News items that look towards Ezekiel 38 & 39

[Shammu]

Russia begins large-scale military exercises in Far East
28/ 10/ 2007
   
KHABAROVSK, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia began on Sunday large-scale military exercises in the Far East to practice interoperability between troops, the press office of the Far Eastern military district said.

"The strategic command-and-staff military exercises to practice control of force groupings in the Eastern region, East-2007, are being held in accordance with the training plans of the Russian Armed Forces. The exercises will be held from October 28 through November 3," the press office said.

The exercises will be supervised by Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, and will aim to practice measures to localize internal armed conflicts, destroy illegal armed formations and terrorist groups, the press office said.

In addition, the exercises are intended to study the operation of the single system of troops' logistic and technical support in the Far Eastern region, the press office said.

Russia begins large-scale military exercises in Far East

[Shammu]

Iranian missiles threaten no country - defense minister
27/ 10/ 2007

TEHRAN, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian missiles present no threat to any country, the Islamic Republic's defense minister said Saturday.

"Iran's missiles bear no threat to any states, but are designed exclusively for aggressors who violate the border of Iran," local media quoted Mostafa Mohammad Najar as saying.

Najar also said Iran's missile arsenal "serves peace and security in the region", calling "an exaggeration" U.S. administration representatives' statements that Iranian missiles would be able to reach Europe and America by 2015.

The U.S. plans to deploy missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying this is necessary to counter possible threats from "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.

Iranian missiles threaten no country - defense minister

[Shammu]

Jordan's king says ties with China warmer, deeper
2007-10-28 23:35:30    

    AMMAN, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Bilateral relations between Jordan and China have gained momentum in recent years, becoming warmer and deeper in almost every aspects, Jordanian King Abdullah II told Xinhua prior to his visit to China.

    In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, King Abdullah said "we in Jordan are very pleased that, in recent years especially, our (Jordan and China) ties have grown warmer and deeper in nearly every field," noting that China is one of Jordan's most important development partners.

    Abdullah will pay a state visit to China from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1,the fifth Beijing tour since he succeeded to the throne in 1999.

    "I think that this visit is going to result in a couple of new agreements that reflect the momentum in our relationship," he said, adding that the Jordan Investment Board and the China Development Bank will respectively open an office in Beijing and Jordan.

    "This reflects the scope of potential for cooperation in many fields, especially among our respective private sectors," he said.

    China and Jordan also share some fundamental values when it comes to issues of security, especially fighting terrorism and concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation, Abdullah said.

    "So I fundamentally believe that there are bridgeheads to a much more comprehensive relationship between Jordan and China and, in fact, a broader strategic relationship between the Arab world and China," he said.

    The king also expressed his appreciation to the changes and pace of progress China has experienced in recent years, saying that the "discipline and focus with which China has pursued development is very much admired in my part of the world."

    The king also disclosed that the two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations during his visit to China, terming it "a milestone year" in the two countries' relationship.

    Commenting on the 2008 Olympic Games, the king said he always looks forward to every Olympic Games as a showcase of athletic excellence, noting that the Beijing Olympics would display more.

    "I believe millions of people everyday read about China's extraordinary growth and progress," he said, adding that "there is a lot of additional excitement around the world just because China is hosting the games."

    He said "for many people, the Olympics are going to be a window into China, its culture and its contemporary achievements in many areas," saying that "I have no doubt that China will make the upcoming games one of the most memorable in history."

    During the interview, the king also expressed his country's optimism towards a U.S.-proposed international conference on the Middle East peace slated for later this year in Annapolis, the United States.

    He said "what we've been hearing back from the U.S., the EU, the(Middle East) Quartet, has given us some reason for optimism."

    "This is especially important right now," he said, for "the peace meeting to be hosted by the U.S. provides an important opportunity" for resolving the chronic Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

    "The international community is working very hard to make sure this happens," Abdullah said, noting that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Quartet's envoy Tony Blair have visited the region respectively in efforts to narrow the differences.

    The king also voiced Jordan's hope that the international peace meeting will deliver concrete results, namely "an agreement in principle on the final status issues that will set the agenda for negotiations and a clear timeframe."

