The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 04/23/2006 - 04/30/2006

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Iran to allow snap atomic inspections if case returned to IAEA

Iran's deputy nuclear chief said Saturday that Tehran would agree to United Nations supervision of its uranium enrichment process and intrusive inspections of its atomic facilities if its case was referred back to the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The offer came a day after the U.S. called a summit of foreign ministers from Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council in New York on May 9 to discuss a united response to Iran's nuclear program.

But Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said Iran would not yield to UN demands that it abandon uranium enrichment, and criticised the report by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

ElBaradei said UN checks in Iran had been hampered and Tehran had rebuffed requests to stop making nuclear fuel.


"The report was not completely satisfactory for us and we believe that the report could have been done better than that," Saeedi told state television.


However, Saeedi insisted Iran would be able to answer ElBaradei's concerns about the access granted to UN inspectors if Tehran's nuclear dossier were dropped by the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions.

Besides standing firm on enrichment, Saeedi also said Iran was pushing forward with further technological developments.

Iran was installing two more 164-centrifuge cascades at its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, central Iran.

"[Uranium enrichment in] Natanz is continuing its work well... two other cascades [of 164-machine centrifuges] are being installed," Saeedi said.


Scientists were also studying more advanced centrifuges than those Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced research on earlier this month. The more sophisticated equipment speeds up the enrichment process.

"What we are conducting research on is not only P-2 but even more advanced machines," Saeedi said, adding that Iran had not moved beyond using the P-1 centrifuges.


"Our efforts are to use the most sophisticated machines, like in Germany, Netherlands, Japan and Brazil," he said.

West to seek UN action on Iranian bomb threat

BRITAIN and its allies will seek a tough new resolution at the United Nations next week after a report from the world�s nuclear watchdog said that Iran was accelerating its uranium enrichment programme.
Britain, acting in concert with France, Germany and the United States, will ask the 15-nation Security Council to pass a mandatory resolution declaring Iran�s nuclear programme a threat to international peace and security and ordering it to suspend its enrichment work.

But even as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delivered its report, President Ahmadinejad made clear that Iran would not back down. He told a rally that �we do not give a damn about such resolutions� and said that the Islamic republic could soon become a superpower. �Enemies think that by threatening us . . . they can dissuade our country from obstaining nuclear technology,� he said. �We will not back down.�

The British move � a prelude to possible sanctions � follows Iran�s refusal to comply with the UN�s 30-day deadline for freezing its enrichment programme that expired yesterday. The Vienna-based IAEA reported that Iran had ignored the Security Council�s demands and was stepping up its enrichment work.

Tests confirmed that Iran�s newly built 164-centrifuge cascade had indeed succeeded in enriching uranium to 3.6 per cent, as Iran claimed this month. The agency said that Iran was building two additional 164-machine cascades.

The IAEA report also highlighted Iran�s failure to hand over a copy of a 15-page document dealing with the production and casting of uranium metal into hemispheres � a process used almost exclusively in building nuclear bombs.

The agency said that it had asked for clarification of Mr Ahmadinejad�s assertion that Iran was �presently conducting research� with advanced P2 centrifuges, which can enrich uranium up to four times faster than the P1 machines that Tehran is known to possess.

�Gaps remain in the agency�s knowledge with respect to the scope and content of Iran�s centrifuge programme,� the IAEA report said. �Because of this, and other gaps in the agency�s knowledge, including the role of the military in Iran�s nuclear programme, the agency is unable to make progress in its efforts to provide assurance about the absence of un- declared nuclear material and activities in Iran.�


President Bush said that Iran�s intransigence was �not acceptable� but insisted that the US still wanted to resolve the issue through peaceful and diplomatic means.

China and Russia both oppose making mandatory the demand that Iran halt all enrichment-related activities, which they see as a prelude to sanctions

U.N. confirms Iran has enriched uranium

Sources say report to Security Council criticizes non-compliance

An International Atomic Energy Agency report released today to the Security Council confirms Iran successfully has enriched uranium-235 at Natanz in the four months since the plant was re-opened, according to WND columnist Jerome Corsi, citing sources in New York.

The sources said the report is critical of Iran's continued non-compliance with IAEA inspection demands.

A spokesman at the IAEA in Austria told Corsi today the report is "secret" until the next IAEA meeting but many Security Council members are "leaky" and it probably will be circulated by one of the 28 nations that received a copy this morning.


This morning, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is widely quoted in world media saying Iran "won't give a damn" about any Security Council resolutions concerning its nuclear program.


Meanwhile, in a press conference today, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told reporters the U.S. would move for a Security Council resolution demanding Iran stop its uranium enrichment at Natanz.

The Jerusalem Post reported Monday Israel has made improvements to its Arrow 2 missile system in order to intercept Iranian Shahab-3 missiles armed with multiple warheads and equipped with decoy systems designed to evade anti-missile defenses.

Israel has two operational Arrow 2 batteries � one at Palmahim to protect Tel Aviv, the other at Ein Shemer near Hadera, in northern Israel, near the Mediterranean Sea.

Friday, April 28, 2006

U.S. troop withdrawal plans back on track

The Bush administration, determining that stability has been restored, plans to continue the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Officials said the Defense Department was preparing to withdraw at least 30,000 troops from Iraq by September 2006. They said the pace of the pullout would depend on the security situation and the capability of Iraq's military and security forces, Middle East Newsline reported.

"We want to restore the momentum," an official said. "The Iraqi government has been informed of our plans."


Officials disclosed the U.S. withdrawal plans during a visit to Baghdad by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Both met U.S. and Iraqi officials and discussed plans for a withdrawal drafted by Gen. George Casey, commander of Multinational Force Iraq.

"So we are seeing the situation a little clearer, I'd say, and the clearer I see it, the better I can make my recommendations [on troop reductions]," Casey said on Wednesday.


