Good Luck With That

Yesterday we heard that the U.N. Security Council resolved to get rid of the world's nuclear weapons.

Today we hear that Iran is now admitting to a secret uranium enrichment facility because Western intelligence agencies have discovered its existence.

The U.N. is a completely impotent organization, and they will not be able to stop Iran, North Korea, or any other nation from creating or stockpiling nuclear weapons. Sure, they might get leaders like Obama to reduce their country's nuclear arsenal, and they may be able to bribe some developing nations into not starting a nuclear program (at least not one that they let the world know about), but that is really about all that the U.N. will be able to accomplish on this empty, futile, feel-good endeavor.

USMC 9971 OUT

Iranian Belligerence

Iranian speed-boats harassed U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf three days ago. From CENTCOM:

Following a routine transit through the Strait of Hormuz Jan. 6, three U.S. Navy ships operating in international waters in the Persian Gulf were approached by five Iranian small boats that demonstrated irresponsible confrontational behavior near the U.S. ships.

U.S. Navy ships USS Port Royal (CG 73), USS Hopper (DDG 70) and USS Ingraham (FFG 61) were steaming in formation at approximately 8 a.m. as they finished a routine Strait of Hormuz transit when five boats, suspected to be from the Islamic Republic of Iran Revolutionary Guard Navy (IRGCN), maneuvered aggressively in close proximity of the Hopper.

Following standard procedure, Hopper issued warnings, attempted to establish communications with the small boats and conducted evasive maneuvering.

Considering that what happened to the USS Cole in 2000, the Iranians had to be aware that small watercraft would be seen as a threat if acting in an aggressive manner. They may have been trying to gauge what response the U.S. Navy would give, or they may have just been trying to create an incident.

The media may have lost interest with the region due to a lack of opportunity to push their doom-and-gloom, and with their focus now on the political primaries, it's not surprising that this was nothing more that a quick note before moving on to other stories. Had our Navy needed to use force to ensure the safety of our ships, however, I think that this would have been covered much more intensely. Hints and allegations of trying to start a war with Iran would likely have surfaced, along with suggestions that the incident was an attempt to take our focus off of domestic issues in order to help Republicans.

Is that too jaded? Maybe, but I'm glad we didn't need to find out this time. Our Sailors and Marines weren't harmed, the Iranians didn't get any propaganda out of this, and the pundits didn't get to spin it. On many levels, it's good that our Navy didn't need to escalate any further than they did.

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Strange Phenomenon

Cox & Forkum Editorial Cartoons

Ahmadinejad says that there are no homosexuals in Iran. He also says that Iran's nuclear program is not to develop a nuclear weapons, but rather for peaceful energy generation. I'm sure that we can trust him on both accounts.

What would the Democratic presidential hopefuls do to prevent Iran from continuing and expanding its nuclear program? They'd talk to him about it.

Asked whether they were prepared to use force to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, several of the hopefuls sidestepped. Instead, they said, all diplomacy must be exhausted in the effort.

Yep. I'm sure that reasonable academics such as Ahmadinejad will be swayed by robust dialogue. That'll do it.

Now we all just need to hope that Mahmoud was only kidding about that whole wiping Israel off of the map thing.

USMC 9971 OUT

Ahmadinejad Speaks Of Islam Ruling Over Mankind

Iranian tyrant Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had this to say three days ago.

"There is no truth on earth but monotheism and following tenets of Islam and there is no way for salvation of mankind but rule of Islam over mankind," said Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Afghan Sunni and Shiite ulama at Iranian Embassy in Kabul. [...]

He said, "All of us have the duty to resist the enemy by closing our ranks." [...]

The president said Islam belongs to all generations and Muslims should get ready for global mission of Islam.

Imagine if Bush would have said that there is no truth on earth but following the tenets of Christianity, and that mankind's salvation rested in the rule of Christianity over mankind. I am certain that the MSM and the political left, not to mention many of the governments around the globe, would have gone apoplectic. In this case, however, the ruler of Iran says that the world's salvation lies in having Islam rule over it, and there is not a peep to be heard.

Oh, and don't worry about Iran's work toward nuclear power. Their aspirations, after all, are peaceful and purely humanitarian.

USMC 9971 OUT

Hezbollah In South America

MSNBC has a story on Hezbollah's presence in South America. Considering that Iran has spent some time now becoming cozy with Venezuela, and that three of the six Muslims arrested in the Fort Dix plot were in the country illegally, this adds to the concerns that every American should have regarding our border security.

