THREE NEWS STORIES WITH LINKS -- YOU BECOME "THE DECIDER"...

[Jeffersons Ghost]

The Times
Allies 'go after' Iran as beefed-up naval force sails for Gulf: Region under pressure


Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
January 16, 2007

Britain is joining an American military campaign to blunt Iranian influence in Iraq and the Gulf.

In a move likely to heighten tension in an already volatile part of the world, US forces have been ordered to detain Iranian agents in Iraq and to strengthen substantially America’s military presence in the Gulf.

Two Royal Navy mine hunters have arrived in the Gulf to reinforce a naval frigate on patrol in the area.

“We are going after their networks in Iraq,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the outgoing US Ambassador to Baghdad, said. The aim was to change the behavior of the Islamic regime in Tehran, he added.

Robert Gates, the US Defence Secretary, accused Tehran of “very negative behavior."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2548888,00.html

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

BBC NEWS

Iran condemns US 'kidnap' in Iraq

Iran has accused the US of kidnapping five of its citizens who were arrested in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil.

The US has denied the men were diplomats - it says they were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and were arming Shia fighters in Iraq.

Iran's ambassador to Iraq called last week's arrests "a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and an insult to the Iraqi people". He demanded the men's release.

Hassan Kazimi Qomi denied Iran has been involved in the violence in Iraq.

He said the "kidnapped" men were diplomats engaged in legitimate tasks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6274837.stm

Naval armada moves into position


USS Stennis, part of the naval armada
deployed off the coast of Iran.

Bush gang 'surges' toward war on Iran
By Sara Flounders
Published Jan 18, 2007 1:38 AM

In the face of spiraling disaster for the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the Bush administration is moving toward a another reckless adventure—war on Iran.
USS Stennis, part of the naval armada<br>deployed off the coast of Iran.

The positioning of a second aircraft carrier group—with its accompanying destroyers, cruisers, submarines, cruise missiles and combat aircraft—in the Gulf, along with naming Adm. William Fallon of the Navy to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid as head of Central Command, are ominous signs of Pentagon plans.

This array of deadly equipment and this command change are hardly relevant for fighting Iraqi insurgents in the streets of Baghdad or Falluja.

http://www.workers.org/2007/world/iran-0125/

[uppityperson]

1. Then there is the pre-emptive rumor control issuance...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2693929
U.S. officials say rumour of Iran strike not true

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=95302007

U.S. officials say rumour of Iran strike not true

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defence officials on Thursday said a rumoured Iranian missile strike on a U.S. naval vessel in the Gulf was not true.

"No such event took place," said one of the officials on condition of anonymity.

The bond market briefly pared losses on talk of possible military engagement between the United States and Iran, but turned back down after the U.S. Defence Department said the incident did not occur.

Tensions are high between Washington and Tehran. The United States accuses Iran of supporting insurgents in Iraq and charges that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian energy program.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. THANK YOU uppityperson, it's not fair to ask others to decide without complete info...

other news items are welcome here -- no matter what point of view they present.

[uppityperson]

7. You are welcome,it is all very, um, odd. k&r also

trying to not get too spooked since what I can do is limited, but taken together, quite a grouping. Thanks for putting them together.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

9. i wish more people would offer news to cotradict the point of view that I obviously present...

graphics are the clue, as if ANYONE is wondering! lol

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. HERE'S ANOTHER...

Jan. 18, 2007, 12:19PM
Gates, commanders ready buildup in Gulf

By ROBERT BURNS AP Military Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

MANAMA, Bahrain — The Iranians are "overplaying their hand" on the world stage in a belief that setbacks in Iraq have weakened the United States, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

Gates said he had told the leaders of U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar that the Iranians "believe they have the United States at some disadvantage because of the situation in Iraq."

However, the Iranians are going too far, he said he told the allies, and "one of the consequences of that is that they have raised real concerns on the part of a number of countries in the region and beyond about their intentions."

Many of the Gulf nations are worried about a rising Iranian influence — a concern made more acute by the prospect for a further slide toward civil war in Iraq and its uncertain consequences for the United States.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4480149.html

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. LOGISTICS HAS NOT CHANGED: STILL WE HAVE A SINGLE SUPPLY LINE...

