World-News

Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the West Virginia Democrat who took control of the Senate Intelligence committee this month, said that the Bush administration was building a case against Tehran even as American intelligence agencies still know little about either Iran's internal dynamics or its intentions in the Middle East.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012007Z.shtml

The special operations mission, known as Task Force 16, was created late last year to target Iranians trafficking arms and training Shiite militia forces. The operation is modeled on Task Force 15, a clandestine cadre of Navy SEALs, Army Delta Force soldiers, and CIA operatives with a mission to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives and Baathist insurgents in Iraq.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16220.htm

Talabani, currently on a visit to Syria, said "the Iranians showed flexibility. I will say it for history that they said they are ready for an understanding with American from Afghanistan to Lebanon. They are ready for discussions in order to reach results that please both sides."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/19/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Iran-US.php


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Talabani

"We demand that all respect Iraq's sovereignty. We don't want to be a party to any strife aimed at settling scores," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told a Baghdad news conference.

http://tinyurl.com/2fk4zl


From Information Clearing House

By Salim Lone

HARD AS IT IS TO IMAGINE, it is likely that another major war is being planned by the US, this time against Iran. And the arguments being marshalled by the Bush administration are exactly identical to what was being said against Iraq in the build-up to that war in 2003.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16230.htm

Video

Newsnight has uncovered an extraordinary letter written after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 where Tehran offers to withdraw military backing for Hamas and Hezbollah as well as give open access to their nuclear facilities, but Vice-President Dick Cheney's office rejected the plan, the official said.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16221.htm



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Cheney

http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5602/


Informant: jensenmk

From ufpj-news

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US lawmakers demand Bush ask Congress before invading Iran

The bill, introduced by longtime Iraq war critic Walter Jones, a Republican, and five other US lawmakers calls on the president obtain authorization for an attack on Iran, unless the United States or US interests are attacked first.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070118/ts_alt_afp/usiranmilitary_070118183348&printer=1


From Information Clearing House



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Harry+Reid
http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=Walter+Jones

CounterPunch
by Virginia Tilley

01/18/07

From its inception, the US occupation was a lose-lose proposition. Simply rolling into Iraq — a society of which the Bush neocons had so distorted a conception and US occupation commanders and foot soldiers had no grasp at all — was a formula for doom. But US policy in the Middle East has now advanced to a new stage and the risk to the rest of us has changed. For stopping an attack on Iran, which is the only way to avert final regional disaster, may require action in Washington that falls outside the parameters of what is normally politically possible...

http://www.counterpunch.org/tilley01182007.html


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=neocons

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said Thursday he was concerned that UN sanctions on Iran could escalate the country's standoff with Western powers over its suspected weapons program.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011807F.shtml



http://freepage.twoday.net/search?q=ElBaradei

IRAN believes that a military strike against its nuclear installations is "highly improbable" but has nonetheless taken the necessary precautions in case it is attacked.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21075612-401,00.html



Defense Minister Describes Invasion of Iran as Suicide
http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8510280123



The Steady March to War on Iran

What It Would Take to Stop It
http://www.counterpunch.org/tilley01182007.html



Iran plans 3 days of missile war games

Iran plans three days of military maneuvers, including short-range missile tests, beginning Sunday — its first since the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions against it in late December, state-run television said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_missile_tests



Iran’s strongman loses grip as ayatollah offers nuclear deal

IRAN’S supreme leader is considering a change of policy on the country’s nuclear programme in an effort to defuse growing tension with the West, according to senior sources in Tehran.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2557946,00.html


From Information Clearing House

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Iran takes tough stand over nuclear row

San Jose Mercury News

01/18/07

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed back over the U.S. military buildup in the Gulf, saying Thursday that Iran is ready for any possibility in the standoff over its nuclear program. The president made clear he was not backing down in his tough rhetoric toward the United States, despite criticism at home. Conservatives and reformists alike have openly challenged Ahmadinejad’s nuclear diplomacy tactics, many saying his fiery anti-Western remarks are doing more harm than good...

http://tinyurl.com/2nso2y



Iran announces new short-range missile tests

MSNBC

01/21/07

Determined not to budge under pressure, Iran announced new tests of short-range missiles Sunday, and hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed criticism that the country’s economy has been hurt by U.N. sanctions imposed for its suspect nuclear program. The missile tests come as the U.S. Navy is sending a second aircraft carrier to the volatile Persian Gulf. U.S. officials said the USS John C. Stennis, which arrives in Mideast waters in a matter of weeks, is meant as a warning to Iran...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16731194/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp



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