Iran the Next Battlefield - Thread Renamed

[American Patriot]

Talk of Israeli Strike in Iran Shows Risks: Rice
Reuters via NYT ^ | Jan. 14, 2007 | Staff



JERUSALEM - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that speculation about an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities underscored the risk of failing to persuade Tehran to halt uranium enrichment.


Rice, in an interview with Israel's Channel 10 television, said she believed there was still ``plenty of room for diplomacy'' in curbing an Iranian nuclear program that Western powers fear could lead to making bombs.


Asked for her view of an Israeli military operation in Iran should diplomacy fail, she replied: ``Well, I think that even talk of such just shows how very serious it would be to have Iran continue its programs unabated.''


Rice was in Israel and the Palestinian Territories as part of a regional visit to explore the chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking and to seek Arab help to stabilize Iraq.


Britain's Sunday Times reported a week ago that Israel had drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.
Israel has refused to rule out pre-emptive military action against Iran along the lines of its 1981 air strike against an atomic reactor in Iraq, though many analysts believe Iran's nuclear facilities are too much for Israel to take on alone.


Washington has said military force remains an option while insisting that its priority is to reach a diplomatic solution.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...

[American Patriot]

White House: Can't rule out attack on Iran



Several senators have voiced opposition to the idea of the United States entering Iran.


Last week, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a hearing on Iraq, "I believe the present authorization granted the president to use force in Iraq does not cover that, and he does need congressional authority to do that."


Rice did not rule out entering Iran or give a position on whether the Bush administration would need congressional approval.


Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, told Rice, "No one in our government can sit here today and tell Americans that we won't engage the Iranians and the Syrians cross-border."



Comparisons to Vietnam war; "When our government lied to the American people and said, 'We didn't cross the border going into Cambodia,' in fact, we did," Hagel said, referring to the Vietnam war. "So, Madam Secretary, when you set in motion the kind of policy that the president is talking about here, it's very, very dangerous."

[American Patriot]

Next target Tehran
The Guardian ^ | Monday January 15, 2007 | Dan Plesch



The evidence is building up that President Bush plans to add war on Iran to his triumphs in Iraq and Afghanistan - and there is every sign, to judge by his extraordinary warmongering speech in Plymouth on Friday, that Tony Blair would be keen to join him if he were still in a position to commit British forces to the field. (note by poster: Warmongering speach? Is this a fair an balanced paper? I think not! RD)



"There's a strong sense in the upper echelons of the White House that Iran is going to surface relatively quickly as a major issue - in the country and the world - in a very acute way," said NBC TV's Tim Russert after meeting the president. This is borne out by the fact that Bush has sent forces to the Gulf that are irrelevant to fighting the Iraqi insurgents. These include Patriot anti-missile missiles, an aircraft carrier, and cruise-missile-firing ships.


Many military analysts see these deployments as signals of impending war with Iran. The Patriot missiles are intended to shoot down Iranian missiles. The naval forces, including British ships, train to pre-empt Iranian interference with oil shipments through the straits of Hormuz.


(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...

[American Patriot]

Official Rejects Rumors about Iran-US Clash in Persian Gulf
Fars News Agency ^ | 15:30 | 2007-01-14



TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Deputy Governor General of Iran's southern province of Hormuzgan strongly rejected rumors about eruption of clashes between Iranian and US battleships in the Persian Gulf.


Speaking to FNA, the official viewed the rumor as a part of the enemies' psychological war on Iran, and added, "Such efforts are made to break the Iranians' resolve after West's efforts in the form of the UN Security Council Resolution 1737 to influence Iran's decision through downgrading public morale failed."


An informed source in the security department of the Iranian interior ministry also denied such reports as baseless.


The only operation on the coastal provinces in southern Iran in the last two days pertained to a clash between Iran's Law Enforcement Police and a gang of smugglers in the vicinity of the Persian Gulf port city of Jask.


Since the early hours of Sunday morning, many Iranian subscribers have received an SMS which spoke of a clash between Iranian and American battleships in the Persian Gulf waters.

[American Patriot]

Iran target of US Gulf military moves, Gates says
the Guardian ^ | Monday January 15, 2007 | Mark Tran and agencies



Increased US military activity in the Gulf is aimed at Iran's "very negative" behaviour, the Bush administration said today.


