Maliki Warns US on Iran; Will not allow Iraqi air space or land in any US Attack

Iran has resumed work on constructing highly sophisticated equipment that nuclear experts say is primarily used for building atomic weapons, according to the latest intelligence reports received by Western diplomats.

The work is aimed at developing the blueprint provided by Dr AQ Khan, the "father" of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, who sold Iran details of how to build atom bombs in the early 1990s.
By Con Coughlin
>Read the Article


Sunday, July 06, 2008

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told Bush Friday by video conference that the US could not use Iraqi territory or airspace to attack neighboring Iran.

He basically told Bush to suck it up and negotiate with Ahmadinejad. It is amazing what $70 billion a year in petroleum revenue will do for a prime minister's self-esteem. Al-Maliki met with top Iranian leaders in Tehran recently and appears to have reassured them that Washington would not be allowed to use Iraq as a springboard for an assault. Although some are wondering if al-Maliki is making a declaration of independence from the US, in fact he is just continuing the policy of Iraq's ruling Shiites since 2005 of seeking good relations with both Washington and Tehran.

Shiites demonstrated in Sadr City, Kufa and other southern Iraqi cities in the thousands on Friday against

the Status of Forces Agreement being hammered out between the Iraqi government and the Bush administration, complaining that it sells out Iraq's sovereignty to the US.

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that al-Maliki

said that Iraq has been able to end the ethnic war that some forces, internal and external, had sought to ignite.

Speaking at a commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the killing of Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim [on the Muslim lunar calendar] by a huge car bomb on Aug. 29, 2003, al-Maliki said that the siege of Baghdad

had been broken. But it was in 2004-2005 that Sunni Arab guerrillas were besieging Baghdad. In 2006-2008 the Shiite militias pushed them back and ethnically cleansed about half of the Sunnis from the city. So the most recent significant change is not a breaking of the Sunni siege but the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Sunnis from their homes. And, I'm afraid that you can't declare the war over as long as hundreds of civilians and more dozens or hundreds of "insurgents" are being killed every month. (The figure of Iraqi dead issued by the US per month excludes killed insurgents and also excludes civilians whose cause of death cannot surely be laid at the feet of political violence). For an alternative interpretation of how the violence in Baghdad was reduced, see Gregg Gordon.At the same event, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the clerical leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (al-Maliki's main backer in parliament), commended al-Maliki for his military campaigns against the [Mahdi Army] militiamen, saying it was important to establish a monopoly over the use of weaponry in the hands of the government. He also called for the expulsion from Iraq of some 4,000 Iranian activists from the Mujahidin-e Khalq organization, which the US lists as a terrorist group. Al-Hakim is head of the rival Badr Corps paramilitary, trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and so wants to see rivals such as the Mahdi Army and the Mojahidin-e Khalq weakened.

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that Shaikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbala'i called for Iraq to sell oil to Turkey

at a discount in return for a Turkish pledge to raise the level of the water in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. They have their headwaters in Anatolia, where Turkey is doing some damming for irrigation. The rivers have been low this spring, harming Iraqi agriculture and raising fears that Turkish dams are beginning to harm Iraq. In part also because of the disappointing rainy season in February, the low water level has allegedly driven many Iraqi poor farmers off their lands to seek work as day laborers in the cities.As usual with Sistani's representatives, al-Karbala'i is talking good sense when he suggests trading cheaper oil for increased water.

McClatchy reports political violence on Saturday:
Baghdad- On Friday night a roadside bombed detonated near the Salama hospital in Yarmouk neighborhood (west Baghdad). Two people were killed and eight others were injured.- Around 11 am a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Karrada neighborhood near Andalus intersection downtown Baghdad. Two people were injured including one policeman.- Police found 3 dead bodies in Baghdad : 2 were found in west Baghdad (Karkh bank); 1 in Saidiyah and 1 in Washash. While 1 was found in Ameen in east Baghdad in Risafa bank.Kirkuk- In the morning a roadside bomb targeted an official of the patriotic united of Kurdistan’s convoy. No casualties reported.Diyala- On Friday evening gunmen planted a bomb near a house at Shuhdaa neighborhood in Jalwlaa (northeast Baquba). Six people from one family were injured when the bomb exploded (a wife, four daughters and a son).Anbar- At 10:55 am a roadside targeted Khalid Abu Mihahid a leader of the Islamic party in Falluja near the Islamic headquarter. He was injured with two of his guards."

12,000 yr old Temple Found

A temple dated to 9,500BC has been discovered in Turkey. The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated. Such a find has the potential to alter forever the existing paradigm of human development and demonstrates conclusively that complex societies existed in our most remote past, thousands of years before Stonehenge and the Giza Pyramids were built..Here is the article reporting excavations at the Turkish site:TURKEY: DISCOVERY OF 12,000-YEAR-OLD TEMPLE COMPLEX COULD ALTER THEORY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Nicholas Birch 4/17/08 - Eurasianet. org - As a child, Klaus Schmidt used to grub around in caves in his native Germany in the hope of finding prehistoric paintings. Thirty years later, representing the German Archaeological Institute, he found something infinitely more important -- a temple complex almost twice as old as anything comparable on the planet.."This place is a supernova", says Schmidt, standing under a lone tree on a windswept hilltop 35 miles north of Turkey’s border with Syria. "Within a minute of first seeing it I knew I had two choices: go away and tell nobody, or spend the rest of my life working here.." Behind him are the first folds of the Anatolian plateau. Ahead, the Mesopotamian plain, like a dust-colored sea, stretches south hundreds of miles to Baghdad and beyond. The stone circles of Gobekli Tepe are just in front, hidden under the brow of the hill.. Compared to Stonehenge, Britain’s most famous prehistoric site, they are humble affairs. None of the circles excavated (four out of an estimated 20) are more than 30 meters across. What makes the discovery remarkable are the carvings of boars, foxes, lions, birds, snakes and scorpions, and their age. Dated at around 9,500 BC, these stones are 5,500 years older than the first cities of Mesopotamia, and 7,000 years older than Stonehenge.. Never mind circular patterns or the stone-etchings, the people who erected this site did not even have pottery or cultivate wheat. They lived in villages. But they were hunters, not farmers.. Everybody used to think only complex, hierarchical civilizations could build such monumental sites, and that they only came about with the invention of agriculture", says Ian Hodder, a Stanford University Professor of Anthropology, who, since 1993, has directed digs at Catalhoyuk, Turkey’s most famous Neolithic site. "Gobekli changes everything. It’s elaborate, it’s complex and it is pre-agricultural. That fact alone makes the site one of the most important archaeological finds in a very long time.. With only a fraction of the site opened up after a decade of excavations, Gobekli Tepe’s significance to the people who built it remains unclear. Some think the site was the center of a fertility rite, with the two tall stones at the center of each circle representing a man and woman.. It’s a theory the tourist board in the nearby city of Urfa has taken up with alacrity. Visit the Garden of Eden, its brochures trumpet, see Adam and Eve.. Schmidt is skeptical about the fertility theory. He agrees Gobekli Tepe may well be "the last flowering of a semi-nomadic world that farming was just about to destroy," and points out that if it is in near perfect condition today, it is because those who built it buried it soon after under tons of soil, as though its wild animal-rich world had lost all meaning.But the site is devoid of the fertility symbols that have been found at other Neolithic sites, and the T-shaped columns, while clearly semi-human, are sexless. "I think here we are face to face with the earliest representation of gods", says Schmidt, patting one of the biggest stones. "They have no eyes, no mouths, no faces. But they have arms and they have hands. They are makers.."In my opinion, the people who carved them were asking themselves the biggest questions of all," Schmidt continued.."What is this universe? Why are we here?"With no evidence of houses or graves near the stones, Schmidt believes the hill top was a site of pilgrimage for communities within a radius of roughly a hundred miles. He notes how the tallest stones all face southeast, as if scanning plains that are scattered with archeological sites in many ways no less remarkable than Gobekli Tepe.. Last year, for instance, French archaeologists working at Djade al-Mughara in northern Syria uncovered the oldest mural ever found. "Two square meters of geometric shapes, in red, black and white - a bit like a Paul Klee painting," explains Eric Coqueugniot, the University of Lyon archaeologist who is leading the excavation.. Coqueugniot describes Schmidt’s hypothesis that Gobekli Tepe was meeting point for feasts, rituals and sharing ideas as "tempting," given the site’s spectacular position. But he emphasizes that surveys of the region are still in their infancy. "Tomorrow, somebody might find somewhere even more dramatic.. Director of a dig at Korpiktepe, on the Tigris River about 120 miles east of Urfa, Vecihi Ozkaya doubts the thousands of stone pots he has found since 2001 in hundreds of 11,500 year-old graves quite qualify as that. But his excitement fills his austere office at Dicle University in Diyarbakir.. "Look at this", he says, pointing at a photo of an exquisitely carved sculpture showing an animal, half-human, half-lion. "It’s a sphinx, thousands of years before Egypt. Southeastern Turkey, northern Syria - this region saw the wedding night of our civilization..Editor’s Note: Nicolas Birch specializes in Turkey, Iran and the Middle East..Posted April 17, 2008 © Eurasianet
[link to www. eurasianet. org] Photos of the site in southern Turkey and carvings at:[link to www. lswn. it] [link to www. thefirstpost. co. uk] [link to www. thefirstpost. co. uk] Possibly the oldest known statue of a human being, found at Gobekli Tepe: [link to www. thefirstpost. co. uk] [link to www. thefirstpost. co. uk]

