'War of words' intensifies between Iran and West
rudkla - 26. Apr, 09:15
Is Iran next
Mittwoch, 26. April 2006
Dienstag, 25. April 2006
Physicists Say No To Nuking Iran
Thirteen of the nation's most prominent physicists are calling on the Bush administration to cease and desist all nuclear saber-rattling.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/24/physicists_say_no_to_nuking_iran.php
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/24/physicists_say_no_to_nuking_iran.php
rudkla - 25. Apr, 18:24
What We Know About Iran
by David Isenberg, TomPaine.com
Our intel stinks and bombing is a bad idea.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/25/what_we_know_about_iran.php
Our intel stinks and bombing is a bad idea.
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/25/what_we_know_about_iran.php
rudkla - 25. Apr, 18:21
Western pressure irks average Iranians
Christian Science Monitor
04/24/06
Kaveh Ahmadi, a taxi driver and veteran of the 1980-88 war with Iraq, was quivering with indignation as he wove his aging Iranian-made Paykan at high speed through the heavy evening traffic of Iran's capital, Tehran. An ad on the side of the road read 'Nuclear energy is our indisputable right,' a slogan now seen frequently on television and at public events. 'I've got two Iraqi bullets in my leg,' he says. 'It was Western countries that supported [Saddam Hussein] when he used chemical weapons against us. Now they destroy Iraq and lecture us on human rights. America killed more than a hundred thousand people when it dropped atomic bombs on Japan, but they won't even let us have nuclear energy...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0424/p06s03-wome.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
04/24/06
Kaveh Ahmadi, a taxi driver and veteran of the 1980-88 war with Iraq, was quivering with indignation as he wove his aging Iranian-made Paykan at high speed through the heavy evening traffic of Iran's capital, Tehran. An ad on the side of the road read 'Nuclear energy is our indisputable right,' a slogan now seen frequently on television and at public events. 'I've got two Iraqi bullets in my leg,' he says. 'It was Western countries that supported [Saddam Hussein] when he used chemical weapons against us. Now they destroy Iraq and lecture us on human rights. America killed more than a hundred thousand people when it dropped atomic bombs on Japan, but they won't even let us have nuclear energy...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0424/p06s03-wome.html
Informant: Thomas L. Knapp
rudkla - 25. Apr, 18:02
Start demonstrating DAILY to STOP IRAN WAR
Considering that even if the US does not use nuclear weapons during a first strike on Iran, it will definitely use them when Iran retaliates with outgoing missiles, a million troops trying to cross over to Iraq, etc., we have to start demonstrating DAILY to STOP IRAN WAR. Here's a great opportunity Weds. Be there!
Carol in dc
http://stopthewarnow.net
Wednesday April 26, 5 PM, Lafayette Park, opposite the White House, Washington, DC NUCLEAR OPTION OFF THE TABLE An adhoc group of activists will join Dr. Jorge E. Hirsch: Professor of Physics, UCSD To deliver the letter to President Bush Hirsh has been widely published in progressive and mainstream publications. See a collection at http://antiwar.com/hirsch/
COMMENTARY The Urgency of stopping the US next war in Middle East is upon us. The US has drawn up plans to level a massive aerial assault against Iran.
Thirteen of the nation’s most prominent physicists have written a letter to President Bush, calling U.S. plans to reportedly use nuclear weapons against Iran “gravely irresponsible” and warning that such action would have “disastrous consequences for the security of the United States and the world.”
The physicists include five Nobel laureates, a recipient of the National Medal of Science and three past presidents of the American Physical Society, the nation’s preeminent professional society for physicists.
The letter echoes a petition signed by over 1800 physicists and scientists across the US and the world
The Letter:
April 17, 2006
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Recent articles in the New Yorker and Washington Post report that the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Iran is being actively considered by Pentagon planners and by the White House. As members of the profession that brought nuclear weapons into existence, we urge you to refrain from such an action that would have grave consequences for America and for the world.