    "All of these will convince the people of the region that the parties are seriously committed to peace and that an end to this conflict is in sight," he said.

    Bilateral ties have been developing smoothly since China and Jordan established diplomatic relations in 1977 and the two sides have enjoyed fruitful cooperation in economy, trade, culture, and tourism.

    China is currently Jordan's third largest foreign trade partner, with bilateral business transactions reaching 1.031 billion U.S. dollars in 2006.

Jordan's king says ties with China warmer, deeper

[Shammu]

Egypt to Build Nuclear Plants

By SALLY BUZBEE – 3 hours ago

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Egypt's president announced plans Monday to build several nuclear power plants — the latest in a string of ambitious such proposals from moderate Arab countries. The United States immediately welcomed the plan, in a sharp contrast to what it called nuclear "cheating" by Iran.

President Hosni Mubarak said the aim was to diversify Egypt's energy resources and preserve its oil and gas reserves for future generations. In a televised speech, he pledged Egypt would work with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency at all times and would not seek a nuclear bomb.

But Mubarak also made clear there were strategic reasons for the program, calling secure sources of energy "an integral part of Egypt's national security system."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. would not object to the program as long as Egypt adhered to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines.

"The problem has arisen, specifically in the case of Iran, where you have a country that has made certain commitments, and in our view and the shared view of many ... (is) cheating on those obligations," he said.

"For those states who want to pursue peaceful nuclear energy ... that's not a problem for us," McCormack said. "Those are countries that we can work with."

The United States accuses Iran of using the cover of a peaceful nuclear program to secretly work toward building a bomb, an allegation Iran denies. Iran asserts it has a right to peaceful nuclear power and needs it to meet its economy's voracious energy needs.

Iran's program has prompted a slew of Mideast countries to announce plans of their own — in part simply to blunt Tehran's rising regional influence.

"A lot of this is political and strategic," said Jon Wolfsthal, a nonproliferation expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Egypt is highly sensitive to the fact that Iran hopes to open its Bushehr nuclear plant next year, said Mohamed Abdel-Salam, director of the regional security program at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.

"(Iran's) regional role, as well as Iran's political use of the nuclear issue, have added to Egypt's sensitivity," he said. Other Arab countries' recent nuclear announcements "added extra pressure on Egypt not to delay any more."

Jordan, Turkey and several Gulf Arab countries have announced in recent months that they are interested in developing nuclear power programs, and Yemen's government signed a deal with a U.S. company in September to build civilian nuclear plants over the next 10 years.

Algeria also signed a cooperation accord with the United States on civil nuclear energy in June, and Morocco announced a deal last week under which France will help develop nuclear reactors there.

Despite the declarations of peaceful intentions, there are worries the countries could be taking the first steps toward a dangerous proliferation in the volatile Mideast.

Such fears intensified when Israel launched a Sept. 6 airstrike against Syria, a country allied with Iran that the United States accuses of supporting terrorism.

U.S. officials have been quoted in news reports as saying the strike targeted a North Korean-style structure that could have been used for the start of a nuclear reactor.

Syria denies that it has a secret nuclear program, and says the building was an unused military facility.

Israel has not officially commented on the raid or acknowledged carrying it out.

But Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, this weekend criticized Israel and the U.S. for failing to provide the IAEA with any evidence backing up the claim of a Syrian nuclear program.

Following a policy it calls "nuclear ambiguity,"   Israel has never confirmed nor denied having a nuclear weapons program itself.

Mordechai Vanunu, a former technician at an Israeli nuclear plant, spent 18 years in prison after giving details of the country's atomic program to a British newspaper in 1986. His information led many outside experts to conclude that Israel has the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Egypt first announced a year ago that it was seeking to restart a nuclear program that was publicly shelved in the aftermath of the 1986 accident at the Soviet nuclear plant in Chernobyl.

Mubarak offered no timetable Monday, but a year ago, Hassan Yunis, the minister of electricity and energy, said Egypt could have an operational nuclear power plant within 10 years.

Egypt has conducted nuclear experiments for research purposes on a very small scale for the past four decades, at a reactor northeast of Cairo, but they have not included the key process of uranium enrichment, the IAEA says.

