News Alert: Gates Says U.S. Lacks Strategy to Curb Iran's Nuclear Drive

By GottaLaff

Via an e-mail alert from the N.Y. Times:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has warned in a secret
three-page memorandum to top White House officials that the
United States does not have an effective long-range policy
for dealing with Iran's steady progress toward nuclear
capability, according to government officials familiar with
the document.

Several officials said the memo touched off an intense effort
inside the Pentagon, the White House and the intelligence
agencies to develop new options for President Obama. They
include a revised set of military alternatives, still under
development, to be considered should diplomacy and sanctions
fail to force Iran to change course.

One official called this a "wake up call," but the White House denied that, saying they've been planning for all kinds of outcomes for some time now.

The Sunday talk shows should be a real hoot, don't you think? Buckle up, we're in for yet another bumpy ride in the GOP gasbag gas-guzzling machine. Tune in early and you'll be treated to bellowing about our complete lack of national security, a foreign policy, and Obama's ineptness.

Oh, and no doubt we'll hear another refrain of this:



Please read the whole article here.

How to Cut Iran’s Petrodollars By Over $100 Million A Day

By GottaLaff

Think Progress did an analysis of how a strong carbon cap would would "significantly cut the flow of petrodollars to Iran’s hostile regime".

By changing the way we do things here, vis a vis our consumption of oil, we can control the flow of money, petrodollars, to Iran. And the best bonus of all? We'd be slowing the negative effects of climate change by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Think Progress has more, but meanwhile, here is a visual aid:

Iran Nuclear Scientist Defects to U.S. In CIA 'Intelligence Coup'

By GottaLaff

ABC has this exclusive report about what the CIA is calling a big intel coup:

An award-winning Iranian nuclear scientist, who disappeared last year under mysterious circumstances, has defected to the CIA and been resettled in the United States, according to people briefed on the operation by intelligence officials.

The officials were said to have termed the defection of the scientist, Shahram Amiri, "an intelligence coup" in the continuing CIA operation to spy on and undermine Iran's nuclear program. [...]

"The significance of the coup will depend on how much the scientist knew in the compartmentalized Iranian nuclear program," said former White House counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke, an ABC News consultant. "Just taking one scientist out of the program will not really disrupt it."

No, but we do have someone who is helping us to sort things out, from the inside. The insights must be invaluable, and any information is more than we have now.

Does anyone else feel a sense of enormity about what this administration is accomplishing? It's beginning to become more obvious as times goes on.

Kind of a rush.

Video- President Obama's Nowruz Message To The Iranian People

US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament

By GottaLaff

That I'mADinnerJacket, he such a tease:

The American public has not been informed by the US news media about highly newsworthy statements made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday February 12.

He said the era of nuclear weapons is over, suggesting Iran has no plans to build "inhumane" A-bombs. Ahmadinejad called for a world free of nuclear arms in an interview with Russia's NTV channel.

Why, that's not the Mahmoud we know and laugh at! What a kidder.

Considering Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's calls for sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position that new sanctions should be "crippling," one might think the US media would pay attention to Ahmadinejad's statements.

Instead, the media's Sarah Palin obsession means that more Americans heard repeated calls to start a new war with Iran in the past week.

Picky, picky... Besides, Mouthy McLookaMe is much more newsworthy than a guy who incites hate and condemns his fellow citizens.

Oh. Wait. Mouthy does that too.

Anyway, reporting such remarks would veer away from the crescendoing drumbeat of increased sanctions and possible war. Plus Mahmoud's not the most reliable source of information.

Even so, since the media reports all the negative babble from this nutball, they should also let us in on his more positive remarks.

Instead, they report all the babble from that other nutball... and then some.

Attack on Iran's nuclear facilities 'worries' US admiral

By GottaLaff

I can't think of a worse idea than attacking Iran. Aside from the "unintended consequences", how about our already-stretched-paper-thin military? How about getting into something worse than the current messes were in now? How about how we'd pay for it (in more ways than one)? How about more needless loss of life?

How about no more wars? How about that for a change?

"The outbreak of a conflict will be a big, big, big problem for all of us, and I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike," Admiral Mullen said. [...]

Mullen, who was speaking to journalists during a visit to Israel, went on to say however that US President Barack Obama had been "very clear that from a policy standpoint, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapons."