Nu Rooz Tragedy 2008 - Turkish Nazis

The most important festival in Kurdish tradition is Newroz. Newroz means 'New Sun' and 'New Day' and is celebrated during the spring equinox on March 21st. There are many explanations for the origins of Newroz with records of the spring festival found as early as 3000BC. The festival symbolises the triumph of light over darkness, the celebration of new life and freedom from oppression.The Kurds in Wan, Hakkari and Siirt were not allowed to celebrate their Newroz at the weekend. Kurds in those cities started to celebrate Newroz and they were harshly attacked by the Turkish security forces.During the celebrations in Wan and Yüksekova, two of the Kurdish activists were shot dead by the Turkish police forces.

Newroz Tragedy 2008
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Iraqi cleric extends ceasefire

Waterboarding Is Focus of Justice Dept. Inquiry -By SCOTT SHANE

An investigation could provide the first public accounting for legal advice that endorsed interrogation methods widely denounced as torture.

Ominous Signs Remain in City Run by Iraqis - By SOLOMON MOORE

An experiment with self-rule in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, suggests to many that the country’s future remains dark.

Iraqi cleric extends ceasefire

Feb 22 2008 10:56Powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr extended his Mehdi Army militia ceasefire by around six months, according to a statement read out on his behalf, in a move likely to be widely welcomed by US and Iraqi officials as an earlier truce sharply reduced insurgent attacks Read more »

Turkey launches offensive in N IraqFeb 22 2008 10:34Turkey's military said it had launched a cross-border land offensive backed by fighter jets into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish PKK guerrillas, an apparent escalation described by a senior US official as 'a whole new level' Read more »

More Sanctions on Iran Proposed

UNITED NATIONS -- Britain and France formally introduced a Security Council resolution Thursday calling for a third round of sanctions against Iran over its failure to suspend uranium enrichment.

Stay Out of Nuclear Crisis, Iran Tells Security Council

TEHRAN -- A top Iranian cleric on Friday told the UN Security Council to stay out of the crisis over Tehran's contested nuclear drive, ahead of a key report by the UN atomic watchdog. Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani told worshippers at the weekly Muslim prayers that the Security Council -- which has already imposed two sets of sanctions against Iran -- was not competent to handle its nuclear file

Russian Energy Ties with Iran Send U.S. a MessageDUBAI/MOSCOW -- As the United States warns the world away from business with Tehran, Moscow's tightening ties to Iran's energy sector underline Russia's differences with Washington over Iranian nuclear plans and Kosovo's independence

Ahmadinejad( THE ATTACK DOG) Warns Against 'New Game' in Nuclear Dispute Ahead of IAEA Report

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the world powers against a "new game" in their nuclear dispute with Iran, the Fars news agency reported Friday. "Put an end to this game, but if you want to start a new game, you should know that if our nation decides something, then it will definitely be put into practice without the slightest concession," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Ahmadinejad Warns Against 'New Game' in Nuclear Dispute Ahead of IAEA ReportIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the world powers against a "new game" in their nuclear dispute with Iran, the Fars news agency reported Friday. "Put an end to this game, but if you want to start a new game, you should know that if our nation decides something, then it will definitely be put into practice without the slightest concession," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Islamic Republic of Disaster- Islamic Republic of Idiots

The Ayatollahs' Illusion of Invincibility
Proponents of conciliation maintain that engaging Tehran is the only practical way to counter the nuclear and regional threats posed by the ayatollahs. Why? Because, they say, Iran under the ayatollahs’ rule is a “rising regional power,” stable at home and hugely influential in Iraq. So the West must tread carefully. Never mind that engaging a religious dictatorship hell-bent on erecting an Islamic fundamentalist empire is nothing short of capitulation and appeasement of the worst kind.
Dear Iranians: Have the Courage to Say No to Islam
Amil Imani -- Nearly 1400 years ago, a group of nomads from across the scorching Arabian Desert conquered Iran (Persia), the greatest empire known to the history of mankind. With that, they injected their Islamic virus into the veins of their victim: the Iranian people.
Stronger Iran sanctions negotiated ... Supreme leader rebukes Iranian president ... Palestinians breach wall, flood into Egypt ... UN Security Council resolution on Iran agreed -Jan 22, 2008 : UN Security Council resolution on Iran agreed -xinhuanet_en -JRCSafeguards; -Nuclear; -REN-Security; - SecurityCouncil; - Iran-NuclearReprocessing;
BEIJING, Jan. 23 -- The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany have agreed on a new draft resolution to strengthen sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The foreign ministers of the United States, Germany, China, France, Britain and Russia agreed on the major points of a UN resolution on Iran....
There Is No "War On Terror
"Edward S. Herman and David Peterson have crafted a well-documented piece that lays out the whole fraud of the "War on Terror", the whole bloody sham that cloaks the resurrection from the Undead of "Manifest Destiny", the elitist fantasy to subjugate the planet. Wake up, world, before it is too late.
US- Iran Relations: Fifty Years of Deceit -
Meanwhile, what is happening in the everyday reality of US-Iran relations? Each day we see on TV the gray, menacing US warships sitting just off Iran’s coast at the Straits of Hormuz. What we don’t see is the US threatening buildup in Azerbaijan along the Caspian Sea on Iran’s northwest borders. What we don’t see is the war that the United States and Great Britain have been waging against Iran for at least two years. Actually, for fifty years. -Countercurrent 1/19/08
US Falls Short On New Iran Sanctions
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany agreed Tuesday to impose new sanctions on Iran over its suspect nuclear program, yet the measures appeared to fall short of what the Bush administration had wanted.
How Free Is The "Free Market"
?The mainstream media - and therefore much of the general public - are under the misconception that what currently exists in the US and industrialized Western countries is a free market. AND they are convinced that the Free Market is failing..... very badly.
France Says New Iran Resolution Imminent
Opposition from Russia and China to quick and harsh new sanctions has increased since the U.S. report, but Western nations have stressed the need to keep up the pressure. Iran insists it never had a weapons program and that its uranium enrichment is aimed at energy production.
Iran finds new ways to beat sanctions
Jan 22 2008 22:54The Bush administration probably was not thinking about Shrek, Elmo and Spongebob Square Pants when it started warning international banks against doing business with Iran
Coalition Completes Aerial Bomb Blitz of Al Qaeda Sanctuary
BAGHDAD - Thousands of pounds of bombs rained down near the village of Arab Jabour on Jan. 20, as coalition forces continued their relentless pursuit of al Qaeda.
Al Qaeda Can Run, But Can't Hide in Northern Iraq
WASHINGTON - The tables have turned for al Qaeda in northern Iraq, as a surge of operations there in the new year has put terrorists on the run looking for new places to hide, a commander in the region said today.Jan 23, 2008,
Coalition Forces in Iraq Capture 18 Terrorists
WASHINGTON - Coalition forces today captured 18 suspected terrorists during anti-insurgent operations conducted across northern Iraq and the Baghdad area, military officials said.
Powers must close "gaps" for Iran sanctions deal
World powers said they would have to overcome key differences on Tuesday to agree on a new sanctions resolution against Iran that aims to ratchet up pressure on Tehran to curb sensitive
nuclear work. -Reuters 1/22/08
Westminster Committee on Iran launches online discussion forum -
The Westminster Committee on Iran today launched an online discussion forum providing a mechanism for academics, parliamentarians and policy makers around the world to discuss issues and share information on the growing standoff with Iran. 1/21/08
Radical left growing as Iran political force -
In early December, a surprising scene played out at Tehran University: 500 Marxist students held aloft portraits of Che Guevara to protest President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's policies. Smaller groups of Marxist students staged similar protests in several other cities. -IHT 1/19/08

