fitch303
Well-Known Member
You clearly have no idea what genocide is..
Iran Update...
- Thread starter CrackerJax
- Start date
fitch303
Well-Known Member
In September 1979, a double flash over the Indian Ocean detected by a U.S. satellite was suspected of being a South African nuclear test, in collaboration with Israel (this event is known as the Vela Incident). No official confirmation of it being a nuclear test has been made, and expert agencies have disagreed on their assessments. In 1997, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad stated that South Africa had conducted a test, but later retracted the statement as being a report of rumours.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_Incidenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
NewGrowth
Well-Known Member
I can do that too Jax please . . . a few hundred rockets. I'm pretty sure Isreal is not using old Russian MIG's.
http://www.worldwide-military.com/Military Aircraft/Israel Fighters/F-16i_Algemene_info_english.htm
Most of the Ireali weapons are manufactured here in the good old USA. We have F-22 Raptors and I'm supposed to believe that Iran is a threat because they have a few outdated rockets?
Simple children's logic:
VS
I think the winner is clear . . . . THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!
[youtube]8y06NSBBRtY[/youtube]
http://www.worldwide-military.com/Military Aircraft/Israel Fighters/F-16i_Algemene_info_english.htm
Most of the Ireali weapons are manufactured here in the good old USA. We have F-22 Raptors and I'm supposed to believe that Iran is a threat because they have a few outdated rockets?
Simple children's logic:
VS
I think the winner is clear . . . . THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!
[youtube]8y06NSBBRtY[/youtube]
CrackerJax
New Member
The point is of course, that everyone does it.
Next!!
Next!!
NewGrowth
Well-Known Member
You are right Jax we should just bring sweat shops to America! Think of how much money the corporate elite would save! I mean what is the big deal? Everyone does it right?
Least intelligible response from you yet Jax . . .
CrackerJax
New Member
By the way, how many Israeli weapons shipments are found outside its borders.... 
A mature nation.
A mature nation.
SmokeyMcChokey
Well-Known Member
so one year later and not enought enriched weapons grade uranium... has your opinion of our meddlesome foreign policy changed? (diplomacy works, you give respect to get respect)Medicine man, take your meds..... wow....stick to copy/pasting...then at least you have some sort of excuse.
Iran is emerging as our number one threat in the world. Israel is set to strike very soon. There is going to be a HUGE blow up over this.
Ignoring it because it interferes with your domestic policies medicine man is the very definition of shallow pond thinking.
This crisis is coming and it's coming fast....
out.
CrackerJax
New Member
Oh please.... you must not be paying attention...... next!!
londonfog
Well-Known Member
I think we can count this to CRACKER EXPOSED
CrackerJax
New Member
Yah, you keep believing that..... as I am proven correct over and over again. Go back and re read all of your inane posts from a year ago.
Now here we go.... Obama's diplomacy... a laugh. He throws the democratic movement under the bus and recognizes the current regime.
Now that is diplomacy.... what does he get in return? NOTHING!!! BRILLIANT!!!
Now, the ppl of Iran.... the ones some of you said were the real ppl of that country, not the regime. Well, they have spoken.... read on to what they think of the President who has traded them all in for..... NOTHING!! BRILLIANT!!!
==================================================================
With Or Against Us?
Posted 11/04/2009 06:53 PM ET
Freedom: Young Iranians had a surprise Wednesday for mullah rulers celebrating the anniversary of the 1979 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tehran: angry protests. Why aren't we giving them more support?
The big hate-America bacchanal was to commemorate the glorious crime against the U.S. 30 years ago, when "student" hoods stormed our sovereign embassy, preened before TV cameras, danced around with rifles and paraded dozens of blindfolded U.S. diplomats, military men and CIA officers as hostages.
Then-President Jimmy Carter, whose sanctimonious refusal to get tough helped lengthen the ordeal to 444 days, enabled these terrorists to consolidate their "revolution," leaving the rotten regime still in power today.
Out went Western dress, competitive education, high culture and the rule of law; in came chadors, Islamofascist indoctrination, arbitrary arrests and whip-wielding revolutionary "vigilance" police.
