As scheduled negotiations between the United States and Iran approach, one vital question isn’t being addressed, as Justin Raimando points out…

“What did the U.S. government know about the “secret” Iranian nuclear research facility at Qom and when did it know it? That’s the question that isn’t on everyone’s lips, as the chatter about Iranian “intransigence” on nuclear issues reaches a crescendo in the run-up to Oct. 1, the date negotiations with Tehran are scheduled to start. Practically no one wants to ask let alone answer this question, because it torpedoes the American narrative that is being carefully constructed by the Obama administration and its media fan club, which runs something like this: the Iranians have been actively deceiving us all along and simply can’t be trusted – the only solution, therefore, is to initiate a series of escalating sanctions, up to and including military action.”

With the Saudis claiming that they wouldn’t be opposed to Israel unilaterally striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, today’s test firing of long-range missiles comes as no surprise.

September 28, 2009

No matter how much I mention this subject, constantly reminding everyone about it remains paramount…

“The Israeli government has officially said that it “deplores” the vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member states to call on Israel to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and submit their nuclear facilities to the same oversight as the rest of the world does.

The vote narrowly passed, 49-45, and was generally opposed by Western nations while being supported by UN Security Council permanent members Russia and China, as well as most of the nations in the Middle East.”

How dare the IAEA do such a thing. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to putting the screws to Iran the IAEA is constantly flogged by Israel and Western powers to ‘get the job done’. It’s here that I’d remind everyone that Iran, which does not possess a nuclear weapon, is a party to the NPT, but thanks to massive pressures placed on the IAEA (by the likes of Israel), its status remains disputed given that it was found to be in non-compliance with its NPT safeguards agreement. Israel, of course, is in complete non-compliance, but that shouldn’t bother anyone in the slightest.

While everyone knows that Israel possesses by far the largest, and only, nuclear arsenal in the region, they have never officially admitted it. The only Israeli to break with the nation’s policy of absolute secrecy was Mordechai Vanunu, and they threw him in prison for 18 years, 11 of which he spent in solitary confinement. And all he did was tell the truth.

Oh, but the hypocrisy gets better…

“The United States ambassador Glyn Davies publicly rejected the resolution, calling it “redundant” and claiming that calling on Israel to join the NPT as every other nation in the Middle East has unfairly singled them out.”

Unfairly singled them out? How so? Because unlike every other nation in the region that is a party to the NPT, Israel is the only one that actually has nuclear weapons? How in the hell is that redundant?

That said, I’m not even going to bother delving into the fact that Israeli intelligence has used numerous American sympathizers to steal classified nuclear secrets in the past.

Shamefully, Canada’s behaviour was no better…

“Canada went one step further, trying to block the vote entirely and condemning it as “unbalanced.”

Wait a minute. Aren’t we the ones that in 2002 urged India to sign the NPT? Yes, we were. Mind you, they didn’t, but that didn’t stop the Bush Administration from entering into a nuclear development agreement with them despite the fact that they’re not a party to the treaty. Just like – say – North Korea isn’t. Or, while we’re on the subject – Israel.

The shit that Israel is allowed to get away with, and the fact that we’re willing to help them get away with it, is utterly mind bending. The UN releases a report detailing Israeli and Palestinian war crimes during Operation Cast Lead and they call it baseless propaganda. It’s ironic when you think about it given that without the existence of the UN, Israel may never have been recognized as a nation in the first place.

September 19, 2009

I’ve mentioned it so many times that it almost seems pointless now. It’s a subject that produces absolutely no debate because those that would defend it have absolutely no leg to stand on. I am, for the millionth time, talking about Israel’s ‘non-existent’ nuclear program.

Every American in their lifetime will personally contribute thousands of dollars by way of taxes to support Israel, whether they know it or not, and no matter the position of the United States on the Palestinian issue, behind closed doors the reality remains that US military support for Israel will continue unabated. That support includes looking the other way when it comes to Israel’s nuclear program (for the most part), despite the fact that the Israelis are in contravention of every major nuclear arms agreement in the world. Mind you, you can’t be in contravention of, for example, the nuclear nonproliferation treaty if you don’t ‘technically’ have a nuclear program, a lie that Israel has propagated for decades, and one that numerous Western nations have supported.