From late December 2005 through early March, the U.S. military reduced its troop level from 165,000 to 132,000, officials said. They said the troop level has remained stable over the last six weeks amid rising sectarian violence that stemmed from the Al Qaida bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samara in February.

Over the last few weeks, however, the U.S. military command in Iraq has determined that the situation in Iraq has stabilized. Officials said the command concluded that the Iraqi military and security forces would not disintegrate into warring ethnic factions.

Casey said two Iraq Army divisions, 14 brigades and more than 50 battalions have been taking the lead in operations. He envisioned a huge expansion in the role of Iraqi troops over the next few months.

"By the end of this summer," Casey said, "we think that will be up to about 75 percent of the Iraqi brigades, and by the end of the year, about 80 percent of the Iraqi divisions, so that process is continuing."


Casey said the U.S. military has set criteria for the transfer of security responsibility to Iraq. He said the U.S.-led coalition would increasingly cede authority over territory to the Iraqi military and police in 2006.

"We have worked with the Iraqis to develop some criteria for that; the governors have been briefed on that; and that process is moving forward," Casey said. "And so you'll see some provinces starting to move in that direction -- the direction of Iraqi control -- over the coming months."

State Dept.: Al-Qaida Leaders Losing Control

Leaders of al-Qaida lost some control of the terror network last year due to the arrests and deaths of top operational planners, but the group remains the most prominent terror threat facing the United States and its allies, the State Department said Friday.

In its annual report on worldwide terrorism, the department singled out Iran as the most active state sponsor of terrorism, saying that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Intelligence and Security directly have been involved in the planning and support of terrorist acts.

The report said that Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders are scattered and on the run and Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for the network. In addition, al-Qaida's relations with the Taliban that once ruled Afghanistan are growing weaker and the group's finances and logistics have been disrupted, the report said.


"Al-Qaida is not the organization it was four years ago," the report said.

IAEA Report : Iran Has Defied U.N. Security Council

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday that Iran had enriched uranium and persists with related activities in its nuclear program in defiance of the U.N. Security Council.

The eight-page report, obtained by The Associated Press, said that after more than three years of an IAEA investigation, "the existing gaps in knowledge continue to be a matter of concern."

"Any progress in that regard requires full transparency and active cooperation by Iran," said the report, written by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei.


The finding set the stage for a showdown in the U.N. Security Council, which is expected to meet next week and start a process that could result in punitive measures against the Islamic republic.

But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said no Security Council resolution could make Iran give up its nuclear program.

"The Iranian nation won't give a damn about such useless resolutions," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people Friday in Khorramdareh in northwestern Iran.

"Today, they want to force us to give up our way through threats and sanctions but those who resort to language of coercion should know that nuclear energy is a national demand and by the grace of God, today Iran is a nuclear country," state-run television quoted him as saying.


In one of the few new developments in the IAEA's more than three-year investigation, the report concluded that Iran used undeclared plutonium in conducting small-scale separation experiments.


"The agency cannot exclude the possibility ... that the plutonium analyzed by the agency was derived from source(s) other than declared by Iran," the report said. Plutonium separation is one of the suspect "dual use" activities that could be used for a weapons program.

But the agency was stonewalled by Iran's refusal to give more information on other key issues _ details of its centrifuge programs that are used to enrich uranium, information on drawings that show how to form fissile uranium into warheads, and apparent links between Iran's military establishment and what it says is a civilian nuclear program.

The Security council is likely to consider punitive measures against the Islamic republic. While Russia and China have been reluctant to endorse sanctions, the council's three other veto-wielding members say a strong response is in order.

The impact of illegal aliens on America

The impact of illegal aliens on America

According to the Los Angeles Times,

1. 95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens.

2. 75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens.

3. Over 66% of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal whose births were paid for by taxpayers.

4. Nearly 25% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican nationals here illegally.

5. Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages.

6. The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border.

7. Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegal.

8. 21 radio stations in L.A. are Spanish speaking.

9. In L.A.County 5.1 million people speak English. 3.9 million speak Spanish (10.2 million people in L.A.County ).

(29% of inmates in federal prisons reportedly are illegal aliens.)

U.S. could easily stop Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz

Iran lacks the capability to block the world's leading shipping route for crude oil exports, according to a new report by a Washington think tank.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies said the Iranian navy, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has failed to procure platforms or weapons required to block the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for 60 percent of the world's oil trade. In a report, the Washington-based center said the United States could block any Iranian attempt to attack Gulf shipping, particularly from the sea.

Iran could not close the Strait of Hormuz, or halt tanker traffic, and its submarines and much of its IRGC forces would probably be destroyed in a matter of days if they become operational," the report said.


The assertion undermined an Iranian warning to threaten the global oil trade if attacked by the United States. The warning was issued during the Holy Prophet exercise in the Gulf, which took place from March 31 to April 6.

The Iranian navy remains highly vulnerable and would be quickly overwhelmed by a U.S. attack.


The report also dismissed the effectiveness of Iran's air defense umbrella. Cordesman and Al Rodhan said Iran's arsenal of aging Western- or Russian-origin surface-to-air missile batteries could be quickly neutralized by U.S. countermeasures.

"All of its major systems are based on technology that is now more than 35 years old, and all are vulnerable to U.S. use of active and passive countermeasures," the report said. "Iran's air defense forces are too widely spaced to provide more than limited air defense for key bases and facilities, and many lack the missile launcher strength to be fully effective."


The report was uthored by Anthony Cordesman and Khalid Al-Rodhan.

U.S. reports sharp drop in attacks on Iraq infrastructure

The U.S. military has reported a major decline in attacks on Iraqi vital facilities.

Officials said attacks against Iraq's vital infrastructure have decreased by 60 percent over the last three months. They said the reduction reflected the development and capabilities of Iraqi security forces.


