U.S. Agrees To New Talks With Iran On Iraq

Would Be 4th Meeting Between U.S., Iranian Reps; Follows News Of Reduction In Arms Smuggling

(CBS/AP)  The United States has accepted an Iraqi proposal to hold new talks with Iran about the security situation in Iraq, the State Department said Tuesday.

The as-yet unscheduled meeting would be the fourth round of talks between Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and his Iranian counterpart. Two previous sessions ended inconclusively with Iran rejecting U.S. allegations that Iran is supporting Shia insurgent groups in Iraq by providing bombmaking material responsible for the deaths of American troops.

Amid a decline in attacks involving such devices, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington had responded favorably to a suggestion from the Iraqi government that it was now "the appropriate time" for another meeting at the ambassadorial level in Baghdad.

"We said 'yes,' that we would agree to that," he told reporters, adding that the United States had informed Iran of its acceptance through diplomatic channels that normally involve Swiss intermediaries.

"We have communicated to the Iranian government that we are agreeable to that," McCormack said. "We have not yet received back a reply, either directly or via the Iraqis."

"We are open to using this channel as a way of talking directly about important issues concerning security in Iraq. We don't yet have a date, and as soon as I am aware of a date, I'll try to convey that to you," he said.

Earlier Tuesday in Tehran, the state Iranian news agency IRNA reported that Iran also accepted the offer for new continued talks with the United States and that Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had welcomed the opportunity.

"Iran will give a positive response to this request," Mottaki was quoted as saying by IRNA, adding that the talks will be held "in the near future. These talks ... are held within the framework of helping Iraqi stability and security and its people."

Meanwhile, the Iraqi government welcomed the agreement by the U.S. and Iran, although it said no date has been set for the meeting.

"The Iraqi government hopes that the new round of talks among the three countries will be fruitful and yield tangible steps that lead to mutual understanding," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a brief statement.

He added that the meeting would help the security and stability of Iraq plus reduce tension in the region.

The developments came against a background of U.S. military reports that violence is down 55 percent in Iraq since a U.S.-Iraqi security operation began this summer.

Iran has long been accused by Washington of training, arming and funding Shiite extremists inside Iraq to kill American troops. But in recent weeks, U.S. officials have said Tehran appears to have halted the flow of arms across its border into Iraq.

Iran has denied the arms-funneling accusations, insisting that it is doing its best to help stabilize its embattled western neighbor.

Mottaki said Iran's consent for a fourth round of talks comes after Tehran received an official U.S. request for talks through the Swiss Embassy, which looks after American interests in Iran.

"These talks ... are held within the framework of helping Iraqi stability and security and its people," IRNA quoted Mottaki as saying.

"The Swiss Embassy in Tehran has handed over to Iran a message from the U.S. government for a new round of talks concerning Iraq," Mottaki said.

McCormack denied that the United States had proposed the meeting, but had responded to the Iraqi request through the Swiss.

Switzerland looks after U.S. interests in Tehran in the absence of formal diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington, which were severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover by militants in Tehran. The Revolution toppled the pro-Western Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and installed a hard-line Islamic government.

Mottaki's comments came a day after Iran's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made a public appearance in Tehran with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. Both men are fierce critics of the Bush administration and regularly make statements deriding American foreign policy.

Chavez, seen at left shaking Ahmadinejad's hand, boasted that the two leaders are "united like a single fist" in challenging American influence, saying the fall of the dollar is a sign that "the U.S. empire is coming down."

Chavez's visit came after a failed attempt by the firebrand duo to move OPEC away from pricing its oil in dollars.

OPEC's weekend summit displayed the limits of the oil producers' alliance - their proposal was overruled by other members, led by Saudi Arabia - but it also showed their potential for stirring up problems for the U.S. and its allies.

Making his fourth trip to Tehran in two years, Chavez has built a strong bond with Ahmadinejad that has produced a string of business agreements as well as a torrent of rhetoric presenting their two countries as an example of how smaller nations can stand up to the U.S.

"Here are two brother countries, united like a single fist," Chavez said upon his arrival in Tehran, according to Venezuela's state-run Bolivarian News Agency.

