Iran Sends Mixed Signals

Ahmadinejad Remains Defiant, But Senior Nuke Negotiator Says Tehran Wants To Talk

(CBS/AP)  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Western nations Tuesday to stop their own enrichment programs if they wanted his country to stop its own and return to negotiations.

Ahmadinejad told a crowd of thousands in northern Iran one day ahead of a U.N. Security Council deadline that it was no problem for his country to stop, as long as western nations did the same.

"Justice demands that those who want to hold talks with us shut down their nuclear fuel cycle program too," he said. "Then, we can hold dialogue under a fair atmosphere."

Ahmadinejad spoke in a far more conciliatory tone than the one he usually adopts, avoiding fiery denunciations of the West with a call for talks.

"We are for talks but they have to be fair negotiations. That means, both sides hold talks under equal conditions," he said.

He added, however, that it was unacceptable for countries to demand that Iran stop its nuclear activities without reciprocity.

His demand that the U.S., or any other Western nation halt uranium enrichment was highly unlikely to be met.

Ahmadinejad's comments come amid steadily increasing political tension between Washington and Tehran, with President Bush pushing the United Nations to enact tougher sanctions against Iran over the Islamic state's secretive nuclear program.

Later Tuesday, Iran's senior nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said as he walked into a meeting with the head of the U.N. nuclear agency that his government wanted to start new talks about its enrichment program.

"We are looking for ways and means to start negotiations," said Larijani, before closed-door talks with Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Larijani's brief statement made no reference to President Ahmadinejad's demand that any country joining Iran at the negotiating table must also halt enrichment on its own soil, and it wasn't clear if his comments indicated some flexibility on that prerequisite.

The U.N. Security Council has set Wednesday as a deadline for Iran to stop uranium enrichment or face further economic sanctions.

ElBaradei said Monday there was still time to negotiate with Iran about its nuclear program, noting that it would take years for Tehran to produce weapons.

Mr. Bush has repeatedly accused Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon, but Ahmadinejad insists his country's enrichment program is only for energy production.

As the rhetoric between the two capitals has intensified in recent weeks, the U.S. military has increased its presence in the Persian Gulf, a move touted as a visible deterrent by American officials, but criticized as war posturing by Iran.

The White House has repeatedly denied any intention of attacking Iran.

But, according to a Monday night report by the British Broadcasting Corporation, the plans are drawn up, and the U.S. government has already determined the two circumstances which would trigger just such an attack.

The BBC, citing diplomatic sources, says the Pentagon has plans ready for airstrikes targeting Iran's known nuclear sites and most of its military installations.

It is not unusual or unexpected for the Pentagon to have contingency plans for an attack against a country deemed as a security threat, but the BBC report provided more details surrounding a potential U.S. strike against Iran.

Two things could trigger the attack, according to the report; evidence that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon, or a "high-casualty" attack against American forces in Iraq that could be traced directly to the leadership in Tehran.

As a backdrop to these criteria, U.S. officials recently said that a particularly powerful form of improvised explosive device (IED) used against American soldiers in Iraq was coming from Iran.

Military officials in Baghdad first made the accusation, and suggested that top levels of the Iranian government were involved in supplying the weapons.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace, and then Mr. Bush himself, softened that claim, saying there was no doubt the weapons came from Iran, but that it was not possible to say exactly who in Tehran was aware of their delivery to Iraq's militias.

[skyk-2009]

If the game wasn't so deadly, this would be fun. THEIR extremist up against OUR extremist. Who's extremist are capable of killing the most for their God?
I will say this to all you Born Again Freaks, you need to be yourself or you're going to lose. Drag out the Sheets and crosses to burn, show these Extremist that when it come's to distuction NO group alive or dead can out Terrorist the Klan. By the way has any nation attacked us because we allowed the Klan to walk about openly?

[bernieb14]

skyk

If you think born again christians are Freaks, what would you call these facist radical muslims? When was the last time you heard that the klan has done anything that comes even close to what the muslim radicals are doing? I can understand that you don't like the klan, and neither do I. I don't like extremist groups PERIOD, including the Black Panther group!! You need to wake up and get in the current world before you compare any extremist groups in the United States to being worse than those in the middle east.

