Libya, a thorny question

Tags

chemical weapons, Hamas, Hizballah, Iran, Libya

Who are the Libyan rebels? Talking heads have been asking that question for several weeks, echoing US government officials (US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others).

Below is an interesting article I found a few days ago on Debkafile online, the only place I’ve seen it. It may help explain some reluctance on the part of the United States and others to arm / train / otherwise assist the widely varied groups who comprise the Libyan opposition:

Commander of US NATO forces, Adm. James Stavridis

Libyan rebels sold Hizballah and Hamas chemical shells
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 31, 2011

Senior Libyan rebel “officers” sold Hizballah and Hamas thousands of chemical shells from the stocks of mustard and nerve gas that fell into rebel hands when they overran Muammar Qaddafi’s military facilities in and around Benghazi, Debkafile’s exclusive military and intelligence sources report.

Word of the capture touched off a scramble in Tehran and among the terrorist groups it sponsors to get hold of their first unconventional weapons.

According to our sources, the rebels offloaded at least 2,000 artillery shells carrying mustard gas and 1,200 nerve gas shells for cash payment amounting to several million dollars.

US and Israeli intelligence agencies have tracked the WMD consignments from eastern Libya as far as Sudan in convoys secured by Iranian agents and Hizballah and Hamas guards. They are not believed to have reached their destinations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, apparently waiting for an opportunity to get their deadly freights through without the US or Israel attacking and destroying them.

It is also not clear whether the shells and gases were assembled upon delivery or were traveling in separate containers. Our sources report that some of the poison gas may be intended not only for artillery use but also for drones which Hizballah recently acquired from Iran.

Tehran threw its support behind the anti-Qaddafi rebels (emphasis added) because of this unique opportunity to get hold of the Libyan ruler’s stock of poison gas after it fell into opposition hands and arm Hizballah and Hamas with unconventional weapons without Iran being implicated in the transaction.

Shortly after the uprising began in the third week of February, a secret Iranian delegation arrived in Benghazi. Its members met rebel chiefs, some of them deserters from the Libyan army, and clinched the deal for purchasing the entire stock of poison gas stock and the price. The rebels threw in a quantity of various types of anti-air missiles.

Hizballah and Hamas purchasing missions arrived in the first week of March to finalize the deal and arrange the means of delivery.

The first authoritative American source to refer to a Hizballah presence in Benghazi was the commander of US NATO forces Adm. James Stavridis. When he addressed a US Senate committee on Tuesday, March 29, he spoke of “telltale signs of the presence of Islamic insurgents led by Al-Qaeda and Hizballah” on the rebel side of the Libyan war. He did not disclose what they were doing there.

Instigators goals

Tags

Algeria, Egypt, Hamas, Iran, Jordan, Muslim Brotherhood, Sharia law, Syria, Yemen

I’ve been glued to live video out of Tahrir (Freedom) Square in Cairo for several days now. Al Jazeera and BBC have live feeds, Al Jazeera sometimes on You Tube when their internet connection goes down.

It’s easy to sympathize with the anti-Mubarak protesters, considering how violent the pro-Mubarak response was yesterday. It’s been worse today; dozens of journalists have been arrested, some beaten and equipment destroyed; and hundreds of people have been killed across the country (10 so far today in Tahrir Square itself) since the protest started. I watch a while, and pray a while.

But we must not forget who the (mostly invisible) instigators are and their ultimate goals:

• Not democracy
• Not free elections
• Not peaceful disagreement
• What, then?

An Iranian news article spells it out:

TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami said the popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Yemen signify creation of an Islamic Middle-East.

Fars News online
28 Jan 2011

“Incidents that are happening in the Middle-East and the Arab world should not be regarded simply,” Ayatollah Khatami said, addressing a large and fervent congregation of people on Tehran University campus.

“To those who do not see the realities I clarify that an Islamic Middle-East is being created based on Islam, religion, and democracy with prevailing religious principals,” Ayatollah Khatami stressed. He was referring to the recent historic revolution in Tunisia and massive protests in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen.

