EU Says Iran Close to Developing Nuclear Weapon
By Lisa Bryant for Voice of America
Paris 24 September 2008

The European Union said Wednesday that Iran was close to being able to develop a nuclear weapon. The warning to the IAEA in Vienna coincides with North Korea's apparent decision to reactivate its main nuclear reactor. Lisa Bryant reports for VOA from Paris.


The text of the European Union's warning on Iran was released to reporters ahead of its delivery to a board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. It claims Tehran is close to being able to arm a nuclear warhead and that it seems to have pursued a program aimed to acquire a nuclear bomb.

Some reactions

Ha'aretz advocates negotiations between US and Iran

[excerpt] According to an assessment by Military Intelligence presented to the cabinet this week, Iran is "galloping toward a nuclear bomb" and mastering the technology for enriching uranium, while the diplomatic and economic battle against it is ineffective.

Israel is justifiably concerned about the naivete with which Ahmadinejad was received by the American media, as well as the world's growing tendency to view him as a legitimate leader and cease efforts to stop the Iranian nuclear program. The calls by the Iranian president to destroy Israel deserve the strongest condemnation, and we must continue the diplomatic struggle against them. But Israel must not be boxed into the corner where Ahmadinejad wants it and join an exchange of threats and counterthreats, which would only intensify the anxiety in Israel and possibly lead to a confrontation.

The chance that the United States or Israel will try to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities looks slim at the moment. Even without waiving the military option, we must not be tempted into bombing as a miracle drug against the Iranian threat. The government is obligated to exhaust every other possibility before seriously considering using the Israel Defense Forces for a distant and highly risky operation in Iran.

Since a direct Israeli rapprochement with Iran is impossible because of the regime's hostility to Israel's very existence, the best chance of calming the atmosphere and reducing the threat lies in starting negotiations between the United States and Iran. The two U.S. presidential candidates support this approach, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, with the understanding that it is the only route not yet tried and is likely to help moderate Iranian policy. Israel must encourage an American rapprochement with Iran, with the understanding that this will serve the Israeli interest as well.
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From ynetnews. French FM: Condemning Iran insufficient

Following Ahmadinejad's address to UN, Bernard Kouchner joins Peres in slamming anti-Semitic content of speech, but adds, 'We cannot just condemn anymore. We must take care of the Iranian nuclear issue [diplomatically]. The situation is becoming dangerous'
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From jpost.com
'Russia's move to pull out of Iran talks spells end of sanctions'
UN Ambassador Shalev surprised at Ahmadinejad's warm welcome by General Assembly; Moscow's cancellation endangers 4th round of sanctions.

"The Great Hindrances to Peace Among Nations"

"They [the International Zionists=Jews] are the great hindrances
to the actualization of material and spiritual prosperity
and to security, peace and brotherhood among nations."
-- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 9/23/08

Excerpts from what Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at the UN on September 23, 2008

A modern restatement of The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem, Henry Ford's anti-Semitic series based on the Protocols of Zion.

"The dignity, integrity and rights of the American and European people are being played with by a small but deceitful number of people called Zionists.

Although they are a miniscule minority, they have been dominating and important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the political decision making centers of some European countries and the US in a deceitful, complex and furtive manner.

It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential or premiere nominees in some big countries have to visit these people, take part in their gatherings, swear their allegiance and commitment to their interests in order to attain financial or media support.

This means that the great people of America and various nations of Europe need to obey the demands and wishes of a small number of acquisitive and invasive people.

These nations are spending their dignity and resources on the crimes and occupations and the threats of the Zionist network against their will.

Friends and Colleagues, all these are due to the manner in which the immoral and the powerful view the world, humankind, freedom, obeisance to God, and justice.

The thoughts and deeds of those who think they are superior to others and consider others as second-class and inferior, who intend to remain out of the divine circle, to be the absolute slaves of their materialistic and selfish desires, who intend to expand their aggressive and domineering natures, constitute the roots of today's problems in human societies.