[krotec54]

What a silly statement to tell the world. They do not want to follow the rules, if they have an accident with one plant causing a nuclear fallout they will blame the West.
WE should just waite for the Iranian government to fall, then they will have their own civil war and they will blame Iraq insurgents.

[lars008-2009]

this is the real threat to humanity.....
http://stopislam.cjb.net/

Terrorism Awareness Project to wake up Americans and the World
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/islamic-mein-kampf

[lars008-2009]

'Obsession'
Documentary gives insight into radical Islam%u2019s global threat
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/launchPage.html?110506/110506_fnl_obsession&%27Obsession%27&FNL&Documentary%20gives%20insight%20into%20radical%20Islam%92s%20global%20threat&Foxlife&-1&%27Obsession%27&Video%20Launch%20Page&News
http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/12min.htm
http://myspace.com/waragainstthewest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BL4-mxE87w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUpcpEQtgp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BUqXSeCDJc

[lars008-2009]

here's your enemy skippy..... try to remember that..... there will be a test later....
UK TV AIRS SHOCK 'UNDERCOVER' LOOK INTO MAINSTREAM BRIT MOSQUES...
Dispatches: Undercover Mosque
This is part one of the much-anticipated UK Channel 4 documentary Dispatches: Undercover Mosque, exposing evidence of Islamic supremacism, shocking misogyny, and support for violence at a number of Britain%u2019s leading mosques and Muslim institutions. (Thanks again to LGF operative kasper.)
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=24018_Dispatches-_Undercover_Mosque&only

Dispatches - Undercover Mosque (1 to 6)
UK Channel 4, aired 15th January 2007.
Radicalisation of UK mosques by Saudi Wahabbism
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Dispatches+- Undercover Mosque
http://youtube.com/watch?v=peFQWuk4nuo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MuCLC8kjWCI
http://youtube.com/watch?v=x5t5EqWX92k
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yMztM0Z7BYE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=V4Zv3BUmwqs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KvjvNScmTQA

[bernieb14]

jh6379

It amazes me to see how many people on this CBS blog site that are so blind, with you taking the prize!! Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a *&^%$#ing mad man waiting to be the next hitler, and you're too naive to see it. Wake up!!

[tbweb]

Why should the entire Iranian nation suffer because of a few bad apples? If I were the CIA I would use Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as my poster child and get President Bush to sign back into law the authority to assasinate rougue heads of state! President Bush would sign it too, he probably just didn't think of it yet! Let the CIA be the CIA!!

[grumpas]

"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Western nations Tuesday to stop their own enrichment programs if they wanted his country to stop its own and return to negotiations." He has a very good point there! We said nothing when India, Pakistan and Israel went nuclear! Iran isn't any more dangerous than the three of them are! So, it seems to me we are very hypocritical about who we want to have nucelar weapons! There is nothing on the face of this earth any more frightening than George W Bush with access to nuclear weapons!

[mitywhity]

It's inevitable. Even a pacifist Hillary Clinton will have to deal with these goat-meat bloated muslims militarily if Tehran delays their next move until then. The troop surge in Iraq is not for Iraq alone. It is to give us the ability to operate along two fronts simultaneously. Iran is as provocative as they can be without being overt. Their method of arming and training militants to send to Iraq is their strongest move possible without calling us out publicly. Get ready for Iran. They are on a suicide mission.

[mitywhity]

We said nothing when India, Pakistan and Israel went nuclear! Iran isn't any more dangerous than the three of them are!

Was that some good weed you just smoked? India and Pakistan have never been hostile to anyone but each other. Their issues deal with "shared" lands in the Kashmir region. Funny how that works as in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict also. Iran is piloted by an ideologically deluded dictator who fancies himself the islamic equivalent to a returning Christ to spill the blood of all kaffirs (unbelievers) How Iran doesn't get higher marks on your scale of danger is beyond me.

[bernieb14]

grumpas

Let me add you to the list of naive bafoons. The difference with Iran in respect to the other nations you listed is that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a mad man. I can't believe Americans think our President comes close to that. You're living in a pschotic state of mind.