Egypt’s largest opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday called on the country’s people to continue protests. Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Essam al-Arian warned that Egypt would “explode” if the government does not listen to the people. Meantime, Police clamped down on anti-government protesters in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Friday.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8911080828

I’ve been watching responses from Russia, too. They heard the Iranian message too and it seems to be making them a bit nervous. Or does it? It’s hard to tell from Pravda or Russia Today. Here are some links to those sites:
http://english.pravda.ru/photo/album/6069/
http://rt.com/news/cairo-mubarak-tahrir-standoff/

Point of no return

Tags

bomb, drought, earthquakes, famine, fires, floods, global events, Iran, Israel, Middle East, nuclear weapons, Point of no return, Tapister

The Atlantic magazine online has an article by Jeffrey Goldberg with this title. (See http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/09/the-point-of-no-return/8186/.) It’s about when or if Israel will bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities; well worth reading.

Even before I found that essay, I was thinking about the title… in a considerably more grim scenario.

What is the point of no return for human life to survive on earth? What are the parameters for human life to exist on this planet, in the first place?

So much of this element, so much of that… this range of temperatures, this percentage of drinking water, this percentage of food. How much is too much fire? Smoke? Water? How little is too little food? How hot is too hot? How cold is too cold? How much rain is enough, how much sunlight?

How much order is enough, so panic-stricken, starving populations don’t kill each other? Who provides it?

Who stops the earthquakes? The volcanoes? The rains? The heat waves? The droughts and famines? Who dries the floods? Politicians can’t. Scientists can’t. Philosophers can’t.

If you can’t agree on what’s happening, you sure can’t agree on what to do about it.

The parameters for existence and for survival are very narrow. They are certainly known in the scientific community, but not publicized widely. Too boring? Too frightening?

Reasons to Believe is a good website with tons of scientific data on this and other topics, presented by authorities who are both scientists and Christians: http://www.reasons.org/.

The fact is, there is no other habitable planet to escape to, even if there was some way to do it. No space-going ark, no time to build one.

Human beings have squandered the only planet in this galaxy fit for human life, and laughed at those of us who believe the Bible. We have been instructed, and warned, and given many chances to get things right here, then told plainly what will happen if we don’t.

And we haven’t gotten it right. Fires, floods, droughts, famine, starvation, warfare, strange signs in the sky are happening everywhere, and we have nowhere to go to start over. It’s long past time to pray.

If you’d like to follow along as I observe global events, read the news articles and links on my Tapister blog: www.tapister.wordpress.com.

What I’m reading

Tags

Iran, Israel, ocean floor collapse, Oil spill

Iran on war alert over “US and Israeli concentrations” in Azerbaijan
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2010, 1:23 PM (GMT+02:00)

In a rare move, Iran has declared a state of war on its northwestern border, Debkafile’s military and Iranian sources report. Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps men and equipment units are being massed in the Caspian Sea region against what Tehran claims are US and Israeli forces concentrated on army and air bases in Azerbaijan ready to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. The announcement came on Tuesday, June 22 from Brig.-Gen Mehdi Moini of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), commander of the forces tasked with “repelling” this American-Israeli offensive.

Complete story – www.tapister.wordpress.com
————————————–
Ocean floor collapse in Gulf of Mexico; nuclear option to seal it

The BP oil spill is about to take a turn for the worse. The ocean floor on top of the Deepwater Horizon well may be on the verge of collapsing completely, increasing the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico exponentially.

Several geologists and drilling engineers have concluded with certainty that there are several cracks visible already that may further impact the entire integrity of the ocean floor. If the floor were to lose its integrity and collapse, then 150,000 barrels of crude will find its way to the surface of the Gulf of Mexico on a daily basis.

The cracks or collapse of the floor cannot be contained nor remedied with any available technical equipment and may affect other nearby wells that still operate in the vicinity.

Complete story: http://www.huliq.com/9990/ocean-floor-gulf-mexico-verge-collapsing

If ocean floor collapses and subsequent tsunami happens: Widespread destruction of US coasts, cities.

http://www.wirtschaftsfacts.de/?p=6171

The Nuclear Option may be considered. But using a nuclear bomb to seal the oil leak should NOT be an option. Here’s why.

http://www.viewzone2.com/oilnuke.html

————————————-

Here’s another blog that I write:
http://speakingofheaven.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/new-york-new-jersey-new-earth/

Iran begins drilling for oil in Caspian Sea

Tags

Caspian Sea, Iran, Middle East, oil

(Reprinted from PressTV online article, 15 Feb 2010.)