On April 13, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said Iraqi security forces have successfully protected vital infrastructure sites. Lynch said Iraq's military and security forces comprise 250,000 trained and equipped Iraqi personnel, Middle East Newsline reported.

"We're taking the fight to the enemy specifically in Baghdad with the presence we have on the ground," Lynch said.


[On Monday, Sunni insurgents attacked the government headquarters in Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province. U.S. Marines were said to have repelled the insurgents, who included suicide car bombers.]

Iraq has been operating the Facility Protection Service, with a reported force of 150,000 people and assigned to guard official buildings, power stations and other sites. On April 12, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said the force was not under his control and could be under the influence of the Iraqi insurgency.

Lynch, who did not discuss FPS, said insurgency attacks in the Anbar province have decreased from an average of 27 per day in October 2005 to about 18 a day in April. He said that patrols in Baghdad have risen from 12,000 in February to 20,000 in March.


[On Monday, U.S. troops helped defend Iraqi security forces from a Sunni insurgency strike in Baghdad. The battle, which lasted about seven hours, was launched by 50 insurgents.]

Qatar: Price of oil would drop $15 if politicians shut up

Qatar plans to invest $5 billion through 2010 in an attempt to increase the production of crude oil.

Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah said the price of oil would drop by $15 should politicians end their expressions of concern over a halt in supplies.


Al Attiyah said the record oil prices of more than $75 per barrel was the result of fears and speculation within the market.


Qatar intends to allocate $5 billion over the next five years to boost oil production capacity to 1.1 million barrels per day.

Current production was reported at 850,000 barrels per day.

"We are putting a lot of effort and investment into increasing our oil output," Al Attiyah said on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Doha on April 23.

Economy rebounds in 1st quarter

4.8% pace strongest growth spurt in 2 1/2 years

Casting off an end-of-year lethargy, the U.S. economy bounded ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 4.8 percent pace, the strongest growth spurt in 2 1/2 years.

The latest report on the economy, released by the Commerce Department on Friday, showed that consumers, businesses and government all did their part in terms of robust spending and investment to spur a healthy pace of growth in the January-to-March quarter.

The 4.8 percent increase in the gross domestic product marked a vast improvement from the feeble 1.7 percent annual rate registered in the final quarter of 2005, when fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes, including high energy prices, prompted people and companies to tighten their belts.

The GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States and is considered the best barometer of the economy's fitness

"The economy is off to a strong start in 2006 and has fully rebounded from the fourth quarter's setback," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.


The first quarter's performance - the best showing since the third quarter of 2003 - was close to economists' expectations. Before the report was released, private analysts were forecasting the economy to clock in at a 4.9 percent growth rate.

Even with the economy zipping ahead in the first quarter, inflation actually moderated.

An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve showed that core prices - excluding food and energy - rose by 2 percent, down from 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter.


A separate report from the Labor Department suggested that the strengthening job market isn't fanning inflation. Employers' cost to hire and retain workers - wages and benefits - rose by 0.6 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace in seven years. That mostly reflected less generous benefit packages.


To keep inflation at bay, the Fed is expected to boost interest rates again at its May 10 meeting, which would mark the 16th increase since June 2004. But after that, the central bank could take a break - perhaps temporarily - in its 2-year-old rate raising campaign, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested Thursday.

With businesses feeling better about the economy, hiring has picked up. In March, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent, matching January's - the lowest in 4 1/2 years.

California Democrats Support 'Great American Boycott'

Some Democratic state lawmakers are planning to walk off the job Monday - just as millions of others around the country are expected to - in support of immigrants' rights.

The Democratic-controlled Senate, on a party-line vote, approved a resolution supporting the May 1 "Great American Boycott 2006," which supporters say will serve as a warning to Congress to avoid punitive immigration reform.

Organizers believe the boycott, in which large numbers of students also are expected to participate, will show just how vital immigrants are to America's major cities and the nation's economy.

"These immigrants are fighting to embrace this nation," said Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys. "What a good time this is when people can express their anger, their frustration, desires, hopes and dreams, all for the purpose of becoming American. That's a good thing."


Republicans voted unanimously against the resolution, saying it encourages lawlessness.

"The Legislature should not be encouraging students to leave school," said Southern California Sen. Dave Cox. "And, it's irresponsible to recommend to people they leave their jobs, especially when many can lose those jobs, whether they obtained them illegally or not."


Earlier this week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an immigrant from Austria, implored people to avoid the boycott.

"There are only downsides," he said. "It's bad for workers because some of them will get fired. It's bad for people who they work for because they will not have the workers scheduled to do the job. And it's bad for children if they don't go to school. The way you show that you can become a great contribution to this country and state is by going to school and being responsible."


The resolution to support the boycott isn't supported by all Democrats. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, called on immigrants to stay on the job unless they get their employers' permission, and for children to stay in school. He refused to take up the Senate resolution, and allowed his chambers' own resolution, which would have called on Congress to support immigrants' rights, to die.

Still, Nunez plans on flying down to Los Angeles to take part in marches, after he checks in at the Assembly Monday morning. Members are supposed to be at the Capitol on session days, which are Mondays and Thursdays.

"When you're with thousands of your constituents and you're talking about the very issues at the forefront of their concerns," said Steve Maviglio, Nunez's deputy chief of staff, "I think you're being an effective legislator."

Dick Ackerman, the Senate Republican minority leader from Tustin, said lawmakers should set an example by showing up to work.

"They should be prepared to do the state's work," he said. "A boycott is not taking care of the state's work."


Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, voted in favor of the resolution, but called on parents to urge their children to stay in school.

Teachers should use the boycott as a way to "discuss the value, the history, the conflicts and the enrichment of our society that has come about with the waves of immigration in our time," said Torlakson, a former educator. "But we should also urge students to stay in school to underscore the value of education and use it as an opportunity to learn in a school setting."

But, Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, who authored the resolution, said the boycott will be part of history that will one day be recounted in classrooms across the country.

"It's one day out of 365, out of their lives," she said, "for immigrants to peacefully tell the country that we matter, we want justice."

Muslims to join pro-illegals protest in L.A.

Muslims in Los Angeles and elsewhere are being urged to join millions of Latino protesters in the streets May 1 to demonstrate in favor of leniency toward illegal aliens currently living in the United States unlawfully.

"In solidarity with immigration activists around the country, the Muslim Public Affairs Council as well as the Council on American-Islamic Relations - Los Angeles, the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, the L.A. Latino Muslim Association, the Muslim American Society - Los Angeles, and the Muslim Students Association - West are calling on American Muslims to participate in a day of action on May 1, 2006," says a statement from the Muslim Public Affairs Council.


"Islam's message is one of social justice, economic fairness, and fair treatment in the workplace. The Quran urges the proper treatment and respect of workers."


"It is to show the amount of work, the purchasing power, the contributions that illegal and undocumented workers make on a daily basis," Chris Banks, a volunteer for ANSWER, or Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, told the Desert Dispatch in California.

"RealIy, it is no different from the transit strike that took place in New York last December, and they shut the city down and it was to show the value of their work � the labor that they do," he said. "The labor they (illegal aliens) do for our collective well being is enormous."

The Muslim organization pushing participation is urging the faithful in Southern California to attend a march near downtown Los Angeles at 4 p.m. Monday.

"American Muslim organizations are calling for a comprehensive immigration reform that includes provisions for a pathway to lawful permanent residence for the undocumented currently in the United States, a temporary worker program that matches willing workers with willing employers, and a reduction in the current backlogs in family-based immigration to the United States," said the Muslim Public Affairs Council.


Large protests held by pro-illegal-alien activists early this month actually had a negative effect on the demonstrators' cause, a poll found.

Iraqi forces kill al-Qaida leader

Acting on tip, raided house where terrorists were hiding

Iraqi forces killed a local al-Qaida in Iraq leader and two other insurgents in a raid north of Baghdad on Friday, and roadside bombs killed an American soldier and an Iraqi policeman, officials said.

Provincial police chief Maj. Ghassan al-Bawi said troops and police were on the streets of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, on Friday and roads to the city were closed because of fears the insurgents might regroup and launch more attacks.

Iraqi commando forces, acting on a tip, raided a house where Hamid al-Takhi, the local al-Qaida in Iraq leader, and the two other insurgents were hiding just outside Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, said police Capt. Laith Mohammed.

Al-Takhi, known as the "emir" of Samarra, was gunned down while fleeing the house, and the other two militants while trying to defend it with grenades, the U.S. military said. After they were killed, the Iraqi troops found a car parked nearby containing a grenade launcher, rockets, AK-47s, grenades, and a shotgun, the U.S. military said.


Mohammed said al-Takhi had been responsible for many insurgent attacks against coalition forces and civilians in the area.

'Tangible proof' al-Qaida deploying nukes

Bombshell presentation to launch D.C. terror symposium

A terrorism symposium featuring leading experts that starts today will begin with presentation of "tangible proof" al-Qaida not only has developed an arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons but also has begun to deploy them for use in its jihad against the United States and Israel.

Paul L. Williams, author of "The Al Connection" and "The Dunces of Doomsday," will present his findings at the National Press Club in Washington at the conclusion of a public debate with Wall Street Journal correspondent Richard Miniter on al-Qaida's nuclear weaponry.

The debate, today at 10 a.m., will be moderated by Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard and regular contributor to the Fox News Channel. The public is invited to attend.

The organizers say the event is timely, "with increased anxiety over demands for a pullout from Iraq, the nuclear developments in Iran and North Korea, the failure of our government to secure the borders and our country's fledgling, incomprehensive effort at homeland security."


Organizer Jeff Epstein believes the majority of Americans disapprove of both the "cut-and-run policy" proposed by many leading Democrats and the "compassionate conservative" approach of the Bush administration, favoring instead a "firm and decisive military action with no apologies to Russia, China, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia or the United Nations."

"I am convinced that the threat we are currently facing from radical Islam greatly surpasses that which was posed by the Third Reich," Epstein said.


Anyone interested in attending, Epstein added, should contact America's Truth Forum at its website or by calling 866-709-3474.

Al Qaeda Nukes in U.S. Linked With Iran Attack




Pakistani journalist who met bin Laden confirms al-Qaida nukes, says they may already be in U.S.

Al-Qaida has already obtained nuclear suitcase weapons from the Russian black market, weapons tested in Afghanistan in 2000, and they may have already been forward-deployed inside the U.S., according to the only journalist to interview Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in the wake of Sept. 11.

Last week, Hamid Mir's credibility skyrocketed when he accurately predicted in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin and later in WND the imminent release of a new recorded communiqu� from bin Laden through al-Jazeera, the Arabic TV network. Two days later, bin Laden's tape was the focus of international news coverage.

"If you think that my information and analysis about bin Laden's location is correct," said Hamid Mir, "then please don't underestimate my analysis about his nuclear threat also."


Mir said that he met with an Egyptian engineer last week who lost an eye after one of bin Laden's nuclear tests in the Kunar province of Pakistan. The Pakistani journalist said the encounter with the engineer greatly disturbed and depressed him since it provided further assurance that a nuclear nightmare for America is about to dawn.

Mir believes that an "American Hiroshima" will occur as soon as the U.S. launches an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.


"Al-Qaida and Iran," he says, "have a long, secret relationship." "American Hiroshima" is the name al-Qaida leaders chose for their long-planned nuclear attack on the U.S.