They are the great hindrances to the actualization of material and spiritual prosperity and to security, peace and brotherhood among nations."

Messianism is at hand
The conclusion of Ahmadinejad's speech emphasizes his expectation that The Promised One "is about to materialize" to bring forth justice. And toward this end, Ahmadinejad exorts the Righteous to "hand in hand, expand the thought of resistance against evil and the minority of those who are ill-wishers."

A golden and brilliant future is awaiting mankind. A global community filled with justice, friendship, brotherhood, and welfare is at hand and, as I have elaborated, a community which will tread the path of beauty and love under the rule of the righteous and the perfect human being, the one promised by all divine prophets, and the one who is the true lover of humanity.

A community that will be devoid of any fear, despair, and privation, such a community will soon be ours, the community promised by the great divine prophets Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Mohammed, peace be upon him, is about to materialize. Let us, hand in hand, expand the thought of resistance against evil and the minority of those who are ill-wishers.

Let's support goodness and the majority of people who are good and the embodiment of absolute good that Imam of Time, The Promised One who will come accompanied by Jesus Christ, and accordingly design and implement the just and humanistic mechanisms for regulating the constructive relationships between nations and governments.

Oh, Great Almighty, deliver the savior of nations and put an end to the sufferings of mankind and bring forth justice, beauty, and love.

Friends, let's have a proper share in the establishment of that illuminated and promised divine age.

I thank you all very much.

THOUSANDS JOIN NYC RALLY TO STOP IRAN NOW

“Iran’s nuclear program is not just a threat to Israel, as bad as that is; it’s not just a threat to America, as bad as that is; it is a threat to all humankind,” Rev. Floyd Flake said. “We must stop Iran now.”

Thousands of people gathered across from the United Nations Monday to protest the presence there this week of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and to call attention to the grave threats Iran poses to the world.

Watch video clips of the rally here.

[United Jewish Communities, 9.23.08] The National Rally to Stop Iran Now featured prominent civic and religious figures, from the United States and overseas, who called on the international community to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions, its threats against the United States and Israel, its support for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and its domestic human rights abuse. The rally took place against the backdrop of the opening of the UN General Assembly and the gathering of world leaders, including Ahmadinejad.

Natan Sharansky, the former Israeli deputy prime minister and face of the Soviet Jewry movement, likened Iran to the "evil empire" of the former Soviet Union, and recalled how decades ago Soviet Jewry demonstrations took place in the same spot.

"Twenty years ago, in this very place, your parents and grandparents demonstrated, again and again and again. Today the Soviet Union doesn't exist and Soviet Jews are free. The campaign against Iran can be as successful. This is a fight we must win. This is a fight we will win."

Sharansky also spoke of the "moral clarity" of the struggle against a nuclear Iran, and how the Jewish people believe in “tikkun olam,” repairing the world, while Iran supports terrorist groups who use destruction and violence.

“It is important the world knows the difference between those of us who support human life, and those who use human life to blackmail the world,” he said.

The thousands of people of all ages attending the rally represented communities across the United States and Canada. They packed into Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near the United Nations complex and filled a number of city blocks, hoisting placards and banners underscoring Iran’s threat to Israel, the United States and world stability.

“The leader of Iran calls for the destruction of Israel, denies the fact of the Holocaust, and ignores international demands to halt a nuclear program that threatens the Jewish homeland, the region, and the world,” said Howard M. Rieger, President and Chief Executive Officer of United Jewish Communities.

“The thousands of Americans and others joining the Jewish community today send a loud message to the United Nations and beyond that such views and policies are unacceptable and should not be tolerated by civilized and peace-loving nations and peoples.”

The rally was sponsored by the National Coalition to Stop Iran Now, which includes leaders and organizations representing various communities who are deeply concerned about the Iranian threat. Members include United Jewish Communities, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, UJA-Federation of New York, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

Speakers represented a cross-section of major denominational, ethnic and civic groups, including Irwin Cotler, former Canadian Minister of Justice; Dr. Paul deVries, New York Divinity School president; the Honorable Rev. Floyd Flake, former member of Congress; Dalia Itzik, speaker of the Israeli Knesset; and Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate. Prominent Iranian human rights advocates Nazanin Afshin-Jan and Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi also spoke.