"We haven't taken off any option from the table," the admiral said, using diplomatic language for keeping open the possibility of launching military strikes.

Shorter version: Bombing Iran would be a disaster, but we could live with that. Besides, Israel could start the ball rolling, and we could justify it by "having to" supporting our ally.

Shorter shorter version: Bombing Iran would be a disaster, but hey, what the hell.

VIDEO- Meghan McCain: Tea Party represents ‘innate racism’

By GottaLaff



Broadcast on ABC's The View, Feb. 8, 2010:

The daughter of former presidential candidate John McCain has sharply criticized the Tea Party movement, accusing it of "innate racism."

In an appearance on ABC's The View, Meghan McCain also took issue with a number of recent statements from Sarah Palin, criticizing the former Alaska governor for defending Rush Limbaugh's use of the word "retard" and for suggesting that President Obama launch a war against Iran in order to win a second term.

Plus Meghan and Mommy J Sid are for gay rights. Imagine that.

I applaud Meghan for her remarks on The View. The more often despicable people like Tancredo and many Tea Tantrumers are called out, especially by fellow Republicans, the better. They need to be exposed and eventually, shunned.

This country is headed in a dangerous direction if hate speech continues to be expressed so vehemently and frequently, and then given an enormous microphone via the No Longer News media.

So, to Meghan McCain:

We previously posted about the Tom Tancredo comments here. All our Tea Tantrumer posts can be found here.

VIDEO: Palin recommends launching war with Iran

By GottaLaff



"I'd like him to" support Israel? Did she really just say that? With every statement she utters, she proves herself to be increasingly out of touch, a blatant liar, and a nasty, snide know-nothing.

And don't get me started on her war-mongering:

Palin indicated that his chances of winning would dramatically change if Obama simply declared war on Iran:

WALLACE: How hard do you think President Obama would be to defeat in 2012?

PALIN: It depends on a few things, say he played — I got this from Buchanan — say he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decide to really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel–which I would like him to do. That changes the dynamics of what we can assume will happen between now and three years. Because I think if the election were today, Obama would not be elected.

What? No song? She must have forgotten to write the words on her palm:

VIDEO: Clinton defends Obama's engagement strategy on Iran, N. Korea

By GottaLaff

It's sunny here in SoCal, after two days of rain. Now let's get that other part of the U.S. of A. warmed up!



Of course, if ShootFirst McTalkLater had her way, we'd be bombing Iran, torturing suspects, and while we're at it, reverting back to the Bush economy.

Engagement? Pfft. Diplomacy? Getoutahere! That's for commie socialists.

U.S. Speeding Up Missile Defenses in Persian Gulf

By GottaLaff

Via the New York Times:

The Obama administration is accelerating the deployment of new defenses against possible Iranian missile attacks in the Persian Gulf, placing special ships off the Iranian coast and antimissile systems in at least four Arab countries, according to administration and military officials. [...]

The news that the United States is deploying antimissile defenses — including a rare public discussion of them by Gen. David H. Petraeus — appears to be part of a coordinated administration strategy to increase pressure on Iran.

The deployments are also partly intended to counter the impression that Iran is fast becoming the most powerful military force in the Middle East, to forestall any Iranian escalation of its confrontation with the West if new sanctions are imposed. In addition, the administration is trying to show Israel that there is no immediate need for military strikes against Iranian nuclear and missile facilities, according to administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

By highlighting the defensive nature of the buildup, the administration was hoping to avoid a sharp response from Tehran.

Military officials said that the countries that accepted the defense systems were Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Counting the seconds until we hear from the GOP about what a wuss President Obama is, and how we need to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran to smithereens.

3 charged in alleged plot to ship possible nuclear-weapons items to Iran

By GottaLaff

I live about 45 minutes away from Glendale. That's too close to home. Usually when I read about this kind of thing, it feels so much farther away. Distance creates an artificial sense of safety, somehow.

The men were educated, knew what they were doing, per the report. I'm beginning to feel crawly and shivery:

Three men, including an Iranian-born chemical engineer living in Glendale, have been charged in a scheme to smuggle sophisticated industrial components into Iran that could be used in the development of a nuclear weapon, authorities said Wednesday.

The case has drawn interest at the highest levels of government, an official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement told The Times.

More here.