The relationship between Iran and bin Laden dates back to June 21, 1996, when bin Laden attended a terror summit in Tehran. The gathering attracted terror leaders from various places throughout the world, including Ramadan Shallah (the Palestinian Islamic Jihad), Ahmad Salah (Egyptian Islamic Jihad), Imad al-Alami and Mustafa al-Liddawi (Hamas), Ahmad Jibril (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), Abdallah Ocalan (the Kurdish People Party), Muhammad Ali Ahmad (al Qaida), and Imad Mugniyah (Hezbollah). The summit resulted in the creation of the "Committee of Three" that would meet on a regular basis for the "coordination, planning and execution of attacks" against the United States and Israel. The committee members were Ahmad Salah, Imad Mugniyah and bin Laden.

Mir's position that al-Qaida's nuclear weapons may have already been forward-deployed to the United States confirms the report of Sharif al-Masri, a key al-Qaida operative who was arrested in Pakistan in November 2000.

Al Masri, an Egyptian national with ties to al-Zawahiri, said that al-Qaida had made arrangements to smuggle nuclear weapons and supplies to Mexico. From Mexico, he said, the weapons were to be transported across the border and into the United States with the help of a Latino street gang.


Mir also maintains that numerous sleeper agents are in place in major cities throughout the United States to prepare for the nuclear holocaust. Many of these agents, he says, are Algerians and Chechens who obtained European passports and are posing as Christian and Jews.


He further says that many of these agents have been in the United States since bin Laden's issuance of his "Declaration of War on Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Holy Places." That fatwa was issued Aug. 23, 1996.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

May 1 immigrant boycott aims to 'close' cities

Pro-immigration activists say a national boycott and marches planned for May 1 will flood U.S. streets with millions of Latinos to demand amnesty for illegal immigrants and shake the ground under Congress as it debates reform.

Such a massive turnout could make for the largest protests since the civil rights era of the 1960s, though not all Latinos -- nor their leaders -- were comfortable with such militancy, fearing a backlash in Middle America.

"There will be 2 to 3 million people hitting the streets in Los Angeles alone. We're going to close down Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Tucson, Phoenix, Fresno," said Jorge Rodriguez, a union official who helped organize earlier rallies credited with rattling Congress as it debates the issue.


Immigration has split Congress, the Republican Party and public opinion. Conservatives want the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants classified as felons and a fence built along the Mexican border.

Others, including President George W. Bush, want a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship. Most agree some reform is needed to stem the flow of poor to the world's biggest economy.

"We want full amnesty, full legalization for anybody who is here (illegally)," Rodriguez said. "That is the message that is going to be played out across the country on May 1."


Organizers have timed the action for May Day, a date when workers around the world traditionally have marched for improved conditions, and have strong support from big labor and the Roman Catholic church.

They vow that America's major cities will grind to a halt and its economy will stagger as Latinos walk off their jobs and skip school.

Teachers' unions in major cities have said children should not be punished for walking out of class. Los Angeles school officials said principals had been told that they should allow students to leave but walk with them to help keep order.


Critics accuse pro-immigrant leaders of bullying Congress and stirring up uninformed young Latinos by telling them that their parents were in imminent danger of being deported.

"It's intimidation when a million people march down main streets in our major cities under the Mexican flag," said Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman volunteer border patrol group. "This will backfire," he said.

US Military : Iraq edging away from civil war

The U.S. military said on Thursday Iraq was moving away from the risk of civil war and insurgent and sectarian bloodshed would fall dramatically when a new government of national unity is formed.

Attacks on civilians had jumped 90 percent across Iraq since a Shi'ite shrine was bombed in February, but "ethno-sectarian" bloodshed had more than halved in Baghdad in the past week, U.S. spokesman Major General Rick Lynch told a news conference.

"We are not seeing widespread militia operations across Iraq. We are not seeing widespread movement of displaced personnel," he said. "So we do not see us moving toward a civil war in Iraq. In fact we see us moving away from it."


The Sunni Arab insurgency against U.S. and Iraqi forces and the mounting sectarian violence against civilians after the shrine attack raised fears Iraq was sliding into civil war.

Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki hopes to form a new government uniting majority Shi'ites with Sunni Arabs and Kurds next week, a move widely seen as critical to ending the bloodshed.

"We believe that the people of Iraq ... have grown tired of the insurgency, have grown tired of these casualties and indeed are going stop this cycle of violence," Lynch said.

"And when the government is formed and truly reaches out to the people, we believe you'll see a great decline in violent activities in Iraq."

"Because now you have got a Sunni politician who is standing up for the people of Iraq and saying let's do the right thing for the people of Iraq and not worry about Sunnis versus Shias versus Kurds," he said.

Senate Panel: FEMA Should Be Abolished

Hurricane Katrina turned FEMA into a "symbol of a bumbling bureaucracy" so far beyond repair that it should be scrapped, senators said Thursday. They called for creation of a new disaster relief agency as the next storm season looms on the horizon.

The push to replace the beleaguered agency was the top recommendation of a hefty Senate inquiry that concluded that top officials from New Orleans to Washington failed to adequately prepare for and respond to the deadly storm despite weather forecasts predicting its path through the Gulf Coast.

"The first obligation of government is to protect our people," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigation. "In Katrina, we failed at all levels of government to meet that fundamental obligation."

She added: "We must learn from the lessons of Katrina so that next time disaster strikes, whether it's a storm that was imminent and predicted for a long time, or a terror attack that takes us by surprise, government responds far more effectively."

The inquiry's final report, given to lawmakers Thursday, faulted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco for failing to protect sick and elderly people and others who could not evacuate the city on their own. It also concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Michael Brown, who then headed the Federal Emergency Management Agency, either did not understand federal response plans or refused to follow them.

The bipartisan panel issued 86 recommendations for change that, taken together, indicate the United States is still woefully unprepared for a storm of Katrina's scope with the start of the hurricane season little more than a month away.