Welcome to the Orwellian Police-State= Iran -and the top CUNT says that there is democracy in ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IDIOTS!

TAKE SOME TIME AND EDUCATE YOURSELF IN WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING INSIDE IRAN - THINGS THAT ARE NEVER REPORTED IN THE FOREIGN MEDIA THESE DAYS - NOT LIKE 28 YEARS AGO WHEN THE BBC AND THE AMERICAN NEWS PAPERS WERE FULL OF LIES ABOUT " WHAT THE POOR SHAH'S SECURITY FORCES WERE DOING TO STOP THE ACTIONS OF THESE TERRORISTS- INSPIRED ACTS PERPETUATED BY THE MURDERING FASCIST MULLAHS, THE COMMUNIST/MARXISTS AND THEIR HIRED PALESTINIAN SURROGATES UP AND DOWN THE STREETS OF THE IRANIAN CITIES.

Spate of Executions and Amputations in Iran

Afghanistan Seeks End to Iran Deportations
Persian Gulf is Authenticated Internationally, UK Daily Reminded

Raising the Costs for Tehran

Iran Hangs 7 People, 21 Executions Since Year's Start

The Day the Americans Sunk Khomeini's Navy

جهنمی که رژیم اسلامی به مردم ایران تحمیل کرده است
سرانجام سه دهه حاکمیت اسلامی بر ایران

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=ZdCq9ovitmg
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=outci3eWQsE&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ffDe7v9YcoE
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5jqQVqsOw4U
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gTFRTAlavFQ&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UYMNiSnlz_w&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=r0joZr2LlLo&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_PYJHUniri0&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6J2jqKlNNXo&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cvxwuFWhsAQ
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iaicSE143Yw
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kKGjUv9NyzQ
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=D_4h0VaNudY
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LZMzUAlLb5U
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fGt6lEzcn6w&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Z65KRaWJU&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9bnL8zmnR0Q
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IhpZOUwDtZg
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VOMr7-_GsBM
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NNLaFRaNPdI
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GZF9Zs9AYl8&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MJmzfkIonI0
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=An6LABUf1X0
سرانجام سه دهه حاکمیت اسلامی بر ایران
چرا اكنون بسياری از مردم به جايی رسيدند كه گمان می ‌كنند دخالت خارجی می ‌تواند آنها را از وضع موجود نجات دهد

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vsCuTrc2mv4&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PiG63tvRgiA&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_9YdalDA31Q
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7RD3dHU_I
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XLq7r_5k1TI
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AhrymTcZnKM
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jjfzlTP4a3g
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=f2cdUp00rWc
Documentary .....
Prostitution Behind the Veil
part 1:http://youtube.com/watch?v=xDja_ym8sSE
part 2:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NKMbWvFy3Js
part 3:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xmL5fevERAU
part 4:http://youtube.com/watch?v=4oN2xwQdng8
part 5:http://youtube.com/watch?v=YzlxU1FWOVc

مرد م ایران !
برای آزاد ی و صلح در جنبش
نجات ایران متحد شوید!
مرد م ایران !
با حذف جمهوری اسلامی از
ساحت وطن به اسارت ملی و شور
بختی خود پایان د هید!
برقرار باد د موکراسی !
نابود باد د یکتاتوری!
مرد م ایران! انتخابات را با تحریم
فعال خود به انواع اعتراضات
مبد ل کنید!
گفتاری در باره « وحدت ملی »

مردم ایران !
برای آزاد ی و حقوق انسانی و صلح متحد
شوید و جمهوری اسلامی را از میان
بر د ارید !
سر نگون باد جمهوری اسلامی عامل اسارت
ملی و جنگ افروزی در جهان !

http://tinyurl.com/2tytrb

THE LATEST NEWS

The Duel in Islam, Turkey's New Model VS. Iran's : January 04, 2008
New York Post : Amir Taheri

For centuries, Iran and the Ottoman Empire, of which modern Turkey and Egypt were parts, fought for influence in the Muslim world. That changed when Turkish westernizers under Kemal Ataturk and their Iranian counterparts under Reza Shah Pahlavi decided that religion was the cause of their nations' decline. Ataturk adopted the legend that the Turks descended from the Celts while Reza Shah promoted the idea of Iran as an "Aryan nation." For a while, Egypt (thanks to its Al Azhar theological center) remained influential. But that, too, changed in 1952 when the so-called Free Officers staged a coup under Col. Gamal Abdul-Nasser and declared that socialism, not Islam, was the future. With the three nations that had shaped Muslim opinion for centuries thus knocked out of the picture, attention focused on new centers of Islamic inspiration in the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent. But these versions of Islam weren't developed enough to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of Turkey, Iran and Egypt to the sidelines of the Muslim world. Arabia and India offered militant energy but little philosophical and theological guidance, let alone a political model. The picture may be changing: Turkey and Iran have reverted to their traditional roles by offering rival models of political Islam. (Egypt is still out under what is left of the Nasserist regime.) The Iranian model began to emerge after the mullahs seized power in 1979 and proceeded to invent a narrative influenced by European ideologies such as fascism and communism. The Turkish model grabbed the limelight when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a landslide election victory almost five years ago. Represented by the AKP, the Turkish model is inspired by European right-of-center political parties with an added liberal varnish.
At least four fundamental differences distinguish the two models:
Provenance: The Iranian model was shaped in Shiite theological schools of Qom and Najaf (in Iraq) by mullahs mainly of peasant backgrounds with little or no experience of the modern world. The Turkish model was the handiwork of engineers, medical doctors, businessmen and economists with urban, middle-class backgrounds. The Iranian Islamist movement entered into a strategic alliance with Marxist-Leninist and Maoist elements as early as the '60s and was heavily influenced by their worldview, culture and methods. The Turkish model shunned the left from the start and even joined the army against the leftists from the '50s onward.
Method of gaining power: The Iranian model won power through insurrections, assassinations, guerrilla attacks, strikes and massacres (such as the burning of the Rex Cinema in Abadan in 1978) - not in free and fair elections. The Turkish model, by contrast, won power via free and fair elections conducted by its ideological rivals. It never had recourse to violence, never murdered opponents, never robbed banks to finance itself and never burned hundreds of people alive to terrorize public opinion.
Record in power: The Iranian model forced almost 4 million Iranians into exile, caused the deaths of a million more in civil and foreign wars and mass executions, filled the prisons with dissidents, disbanded the national army and cancelled a constitution for which generations of Iranians had fought and, at times, died. The Turkish model forced no one into exile, didn't fill the prisons with opponents, provoked no wars and did not tear up the constitution. Nor did it destroy the Turkish state's institutions, notably the armed forces.
Road map for the future: The Iranian model claims to be seeking to revive the rule of Ali Ibn Abi-Talib, the fourth Caliph of Islam and the first Imam of Shiism, whose rule ended with civil war and his own assassination. (No one quite knows what that rule looked and felt like, for there are no reliable historical records.) The Iranian model could be summed up in the concept of the walayt faqih, or the guardianship of the theologian. This means that a single theocrat has the power to decide what is and isn't Islam. The Iranian model rejects modernity as a creature of the western "Infidel" powers. It sees globalization as a cover for American hegemony and dreams of uniting under its leadership all anti-western elements. The Turkish model has no such hang-ups. It has embraced globalization, wants to lead Turkey into the European Union as fast as the EU allows and maintains privileged relations with the United States.