Abdel-Salam said Egypt has extensively studied a site for a plant, at El-Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast west of Alexandria, and predicted a facility could be built within three years.

Outside experts were more conservative, with Wolfsthal saying a decade or longer was more likely. Egypt will almost certainly have to rely on extensive foreign help to build a plant, he said.

Egypt to Build Nuclear Plants

[Shammu]

Blotting out the Children of Israel from the Koran

Saudi Arabia has launched a project to create the first official Hebrew edition of the Koran. But translators at the King Fahd Center in Riyadh plan to remove the words “Israelites” and “Children of Israel,” which appear in the original text of the Koran, from the Hebrew version.

The director of the center, Mohammed bin Salim al Awfi, told the London-based Arabic daily As-Sharq al-Awsat that his work often requires adjustments to the literal translation of the text in order to remain faithful to the true meaning of the Koran and to avoid propagating narratives that “cannot be confirmed.” Verses dealing with the “Children of Israel” (the Jews) pose a dilemma to the translators.

“The distortion of the meanings of the Holy Koran began many years ago,” al Awfi said. “The first such distortion took place under the auspices of Peter the Venerable in 1143. Since then, imprecise translations have continued [to be published] until now.”

He said distortions have resulted from ignorance of, hostility towards, and fear of Islam.

These so-called “distortions” amount to a contradiction of Islamic claims that the Koran is infallible. It appears to be a way of disclaiming passages such as the seventh Sura, in which the Holy Land east and west of the Jordan River was promised to the nation of Israel after their slavery in Egypt.

Blotting out the Children of Israel from the Koran

[Shammu]

Blotting out the Children of Israel from the Koran

Anyone who has read the koran knows of it's lies and deceit. That will not change anything. We still know they are God's chosen people.

These so-called “distortions” amount to a contradiction of Islamic claims that the Koran is infallible. It appears to be a way of disclaiming passages such as the seventh Sura, in which the Holy Land east and west of the Jordan River was promised to the nation of Israel after their slavery in Egypt.

Even the koran says the land belongs to Israel, but they refuse to believe it.

[Soldier4Christ]

They refuse to believe it because it is corrupt so they plan on making it even more corrupt in order to meet their agenda, just as the liberals are trying to do to the Constitution here in the U.S.

One imam called the koran a living book. That is the same terminology used by liberals on the Constitution. It simply means we can change it as we want to in order to meet our agenda.

[Shammu]

One imam called the koran a living book.

A living book........... fit for starting my winter fires.............

[Shammu]

Sudan president says will export ethics and morals to Western countries
Monday 29 October 2007.

By: Wasil Ali

October 28, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir lashed out at Western countries and accused them of “lacking ethics and morals”.

“Western nations have no ethics or morals and we will export it to them. These countries have the political, military and economic strength. We are strong with our values and we are waiting on Allah’s promise to obliterate them” Al-Bashir said while addressing crowds at the White Nile state capital.

The Sudanese president accused western countries of wanting to control the oil reserves in Darfur “just like they did in Iraq”.

“We are not afraid of sanctions and war if they are forced on us” he said.

Peace talks to end the 4 year conflict in Darfur has convened in Libya with the absence of the major rebel groups reducing hopes for an end to the fighting.

Al-Bashir sent a message to the rebel groups saying “they [Western countries] don’t like you and they will be of no good to you. They want us to fight each other and it is better that we come together”.

Sudan’s president said his government is prepared to go to war if necessary before saying “we don’t want war”.

Al-Bashir added that his government signed the peace agreement in the South while they were victorious.

“We were victorious [militarily] in Torit, Blue Nile and Nuba mountains” he said.

The southern ex-rebels Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) decided to suspend their participation in the national unity government because of what they describe as the NCP’s failure to fully implement crucial elements of the Comprehensive peace agreement (CPA).

The latest move by the SPLM raised concern that the CPA that ended two decades of civil war between the Arab and Muslim-dominated north and the mainly Christian and animist black southerners may unravel.

The 2005 peace agreement brokered by the US and other western countries ended two decades of civil war between the Arab and Muslim-dominated north and the mainly Christian and animist black southerners.