The defence secretary, Robert Gates, told reporters that the decision to deploy a Patriot missile battalion and a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf in conjunction with a "surge" of troops in Iraq was designed to show Iran that the US was not "overcommitted" in Iraq.


Speaking in Brussels after meeting Nato officials, Mr Gates said: "We are simply reaffirming that statement of the importance of the Gulf region to the United States and our determination to be an ongoing strong presence in that area for a long time into the future."


Mr Gates, who as recently as 2004 publicly called for diplomatic engagement with Iran, said the situation was now different. In 2004, Iran was concerned by the presence of US forces on its eastern and western borders, in Iraq and Afghanistan, but its behaviour had changed.


(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...

[American Patriot]

FLASH TRAFFIC: DISPATCH FROM JERUSALEM: BUSH SPEECH SEEN AS PREPARING FOR WAR WITH IRAN
joelrosenberg.com ^ | 1/15/07 | Joel Rosenberg


* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *

DISPATCH FROM JERUSALEM: BUSH SPEECH SEEN AS PREPARING FOR WAR WITH IRAN

By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Jerusalem, Israel) -- "Our best case scenario is for missiles to be hitting us in the next year or two. Either the West goes to war to stop Iran from going nuclear, and Iran fires conventional missiles at us in retaliation, or the West waits too long and Iran launches a nuclear first strike at us. Either way, a terrible war is coming. It cannot be avoided."

That's the sobering assessment a senior Israeli political leader shared with me over breakfast this week.

In that context, President Bush's recalibrated Mideast strategy is resonating positively here. The combination of 20,000 more U.S. troops in Iraq, a second U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier headed towards the Persian Gulf, the buildup of more anti-missile batteries near Iran, and a flat out rejection of appeasement talks with Iran and Syria indicates that the White House is not only serious about defeating the forces of radical Islam in and around Baghdad, but may in fact be gearing up for a military showdown with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his fanatic disciples in 2007.

Secretary of State Condi Rice, here in the region this week, downplayed that view somewhat, saying in Jerusalem that "the U.S. is simply responding to Iranian activities that have been going on for a while now that … endanger our forces." But there is no question that the Arab and Iranian press are interpreting the President's moves as a step towards war.

I've been in Israel for the past ten days filming an EPICENTER documentary for network broadcast and nationwide release later this year. Picking up on the themes from the book, the film will focus on the urgency of the Iranian nuclear threat; how Shiite eschatology is driving Iranian foreign policy; why Russia is selling Iran missiles, submarines and nuclear technology; the differences between Islamic conceptions of end times prophecy and Judeo-Christian expectations of the last days; and how evangelical Christians and Israeli Jews can work together in light of this common enemy.

Exclusive interviews this week included: * Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister and current Likud leader * Natan Sharansky, former Deputy Prime Minister and founder of OneJerusalem.org * Moshe Yaalon, former Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff * Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and author of the forthcoming book, THE FIGHT FOR JERUSALEM

I asked Netanyahu how much time the West has to stop Ahmadinejad. "Not much," he said, noting that when he was Prime Minister both India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons to the shock of all Western intelligence agencies and that Iran could be much closer to getting the Bomb than anyone realizes. "Nothing else matters -- not Iraq, not the peace process with the Palestinians -- if Iran is allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. They must be stopped."

Sharansky warned that action needs to be taken in 2007, or it could be too late. Ambassador Gold told me that Ahmadinejad's cult of "Twelvers" -- Shiites feverishly preparing for the coming of the Twelfth Imam, or the "Mahdi" -- recently claimed to have pre-positioned sleeper cells of Mahdi warriors in Jerusalem and that Messianic fever is sweeping the Shiite crescent from Iran and southern Iraq to Lebanon.

[A very special thanks to the staff of OneJerusalem.org who arranged these interviews for us. They are one of the leading organizations in the U.S. and Israel in helping journalists and bloggers understand the threats facing Israel and making top experts available for interviews.]