The Islamic Republic of Iran has started drilling its first exploratory well in the Caspian Sea to search for oil in the resource-rich body of water.

“The Amir-Kabir semi-submersible drilling rig has started exploration drillings in the Caspian Sea. It will drill the country’s first exploratory well at a depth of 1,550 meters under the seabed,” North Drilling Company Managing Director Hedayatollah Khademi told the Mehr News Agency on Saturday.

In light of the great potential of the region, there is a very good possibility that the Amir-Kabir (formerly known as Iran-Alborz) semi-submersible drilling rig will help find new reserves of crude oil in the Caspian Sea, he added.

The drilling rig weighs 14,000 tons without its attachments and will facilitate exploration in deep waters in the southern part of the Caspian Sea.

According to estimates, the southern part of the Caspian Sea holds at least 32 billion barrels of oil reserves.  Iran’s exploration efforts have so far led to the discovery of 46 oil fields in the Caspian Sea.

Iran has the world’s third-largest proven reserves of crude oil, mainly located in the southwest of the country and offshore in the Persian Gulf. (emphasis added)

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118561&sectionid=351020103

Why does this matter enough for me to reprint it here? Because of where the Caspian Sea is, who the countries are that surround it, and what they are doing there as we speak. See my earlier articles about the Caspian Sea and oil.

World should prepare for Israeli military attack on Iran’s nuclear weapons facilities

Tags

Iran, Israel, Middle East, Natanz, nuclear weapons

Two articles about Iran’s Natanz facility caught my eye today:

(1) Day of reckoning for Iran: The decision-point on the nuclear weapons program is upon us

By Micah Zenko
NY Daily News 25 Nov 2009

… No, Iran has not yet produced the 35 pounds of highly enriched uranium required to fuel a bomb at its well-known, well-inspected facility in Natanz. But there are probably additional hidden facilities like the one near Qom. As a U.S. senior intelligence official told Sanger years before that facility came to light: “None of us believe they will create weapons-grade fuel at Natanz. What they are producing at Natanz is a body of knowledge there that they can transfer elsewhere.” It turns out this was correct.

… In the real world, it is unlikely that Israel will wait months and months for this latest initiative to succeed, or more likely fail. Therefore, the world should prepare for a high-risk Israeli military attack on Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons facilities, catalyzing a wave of further instability in an already volatile region.(emphasis added)

http://bit.ly/5fdy1s

———————-

(2) Official: Iran to Upgrade Centrifuges in Natanz
Fars News 2 December 2009

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran is due to boost the quality of centrifuge machines at its first enrichment facility in the central city of Natanz…

Iran has so far installed 7,000 centrifuges at its uranium enrichment site in Natanz and 25,000 centrifuges are in the preliminary phases of installation. Planning has also been done for the production of more than 52,000 centrifuges and these centrifuges are now under production inside the country.

“We are seeking to promote the quality of centrifuges as the type of these centrifuges is more important than their number,” Baqeri said. (Iranian Undersecretary for Foreign Policy Affairs Ali Baqeri.)

http://bit.ly/58aRIg

Iran on dual nuclear bomb track: uranium and plutonium

Tags

China, Iran, Israel, Middle East, nuclear weapons

Three international news reports caught my eye today (19 Nov 2009):

(1) DEBKA: China told President Obama “No” on sanctions to Iran to halt or slow down Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
http://bit.ly/4CdOF9

(2) FARS: Iran and China are determined to strengthen ties between them in every possible way.
http://bit.ly/k8Mg6

(3) Most interesting – DEBKA: UN inspectors’ October visit to Iran turned up dual-track progress in support of its nuclear weapons program.

Feverish activity was registered in the production of plutonium at Isfahan as an alternative to the Fordo enriched uranium plant near Qom which starts up in 2011.