The vulnerable line of supply to US troops in Iraq
By Patrick Lang
ALEXANDRIA, VA. – American forces in Iraq are in danger of having their line of supply cut by guerrillas. Napoleon once said that "an army travels on its stomach." By that he meant that the problem of keeping an army supplied is the prerequisite for the very existence of the force.

A 21st-century military force "burns up" a tremendous volume of expendable supplies and continuously needs repairs to equipment as well as medical treatment. Without a plentiful and dependable source of fuel, food, and ammunition, a military force falters. First it stops moving, then it begins to starve, and eventually it becomes unable to resist the enemy.

In 1915, for example, this happened to British forces that had invaded Mesopotamia. A British-Indian force traveled up the line of the Tigris River, advancing to Kut, southeast of Baghdad. They became besieged there after their line of supply was cut along the river to the south. Some 11,000 troops ultimately surrendered, after the allies suffered another 23,000 casualties trying to rescue them.

American troops all over central and northern Iraq are supplied with fuel, food, and ammunition by truck convoy from a supply base hundreds of miles away in Kuwait. All but a small amount of our soldiers' supplies come into the country over roads that pass through the Shiite-dominated south of Iraq.

Until now the Shiite Arabs of Iraq have been told by their leaders to leave American forces alone. But an escalation of tensions between Iran and the US could change that overnight. Moreover, the ever-increasing violence of the civil war in Iraq can change the alignment of forces there unexpectedly.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

4. I appologize for not furnishing a link... here it is...

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0721/p09s01-coop.html

[FourScore]

5. K&R

:kick:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

8. please read this...

CNN
U.S. troops: Additional forces must be used correctly
By Arwa Damon
POSTED: 7:36 a.m. EST, January 12, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A few hours after President Bush announced more than 20,000 additional troops would deploy to Iraq, U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Casper was doing inventory with his soldiers.

Like most soldiers here, Casper did not catch Bush's speech, but he knew the basics: More troops are on the way.

"It's trying something new, and if it works, it works; and if not, we will have to find something else," he said.

Commander, Charles Moffit, says that he thinks increasing troop levels will help: "We can only be in so many places at one time. If we have more soldiers here, we can be more places at one time."

Many of the soldiers here are on their second -- if not third or fourth -- deployments and have a solid grasp on the countless challenges they face.

They know that military power alone will not win the fight. They also know that while, as many of them say, plans often look great on paper, it translates differently on the streets of Baghdad.

"I think it's a double-edged sword," Army Sgt. Jason Dooley said, peering over the shoulder of an American sniper about halfway into Tuesday's 10-hour gunbattle for Haifa Street. "Increasing troops could show more force, could incite the insurgents or get them to back off. You never really know. They do what they want to do -- that's what makes it so hard."

[Jeffersons Ghost]

10. so, why all the Nukes in the OP, one might wonder... no, they're not from Iran...

Who can name another country in the region, run by Islamic Fundamentalist that has not only a nuclear capability but also reliable delivery systems?

Al-Qaida rebuilding in Pakistan, US says

Peter Walker and agencies
Friday January 12, 2007
Guardian Unlimited


Al-Qaida is rebuilding its strength from secure hideouts in Pakistan, the head of US intelligence operations has said in an assessment of the security risks facing his country.

In a written testimony to a Senate committee, John Negroponte also warned that an increasingly confident Hizbullah was a growing concern.

"Al-Qaida is the terrorist organization that poses the greatest threat to US interests," Mr Negroponte, the US director of national intelligence, said in the annual threat assessment yesterday.

"We have captured or killed numerous senior al-Qaida operatives, but we also have seen that al-Qaida's core elements are resilient," his report to the Senate Intelligence Committee said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,1988957,00.html

[Jeffersons Ghost]

11. here is a particularly poignant, personal story...

The Christian Science Monitor
By Brad Knickerbocker

Relentless toll to US troops of roadside bombs

The IED has caused over a third of the 3,000 American GI deaths in Iraq.