But something unexpected happened on Wednesday: Iran's democrats, many of them real students, gathered in streets of Tehran to ruin their rulers' party. They shouted "Death to dictators!" instead of "Death to America!"
The Los Angeles Times reported impassioned protests not just in Tehran, but across smaller cities like Rasht, Ahvaz, Mashhad and Tabriz, against this same gang of mullah tyrants who first took Americans hostage.
By "same," we mean literally the same — there's a photograph that some intelligence analysts believe to be Iran's ruling president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a 1979 hostage-taker.
Iran's regime showed the young Iranians no mercy at these new protests, the biggest since the June 12 uprising against the fraudulent election. Troops went after students with truncheons and fists, beating up many, as YouTube videos show. The Times reported that clashes are expected to continue through the night.
Sure the protests were smaller than on June 12, as some media noted.
But that fails to grasp that for Iranians, significant courage was needed to come out this time: These protests occur after the regime has shot past protesters in the streets, like young Neda Agha-Soltan who was killed last June, and has recently arrested and condemned six other protesters to death.
For Iran's democrats to come out now, and to make use of the anniversary of the mullahs' biggest hate-America act, is a strong signal that what they seek is American-style democracy and that they want better American support.
President Obama hasn't given them anything like that, offering only mealy-mouthed encouragement for all sides, in the sort of statements that would have made Jimmy Carter proud.
Now here we go.... Obama's diplomacy... a laugh. He throws the democratic movement under the bus and recognizes the current regime.
Now that is diplomacy.... what does he get in return? NOTHING!!! BRILLIANT!!!
Now, the ppl of Iran.... the ones some of you said were the real ppl of that country, not the regime. Well, they have spoken.... read on to what they think of the President who has traded them all in for..... NOTHING!! BRILLIANT!!!
==================================================================
With Or Against Us?
Posted 11/04/2009 06:53 PM ET
Freedom: Young Iranians had a surprise Wednesday for mullah rulers celebrating the anniversary of the 1979 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tehran: angry protests. Why aren't we giving them more support?
The big hate-America bacchanal was to commemorate the glorious crime against the U.S. 30 years ago, when "student" hoods stormed our sovereign embassy, preened before TV cameras, danced around with rifles and paraded dozens of blindfolded U.S. diplomats, military men and CIA officers as hostages.
Then-President Jimmy Carter, whose sanctimonious refusal to get tough helped lengthen the ordeal to 444 days, enabled these terrorists to consolidate their "revolution," leaving the rotten regime still in power today.
Out went Western dress, competitive education, high culture and the rule of law; in came chadors, Islamofascist indoctrination, arbitrary arrests and whip-wielding revolutionary "vigilance" police.
But something unexpected happened on Wednesday: Iran's democrats, many of them real students, gathered in streets of Tehran to ruin their rulers' party. They shouted "Death to dictators!" instead of "Death to America!"
The Los Angeles Times reported impassioned protests not just in Tehran, but across smaller cities like Rasht, Ahvaz, Mashhad and Tabriz, against this same gang of mullah tyrants who first took Americans hostage.
By "same," we mean literally the same — there's a photograph that some intelligence analysts believe to be Iran's ruling president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a 1979 hostage-taker.
Iran's regime showed the young Iranians no mercy at these new protests, the biggest since the June 12 uprising against the fraudulent election. Troops went after students with truncheons and fists, beating up many, as YouTube videos show. The Times reported that clashes are expected to continue through the night.
Sure the protests were smaller than on June 12, as some media noted.
But that fails to grasp that for Iranians, significant courage was needed to come out this time: These protests occur after the regime has shot past protesters in the streets, like young Neda Agha-Soltan who was killed last June, and has recently arrested and condemned six other protesters to death.
For Iran's democrats to come out now, and to make use of the anniversary of the mullahs' biggest hate-America act, is a strong signal that what they seek is American-style democracy and that they want better American support.
President Obama hasn't given them anything like that, offering only mealy-mouthed encouragement for all sides, in the sort of statements that would have made Jimmy Carter proud.
