Time: Obama's Secret Iran Talks: Setting the Stage for a Deal?
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1930896,00.html
IRAN-Deja vu all over again?
by JWdaughter 318 Replies latest social current
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leavingwt
Fox News: White House Frustrated Over Iran's Defiance on Nuclear Program
Frustrated by Iran's continued defiance of demands to come clean on its nuclear program, the Obama administration is leaning toward imposing new sanctions, even if it must act alone.
Administration officials acknowledged growing concern that there may not be international consensus to expand the existing U.N. sanctions, despite Tehran's apparent rejection of a confidence-building measure proposed by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog in hopes of making progress on the nuclear issue.
To that end, the administration is quietly supporting legislation in Congress that would give President Barack Obama a broad new array of authority to target Iran's energy sector by penalizing foreign firms that sell and ship refined petroleum products to Iran. The regime is heavily dependent on gasoline, kerosene and propane imports.
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leavingwt
But members of the Obama administration, in interviews over the weekend, said that they had now all but lost hope that Iran would follow through with an agreement reached in Geneva on Oct. 1 to send its fuel out of the country temporarily — buying some time for negotiations over its nuclear program.
“If you listen to what the Iranians have said publicly and privately over the past week,” one senior administration official said Sunday, “it’s evident that they simply cannot bring themselves to do the deal.” The administration officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were speaking about delicate diplomatic exchanges.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/world/middleeast/09iran.html?_r=1
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llbh
I am surprised that Iran is helping The Taliban in any, way as i was given to understand that they are on opposite sides religiously, the Iranians being Shiva and the Taliban Sunni.
In fact the Iranians provided alot of help to coalition forces to invade Afghanistan,
I tend to agree with edward's comment earlier, Iran is using this a bargaining point.
David
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leavingwt
In fact the Iranians provided alot of help to coalition forces to invade Afghanistan,
David,
I have either forgotten this or I was previously unaware of it. If you have a link, I'd like to read more.
-LWT
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llbh
I am sorry i can offer no reliable links to you as i know they usually do not up link from The UK. The cooperation of Iran with coalition forces in the Invasion of Afghanistan has been widely reported here.
What needs to understood is that the Iranians are not Arabs like Al Qaeda, The Iranians are Persian.
Iraq is largely Shia too. Saddam was from the minority Sunni, and was supported by The West.
Do you recall who gave the Taliban with Stinger missile to bring down Russian helicopters - you got it the US!!??
David
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leavingwt
David,
I found a recent article with some interesting details. It's complex, to state the obvious. (I'm unfamiliar with this news source. It doesn't appear to be overtly slanted in one direction or the other, however.)
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=35708&tx_ttnews[backPid]=7&cHash=c7bc24cb39
-LWT
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llbh
From my understanding that is a fairly reasonable assessment of the situation as it currently stands, and it does bear out the above comment that i made about Iran helping the coalition forces in the invasion of Afghanistan.
What is also true is that The US government under Bush paid far to little attention to the familial and religious ties between Iraq and Iran, this was and is a hugely costly mistake. Bush and right wing fundies really were dumb
David
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leavingwt
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the US to choose between Israel and Iran on Tuesday night, according to Iranian state media.
Ahmadinejad said that for a real change in relations to take place, a choice must be made.
Speaking in Istanbul at the 25th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Iranian president said that it was up to US President Barack Obmaa to illustrate his motto of "Change."
"The support of both Israel and Iran can't go hand in hand," he was quoted as saying by IRNA. "No change is made unless great choices are made."
"We would welcome the changes, and wait for big and correct decisions to be made… We will clasp any hand that is extended sincerely toward us, but changes should be made in practice."
Addressing the same conference a day earlier, Ahmadinejad said that capitalist excesses caused the global economic meltdown and are un-Islamic, as leaders at a Muslim forum touted their religion's banking system a way to revive battered economies.
He also slammed investments that pay interest, deemed usury by Muslims, and said they had contributed to financial and social problems such as homelessness.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1257770037656&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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llbh
Again look at where he was speaking, Turkey, this is where The Occident meets The Orient quite literally physically and metaphysically and Ahmadinejad knows this. Turkey is very very interesting, read books by Orhan Pamuk, the nation is at a crossroads, it wants to join the EU, and the US seems to support this, if it does, it could be a bridgehead into bringing Middle East regimes into the 21st century, rather than remaining in the 15th century.
The problem is this needs to be done very carefully, and firmly managed, if not these feudal regimes could implode, which would be disastrous for all. Ahmadinejad is more a puppet and has his own audience to play to as well at home.
A good friend of mine comes from Isfahan, and he says that they now know that the Iranian people realise that they swapped one dictator for another. The moderates in ( not moderate by our values) Iran should be encouraged imo.
Regards David