Iran Seizes another American on Spy Charges

Why do idiot NON Islamic people go to a country that can seize them and lop off their heads without any remorse?  The Islamic religion in Iran and other Muslim countries is not compatible with the Western style countries.  After their oil runs out, they will need to be isolated and marooned.  Let their religion dictate their future.  They will end up killing one another and the West will be more fortunate. I hope.. I see that Iran is a country that needs to protect it's borders.  Why can't the USA protect it's borders.........lakotahope
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Iran: American Woman Detained on Spy Charges

Published January 06, 2011

| FoxNews.com

Iranian authorities have detained a 55-year-old American woman on spying charges, a state-owned newspaper reported Thursday.

The daily IRAN said Hall Talayan had spying equipment hidden on her body when customs authorities detained her in the border town of Nordouz, 370 miles northwest of the capital Tehran. The report said Talayan arrived in Iran from neighboring Armenia without a visa. It did not say when she was detained.

Talayan is the fourth American Iran has arrested and accused of spying in less than two years.

U.S. State Department officials could not immediately confirm the report early Thursday.

In July 2009, Iran detained three Americans who were initially accused of crossing the border illegally from northern Iraq and later accused of spying.

The U.S. has dismissed the spying charges and says the three are innocent hikers. Their families have said if they crossed the border at all, it was inadvertent.

One of the three, Sarah Shourd, was released in September on compassionate grounds. Her fiance, Shane Bauer, and friend Josh Fattal remain in prison and could go on trial next month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ahmadinejad: Says Israel Cannot Stop Iran From Enriching Nuclear Fuel

The President of Iran is quite outspoken about what Iran will do to its neighbors and what it will do to have "peaceful power" options in place for itself. Stating Israel can't stop Iran from making enriched uranium, Ahmadinejad forgets that the world can stop them and if needed, the United States can and will stop them from producing nuclear weapons. Whether the USA acts after weapons are produced is quite the unknown. As of this time, I believe if the USA discovered Iran had weapons, it wouldn't be long into the future that we would be quite adamant about removing Iran from the nuclear club.

Iran is isolated to the point that only North Korea would support them as Russia recently voted along with the Western Nations in denouncing Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Russia and its sale of the S-300 long range missile system to Iran is still being held up and will be a "large game changer" where Israel and the United States is concerned. . ... Lakotahope

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Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there isn't a "damn thing" Israel can do to stop its nuclear program, Reuters reported.

"The Zionist regime (Israel) and its (western) backers cannot do a damn thing to stop Iran's nuclear work," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech, according to Reuters.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday Iran will now enrich its uranium to an even higher level, defying a U.N. call to halt the process due to fears over the country's nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad expressed frustration with negotiations over a U.N.-backed deal to swap Iran's low-enriched uranium for higher-enriched fuel rods to power its medical research reactor.

"I declare here that with the grace of God, the Iranian nation will produce 20 percent (enriched uranium) and anything it needs itself," Ahmadinejad told a cheering crowd of thousands in the southern city Isfahan.

"We told them, give us the 20 percent fuel (in an exchange)," he said. "But then they started adding conditions. So we said, if you want to give us the fuel we'll take it. If not, then fine and goodbye."

The defiant call is similar into tone to the president's announcement Sunday that the country would boost its nuclear activity 10-fold, despite the widespread belief that Iran simply does not have the resources to match its boasts.

Iran currently has one operating enrichment facility, at the central town of Natanz, which has churned out around 3,300 pounds of 3.5 percent enriched uranium over the past years.

The research reactor in Tehran, however, needs uranium enriched to 20 percent.

Enriching uranium even further, to levels around 90 percent, however, results in material suitable for a nuclear war head, something the West feels Iran is striving to do secretly.

The idea behind the swap was to get the bulk of Iran's uranium out of the country so it would not have enough material build a bomb.

Iran denies the charge and insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bunker Buster Is Being Fast Tracked Into Service

This bomb is allegedly 10 times more power than the bomb it is replacing. I reckon the replaced bomb is the Moab, but since this thing weighs considerably more than most aircraft can lift and actually drop, I wonder if the C-17 aircraft is the only one capable of dropping this weapon? I mention this because it is so far, the only aircraft tested for this Big Bomb, or "Big Bitch"--I want to be the first to give it a nickname. The C-17 isn't stealthy, it isn't even fast compared to our other aircraft. I hazard to guess how the U.S. intends to deliver such a massive conventional device through miles of hostile territory.