Today, the Israeli Foreign Minister demanded that the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency take “immediate and determined” action against Syria and Iran after the release of two reports in which the recent nuclear conduct of both nations are scrutinized. That said, last month, when US Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller suggested that Israel become a signatory of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, the Israeli government dismissed the suggestion claiming that Iran’s inclusion was proof positive that the NPT is basically useless, and then went so far as to contact the US government for confirmation, unable to believe that the US would even suggest it.

This is where I remind everyone, for the millionth time (again), that Israel has had a nuclear program for the last forty years, has denied its existence from the very beginning, continues to do so despite the fact that it’s believed they possess hundreds of nuclear weapons, jailed the one man that had the guts to tell the world about it, and refuses to allow the IAEA to scrutinize it (because it doesn’t exist, remember). And that’s not including the fact that it also has completely undeclared chemical and biological weapons programs.

The truth of the matter is that no one in the immediate region possesses the same destructive capabilities that Israel does, and that despite the fact that Israel has its own nuclear arsenal, it is still protected by the US nuclear umbrella, which is utterly paradoxical to me given that the Israelis have been caught red handed conducting covert operations within the United States in which they succeeded in stealing US nuclear secrets before those Americans that they had flipped were caught. It’s here that I’ll remind those of you that are American again that in your lifetime you’ll pay thousands in personal taxes that will go towards Israel’s defense.

In the end, the entire argument rests on a single assertion – that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, every member of the Expediency Council, every member of the military (which is directly under the command of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who appoints all of the commanders of the armed forces personally), every member of the Guardian Council, and every member of the Assembly of Experts are all complete and utter lunatics. Because despite the misconception that President Ahmadinejad runs the country, the reality is that he doesn’t.

One thing that is important to remember is that Iranians know only too well the devastating affects of weapons of mass destruction. During the Iran-Iraq war over 100,000 Iranian troops and civilians were victims of Iraqi chemical weapons – the targeting of which was made possible by the assistance of US satellite coverage, and the production of which was made possible by the US and the UK through dummy corporations. Not since World War One had chemical weapons been used to such an extent. In fact, Iranian casualties due to chemical attacks were equal to one quarter of all chemical related deaths during the entire First World War, which, when put into perspective regarding the size of the forces involved in both conflicts, is astounding.

All of that said, Israel remains an international anomaly – a nation that can get away with just about anything without eliciting a serious response from the global community – from the recent invasion of Gaza to the 2006 invasion of Lebanon. Sure, foreign governments hum and haw, the UN ineffectually makes demands, but none of it alters the resolve of those within Israel that know full well that they have a golden ticket and that they’re free to use it.

June 8, 2009

I found President Obama’s speech in Egypt interesting. There is absolutely no questioning the fact that Obama is an excellent and impassioned orator, but it should be pointed out that while his speech was aimed at bridging divides and providing examples of those actions that must not be tolerated, it completely failed to place any significant emphasis on American transgressions over the last eight years – including the killing of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, rendition, detention, torture, and even the erosion of American democracy itself (I’ll use ‘democracy’ for the time being as getting into plutocratic realities takes far too long).

I was pleased that he directly confronted the issue of the Holocaust, as its denial is an utter affront to humanity. I was also pleased that he confronted the issue of continued Israeli expansion in the West Bank, though his assertion that the United States seeks to work with those that seek peace was a little much given the overwhelming long-term military assistance that the US has provided Israel for decades, not to mention the fact that Israel has been complicit of espionage within the continental United States itself, resulting in even the compromising of US nuclear secrets.

One particularly surprising statement was Obama’s assertion that the United States seeks a world in which no nation possesses nuclear weapons, something I find extremely hypocritical given that US militarism is perhaps the leading factor in the desire for many nations to want, or retain, a nuclear deterrent. The simple truth is that when a single nation’s defense budget remains equal to that of almost the rest of the world’s combined, such words are hollow. Furthermore, that he stated that all nations should have access to nuclear power for peaceful purposes if they comply with the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, of which Iran is a signatory, but completely failed to mention that Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal that, to this day, it both refuses to admit exists and has never allowed the IAEA to inspect.