The recommendations conclude FEMA is crippled beyond repair by years of poor leadership and inadequate funding and call for a new agency - the National Preparedness and Response Authority - to plan and carry out relief missions for domestic disasters.

Unlike now, the authority would communicate directly with the president during major crises, and any dramatic cuts to budget or staffing levels would have to be approved by Congress. But it would remain within the Homeland Security Department and would continue receiving resources from the department.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said FEMA needs to be stripped out of the larger department and restored to an independent Cabinet-level agency. "That's how it was done in the past and it worked as we hoped," said Lautenberg, a member of the Senate panel.

The proposal also drew disdain from Homeland Security and its critics, both sides questioning the need for another bureaucratic shuffling that they said wouldn't accomplish much.

"It's time to stop playing around with the organizational charts and to start focusing on government, at all levels, that are preparing for this storm season," Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said.


Brown, who resigned under fire after Katrina, said the new agency would basically have the same mission FEMA had a year ago before its disaster planning responsibilities were taken away to focus solely on responding to calls for help.

"It sounds like they're just re-creating the wheel and making it look like they're calling for change," Brown said.

Iran has missiles that put Europe in range

Iran has received a first shipment of missiles from North Korea that are capable of reaching Europe, Israel's military intelligence chief was quoted on Thursday as saying.

Known in the West as BM-25s, the Russian-designed missiles have a range of around 1,500 miles, giving them a longer reach than the Iranian-made Shihab-4 missiles which are capable of hitting Israel.

The intelligence chief, Major-General Amos Yadlin, was quoted by Israel's Haaretz newspaper as saying in a lecture on Wednesday that some BM-25s had arrived in Iran.

The BM-25 was originally manufactured in the Soviet Union, where it was known as the SSN6, a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, Haaretz reported.

After the Russians decommissioned the SSN6, the missiles were sold to North Korea, which adapted them to carry a heavier payload, the newspaper's military affairs correspondent said.

In February, a German diplomat, citing his country's intelligence data, confirmed a German newspaper report that said Iran had purchased 18 disassembled BM-25s from North Korea.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

'United 93': Sobs and Applause

"United 93" is a movie of firsts. It was made from the heart and not to make money, certainly. It�s a short movie but one that you never want to see end � not because the story is so appealing, but because you know what the end is, and you never want it to come.

That must have been how the audience sitting in the balcony of the Ziegfeld theater -- the family members of those who died on the doomed flight -- felt last night at the film�s premiere.

When the 93-minute movie ended � in silence, not an explosion � the people in the balcony sobbed in a way I have never heard before in a movie house.

It was gut wrenching, and it was terrifying. I don�t know if "United 93" has given them closure or permission to keep reliving this horror.
Peter Greengrass has made an extraordinary document for them of what their relatives must have gone through in their final hour of life.

�United 93� is beautifully crafted, thoughtful and precise. There is nothing wrong with it. In fact, it has the polish of perfection, hitting every note, dotting every �i,� crossing every �t.� You have to admire the stamina of everyone involved that they were able to pull off such a feat.

We know the story, so we don�t have to go into the details of that. Anyway, "United 93" depends, like all films, on making a connection with the actors.

And here�s where there is a significant surprise, because other than a small handful of professionals, the movie belongs to a total acolyte and newcomer.

Ben Sliney, national operations manager for the FAA at Kennedy Airport, was in the control tower when the tragedies of Sept. 11 unfolded. He later testified before the 9/11 Commission.

A professional actor was hired to play him in the movie, but after Sliney arrived on set, he took over the job of playing himself. It�s one of those strange Hollywood stories, but Ben Sliney turns out to be the star of �United 93.�

If he wanted one, he could have an acting career, perhaps. Alas, he doesn�t seek the fame. But Sliney becomes the moral and sympathetic center of the story as chaos unfolds quickly. You keep hoping while he�s on screen that all the people in the FAA are like him.

In the end, �United 93� probably cannot be judged in any unemotional way. Greengrass has done something amazing for these families by bringing alive what must exist in their imaginations and nightmares.

FOX News Poll: Public OK With Movies About 9/11

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Who Sells the USA the most oil? SURPRISE !!!

February 2006 Import Highlights: Released on April 14, 2006

Preliminary monthly data on the origins of crude oil imports in February 2006 has been released and it shows that two countries have exported more than 1.7 million barrels per day to the United States. Including those countries, a total of five countries exported over 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil to the United States.

The top sources of US crude oil imports for February were Mexico (1.774 million barrels per day), Canada (1.700 million barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1.418 million barrels per day), Nigeria (1.342 million barrels per day), and Venezuela (1.175 million barrels per day).

The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Angola (0.464 million barrels per day), Iraq (0.444 million barrels per day), Ecuador (0.222 million barrels per day), Brazil (0.164 million barrels per day), and Algeria (0.163 million barrels per day). Total crude oil imports averaged 9.860 million barrels per day in February, which is an increase of 0.147 million barrels per day from January 2006.

The top five exporting countries accounted for 75 percent of United States crude oil imports in February and the top ten sources accounted for approximately 90 percent of all U.S. crude oil imports.

Canada was the largest exporter of total petroleum products again this month averaging 2.249 million barrels per day to the United States which is a decrease from last month (2.311 million barrels per day).

The second largest exporter of total petroleum products again this month was Mexico (1.878 million barrels per day) which was an increase from last month (1.796 million barrels per day). Nigeria had a substantial increase in crude oil and total petroleum exports to the U.S. when compared to last months numbers.

Al-Qaida Leader Mocks U.S. Forces in Video



Terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi revealed his face for the first time Tuesday in a dramatic video in which he dismissed Iraq's new government as an American "stooge" and called it a "poisoned dagger" in the heart of the Muslim world.