Report: Freedom in decline for 4th straight year

Iran is number one!! Such pride!

The Middle East remained the most repressive region in the world and Africa sustained the most significant decline, the report said after examining political and civil rights in 194 countries and 14 territories.

Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House, cited attacks on front-line democracy activists, including what she said was brutal repression on the streets of Iran. She also pointed to sweeping detention in China of "Charter 08" advocates of expanding freedom and an end to Communist party dominance, as well as the murders of journalists and human rights activists in Russia.

Despite repression in China, the most significant rights improvements occurred in Asia.

The year was marked by intensified repression against human rights defenders and civic activists in 40 countries that comprise 20 percent of the world's population.

The four-year decline was the longest stretch of civil rights setbacks in the 40 years Freedom House has been publishing reports on freedom.

Video- President Obama's Remarks on Failed Terror Attack and Protests in Iran

Via FDL.

Iranian student, Neda, killed in riots named 'person of the year'

By GottaLaff

Kudos:

The British newspaper Times named an Iranian woman killed in post-election riots in Iran as its "person of the year."

The Times explained that 26-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan became a "symbol of opposition to tyranny" when a 40-second clip documenting her tragic death at the hand of Iranian authorities was seen by millions around the world. [...]

"Ms. Soltan, 26, joined the protest because she was outraged at the way that the regime stole the presidential election," the newspaper said on its front page.

It still hurts just as much to see that photo and recall that day. Unbelievably painful.

Iran paper is nuclear red flag

By GottaLaff

Oh good, something else to add to the already toxic mix:

Western and U.N. nuclear officials are evaluating a secret Iranian technical document that appears to show the country's nuclear scientists testing a key component used in the detonation of a nuclear warhead, according to intelligence officials and weapons experts familiar with the document.

The document, if authenticated, could rank as one of the strongest pieces of evidence pointing to a clandestine Iranian effort to build nuclear weapons, said former intelligence officials and weapons experts. They were responding to a published report of alleged sophisticated research by Iran on one of the final stages in the construction of a nuclear device.

Excerpts from the technical paper, first reported on the Times of London Web site late Sunday, detail a four-year program by Iranian scientists to develop and test a neutron initiator, a device used to trigger a nuclear explosion.

Nothing says, "Trust us" like a neutron initiator.

Video- Kristol sees Obama's Nobel speech as pretext for attacking Iran

What's that saying? If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail? Idiots.

Iran approves building 10 enrichment sites

By GottaLaff

Thumb your Iranian nose much?

The Iranian government approved a plan Sunday to build 10 new uranium enrichment facilities, a dramatic expansion in defiance of U.N. demands it halt the program.

The decision comes only two days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency censured Iran, demanding it immediately stop building a newly revealed enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom and freeze all uranium enrichment activities. [...]

[T]he announcement is likely to stoke already high tensions between Iran and the West over its controversial nuclear activities.

Nothing like escalating tensions to start our Sunday off right, huh?

White House says world moving toward new Iran sanctions

By GottaLaff

Let's just avoid those "pre-emptive strike" words, okay?

The United Nations nuclear agency Friday blasted Iran for obstructing investigations into its suspected nuclear weapons program and demanded that the Islamic Republic stop enriching uranium at a once-secret facility.

In response, the Obama administration suggested that world powers might be moving closer to imposing international sanctions on Iran. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called a 25-3 vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency "overwhelming" and said it "demonstrates the resolve and unity of the international community with regard to Iran's nuclear program."

"Our patience and that of the international community is limited, and time is running out," Gibbs said. "If Iran refuses to meet its obligations, then it will be responsible for its own growing isolation and the consequences."[...]

Tehran's refusal to carry out a tentative deal in October to ship most of its nuclear fuel to Russia and France for reprocessing leaves other nations with two ways to try to ensure that Iran doesn't obtain nuclear weapons: tough sanctions and pre-emptive military action. [...]

One U.S. senior official said any sanctions that might be considered would look to hurt the Iranian regime, not everyday Iranians, but he didn't elaborate.

The administration said that Iran has until the end of the year to engage cooperatively; after that it may face a "package of consequences."

Video- Stephen Colbert On The Late Show With David Letterman

Video- Palin: Crack Down On 'Iraq' To Prevent Nuclear Iran

Even the commenters on YouTube think she's stupid.