Under the Iranian model, the average Iranian is at least 40 percent poorer than in 1977. The Turkish model has presided over the fastest economic growth rates the nation has known in modern times. By World Bank estimates, Turkish gross domestic product has risen by almost 50 percent under the AKP. Turkey no longer exports masses of hungry hands seeking low-paid jobs in the west. Iran, meanwhile, loses hundreds of educated people each day. In Turkey, political parties operate freely; in Iran only parties loyal to walayt faqih are allowed. The Iranian model is represented in 17 Muslim countries through branches of the Hezbollah (Party of God), founded by the mullahs in Tehran in 1975. The movement, controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, acts as a mini-version of the old Soviet Comintern. The Turkish model is only now finding imitators in other Muslim countries such as Indonesia, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria and Morocco. In some cases, such as Jordan and Morocco, these parties use the very name of their Turkish model. In others, the names that echo that of the AKP.

Last month, the AKP also found an Iranian imitator - the newly formed Justice and Development Party of Iran (Etedal va To'seeh), which unites elements disillusioned with Khomeinism. The new party has yet to make its position clear on the key issue of walayat faqih, but the outline of its program for next March's general election is an almost verbatim translation of the election manifesto of Turkey's AKP.

Recently, the new party received a wink and a nod from Hashemi Rafsanjani, the businessman-cum-mullah who's emerging as a challenger to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's radical faction. ( TO FOOL THE IRANIAN ELECTORATE TO ONCE AGAIN GO TO THE POOLS AND TAKE A RABBIT OUT OF A HAT PROVIDED BY THE SYSTEM )This has led some commentators to assert that the mullahs are trying to set up their version of the AKP to prevent a genuine one from emerging.

Whether or not that is the case, what matters is that no one in Turkey is trying to imitate the Iranian model.

Jan 04 SD# 1800 - Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Columnist: Al-Qaeda Online Media Initiative "Open Meeting with Al-Zawahiri" Is Nothing but "A Recruiting Campaign For Al-Qaeda"
Jan 04 SD# 1799 - Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt Slams Syria, Iran, Hizbullah in Iran TV Interview
Jan 03 SD# 1798 - The 'Science' Behind Healing with Koranic Holy Water: A Dubai TV Special
Jan 03 SD# 1797 - Speech by Syrian Vice-President Al-Shar' Evokes Angry Responses in Saudi Arabia Editor of Saudi Daily: 'Saudi Arabia May Take Steps to Change the Course of Syria's Future'
Dec 30 SD# 1796 - Senior Leader of Muslim Brotherhood in Syria on Assad's Regime and Syria-Iran Relations
Dec 28 IA# 413 - Arming, Military Training, and the Weapons Trade in Lebanon
Dec 28 SD# 1795 - Iraqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Din on Al-Arabiya TV Criticizes Concept of Islamic State, Says Iraqis Should Be Grateful to U.S. for Liberating Iraq