Some called on the UN to bring Ahmadinejad to justice for his threats to destroy fellow member UN nations such as Israel and the United States, rather than providing him a forum to speak.

Ahmadinejad’s “proper place” resides not at the UN, Wiesel said, but before “an international tribunal” such as the World Court in the Hague. "His place is not here in New York, but in Europe, in Holland, in a UN prison cell.”

Speakers also urged the UN Security Council and the world community to take vigorous steps to impose harsh economic sanctions on Iran to force a halt to its nuclear development.

“Iran’s nuclear program is not just a threat to Israel, as bad as that is; it’s not just a threat to America, as bad as that is; it is a threat to all humankind,” Rev. Flake said. “We must stop Iran now.”

[Fatah-niks] thrilled with terror attack
[aggregated from Elder of Ziyon]

Here are some of the autotranslated comments at the Fatah-linked Palestine Press news agency to the article about the terror attack in Jerusalem today [in which a terrorist driving a black BMW ran his car into a crowd of pedestrians at a busy intersection in central Jerusalem near the Old City --ynet.] :


I hope more heroic operations


Yahya God all the freedom fighters in the city of Jerusalem, especially the bomber


We congratulate the process [operation] and wish [that the source was] the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and it is not with the [Hamas] resistance, the Iranian Hamas pigs who deliver [only] a paper resistance and we say [to Hamas] Go to hell


Thank God with us, which we thought that the beloved Palestine and the Palestinian issue still has insisted in Palestinian hearts and that despite all attempts to disperse the Palestinian thinking, but we can work to break the cover of occupation


Thank God for this work which God chose us Homnfz driver and the process is a martyr hero God bless his soul to God, what a bargain Jewish Lord violin and violin operations Aktar more, you know, I do not kill each other so you O Palestine, Fatah and Hamas miles Msolon us what is Sahhhhhhhhhhhhhawwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Ome fine fine Halina Unit Nationally supported in some yen Thank you, you Iarepettstjibwa Arabs


The name of God Rahamin Rahim
Web and thrown and thrown, but God contact us thank God that we have made Islam and Muslims hail you a martyr and God Spoof you, hero of God you are happy and the Palestinian people in the holy month of Ramadan, God willing, and more heroic operations

Elder of Ziyon comments: But there was one commenter against the attack. Well, of course he praised the attack, but he thought that the timing was not the greatest, because it might delay the Israelis giving up more land to the Palestinian Arabs for free.

Everyone Needs to Worry About Iran
By RICHARD HOLBROOKE, R. JAMES WOOLSEY, DENNIS B. ROSS and MARK D. WALLACE
Op Ed, September 22, 2008 Wall Street Journal

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the United Nations in New York this week. Don't expect an honest update from him on his country's nuclear program. Iran is now edging closer to being armed with nuclear weapons, and it continues to develop a ballistic-missile capability.

Such developments may be overshadowed by our presidential election, but the challenge Iran poses is very real and not a partisan matter. We may have different political allegiances and worldviews, yet we share a common concern -- Iran's drive to be a nuclear state. We believe that Iran's desire for nuclear weapons is one of the most urgent issues facing America today, because even the most conservative estimates tell us that they could have nuclear weapons soon.

A nuclear-armed Iran would likely destabilize an already dangerous region that includes Israel, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, and pose a direct threat to America's national security. For this reason, Iran's nuclear ambitions demand a response that will compel Iran's leaders to change their behavior and come to understand that they have more to lose than to gain by going nuclear.