He also mocked the U.S. military in Iraq for what he called suicides, drug-taking and mutinies, and he warned that "worse" attacks were to come.

Al-Zarqawi also claimed the U.S. military was overwhelmed in Iraq.

"Why don't you tell people that your soldiers are committing suicide, taking drugs and hallucination pills to make them sleep?" he asked, directing his words to President Bush.


The video, in which he also warned of more attacks to come, was posted on the Internet only days after a breakthrough in Iraq's political process allowing its Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders to start assembling a government.

It also followed a high-profile audiotape from Osama bin Laden and seemed a deliberate attempt by al-Zarqawi to reclaim the spotlight following months of taking a lower profile amid criticism of bombings against civilians. It was his first message since January.

A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity in compliance with office policy, said analysts believe al-Zarqawi is showing his face to demonstrate that he is still engaged as a leader of jihad, or holy war.

The message also appeared to be an attempt by the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq to rally Iraqis and foreign fighters to his side at a time when U.S. and Iraqi officials are touting political progress as a setback to insurgents.

Al-Zarqawi appeared in the 30-minute video, which he said was made Friday, dressed head-to-toe in black with a black scarf around his head and a beard and mustache.

He seemed healthy, shown in one scene standing and firing a heavy machine gun in a flat desert landscape that resembled the vast empty stretches of western Iraq, where he is believed to be hiding.

He delivered his statement, sitting inside with an ammunition vest hung from his neck and an automatic rifle propped nearby.

Al-Zarqawi addressed Sunni Arabs in Iraq and across the Arab world, warning that their community was in danger of being caught between "the Crusaders and the evil Rejectionists," the terms used by radical Sunnis for the Americans and the Shiites.

"God almighty has chosen you (Sunnis) to conduct holy war in your lands and has opened the doors of paradise to you ... So mujahedeen, don't dare close those doors," he said. "They are slaughtering your children and shaming your women."


Any new government - "whether made up of the hated Shiites or the secular Zionist Kurds or the collaborators imposed on the Sunnis - will be stooges of the Crusaders and will be a poisoned dagger in the heart of the Islamic nation," he said.

He trumpeted the success of the insurgency, saying "when the enemy entered into Iraq, their aim was to control Iraq and the area. But here we have been fighting them for the last three years."


He addressed President Bush, telling him, "By God, you will have no peace in the land of Islam."

"Your dreams will be defeated by our blood and by our bodies. What is coming is even worse," he said.


A U.S. intelligence official, who also declined to be identified in compliance with office policy, said a technical analysis had determined that the voice on the tape was al-Zarqawi's.

Laura Mansfield has more:>>>

Oil Prices Fall on Drop in Gas Futures

Crude oil and gasoline futures fell Tuesday after President Bush said he would waive regional clean-air specifications for summer-grade gasoline in order to attract more imports of motor fuel to the United States.

President Bush also said he would halt deposits of oil to the nation's strategic petroleum reserve until fall, but analysts said the measure would have little impact on crude prices and certainly not help make gasoline any cheaper.

John Kilduff, an analyst at Fimat USA in New York, said the Bush administration should have gone further, by eliminating tarriffs on ethanol imports, but said the action on gasoline specifications would indeed help alleviate supply constraints.

Light sweet crude for June delivery fell by 53 cents to $72.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following a sharp decline in gasoline futures, which slid by close to 8 cents a gallon.

Gasoline futures for May delivery fell 7.39 cents to $2.10 a gallon.

A high floor remains underneath oil and gasoline prices because of a variety of geopolitical tensions.

Lone Lawmaker Blocks Flight 93 Monument in Pa.

For emotional wallop, there are few rivals to the windswept, grassy field outside of Shanksville, Pa., where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.

But for three years, that field has made do with a makeshift monument while one member of Congress, Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.), has blocked a $10 million request to buy the land for a permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew members who overpowered hijackers bent on crashing their jet into the Capitol or the White House.

The families of the Flight 93 passengers and crew will be in Washington tomorrow, this time intent on challenging the chairman of the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee, who oversees funding for federal acquisition of property. With a major motion picture on the doomed flight premiering tonight, a showdown on the issue is the last clash that embattled Republicans want.

"We need to build a memorial for these people," said Rep. William Shuster (R-Pa.), whose district includes Shanksville. "These 40 people were the first counterattack of the war on terror, and they were victorious. We owe them a great debt of gratitude."


For Taylor, a large landowner in the mountains of western Carolina, the issue comes down to principle: The federal government is already the largest landowner in the country, and he believes that no additional tax dollars should go to more land buying for this or any other memorial. Beyond that, the families have committed to raising half the $60 million needed to build the memorial but so far have raised $7.5 million. Taylor is concerned that the federal government will be left holding the bag.

Neither Taylor nor his press secretary returned phone calls and e-mails yesterday. His chief of staff, Sean Dalton, would not comment.

GOP aides familiar with the issue said Taylor's resolute stance made sense shortly after passage in 2002 of an act authorizing the memorial. The original designs were expansive, the acreage perhaps excessive, and there were real questions about how many tourists would visit the remote site in Somerset County. Taylor infuriated some Flight 93 family members by suggesting a more fitting tribute would be a scholarship fund.

"We believe the land speaks to anyone who goes there and sees the site," said Patrick White, whose cousin Louis Joseph Nacke II died on Flight 93. "It is very moving."


Family members say they can show why about 1,200 acres are needed for access to the site and to show the drama of an airplane slamming into the earth at more then 500 mph. As for fundraising, Universal Pictures has promised to donate 10 percent of the gross receipts that its film, "United 93," garners this opening weekend.

And the White House has joined the fray. This year, the request -- for the first $5 million installment -- came from President Bush and the National Park Service. Former White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. has leaned on Taylor, as has his successor, Joshua B. Bolten. On Thursday, Shuster wrote a "Dear Colleague" letter to House members to ratchet up the pressure, offering up a form letter addressed to Taylor.