The IAEA experts discovered 30 metric tons-IS of heavy water hidden in 600 tanks… Metric tons-IS measure the amount of energy a given quantity can release… the amount of heavy water discovered at Isfahan would be enough to make at least one plutonium bomb when the plutonium reactor under construction near the Arak heavy water facility is finished. Other than civilian uses, heavy water may be used to produce tritium, which intensifies the explosive force of nuclear warheads.
http://bit.ly/20JPly

Smokescreen

Tags

Caspian Sea, Central Asia, China, gas and oil, Iran

Caspian Sea and littoral states

The troubling headlines in major media recently, I begin to wonder, could they be something of a smokescreen? Like a magician’s sleight of hand designed to guide our eyes away from something else going on? It’s just a thought.

Here’s what brought on that thought – Qom. Not the holy mountain in Iran and not the nuclear facility supposedly beneath it. No, the big lake north of it. The Caspian Sea.

Recently I came across a news reference to the Caspian Sea and looked it up on a world map. As I stared at the size and location of it, I felt my innate curiosity stirring. I decided to look for other online news references to it.

I found next to nothing on western news sites. However, three separate articles about the Caspian Sea appeared in the Fars News online yesterday. I found several more published there in recent months.

The more I read, the more I wanted to read about the Caspian Sea and its littoral states (the five countries that share its coastline – Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan). Before the breakup of the USSR, only two of those states were included, Russia and Iran, and they had an agreement that spelled out who could do what and where on the Caspian Sea.

Since then, however, with three more countries added, that initial agreement has been dismantled or ignored, and the five countries involved have failed to agree on a new one. (That is not to say they haven’t been busy doing their own thing in the sea. They have.)

Why should anyone on this side of the world care? Energy. Gas and Oil. Money. Power. Vast gas and oil reserves lie under the Caspian Sea, and many countries want it. Top of the list are Iran, Russia, the United States – and China.

Below are some of the Fars News articles I’ve read today and links to them. You won’t find China mentioned in those, but I found quite a few references to China’s interest in the Caspian Sea energy development in other sources. I’ve included links to a couple of those as well.

Central Asian Pipelines

It seems that China has been buying up major percentage interests in some oil companies, whether owned or operated in those littoral states.

From a September 29th article titled “New Player in Caspian Sea Power Corridor:”

“It was reported on the 16th of April 2009 that amid the world economic crisis Kazakhstan borrowed from China 10 billion dollars during N. Nazarbayev’s visit to Beijing. The Chinese CNPC Company bought a 50% stake of “Mangistaumunaigaz” for 1.4 billion dollars… Chinese companies already own a third of Kazakhstan-produced oil…”

“China’s policy of advancing towards the Caspian Sea region resources is seen also in Turkmenistan. (A pipeline is being constructed from Turkmenistan to China and should be operational in 2010.)”

http://arirusila.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/new-player-in-caspian-sea-power-corridor/

You can read more about this in “SCO Yekaterinburg summit and China’s energy offensive towards the Caspian Sea (II),” http://en.fondsk.ru/article.php?id=2240

Proposed pipeline

The United States government has a decided political and military interest in a different pipeline, one that will lead from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Here’s a quote from the September 29 blog article mentioned above: “There is some base to claim that U.S. military’s involvement in Afghanistan is directly related to the large reserves of natural gas in Turkmenistan… demand to increase troop levels in Afghanistan jumped a bit along with the recently publicized discovery of the very large natural gas reserves in the Yoloten-Osman gas fields in southern Turkmenistan.”

http://arirusila.wordpress.com/2009/09/29/new-player-in-caspian-sea-power-corridor/

Here are the several articles I read on Fars News online today:

Fars News 2009-07-24:

Iran Discovers 46 Oil Fields in Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea semi-submersible oil rig, Iran-Alborz

TEHRAN (FNA)- Forty-six oil exploration fields have been identified in the Caspian Sea, Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said. According to Nozari, eight of the fields are presently ready for exploitation.

The comment came as Iran launched its domestically-built 14,000-ton offshore platform in its territorial Caspian waters to increase its oil output. Iran says the semi-submersible drilling rig called Iran-Alborz is the largest in the Middle East, press tv reported.

The platform can operate at water depths up to 1,030 meters and can drill down to 6,000 meters under the seabed. Nozari went on to add that Iran plans to build a new oil pipeline linking the northern port of Neka in the Caspian Sea to the southern port of Jask in the Gulf of Oman.

Earlier Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Noureddin Shahnazizadeh said that initial studies for the $2 billion pipeline had been concluded and that the ministry would move to sign a contract soon.

Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, has given priority to exploring its northern territorial waters in the Caspian Sea. The largest enclosed body of water on the planet is estimated to have oil reserves of 17 billion to 44 billion barrels.

The maritime and seabed boundaries of the Caspian have yet to be demarcate among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan — the five countries bordering the Sea.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8805020617

Fars News Agency 11 Oct 2009

Iran against Presence of 3rd Parties in Caspian Sea

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced that Iran is against the presence of “a third state or organization” in the Caspian Sea.

[Bette: I’m not sure who they mean by third state or organization; China?]

Based on deals reached between Iran and the former Soviet Union, no other country can launch shipping or conduct fishing in the sea except its littoral states, Mottaki told a one-day summit on the Caspian Sea’s legal regime in Tehran.

Mottaki also called on the Caspian states to avoid an arms race in the region, saying Tehran believes the largest lake in the world should remain ‘the sea of peace, friendship, and stability’, press tv reported.

He emphasized that establishing a balance, between the number of military forces and equipment and the ‘joint potential threats’ in the region, is essential.

The Iranian foreign minister underlined that there is an urgent need for an appropriate security mechanism to monitor joint measures in the sea.

The Iranian top diplomat added that the Islamic Republic believes any decision on the legal regime of the sea should be taken by a consensus among the five littoral states.

He also noted that any decision outside such a structure for the Caspian Sea ‘lacks legitimacy and will not be put into practice’.

The legal status of the Caspian Sea has been blurred since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Prior to that, Iran and the Soviet Union equally shared the resources of the lake.

After the breakup of the USSR, three newly independent states-Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan-bordering the Caspian Sea appeared on the scene, with their own demands.

Despite extensive negotiations, no agreement has been signed for the final legal status of what is in fact not a ‘sea’, but the largest lake in the world.

Mottaki went on to say that the Islamic Republic will not allow any country to carry out excavation activities for energy resources in Iran’s 20 percent share of the sea, until its legal status is finalized. He reiterated that Iran desires a “fair” share of the sea’s resources.

The maritime and seabed boundaries of the Caspian Sea have yet to be demarcated among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan, the five countries bordering the Sea.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8807170892

MP: Caspian States Should Focus on Compilation of Legal Regime

TEHRAN (FNA)- Spokesman of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali on Thursday encouraged the Caspian states to focus on compilation of a legal regime for the Caspian Sea. Addressing a conference on the Caspian Sea, Jalali added that the sea faces greater challenges to the same degree it is important.

“One of the most important tests of the Islamic Republic which will be judged by the coming generations is the Caspian Sea legal regime,” the Islamic republic news agency quoted Jalali as saying.

Littoral states have reached the conclusion to share out the sea which was also accepted by Iran, he said. But there are still disagreements over the division of the sea-bed, he noted.

Jalali further contended that Iran has laid essential structures for the issue in proportionate with its significance and the challenges faced by it. Of course, this cannot negate the efforts of the Foreign Ministry and presidential representative in the Caspian Sea affairs, the lawmaker said.

The Caspian Sea the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers.

It was perceived as an ocean by its ancient coastal inhabitants, presumably because of its saltiness and seeming boundlessness. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%, about a third the salinity of most seawater.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8807170845

Fars News 2009-09-12:

Berdimuhamedow: Turkmenistan Ready to Join Nabucco Pipeline

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow announced on Saturday that his country has the necessary resources to join the Nabucco gas pipeline.

(See more about Nabucco and map below.)

The Nabucco gas pipeline project worth €7.9 billion envisages gas supply from the Caspian region to the EU countries. Construction of the gas pipeline was scheduled for 2011. The first supplies will be launched in 2014. Maximal capacity of the pipeline will hit 31 billion cubic meters per year.

The proposed 3,300-kilometer Nabucco pipeline aims to carry natural gas from Central Asia via Turkey and the Balkan states to Austria, bypassing Russia and Ukraine.

The Turkmen president pointed to the newly discovered gas fields, Yolatan and Othman, in the southern parts of his country, and said that huge gas reserves of the two fields have made it possible for Turkmenistan to join major international gas pipeline projects.

Reminding that the Nabucco pipeline is at the center of the international community’s attention, he added that development of gas and oil fields, construction of new facilities for refining oil and gas, construction of gas terminals, employment of modern technologies in his country’s oil and gas sectors are among Ashgabat’s priorities.