The Latest News

"Kayhan": Iran's Reformists Are Collaborating With U.S. Today's editorial in the Iranian daily Kayhan, which is affiliated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned that reformists in Iran are collaborating with the Americans to topple Iran's current Islamic regime in the upcoming March '08 parliamentary (Majlis) elections. The editorial based its position on the U.S.'s NIE report, which it said stated that the U.S. preferred a toppling of the Iranian regime via activity by internal forces. In contrast, today's editorial in the Iranian reformist daily Aftab-e Yazd stated that the attempt by the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to present itself as friendly and rational in the international arena was endangering Iran, because "this policy of finding favor" presents concessions to the lusts of countries such as India, Russia, China, Bahrain, and Indonesia, which sometimes take anti-Iran stands. Sources: Kayhan, Aftab-e Yazd, Iran, January 1, 2008-Read full entry
Human Rights Group: Iranian Government Intensifying Repression, Killing In Province
Following the December 31 arrest of 150 residents of Ahwaz province in southern Iran, the Central Authority for Human Rights in the province announced that the Iranian authorities had stepped up repression and killing in Ahwaz. The group reported that five residents were executed, the bodies of three long-term prisoners were discovered, and two prisoners' bodies were handed over to their families last week. Other families in the province claimed that family members had been executed by the authorities and that their bodies had been hidden. The human rights group has asked Arab and international organizations to step in to prevent the continuing massacre of residents and to stop the arrests. Source: Al-Siyassa, Kuwait, January 2, 2008 - Read full entry
"Sobh-e Sadeq": U.S. Agreeing To Negotiate With Iran Without Preconditions Due To Defeats
An article in the Iranian weekly Sobh-e Sadeq, the mouthpiece of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei circulated among Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, stated that the defeat of the U.S. in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq versus the impetus of Iran's relations with the Arab countries – manifested by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's participation in the GCC conference in Doha and by Ali Larijani's visit to Cairo – had forced the U.S. State Department to announce recently that the U.S. was agreeing to negotiations with Iran without preconditions. Source: Sobh-e Sadeq, Iran, December 31, 2007 - Read full entry
Iranian Report: Most Important Outcome Of 9/11 – Rise In Central Asia's Status In U.S. Foreign Policy
A report by Iran's Majlis (Parliamentary) Strategic Research Center stated that the most important outcome of 9/11 has been the rise in Central Asia's geopolitical status in U.S. foreign policy. It also stated that the U.S. is aspiring to prevent the rise of an again-powerful Russia as well as Iranian and Chinese influence in the region. The report concludes that the first item on the U.S. agenda is obtaining the energy resources of the Caspian Sea, and recommends that Iran resist any foreign presence in the region by drawing closer to China and Russia by using the Shanghai alliance. Source: Aftab-e Yazd, Iran, January 1, 2008Read full entry
"Sobh-e Sadeq": Bhutto Assassination Brings Opportunity – For U.S. In Pakistan, For Iran In Afghanistan
The Iranian weekly Sobh-e Sadeq, the mouthpiece of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei circulated among Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, wrote that the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto "is likely to serve the U.S. as a pretext for direct military intervention" because of the fear that Pakistan's nuclear bomb would fall into the hands of extremist Islamists.An article on the Iranian website Alef, which is affiliated with conservative MP Ahmad Tavakkoli, director of the Majlis Strategic Research Center, stated that Bhutto's assassination had shifted the U.S.'s focus to Pakistan from Iran. It also noted that the assassination would bring about a drop in the power of the Sunnis in the Islamic world, and would give Iran an opportunity to strengthen its position in Afghanistan following a weakening of Pakistan there. Sources: Sobh-e Sadeq, Iran, December 31, 2007; Alef, Iran, January 1, 2008Read full entry
Contest Between International Zionism, Offspring Of Khomeini Will Affect World's Future
At the weekly meeting of the conservative Iranian group Ansar Hizbullah, Mojtaba Rahmandoust, secretary-general of the Iran-based Society in Defense of the Palestinian Nation, stated, "The contest between international Zionism and the offspring of the Imam Khomeini will be the focus of the political processes that will affect the future of the world."
He said that the U.S., Europe, and Israel would step up their pressure as the armed struggle bore fruit, and that the current Israeli and U.S. pressure on Egypt was evidence of the success of the armed Palestinian struggle. He added that the Palestinians were now producing longer-range missiles than in the past. Source: ISNA, Iran, December 31, 2007Read full entry
On Ahmadinejad's Orders, Iran's Center For Intercultural Dialogue Disbands
Iran's Center for Intercultural Dialogue between Islam and Christianity has been disbanded, on orders of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In its stead, the National Center for Globalization Studies has been established, under Ahmadinejad's direct oversight.Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London; Aftab-e Yazd, Iran, December 31, 2007 Read full entry
What Did Ahmadinejad's 41 Trips To Neighboring Countries Accomplish?
An article on the Tabnak website, which is affiliated with Iranian Expediency Council secretary Mohsen Rezai, demanded that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad give details on the contribution to Iran of his 41 trips to neighboring countries. Hinting that Ahmadinejad's trips were pointless, the article stated, "The countries in the region are more impertinent towards Iran than in the past, and are taking anti-Iran stands." Source: Tabnak, Iran, December 27, 2007Read full entry
Larijani: Weakening Of U.S. Role In Region Encouraging Egypt-Iran Relations; Iran Will Help Egypt With Nuclear Technology
At a meeting with intellectuals and writers during his visit in Egypt, Ali Larijani, representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iran's Supreme National council, stated that international circumstances and regional changes, including "the weakening of the exclusive role of America in the region," are encouraging Egypt and Iran to increase their mutual cooperation.
Larijani added that Iran is ready to help Egypt develop nuclear technology, in accordance with International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, London, December 31, 2007Read full entry
Unrest At Universities Across Iran
The online Iranian reformist daily Rooz reports on unrest in universities across Iran because of increasing rumors that over 30 students, detained since early December, have been tortured in order to extract confessions, and because of the delay of the release on bail of the three students from Amir Kabir university even after their bond was posted. At Isfahan University, students who have barricaded themselves since December 24 are continuing with their hunger strike against the repression of the student movement and the restriction of freedom of expression.
The student movement issued a communiqué protesting against the arrest of over 100 students in the past nine months. Source: Rooz, Iran, December 30, 2007Read full entry
Iranian Prisoners' Rights Organization Chairman Back In Jail After Second Heart Attack
Iran's Prisoners' Rights Organization chairman Emad Baghi, who has been under arrest for 80 days, was returned to Evin prison after being rushed to the hospital following his second heart attack since Decemberf 26. Dissident journalist 'Issa Saharkhiz said sarcastically that this policy towards Baqi and others was Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s way of putting Shi'ite justice into action. Source: Rooz, Iran, December 30 and 31, 2007 Read full entry
Shirin Ebadi: "Kayhan" Newspaper Making Up Stories About Me
At a conference of reformist journalists, Iranian Nobel Prize laureate and human rights activist Shirin Ebadi referred to that claims by the Iranian daily Kayhan that she was acting to increase economic sanctions against Iran and that she had called the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) "terrorists."Ebadi said that the paper was making up stories, and that she had called for political sanctions against the Iranian government, not for economic sanctions that harmed the entire people. Source: Kayhan, December 23, 2007; Rooz, Iran, December 31, 2007Read full entry
Iranian Ayatollah Montazeri Urges Iranian Reformists To Act For Free Elections
In a meeting with reformist activists in Iran, Ayatollah Hossein 'Ali Montazeri, one of the senior Iranian clerics critical of the Iranian regime, said that the regime was acting illegally by approving candidates for the March 2008 Majlis (parliamentary) elections based on the candidates' political proximity to the regime. Montazeri encouraged activity to pressure the regime to hold free elections, and reiterated that the slogan of Iran's Islamic Revolution was "independence, freedom, and Islamic revolution." Source: Montazeri's blog, Iran, December 28, 2007 Read full entry
Iran Gets Second Russian Fuel Shipment
Russia has delivered a second consignment of nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr power plant, said Iranian Atomic Energy Organization deputy head today, December 28. He said that the delivery was the same amount as was supplied in the first consignment, which arrived December 17. Russia is to deliver a total of 82 tons of nuclear fuel to Iran, over two months and in eight separate consignments. Source: Fars, Iran, December 28, 2007Read full entry
Tehran Friday Sermon: Ayatollah Jannati Blasts U.S. For Lebanon Political Crisis, Says Christ Would Have Fought Oppression, Labels Israel "Cancerous Tumor" Planted By U.S.
In his sermon today, Tehran interim Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati congratulated all "real believers" in Christianity on the new year, and said that Jesus should be considered among the oppressed prophets "because certain individuals who allege to be an advocate of Christ, such as U.S. President George W. Bush, kill innocent people and trigger crisis among the world nations." He lambasted those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ while committing murders in different parts of the world, and said that of the three options of silence, supporting the oppressors, and fighting with the oppressors, Jesus Christ would have certainly chosen the third if he was present among us. He went on to slam the U.S. administration for sowing discord in Lebanon, saying that the ongoing political crisis there had been created and exacerbated by Washington. He said, "America has planted the occupiers of Quds [Israel] as a cancerous tumor in the heart of the Arab countries in order to create crises in Palestine and Lebanon." He also said that Iran's upcoming March 2008 parliamentary elections would "show the world that religion and democracy are not incompatible." Source: IRNA, IRIBnews.ir, Fars, Iran, December 28, 2007Read full entry