Sudan president says will export ethics and morals to Western countries

[Shammu]

Sudan president says will export ethics and morals to Western countries

I hope they don't hold there breath, waiting on that promise........

[Soldier4Christ]

They gotta have em before they can export em.

[HisDaughter]

Sudan president says will export ethics and morals to Western countries
Monday 29 October 2007.

“We are strong with our values and we are waiting on Allah’s promise to obliterate them”

Sounds like a school yard fight.  Earlier whats his face was upset because Israel didn't report to him and now it's my dad is bigger than your dad.  Wait until they see just how big our DAD is!  Hallelujah!

[Shammu]

Jordan's king urges stronger role for China in Middle East peace process

The Associated Press
Monday, October 29, 2007

BEIJING: King Abdullah II of Jordan urged China on Tuesday to take a more active role in helping broker peace in the Middle East.

China's growing influence could speed up a resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and other lingering regional tensions, Abdullah said at the start of a closed-door meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

He said he hoped for a stronger Chinese role because "you are always considered an honest broker and are very well-respected in our part of the world."

Abdullah's remarks echoed a speech he gave earlier in the day at the elite Peking University. He told students that "China's role is destined to increase in the future" because it is a permanent veto-holding member of the U.N. Security Council and has good relations with all parties in the Mideast.

Hu praised the China-Jordan relationship as being "in very good shape."

"I will be very happy to have an in-depth exchange of views with you on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common interest," he said after a welcoming ceremony at the cavernous Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature.

Following the meeting, Chinese and Jordanian officials signed agreements covering economic cooperation, affordable housing, nuclear energy, cultural exchanges, and investment. No details were given.

The visit from Abdullah marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the countries.

China maintains good relations with Israel and the Arab states, and in recent years has shown a willingness to get more involved in resolving regional conflicts. China's special envoy to the Middle East has made repeated trips for consultations with leaders in the region, but with little effect so far on events there.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at a regular briefing Tuesday that China has a relationship of "friendly cooperation" with Jordan.

"We hope by this visit the cooperation ... can be enhanced," Liu said.

Abdullah has voiced support for a U.S.-sponsored peace conference scheduled for next month or December, maintaining that the only way for Israel to enjoy stability and security is to establish a Palestinian state living in peace alongside it.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has poured cold water on the proposed conference, however, saying that would not result in a final deal with the Palestinians and may not take place at all.

Abdullah, whose nation signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, was visiting Beijing at the same time as Israeli Foreign Ministry Tzipi Livni, although there were no indications that the two had met.

In a speech Monday, Livni pushed China to back new sanctions against Iran to convince its hardline Islamic regime to drop its nuclear program. She was due to hold talks with Premier Wen Jiabao and her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi before meeting reporters later on Tuesday.

Israel maintains that Iran is a threat to its existence and has hinted it could strike militarily if the international community allows Iran to develop nuclear arms.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who insists his country's nuclear ambitions are peaceful, has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction.

China backed two rounds of U.N. sanctions, but has since joined fellow permanent Security Council member Russia, in opposing new measures.

Jordan's king urges stronger role for China in Middle East peace process

[Shammu]

Russian envoy on surprise visit to Iran
By Nazila Fathi
Tuesday, October 30, 2007

TEHRAN: The Russian foreign minister will make a surprise visit to Iran Tuesday to meet with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and discuss Iran's nuclear program, Russian and Iranian news agencies reported.

Sergey Lavrov, who was on a visit in Kazakhstan in Central Asia, said he would make a working visit to Iran to meet Ahmadinejad in Tehran at 4 p.m. local time, the Interfax news agency reported.

In Moscow, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mikhail Kamynin, said Lavrov would discuss Iran's nuclear activities as well as bilateral ties, Interfax said.

"A number of issues connected to the situation around Iran's nuclear program and a number of questions of bilateral questions will be discussed," the news agency reported.

Lavrov's visit comes two weeks after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, made a landmark trip to Iran, the first Kremlin leader to travel there since 1943. He has insisted on a diplomatic solution to the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

After Putin's visit, Iran's former chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the Russian president had delivered a proposal to Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on state matters.

