the aid package was "positive."

He told Obama in front of reporters the Palestinians were willing to proceed to direct talks with Israel, but only after progress in the current US-mediated "proximity" discussions.

The Palestinian leader urged the Obama administration to help implement a two-state solution "as quickly as possible."

"The two-state solution is no longer only a Palestinian interest or an Israeli interest or a Middle East interest, but it is also an American interest," he added on the televised "Charlie Rose" interview show.

As Obama seeks to inject new momentum into peace moves, both the White House and the Israeli government said they were trying to finalize arrangements for a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this month.

The Israeli leader had been due here last week, to smooth over tensions that flared during his last visit, but the Gaza crisis forced him to cancel.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat, who attended the Oval Office meeting, meanwhile said US envoy George Mitchell would go back to the Middle East next week for more proximity talks.

Erakat said Abbas had come to the United States with the message that progress was urgently needed.

"Time is of the essence, that's his message, we need to see genuine movement in the direction of a two-state solution and ending the occupation," he told AFP.

Obama also called on Israel to live up to UN Security Council conditions on probing the flotilla raid, which laid out the need for "credible, international involvement."

"I've said to the Israelis directly... it is in Israel's interest to make sure that everybody knows exactly how this happened so that we don't see these kinds of events occurring again," he added.

But Israel has rejected any international inquiry into the affair, amid calls for an easing of the three-year blockade of Gaza.

Earlier, Netanyahu said he was in talks with "several members of the international community" but added that a probe should not focus on the role of Israeli soldiers in the raid.

While stressing Israel had a right to make sure arms were not smuggled into Gaza, Obama said a framework should be hashed out to allow some non-arms shipments to reach the tiny Palestinian coastal enclave.

The White House said the aid package for Palestinians would help "increase access to clean drinking water, create jobs, build schools, expand the availability of affordable housing, and address critical health and infrastructure needs."

The money will be mostly funneled through the US Agency for International Development and the United Nations Relief Works Agency, which deals with Palestinian refugees.

The United States avoids dealing with Gaza's ruling Hamas, which it deems a terrorist organization, and has worked to shore up the West Bank government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Obama's pledge of aid for Gaza and the West Bank drew an angry response from Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who branded it a "bailout of the Palestinian leadership."

The help "sends the message that standing in the way of peace and freedom can be quite profitable," she said, calling for cutting off US government aid to the Palestinian Authority and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Obama sees Mideast 'progress' possible this year

[Shammu]

'Follow the Islamic way to save the world,' Prince Charles urges environmentalists

By Rebecca English
Last updated at 1:46 AM on 10th June 2010

Prince Charles yesterday urged the world to follow Islamic 'spiritual principles' in order to protect the environment.

In an hour-long speech, the heir to the throne argued that man's destruction of the world was contrary to the scriptures of all religions - but particularly those of Islam.

He said the current 'division' between man and nature had been caused not just by industrialisation, but also by our attitude to the environment - which goes against the grain of 'sacred traditions'.

Charles, who is a practising Christian and will become the head of the Church of England when he succeeds to the throne, spoke in depth about his own study of the Koran which, he said, tells its followers that there is 'no separation between man and nature' and says we must always live within our environment's limits.

The prince was speaking to an audience of scholars at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies - which attempts to encourage a better understanding of the culture and civilisation of the religion.

His speech, merging religion with his other favourite subject, the environment, marked the 25th anniversary of the organisation, of which he is patron.

He added: 'The inconvenient truth is that we share this planet with the rest of creation for a very good reason - and that is, we cannot exist on our own without the intricately balanced web of life around us.

'Islam has always taught this and to ignore that lesson is to default on our contract with creation.'

'Follow the Islamic way to save the world,' Prince Charles urges environmentalists
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No thank you, I'll pass.

I won't, for will I even be bothered to listen ti islamic fools. The only thing they do know how to do is to terrorize innocent people, and force their garbage on everyone else.