CrackerJax
New Member
Obama would rather score political points by appeasing a islamic revolution regime rather than supporting the real ppl of Iran, who want to enter the global community as a mature responsible state.
A true leader.... One we can all be proud of... right?????
=============================================================
On another note.......Obama's music score has yielded another flat one...
The U.N. nuclear watchdog has asked Tehran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced secret nuclear warhead design, according to a report published Friday.
Citing what it calls "previously unpublished documentation" from an International Atomic Energy Agency
compiled report, Britain's The Guardian newspaper said Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of a "two-point implosion" device.
The report said that even the existence of two-point implosion nuclear warhead technology is officially secret in both the U.S. and Britain. The technology allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads, making it easier to put a warhead on a missile, the newspaper said.
The IAEA said in September it has no proof Iran has or once had a covert atomic bomb program.
The U.N. watchdog's statements followed reports from the Associated Press quoting what it called a classified IAEA document saying agency experts agreed Iran now had the means to build atomic bombs and was heading towards developing a missile system able to carry a nuclear warhead.
Extracts of the report have been published before, but it was not known the document included information on such a sophisticated warhead, the newspaper said.
A nuclear site, which Iran revealed in September three years after diplomats said Western spies first discovered it, added to fears of secret Iranian efforts to develop nuclear bombs. Iran claims it is enriching uranium only for peaceful electricity use.
The Vienna-based IAEA, Iran's Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran were unavailable for comment when contacted by Reuters.
Obama plans on retaliating by sending them a terse letter....
A true leader....
One we can all be proud of... right?????=============================================================
On another note.......Obama's music score has yielded another flat one...
The U.N. nuclear watchdog has asked Tehran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced secret nuclear warhead design, according to a report published Friday.
Citing what it calls "previously unpublished documentation" from an International Atomic Energy Agency
compiled report, Britain's The Guardian newspaper said Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of a "two-point implosion" device.The report said that even the existence of two-point implosion nuclear warhead technology is officially secret in both the U.S. and Britain. The technology allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads, making it easier to put a warhead on a missile, the newspaper said.
The IAEA said in September it has no proof Iran has or once had a covert atomic bomb program.
The U.N. watchdog's statements followed reports from the Associated Press
quoting what it called a classified IAEA document saying agency experts agreed Iran now had the means to build atomic bombs and was heading towards developing a missile system able to carry a nuclear warhead.Extracts of the report have been published before, but it was not known the document included information on such a sophisticated warhead, the newspaper said.
A nuclear site, which Iran revealed in September three years after diplomats said Western spies first discovered it, added to fears of secret Iranian efforts to develop nuclear bombs. Iran claims it is enriching uranium only for peaceful electricity use.
The Vienna-based IAEA, Iran's Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran
were unavailable for comment when contacted by Reuters.Obama plans on retaliating by sending them a terse letter....
CrackerJax
New Member
Iran Positions Israel In Its Cross Hairs
Posted 11/06/2009 07:27 PM ET
Mideast: Iran tests an advanced warhead design as it gets caught shipping weapons to Hezbollah. Syria is reported to give the group operational control over Scud missiles. It's five minutes to midnight.
Tyranny abhors a vacuum. While the U.S. and the West dither in Hamlet-like fashion over whatever we shall do in places such as Afghanistan and Iran, the Axis of Evil is in full swing in its plans to destroy Israel and threaten Europe and America.
Israel last week seized what it said was the largest arms cache ever intercepted in the region. Israeli navy commandos boarded the Francop, a commercial ship with an Antiguan flag and sailing near Cyprus, presumably on course for Syria or Lebanon.
Israeli defense officials said the arms were destined for Hezbollah the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group founded, financed and controlled by Tehran and that documents found onboard showed that they originated in Iran. The officials said the arms cache would have given Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war against the Jewish state in 2006, enough firepower to sustain a full month of fighting on the scale of that conflict.
Iran is supposed to be forbidden from exporting arms, and two U.N. resolutions call for disbanding and disarming Hezbollah, a group that has effectively neutered the Lebanese democracy in which it now participates with veto power over any action by Beirut.