Neither the Iranians nor the Russians would disclose any details, but Larijani said it involved a new way to help resolve the nuclear standoff and the Iranian side was studying it.

State-run television and news agencies quoted Ayatollah Khamenei at the time as telling Putin, "We will think about what you said and about your proposal," even as he added that Iran was "determined to provide our country's need for nuclear energy."

Larijani resigned over differences with Ahmadinejad last week.

Since then, the United States announced new unilateral sanctions on Iran, accusing its Revolutionary Guards of illegally spreading weapons of mass destruction.

Putin criticized the move. "Why worsen the situation by threatening sanctions and bring it to a dead end?" he asked, news agencies quoted him a saying.

Russian envoy on surprise visit to Iran

[Shammu]

Turkey pounds rebels, warns US over ties

by Hande Culpan Tue Oct 30, 2:11 PM ET

SIRNAK, Turkey (AFP) - The Turkish army pounded Kurdish rebels near the Iraqi border Tuesday as Ankara warned that ties with Washington would suffer as long as the separatists in northern Iraq are not reined in.

Cobra helicopters fired missiles at rebel positions on the Cudi mountains in Sirnak province, which borders Iraq. Three soldiers have been killed in the clashes, officials said.

Smoke from artillery fire could be seen above the rugged hills while at least one Sikorsky transport helicopter dropped off troops and a convoy of military trucks headed for the Iraqi border.

Amid a mounting campaign, about 100 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were surrounded Monday in neighbouring Hakkari province after the army blocked their escape routes to Iraq.

One soldier was killed at the weekend during a crackdown on rebels in Tunceli province to the north. Unconfirmed media reports said 15 PKK militants were killed in the clashes.

In Ankara, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the United States that its failure to help end the PKK safe haven in northern Iraq would harm the relationship between the two long-standing NATO allies.

Scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush at the White House on November 5, Erdogan called for "concrete, urgent steps" against the PKK, which Washington, like most of the international community, considers a terrorist group.

"The problem of the PKK terrorist organisation is a sincerity test for everybody," Erdogan said. "I will tell him (Bush) that this test carries great importance for the region and in determining the fate of our future relations."

He said he would discuss "the groups on which the terrorist organisation relies" -- an apparent reference to the Iraqi Kurds, who administer northern Iraq and are accused by Ankara of tolerating and even supporting the PKK.

"Our talks (with Bush) will make them better understand that Turkey's patience has run out and that we are determined to unhesitatingly take all the steps to finish off terrorism," he said.

In a separate diplomatic initiative, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced he would travel to Turkey this weekend to attend a ministerial meeting of countries neighboring Iraq. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to attend the Istanbul meeting which is likely to be overshadowed by the Turkish threats of military action.

The Turkish army has reportedly massed about 100,000 troops along the Iraqi border after parliament gave approval for a military incursion into northern Iraq to root out the militants.

Tensions at the frontier increased after October 21 when PKK rebels, who Turkey says infiltrated from northern Iraq, ambushed a military unit and killed 12 soldiers. Eight troops were captured.

The army has confirmed killing 65 rebels since then.

The crisis will enter a crucial diplomatic stage Friday when Rice meets Turkish leaders in Ankara before Erdogan's Washington visit.

She will hold talks with Erdogan, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and President Abdullah Gul, a US embassy official said.

The State Department had initially said she would be in Ankara Thursday.

Rice will then participate in the conference on Iraq in Istanbul on Friday evening and Saturday, which Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari will also attend.

Washington, strongly opposed to Turkish military action in northern Iraq, is stuck in an awkward position between two key allies -- NATO member Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds.

Defying Turkish pressure, Massud Barzani, head of the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, said he would take no "orders" from Ankara to crack down on the PKK bases.

"I am a friend of Turkey but I am not taking orders from Turkey or anyone else," Barzani told Turkey's Milliyet newspaper in an interview published Tuesday.

He urged the PKK to lay down arms and called on Turkey to consider a political solution to the Kurdish problem, including an amnesty for rebels.

Turkey pounds rebels, warns US over ties