"God willing, with the fall of the dollar, the deviant U.S. imperialism will fall as soon as possible, too," said Chavez, seen at left, after a two-hour closed meeting with Ahmadinejad, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.

Meanwhile, an Iranian government spokesman said Tuesday that Tehran is going through with a contract to purchase Russian-made Tupolev planes.

It was the first official confirmation of Monday's reports from Moscow which said Iran had begun talks to buy 30 Tupolev passenger aircraft worth more than $1 billion.

"This contract is going to be implemented," Gholam Hossein Elham, the government spokesman, was quoted by IRNA as saying.

Iran's move is an apparent response to U.S. sanctions that affect the country's aviation industry.

Crocker and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Kazemi Qomi have held three rounds of talks in Baghdad since May on Iraqi but without much apparent headway.

The first round in May broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze between Iran and the United States. Crocker and Qomi agreed during their July talks to set up a security subcommittee to carry forward talks on restoring stability in Iraq.

The subcommittee met in August for the first time in Baghdad and agreed to meet again at a later date but no more information is available on the outcome of those talks.

Iran has also accused the U.S. of providing "support for veteran (militant) elements and giving terrorists a free hand in specific locations in Iraq."

Tehran insists that it supports Nouri al-Maliki's government to establish security and bring stability to Iraq, an apparent reference to the political crisis surrounding the Shiite leader.

Iran holds considerable sway in Iraq, where the majority of the population is also Shiite Muslim and where Shiite political parties have close ties to Tehran.

[telecom_1]

Sky-high oil prices may be quashing Americans'' appetite to spend, but in parts of the Middle East it is stoking business and fueling immense fortunes. This is good news for the region''s 20 richest billionaires, who hail from six countries, made their money in nine industries and were worth $123 billion in March when we last locked in net worths

[ajmarine1]

What is this; a web site for EarlyProphet or what?

[earlyprophet]

ARE WE A NATION OF LAWS?
Consider the Patriot Act. The Law is 342 pages long, or 57,000 words, making it a bit longer than Dostoevsky''s "Notes from Underground" or, if you''re partial to pigs, about twice the size of Orwell''s "Animal Farm." The Patriot Act is the reigning champion of our government''s recent un-American activities. When it was first paraded before Congress and the Senate following the 9/11 attacks, few Members, other than Congressman, Ron Paul dared to vote against it. Most in Congress simply gave it their rubber-stamp of approval, without ever reading it. Why bother? It was, after all, named the "USA Patriot Act." It must be a good thing. Right? Now in effect, the Law wrecks a generation''s worth of constitutional protections against government snooping, legalizing police-state tactics in searches and seizures, criminalizing certain forms of speech and political activity, and opening the way for the mistreatment of foreigners in government custody and wholesale expulsions and imprisonment. It is a repugnant, unnecessary Law that goes against the very principles its name wrongly implies. Yet, it remains unchecked and unbalanced by public opinion, Lawmakers or the Courts. So, yes, we''re a nation of Laws. But the Laws aren''t much to speak of when they''re designed to hoodwink the public to win its docility. Neither is public responsibility much to speak of these days when its docility is secured with nothing more than a ploy-riddled play on the word "patriot."

[earlyprophet]

CLINTON MAKES BUSH DICTATOR
With the full support of Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain, President Bush recently signed into Law the John Warner Defense Authorization Act, which, according to Senator Leahy (VT), will actually "encourage the President to declare Martial Law." It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a Laws which limits the President''s ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act, helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic Law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush has now undone all of those prohibitions. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act, which was signed by the President in an unpublicized ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency," suspend Congress; The Constitution; and to take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of your Governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder." President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act. The two Laws compliment one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad of those who dissent and are stripped of their citizenship, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home by allowing the President to order the military onto our streets in a domestic Law enforcement role, which is already being done. Vote for Liberty. Vote for Ron Paul.