In addition to interviews, we've been doing a lot of on-location filming, including in the Netanyahu tunnels underneath the Old City, on Har Megiddo (the mountain known in the Bible as Armageddon), and Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial). The most remarkable moment of the week - aside from the half hour I spent interviewing Netanyahu this afternoon - was an hour-long helicopter ride with our film crew flying over Israel and Jerusalem at sunset. It was absolutely breathtaking. The footage is amazing. I never thought I'd have the opportunity to do something like that. Can't wait for you to see it. I'll give you updates on the progress of the documentary in the weeks ahead.

Another objective of these past ten days was for Lynn and myself and members of The Joshua Fund board to meet with top Israeli evangelical and Messianic Jewish leaders find ways to bring more humanitarian relief into the country both to care for the poor and needy as well as to pre-position emergency relief supplies for the coming war with Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas. I'll have more specifics to report to you on The Joshua Fund's plans and partnerships in the next week or so. Thanks so much to all of you who have invested in this work to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. It could not be more urgent.

By the way, I'd appreciate your prayers concerning an interesting opportunity that has arisen. I've been invited by a top Iranian evangelical leader to teach for three days on "God's Love and Plan For Iran" in a series of programs that will be televised live by satellite into Iran in February. Each broadcast will be shown in prime time and seen by an estimated three to five million Iranians. The programs will be available to about 80% of Iranian households and could be seen top mullahs and intelligence officials, as well as Ahmadinejad himself. My talks will be translated simultaneously -- phrase by phrase -- into Farsi and since the programs are live, I will be able to respond in real time to phone calls and emails, answering people's questions about the differences between the Islamic conception of the Messiah and the Biblical teachings about the Second Coming of Jesus, as well helping both Iranian Christians and Shiites understand the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39. The programs will then be turned into a DVD to create a teaching tool for thousands of underground pastors operating in house churches throughout Iran. I'd be grateful for your prayers for wisdom to communicate accurately and clearly, and for physical and spiritual protection for myself and my family. Thanks so much.

[American Patriot]

Iran denies freeze in nuke activity
AP via Jerusalem Post ^ | Jan. 14, 2007 | Staff

Iran on Sunday denied reports that nuclear activities had stalled at one of its uranium enrichment plants and reiterated it would press ahead with the program which the West fears could be used to make nuclear arms.

"Activities in Natanz continue," Mohammad Ali Hosseini, spokesman of Iran's Foreign Ministry, said during a weekly media briefing, in response to a question whether nuclear enrichment at the plant had stopped.

On Thursday, diplomats in Vienna - headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency which inspects Iran's declared nuclear sites - had said that despite tough talk from Teheran leaders, Iran's uranium enrichment program appears stalled, leaving intelligence services puzzled.

Deputy chief of Iran's atomic energy organization, Mohammad Saeedi, promptly dismissed the suggestions by the diplomats accredited or otherwise linked to the Vienna-based IAEA that the current calm at the Natanz site could be a front.

While the world's attention is focused on Natanz, Iranian scientists and military personnel could be working on a secret enrichment program at some unknown and possibly more advanced site, according to the diplomats, who had demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing restricted information.

There have been no signs of any activity linked to plans to assemble 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz and move them into an underground facility as the start of an ambitious program foreseeing more than 50,000 centrifuges producing enriched material, the diplomats said.

"Iran has a plan for production of nuclear fuel, so it should not cross anybody's mind Iran might stop its activities," Saeedi said.

Earlier in January, two inspectors from the IAEA arrived here to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz and Isfahan.

Iran's parliament had urged the government in late December to re-examine its ties with the UN nuclear agency following a Security Council decision to impose limited sanctions against Teheran over its refusal to cease enrichment of uranium - a process that produces the material for either nuclear reactors or atomic bombs.

Iran says that as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty it has the right to develop a peaceful uranium enrichment program to produce nuclear power.

The United States and its European allies suspect Iran's civilian nuclear program is a cover for developing a nuclear bomb. Iran denies the charges and says its program is strictly for generating electricity.

Criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's hard-line nuclear diplomacy tactics has recently increased at home, in the wake of municipal elections last month in which candidates associated with the president sustained a humiliating defeat.