1800 of our fellow physicists have joined in a petition opposing new US nuclear weapons policies that open the door to the use of nuclear weapons in situations such as Iran's. These policies represent a "radical departure from the past", in the words of Linton Brooks, National Nuclear Security Administration director. Indeed, since the end of World War II, US policy has considered nuclear weapons "weapons of last resort", to be used only when the very survival of the nation or of an allied nation was at stake, or at most in cases of extreme military necessity. Instead, the new US nuclear weapons policies have significantly lowered the threshold for the potential use of nuclear weapons, as clearly evidenced by the fact that they are being considered as another tool in the toolbox to destroy underground installations that are "too deep" to be destroyed by conventional weapons. This is a major and dangerous shift in the rationale for nuclear weapons. In the words of the late Joseph Rotblat, Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his efforts to prevent nuclear war, "the danger of this policy can hardly be over-emphasized".
Nuclear weapons are unique among weapons of mass destruction: they unleash the enormous energy stored in the tiny nucleus of an atom, an energy that is a million times larger than that stored in the rest of the atom. The nuclear explosion releases an immense amount of blast energy and thermal and nuclear radiation, with deadly immediate and delayed effects on the human body. Over 100,000 human beings died in the Hiroshima blast, and nuclear weapons in today's arsenals have a total yield of over 200,000 Hiroshima bombs.
Using or even merely threatening to use a nuclear weapon preemptively against a nonnuclear adversary tells the 182 non-nuclear-weapon countries signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that their adherence to the treaty offers them no protection against a nuclear attack by a nuclear nation. Many are thus likely to abandon the treaty, and the nuclear non-proliferation framework will be damaged even further than it already has, with disastrous consequences for the security of the United States and the world.
There are no sharp lines between small "tactical" nuclear weapons and large ones, nor between nuclear weapons targeting facilities and those targeting armies or cities. Nuclear weapons have not been used for 60 years. Once the US uses a nuclear weapon again, it will heighten the probability that others will too. In a world with many more nuclear nations and no longer a "taboo" against the use of nuclear weapons, there will be a greatly enhanced risk that regional conflicts could expand into global nuclear war, with the potential to destroy our civilization.
It is gravely irresponsible for the U.S. as the greatest superpower to consider courses of action that could eventually lead to the widespread destruction of life on the planet. We urge you to announce publicly that the U.S. is taking the nuclear option off the table in the case of all nonnuclear adversaries, present or future, and we urge the American people to make their voices heard on this matter.
Sincerely,
Philip Anderson, Michael Fisher, David Gross, Jorge Hirsch, Leo Kadanoff, Joel Lebowitz, Anthony Leggett, Eugen Merzbacher, Douglas Osheroff, Andrew Sessler George Trilling, Frank Wilczek, Edward Witten
UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545
From ufpj-news
Carol in dc
http://stopthewarnow.net
Wednesday April 26, 5 PM, Lafayette Park, opposite the White House, Washington, DC NUCLEAR OPTION OFF THE TABLE An adhoc group of activists will join Dr. Jorge E. Hirsch: Professor of Physics, UCSD To deliver the letter to President Bush Hirsh has been widely published in progressive and mainstream publications. See a collection at http://antiwar.com/hirsch/
COMMENTARY The Urgency of stopping the US next war in Middle East is upon us. The US has drawn up plans to level a massive aerial assault against Iran.
Thirteen of the nation’s most prominent physicists have written a letter to President Bush, calling U.S. plans to reportedly use nuclear weapons against Iran “gravely irresponsible” and warning that such action would have “disastrous consequences for the security of the United States and the world.”
The physicists include five Nobel laureates, a recipient of the National Medal of Science and three past presidents of the American Physical Society, the nation’s preeminent professional society for physicists.
The letter echoes a petition signed by over 1800 physicists and scientists across the US and the world
The Letter:
April 17, 2006
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
Recent articles in the New Yorker and Washington Post report that the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Iran is being actively considered by Pentagon planners and by the White House. As members of the profession that brought nuclear weapons into existence, we urge you to refrain from such an action that would have grave consequences for America and for the world.
