Monday, March 14, 2011
Elder of Ziyon
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of Ziyon
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of ZiyonTwo members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' official security forces were arrested in conjunction with this past weekend's bloody massacre in which five family members were brutally stabbed to death inside their home in the Jewish village of Itamar, WND has learned.Klein has the best contacts within the terror organizations of any non-Arab reporter, so this is almost certainly a solid report.
The names of the apprehended suspects will be released to the Israeli media within hours but were revealed to WND by security officials working on the murder.
Two cousins are now in Israeli custody and are suspected in the slayings. Ahmed Awad is an officer in Abbas' Preventative Security Services in the northern West Bank city of Nablis. Iyad Awad is an officer in Abbas' General Intelligence services in Ramallah.
Both the Preventative and General Intelligence services of Fatah are armed, trained and funded by the U.S.
It was not immediately clear whether the duo were arrested for planning the attack or for personally carrying out the murders.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the "military wing" of Abbas' Fatah party, at first released a pamphlet taking responsibility for the attack and then quickly retracted the statement.
Many Brigades members, including much of the group's senior leadership, double as members of Fatah's U.S.-backed security forces.
Top sources in the Brigades leadership in the northern West Bank city of Nablus confirmed to WND that members of the Fatah group planned and helped to carry out the attack.
The sources claimed the attack was not sanctioned by the Fatah leadership but was planned by Brigades members who were acting on their own.
Also, the sources said the actual perpetrators of the attack were sleeper cells from Hamas, while the Brigades leaders planned the attack, provided logistical support and aided in the Hamas agents' escape.
If accurate, this would demonstrate unusual cooperation between Hamas and Fatah rivals.
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of ZiyonIsraeli forces on Monday afternoon rounded up all Thai workers employed in the Itamar settlement, site of the murder of five members of the Fogel family, and held them for questioning, informed sources told Ma'an.So I held off on posting this until I could get confirmation or denial of this story.
Though Palestinians have been forbidden from working in the settlements of the northern West Bank, foreign workers, mostly from Thailand and the Philippines, have been contracted for labor in the area.
Sources close to some of the Thai laborers said that all of the workers had been gathered and taken for questioning in relation to the stabbing deaths of a settler family on Friday night.
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of ZiyonFormer Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass said allegations submitted to the attorney general, accusing the former of covering up the theft of antiquities, are unfounded.Hawass is the guy that said that he would not allow any Jew to worship in the restored Maimonides Synagogue in Cairo.
Abdel Rahman al-Aidy, chairman of the Central Administration of Middle Egypt Antiquities, and Nour Eddin Abd al-Samad, director general of the Department of Archaeological Sites, had submitted notifications to Egypt’s prosecution, accusing Hawass, the primary official responsible for Egypt’s antiquities since 2002, of covering up thefts of archaeological sites, wasting public funds, and signing an agreement with an American association that threatened the national security of Egypt by allowing the association to conduct studies on certain ancient Egyptian kings.
They went to America and took control of its economy. They have a plan. Although they are few in number, they control the entire world.So for all of Hawass' new troubles, let's all give a collective "Awwwww."
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of ZiyonPalestinians have named a town square after a female terrorist who killed 37 Israelis in 1978.The New York Times writes perhaps the most inane comment possible about this:
The official dedication of the Dalal Mughrabi square near Ramallah took place just two days after a Palestinian terrorist group claimed responsibility for the brutal murder of five Israelis from the same family, three of whom were children.
Mughrabi is celebrated by some Palestinians for her role in a bus hijacking on the road between Tel Aviv and Haifa. Thirteen children were among those killed in that attack.
Although there were no government officials in attendance at the ceremony, members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party were present.
Also this weekend a sports contest at a Fatah-run youth centre in the West Bank was named in honour of the first female Palestinian suicide bomber, Wafa Idris.
Idris murdered an 81-year-old man when she blew herself up outside a busy shoe shop in Jerusalem nine years ago. The attack also left 150 people injured.
Israel has long contended that Palestinian textbooks and official media preach hatred toward Israel and that the killers of Israelis are often glorified.Evidence? Does israel need to catch the murderer and dissect his brain to prove it to the NYT's satisfaction?