In Lebanon, these U.N. resolutions also forbid arms depots south of the Litani River as part of the deal that halted the 2006 war. In July a massive explosion in the area revealed the existence of a huge Hezbollah weapons cache in the border area north of Israel. U.N. Res 1701 says the area must be "free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons."
Clearly Hezbollah and Iran have not obeyed a single U.N. resolution or diplomatic pledge for a single day. In any conflict with Israel, southern Lebanon would be Iran's second front with the Jewish state. Syria, which was both a supplier of and transit point for arming Hezbollah in 2006, is also busy again.
Arab media in the Persian Gulf have been reporting that Syria, apparently at the request of Iran, has turned over about 300 long-range ballistic missiles to Hezbollah control on Syrian territory. Hezbollah personnel are being trained to operate the Scuds.
Israel launched Operation Orchard in September 2007 to destroy a North Korean built, Iranian-financed nuclear plant at Damascus' al-Kibar complex in eastern Syria. The Washington Post noted that the timing of the raid was related to the arrival three days earlier of a ship carrying North Korean materials labeled as cement but suspected of concealing nuclear equipment.
After all this comes previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog that does not bark. As the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper reports, the Iranians have tested a sophisticated nuclear warhead design that lets them pack a nuclear warhead into a smaller package able to fit nicely on the Shahab-3 and other Iranian missiles.
The sophisticated technology, once perfected, allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads than older models. It reduces the diameter of a warhead and makes it easier to put a nuclear warhead on a missile designed to fulfill Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's pledge to wipe Israel off the map and usher in the age of the 12th Imam.
The very existence of this technology is supposed to be an official secret in the U.S. and Britain.
Known as a two-point implosion device, it's being developed and tested by the Iranians and is being described by nuclear experts as "breathtaking." It means, as we have discovered repeatedly, that our estimates of Iranian capabilities and intentions are dead wrong again.
There may soon be no choice but for Israeli pilots to light the fires and kick the tires.
The time for dithering on Iran is over.
Posted 11/06/2009 07:27 PM ET
Mideast: Iran tests an advanced warhead design as it gets caught shipping weapons to Hezbollah. Syria is reported to give the group operational control over Scud missiles. It's five minutes to midnight.
Tyranny abhors a vacuum. While the U.S. and the West dither in Hamlet-like fashion over whatever we shall do in places such as Afghanistan and Iran, the Axis of Evil is in full swing in its plans to destroy Israel and threaten Europe and America.
Israel last week seized what it said was the largest arms cache ever intercepted in the region. Israeli navy commandos boarded the Francop, a commercial ship with an Antiguan flag and sailing near Cyprus, presumably on course for Syria or Lebanon.
Israeli defense officials said the arms were destined for Hezbollah the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group founded, financed and controlled by Tehran and that documents found onboard showed that they originated in Iran. The officials said the arms cache would have given Hezbollah, which fought a monthlong war against the Jewish state in 2006, enough firepower to sustain a full month of fighting on the scale of that conflict.
Iran is supposed to be forbidden from exporting arms, and two U.N. resolutions call for disbanding and disarming Hezbollah, a group that has effectively neutered the Lebanese democracy in which it now participates with veto power over any action by Beirut.
In Lebanon, these U.N. resolutions also forbid arms depots south of the Litani River as part of the deal that halted the 2006 war. In July a massive explosion in the area revealed the existence of a huge Hezbollah weapons cache in the border area north of Israel. U.N. Res 1701 says the area must be "free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons."
Clearly Hezbollah and Iran have not obeyed a single U.N. resolution or diplomatic pledge for a single day. In any conflict with Israel, southern Lebanon would be Iran's second front with the Jewish state. Syria, which was both a supplier of and transit point for arming Hezbollah in 2006, is also busy again.
Arab media in the Persian Gulf have been reporting that Syria, apparently at the request of Iran, has turned over about 300 long-range ballistic missiles to Hezbollah control on Syrian territory. Hezbollah personnel are being trained to operate the Scuds.
Israel launched Operation Orchard in September 2007 to destroy a North Korean built, Iranian-financed nuclear plant at Damascus' al-Kibar complex in eastern Syria. The Washington Post noted that the timing of the raid was related to the arrival three days earlier of a ship carrying North Korean materials labeled as cement but suspected of concealing nuclear equipment.