Dale Brown has written books using advanced aviation technology to defeat enemy assets. I've been following his books and the last one I finished details events involving Qom, Iran, and nuclear facilities. Of course, his books have super-stealthy, space capable aircraft and all sorts of STAR WARS equipment....Good reading for those who enjoy reading any thing with military/ aviation scenarios.
lakotahope
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Sept. 26: A facility under construction inside a mountain about

20 miles north of Qom, Iran, is most likely the location of the newly revealed uranium enrichment plant. (AP/GeoEye)

WASHINGTON (foxnews.com) -- The Pentagon is speeding up delivery of a colossal bomb designed to destroy hidden weapons bunkers buried underground and shielded by 10,000 pounds of reinforced concrete.

Call it Plan B for dealing with Iran, which recently revealed a long-suspected nuclear site deep inside a mountain near the holy city of Qom.

The 15-ton behemoth -- called the "massive ordnance penetrator," or MOP -- will be the largest non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal and carry 5,300 pounds of explosives. The bomb is about 10 times more powerful than the weapon it is designed to replace.

The Pentagon has awarded a nearly $52 million contract to speed up placement of the bomb aboard the B-2 Stealth bomber, and officials say the bomb could be fielded as soon as next summer.

Pentagon officials acknowledge that the new bomb is intended to blow up fortified sites like those used by Iran and North Korea for their nuclear programs, but they deny there is a specific target in mind.

"I don't think anybody can divine potential targets," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said. "This is just a capability that we think is necessary given the world we live in."

The Obama administration has struggled to counter suspicions lingering from George W. Bush's presidency that the United States is either planning to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities itself or would look the other way if Israel did the same.

The administration has been careful not to take military action off the table even as it reached out to Iran with historic talks earlier this month. Tougher sanctions are the immediate backup if diplomacy fails to stop what the West fears is a drive for a nuclear weapon.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities would probably only buy time. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen has called a strike an option he doesn't want to use.

The new U.S. bomb would be the culmination of planning begun in the Bush years. The Obama administration's plans to bring the bomb on line more quickly indicate that the weapon is still part of the long-range backup plan.

"Without going into any intelligence, there are countries that have used technology to go further underground and to take those facilities and make them hardened," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. "This is not a new phenomenon, but it is a growing one."

After testing began in 2007, development of the bomb was slowed by about two years because of budgetary issues, Whitman said, and the administration moved last summer to return to the previous schedule.

North Korea, led by Kim Jong Il, is a known nuclear weapons state and has exploded working devices underground. The United States and other countries have offered to buy out the country's weapons program. The Obama administration is trying to lure Pyongyang back to the bargaining table after a walkout last year.

Iran is a more complex case, for both diplomatic and technical reasons. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, claims its nuclear program is peaceful and meant only to produce energy, but the West suspects a covert bomb program that may be only a year or so away from fruition.

Some experts say the bunker-buster bomb may serve as a deterrent to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"I don't really see it as a near-term indication of anything being planned. I think certainly down the road it has a certain deterrent factor," said Kenneth Katzman, a specialist on Iran and the Middle East at the Congressional Research Service. "It adds to the calculus, let's say, of Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Il."

Details about Iran's once-secret program have come out slowly and often under duress, as with last month's surprise confirmation of the hidden underground development site near Qom.

That revelation came a month after the Pentagon had asked Congress to shift money to speed up the MOP program, although U.S. and other intelligence agencies had suspected for years that Iran was still hiding at least one nuclear development site.

The MOP could, in theory, take out bunkers such as those Saddam Hussein had begun to construct for weapons programs in Iraq, or flatten the kind of cave and tunnel networks that allowed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to escape U.S. assault in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, shortly after the U.S. invasion in 2001.

The precision-guided bomb is designed to drill through earth and almost any underground encasement to reach weapons depots, labs or hideouts.

Saudis Trying to Buy S-300 Missile Defense from Russia

One has to love the way diplomacy sometimes prevails in the Middle East. Iran has been trying to obtain the S-400 advanced missile defense system from Russia for a while. This system is as advanced as any U.S.A. system. Russia needs money and has proven more than willing to share its weapons for the right price with countries around the world. Recently, countries like India, Venezuela and India are buying nice new 'toys' from Russia.

Now we have an Arab country doing what it can to prevent a "Shiite Islamic" state from obtaining advanced weapons. Something the West couldn't accomplish all that successfully, because Israel is straining at the rope to destroy Iran's hopes of a nuclear capability. This Arab state is helping out the Jewish state in order to keep peace in the Middle East. Saudis don't trust Iran and for the most part Syria anyway.

Israel may go after Iran with or without the missile system in Iran. It still may happen, with U.S. help and/ or approval...Saudis laws are strict and treat women like garbage, but this little act will keep peace a day or two longer.... lakotahope
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milplex
Saudis consider Russian air defense system

It is considered that the S-400 missile defense deal could be part of a much bigger arms deal with Russia. That would signal Riyadh's break from decades-old dependency on traditional arms supplying nations like Britain, France and the United States.

by Staff Writers
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (UPI) Oct 7, 2009
Saudi Arabia is considering buying Russia's most advanced air-defense system in a deal that Riyadh hopes may deter Moscow

from selling a similar defense system to potentially nuclear Iran, experts argue.