On Sunday, a group of activists from Abbas' Fatah movement dedicated a square in the West Bank city of Ramallah after Dalal Mughrabi, a female militant who carried out a 1978 bus attack that killed 37 Israelis. Aides to Abbas said they tried to stop the ceremony and the move was not officially sanctioned.
Still, Israel has not produced evidence that incitement contributed to the killings.
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of ZiyonTo say that I am appalled by the brutal murder of an Israeli family in the West Bank settlement of Itamar (near Nablus) is an understatement.OK, he is appalled. Why?
Israel's occupation of the West Bank is universally recognized as a violation of international law and depends on force, intimidation, and violence, but there is no justification for anyone to take the lives of an entire family in this way. No good can possibly come from such a senseless act -- not for Palestinians, not for Israelis, and not for anyone else -- and it should be universally condemned.To Walt, the self-styled realist, the massacre of the Fogels is simply a counterproductive method of protest. He cannot bring himself to say that the murders are immoral, or sickening, or reflective of constant Palestinian Arab incitement to hate and murder. He cannot be bothered to mention the names of the victims. He cannot even make a passing mention of a baby girl whose throat was slashed in her crib.
But while we are at it, we should not spare the other parties who have helped create and perpetuate the circumstances where such crimes are likely to occur.Walt is pretending to be even-handed in his condemnations, but in the end you can see that his real priority is to condemn the victims themselves for "perpetuate the circumstances where such crimes are likely to occur."
Let us therefore condemn every Israeli government since 1967, for actively promoting the illegal effort to colonize these lands.
Let us condemn those Palestinian leaders who have glorified violence in the past or who continue to do so today.
Let us condemn the settlers themselves, some of whom routinely use violence to intimidate the Palestinians who live in the lands they covet.
Let us condemn Israel's policy of targeted assassinations and the war crimes it has committed in Gaza and Lebanon.
Let us condemn the hypocrisy of governments throughout the Arab world, who mouth solidarity with the Palestinians yet do little to improve their lives or advance the goal of an independent Palestinian state.
Let us condemn the craven passivity of U.S. politicians, whose deference to the Israel lobby has enabled the occupation for more than four decades, squandered the opportunity afforded by the Oslo Accords, and undermined efforts to create a viable Palestinian state.
Let us condemn the misguided fervor of Christian Zionists, who turn a blind eye to injustice against the Palestinians in the belief that it will hasten the "end times" tomorrow.
Let us condemn the cynicism of the Netanyahu government, which used this latest tragedy to announce the construction of 500 more housing units in the Occupied Territories.
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of ZiyonIncitement against Israel, which frequently turns into genuine anti-Semitic incitement, is an inseparable part of the fabric of life in the Palestinian Authority. Thus, anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic messages are regularly heard in both the private and official media and in mosque sermons, and are studied in school textbooks.
Terrorists are given an honored status and become models for emulation in Palestinian society, both in the media and via ceremonies held by insitutions affiliated with the PA. Institutionalized and systematic incitement against Israel has never ceased in the PA,even during the height of the diplomatic process in the 1990s. Examples from Recent Months
On 9.3.11, Abu Mazen's advisor Sabri Saidam, delivered a speech in which he emphasized that Palestinian weapons must be turned towards Israel. He demanded that the Palestinian people be attentive to the living conditions of martyrs' families and said that the anniversary of the death of Dalal Mughrabi (one of the perpetrators of 1978 coastal highway massacre) should be marked by inaugurating a square in her name in the city of El-Bireh. On 6.3.11, the PA's official newspaper, Al Hayat Al-Jadida, published an item to the effect that the management of a youth club in Ramallah planned to hold a soccer tournament in memory of Wafa Idris, a suicide bomber.
On 9.2.11, the official Palestinian television station broadcast a clip from a campaign entitled "Women as Exemplars", during which Dalal Mughrabi (see above) was extolled. In the summer of 2010, several children's summer camps were named after her.
On 24.1.11, the Governor of Jenin issued a Presidential Grant worth $2,000 to the family of Palestinian terrorist, Khaldoun Samoudi, who was killed while trying to detonate two bombs against IDF soldiers at the Beka'ot Crossing.