[American Patriot]

Russian missiles delivered to Iran: Ivanov
reuters ^ | Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:13am ET



MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has delivered new anti-aircraft missile systems to Iran and will consider further requests by Tehran for defensive weapons, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.


"We have supplied the modern short-range anti-aircraft systems TOR-M1 in accordance with our contracts," Ivanov told reporters. "Iran is not under sanctions and if it wants to buy defensive ... equipment for its armed forces then why not?"


(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...


Tor M1 can detect and track up to 48 targets (minimum radar cross section of 0.1 square meter) at a maximum range of 25 km, and engage two of them simultaneously, at a speed of up to 700 m/sec, and at a distance of 1 to 12 km. The system's high lethality (aircraft kill probability of 0.92-0.95) is maintained at altitude of 10 – 6,000 m'.

[American Patriot]

Iran Gets Army Gear in Pentagon Sale
mywaynews ^ | Jan 16, 7:57 AM | SHARON THEIMER




WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. military has sold forbidden equipment at least a half-dozen times to middlemen for countries - including Iran and China - who exploited security flaws in the Defense Department's surplus auctions. The sales include fighter jet parts and missile components.


In one case, federal investigators said, the contraband made it to Iran, a country President Bush branded part of an "axis of evil."


In that instance, a Pakistani arms broker convicted of exporting U.S. missile parts to Iran resumed business after his release from prison. He purchased Chinook helicopter engine parts for Iran from a U.S. company that had bought them in a Pentagon surplus sale. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, speaking on condition of anonymity, say those parts made it to Iran.


The surplus sales can operate like a supermarket for arms dealers


(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...

[American Patriot]

Iran Shoots Down US Spy Plane-(drone)
fars ^ | 1/16/07 | na








TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iranian military troops have shot down a spy plane of the US army during the last few days, an Iranian MP said here on Tuesday.


Representative of Dasht-e Azadegan at the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Seyed Nezam Mola Hoveizeh also told FNA that the aircraft has been a spy drone of the US army and that it has been shot down when trying to cross the borders.


"Americans send such spy drones to the region every now and then," the lawmaker further pointed out.

[American Patriot]

Targeting Iran?
Economist ^ | Jan. 15, 2007 | Staff




Iran's nuclear activities and its influence in Iraq are provoking stronger responses from America and others


GEORGE BUSH could hardly be clearer in his disagreement with those, such as the members of the Baker-Hamilton Commission, who have argued for an early exit from Iraq coupled with the wooing of its big neighbour, Iran. Last week he announced that another 21,500 American troops will be sent to Baghdad in an effort to impose a military solution there. Then came the sabre-rattling towards Iran. He confirmed the deployment of an extra carrier strike group and Patriot anti-missile batteries to the Middle East—a clear signal that he is giving himself the option of a military strike to halt Iran's suspected development of nuclear weapons.


As he announced the extra troops for Iraq, Mr Bush said that America would “seek out and destroy” foreign-supported networks trying to destabilise the country. The next day, on Thursday January 11th, American forces raided an Iranian “liaison office” in Arbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. The troops arrested six Iranian nationals (releasing one later), and seized computers and documents. Iran protested that the men were diplomats. An American military statement said that those arrested were suspected of being “closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and coalition forces”.


The tension between America and Iran is caused in part by Iran’s activities in Iraq. Dick Cheney, the vice-president, said on January 14th that “It's been pretty well known that Iran is fishing in troubled waters, if you will, inside Iraq, and the president has responded to that.” The arrest of the men in Arbil mirrored a round-up of Iranians in Baghdad last month. After that incident, two who turned out to be diplomats were soon released and the rest were kicked out of the country.


But the greater concern is Iran's nuclear programme. To deal with that, America and others are trying to turn up the diplomatic heat. On December 23rd, the UN’s Security Council passed, for the first time, sanctions on the Islamic republic for its nuclear programme. The measure was relatively mild, in order to get the veto-wielding Russians and Chinese on board. But it nonetheless riled the Iranian establishment. Iran’s leaders spluttered that America somehow manipulated the council to get the resolution passed.