After all this comes previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog that does not bark. As the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper reports, the Iranians have tested a sophisticated nuclear warhead design that lets them pack a nuclear warhead into a smaller package able to fit nicely on the Shahab-3 and other Iranian missiles.
The sophisticated technology, once perfected, allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads than older models. It reduces the diameter of a warhead and makes it easier to put a nuclear warhead on a missile designed to fulfill Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's pledge to wipe Israel off the map and usher in the age of the 12th Imam.
The very existence of this technology is supposed to be an official secret in the U.S. and Britain.
Known as a two-point implosion device, it's being developed and tested by the Iranians and is being described by nuclear experts as "breathtaking." It means, as we have discovered repeatedly, that our estimates of Iranian capabilities and intentions are dead wrong again.
There may soon be no choice but for Israeli pilots to light the fires and kick the tires.
The time for dithering on Iran is over.
Woomeister
Well-Known Member
what is the source of this ^^^^?
CrackerJax
New Member
IBD editorial.... very accurate as always.
I hope the pieces are falling into place for you Woo.... time is running out. Iran is using "diplomacy" to their advantage. There is no deal now for Russia or France to take the Iranian uranium (at least the percentage of uranium that they will admit to).
So why did the USA leave Eastern Europe without a missile defense shield again? Fail.... trust has been broken, deals have been dashed, no return on our diplomacy. Iran is figuring out how to reduce their warheads to fit medium ranged missiles. We now know that they intend to get those missiles to either Lebanon or Syria. At least that is one plan that is becoming clear. There are others no doubt. I still won't be surprised if an EMP bomb goes off.
I hope the pieces are falling into place for you Woo.... time is running out. Iran is using "diplomacy" to their advantage. There is no deal now for Russia or France to take the Iranian uranium (at least the percentage of uranium that they will admit to).
So why did the USA leave Eastern Europe without a missile defense shield again? Fail.... trust has been broken, deals have been dashed, no return on our diplomacy. Iran is figuring out how to reduce their warheads to fit medium ranged missiles. We now know that they intend to get those missiles to either Lebanon or Syria. At least that is one plan that is becoming clear. There are others no doubt. I still won't be surprised if an EMP bomb goes off.
Wavels
Well-Known Member
Obama's pusillanimous approach to "diplomacy" has led to this.
He has no clue.
What a farce!!
Iran charges three detained Americans with espionage
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A829G20091109
He has no clue.
What a farce!!
Iran charges three detained Americans with espionage
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5A829G20091109
CrackerJax
New Member
This is what happens when you project weakness to Dictatorial regimes.
Think Russian hikers are taken hostage?
Think Russian hikers are taken hostage?
CrackerJax
New Member
Obama Warns Iran of Punishment Over Nukes
by
AP
The president's tough talk came as Iran rejected a compromise proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium to Russia so that it could not be further enriched to make weapons.
Nov. 19: President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak during their joint press conference at the Blue House in Seoul. (AP)
SEOUL, South Korea -- Showing impatience with Iranian foot-dragging, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the U.S. and its allies are discussing possible new penalties to bring fresh pressure on Iran for defying international attempts to halt its contested nuclear program.
Obama's warning came after Iran rejected a compromise proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium abroad so that it could not be further enriched to make weapons. Talk of fresh sanctions also showed that Obama is preparing for the next phase should Iran fail to meet his year-end deadline for progress in negotiations.
"They have been unable to get to `yes', and so as a consequence, we have begun discussions with our international partners about the importance of having consequences," Obama said at a news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
"Our expectation is, is that over the next several weeks we will be developing a package of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran."
The tough talk came as Obama wrapped an eight-day, four-nation tour of Asia in which global issues -- nuclear disarmament, climate change, economic recovery -- dominated and goodwill abounded. There also were few new agreements on pending issues.
South Korea, Obama's final stop, was a case in point.