On 2.1.11, Al Hayat Al-Jadida reported that Azzam Al-Ahmed, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, attended a gathering on the 46th anniversary of the establishment of Fatah, held in the village of Turah, south-west of Jenin, during which models of settlement buildings were blown up. He reviewed terrorist attacks that had been perpetrated by Fatah and said that, " Fatah is a mass movement which believed in popular revolution and wrested its right to use all means of resistance in order to achieve its aim."
On 30.12.10, Al Hayat Al-Jadida reported that Israel aspired to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to build the Third Temple on its ruins.
On 26.10.10, Palestinian television broadcast a documentary about the work of Palestinian medical teams including a fictitious scene in which an Israeli soldier shoots a Palestinian in the head.
On 6.10.10, Al Hayat Al-Jadida carried an interview with Palestinian Minister Amr Aloul in which the latter said that Israel is, "An apartheid state that carries out state terrorism against the Palestinians.
On 10.9.10, official Palestinian television broadcast a short film in which it was said that Jewish prayer at the Western Wall is, "a sin and impurity."
On 21.6.10, official Palestinian television broadcast a children's program in which it was saoid that, "The Jews are our enemies," and that, "Israeli soldiers are wild animals."
On 28.5.10, official Palestinian television broadcast a report on the family of a Palestinian security prisoner, during which her nieces were interviewed and said that they wanted to bear arms against Israel.
The "History of the Arabs and the World in the 20th Century" 12th-grade textbook, used in the PA, teaches about World War II. It includes Nazi ideology but does not mention the Holocaust at all.
On 10.3.10, Al Hayat Al-Jadida reported that the Palestinian Authority had postponed the inauguration of the Dalal Mughrabi Square in Ramallah following an official Israeli protest. This did not prevent dozens of young people from unofficially dedicating the square.A spokesman for the Palestinian security services said that the dedication of the Square had been postponed, "for technical reasons and not at Israel's request." He added that, "Neither israel nor anyone else is capable of preventing us from being proud of our history." PA Minister of Culture Saham Al-Barghouti said that, "It is our right to honor our martyrs and name a street after the martyr Dalal Mughrabi on the anniversary of her martyrdom. It is the right of the Palestinian people. However, the Israelis' interference with this right indicates how the Israelis violate our rights."
On 27.12.09, official Palestinian television reported that President's Office Director-General Tayib Abd A-Rahim presented condolences, on behalf of PA Chairman Abu Mazen, to the families of the three terrorists who were killed by the IDF after murdering Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai. He gave the families condolence telegrams from Abu Mazen and told them to acknowledge them as martyrs of the Palestinian revolution. He said, on Abu Mazen's behalf, that "The occupation authorities perpetrated an action that had been planned for some time and was the cold-blooded assassination of Fatah activists, which contravenes morality and the repeated, false claims about the apparent morality of the IDF. Without doubt, the occupation authorities perpetrated a wild and barbaric assassination, maliciously and in cold blood."
Monday, March 14, 2011Elder of Ziyon
Sunday, March 13, 2011Elder of ZiyonDozens of Saudi extremists descended on the Riyadh International Book Fair late Wednesday night denouncing the sale of books "contrary to Islam," witnesses said.
Turki al-Shalil, a spokesman for the powerful Saudi religious police, told reporters that his men were not involved in the incident.
According to one witness, dozens of bearded young men entered the venue in the capital as the Saudi information minister, Abdel Aziz Khoja, was touring the fair on the first day it was open to the public.
They asked Khoja "how he could allow such a fair," and said that certain books on display were the work "of infidels who would go to hell," the witness said.
Another witness said that the men went around the fair harassing women, a number of whom then departed, and also prevented a female television presenter from doing her job.
Sunday, March 13, 2011Elder of ZiyonPalestine celebrated their first official match on home soil on Wednesday during a bittersweet evening when their Under-21 side lost an Olympic Games qualifier to Thailand 6-5 on penalties.But in fact, Palestine had played at home over seventy years ago - and in a World Cup qualifying match, no less. It was between Greece and Palestine, and officiated by an Egyptian official.
The fixture was viewed by Palestinians as another symbolic step towards confirming their credentials for the state they intend to establish in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
"This is another occasion on which we can show we are a state, every time I come here it makes me proud," Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told Reuters at the Faisal Husseini stadium.