[earlyprophet]

CLINTON LETS BUSH PARDON HIMSELF
Buried deep inside Military Commisions Act, which was FULLY SUPPORTED by Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain, is a provision which pre-pardons President Bush and all the members of his administration for any crimes which they may have committed all the way back to September 11, 2001. Why that far back? That kind of makes you wonder. Huh? I can''t help but recall what Nixon said during an interview following the Watergate scandal when he said, "If the President does it, by definition, it''s not illegal." History never repeats itself, folks. It only rhymes. At least Nixon had enough class to wait for another President to pardon him for his crimes against our country. Bush apparently doesn''t want to take that chance. He has to consider the risk that Ron Paul will become our next President.

[earlyprophet]

CAMPING-OUT WITH HALIBURTON
The John Warner Defense Authorization Act, which was supported by Clinton, Obama and McCain, permits militarized police round-ups and detention of protesters ("potential terrorists") and other "undesirables" for detention in facilities which are already contracted for and under construction by Kellog, Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton. This Law, which was sold to an "emergency managed" and willfully gullible public in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as a necessary measure needed by our President in order to fight his "global war on terrorism," permits the indefinite detention of American citizens who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of our President. The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International reported recently that global engineering and technical services powerhouse, Kellog, Brown & Root announced during January 2006 that its Government and Infrastructure division had been awarded a (no bid) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract to build these detainment camps with a maximum total value of $385 million over a five year term, and that this contract called for the company to build "temporary detention and processing capabilities" to augment existing U.S. government Detention and Removal Operations and to support "the rapid development of new programs." New Programs? Could it possibly get any worse? Why would the president be so concerned about Americans protesting? Aren''t we all happy campers?

[earlyprophet]

WILL CLINTON MAKE THIS A THOUGHT CRIME?
While CBS was busy pretending all other news didn''t exist during the California wildfires, our Constitution was burning on the floors of Congress. On Oct 23, the House overwhelmingly passed HR 1955, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act. This Bill is one of the most blatant attacks against our right to freedom of speech ever devised by Congress. The Bill actually defines different types of thought as "homegrown terrorism," and unlike previous anti-terror legislation, it specifically targets U.S. citizens. The Bill uses extremely vague language to define "terrorist propoganda" as any speech which promotes an agenda that the government considers an "extremist belief system." Since the bill doesn''t specifically define what an "extremist belief system" is, it will be entirely up to the interpretation of government officials. Isn''t that comforting? Considering how much the government has done to desecrate our Constitution lately, they would surely have to define this post as promoting an "extremist belief" system, since it promotes the restoration of civil liberties--something not en vogue these days. As disturbing as this Bill is, so to is the additional requirement that there be a seperate, "public version." In other words, the Bill we see is different from what Congress is seeing. Why''s that necessary? Whatever the reason, I predict this Bill will become Law soon while CBS focuses the country''s attention elsewhere

[earlyprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE NEW WAY
What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherence to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[earlyprophet]

TO APATHETIC AMERICANS
Voter disenfranchisement and apathy infects the heart of our Republic. Get off your couch, put your remote control down, and become active in your nation''s political process. The pathetically few people that do vote in this country, a.k.a., "the ruling class", who currently get to decide under what kind of conditions (and Laws) you and your family will live, are certainly involved. I can assure you of that. In fact, the ruling class would be much happier if you would just continue to stay home and watch TV in your pleasantly distracted and brainwashed, stupor. That way they can continue to elect their political ****** to office, and continue to maintain their grip on 100% of the political power they currently own in this country. If you voted (God Forbid), it would cancel-out their vote, and they would lose control. They can''t have that. Now can they? If you don''t vote, my friends, you''re nothing but an unwashed "Pleb" to those that do, and the ruling class should rightfully consider themselves superior to you in every way. They do, after all, have all the power, while you have none. If you''re too apathetic and powerless to do anything for yourself more time-consuming than driving down to Mickey D''s to buy a milk shake in order to sieze control of your life, and your country''s destiny, then perhaps you deserve to be ruled over like the "Pleb" that you then are. The time to act is now. The time for political revolution has come. The time for Ron Paul is NOW!