1800 of our fellow physicists have joined in a petition opposing new US nuclear weapons policies that open the door to the use of nuclear weapons in situations such as Iran's. These policies represent a "radical departure from the past", in the words of Linton Brooks, National Nuclear Security Administration director. Indeed, since the end of World War II, US policy has considered nuclear weapons "weapons of last resort", to be used only when the very survival of the nation or of an allied nation was at stake, or at most in cases of extreme military necessity. Instead, the new US nuclear weapons policies have significantly lowered the threshold for the potential use of nuclear weapons, as clearly evidenced by the fact that they are being considered as another tool in the toolbox to destroy underground installations that are "too deep" to be destroyed by conventional weapons. This is a major and dangerous shift in the rationale for nuclear weapons. In the words of the late Joseph Rotblat, Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his efforts to prevent nuclear war, "the danger of this policy can hardly be over-emphasized".
Nuclear weapons are unique among weapons of mass destruction: they unleash the enormous energy stored in the tiny nucleus of an atom, an energy that is a million times larger than that stored in the rest of the atom. The nuclear explosion releases an immense amount of blast energy and thermal and nuclear radiation, with deadly immediate and delayed effects on the human body. Over 100,000 human beings died in the Hiroshima blast, and nuclear weapons in today's arsenals have a total yield of over 200,000 Hiroshima bombs.
Using or even merely threatening to use a nuclear weapon preemptively against a nonnuclear adversary tells the 182 non-nuclear-weapon countries signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that their adherence to the treaty offers them no protection against a nuclear attack by a nuclear nation. Many are thus likely to abandon the treaty, and the nuclear non-proliferation framework will be damaged even further than it already has, with disastrous consequences for the security of the United States and the world.
There are no sharp lines between small "tactical" nuclear weapons and large ones, nor between nuclear weapons targeting facilities and those targeting armies or cities. Nuclear weapons have not been used for 60 years. Once the US uses a nuclear weapon again, it will heighten the probability that others will too. In a world with many more nuclear nations and no longer a "taboo" against the use of nuclear weapons, there will be a greatly enhanced risk that regional conflicts could expand into global nuclear war, with the potential to destroy our civilization.
It is gravely irresponsible for the U.S. as the greatest superpower to consider courses of action that could eventually lead to the widespread destruction of life on the planet. We urge you to announce publicly that the U.S. is taking the nuclear option off the table in the case of all nonnuclear adversaries, present or future, and we urge the American people to make their voices heard on this matter.
Sincerely,
Philip Anderson, Michael Fisher, David Gross, Jorge Hirsch, Leo Kadanoff, Joel Lebowitz, Anthony Leggett, Eugen Merzbacher, Douglas Osheroff, Andrew Sessler George Trilling, Frank Wilczek, Edward Witten
UNITED FOR PEACE & JUSTICE | 212-868-5545
From ufpj-news
rudkla - 25. Apr, 16:35
US and UK develop "democracy" strategy for Iran
The US and UK are working on a strategy to promote democratic change in Iran, according to officials who see the joint effort as the start of a new phase in the diplomatic campaign to counter the Islamic republic's nuclear programme without resorting to military intervention.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12425707/
From Information Clearing House
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12425707/
From Information Clearing House
rudkla - 25. Apr, 15:21
Tehran insider tells of US black ops
A former Iranian ambassador and Islamic Republic insider has provided intriguing details to Asia Times Online about US covert operations inside Iran aimed at destabilizing the country and toppling the regime - or preparing for an American attack.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12832.htm
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12832.htm
rudkla - 25. Apr, 15:17
STOP the Bunker Buster Simulation in NV and Iran War Plans
This action page is brought to you by the activism of Marcy Winograd, running for Congress in the 36th District of California:
STOP THE BUNKER BUSTER-TYPE SIMULATION JUNE 2ND IN NEVADA
ACTION PAGE: http://winogradforcongress.com/actions/pnum266.asp
In a recent issue of the New Yorker magazine, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported teams of American combat troops are being sent into Iran under cover to collect information on military targets, such as underground storage bunkers. The decision to attack may already have been made.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy is preparing for a 700-ton conventional bomb detonation ("Divine Strake") on June 2, 2006, on the Western Shoshone Native American reservation (which the tribe strongly opposes) in Nevada, as a preliminary for the use of actual nuclear weapons against Iran. If launched, a nuclear "bunker buster" would spew harmful radiation, potentially killing thousands of innocent people.