Tehran claims that it is enriching uranium only for peaceful energy uses. These claims exceed the boundaries of credibility and science. Iran's enrichment program is far larger than reasonably necessary for an energy program. In past inspections of Iranian nuclear sites, U.N. inspectors found rare elements that only have utility in nuclear weapons and not in a peaceful nuclear energy program. Iran's persistent rejection of offers from outside energy suppliers or private bidders to supply it with nuclear fuel suggests it has a motive other than energy in developing its nuclear program. Tehran's continual refusal to answer questions from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about this troublesome part of its nuclear program suggests that it has something to hide.

The world rightfully doubts Tehran's assertion that it needs nuclear energy and is enriching nuclear materials for strictly peaceful purposes. Iran has vast supplies of inexpensive oil and natural gas, and its construction of nuclear reactors and attempts to perfect the nuclear fuel cycle are exceedingly costly. There is no legitimate economic reason for Iran to pursue nuclear energy.

Iran is a deadly and irresponsible world actor, employing terrorist organizations including Hezbollah and Hamas to undermine existing regimes and to foment conflict. Emboldened by the bomb, Iran will become more inclined to sponsor terror, threaten our allies, and support the most deadly elements of the Iraqi insurgency.

Tehran's development of a nuclear bomb could serve as the "starter's gun" in a new and potentially deadly arms race in the most volatile region of the world. Many believe that Iran's neighbors would feel forced to pursue the bomb if it goes nuclear.

By continuing to act in open defiance of its treaty obligations under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, Iran rejects the inspections mandated by the IAEA and flouts multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions.

At the same time, Iranian leaders declare that Israel is illegitimate and should not exist. President Ahmadinejad specifically calls for Israel to be "wiped off from the map," while seeking the weapons to do so. Such behavior casts Iran as an international outlier. No one can reasonably suggest that a nuclear-armed Iran will suddenly honor international treaty obligations, acknowledge Israel's right to exist, or cease efforts to undermine the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Mr. Ahmadinejad is also the chief spokesman for a regime that represses religious and ethnic minorities, women, students, labor groups and homosexuals. A government willing to persecute its own people can only be viewed as even more dangerous if armed with nuclear weapons.

Finally, our economy has suffered under the burden of rising oil prices. Iran is strategically located on a key choke point in the world's energy supply chain -- the Strait of Hormuz. No one can suggest that a nuclear Iran would hesitate to use its enhanced leverage to affect oil prices, or would work to ease the burden on the battered economies of the world's oil importers.

Facing such a threat, Americans must put aside their political differences and send a clear and united message that a nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable.

That is why the four of us, along with other policy advocates from across the political spectrum, have formed the nonpartisan group United Against Nuclear Iran. Everyone must understand the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran and mobilize the power of a united American public in opposition. As part of the United Against Nuclear Iran effort, we will announce various programs in the months ahead that we hope will be rallying points for the American and international public to voice unified opposition to a nuclear Iran.

We do not aim to beat the drums of war. On the contrary, we hope to lay the groundwork for effective U.S. policies in coordination with our allies, the U.N. and others by a strong showing of unified support from the American people to alter the Iranian regime's current course. The American people must have a voice in this great foreign-policy challenge, and we can make a real difference through national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures.

Mr. Holbrooke is a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Woolsey is a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Ross was a special Middle East coordinator for President Clinton. Mr. Wallace was a representative of the U.S. to the U.N. for management and reform.

I'm sorry. I couldn't resist posting the following. //Mark

‘Taliban back UN Peace Day’

Sunday, September 21, 2008
KANDAHAR: A spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban said the militia would cease attacks on UN Peace Day on Sunday.

The Afghan army and international military forces have also announced, after a call from President Hamid Karzai, that they would halt offensives on Peace Day, September 21.

“In respect for the international Peace Day, Taliban have issued a declaration that we are in a defensive position and we will cease attacks,” a spokesman for the group, Yousuf Ahmadi, told AFP. The extremists, who are linked to al-Qaeda, posted a statement on their website to the same effect. “If Nato and America and their followers respect this day for real, and avoid tricks and announce the ceasefire from the depth of their heart, the (Taliban) will also instruct to its own Mujahedeen to take the defensive position on this day,” the statement said.