Misneach Stories blog new post today:
The Next 9/11: coming soon.
"I can still remember the morning of September 11, 2001, as if it were yesterday..."
...it continues.
WARNING: the post contains graphic imagery.
The main topic is why American foreign policy is creating an atmosphere in the world that will ensure that they will face additional terrorist attacks. This subject greatly upsets me, because I feel that it should be the job of the government to protect its citizens as part of serving them and doing what is best for the nation as a whole. I also feel the the current U.S. regime has disrespected the memories of the innocent civilians lost on September 11 by a) using their deaths as an excuse to invade Iraq, b) responding to their deaths by bringing about more bloodshed, and c) ensuring that such an atrocity will happen again by pursuing policies that engender rage and resentment towards America and towards the west in general. This includes Europe as well, in addition to other America-friendly countries that haven't had the courage to stand up and say that Americas policies are wrong, and work to bring an end to them and see that the perpetrators of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity are brought to justice.
Also, this week (as I discussed previously about the SCO and Iran) the Iranian President was welcomed in China. This is in line with the closer ties between Iran and China (and Russia) I have discussed on numerous occasions in this blog.
On that subject, another intelligent take on the issue:
Awakening of a Giant
from Bottle Message™ blog at Yahoo 360.
Playing Chess with Iran
from TomDispatch blog.
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Something mentioned as a side-note in an article in the Tehran Times is an important aspect of this discussion that's not being covered.
Iran should try to balance nuclear offer
Tehran Times Political Desk
We support Iran's position on the peaceful use of atomic energy because this right is enshrined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said.
"This right exists for all Arab and non-Arab countries which have signed the NPT and wish to achieve progress," Mussa added.
But he stressed the region was not in need of a military nuclear program. "This applies to Iran and Israel and others," Mussa said.
Everyone involved, from East to West, seems to be in agreement on one key issue: Iran should not have Nuclear Weapons. China, Russia, France, Germany, the U.S., and even Iran herself all agree that Nuclear Weapons are not something that it would be in the best interests of the world for Iran to possess.
This is understandable, and rational, and legal based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It is also in line with UN Security Council Resolution 687, Article 14, which outlines "the goal of establishing in the Middle East a zone free from weapons of mass destruction and all missles for their delivery."
Based on current intelligence data, the only country in the area of the Middle East, West Asia (up to Afghanistan) and North Africa that possesses Nuclear Weapons is Israel. While they are non-signatories to the NPT, and as such their actions (at least in this one specific instance, we can revisit the ICJ wall ruling or UN General Assembly resolutions, or the Geneva Accords, or the Nuremberg Tribunal's precedents another time) are in line with their international obligations. However, the aim of resolution 687 was a very understandable one: due to the constant state of conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Israel being armed with 200 Nuclear Weapons is a far more dangerous issue than Iran enriching a very small percentage of the amount of nuclear material required to build one bomb.
If we are going to hold Iran to the understandable standard of maintaining their abstinence from Nuclear Weapons, why must we not demand the same from their regional comrade Israel?
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Sourcing:
CNS: Middle East WMDs: Israel
Russian Intelligence Estimate on Nuclear Weapons 1995
Ha'aretz July 2000 article on Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program
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Loads more news sources than you're used to at Misneach Homepage News
Tags:
IAEA,
Imperialism,
Iran,
Israel,
Nuclear War,
Recommended,
Terrorism,
War Crimes
5 comments:
Very interesting note on meetings between Iran, China, and Russia. I wonder why I haven’t seen this on Fox News? The strategic value of developing closer relationships is clear to see. For anyone who is paying attention.
China's rapid growth is fueling an insatiable appetite for Oil.
Russia is looking for any market to sell its products and services. Is Iran hiring? Have they posted any want ads for a nuclear scientist?
Today, America is over extended militarily and out of touch diplomatically. I am most saddened by the reckless disregard for diplomacy, civility, and sportsmanship the Bush Administration has displayed since 9/11/01. They have managed to pull defeat and division from the jaws of victory and cohesion.