Obama and Lee showed unity on disarming nuclear-armed North Korea and differences over concluding a free-trade agreement stalled by Congress. Obama announced that Stephen Bosworth, his special envoy to North Korea, would make his first trip to Pyongyang on Dec. 8 to test the waters for resuming nuclear disarmament talks.
Lee said Obama endorsed his "grand bargain" for North Korea -- a package of economic assistance and investment in exchange for full nuclear disarmament in a single step rather than the piecemeal approaches that have twice failed over the past two decades. "I think President Lee is exactly right and my administration is taking the same approach," Obama said.
The White House said the trip was largely about showing U.S. re-engagement with a region whose fast-growing economies are reordering global politics but that often felt neglected during the Bush administration and its focus on fighting terrorism. To that end, Obama spoke often of reinvigorating alliances with Japan, his first stop, South Korea and in Southeast Asia, and welcoming a prosperous, confident China as a partner.
"We didn't come halfway across the world for ticker-tape parades," senior Obama adviser David Axelrod told reporters Thursday. "We came here to lay a foundation for progress. We've done that."
Obama vested political capital in salvaging next month's climate change conference in Copenhagen. He urged leaders of Asia-Pacific nations gathered in Singapore to rally around a political agreement that would contain emissions reductions goals for countries to meet that would fall short of a full treaty on global warming. China, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases ahead of the U.S., signed on to the idea too.
Obama addressed cheering U.S. troops stationed at Osan Air Base outside Seoul on Thursday before the return flight to Washington, and gave this assessment of the trip: a renewed U.S.-Japan alliance, commitments to work on freer trade with Asia-Pacific nations to aid the global economic recovery and a more positive partnership with China "because cooperation between the United States and China will mean a safer, more prosperous world for all of us."
Asked how the trip went, Obama said: "We got a lot of work done." He then boarded the plane headed for home, where he faces continued lobbying to pass a health care bill and more deliberations on how many more troops to send to Afghanistan.
In talking tough about possible sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program, Obama left open the option that diplomacy could still work. "I continue to hold out the prospect that they may decide to walk through this door" and accept the proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country, Obama said.
A senior administration official later said Obama was purposely vague on more diplomacy so as not to undermine the search for international consensus that remains in an embryonic phase. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's thinking.
Possible sanctions are likely to take months to enact, if the difficulties in crafting this year's U.N. sanctions on North Korea are any indication. China, always reluctant to support sanctions, offered no public assurances that it would agree to punish Iran. As for Russia, whose support also would be vital, White House official Mike McFaul said days ago that the U.S. is "exactly on the same page with the Russians" in exploring diplomacy and consequences.
South Korea gave Obama one of the warmest welcomes during the trip. Crowds lined the motorcade route; some shouted "Obama." After the news conference, Obama and Lee hugged, an unusual gesture in a region noted for its formality.
The only off-note was on the pending free trade agreement, stuck in part because U.S. lawmakers worry it could hurt the struggling American auto industry. Obama said he was committed to completing a deal and that teams from both countries were trying to resolve sticking points.
Lee said the pact was not only economic but strategic -- suggesting an agreement would further cement the U.S.-South Korean alliance. He urged political will to complete it
Wow ... sanctions .. that is tough talk!!! Iran must be very nervous...
by
AP
The president's tough talk came as Iran rejected a compromise proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium to Russia so that it could not be further enriched to make weapons.
Nov. 19: President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak during their joint press conference at the Blue House in Seoul. (AP)SEOUL, South Korea -- Showing impatience with Iranian foot-dragging, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the U.S. and its allies are discussing possible new penalties to bring fresh pressure on Iran for defying international attempts to halt its contested nuclear program.
Obama's warning came after Iran rejected a compromise proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium abroad so that it could not be further enriched to make weapons. Talk of fresh sanctions also showed that Obama is preparing for the next phase should Iran fail to meet his year-end deadline for progress in negotiations.
"They have been unable to get to `yes', and so as a consequence, we have begun discussions with our international partners about the importance of having consequences," Obama said at a news conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
"Our expectation is, is that over the next several weeks we will be developing a package of potential steps that we could take that will indicate our seriousness to Iran."
