How Big Is Iran's Military?

(Click Image to Enlarge)
IRAN MILITARY SITES (Image from Stop The War Now)

BACKGROUND / How Big Is Iran's Military? -- Haaretz

Iran test-fired a missile on Monday that defense analysts have said could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, state media reported, a move that may irk world powers ahead of rare talks with Tehran this week.

Listed below are some details about Iran's military capability. The totals include equipment held by the Revolutionary Guards, which operate on land, at sea and in the air:

ARMED FORCES:
- Iran has over 523,000 personnel in active service. Major General Ataollah Salehi is the armed forces chief.

Read more ....

My Comment: If these numbers are true, the Iranian military is not impressive.

Another Failure In U.N. Peacekeeping

Image from the BBC (2008)

Darfur Refugees Raped In Chad Camps: Amnesty -- Yahoo News/Reuters

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Women who fled violence in Sudan's Darfur region are being regularly raped in refugee camps in neighboring Chad, despite the presence of U.N.-trained forces, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

The rights group published a report saying Chadian police supported by the United Nations were doing little to protect women and girls from sexual attacks and other violence by villagers, soldiers, family and in some cases aid workers.

Read more ....

More News On Darfur

Report: Sudanese refugees face rape daily in Chad -- AP
Chad: Women and girls fleeing Darfur conflict still subjected to rape around camps despite UN presence -- Amnesty International
Nigerian peacekeeper killed in Darfur ambush -- Washington Post
Sudan accuses some neighbors of intervention in Darfur crisis -- China View
UN Appreciates Decline of Violence in Darfur -- Sudan Vision
US prepares to unveil its new Sudan policy -- Sudan Tribune

My Comment: As long as the leaders of Sudan are not convicted of the crimes that they have committed, the suffering of Darfur will continue and continue and continue.

Technical Flaws In The Obama Missile Defense Plan

An SM-3 is launched from the Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie as part of the Missile Defense Agency's latest Ballistic Missile Defense System test to defeat a medium-range ballistic missile threat. The missile, part of the Aegis Weapon System, intercepted a target launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the Hawaiian island of Kauai Dec. 11. This was the fourth successful intercept for Aegis BMD and SM-3. The test included evaluation of the long-range surveillance and tracking capabilities of two Navy ships as well as effective communications between the ships and command and control units. Navy photo.

From The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists:

Article Highlights

The Obama administration should be commended for changing course on the Bush administration's plan to deploy missile defense installations in Eastern Europe.
However, its alternative--using the existing ship-based Aegis defense system to protect Europe from a possible Iranian missile strike--also uses technology that's unproven.

Additionally, like the Bush plan, the Obama missile defense strategy could potentially embolden hawks in both Russia and China.

Last Thursday, the Obama administration announced its long-awaited decision on a European missile defense system against potential Iranian ballistic missiles. In short, it will shelve the Bush administration's plan for a defense against intercontinental-range missiles, and instead, it will field a system designed to intercept shorter-range missiles, on which Iran is making quicker progress.

Read more ....

My Comment: A surprisingly easy to read article from a very technical and theoretical organization. If missile defense and Aegis systems is your thing, this is a good article to read.

A U.S. - Cuba Detente?

Senior U.S. Official Holds Talks In Cuba -- CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A senior American diplomat had high-level talks with the Cuban government in Havana, the State Department said Tuesday.

Bisa Williams, acting deputy assistant secretary, met this week with Deputy Foreign Minister Dagoberto Rodriguez during a six-day trip to Cuba, Assistant Secretary P.J. Crowley said.

Read more ....

More U.S. - Cuba News

US, Cuba held unannounced talks -- AP
U.S., Cuban officials meet in high-level talks -- USA Today
U.S. Official Spent 6 Days in Cuba to Talk Postal Service, Ties -- Bloomberg
US and Cuba 'in high-level talks' -- BBC
Cuba plans luxury hotel for 'future American tourists' -- The Daily Mail

European Disagreements On President Obama Are Now Becoming Public -- A Commentary

French President Nicolas Sarkozy flanked by President Barack Obama, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Associated Press

French Atomic Pique -- Wall Street Journal

Sarkozy unloads on Obama's 'virtual' disarmament reality.

President Obama wants a unified front against Iran, and to that end he stood together with Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown in Pittsburgh on Friday morning to reveal the news about Tehran's secret facility to build bomb-grade fuel. But now we hear that the French and British leaders were quietly seething on stage, annoyed by America's handling of the announcement.

Both countries wanted to confront Iran a day earlier at the United Nations. Mr. Obama was, after all, chairing a Security Council session devoted to nonproliferation. The latest evidence of Iran's illegal moves toward acquiring a nuclear weapon was in hand. With the world's leaders gathered in New York, the timing and venue would be a dramatic way to rally international opinion.

Read more ....

Previous Post: French President Sarkozy Blasts President Obama's Stance On Nuclear Disarmament. U.S. Media Refuses To Report It

My Comment: The key phrase in the above article is the following ....