Sunday, March 13, 2011Elder of Ziyon
Amusing paranoia, with a dash of hypocrisy, from Iran's PressTV:In his first interview with a Jewish media, David Cameron described himself and his crew as sincere supporter of Israel, saying: "William Hague is a strong supporter of Israel, as am I, and we greatly value the longstanding friendship between our two countries. We also want to get the peace process back on track so that it doesn't lose momentum."Here's a new Facebook group calling for everyone to boycott the Olympics because of the logo.
He evidently put Zionist lobby in practice by attacking Iran's threat to stay away from London Olympic Games, since the British officials were using a racist logo.
Last month, Iran's National Olympic Committee wrote to International Olympic Committee, protesting the 2012 Olympic logo as it spells the word Zion, which is a biblical word for Israel.
In a non-diplomatic response to the issue, British Prime Minister said: "It's completely paranoid. If the Iranians don't want to come, don't come - we won't miss you.”
"It would be a crazy reason for not coming," David Cameron added.
David Cameron's surprising declaration was against Olympic resolution, in which they try to “build a peaceful and better world through sport” away from all the political issues.
Claiming Britain does not identify “unilaterally declared Palestinian state”, UK Prime Minister said the athletes who do not want to compete against Israelis would not be welcomed in London 2012.
"They can't come if they're going to behave like that.
"You shouldn't have that approach to sport. If you were going to come to the Olympic Games, you take part against everybody and if you're going to behave like that you're not welcome," he said.
Sunday, March 13, 2011Elder of ZiyonWASHINGTON ANALYSTS ASSESS THAT TEHRAN IS REACHING OUT TO LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO REDUCE ITS DIPLOMATIC ISOLATION AND INCREASE TIES TO LEFTIST COUNTRIES IN THE REGION THAT TEHRAN PERCEIVES MAY SHARE ITS ANTI-US AGENDA. PRESIDENT AHMADI-NEJAD APPEARS TO BE THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THIS POLICY, AND HE HAS RECEIVED PERSONAL ASSISTANCE FROM VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ. IRAN'S TIES WITH VENEZUELA, WHICH INCLUDE MILITARY COOPERATION, ARE THE CLOSEST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT. GIVEN THE HIGH-PROFILE IRAN-VENEZUELA RELATIONSHIP, HIZBALLAH-LINKED INDIVIDUALS PROBABLY SEE VENEZUELA AS A SAFEHAVEN WHERE THEY CAN CONDUCT FUNDRAISING AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES WITHOUT INTERFERENCE. OTHER POPULIST GOVERNMENTS LIKE BOLIVIA, ECUADOR, AND NICARAGUA HAVE ALSO SOUGHT TO CREATE CLOSER POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAN. IRAN HAS ESTABLISHED CULTURAL CENTERS IN 16 COUNTRIES OF THE REGION AND HAS EMBASSIES IN 10 COUNTRIES. AS TIME AND RESOURCES PERMIT AND AS APPLICABLE TO POST, ANALYSTS AND SENIOR LEVEL POLICYMAKERS WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE ANY INFORMATION ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS/QUESTIONS THAT YOU COLLECT DURING THE COURSE OF YOUR NORMAL MEETINGS/BUSINESS ACTIVITIES. ¶A. (U) FOR IRAN WATCHERS AND THE IRAN REGIONAL PRESENCE OFFICE (IRPO): 1) (S/NF) BEYOND IRAN'S OVERT POLICY TO INCREASE ITS DIPLOMATIC AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS IN THE REGION, WE LACK INFORMATION ON TEHRAN'S STRATEGIC INTENTIONS. WHAT DOES TEHRAN SEE AS THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF IRAN'S OUTREACH TO LATIN AMERICA? HOW HIGH A PRIORITY IS LATIN