Almost every day, Sgt. First Class Joel Jacobs comes to the Third Infantry Division's "Warriors' Walk" at Fort Stewart, Ga. Among the eastern redbud trees - each commemorating one of the more than 300 division soldiers killed in Iraq - it's a chance for him to honor his fallen comrades.

Over New Year's, with the number of US service men and women who've died in Iraq at the 3,000 mark, the rest of the nation had occasion to pause and reflect on the war's toll.

Like many, Sergeant Jacobs greets the news of American casualties with sorrow and resolve. He retired from the Army a few months ago, and you might think the prosthetic leg would slow him down. But asked how he's doing, this 21-year veteran who faced danger in Haiti, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq says , "I'm absolutely fine, sir."

"When you come home, you remember the ultimate sacrifices some of your fellow soldiers have made," he says of his regular walk.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0102/p01s03-usmi.html

[Jeffersons Ghost]

12. here is three more very important news stories...

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MOMITOR

Al-Maliki Wants U.S. To Better Arm Iraqi Forces

January 18, 2007 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called on the United States to equip Iraqi security forces with sufficient weapons.

In an interview with London's "The Times," al-Maliki said the United States could start making significant cuts in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq within three to six months if it adequately arms and equips Iraqi forces so they can handle security on their own.

Al-Maliki also admitted to the British daily that mistakes were made in the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, but denied that the hanging was a revenge killing.

Meanwhile, five car bombs exploded around Baghdad today, with three of the blasts taking place almost simultaneously. The three coordinated bombs killed at least 10 people and wounded another 30 at a market in southern Baghdad.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/2cd0c2cb-5f50-4779-8c4c-91df8a18643b.html

CBS NEWS

Iran "Ready For Anything" In U.S. Standoff

Ahmadinejad Defiant In Face Of U.S. Military Escalation In Gulf, Internal Opposition
(AP) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Iran was prepared for any possibility in the standoff with the West over its controversial nuclear activities — a tough reaction to a U.S. military buildup in the Gulf meant as a warning to Iran.

"Today, with the grace of God, we have gone through the arduous passes and we are ready for anything in this path," state-run television quoted Ahmadinejad as saying Thursday.

The comments were an apparent reaction to the U.S. decision to deploy a second aircraft carrier, the USS Stennis, to the Gulf. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the increased U.S. presence was to impress on Iran that the four-year war in Iraq has not made America vulnerable.

Administration officials have said diplomacy was the focus of their policy on Iran but have never ruled out attacks on Iran.

What weapons make them so "ready for anything?"

newsvoa.com
Report Says US Military Equipment Gets to Iran, China
By Al Pessin
Washington
17 January 2007

A U.S. news agency reports that surplus American military equipment has made its way to Iran and China through unscrupulous dealers and a lack of security in a Defense Department program. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

In an exclusive report, the Associated Press says missile components and high-technology parts for fighter jets and helicopters have been among the material that has ended up in countries that are not supposed to receive such things.

The agency reports that the defense department sold fighter jet parts to a broker secretly working for Iran even after the U.S. Customs Service had intercepted that same equipment on its way to Iran from a previous sale to another broker. Those parts were for F-14 Tomcat fighters, and according to the AP story, Iran is the only country that still flies those jets.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Defense Logistics Agency, which handles U.S. military surplus sales for the Pentagon, said it does not sell any F-14 parts at all. No one from the agency would speak to VOA, but the written statement said it takes seriously what it calls its "primary mission ... to protect critical and sensitive information." In response to allegations in the article of lax security measures, the statement says the Agency "will continue to monitor" its "policies and procedures to ensure no excess military items fall into unauthorized hands."

[TZ]

13. does anyone know?

So reading all this is scary obviously. But I would like a personal question answered if anyone knows. My brother in law is about to turn 42. However he is ex-Navy and served in Desert Storm. There is no legal way they can make him go back into Naval service is there? I believe he is not considered reserve, that he did fulfill all obligations but I still am nervous about this...:scared:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

14. I am also ex-Navy and I cannot speak conclusively on this matter but...

Even if there is a way that he can be re-activated, he will be the government's last choice. There will be a draft, long before ANY discharged veterans, ESPECIALLY OLDER ONES, like him are reactivated.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

15. kick