Lastly, it was refreshing to hear an American President admit that democracy is not something that can be imposed on others, but something that must grow and form independently in each instance. Imagine that.

To read responses by various international and regional figures to the speech click here.

June 4, 2009

As we’re all aware by now, unless you ignore the news entirely, the North Koreans have conducted an underground nuclear test that produced an earthquake that registered 4.5 on the Richter scale. As one might expect, the test has produced widespread international condemnation. According to an unnamed US official, Pyongyang provided less than an hour’s notice of the test to Washington, which, as we’re all aware, just won’t do because, as is always the case, the United States informs absolutely everyone before it tests anything.

That said, it should be noted that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation have been unable to determine if the explosion was, in fact, a nuclear test. They were able to state that the test produced the afore mentioned seismic activity, but could not confirm whether a nuclear explosion was responsible for it. Obviously, Pyongyang did conduct a nuclear test, being that to fake something of that magnitude they would have had to detonate upwards of 15 kilotons of high explosives to produce a similar result – which would be one hell of a bluff.

The North Korean government walked out of six party talks not long ago after the UN condemned them for launching what Pyongyang said was a satellite but Western powers claimed was a missile test.

Given the data that has, as of today, been largely ball-parked by various nations, the explosion produced by the test was roughly equal to that of Fat Man or Little Boy – meaning the production of a blast yield of some 13 to 18 kilotons. Of course, the next step is for the North Korean regime to produce a reliable intercontinental delivery system and then attack someone – which will probably be accomplished by various high ranking members of the KPA playing a delightful game of pin the tale on the donkey using an enormous map of the world while Kim Jong-il sits on a massive gold and diamond encrusted thrown getting his hair styled and clapping like a 9-year-old girl on her birthday while yelling “hot – cold – warmer – warmer – burning – nope, cold again!”.

I suppose there’s always the chance that Pyongyang could just gift a weapon to al-Qaeda at the next meeting of the Legion Of Doom, which, if you’re a member, takes place this quarter at the luxurious InterContinental Resort Moorea, is BYOB (because Hamas complained that the bill they were stuck with at New Years was astronomical), and features a special after-meeting party featuring Jewel and Adam Lambert. It should, in the words of Omar al-Bashir following last year’s Polynesian Spring Break Blowout thrown by the ETA, be “pretty freaking awesome”. As usual, RSVP well in advance (I’m looking at you, Karimov!).

Now that I have tipped off every major intelligence agency as to the location of the upcoming event (or did I?), there are a few things that everyone should begin practicing in the event that Pyongyang decides to lob an intercontinental missile at North America because, as we’re all aware, megalomaniacs just love the idea of the their own annihilation.

First – get under a desk as quickly as possible. Decades of in-depth scientific research have proven that desks offer the greatest protection in the event of a nuclear attack.

Second – have a nap. You’re going to be down there a while and with nuclear winter looming just around the corner you’re going to need your rest.

Third – when the dust settles, go outside and look up to see if a gigantic version of Jesus’ head is floating in space crying.

Fourth – remember that after a nuclear attack the sun will be blocked out so the likelihood of Morlocks leaving their subterranean realm increases a million fold. Morlocks eat people, so they could very well attempt to eat you, a family member, or a friend.

Fifth – your best defense against a Morlock attack is full plate armour, preferably magical armour (if you can get your hands on it), and a large war horse.

Obviously, the post-nuclear ‘to do’ list is considerable. To be honest, the chances of you surviving more than a month are roughly 1% (which is a figure adjusted to take into account Morlock attacks coupled with extremely limited access to full plate armour – magical or otherwise – and warhorses). That said, take some solace in the fact that while the North Koreans were successful in decimating one or two targets, the world’s major powers responded with such an overwhelming counterstrike that those few survivors left on the Korean peninsula will spend the last 72 hours of their lives wandering through a barren landscape as their flesh falls off of their bodies.

Fear not, the desk embargo that much of the world has had in place against North Korea for decades will pay off.

May 25, 2009 14 Comments