That old Beach Boys favorite: Bomb Iran

John McCain sings for your pleasure:

 

 

And the audience laughed! OMG!

Bush wants to attack Iran?

The Plank is asking :

Is it paranoid to think that the White House is planning to attack Iran–and soon?

Well, no, I don’t think so… Here are some other links to stories that comment on such a scenario:

AlterNet begs “War on Iran: Stop Bush Before He Starts” It claims:

“Bush is following the same course he chose in the run-up to war in Iraq: he insists that war is “a last resort” yet puts in motion the engines of war.”

The Guardian says that, a “coalition of UK charities, religious bodies and thinktanks warned that an attack on Iran would be a “disaster”.

U.S. News and World Report mentions a “Wag-the-Dog Attack Worries Democrats.” The US News Political Bulletin has learned Democrats on Capitol Hill are increasingly concerned that President Bush will order air strikes against targets in Iran in the next few months or even weeks.

So what do you think?

maryt

Ahmadinejad’s letter to the Pope

Forbes reports that the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI today about the recent U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions against Tehran for refusing to compromise on its nuclear program. This according to Iran’s state-run news agency , INRA.

Here’s the report on the letter from ISNA (Iranian Students News Agency):

ISNA – Tehran
Service: Foreign Policy

TEHRAN, Dec.27 (ISNA)-Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki arrived in Vatican this morning to submit the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s message to Pope Benedict XVI.

“In the message, the President emphasizes on the necessity of deploying joint religious traits and particularly returning to the path of unison and justice as a method for resolving the present human issues,” informed deputy head of the presidential office for information and communications, Ehsan Jahandideh while also noting that Ahmadinejad’s message was utterly apolitical.

He also stated that the Iranian President had asserted on the cooperation between religions to solve the main human issues, particularly the unfair and oppressive treatment of humans within the international system.

This is Ahmadinejad’s fifth letter. He had previously sent messages to the U.S. President, George W. Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Jacques Chirac and Italian Prime Minister Roman Prodi. He also sent a message to the US nation.

End Item

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What’s the deal here? The Forbes article says it got its information from the state-run IRNA because the Vatican did not reveal what was in the letter. What the Iranian students say Ahmadinejad had to say in his message is much more benign than what Forbes or the state-run IRNA tell us.

Quoting from an article in seattlepi.com: “The Vatican said Benedict stressed his apolitical role in his brief meeting with Mottaki. “

You know you gotta be real careful what you read and believe…

Here’s the Wikipedia article on the Iranian Students News Agency with a disclaimer (by Wikipedia) at the beginning of it.

And here’s a BBC article (from 2005) claiming that the US was accused of being instrumental in the closing of the Iranian Students News Agency site by The Planet server.

But the ISNA is back apparently making up stories out of whole cloth.

maryt:)

More on Negotiations with Iran…

Well things aren’t looking as promising as they did yesterday…
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Mistrust set to scupper chance of US and Iran talks
FT.com

[no date] From MSNBC.co

By Guy Dinmore and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Washington

The US and Iran appear to be on the brink of missing what analysts see as an historic opportunity to engage in comprehensive, high-level talks because of a complete lack of trust on both sides.

Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief who is trying to find conditions to bring the two sides together, warned on Wednesday that his mediation efforts could not go on forever.

He said he had so far failed to persuade Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment – the key pre-condition for the US to join negotiations over the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

The US is set to resume its efforts this week to get a United Nations Security Council resolution that would impose limited sanctions against Iran for failing to heed an August 31 deadline set by the council to suspend enrichment.

However, the US still doubts that China and Russia will back such a measure. American hardliners are also voicing concerns that France is backing away because its forces in Lebanon are “hostage” to Iran.

read the full article

And Salon.com had this to say:
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Negotiator Says No Progress With Iran

By CONSTANT BRAND Associated Press Writer

October 04,2006 | BRUSSELS, Belgium –

A European negotiator said Wednesday that “endless hours” of talks with Iran about its nuclear program have failed to make any progress, and the Iranian president said sanctions would not stop Tehran from enriching uranium.

maryt

Negotiations with Iran

Foreign Policy In Focus www.fpif.org

Negotiating and Looking Tough: The Mirrored Policies of the U.S. and Iran
Farideh Farhi | October 3, 2006

Editor: Erik Leaver, IPS

September was a hopeful month for those interested in the de-escalation of tensions between the Unites States and Iran. The extension of a U.S. visa by the Bush Administration to the former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami despite vociferous conservative opposition was seen as a sign of possible change in U.S. foreign policy.

In addition, a mixture of softer words employed by Iran’s current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the UN and in his many media appearances in the U.S. regarding Iran’s intentions in the region brought hope of possible movement in Tehran.

Meanwhile, since early September the prospects for jump-starting multilateral negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program have looked better. Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Larijani, after meeting with the European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, hinted at the possibility of temporary suspension of uranium enrichment while U.S. Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, indicated that Iran’s temporary suspension might be enough for direct negotiation between the U.S. and Iran.

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Good for you Mr. Bush and Condoleeza. That’s what I say “Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.” Diplomacy is the name of the game.

And cooperating with other nations? priceless.

maryt