"We're going to have to prevail on our member from North Carolina to come to the right position on this," said one senior House Republican aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to counter a lawmaker's position. "This is not worth this fight."


"We're optimistic and hopeful this time around," White said.

April 23, 2006: New Bin Laden Tape Holds American People Responsible for War

By Laura Mansfield

Osama Bin Laden's voice rang out from Al Jazeera this morning in a newly released audiotaped message. So far, only two excerpts from the tape have been released and aired on Al Jazeera.

Bin Laden's talking points this morning focused on Hamas and Palestine in the first excerpt, and on breakup of the Ottoman Empire and Sudan in the second portion.

He refers back to the statements of Dr. Ayman Zawahiri, who in a previous tape warned Hamas against entering into any kind of agreement with the West.

"Further proof to this is their rejection of Hamas after its election victory. We re-iterate what Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri has already warned against, entering into partnership with the infidels."


Bin Laden cites the opposition against Hamas from the US and Europe as proof of the existence of a "Zionist Crusade" against Islam.

Bin Laden places responsibility of the war on the people as well as the government.

I tell you, any war is the joint responsibility of the people and their governments. And war rages on and the people are renewing their support of their leaders and politicians. They continue to send their sons to war to fight us. They continue to support them financially and morally while our countries are burned, our homes are bombed and our people are killed and no one cares about us.


It appears that Bin Laden may be setting up further justification for an attack on the US or its allies, one that would have considerable civilian casualties. He makes it very clear that he holds he people of America, the civilian population, responsible for the actions of the US military.

The second portion of the released segment of the tape refers to the Sudan. He speaks of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, and the resulting state building that occurred.

Bin Laden then goes on to place responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur on US and British interference.

He calls for Muslims in the Saudi Arabia and in Sudan to prepare for a long war against the US and coalition forces.

We will update as more portions are released.

Monday, April 24, 2006

More False "Record" Oil Prices

As they did all week, on Friday night the three broadcast network evening newscasts again hyperventilated over the "record" high price for a barrel of oil, though adjusted for inflation, the only competent way to measure any price over time, current $75 per barrel oil is $12 short of the real record high set in January of 1981.

ABC anchor Elizabeth Vargas falsely cited how "a week of skyrocketing oil prices ends with another record today," erroneously claiming that "records were set on four out of five days, and today the price for a barrel of crude topped $75 for the first time ever." Previewing This Week, George Stephanopoulos cued up Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: "So do we need a windfall profits tax?" CBS's Bob Schieffer announced that "we end the week as we began it, and that is not good news because we began this week by reporting that the price of crude oil had reached a record high."


Over on the NBC Nightly News, fill-in anchor Lester Holt had as little regard for accuracy as had Brian Williams the rest of the week. "Pain at the pump," Holt teased, "Yet another record high for oil."

An April 20 CyberAlert item,
"Networks Falsely Cite 'Record High' Price for Barrel of Oil," recounted erroneous reporting aired on Wednesday night and relayed how some print outlets have noted reality in stories about "record high" prices
.

In the April 18 USA Today, for instance, reporter James Healey acknowledged:

"The Monday high is not a record if inflation is taken into account. That peak is the equivalent of $86.99 in today's dollars, set when oil was $38.85 a barrel in January 1981, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration."
See: www.usatoday.com

Check the Energy Information Administration's historic table with inflation-adjusted prices for a barrel of oil: www.eia.doe.gov

Wrong number: Interpreter answers cell phone, dupes insurgents

One misplaced cell phone and one savvy interpreter equaled one dead insurgent, several pieces of intelligence and a whole lot of captured weapons.

On a routine patrol, U.S. troops with 1st Battalion, 68th Armor came upon a house in the midst of dense greenery and at the end of a dusty country road.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Nicodemus, 33, said he immediately noticed that no Iraqi men were around.

Suddenly, a cell phone inside the home rang, said Nicodemus, of Altoona, Pa.

�The interpreter went in and answered the phone, and on the other end of the phone the person said, in Arabic, �Hey, coalition forces are here, go ahead and run away,� and he specifically said, �Go and run into the palm groves all around here,� � Nicodemus said.


The troops then fanned out into the palm groves and found several weapons including several rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, two AK-47s and a new sniper�s rifle, Nicodemus said.

They also found a hand-written map of a U.S. military base, diagrams on how to build rockets and a CD-ROM with several thousand files written in Arabic, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Greer, 35, of San Luis Obispo, Calif.

If that weren�t enough, the insurgent kept calling the interpreter back to ask what the Americans were doing.

The interpreter kept the act going.

�He�s basically acting like, you know, he�s watching us ... making sure everything is fine,� Nicodemus said.


The U.S. troops knew the insurgents were coming back and decided to lie in wait for them.

Many troops said they were psyched by the prospect of killing the person on the other end of the phone.

�I love this [expletive],� said Sgt. Nicholas Hake-Jordan, 23, of Springfield, Ore.
The troops didn�t have to wait long.

Shortly after U.S. troops set up, the insurgents called the interpreter and said they would be by in about 10 minutes to attack the Americans, said Staff Sgt. Art Hoffman, 30.

When seven insurgents got to the house, they ran into a wall of U.S. fire, said Hoffman, of Baltimore.

�The first guy that came in the door just dropped like a rock. The other two guys behind him got hit pretty hard, too. The rest grabbed their wounded and just ran back off,� said Hoffman.


One insurgent was confirmed killed in the fighting and the other two were in bad shape, he said.

Afterward, the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher, 42, praised his soldiers� actions.

�The initiative demonstrated at the platoon level is exactly how you win this fight,� said Fisher, of Sioux Falls, S.D.