The gas discovery has made Turkmenistan much hopeful about picking up a bigger share of the international market. Following the discovery of the two huge gas fields, Ashgabat made a deal with Tehran to build a new pipeline to transfer Turkmen gas to its southern neighbor.

“Given the closeness of Turkmenistan’s gas resources to Iran’s border, a new gas pipeline is to be constructed in near future for transferring Turkmen gas to Iran in addition to the existing Korpeje-Kurt Kui pipeline,” Iranian Ambassador to the country Mohammad Reza Forqani told FNA in July.

Turkmenistan has agreed to boost the volume of its natural gas exports to Iran to 14 billion cubic meters (bcm) from the current 8 bcm following the start of operation of the new gas pipeline between the two countries.

The new pipeline from the eastern Turkmen town of Dauletabad to Iran will have a capacity of 12.5 bcm of gas per year. Turkmenistan has also undertaken to increase the quantity of its gas exports to Iran to 20 bcm in the future.

Meantime, analysts and international observers underlined that materialization of the Nabucco gas pipeline project depends on supplying the needed gas for the pipeline.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8806211403

Fars News 2009-08-29:

Iran, Russia Ready to Boost Ties

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia here on Friday called for further expansion of all-out ties between the two states. During their meeting, Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin underlined the need for promotion of bilateral political, economic, trade and banking cooperation.

The two countries decided to hold a session of Iran-Russia Joint Economic Commission in Tehran soon. The two officials voiced readiness to carry out joint projects in the areas of energy and transportation, the Islamic republic news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Iranian envoy called for transportation of Russian goods to Iran by Iran’s shipping at the Caspian Sea. They also underscored the need for exchange of political and economic delegations between the two states.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8806070681

Fars News 2009-08-14:

Russia to Hold North-South Transport Corridor Rally

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Republic of Kalmykia of the Russian Federation is slated to hold the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) rally. A multi-modal transportation established by Iran, Russia and India in St. Petersburg in September 2000, the INSTC connects the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, which is then connected to St. Petersburg and North Europe via the Russian Federation, press tv reported.

The event, which is said to be a rival for the famous Paris-Dakar rally, will start next year with the aim of introducing and promoting the North-South Transport Corridor.

The INSTC was expanded to include eleven new members, namely Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman, Syria and Bulgaria.

Introducing the Iran path as a safe transportation route from Asia to Europe and introducing the economical and commercial potentials of the countries along INSTC are among the other aims of the project.

Fars News 2009-06-05:

US Pressing Nabucco Scheme without Iran

Nabucco Gas Pipeline

TEHRAN (FNA)- The US announced that it does not support Iran’s involvement in the Nabucco gas pipeline until Tehran ‘changes its policies’. The US special envoy for Eurasian energy issues Richard Morningstar said that Iran can only join the gas pipeline undertaking after the normalization of ties between Tehran and Washington, press tv reported.

He told a group of reporters in Ankara on Thursday that inviting Iran to the project without a resolution to the standoff over its nuclear program could “have a negative effect.” “We don’t want to change our policy unless Iran changes its policy,” AP quoted Morningstar as saying.

The pipeline is to link the Caspian Sea region, the Middle East and Egypt to the European Union via Turkey. The Nabucco consortium, which aims at decreasing Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas, has been unable to find sufficient gas supplies necessary for the feasibility of the project.

Turkey, which is a member of the consortium, has repeatedly voiced its support for Iran’s involvement in the project.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8803150550

So. That’s some of what I’ve read about this subject today, all from non-western news media sources. Maybe natural disasters, economic worries and Iranian uranium-enrichment facilities aren’t deliberate smokescreens. But the absence of western news about these multi-faceted, multi-nation Caspian Sea developments makes me curious.

Peace for our time… wishful thinking?

Tags

Ahmadinejad, Chamberlain, Iran, Nobel peace prize, Obama

President Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, not for any actual accomplishments, but for wishful thinking on the part of the Nobel community.

Yesterday I read a multitude of not-so-congratulatory comments about the award. Myself, I wonder if he was given the award because of his apparent mind-set about appeasement. He seems to be in favor of it.