The tough talk came as Obama wrapped an eight-day, four-nation tour of Asia in which global issues -- nuclear disarmament, climate change, economic recovery -- dominated and goodwill abounded. There also were few new agreements on pending issues.
South Korea, Obama's final stop, was a case in point.
Obama and Lee showed unity on disarming nuclear-armed North Korea and differences over concluding a free-trade agreement stalled by Congress. Obama announced that Stephen Bosworth, his special envoy to North Korea, would make his first trip to Pyongyang on Dec. 8 to test the waters for resuming nuclear disarmament talks.
Lee said Obama endorsed his "grand bargain" for North Korea -- a package of economic assistance and investment in exchange for full nuclear disarmament in a single step rather than the piecemeal approaches that have twice failed over the past two decades. "I think President Lee is exactly right and my administration is taking the same approach," Obama said.
The White House said the trip was largely about showing U.S. re-engagement with a region whose fast-growing economies are reordering global politics but that often felt neglected during the Bush administration and its focus on fighting terrorism. To that end, Obama spoke often of reinvigorating alliances with Japan, his first stop, South Korea and in Southeast Asia, and welcoming a prosperous, confident China as a partner.
"We didn't come halfway across the world for ticker-tape parades," senior Obama adviser David Axelrod told reporters Thursday. "We came here to lay a foundation for progress. We've done that."
Obama vested political capital in salvaging next month's climate change conference in Copenhagen. He urged leaders of Asia-Pacific nations gathered in Singapore to rally around a political agreement that would contain emissions reductions goals for countries to meet that would fall short of a full treaty on global warming. China, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases ahead of the U.S., signed on to the idea too.
Obama addressed cheering U.S. troops stationed at Osan Air Base outside Seoul on Thursday before the return flight to Washington, and gave this assessment of the trip: a renewed U.S.-Japan alliance, commitments to work on freer trade with Asia-Pacific nations to aid the global economic recovery and a more positive partnership with China "because cooperation between the United States and China will mean a safer, more prosperous world for all of us."
Asked how the trip went, Obama said: "We got a lot of work done." He then boarded the plane headed for home, where he faces continued lobbying to pass a health care bill and more deliberations on how many more troops to send to Afghanistan.
In talking tough about possible sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program, Obama left open the option that diplomacy could still work. "I continue to hold out the prospect that they may decide to walk through this door" and accept the proposal to ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country, Obama said.
A senior administration official later said Obama was purposely vague on more diplomacy so as not to undermine the search for international consensus that remains in an embryonic phase. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's thinking.
Possible sanctions are likely to take months to enact, if the difficulties in crafting this year's U.N. sanctions on North Korea are any indication. China, always reluctant to support sanctions, offered no public assurances that it would agree to punish Iran. As for Russia, whose support also would be vital, White House official Mike McFaul said days ago that the U.S. is "exactly on the same page with the Russians" in exploring diplomacy and consequences.
South Korea gave Obama one of the warmest welcomes during the trip. Crowds lined the motorcade route; some shouted "Obama." After the news conference, Obama and Lee hugged, an unusual gesture in a region noted for its formality.
The only off-note was on the pending free trade agreement, stuck in part because U.S. lawmakers worry it could hurt the struggling American auto industry. Obama said he was committed to completing a deal and that teams from both countries were trying to resolve sticking points.
Lee said the pact was not only economic but strategic -- suggesting an agreement would further cement the U.S.-South Korean alliance. He urged political will to complete it
Wow ... sanctions .. that is tough talk!!! Iran must be very nervous...
Woomeister
Well-Known Member
Will your drum wear out before Iran makes their bomb, now that's the question. lol. Hows tricks CJ?
Brevity, The Soul Of Wit!
New Member
Well I wish Israel would just do it already. That's are ticket into a war with Iran which the gov seems to want. Protect our great ally, the Jews!Okay, the latest report is just in and stipulates that Iran now has enough enriched uranium for a nuclear missile. Iran can have an operational weapon by President Obama's Inaugural swear in.
Israel has already said they will attack.
So what's next? What should or can Obama do?
Your thoughts....?
out.
