Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim Calls for Full US Pull-Out BAGHDAD, A key member of Iraq’s ruling coalition called Saturday for the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from his country and rejected the possibility of permanent US bases. Ammar Hakim, a leading figure of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), also called on the US occupation troops to be more careful in their use of force after recent bombings killed civilians in
by Jeremy Brecher & Brendan Smith Sometimes history–and necessity–make strange bedfellows. The German general staff transported Lenin to Russia to lead a revolution. Union-buster Ronald Reagan played godfather to the birth of the Polish Solidarity union. Equally strange–but perhaps equally necessary–is the addressee of a new appeal signed by Daniel Ellsberg, Cindy Sheehan, Ann Wright and many other leaders of the American peace movement: “ATTENTION: Joint Chiefs of Staff and
by Scott Ritter Iran has never manifested itself as a serious threat to the national security of the United States, or by extension as a security threat to global security. At the height of Iran’s “exportation of the Islamic Revolution” phase, in the mid-1980’s, the Islamic Republic demonstrated a less-than-impressive ability to project its power beyond the immediate borders of Iran, and even then this projection was limited to war-torn
By Webster Tarpley Supporters of the August 26 Kennebunkport Warning welcome the statement issued by David Swanson entitled ” Leading Americans Ask U.S. Military to Refuse Orders to Attack Iran, (http://www.dontattackiran.org) and signed by a group of well-known personalities. The massive evidence of this danger which existed at the end of August has become still more massive over the past five weeks, and we are glad that these signers have
by General Fabio Mini Anyone who thought that the green light for the Israeli-American attack against Iran would come from the American Congress, was wrong. Equally wrong were those who thought that a president like Bush, so frustrated by the Iraqi chaos, the Afghan deadlock and the industrial lobbies’ pressures, would wind up making the decision on his own. The attack against Iran will take place thanks to the newly-appointed
By Andrew Gray Iraq’s national security adviser said on Friday he strongly opposed any military attack on Iran and, in contrast to the Bush administration’s policy, said the option should not even be considered. “Attacking Iran? I say a big fat no. It’s a fatal mistake,” Mowaffak al-Rubaie said. “It should never be an option at all.” The United States accuses Iran of using its nuclear program to develop atomic
LONDON, — Iran will help the US stabilize Iraq if Washington sets out a timetable for withdrawing its troops, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator says.Ali Larijani told Britain’s Financial Times newspaper that if the Americans “have a clear definition of a timetable we’ll help them materialize it“, Alalam.ir reported.Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, added that US failures in Iraq should deter the Bush government from considering any
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- We all support the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), former Iranian Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi said, underlining solidarity of Iran’s left and right camps against the US efforts to label the IRGC as a terrorist group. Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, the secretary general of the leftist E’temad Melli (National Trust) Party underlined Iranians’ national solidarity in the face of enemy threats despite the existing
by Lew Rockwell Iran is now selling 65% of its oil in euros, 20% in yen, and only 15% in dollars, and even that 15% it plans to switch to “more creditworthy currencies” such as the UAE dirham. With the Bush administration threatening fullscale war against Iran almost every day, and taking any number of other warlike steps (sanctions, funding of terrorism, etc.), political reasons are enough to explain this
By Simon Walters Britsh MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America’s stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush’s senior women officials: “I hate all Iranians.” And she also accused Britain of “dismantling” the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out of Basra too soon. The all-party group of MPs say Debra Cagan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Coalition Affairs to Defence Secretary
Actually, while Hersh reported that Bush does not give a rat’s ass about what will happen to the GOP at the next elections, it would have been more to the point to say that the Neocons do not give a rat’s ass. The reason is simple: since they equally control both factions of the War Party or, as Mumia Abu-Jamal calls it, the two factions of the “Republicrat Party” it
The Jerusalem Post reports that Iran threatened Monday to attack some 170 American targets in the Middle East and around the world if it is attacked by Israel or the US, Israel Radio reported. A high-ranking officer from the country’s Revolutionary Guards told the force’s official journal, The Guards, that Teheran succeeded, after extended and comprehensive work, to identify hundreds of strategic American targets in the Middle East and around
by Chris Weigant There’s a raging debate within the Bush administration, the punditocracy, and the blogosphere about whether or not it is time to bomb Iran. While this conversation scares small children (and other sane people), most of the focus has been on (1) whether President… oh, excuse me… Vice President Cheney truly is moonbat-crazy enough to do so, and (2) whether anyone else in America (including the military) would
by Seymour M. Hersh In a series of public statements in recent months, President Bush and members of his Administration have redefined the war in Iraq, to an increasing degree, as a strategic battle between the United States and Iran. “Shia extremists, backed by Iran, are training Iraqis to carry out attacks on our forces and the Iraqi people,” Bush told the national convention of the American Legion in August.
Sheik Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah slams vote to label Revolutionary Guard a terror organization by Roee Nahmias and Dudi Cohen “The declaration of the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group is a declaration of war,” Sheik Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Hizbullah’s spiritual leader, said Sunday in response to a Senate resolution on Wednesday calling on the State Department to include the dominant branch in Iran’s army on its list of terrorist organization.
By Uri Avnery “ICH” — — A respected American paper posted a scoop this week: Vice-President Dick Cheney, the King of Hawks, has thought up a Machiavellian scheme for an attack on Iran. Its main point: Israel will start by bombing an Iranian nuclear installation, Iran will respond by launching missiles at Israel, and this will serve as a pretext for an American attack on Iran. Far-fetched? Not really. It
AIM news reports that US Congressman Gary L. Ackerman led the House of Representatives Wednesday in pass a resolution calling for strong US support for the government of Lebanon by a vote of 415 to 2. Ackerman, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, warned the House that “Lebanon is being bullied by Iran, Syria and their proxies, Hizbullah, Amal and Michel Aoun’s Free
TEHRAN – Iranian lawmakers hit back on Saturday at the United States for considering sanctions against the Islamic state’s Revolutionary Guards, branding the U.S. armed forces and the CIA as “terrorist”. A statement, signed by 215 MPs and read out at a session of the 290-seat legislature, criticised the U.S. military and the Central Intelligence Agency for what it called terrorist actions, the official IRNA news agency said. It cited
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said its defense troops have launched a new system which brings all movements in the Persian Gulf and the Straight of Hormoz under Iran’s online control. The system called ‘Hod Hod’ (Hoopoe) has been designed by IRGC experts and provides the Iranian troops with the possibility to monitor even the subtlest moves on the surface or in the air. According
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has consistently led the way in telling the story of what’s really going on in Iraq and Iran. SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke to him about America’s Hitler, Bush’s Vietnam, and how the US press failed the First Amendment. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was just in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. Once again, he said that he is only interested in civilian nuclear