My concern here would be Iran getting nuclear, biological, or chemical materiel into Venezuela undetected under diplomatic seal. Following that, Hezbollah terrorists could collect that materiel and smuggle it across the U.S. southern border. At that point the materiel can be secreted by those who smuggled it in, or the materiel can be passed on to a sleeper cell, either way being maintained until it can be used in a terror attack on U.S. soil. It's a definitely possibility, if it hasn't been attempted or happened already.

When Iran thumbs its nose at the U.N. Security Council again over its nuclear program, we'll probably ratchet-up the rhetoric on not allowing a nuclear Iran. If we make good on that claim, there is a terror group sympathetic to Iran that is poised to our south and ready to retaliate against us for Iran. If we don't make good on that claim, and if Iran creates a nuclear weapon, then the stakes increase even more because Iran will have the ability to threaten all the nations of the Middle East and some European nations with nuclear attack, and to also direct their terrorist proxies in South America against the U.S. Either way, this isn't good.

The enemy won't be appeased, and they won't disengage even if we attempt to. This is going to be a very long war, and we must continue to bring the fight to them so that we can reduce their resources and keep them as occupied as possible as far away as we can.

USMC 9971 OUT

What's Good For The Goose...

Blindfolded, bound, isolated in stone cells, forced up against a wall while hearing the sound of cocking weapons, and receiving harsh interrogation from their captors. If it were alleged by terror suspects at Gitmo, the media would be continuously screaming about the U.S. government permitting the use of torture tactics. It was not the U.S. performing those actions, however, so once the MSM dutifully reported them, they also quickly forgot about them.

Now, I've had debates in the past with people over whether or not you could actually qualify any of the interrogation techniques at Gitmo as torture; I still say one could not. But, if the interrogation techniques at Gitmo were/are torture as some people say, then the Iranians are also guilty of torture for their treatment of the Brits.

Come on, now, idealists! Speak up, members of Congress who have accused the U.S. of supporting torture! I want to hear loud condemnations of Iran, followed by demands that the government officials responsible for the treatment of the Royal Navy victims be removed from office, and possibly tried for war crimes/crimes against humanity. Take them to the U.N. Insist upon sanctions. Speak out against the glaring human rights violations committed by Iran.

Shhhhh. Their silence is deafening.

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British Royal Navy Crew Repatriated

The fifteen Royal Navy crew members who were taken hostage on 23 March 2007 have been returned to the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, the whole incident has been a great propaganda victory for Ahmadinejad and Iran, and a major show of weakness by the West. If this worked for the Iranians, there is no reason why they wouldn't be willing to try it again in the future, and possibly for greater stakes.

The return of the British crew is the only good news stemming from this debacle.

USMC 9971 OUT

British Foot Patrol Ambushed; Iran Claims Provocation

British Ministry of Defense says that some of their troops, while on foot patrol in Basra, Iraq, returned fire after being ambushed near the Iranian consulate.

The Iranians took this opportunity to claim that the U.K. is being provocative, and then to make threats against the British sailors and marines being held hostage.

But Iranian Consul-General Mohammed Ridha Nasir Baghban said British forces had engaged in a "provocative act" that "could worsen the situation of the British sailors."

"British forces should rely on wisdom and not react because of the British forces' detention. This reflects negatively on bilateral relations," Baghban told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Baghban claimed British forces surrounded the consulate about 10 a.m. and fired randomly into the air.

I'll believe the British on this one, and I will say again: Iran needs to be kicked in the teeth.

USMC 9971 OUT

Kick Iran In The Teeth

Iran needs to immediately return all of the British sailors and marines it illegally took captive, and then the Iranians should sit down with British diplomats and work out terms for making reparations for the transgression. Anything short of that should result in the British military executing a prompt attack upon the refineries at Abadan, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Tehran.

That won't be done, but it should be.

And just for fun, I'd love to see some flares launched over some of the major mosques throughout Iran during Friday prayers. Not to do any damage, mind you, but rather to give the Iranians a little show of just how vulnerable they really are.

It's time to strike some terror in their hearts for a change.

USMC 9971 OUT

Changing The ROE For Iran In Iraq?

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. is changing its policy towards Iranian operatives encountered in Iraq from one of catch-and-release to one of capture-or-kill. The DCI recently briefed members of the Senate on Iranian activities in Iraq.

