IAEA head: Attacking Iran would be 'madness'

clipped from www.usatoday.com The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency cautioned on Thursday that an attack on Iran over its refusal to freeze programs that could make nuclear weapons would be "an act of madness," in indirect warnings to the United States and Israel. IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei also said Iran would likely be running close to 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges by the end of next month — a number agency officials have described as the point of no return in the start of a large-scale program ElBaradei described any use of force as "an act of madness ... (that) would not resolve the issue." "The next few months will be crucial," he said, adding: "Iran is building a capacity, a knowledge" of enrichment that is irreversible, while not providing "an assurance that this is a peaceful program." "The longer we delay, the less option we have to reach a peaceful solution," he warned. ElBaradei spoke at the end of a meeting of his agency's 35-nation board

1967 Nuclear avoide! 2007 nuclear M-East

clipped from www.jpost.com 'Military plan against Iran is ready' Jun. 10, 2007 On Sunday, the Israel Air Force held joint exercises with visiting US pilots, but IDF sources dismissed speculation that the drills were connected to an attack on Iran. According to a high-ranking American military officer, the US Navy and Air Force would play the primary roles in any military action taken against Iran. One idea under consideration is a naval blockade designed to cut off Iran's oil exports. On Sunday, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut said the US should consider a military strike against Iran over its support of Iraqi insurgents. Predictions within the US military are that Bush will do what is needed to stop Teheran before he leaves office in 2009, including possibly launching a military strike against its nuclear facilities. Bush has repeatedly said the United States would not allow Iran to "go nuclear."

What's behind the calls for the U.S. It's All About Israel

clipped from www.antiwar.com The Israelis clearly intend to crouch behind their nuclear shield as they expand their sphere of influence, and this has been especially true since the implementation of the "Clean Break" scenario espoused by the Likudniks and their American co-thinkers. Growing Israeli influence in Kurdistan, recent incursions into Lebanon, and the purported ability of Israeli agents to penetrate Iran's borders attest to the success of their strategy. While American soldiers in Iraq take bullets from Sunni insurgents – and, increasingly, radical Shi'ite militias – the Israelis have been quietly (and not so quietly) taking the spoils of our Pyrrhic "victory." It is also radically heretical in the West, where discussion of Israel's unquestioned hegemony in the region – and in the politics of policy formulation in the U.S. and Western Europe – is prohibited. Which is why I've been practically alone, until recently, in challenging the prevailing orthodoxy.