The world mourned with us and for themselves after Sept. 11th. The attack on the World Trade Center was not only an attack upon America. It was an attack against all humanity. Citizens of far too many other countries died on 9/11 in NYC.
The other countries and thousands of families who lost loved ones at "ground zero" are fighting their own personal wars on terror everyday. Their lives have been changed forever. How dare we allow politicians to exploit their sufferings to launch a preemptive war on Iraq, while not bringing Bin Laden to justice?
Will America Lead?
Reb,
Do you remember in mid- to late- april when the Iranian President all of a sudden amped up his rhetoric, and then the following week the announcement was made that Iran had enriched Uranium?
That same week, an article was published in the Asia Times regarding the SCO and Iran (see Knight Takes Bishop, Check and Conspicuously Absent from Western Media, which expressed some of my outrage that the American press would ignore a big story like this. I also sent a letter regarding the story to Reuters, which is owned by the same owner of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, and that was nearly 2 months ago and I still haven't seen a response). Delving a bit deeper, I found that Iran's largest trading partner is, in fact, China.
However, these facts seem quite worrysome to Washington [in the words of Noam Chomsky: It's extremely important. I've been
> discussing this in talks regularly for some time,
> and also in the book that just appeared. Also
> predicted the Iran might join and India too. These
> are real problems for Washington, as discussed
> there.
> It's frightening to Washington, and likely to be
> marginalized (or unknown) in the US media.], and, as you may or may not have noticed, the media in America seldom covers stories that are worrysome to washington.
I've actually found fox news to be the worst of the News channels in America, as they omit any story that could be damaging to the Bush Administration. This week Condi Rice & co. have portrayed themselves as being the "bigger person" by offering direct talks with Iran; I believe her exact statements were aimed at saying to the world "see! we will do our best to see that the matter is resolved by diplomatic means!". It was no coincidence that these statements came when the Iranian president was making his way to China.
However, if such information were known, it would show the falsity of the assertion by the administration that they were being the good guy by pursuing diplomatic means, rather than doing so out of necessity due to Iran and China's already close, and developing into closer, ties.
I would recommend, for you to get more factual and unbiased information, that you try to stay away from Fox News. There are thousands of worldwide news sources (all available in English) that provide multiple perspectives on world issues. I have found Fox news to be among the worst news agencies for unbiased and timely information in the world.
I've listed just a few worldwide news sources on my Misneach News page. It's worth a look.
Generally, I would find a western media source, then a number of other sources, and use my own rational judgement to figure out where, generally in the middle (although slightly closer to the foreign sources than the american sources, much closer to the foreign if Fox is the american source), the truth actually lies.
To be completely frank, I feel betrayed by those in power in washington. I had aquaintences who lost their lives on 9/11, and I believe the way that such an event has been used as an excuse to limit personal freedoms and slaughter innocent civilians (the civilian death toll in Iraq is, as a conservative estimate, at about 40,000 at the moment) is disrespectful to the memory of those who died that day.
Thank you for your thoughts on my blog. Feedback is always appreciated.
misneach,
I am amazed by your prolific writing and research. The reference to Fox News in my blog was purely satirical. Thank you for sharing the info on China and Russia. I am greatly concerned that the radcons are quickly diminishing America's standing in the world. One of the reasons I started blogging is so that I can look my children in the eyes and let them know I fought for their future.
BTW, I'm not sure how I got that backtrack to work. I may have linked to you out fom one of your comments to QuestionItNow. I just did it again, let's see if it works.
Thank you so much for your generous compliment, it is greatly appreciated.
I'm sorry that I assumed you might be being serious about Fox News, I've spoken online to entirely too many people who actually believe what they say... a sad state of affairs.
I've been trying to figure out that "trackback" or "links to this post" thing for months now... I reference other bloggers quite frequently, so hopefully I'll figure it out eventually.
Great read thaanks
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