Home is Where Someone is Waiting for You : By Reza Bayegan

Human rights reporting rightly concentrate on violations that take place within the country and bring to the public attention those abuses where the victim's physical safety has been imperilled or is in immediate danger. Nevertheless we should not forget that there is a form of violation that does not physically touch the victims. There are no gallows, no visible bruises on the body, no cells or torture chambers and no bloodstains on the floor of the interrogation rooms. There could be miles or even oceans between the victims and the abusers. The effects of these abuses are long term and measured in mental scars and deep emotional wounds. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights aims inter alia to provide a legal obligation on the part of states against this kind of violation. Article 13 of this document states that: 'Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.' The rights of thousands of Iranians are constantly violated because they are deprived of this basic right to return to their country without fear of persecution. Many Iranians living abroad, who for one reason or another have run afoul of the regime do not dare go back to pay a visit to their aging parents or relatives. They are denied a parting look and one last embrace with their dear ones. In a cruel tyranny such as the one ruling Iran, one cannot even count on peace beyond the grave. In many instances parents on their deathbed frightened for the safety of their exiled children extract a promise from them not to attempt to attend their funeral. Haleh Esfandiari was one of those Iranians who risked her life to visit her ailing 93-year-old mother. While on the way to the airport to leave the country after her visit in December 2006, Esfandiari was robbed of her passport at knifepoint by three men. On re-applying for travel documents, she was imprisoned by the regime, branded as an American spy and a harbinger of a velvet revolution designed to bring about regime change in Iran. After spending 110 days in solitary confinement and giving forced 'confessions' it was only thanks to international pressure that Haleh Esfandiari was eventually released and was allowed to leave the country in September 2007. Those who fear for their lives and safety on reaching the borders of Iran are not all scholars like Mrs Esfandiari working for American research institutes. They belong to all sorts of political backgrounds and walks of life. Some of them just a few years ago were part of the political establishment and have impressive revolutionary credentials. It is quite evident now that the circle of trusted allies is getting increasingly tighter in the top echelon of the Islamic Republic. The range of values purportedly defended by the ruling clique is becoming narrower and the number of those who are suspected of plotting for the downfall of the clerical regime indicates a tremendous increase. Iran has turned into a homeland where someone is waiting at the airport not with flowers, but with handcuffs for welcoming those who have dared challenging or questioning the legitimacy of the clerical dictatorship.

PEOPLE OF IRAN ARE STANDING UP FOR FREEDOM AND LIBIRTY

Dedicated to HH Prince Reza pahlavi of Iran

NDA @ HIGH CLUB

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Success in Iraq Possible so is future actions in Iran

Iraq Briefing 19 November 2007
ADM Micheal Mullen's Briefings 20/11/2007

Success in Iraq Possible
WASHINGTON - Success is possible in Iraq, a senior Army commander there said today based on progress he has seen since his recent return to the country.
IED Attacks Down Significantly; Enemy Being Pushed North
WASHINGTON - Initiatives taken in Iraq over the past 11 months have reduced improvised-explosive-device attacks dramatically and sent the enemy scrambling, Multinational Corps Iraq's deputy commander for support told reporters in Baghdad today.
Iraqi Contractor Sees Hope Become Reality
BAGHDAD - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing 541 projects valued at $2 billion in a variety of areas in Iraq, including renovating hospitals and schools, installing new water and sewer lines, electrical generation, new water and wastewater treatment plants, bridges and road paving.
Coalition Forces Kill 2, Detain 12 Terrorists in Iraq
WASHINGTON - Coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained 12 suspects during operations today targeting terrorist networks in central and northern Iraq.Nov 18, 2007, Grant Swank, Jr.
U.S., Iraqi Efforts Reduce Violence in Eastern Baghdad
WASHINGTON - Surge-supplied U.S. and Iraqi security forces have contributed to a marked decrease of insurgent-committed violence in eastern Baghdad, a senior U.S. military officer said here today.Nov 18, 2007,
Officials Believe Iran Has Stemmed Weapons Flow Into Iraq
WASHINGTON - Recent weapons cache finds in Iraq indicate that the Iranian government is living up to its promise to Iraqi leaders to stem the flow of weapons across the border into Iraq, a senior U.S. general in Baghdad told reporters today.Nov 18, 2007,
Concerned Citizens Build Stronghold in Adwaniyah
WASHINGTON - About 15 al Qaeda operatives ended up dead in Adwaniyah, Iraq, on Nov. 12, as Iraqi citizens stood strong in their town's defense, a senior military officer said today.
Troops Detain Eight Suspects, Discover Weapons in Iraq
WASHINGTON - Iraqi and coalition forces detained eight suspects and uncovered a weapons cache in Iraq over the past few days, military officials said.

Mottaki ( Leach in Persian ) Ridiculed - What Planet is he on !

Envoys reject Iran's troop offer for Iraq : November 4, 2007

By Nicholas Kralev - ISTANBUL — An Iranian proposal for troops from Iran, Syria and other Arab states to replace U.S. forces in Iraq was swiftly rejected and ridiculed yesterday at a high-level gathering of Iraq's neighbors and world powers. At the second in a series of international meetings on Iraq's future, the Baghdad government promised host Turkey to hunt down Kurdish rebels who attack Turkey from hide-outs in northern Iraq. As top diplomats from two dozen countries and international organizations took turns to discuss how to improve Iraq's security, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki suggested that a coalition from neighboring Arab states take over from U.S. forces, conference participants said. "The Iranian delegation distinguished itself again today with the most extraordinary proposal," said David Satterfield, the State Department's top coordinator on Iraq, who accompanied Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the Istanbul meeting. Ryan C. Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, who also attended the session, said Mr. Mottaki specifically identified Iran and Syria as potential troop contributors. Mr. Crocker called the Iranian idea a "fantasy" that should not be "dignified" with a response. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal offered the most forceful rejection of Mr. Mottaki's proposal, saying it would do nothing to stabilize Iraq, diplomats said. They noted that no one voiced support for the idea, and it was not clear whether it had at least Syria's backing. Miss Rice met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, but they spent most of their time discussing the upcoming presidential election in Lebanon, Mr. Satterfield said. He added that Miss Rice warned Damascus to refrain from interfering in the vote. Mr. Crocker said he expects to hold more talks on Iraq's security with Iranian diplomats in Baghdad in the near future, following two unproductive rounds earlier this year. On the sidelines of yesterday's conference, Miss Rice also acted as a mediator between Iraq and Turkey in search of a way to prevent attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, against Turkey. During a three-way meeting, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd, promised "a number of visible measures implemented on the ground to show our seriousness" about hunting down and arresting PKK leaders. He did not rule out joint military action with Turkey against the PKK. Mr. Satterfield said the United States wants the Iraqi authorities and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq to "block" the movement of goods, supplies and people, as well as to disrupt logistics benefiting the PKK. They should apprehend PKK figures, deny any facilities and close all offices," he said. In northern Iraq, a Kurdish official was quoted by wire reports as saying that the KRG had shut down the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party, which sympathizes with the PKK. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met in Istanbul with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is scheduled to visit President Bush at the White House tomorrow. "The prime minister renewed the willingness of the Iraqi government to take steps to isolate the terrorist PKK, prevent any help reaching its members, chase and arrest them, and put them in front of the Iraqi judiciary because of their terrorist activities," Mr. al-Maliki's office said. The Turkish parliament voted last week to authorize Turkish troops to cross the border into northern Iraq to root out an estimated 3,000 PKK guerrillas. Nearly 40,000 Turks have been killed since the PKK took up its armed struggle for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey in 1984.

Thousands Returning to a Safer Baghdad : November 03, 2007

BAGHDAD — In a dramatic turnaround, more than 3,000 Iraqi families driven out of their Baghdad neighborhoods have returned to their homes in the past three months as sectarian violence has dropped, the government said Saturday. http://tinyurl.com/2yo6fp

US ARMY Accusing Iran
Gen. Petraeus accuses Iran of fueling Iraq violence

IRAQI SITUATION IS GETING BETTER Looking Up!
Independent reporter Michael Yon phones in from Baghdad to tell John that the violence in Iraq is decreasing

The Rule of Second Chances
Dispatches From Iraq: Some want a soldier named Beauchamp to go to prison for what he rote about his unit in Iraq
Art Museum
Dispatches From the Terror Front: A Visit to a Seemingly Liberal Art Museum in Pakistan
The Best Police Force in Iraq
Iraq Journal: Independent journalist Michael J. Totten goes behind the scenes with Iraqi police