Experts cited in a string of media reports from the region said Moscow and Riyadh

were close to signing a deal on the purchase of Russia's S-400 anti-missile shield. The deal is valued between $4 billion and $7 billion.

The system is the latest version of the S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile system that Russia has been negotiating to sell to Iran.

"The Russians were selling the S-300 in large part because of the money. Now, a larger deal will be made with Saudi Arabia," said a World News report, citing an anonymous Egyptian intelligence official.

Diplomats in the Gulf, however, argue that strong Western and Israeli pressure, capped by a multibillion-dollar deal with Saudi Arabia, may sway Moscow against its initial designs to sell the surface-to-air missiles system to Iran.

Saudi Arabia, influenced by Sunni Islam, is threatened by the growing influence of Iran, dominated by Shiite Islam.

It is considered that the S-400 missile defense deal could be part of a much bigger arms deal with Russia. That would signal Riyadh's break from decades-old dependency on traditional arms supplying nations like Britain, France and the United States.

In late August, for example, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that a $2 billion weapons deal was in the making between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Under the deal, Russia would supply up to 150 combat helicopters, and equal number of T-90S tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.

This week The Financial Times reported that as part of the deal Saudi Arabia demanded guarantees that Russia would not send the S-300 system to Iran.

"The Saudis would rather this weapon system were not sold to Iran or (another possible buyer) Syria," Theodore Karasik, director of research at the Dubai-based think tank, was quoted saying by Russia Today.

It said Tehran was initially interested in the S-300 system in 2005 when a deal was signed. The equipment, however, has yet to reach Iran.

Saudi officials are increasingly worried that Western pressure has failed to sway Iran's development of nuclear know-how. It has repeatedly contested Iran's insistence that its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful.

"The pressure from the U.S. is a stick and the huge weapons deal prepared by the Saudis is a carrot," Director of Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Ruslan Pukhov told Interfax news agency. "We all know Saudi Arabia buys weapons as a 'bribe' to the world's great powers in exchange for support," he added.

Are Nuclear Reactors Fair Game?

Are nuclear reactors truly out of reach of attack in rogue states. Definition of a rogue state.

"Rogue state is a term applied by some international theorists to states considered threatening to the world's peace. This means meeting certain criteria, such as being ruled by authoritarian regimes that severely restrict human rights, sponsor terrorism, and seek to proliferate weapons of mass destruction.^[5] The term is used most by the United States, though it has been applied by other countries.^[6]

In virtually all international foreign policy circles, rogue states are considered to be those nations utterly ruled by individuals (rather than subject to a popular electoral process) and whose legitimacy, intentions, and notions of the process of legitimate succession (if any) is highly suspect. Furthermore, rogue states (as opposed to nominal non-newsworthy dictatorships which pose no external threat) typically become consequential due to their engagement in the threat - or conduct of - war, particularly against neighbor states, without regard to international law.

Rogue states can also be differentiated from 'pariah states' such as Burma (Myanmar) and Zimbabwe who allegedly abuse the human rights of their populations while not being considered a tangible threat beyond their own borders, although the terms have been used interchangeably"..... wikipedia

While I believe countries should be able to determine how best to bring themselves modern conveniences and supply themselves with the material, food and power. Countries that are a constant threat, either should be reigned in or isolated. I leave open the idea of how to reign in a "rogue state", but I am not averse to using force. These countries are like a gangrenous limb that will eventually infect and defeat a bodies defenses to heal itself and remain viable. Unless, the limb is amputated or is treated with radical measures that may debride part of the limb but otherwise, keep it intact. Often, at least partial amputation is required. The same for countries that promote terrorism throughout their region or the world.

Israel is dealing with Iran and the rhetoric from the newly "reelected" President Ahmadinejad.
He has publicly stated his desire to wipe Israel off of the map and with nuclear weapons in his inventory, what is to stop him. Israel will act in their own best interest as evidenced by the destruction of reactors in Osirak, Iraq and Syria's. Vice President Biden has stated we will not stop Israel if they want to make Iran's reactor go away. I liked that, but Obama had to do some backpedaling. However, the message got out to Iran.

Military force is not off of the table, and now Iran is trying to get a 150 nation conference to vote on a measure to abolish attacks on nuclear reactors around the world. I don't believe for one second Iran wouldn't knock out anyone else's reactors if they could. It is the story of the wolf asking the flock of sheep for help.