[earlyprophet]

WERE HAVING A TEA PARTY! YOU''RE INVITED
As we all know, freedom isn''t free in this country. Therefore, in the wake of our successful fundraising event of November 5th, in which we all came together to raise $4.2 million dollars for Ron Paul''s campaign, we''ve set yet another date for an even bigger fundraiser. This one will take place during on December 16th: a very important date for people who love freedom and hate tyranny to ring the Liberty Bell, and let our sold-out, globalist, political ****** and their mainstream media enablers know that good Americans are mad as hell, and that we''re not going to take it anymore. December 16th is the 224th aniversary of The Boston Tea Party: an act of protest by the American colonists against the tyranny of Great Britain where the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped crates of tea overboard into Boston Harbor. It was a key event which helped to spark the American Revolution, and we hope this event will, likewise, add additional spark to our own 21st Century political revolution to restore peace, prosperity and freedom to our Republic by helping elect a President whose record of adherance to The Constitution is unmatched by anyone in American politics. Please join us this December 16th for the largest one-day political donation event in history. Our goal is to bring together 100,000 people to donate $100 each, creating a one day donation total of $10,000,000. The time to act is now. The time for Ron Paul is NOW! TeaParty07.com

[earlyprophet]

YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES
America is tipping back way too far in her easy chair. Something BIG is about to happen, and I predict this upcoming 2008 election will be extremely pivotal. I''m not going to name any candidates. You probably already know who my favorite is. But let me make my point absolutely clear: If you think times are boring, think again. If you think the future is predictable, think again. My advice to everyone who reads this is to be thoughtful. Trust only that wisdom which is your own. 90% of mainstream media in this country is controlled by fewer than 20 different organizations. Unfortunately, they, like our sold-out political ****** in Washington, were bought and paid for by the military-industrial-pharmacutical complex decades ago. Therefore, they will paint pictures they want to paint, and people will open their minds to pictures they want to see. So, be skeptical. Be wise. Research issues and talking points on your own, and share what you learn with those you love. The future of your family tree may lay in the balance.

[earlyprophet]

HOPE FOR AMERICA: PRESIDENT RON PAUL

-- No more meddling in other country''s political affairs
-- No more aggressive military actions overseas
-- No more torture prisons
-- No more pseudo-wars like the "War on Drugs"
-- No more IRS and unconstitutional income taxes
-- No more Federal Reserve (the group of private banks which owns our government)
-- No more erosion of Social Security to pay for militarization
-- No more U.N. (one world government) participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT (globalist trade cartels)
-- No more North American Union (loss of U.S. sovereignty)
-- No more federal gun control laws
-- No more illegal aliens pouring-in over our country''s borders
-- No more illegal aliens allowed to roam freely in our streets
-- No more national ID cards (Real ID Act)
-- No more government invasion of your privacy
-- No more federal Laws which force you to take unwanted injections
-- No more federal Laws which are not authorized by The Constitution
-- No more federal erosion of State sovereignty
-- No more unlimited federal government

They don''t call him "Dr. No" for no reason. The Doctor is in! Find-out what CBS hides from you, and join us in this 21st Century political revolution at ronpaul2008.com

"Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine

"Ron Paul doesn''t represent your Father''s school of political thought. He represents your Founding Fathers."
- Me

[ajmarine1]

Here are two brother countries, united like a single fist," Chavez said upon his arrival in Tehran, according to Venezuela''s state-run Bolivarian News Agency.



Would Chavez be considered an infidel in Iran? Also, will we be seeing Iranian women in bikinis on the beaches of Venezuela?

[ajmarine1]

Who asked?

Posted by formrusmcsgt at 09:26 PM : Nov 20, 2007


I''ve got where I don''t care who he is.


Semper Fi Sgt

[formrusmcsgt]

WHO''''S RON PAUL?

Posted by EarlyProphet at 09:14 PM : Nov 20, 2007

Who asked?

[formrusmcsgt]

What an absolute moron this "prophet" individual is, eh?

The article is about diplomacy with Iran and this fool thinks it''s an invitation to spam for the John Bircher, Ron Paul.