AMERICA FOR IRANIAN FOREIGN POLICY? DOES TEHRAN ENVISION BECOMING A KEY REGIONAL PLAYER IN LATIN AMERICA? WHERE DOES IRAN THINK IT IS IN TERMS OF DEVELOPING RELATIONS WITH THE REGION? WHAT SPECIFIC COUNTRIES, GROUPS, AND INDIVIDUALS DOES IRAN VIEW AS ENABLERS IN THE REGION? WHICH COUNTRIES APPEAR TO BE THE FOCUS OF IRANIAN EFFORTS TO MAKE POLITICAL, DIPLOMATIC, AND ECONOMIC INROADS IN LATIN AMERICA, AND WHERE IS IT PLANNING TO EXPAND? WHAT DOMESTIC, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, OR SOCIAL ISSUES MIGHT IMPACT ITS OUTREACH TO LATIN AMERICA? 2) (S/NF) WHO IN TEHRAN IS PUSHING IRAN'S OUTREACH TO LATIN AMERICA? IF IT IS AHMADI-NEJAD, WHAT IS THE SUPREME LEADER'S OPINION ON IRAN'S EFFORTS TO EXPAND ITS PRESENCE IN THE REGION? WHO IN TEHRAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING IRAN'S LATIN AMERICA POLICY--THE MFA, THE MOIS, THE IRGC? WHO WITHIN THESE ORGANIZATIONS IS INVOLVED IN FORMING IRAN'S POLICY ON LATIN AMERICA? HOW DO THESE ORGANIZATIONS COORDINATE THEIR ACTIVITIES IN THE REGION? 3) (S/NF) DOES TEHRAN HAVE ANY INTENTION OF USING THE REGION AS A STAGING GROUND FOR POTENTIAL TERRORIST ATTACKS, EITHER DIRECTLY OR THROUGH SURROGATES? ARE ANY PERSONS AFFILIATED WITH THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT MAKING CONTINGENCY PREPARATIONS TO CREATE NETWORKS FOR POTENTIAL TERRORIST ACTIVITIES LATER? IF SO, WHAT SORT OF ACTIVITIES? 4) (S/NF) DO TEHRAN AND HIZBALLAH SHARE SIMILAR OBJECTIVES IN THE REGION? IN WHAT WAYS DO THEY WORK TOGETHER/INDEPENDENTLY? WHAT, IF ANY, ARE IRAN'S INTENTIONS AND CAPABILITIES FOR STRENGTHENING HIZBALLAH OBJECTIVES IN LATIN AMERICA? ¶B. (U) FOR IRAN WATCHERS, IRPO AND LATIN AMERICAN POSTS: 1) (S/NF) WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF THE MOIS AND IRGC-QODS FORCE PRESENCE AND RECRUITMENT IN THE REGION? WHAT HAPPENS TO THE POTENTIAL RECRUITS AFTER THEIR TRAINING IN IRAN OR OTHER MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES? ARE IRANIAN OFFICIALS ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS US TERRITORY OR US PRIVATE FIRMS VIA LATIN AMERICA? DO THE IRANIAN CULTURAL CENTERS MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH THE CONVERTS? DO IRANIAN DIPLOMATIC OR MILITARY (I.E. IRGC-QODS FORCE) OFFICIALS IN THE REGION MAINTAIN ANY CONTACT WITH CONVERTS? HOW DOES TEHRAN PROVIDE MONEY TO THE ICCS? 2) (S/NF) TO WHAT EXTENT ARE IRAN AND ITS LATIN AMERICAN ALLIES COOPERATING AGAINST THE U.S.? IN WHAT WAYS HAS IRAN BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT FOSTERING GREATER ANTI-AMERICANISM IN THE REGION? WHAT KINDS OF COVERT IRANIAN ACTIVITY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE REGION? TO WHAT EXTENT DO IRAN AND LATIN AMERICA APPEAR TO SHARE INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION? HAS IRAN PROVIDED INTELLIGENCE TRAINING WITHIN THE REGION? 3) (S/NF) IS IRAN SUPPORTING TERRORIST ACTIVITIES IN LATIN AMERICA? IS IT RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPORTING OR TRAINING ILLEGAL ARMED GROUPS IN COLOMBIA OR ELSEWHERE? IS IRAN FACILITATING LETHAL AID FOR ITS ALLIES OR WORKING TO ESTABLISH NEW TERRORIST INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE REGION? 