Erdogan calls for end to headscarves ban : By Vincent Boland in Ankara

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, insisted on Tuesday that the ban on women wearing headscarves on the campuses of the country’s state universities should be lifted as part of a proposed constitution. Mr Erdogan said Turkey had to solve “the problem of the headscarf” in the changes to the constitution that he said would strengthen the country’s democratic and secular foundations. It was unfair that some girls were denied a higher education because they were not allowed to wear the headscarf at state universities, he said.
It was a political issue that could not be ducked, he said, in spite of a swirling controversy in Turkey over whether any easing of the ban would undermine the country’s secular constitutional and political system. “The right to higher education cannot be restricted because of what a girl wears. There is no such problem in western societies but there is a problem in Turkey and I believe it is the first duty of those in politics to solve this problem,” Mr Erdogan said in an interview with Turkey-based foreign correspondents. It was part of a wider ambition to introduce a fully civilian constitution for Turkey, a goal that was shared by Turks of all political and social persuasions, he said. He pointed out that Turkey’s two most recent constitutions were drafted by the military after coups in 1960 and 1980. Mr Erdogan promised that a wide-ranging debate would be held on the new constitution, which is being drafted by a team led by constitutional scholars. “We want a constitution that is going to provide and protect a state that is a democratic, secular, social state of law,” he said. “This constitution is going to point Turkey in a certain direction and it is our duty to debate it and consult with people in the widest possible sense.” Women have not been allowed to wear the headscarf on state university campuses since 1982. “What we are trying to achieve is not a new process,” Mr Erdogan said. “In Turkey, it was possible to go to university while wearing the headscarf, and later you could not. So it is not a new issue.” But several commentators have warned that any removal of the ban at state universities would be the beginning of a slow but inexorable move towards forcing all women to cover their heads in public. Many in Turkey see the banishment of the headscarf into the private sphere as an essential act in the country’s modernisation.

Greeks and Turks are mistreating the Iranian Students who have runaway from IRAN

بازداشت 3 پناهجوی ایرانی در یونان و احتمال استرداد آنان به دولت ایران
شماره 346-۲۰۰۷ -24 شهریور 1386 -

به گزارش منابع آگاه، سه تن از دانشجویان ایرانی که به عنوان پناهجو در هفته گذشته به خاک یونان وارد شده بودند، توسط پلیس این کشور بازداشت شده و تهدید به دیپورت شده اند. این افراد که به نامهای وحید شکوهی نیا- دانشجوی پزشکی، محمدحسن طالبی- دانشجوی پزشکی، محمدحسین جعفری- دانشجوی خبرنگاری، همگی از دانشجویان اخراجی دانشگاه اصفهان هستند، چندی پیش به دلیل تحت تعقیب بودن از سوی دادگاه انقلاب، ناچار به خروج از کشورشدند. گفتنی است، این سه پناهجو پس از خروج از کشوردر خاک ترکیه به سر می بردند، که بعد از بازداشت پنج پناهجوی ایرانی توسط پلیس ترکیه و عدم اطلاع از وضعیت آنها، به ناچار خاک ترکیه را به قصد یونان ترک کردند و پس از بازداشت از سوی پلیس یونان در خطر دیپورت به ایران قرار دارند. همچنین لازم به ذکر است که تاکنون هیچگونه اطلاعی از وضعیت پنج پناهجوی ایرانی بازداشت شده درکشور ترکیه، دردست نیست. این پنج پناهجو،25 روز پیش از سوی پلیس ترکیه بازداشت شده و برخی از اخبار حکایت از انتقال این افراد به خاک عراق داشته است. با این حال مقامات سازمان ملل مستقر در کشور ترکیه، خبر از استرداد آنان به مقامات دولت ایران داده اند، اما این خبر تا به حال از سوی منبع دیگری تأیید نشده است. خانواده این پناهجویان نیز با وجود پیگیری های متعدد، نتوانسته اند اطلاعی از شرایط فرزندان خود کسب کنند. گفته می شود، جمعی از ایرانیان ساکن در کشور آمریکا قصد دارند در اعتراض به عدم اطلاع از وضعیت پناهجویان بازداشتی، در روزهای سه شنبه و چهارشنبه جاری در مقابل کنسولگری ترکیه در لس آنجلس متحصن شده و دست به اعتصاب غذا بزنند.

کمیته دانشجویی گزارشگران حقوق بشر

جزئیات بیشتر در مورد سلاحهای کشف شده در قطار باری در ترکیه
چند روز پیش یک قطار باری بر اثر انفجار در ترکیه واژگون شد. پلیس ترکیه در واگن های این قطار محموله ای از سلاح و مهمات ارسالی جمهوری اسلامی برای حزب الله لبنان را کشف کرد که خبر آن بطور گسترده در رسانه های خبری ترکیه بازتاب یافت.
مطبوعات ترکیه در شماره روز گذشته خود به نقل از گزارش ژاندارمری این کشور فهرست سلاحهای کشف شده را منتشر کردند. به نوشته این منابع، ژاندارمری شهرک گنج (محلی که در آن قطار باری واژگون شد)، فهرستی از سلاحهای کشف شده در این قطار را به دولت آنکارا ارایه داده است.

در این گزارش آمده است: 763 قبضه سلاح تک تیرانداز دوربین دار، 115 هزار فشنگ 54 میلیمتری این نوع سلاح، 775 صندوق پر از مهمات، 1572 چاشنی توپ 88 میلیمتری، 150 گلوله توپ 120 میلیمتری، 1950 مین نامريی، 297 موشک کوتاه برد و 5 سکوی پرتاب این موشکها و قطعات راکت در واگن های قطار باری پیدا شده و این تسلیحات به انبار ژاندارمری منتقل شده است. در قسمت دیگری از این گزارش گفته شده است این تسلیحات در تهران بارگیری شده و شرکت گیرنده آن که ظاهرا یک شرکت ساختمانی است، در بندر مرسین ترکیه نیز شعبه دارد. مطبوعات ترکیه ضمن انتشار این گزارش، رژیم تهران را عامل تسلیح حزب الله و حماس معرفی کردند.

TURKEYWARNS U.S.TO KEEP OUT OF ITS AIRSPACE AFTER F-16 INCIDENT

TURKEYWARNS U.S.TO KEEP OUT OF ITS AIRSPACE AFTER F-16 INCIDENT
National PostPublished: Wednesday, May 30, 2007
ANKARA - Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, pictured, warned the United States yesterday against repeating violations of Turkey's airspace near the border with Iraq, threatening unspecified action. "We warned them not to repeat this... If this happens again ... if this takes a different dimension, what we will do is obvious," he told the NTV news channel. His government says two U.S. F-16 fighters jets entered its airspace near its southeastern border with Iraq on May 24 and remained in Turkish airspace for four minutes. U.S. officials said the violations were "accidental." But the incident made the headlines, with some media suggesting the violations were a deliberate attempt at intimidation as Ankara discusses whether it should conduct a military incursion into northern Iraq to strike at Turkish Kurd rebels based there. Yesterday, Turkish security forces killed 10 Kurdish separatist fighters in Van, near the Iranian border. Security forces have been battling rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since the group began its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey in 1984. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict. The PKK has been blamed for a suicide bombing in Ankara last week in which six people were killed. Reuters

Turkey seizes weapons in Syria-bound container from Iran : The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkish authorities seized weapons hidden among construction materials on a Syria-bound train from Iran after Kurdish guerrillas bombed and derailed the train, according to a government official and news reports Wednesday.
The official, speaking Wednesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the cargo included machine guns and pistols. The private Dogan news agency said it included a rocket launch pad and 300 rockets as well as other weapons and ammunition. The container was discovered when authorities checked the cargo of the train, attacked by separatist Kurdish guerrillas on May 25. The guerrillas had derailed eight cars of the train in a bomb blast near the town of Genc in Bingol province. Private NTV television said authorities had launched an investigation into the weapons discovery. On Tuesday evening, Turkish authorities forced a Syrian plane flying from Iran to land in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir and searched it for weapons. No arms were found. Turkish authorities suspect Iran is using Turkey as a transit point to send arms to Lebanon's Hezbollah movement via Syria.
Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO, borders both Iran and Syria. It has good relations with Israel and its Arab neighbors and has contributed troops to the U.N.-led peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