The Bush administration seems bent on destabilizing the globe. It behooves every member of Congress to take a strong stand against a pre-emptive strike on Iran. Bullying Iran, talking about "regime change", and simulating large-scale explosions in the Nevada desert will only undermine diplomatic efforts.
ACTION PAGE: http://winogradforcongress.com/actions/pnum266.asp
Winograd's opponent, Jane Harman, remains non-committal on the subject of US air strikes against Iran.
American intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.), agree Iran ultimately wants to produce nuclear weapons. But intelligence officials and the I.A.E.A disagree on how long it would take for Iran to become a nuclear power. Critics of the Bush administration argue Iran is several years away from developing a nuclear weapon.
"The United States has adopted a nuclear double standard," says Winograd, pointing out that the Bush administration wants to build 125 new nuclear bombs each year. Says Winograd, "If we really want to ensure peace and tranquility for our children and our children's children, if we really want to discourage Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, then we should honor our commitment to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, denounce the first use of nuclear weapons and model for the world our commitment to reducing our nuclear arsenal."
Winograd also expresses concerns about the military's circumvention of Congress's authority to declare war. "By sending scouts into Iran to collect data on military targets, the Bush administration is preparing for war and undermining the constitutional powers of Congress. Every lawmaker who sits on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees should denounce the Bush administration for jeopardizing our national security."
Winograd is challenging incumbent Congresswoman Jane Harman in the Democratic Party Primary, June 6th. During the campaign, Winograd has criticized Harman, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, for not adequately scrutinizing pre-war intelligence analysts' objections to the invasion of Iraq. http://winogradforcongress.com/niequotes.htm
"I will vote to cut funding for the Iraq war and bring the troops home," vows Winograd. "I will reject the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war and engage the nation in redefining the meaning of security."
To contribute, endorse, or volunteer to Winograd for Congress, please visit http://www.winogradforcongress.com
Powered by The People's Email Network Copyright 2006, Patent pending, All rights reserved
STOP THE BUNKER BUSTER-TYPE SIMULATION JUNE 2ND IN NEVADA
ACTION PAGE: http://winogradforcongress.com/actions/pnum266.asp
In a recent issue of the New Yorker magazine, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported teams of American combat troops are being sent into Iran under cover to collect information on military targets, such as underground storage bunkers. The decision to attack may already have been made.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy is preparing for a 700-ton conventional bomb detonation ("Divine Strake") on June 2, 2006, on the Western Shoshone Native American reservation (which the tribe strongly opposes) in Nevada, as a preliminary for the use of actual nuclear weapons against Iran. If launched, a nuclear "bunker buster" would spew harmful radiation, potentially killing thousands of innocent people.
The Bush administration seems bent on destabilizing the globe. It behooves every member of Congress to take a strong stand against a pre-emptive strike on Iran. Bullying Iran, talking about "regime change", and simulating large-scale explosions in the Nevada desert will only undermine diplomatic efforts.
ACTION PAGE: http://winogradforcongress.com/actions/pnum266.asp
Winograd's opponent, Jane Harman, remains non-committal on the subject of US air strikes against Iran.
American intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (I.A.E.A.), agree Iran ultimately wants to produce nuclear weapons. But intelligence officials and the I.A.E.A disagree on how long it would take for Iran to become a nuclear power. Critics of the Bush administration argue Iran is several years away from developing a nuclear weapon.
"The United States has adopted a nuclear double standard," says Winograd, pointing out that the Bush administration wants to build 125 new nuclear bombs each year. Says Winograd, "If we really want to ensure peace and tranquility for our children and our children's children, if we really want to discourage Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, then we should honor our commitment to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, denounce the first use of nuclear weapons and model for the world our commitment to reducing our nuclear arsenal."
Winograd also expresses concerns about the military's circumvention of Congress's authority to declare war. "By sending scouts into Iran to collect data on military targets, the Bush administration is preparing for war and undermining the constitutional powers of Congress. Every lawmaker who sits on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees should denounce the Bush administration for jeopardizing our national security."