[mitywhity]

Iran is a sovereign nation who deserves the same rights of other nations.
Posted by jh6379 at 09:06 AM : Feb 20, 2007

That is hooey. Nukes were a necessary evil and now due to the idiotic regimes (North Korea and Iran)they have become necessary evils again. Iran's sovereignty is only to be respected in light of their good standing in the global community. They are calling the annihilation of Israel. So, how is it that they have a right to WMDs based on their stated intentions of mass killing?

[mitywhity]

Let the CIA be the CIA!!
Posted by tbweb at 09:16 AM : Feb 20, 2007

Absolutely! Our shadow forces need to be allowed to do their job. They have kept many a conflict at bay that we never knew was coming. Scary? So is the rest of the world. As long as we meet deadly force with deadly force at whatever level and location it may exist, we stand a better chance of repelling it far from our shores.

[lars008-2009]

There is nothing on the face of this earth any more frightening than grumpas and his fascist nazi islamic muslim friends with access to nuclear weapons!

[tbweb]

--grumpas
Are you serious? Iran is clearly more dangerous! First off, all the other nuclear powers allow U.N. inspectors to verify they are in compliance. Iran only allows limited inspections if any! That's not more dangerous. As bad as Hitler was he bragged publicly about wanting to wipe a country off the map! An Iran with nukes will be the ultimate nightmare. Who doubts that if Iran had nukes it wouldn't use them?

[bernieb14]

If President Bush was so dangerous with access to nuclear weapons he would have leveled areas of Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan with these weapons by now. Get real!!!

[lars008-2009]

peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first,

The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life. Theodore Roosevelt

[lars008-2009]

%u201CIt is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.%u201D Theodore Roosevelt

"Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger." (1894) Theodore Roosevelt

To sit home, read one's favorite paper, and scoff at the misdeeds of the men who do things is easy, but it is markedly ineffective. It is what evil men count upon the good men's doing. - The Outlook December 21, 1895 Theodore Roosevelt

[mitywhity]

I can't believe Americans think our President comes close to that. You're living in a pschotic state of mind.
Posted by bernieb14 at 09:22 AM : Feb 20, 2007

Touche' Most people here think that belittling and hating solves things. Bush has stepped in a lot a dog-squeeze, but he is not an evil man. I disagree with more of his policy than I agree with, but what I do know is that the bloodshed stopped over here since 9/11. You can armchair QB your rotund butts off, but faced with what we had dumped in his lap, I don't think any one of us would be doing anything that differs greatly from our current operations.

[bernieb14]

There is nothing on the face of this earth any more frightening than grumpas and his fascist nazi islamic muslim friends with access to nuclear weapons!

Posted by lars008 at 09:28 AM : Feb 20, 2007


AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lars008-2009]

bernieb14

don't forget n korea......

[mitywhity]

Theodore Roosevelt
Posted by lars008 at 09:31 AM : Feb 20, 2007

Be still my heart! Theodore Roosevelt's DNA should be recovered and cloned! This man was in touch with the past, present and future of his day. What a wise and willful man he was! Thanks Lars!

[dallison7]

Two things could trigger the attack, according to the report; evidence that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon, or a "high-casualty" attack against American forces in Iraq that could be traced directly to the leadership in Tehran.


Let's see, more cooked intel or a massacre of American soldiers. Right now Bush is thinking, "Which way do I go, which way do I go?"

[bernieb14]

lars008

Thanks for reminding me!!

[lars008-2009]

yes, we need anothe teddy roosevelt today....

i hope we find one for 2008 elections....

[bernieb14]

dallison7

Nice way to back the troops!! Not believing in them really goes a long way in backing them. This is not the French Army, it's the United States Army and Marines!!

[lars008-2009]

breaking news......another muslim mows down students in nashville with his cab....

he had been a cabbie for 2 days....

[mitywhity]

Iran was coming to a head no matter if we were in Iraq or not. Granted, we underestimated the resitance in Iraq and failed to quell the influx of foreign militants, BUT... The intent was to get into Iraq, cut off Hussein, and project east and west to clamp down Syria and Iran. The timetables have been rewritten but the plan has always been there and is still very achievable. Do you not know these things? There are war plans on file against every nation on this earth. Cnada, Mexico, England, Chile, Venezuela, Thailand, Taiwan, China, Japan, our forces are very well led and extremely prepared.

