Archive for 'UN/Oil-For-Food'

Thursday, May 17th, 2007

Party Over, Oops, Out Of Time

The cold hard facts appear to be these: absent a U.S. or Israeli military strike, Iran will have the bomb.  Soon…very soon.  Here’s the Chicago Tribune:
Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before. Tehran may well have passed the critical […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Friday, March 30th, 2007

The Russian Bear Is The Fool Of The Animal Kingdom

As there any decency to Russia’s foreign policy? Even a shred? Read along with me:
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday that Britain would not negotiate over British sailors and marines held hostage by Iran. In an interview with ITV News, Blair again called for the unconditional return of the 15 Royal Navy personnel who were […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, Iraq, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Sunday, March 25th, 2007

I Take It All Back

Earlier today, I made the mistake of praising the UN indirectly because its new chief appears to be a far more reasonable man than Kofi Annan.  However, Secretary General Ban MUST speak out against the blatant anti-Semitism of the official Arab world:
Saudi Arabia has barred entry to a Washington-based Israeli journalist traveling with Secretary General […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Israel, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Sunday, March 25th, 2007

No Kofi Annan, He!

And that’s meant as high praise:
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, declaring the atmosphere “not fully ripe,” shunned officials from the Islamic militant Hamas group on Sunday, dealing a setback to the new Palestinian government’s efforts to win international recognition.
Ban’s comments came on a day of high-profile diplomacy, with the U.N. chief and U.S. Secretary of State […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Israel, Condoleezza Rice, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Saturday, March 24th, 2007

New Sanctions On Iran…

…but to what avail?
Iran’s foreign minister rejected a unanimous vote by the U.N. Security Council on Saturday to impose new sanctions on Iran because of its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program.
Speaking to the 15-member council in measured tones after the vote, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, “Iran presents no threat to […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iran, POTUS, Iraq, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

Answering The Hard Questions

Christopher Hitchens, long known by both the right and the left as one of the strongest intellectual advocates of the Iraq War, looks back after four years and tries to answer his - and the war’s - critics.  A highlight:
Should it not have been known by Western intelligence that Iraq had no stockpiles of weapons […]

No Comments » - Posted in Hitchens the Great, Iraq, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

Russia Now Helping Against Iran?

This is a welcome story:
Russia has informed Iran that it will withhold nuclear fuel for Iran’s nearly completed Bushehr power plant unless Iran suspends its uranium enrichment as demanded by the United Nations Security Council, European, American and Iranian officials said.
The ultimatum was delivered in Moscow last week by Igor Ivanov, Russia’s Security Council Secretary, […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iran, POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Friday, March 16th, 2007

Will It Make A Difference?

The major powers finally agreed on a watered-down sanctions package to send to the UN Security Council yesterday, but it’s hard to imagine this slap on the wrist deterring Iran:
The proposed Security Council resolution includes a ban on Iranian arms exports, an assets freeze on individuals and firms involved in Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

How To Tackle Iran?

It’s clear to even the most blinkered multilateralists that Iran has no intention whatsoever of complying with the UN’s ‘mandate’ that it give up its nuclear weapons program - oh, I’m sorry, peaceful uranium enrichment program.  What can we do about it, particulary with Russia throwing up roadblocks everywhere? Here’s David Ignatius in the Washington […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iran, North Korea, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

In Today’s Iraq News…

…the country is one step closer to defusing one of the huge barriers to a shared national identity.  I’m talking about the oil-revenue-sharing plan that has now cleared the cabinet and is heading to parliament:
The Iraqi cabinet approved a draft of a law on Monday that would set guidelines for nationwide distribution of oil revenues […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Condoleezza Rice, Iran, POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT, Iraq, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

As Predictable As Sunrise

It didn’t take a genius to see that Russia and the E.U. would be falling all over themselves to find ways to weasel out of the Palestinian boycott, despite the fact that the unity government still doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist, a supposed precondition to such a lifting:
Fractures between the United States and Europe began […]

No Comments » - Posted in North Korea, Iran, Israel, POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs, Iraq, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Wednesday, February 21st, 2007

Cold War Redux: More Chest-Thumping From Moscow

Not only does Russia thwart our efforts to take a hard line on Iran in the UN, now they’re actually threatening our allies if we take the most basic military precautions:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday described as “extremely unfortunate” a Russian general’s threat to target Poland and the Czech Republic if they host […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iran, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

Two Foreign Policy Items…

…neither good, from my perspective.  First, as expected by any sentient human being, Iran has rejected calls to freeze its uranium enrichment one day ahead of the twenty-fifth UN deadline for doing so.
Equally discouraging is the news that Tony Blair will announce a partial withdrawal timetable for 1,500 of the 7,000 UK troops currently serving […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, Iraq, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

Iran’s Nuclear Program: Good News And Bad News

Enrichment, yes, and soon - a bomb, maybe a little time left:
Iran could be as little as six months away from being able to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, having mastered the technology since last August, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog warned in an interview published today. However, Mohamed ElBaradei, the International […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Friday, February 16th, 2007

Krauthammer: Return Of The Russian Bear

I note from time to time with dismay the growing belligerence of Russia to our interests under the dictatorial Vladimir Putin. Charles Krauthammer looks at his recent anti-U.S. statements and does some tea-leaf reading:
Vladimir Putin — Russia’s president, although the more accurate title would be godfather — made headlines last week with a speech […]

No Comments » - Posted in Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Thursday, February 15th, 2007

Rice On Palestinian Unity Government: No Dice

The Secretary of State, rightly, is sticking to her guns regarding the new Palestinian unity government: no recognition of Israel, no recognition from us.  Though, of course, she words it more diplomatically, seeing as how that is her vocation:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the formation of a Palestinian unity government that includes […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Israel, Condoleezza Rice, Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Saturday, February 10th, 2007

The Last Man I’ll Take Advice From

The increasingly autocratic Vladimir Putin thinks he knows what’s best for the U.S.A.:
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that the United States’ increased use of military force is creating a new arms race, with smaller nations turning toward developing nuclear weapons.
Speaking at a conference of the world’s top security officials, including the Iranian nuclear negotiator […]

No Comments » - Posted in Israel, Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Thursday, February 8th, 2007

Palestinians Form Unity Government…

…and Hamas still doesn’t recognize Israel’s right to exist:
The deal calls for a new cabinet that includes members of both parties and independent politicians.
It says the new government will “respect” previous deals with Israel — a form of words chosen in a finely balanced compromise — and that the two parties pledged to end all […]

No Comments » - Posted in Israel, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

There Are Far More Important Stories Than Edward’s Bloggers, Of Course…

…including this one:
Israeli leaders rarely invoke the Holocaust in the face of enemies. The Jewish homeland founded after Adolf Hitler’s genocide has, for the last generation, felt secure enough to fight its many battles with little or no help.
But the specter of a nuclear-armed Iran has rattled Israel’s self-confidence. Its politicians and generals warn […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Israel, Iran, POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

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Monday, February 5th, 2007

You Say Global Warming, I Say To-mah-to…

…let’s call the whole thing off.  George Will is not convinced that we face a crisis:
Enough already. It is time to call some bluffs. John Kerry says that one reason America has become an “international pariah” is President Bush’s decision to “walk away from global warming.” Kerry’s accusation is opaque, but it implies the usual complaint […]

No Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Domestic Affairs, John Kerry, POTUS, UN/Oil-For-Food, Foreign Affairs, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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