Weak though they are, the UN sanctions could make Iran’s nuclear work marginally more difficult by banning exports to Iran that could help the programme. Iran made it clear on January 15th that it is pressing on regardless and it intends to install 3,000 atomic centrifuges to produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale. But other steps are being taken. America has already started tightening the financial noose, banning banks operating in America from doing any business with Bank Sepah, a big Iranian bank that the superpower says is connected to Iran’s nuclear programme. And more restrictions could follow: last month’s resolution came with a two-month deadline to reassess Iran’s compliance. China’s president recently told Iran’s nuclear negotiator that the resolution deserved a “serious” response.


Although China and Iran have a growing energy relationship, the Asian power is getting tougher on proliferation. Russia remains the most important of Iran’s defenders.


As America turns up the heat in its way, Israel has been less subtle. A week ago the Sunday Times of London suggested that Israeli pilots have been training for nuclear strikes on Iranian facilities. This hardly implies a strike is in the offing, but the news added to the sabre-rattling.


Iran, meanwhile, may be trying make itself less vulnerable in the longer-term. In late December it announced it would try to double its petrol-refining capacity by 2016. This may be to guard Iran’s Achilles’ heel, its need to import refined fuel despite its enormous crude-oil reserves.

Future sanctions could target those imports. And Iran continues to talk tough. Its nuclear negotiator has said that while its current nuclear programme is peaceful, it may not remain so if Iran is “threatened”. Iran’s leaders may just be sensing that world opinion, not just that of America, Europe and Israel, is turning against them.

[American Patriot]

Defense Secretary, in Afghan Capital, Scolds Iran
NYT ^ | 01/16/07 | DAVID S. CLOUD



Defense Secretary, in Afghan Capital, Scolds Iran
By DAVID S. CLOUD



Published: January 16, 2007


KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 15 — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Monday that Iran was “acting in a very negative way” in the Middle East and that the United States was building up its forces to demonstrate its resolve to remain in the Persian Gulf.


“The Iranians clearly believe that we are tied down in Iraq, that they have the initiative, that they’re in a position to press us in many ways,” Mr. Gates said, speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels before flying here. “We are simply trying to communicate to the region that we are going to be there for a long time.”


Delivering that message to Iran — and to allies in the region worried that Washington is consumed with stabilizing Iraq — is one of Mr. Gates’s priorities on a trip to the region this week that will take him later to the Persian Gulf.


Senior Pentagon officials said they also planned to stress to the largely Sunni Arab governments worried about Iran that they must assist the United States in Iraq with reconstruction aid and with putting pressure on fellow Sunnis to reach political reconciliation.


President Bush announced last week, in his speech laying out his new Iraq strategy, that he was also sending a second aircraft carrier and several Patriot antimissile batteries to the Persian Gulf.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...

[American Patriot]

Israel buzzes over notion of attacking Iran
cs monitor ^ | January 16, 2007 | Ilene Prusher



JERUSALEM - When a US secretary of State comes to town, all eyes are on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


But as Condoleezza Rice's weekend visit here demonstrated, there is no issue dominating the agenda like the international standoff surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions.


A report last week in one of Britain's leading newspapers, The Sunday Times, claimed that Israel was making preparations for a conventional attack on Iran to destroy its uranium enrichment facilities. Ms. Rice, asked in an Israeli television interview during her visit if the US would support such an Israeli strike, gave a reply that didn't exactly douse the smoldering signals emanating from Israel and Iran. Rather, the fact that some kind of a confrontation is now talked about openly, she said, is an indication of how grave the situation has become.




(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...

[American Patriot]

Ban, Bush agree Iran nuclear crisis "serious"
AFP via Khaleej Times ^ | Jan. 17, 2007 | Staff

WASHINGTON - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he and US President George W. Bush agreed in talks Tuesday that the Iranian nuclear problem is a “serious” issue threatening international security.


But he rejected any preemptive military action on Iran by states that felt threatened by Tehran’s nuclear activities, saying it ”should be discussed” at the UN Security Council.


Ban said he discussed the Iranian crisis with Bush in their first meeting after the South Korean official assumed office on January 1.


“We are of the same position that this is one of the serious issues which threaten peace and security of the world,” Ban said when answering questions after delivering a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.


He said that Iran’s sensitive uranium enrichment activity “has very serious and wide implications for not only the Middle East but also all around the world.