[earlyprophet]

WHO''S RON PAUL?
Ron Paul''s campaign has become a clearinghouse for voters like me who feel unrepresented by the Fascisct (globalist Republicans) and their Socialist comrades in crime (globalist Democrats). They''re actually one and the same. It''s all a phony, poorly staged, left-right paradigm. Most people, though, are too distracted, dumbed-down, or outright brainwashed by mainstream media, which endlessly regurgitates scientifically-crafted streams of information aimed at keeping their eyes closed to the realities of the world around them, that they fail to recognize this. Those currently in power, and those being groomed to take [major] political power, are preselected by a "global elite," and whomever is eventually elected, will ultimately, serve their agenda, and not ours. People on the right and those on the left have many differences, maybe irreconcilable ones. But we have a lot of common beliefs too, and our numbers and anger are of a considerable magnitude. No matter what happens in 2008, I personally believe Ron Paul will influence the national conversation about how much power our government should have over our lives; how much liberty we should give up for security; and whether we should continue moving along our current path towards one world government. These are issues that, frankly, no one else is talking about as seriously and sincerely as Ron Paul. What''s for sure is that his growing army of supporters like me will be there to cast our vote for liberty in 2008.

[earlyprophet]

TO APATHETIC AMERICANS
Voter disenfranchisement and apathy infects the heart of our Republic. Get off your couch, put your remote control down, and become active in your nation''s political process. The pathetically few people that do vote in this country, a.k.a., "the ruling class", who currently get to decide under what kind of conditions (and Laws) you and your family will live, are certainly involved. I can assure you of that. In fact, the ruling class would be much happier if you would just continue to stay home and watch TV in your pleasantly distracted and brainwashed, stupor. That way they can continue to elect their political ****** to office, and continue to maintain their grip on 100% of the political power they currently own in this country. If you voted (God Forbid), it would cancel-out their vote, and they would lose control. They can''t have that. Now can they? If you don''t vote, my friends, you''re nothing but an unwashed "Pleb" to those that do, and the ruling class should rightfully consider themselves superior to you in every way. They do, after all, have all the power, while you have none. If you''re too apathetic and powerless to do anything for yourself more time-consuming than driving down to Mickey D''s to buy a milk shake in order to sieze control of your life, and your country''s destiny, then perhaps you deserve to be ruled over like the "Pleb" that you then are. The time to act is now. The time for political revolution has come. The time for Ron Paul is NOW!

[earlyprophet]

YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES
America is tipping back way too far in her easy chair. Something BIG is about to happen, and I predict this upcoming 2008 election will be extremely pivotal. I''m not going to name any candidates. You probably already know who my favorite is. But let me make my point absolutely clear: If you think times are boring, think again. If you think the future is predictable, think again. My advice to everyone who reads this is to be thoughtful. Trust only that wisdom which is your own. 90% of mainstream media in this country is controlled by fewer than 20 different organizations. Unfortunately, they, like our sold-out political ****** in Washington, were bought and paid for by the military-industrial-pharmacutical complex decades ago. Therefore, they will paint pictures they want to paint, and people will open their minds to pictures they want to see. So, be skeptical. Be wise. Research issues and talking points on your own, and share what you learn with those you love. The future of your family tree may lay in the balance.

[earlyprophet]

RON PAUL''S FOREIGN POLICY BOOK BECOMES BESTSELLER
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul''s new book, "A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship," broke into the best-seller''s list. On November 2, Congressman Paul''s collection of speeches on foreign policy from his 10-term career in the House of Representatives hovered at number 93 on the amazon.com top 100-selling books list, and continued to maintain its number one spot in the non-fiction government and economic policy genres. The book is a 30-year compilation of the Texas congressman and rising GOP presidential contender''s speeches from the congressional floor, and assorted foreign policy writings on constitutional republicanism and non-interventionism. "Dr. Paul''s message of freedom, prosperity and peace is a best-seller," said Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton. "The numbers don''t lie. Americans want a constitutional, humble foreign policy, which only Ron Paul can deliver in 2008."