Winograd is challenging incumbent Congresswoman Jane Harman in the Democratic Party Primary, June 6th. During the campaign, Winograd has criticized Harman, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, for not adequately scrutinizing pre-war intelligence analysts' objections to the invasion of Iraq. http://winogradforcongress.com/niequotes.htm
"I will vote to cut funding for the Iraq war and bring the troops home," vows Winograd. "I will reject the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war and engage the nation in redefining the meaning of security."
To contribute, endorse, or volunteer to Winograd for Congress, please visit http://www.winogradforcongress.com
Powered by The People's Email Network Copyright 2006, Patent pending, All rights reserved
rudkla - 25. Apr, 15:02
Prevent Iran War - Pls Sign Iran Appeal - Write to Your Government
(urls for Parliamentarians and Civil Society Appeal and Letter to Kofi Annan below)
Dear Parliamentarian or NGO:
Please forgive us if this is the hundredth time you have seen this appeal, especially if you have already signed it.
If you havent signed it do please sign it. To sign please email this adress foesyd4@ihug.com.au with your name, position, name of organisation, and (if you are a parliamentarian) party and electorate. Please do not forget location and COUNTRY.
If you have already signed please get another organisation to sign it and write to your government.
Parliamentarians and NGOs: PLEASE SIGN PARLIAMENTARIANS AND CIVIL SOCIETY APPEAL ON IRAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS, LETTER TO KOFI ANNAN. (urls and text below at end of this email)
Individuals - PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR GOVERNMENT/UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL, or sign appeal 'after Downing Street', or the Greenpeace appeal (urls below at end of this email)
Individuals (as well as Parliamentarians and NGOs) are also strongly urged to write to your foreign minister and/or Security Council representative in the same sense as the Appeal, urging a peaceful solution to the crisis with Iran. Please FAX or write to your government, preferably handwritten or printed on letterhead.
(Security Council anf foreign ministers fax numbers below).
PARLIAMENTARIANS AND CIVIL SOCIETY APPEAL ON IRAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
A PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO THE IRAN CRISIS AND A NUCLEAR-FREE MIDDLE EAST
NO 'FIRST USE' OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Read further and take action under:
http://tinyurl.com/o2j6v
Dear Parliamentarian or NGO:
Please forgive us if this is the hundredth time you have seen this appeal, especially if you have already signed it.
If you havent signed it do please sign it. To sign please email this adress foesyd4@ihug.com.au with your name, position, name of organisation, and (if you are a parliamentarian) party and electorate. Please do not forget location and COUNTRY.
If you have already signed please get another organisation to sign it and write to your government.
Parliamentarians and NGOs: PLEASE SIGN PARLIAMENTARIANS AND CIVIL SOCIETY APPEAL ON IRAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS, LETTER TO KOFI ANNAN. (urls and text below at end of this email)
Individuals - PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR GOVERNMENT/UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL, or sign appeal 'after Downing Street', or the Greenpeace appeal (urls below at end of this email)
Individuals (as well as Parliamentarians and NGOs) are also strongly urged to write to your foreign minister and/or Security Council representative in the same sense as the Appeal, urging a peaceful solution to the crisis with Iran. Please FAX or write to your government, preferably handwritten or printed on letterhead.
(Security Council anf foreign ministers fax numbers below).
PARLIAMENTARIANS AND CIVIL SOCIETY APPEAL ON IRAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
A PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO THE IRAN CRISIS AND A NUCLEAR-FREE MIDDLE EAST
NO 'FIRST USE' OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Read further and take action under:
http://tinyurl.com/o2j6v
rudkla - 25. Apr, 11:20
Bush's Third War
"The Hundred Days is indelibly associated with Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Thousand Days with John F. Kennedy. But as of this week, a thousand days remain of President Bush's last term - days filled with ominous preparations for and dark rumors of a preventive war against Iran," writes Arthur Schlesinger Jr.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042406O.shtml
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042406O.shtml
rudkla - 25. Apr, 00:14