[lars008-2009]

don't you just hate all these stupid silly little fascist nazi islamic muslims pretending to be liberal americans.........

[mitywhity]

Let's see, more cooked intel or a massacre of American soldiers. Right now Bush is thinking, "Which way do I go, which way do I go?"
Posted by dallison7 at 09:35 AM : Feb 20, 2007
+ report this comment

The cooked intel you refer was not as cooked as it was un-crosschecked. When you are under the gun, things must be expedited and usual conveniences become scarcities. The world was in a whirlwind and we watched our leaders form a concensus to enter into the conflict we are in.

[mitywhity]

breaking news......another muslim mows down students in nashville with his cab....

he had been a cabbie for 2 days....
Posted by lars008 at 09:40 AM : Feb 20, 2007

These muslims are messin' with rednecks now. You know what happens when you mess with whitey in the south.

[lars008-2009]

you mean this cooked intel haji....lol

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

[mitywhity]

don't you just hate all these stupid silly little fascist nazi islamic muslims pretending to be liberal americans.........
Posted by lars008 at 09:43 AM : Feb 20, 2007

I never considered the possibility. Plausible. Hey if it's true - all you rag-headed, bearded, goat-eatin', baby-killers can go straight to he77!

[mitywhity]

I do notice that they (booger-eating liberals)thin out when someone other than little weenie-backed debaters arrive.

[lars008-2009]

do you see them deny it???.... didn't think so...lol

hahahahahahahahahaha

[dallison7]

don't you just hate all these stupid silly little fascist nazi islamic muslims pretending to be liberal americans.........
Posted by lars008 at 09:43 AM : Feb 20, 2007

I never considered the possibility. Plausible. Hey if it's true - all you rag-headed, bearded, goat-eatin', baby-killers can go straight to he77!
Posted by MITYWHITY


GOD!! YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID!! HOW OLD ARE YOU KIDS? AND WHY AREN'T YOU IN SCHOOL?

[tbweb]

--MITYWHITY
You're right, these Muslims haven't seen any terror yet! Its really interesting that everyone keeps saying the US lost the VietNam war, but if you ask the Vietnamese themselves they will tell anyone the U.S. kicked their a$$ and just got tired and went home!

[tbweb]

--MITYWHITY
You're right, these Muslims haven't seen any terror yet! Its really interesting that everyone keeps saying the US lost the VietNam war, but if you ask the Vietnamese themselves they will tell anyone the U.S. kicked their a$$ and just got tired and went home!

[tbweb]

--MITYWHITY
You're right, these Muslims haven't seen any terror yet! Its really interesting that everyone keeps saying the US lost the VietNam war, but if you ask the Vietnamese themselves they will tell anyone the U.S. kicked their a$$ and just got tired and went home! Terror R US!

[dallison7]

Nice way to back the troops!! Not believing in them really goes a long way in backing them. This is not the French Army, it's the United States Army and Marines!!
Posted by bernieb14

I'm tiring of you flat-line neocons. I volunteered for service during the Vietnam conflict. Who the fvck are you to question my loyalty to the troops, you chickensh*t coward! You and the rest of your inbred moron relatives sit on your fat a$$e$ and let someone else do the dying for you while you squeek 'Stay the Course'. I am in favor of supporting the troops the only real and sane way... bring them home NOW!! Get them out of this insane NEOCON'S WAR FOR OIL.

[tbweb]

I would like to end this war and bring the troops home too but its time we shut Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's big fat mouth and prove to him once and for all his big fat mouth is writing checks his a$$ can't cash! This guy gets me fired up with his big mouth! Ahmadinejad is literally begging for an a$$ whipping!!