4) (S/NF) HOW IS IRAN CIRCUMVENTING ECONOMIC SANCTIONS THROUGH ITS TIES IN THE REGION? WHAT KINDS OF COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS ARE DEVELOPING BETWEEN IRAN AND THE REGION? DO JOINT BUSINESS VENTURES WITH IRAN TURN A PROFIT? WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE EXPANDED TRADE RELATIONSHIPS WITH IRAN? ARE THESE TRADE AGREEMENTS FOCUSED ON SPECIFIC GOODS OR SECTORS? IS THERE ANY INDICATION OF TRADE INCLUDING MATERIALS OR TECHNOLOGY WHICH COULD BE USED FOR WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT BY IRAN? 5) (S/NF) HOW SUCCESSFUL HAVE TEHRAN'S EFFORTS TO EXERT INFLUENCE IN THE REGION THROUGH CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PROSELYTIZATION BEEN? ARE THERE ANY INDICATIONS THAT THESE EFFORTS HAVE EFFECTIVELY FOSTERED EXTREMISM IN LATIN AMERICA? WHAT IS THE RELIGIOUS SHIA CONNECTION COUNTRY TO COUNTRY? ...8) (S/NF) WHAT IS THE STATUS OF IRAN'S EXISTING MILITARY AGREEMENTS WITH LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES? WHAT STATE-TO-STATE MILITARY AGREEMENTS IS IRAN PURSUING IN LATIN AMERICA? 9) (S/NF) SPECIFICALLY, REGARDING IRAN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH VENEZUELA, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF IRAN'S AGREEMENT WITH VENEZUELA TO OVERHAUL VENEZUELAN F-5 AIRCRAFT ENGINES, IRAN'S CONTRACT WITH VENEZUELA TO CONSTRUCT MUNITIONS PLANTS, AND THE AGREEMENT WITH VENEZUELA TO PROCURE IRANIAN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS) AND LIGHT IRANIAN AIRCRAFT? WHAT IS VENEZUELA'S LEVEL OF SATISFACTION REGARDING THE QUALITY OF MILITARY GOODS AND TRAINING IT HAS RECEIVED FROM IRAN? IS THERE ANY INFORMATION INDICATING PDVSA PLANES ARE BEING USED TO TRANSPORT ARMS FROM TEHRAN TO DAMASCUS AS REPORTED IN OPEN SOURCES? IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE CARACAS-BOUND IRANIAN CARGO SEIZED BY TURKEY? WHO OR WHAT ENTITY IN THE VENEZUELAN MILITARY OR CAVIM ORDERED IT AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE? ARE TEHRAN AND CARACAS ACTIVELY PURSUING ANY FORM OF NUCLEAR COOPERATION? AND IF SO, FOR WHAT PURPOSE? WHAT IS THE NATURE OF WEEKLY CONVIASA FLIGHTS BETWEEN CARACAS AND TEHRAN? DO WE HAVE ANY INFORMATION THAT THESE ARE BEING USED FOR TERRORISM PURPOSES? ¶C. (U) FOR LATIN AMERICAN POSTS: 1) (S/NF) WHAT DO LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES WANT FROM IRAN? HOW ARE REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS, ESPECIALLY BUT NOT LIMITED TO VENEZUELA, BOLIVIA, ECUADOR, AND NICARAGUA, CATERING TO IRANIAN OVERTURES? TO WHAT EXTENT ARE LATIN AMERICAN LEADERS CONCERNED ABOUT IRAN'S HISTORIC TIES TO TERRORISM AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF CLOSER TIES TO TEHRAN ON THEIR OWN INTERNATIONAL STANDING? 2) (S/NF) WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE IRANIAN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND THE HOST GOVERNMENTS IN LATIN AMERICA? WHAT SORT OF DIPLOMATIC COOPERATION DO LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS ENVISION WITH IRAN? WHAT ARE THE GOVERNMENTS' PERCEPTIONS AND DECISION-MAKING REGARDING GAINS VS COSTS/RISKS OF INVOLVEMENT WITH IRANIAN OFFICIALS? WHAT LIMITATIONS DO LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS PLACE ON COOPERATION WITH IRAN? HOW MUCH DO REGIONAL, US, OR WORLD REACTIONS FACTOR INTO LATIN AMERICAN POLICYMAKING TOWARDS IRAN? HOW ARE DISAGREEMENTS WITHIN LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS REGARDING INVOLVEMENT WITH IRAN HANDLED? 3) (S/NF) WHAT IS THE STATUS OF AGREEMENTS OR BUSINESS VENTURES SIGNED BETWEEN IRANIAN ENTITIES AND LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS OR PRIVATE FIRMS? WHAT SORT OF FINANCIAL AID OR CASH TRANSFERS IS TEHRAN PROVIDING TO LATIN AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS? HOW MUCH AID IS DELIVERED AS OPPOSED TO PROMISED? 4) (S/NF) TO WHAT EXTENT ARE HOST GOVERNMENTS WILLING TO ASSIST THE U.S. AGAINST THE IRANIAN TARGET? 