“The international commumity should prevent the Iranian government from further firing its nuclear technologies,” Ban said, citing sanctions adopted by the Security Council recently.


The 15-member Council unanimously passed a resolution in December, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, mandating sanctions targeting Iran’s sensitive nuclear and ballistic missile programs over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities.


But a defiant Iran vowed to start work immediately on drastically expanding its capacity to enrich uranium.


Ban urged the Iranian authorities “to fully comply” with the resolution and at the same time “engage in diplomatic negotiations with countries, particularly the European Union, and members of the Security Council” to resolve the issue.


To a question on whether states which felt threatened by Iran’s nuclear activity could take preemptive military action against it, Ban said, “that should be discussed at the Security Council.”


The United States has said that military force remains an option over the Iranian issue while insisting that its priority is to reach a diplomatic solution.

[American Patriot]

Iran: America Goes on the Offensive
Strategy Page ^ | 1/17/07 | staff



January 17, 2007: In the last month, Iran has become aware that the U.S. is deliberately hunting down Iranian agents inside Iraq. For most of the last year, Iran believed that it's high ranking contacts in the Iraqi government gave its men immunity. Certainly the Iraqi police would not touch them (the head of the national police, and Interior Ministry, was a pro-Iranian Iraqi Shia). But the Americans simply brush aside any Iraqi troops or police who get in the way, and grab Iranians. This is being done without much publicity at all. It's as if the Americans were just collecting evidence and building a case. A case for what?


(Excerpt) Read more at strategypage.com ...

[American Patriot]

Russia confirms it has delivered missile systems to Iran

The Boston Globe ^ | 1-17-2006 | Guy Faulconbridge



MOSCOW -- Russia said yesterday it had delivered new anti aircraft missile systems to Iran and would consider more requests from Tehran for defensive weapons, immediately drawing criticism from the United States. The United States accuses Iran of seeking nuclear arms and undermining security in the Middle East. The United Nations has banned sensitive nuclear trade with Iran but there are no sanctions on conventional weapons. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told reporters in Moscow that Russia had supplied the modern short-range anti aircraft systems TOR-M1.


(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...

[American Patriot]

U.S. MULLS IRAN ATTACK IN EARLY 2007
menl ^



WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has signaled to Gulf Arab allies that an attack on Iran could take place in 2007.


Diplomatic sources said the Bush administration has raised the prospect of a U.S. strike on Iran over the next few months. The sources said the discussions with Gulf Cooperation Council states have also been conducted by U.S. Central Command as well as the U.S. intelligence community.


"There has not been a U.S. commitment, but the discussions have been interpreted as an expression of intent," the source said. "Right now, the U.S. message is that the GCC must get ready for any contingency."


On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets foreign ministers from the GCC states as well as Egypt and Jordan. The sources said Ms. Rice intends to brief the foreign ministers on U.S. strategy toward Iraq and Iran in a meeting scheduled to take place in Kuwait.

[American Patriot]

U.S. officials say rumour of Iran strike not true
Scotsman ^ | 1/18/2007



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defence officials on Thursday said a rumoured Iranian missile strike on a U.S. naval vessel in the Gulf was not true.


"No such event took place," said one of the officials on condition of anonymity.


The bond market briefly pared losses on talk of possible military engagement between the United States and Iran, but turned back down after the U.S. Defence Department said the incident did not occur.


Tensions are high between Washington and Tehran. The United States accuses Iran of supporting insurgents in Iraq and charges that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian energy program.


The Pentagon has increased the U.S. military presence in the Gulf in recent weeks, a move widely seen as a warning against provocative actions by Iran.

[Brian Baldwin]

I was watching "Future Weapons" on Discovery the other night. They mentioned that Metal Storm would be going into service world wide in little more than a couple of months. They don't just fire bullets at a million rounds per minute either. They shoot grenades, missiles, and anything else almost as fast. Said no incoming missle can counter it. Anyone have any info on this beyond the videos and demonstrations of it? As a counter measure this thing would really be the high end of our defense if it's as good as what the program showed.

[American Patriot]

http://www.metalstorm.com/index.php?...Live%20Firings