[moo6robe]

the mere fact that war is the only option is bad I know we need to protect ourselvs but who do we really trust cia r spy system other countries Now for the truth war is good for the eocomany look at all of the mi-use of funds Bring or solders home close the border of these countries with a colation force when they tire of killing let them ask for help I serve in nam but in 40 years what have we learned. We cann't be big brother for the world

[ammianus]

The Sorrows of Young Dumus, Art. XI
The resources of the entire Oikoumene were open to plunder, and it was the first care of Vulturinus to host a convocation of the energy extraction Oligarchs in order to agree upon the division of spoils. A signally important measure of the efficiency of an energy extraction enterprise and an essential prop to its reputation was the ratio of known reserves to annual production. The energy supply oligarchs presided over an enterprise based upon an ever depleting resource. They could never resist the temptation to profess a reserves-to-production ratio far in excess of reality. When the actual ratios were disclosed, the entire energy extraction industry was discovered to rest upon a most precarious foundation. Readily accessible supplies were rapidly disappearing; and strenuous efforts must be made by the Hegemon to acquire control over new sources. To avoid premature collapse of the energy enterprises, all information concerning the deliberations of the convocation was withheld from the populace and a long-cherished scheme of the Oligarchy was revived. Realization of their dream of an imperial demesne extending from the banks of the Indus to the confines of Syria would have excited the envy of the son of Philip. But above all, when combined with the resources of the House of Saaud, such a conquest would furnish the Oligarchs with most of the fossil fuel supplies of the globe.

[ammianus]

The Sorrows of Young Dumus, Art. XLI:
The complacent enjoyment of power can never be the final destination of a totalitarian regime. The totalitarian leader had made dramatic promises: to unify and purify his community; to save it from the flabbiness and confusion of democratic politics and the contamination of alien peoples and cultures; to rescue the community from decadence and decline.
In order to fulfill these promises, totalitarian regimes must present the impression of driving momentum and cannot survive without a headlong, intoxicating rush forward. Without a mounting spiral of ever more daring challenges, totalitarian regimes devolve into decaying authoritarianisms. With it, they drive inexorably toward a final paroxysm of self-destruction.
Thus it was that when the populace contemplated each disaster of misrule, Dumus would distract them with some fresh and ever more heinous outrage. The grinding failure of the occupation of Mesopotamia led inevitably to the Persian war and abrogation of the Constitution (A.J. 6722, 14 Gorpiaios); thence to the annihilation of Khourosan (A.J. 6723, Dystros); then to the massacre of Sind (A.J. 6723, Dios) and the attack upon Irkutsk (A.J. 6725, 25 Apellaios); until, finally, the titanic struggle of Gaugamelia (A.J. 6728, 16-23 Artemisios) terminated, almost at one blow, the usurpations and oppressions of Dumus.

[golfkt]

Dallyson:
I doubt that you served in Nam..
Also your arguments lack merit...
Iraq is NOT vietnam...however, we MUST devise a way to extricate ourselves without leaving the Middle East in a shambles...Afghanistan was necessary...This is not a war for oil by the way...

[beehive21-2009]

Iran is in our sights,a push of a botton away from a trip to the land of lots a young virgins in waiting.Let us help them to there destiny,push the bottons.

[dallison7]

doubt that you served in Nam..
Also your arguments lack merit...
Iraq is NOT vietnam...however, we MUST devise a way to extricate ourselves without leaving the Middle East in a shambles...Afghanistan was necessary...This is not a war for oil by the way...
Posted by golfkt


I certainly don't care what a pu$$y like you doubts. And, further, you little c0ckbreath, no one said anything about Afghanistan. And if the war in Iraq is not for oil, pray tell why did we invade Iraq? And don't come back with the tired and worn out bush*t that you have had implanted by the neocons. All the intel was fabricated and fed to congress and the American people to justify this illegal and immoral quest for oil. If you can't see that you need to go back to your daddy, who is probably also your grandfather, and ask if he knows the truth.

[obiquital]

blah blah blah weapons of mass destruction blah blah

But seriously, Iran makes more electricity than they use so they need nuclear power why?

[tuckerndfw]

...This is not a war for oil by the way...

Posted by golfkt at 10:37 AM : Feb 20, 2007


Anyone who truly believes that the US & UK did not conspire to invade Afghanistan, Iraq & now Iran on behalf of Big Oil is a moron.

Really, there is no other word for it.

Amazing how the administration that is waging war all over world on behalf of "democracy" ignores the fact our "allies" are mostly dictatorships, including Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, UAE, and too many to list.

The US & UK did not invade Afghanistan or Iraq on behalf of the people of those nations, or to "protect" the US from "terrorists."