..... President Sarkozy in particular pushed hard. He had been "frustrated" for months about Mr. Obama's reluctance to confront Iran, a senior French government official told us, and saw an opportunity to change momentum. But the Administration told the French that it didn't want to "spoil the image of success" for Mr. Obama's debut at the U.N. and his homily calling for a world without nuclear weapons, according to the Paris daily Le Monde. So the Iran bombshell was pushed back a day to Pittsburgh, where the G-20 were meeting to discuss economic policy.....

"Didn't want to spoil the image of success" .... hmmmm ..... I will let that sink in.

Kudos to the Wall Street Journal .... finally, someone in the American press is pointing out news stories from Europe that describes bluntly what some of our allies in Europe are thinking of when it comes to President Obama's Iran policy.

Being a Canadian who always follows what the Europeans are saying, I can give everyone an additional heads up. News reports from France and England pale in comparison to what Eastern Europeans and Russians now think of President Obama. I have had to spend time with my relatives in Russia defending President Obama (a pattern of behavior that I find very strange for someone like myself) .... but they are developing a contempt for him, and their contempt mirrors exactly how the media in Europe are now portraying him.

This news has been completely under reported here. While I would usually let this go by, I have noticed that this altitude is now starting to impact the politicians in these countries .... politicians that President Obama will need in the future when it comes to negotiations on missile defense, arms reduction, North Korea, and Iran.

While President Obama is a very effective communicator, he is only effective here. In Europe, he is failing ..... and failing fast.

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials - -September 29, 2009

(Click Image to Enlarge)

Don't Israel's Nuclear Weapons Count? -- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent

Netanyahu has what he wants to keep up the idea of his plucky, vulnerable little state

Influential Europeans – including many Muslims – recently debated freedom of expression with the Danish editor who commissioned the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed which led to riots. Held in Berlin, it was a good, at times blazing, debate.

Read more ....

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

How to Press the Advantage With Iran -- Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett

What Else Is Iran Hiding? -- Nima Gerami & James Acton, Foreign Policy

Ahmadinejad Should Watch His Back -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian

A Big Card To Play in Iran -- Washington Post

Secure Afghanistan means Secure America -- W.Marshall & J. Arkedis, The Hill

History does not show that war in Afghanistan is unwinnable -- Liam Fox, The Independent

The View from Pakistan's Spies -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

Angela Merkel, the new Maggie Thatcher -- Alan Posener

What Next for Mao's China at 60? -- Chris Patten, New Straits Times

Twilight of Pax Americana -- C. Layne & B. Schwarz, Los Angeles Times

The Country Russia Loves to Hate (America) - Vladimir Ryzhkov, Moscow Times

India Preps All-Out Assault on Maoists -- Siddharth Srivastava, Asia Times

World News Briefs -- September 29, 2009 (Evening Edition)

President Obama and President Castro (Photo from Latina)

US, Cuba Held Unannounced Talks -- Yahoo News/AP

NEW YORK – A senior American diplomat has held unannounced, high-level talks in Havana with the Cuban government, three State Department officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday, raising hopes for a thaw in long-icy relations.

Read more ....

MIDDLE EAST

US welcomes Iranian gesture on detained Americans.

U.N. Secretary General: Iran violating resolutions on nuclear activities.

Iran promises inspection 'soon'. US, allies seek new ways to sanction Iran. In Tehran, students defy ban on protests.

Bombings across Iraq kill 15, wound dozens.

UN scrutinises Gaza 'war crimes'. Israel condemns U.N. report on Gaza 'war crimes'.

ASIA

Pacific tsunami hits Samoa islands, people killed.

Suspected U.S. drone attacks kill 12 in Pakistan.

U.S. says Taliban has a new haven in Pakistan.

No detail is overlooked as China prepares to celebrate.

US accepts Hamid Karzai as Afghan leader despite poll fraud claims.

Philippines flood death toll rises as Typhoon Ketsana slams into Vietnam. 23 dead as Typhoon Ketsana roars into Vietnam.

US soldiers killed in Philippines.

AFRICA

China seeks major stake in Nigerian oil: report.

Over 150 protesters killed in Guinea.

Peacekeeper killed in Darfur: UN-AU mission.

Nigeria's oil rebels name mediators.

US envoy's outreach to Sudan is criticized as naive. Sudan envoy wanders off the reservation.

EUROPE

UK's Gordon Brown coverage takes a nasty turn.

Poles indignant that US altered missile-shield plans.

At German Chancellor’s side, a new political power broker emerges.

EU report to place blame on both sides in Georgia war.

In bad times for capitalism, socialists in Europe suffer.

France divided over Polanski case.

AMERICAS

Report: Peru's Fujimori pleads guilty in bribery case.

Honduras presses Brazil over refuge to ousted President. Honduras to nullify emergency restrictions. US denies policy change in Honduras crisis.

Obama to woo IOC over Chicago bid.

Cuba admits failure to pay farmers on time.

TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR

Guantánamo deadline may be missed.

NYC terror suspect pleads not guilty, kept in jail.

Al Qaeda in Yemen worries the West.

Chavez, Gaddafi seek a new definition of terrorism.

ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS

FDIC says bank failures to cost around $100B.

World Bank head sees dollar’s role diminishing.

FDIC expected to ask banks to prepay $36B in fees.