Turkey Detains 5 In Bible Shootings : Police Now Holding 10 Suspects In Slaying Of 3 At Bible Publishing Company

Police detained five more people Thursday in connection with an attack on a Christian publishing house that killed three employees, doubling the number of suspects in custody, a Turkish official said. One group of suspects detained in the slayings Wednesday at a publishing house that distributes Bibles told investigators they carried out the killings to protect Islam, a Turkish newspaper reported. The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether this predominantly Muslim country — which is bidding for EU membership — can protect its religious minorities. It also underlined concerns about rising Turkish nationalism and hostility toward non-Muslims. "We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion," Hurriyet newspaper quoted a suspect as saying. "Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion." The paper did not name the suspect. Local media said the suspects were students, and that the residence where they were staying belongs to an Islamic foundation. On Wednesday, police detained four youths, aged 19-20, as well as a fifth who underwent surgery for head injuries after he apparently tried to escape by jumping from a window at the Zirve publishing house in the central city of Malatya. Malatya Gov. Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said another five suspects, detained Thursday, were of the same age as those taken into custody on the day of the attack. He did not say whether the group detained on Thursday had been at the scene of the attack, saying only that they had been picked up at "various locations." The three victims — a German and two Turkish citizens — were found with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit at the publishing house. Police went to the scene after receiving calls about a fight, Milliyet newspaper reported. The five suspects detained Wednesday had each had been carrying copies of a letter that read: "We five are brothers. We are going to our deaths. We may not return," according to the state-run Anatolia news agency. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said the attack had hurt his country's image abroad, and was aimed at "Turkey's peace, Turkey's tradition of tolerance and Turkey's stability." Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the attack as "savagery." The German and one of the Turkish victims were found dead, and the third victim died in a hospital, Malatya Governor Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said. The German man had been living in Malatya since 2003, he said. Anatolia identified him as 46-year-old Tilman Ekkehart Geske. It was the latest in a string of attacks on Turkey's Christian community — which comprises less than 1 percent of the 70-million population. In February 2006, a Turkish teenager shot a Catholic priest dead as he prayed in his church, and two other Catholic priests were attacked later that year. A November visit by Pope Benedict XVI was greeted by several peaceful protests. Earlier this year, a suspected nationalist killed Armenian Christian editor Hrant Dink. Authorities had vowed to deal with extremist attacks after Dink's murder, but Wednesday's assault showed the violence was not slowing down. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," and said he expected Turkish authorities would "do everything to clear up this crime completely and bring those responsible to justice." German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat Party — which opposes Turkey's bid to join the EU — said the attacks showed the country's shortcomings in protecting religious freedoms. "The Turkish state is still far from the freedom of religion that marks Europe," the party's general secretary, Ronald Pofalla, said in a statement. Turkey began EU membership negotiations in October 2005 but talks have stalled over Turkey's refusal to formally recognize EU-member Cyprus. The country is under intense pressure to improve human rights and to expand religious freedoms and free speech as part of its membership bid. A group of 150 lit candles and unfolded a banner that read "We are all Christians" in downtown Istanbul to protest the attack and show solidarity with the Christian community. But there was far less public outcry than with Dink's murder, which was followed by widespread protests and condemnations. More than 100,000 people marched at Dink's funeral. Malatya is known as a hotbed of nationalists, and is also the hometown of Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981. The Zirve publishing house has been the site of previous protests by nationalists accusing it of proselytizing, Dogan news agency reported. Zirve's general manager said his employees had recently been threatened.

Three murdered at Turkish bible publishing house : Nick Birch in Istanbul

April 19, 2007 The Guardian

Two Turkish Christian converts and a German man were killed yesterday in a publishing house that prints bibles, in the latest attack on religious minorities living in Turkey. Security officials found the men with their hands and feet tied to chairs and their throats cut in the office of Zirve Publishing, in the south-eastern city of Malatya. A fourth man was being treated for severe head injuries after he jumped from a third-floor balcony to escape, while another sustained stab wounds.

Officials said that four men had been taken into custody. Turkish media reported that the police arrested the attackers before they left the publisher's office, acting on a tip-off from victims' families who had been unable to reach the men by phone for days. Ahmet Guvener, the pastor of a Protestant church in the nearby city of Diyarbakir and a friend of the victims, said he had talked to the men on Tuesday night. "They were at peace with the world. This news came as a total shock," he said. Zirve's director, Hamza Ozant, who opened the Malatya office last year, said the men had been on the verge of asking for police protection, following threats which they had experienced. The attack comes two months after a nationalist gunman killed the journalist Hrant Dink in a street in Istanbul. The 52-year-old was a native of Malatya, and a Turkish-Armenian. He had been editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos.
Malatya, the home town of Mehmet Ali Agca, who shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in 1981, is known as a nationalist city. Nationalists had protested outside the Zirve building following local news reports accusing them of proselytism. In 2005 molotov cocktails thrown at the International Protestant church in Ankara caused £5,000 damage. And last year an American missionary in the south-eastern city of Gaziantep was bound and gagged by two assailants claiming to be members of al-Qaida. Although they did not kill him, the attackers promised to come back and finish him off unless he and his family left Turkey immediately.

Iran says U.S. is not in position for military action against it

Associated Press


TEHRAN, Iran-- Iran's foreign minister said Saturday the United States was in no position for another war, and maintained that negotiations -- not threats -- were the only way to resolve the standoff over its nuclear activities. Manouchehr Mottaki was responding to Vice President Dick Cheney, who renewed Washington's warning to Iran earlier Saturday that "all options" were on the table if Tehran continues to defy U.N. demands to halt uranium enrichment. Mottaki said the U.S. could not afford to settle its differences with Iran by launching a third war after Afghanistan and Iraq. "We do not see America in a position to impose another crisis on its taxpayers inside America by starting another war in the region," Mottaki told reporters. The IAEA report came after Wednesday's deadline of a 60-day grace period for Iran to halt uranium enrichment. Iran has repeatedly refused to halt enrichment as a precondition to negotiations about its program. Mottaki urged the U.S. and its allies to return to dialogue when they are scheduled to meet in London next week."The only way to reach a solution for disputes is negotiations and talks. Therefore, we want the London meeting to make a brave decision and resume talks with Iran," Mottaki said. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democratic presidential candidate, on Saturday also urged the Bush administration to negotiate directly with Iran. "Saber-rattling is not a good way to get the Iranians to cooperate," Richardson wrote in an op-ed piece in the Washington Post. "But it is a good way to start a new war." Iran, Richardson wrote, "will not end their nuclear program because we threaten them and call them names."


Separately, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said it killed 17 mercenary fighters on its border with Turkey and accused the United States and its allies of seeking to provoke tensions along the country's frontiers. In a statement, the Guards said 17 "counterrevolutionary mercenaries" were killed, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Saturday.
Later Saturday, Iranian state television reported that a Guards' helicopter crashed in the area because of bad weather. It did not say whether anyone had died. The Guards chief, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, said the U.S., Britain and Israel were seeking to incite tension on Iran's borders to undermine its government, IRNA reported. "Iran's enemies, through hiring some mercenaries and with their wishful thinking, want to create instability but ... the armed forces will strongly suppress anti-revolutionaries and rebels who are dependent to foreigners," Safavi was quoted as saying.