5) (C/NF) WHAT IS THE SIZE OF THE SHIA MUSLIM COMMUNITY? WHICH ARE THE KNOWN HIZBALLAH "CLANS?" 6) (S/NF) WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITIES AT THE IRANIAN DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS, NGOS, AND IRANIAN CULTURAL CENTERS IN LATIN AMERICA AND HOW ARE THEY BEING USED TO EXPAND INFLUENCE? WHAT DO LATIN AMERICAN CONVERTS TO SHIA ISLAM, OR OTHER STUDENTS OF IRANIAN INDOCTRINATION, DO UPON RETURN TO THE REGION FROM RELIGIOUS TRAINING IN IRAN? WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IRANIAN EMBASSIES AND CULTURAL CENTERS AND KNOWN HIZBALLAH MEMBERS OR SUPPORTERS IN THE REGION? 7) (S/NF) IN ADDITION TO NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, HAS IRAN ESTABLISHED TIES WITH ANY NONGOVERNMENTAL GROUPS OR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES? IF SO, WITH WHICH GROUPS/PEOPLES AND WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF IRAN'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE GROUPS/PEOPLES? HAS IRAN PROVIDED THESE GROUPS/PEOPLES WITH MONEY OR OTHER SUPPORT? HAVE THE IRANIANS ESTABLISHED ANY TIES WITH OTHER RADICAL OR TERRORIST GROUPS, LIKE THE FARC? ARE IRANIAN OFFICIALS OR THEIR SURROGATES INVOLVED IN OTHER ILLICIT ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS NARCOTRAFFICKING? ¶2. (U) PLEASE CITE C-AL8-02836 IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF REPORTING IN RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS. CLINTON
Sunday, March 13, 2011Elder of ZiyonA shattered cooling pump at Iran’s only civilian nuclear-power reactor, forcing a shutdown during its initial start-up phase, has renewed safety concerns about the hybrid Russian-German power plant on the Persian Gulf coast.Iran is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.
The 1000-megawatt power plant at Bushehr combines a German- designed plant begun under the rule of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in the 1970’s and Russian technology installed over the last decade. Safety questions have raised concern among some nuclear-power experts and in neighboring countries such as Kuwait, which is vulnerable in the event of a radiation leak since it is downwind about 170 miles (275 kilometers).
Nuclear experts cite potential safety issues due to the hybrid design, Iranian nuclear inexperience, the Islamic state’s reluctance to join international safety monitoring programs, and the unknown reliability of some of the original components.
Bushehr also sits at the junction of three tectonic plates, raising concerns that an earthquake could damage the plant and crack its containment dome, or disrupt the electrical supply needed to keep it safe, said Dr. Jassem al-Awadi, a geologist at the University of Kuwait. Bushehr was hit with a 4.6 magnitude temblor in 2002.
Winds in the Persian Gulf blow from East to West and coastal currents circle counter-clockwise, meaning Kuwait and the Saudi Arabia would feel the effects of a radiation leak at Bushehr within hours, notes Sami Alfaraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies. And with the Gulf Arab states reliant for their freshwater on desalination plants that line the coast, long-term contamination of the Gulf could prove fatal.
“What are our concerns -- water and air, and these are the essence of life for everybody,” Alfaraj said in an interview. “The Iranians have said so far ‘trust us,’ and it’s quite difficult to trust them and the next thing is to trust Russian certification and it’s very difficult to trust that.”
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