Three officials said that about 150 Iranian intelligence officers, plus members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Command, are believed to be active inside Iraq at any given time. There is no evidence the Iranians have directly attacked U.S. troops in Iraq, intelligence officials said.

But, for three years, the Iranians have operated an embedding program there, offering operational training, intelligence and weaponry to several Shiite militias connected to the Iraqi government, to the insurgency and to the violence against Sunni factions. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the director of the CIA, told the Senate recently that the amount of Iranian-supplied materiel used against U.S. troops in Iraq "has been quite striking."

Iran is currently meddling in Iraq, and more does need to be done than just capturing them, running them through a booking procedure, and then letting them go. At this point, Iran will have been put on notice that any of their people operating in Iraq without proper authorization, either government sanctioned or otherwise, may be treated as combatants if encountered.

One of the concerns, of course, is whether this will have the effect of further ramping up tensions between the U.S. and Iran. There is that possibility and, considering that Iran backs Hezbollah, and Hezbollah has cells within the U.S., there is the potential for an angered Iran to strike at U.S. interests both at home and abroad.

Considering that, though, I don't believe that the potential for Iran to take more aggressive action should stop us from engaging their unauthorized operatives in Iraq. Iran can avoid the problem of having their unauthorized operatives captured or killed in Iraq by removing their unauthorized operatives from Iraq. The ball is in Iran's court, and they can avoid increasing tensions by removing their people who aren't supposed to be in Iraq.

In my opinion, it's a step in the right direction.

USMC 9971 OUT

Iran And Syria Allegedly Violate Cease-Fire; Israel Condemned

According to Israel, a raid was executed by Israeli forces on a Hezbollah position within Lebanon in order to stop arms from being smuggled to the terror group from Iran and Syria. Kofi Annan promptly labeled the Israeli raid as a violation of the cease-fire resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 11 August 2006.

UNSCR 1701, the resolution which is the source of the cease-fire that Annan is referring to, did not only call for a cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, though. The resolution also required:

The full implementation of the provisions in UNSCR 1559 (02 September 2004) calling for all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias to be disbanded and disarmed.

The full implementation of the provisions in UNSCR 1680 (17 May 2006) calling for further efforts to have all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias disbanded and disarmed, and the restoration of the Lebanese government's control over all of Lebanon.

The prohibition of all States to allow the "sale or supply to any entity or individual in Lebanon of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts for the aforementioned, whether or not originating in their territories."

The prohibition of all States to provide any technical training or assistance to any individual or group in Lebanon in relation to the prohibited assets listed in the previous paragraph.

The establishment of a DMZ between the Litani River and the Blue Line (the border demarcation between Israel and Lebanon that the UN used to confirm that Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon in accordance with UNSCR 425) that would prohibit anyone, other than the authorized representatives of the Lebanese government and UNIFIL, to be in possession of arms or other military assets.

If the Israeli reason for the raid on Hezbollah is accurate, then there were violations of UNSCR 1701 prior to the Israeli raid.

VIOLATION OF PARAGRAPHS 3 AND 8 OF UNSCR 1701
The smuggling of arms to Hezbollah would be a violation of UNSCR 1701, paragraphs 3 and 8, since those paragraphs call for the implementation of UNSCRs 1559 and 1680 which demand the disarming and disbanding of groups such as Hezbollah.

VIOLATION OF PARAGRAPH 15(a) OF UNSCR 1701
The smuggling of arms to Hezbollah would be a violation of UNSCR 1701, paragraph 15(a), since it prohibits the supply of arms and military assets to groups such as Hezbollah.

The Lebanese Ambassador to the UN, Nouhad Mahmoud, stated before the cease-fire took effect that Lebanon was not going to disarm Hezbollah. Instead, Hezbollah would just leave the area with their arms and assets. Ambassador Mahmoud's statement made it clear that his nation was not going to adhere to all of the requirements of the cease-fire, yet Kofi Annan did not condemn this.

Iran and Syria, if arms were being smuggled from their territories to Hezbollah positions in Lebanon as Israel alleges, have violated the cease-fire agreement. Kofi Annan did not condemn their actions.

Israel may have just stopped a major violation of the cease-fire, not-to-mention taking an action which may have saved the lives of their own citizens by preventing Hezbollah from getting arms that could be used in future attacks against Israel. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev noted that Israel will not need to take these actions once the Lebanese army and international forces are active. For this, Kofi Annan finds the words and the time to condemn Israel.

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