That made me think about Neville Chamberlain’s same mind-set, and his “peace for our time” statement in 1938. Not being alive at that time, I researched the subject online.

From Wikipedia:

The phrase “peace for our time” was spoken on 30 September 1938 by British prime minister Neville Chamberlain in his speech concerning the Munich Agreement. It is primarily remembered for its ironic value. In this photo, he is holding the paper containing the resolution to commit to peaceful methods signed by both Hitler and himself on his return from Munich. He is showing the paper to a crowd at Heston Aerodrome on 30 September 1938.

The agreement was negotiated and signed by Germany, France, Britain, and Italy, at a conference held in Munich, Germany, without the presence of Czechoslovakia. It was an act of appeasement. *(see section about appeasement below)

The Munich Agreement gave the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler in an attempt to satisfy his desire for “living space” for Germany. The German occupation of the Sudetenland began on the next day, 1 October. Less than a year after the agreement, following continued aggression from Germany and its invasion of Poland, Europe was plunged into World War II.

The Munich Agreement permitted German annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland, areas along borders of Czechoslovakia, mainly inhabited by Czech Germans. The Sudetenland was of immense strategic importance to Czechoslovakia as most of its border defenses were situated there, and many of its banks were located there as well.

In Chamberlain’s speech of September 30 he said, “My good friends, this is the second time in our history that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street, peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time.” (emphasis added)

In another speech regarding the agreement, he said “The real triumph is that it has shown that representatives of four great Powers can find it possible to agree on a way of carrying out a difficult and delicate operation by discussion instead of by force of arms (emphasis added), and thereby they have averted a catastrophe which would have ended civilisation as we have known it.”

He was wrong.

Chamberlain was forced to resign the premiership on 10 May 1940, after Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and France. He was succeeded by Winston Churchill but remained very well regarded in Parliament. Before ill health forced him to resign, he was an important member of Churchill’s War Cabinet. He had a key role in the formation of the Special Operations Executive. Chamberlain died of cancer six months after leaving the premiership.

* Appeasement: “the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and compromise, thereby avoiding the resort to an armed conflict which would be expensive, bloody, and possibly dangerous.” The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain towards Nazi Germany between 1937 and 1939.

Appeasement has been the subject of debate for eighty years among academics and politicians. The historian’s assessment of Chamberlain has ranged from condemnation to the judgment that he had no alternative and acted in Britain’s best interests. At the time, these concessions were widely seen as positive, and the Munich Pact among Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy prompted Chamberlain to announce that he had secured “peace for our time”. The word “appeasement” has been used as a synonym for cowardice since the 1930s and it is still used in that sense today, as a justification for firm, often armed, action in international relations.

In recent years, a revisionist school of history has emerged to challenge many assumptions about appeasement, arguing that it was a reasonable policy given the limitations of British arms available, the scattering of British forces across the world, and the reluctance of Dominion governments to go to war…

The production of aircraft was greatly increased at the time of the Munich agreement. Had war begun (at that time) instead, the Battle of Britain might have had a much different dynamic, with biplanes instead of Spitfires meeting the Germans.

A generally unrecognised aspect of Chamberlain is his role in the inception of and drawing up of a remit for the Special Operations Executive. His eagerness to avoid another Great War was, once war was a fact, matched by the ferocity of the SOE (Special Operations Executive) charter, which he drew up. (emphasis added)

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) (sometimes referred to as “the Baker Street Irregulars”) was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was initiated by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on July 22, 1940, to conduct warfare by means other than direct military engagement. Its mission was to encourage and facilitate espionage and sabotage behind enemy lines.

The organisation was formed from the merger of three existing secret departments… (1) a Foreign Office propaganda organisation known as Department EH (after Electra House, its headquarters), (2) the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, also known as MI6) Section D, which investigated the use of sabotage, propaganda and other irregular means to weaken an enemy… and (3) the War Office department that researched guerrilla warfare, known initially as GS (R) and renamed MI R in early 1939.

It was also known as “Churchill’s Secret Army” or “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” and was charged by Churchill to “set Europe ablaze.” The SOE directly employed or controlled just over 13,000 people. It is estimated that SOE supported or supplied about 1,000,000 operatives worldwide.

SOE was dissolved officially on 15 January, 1946. Most of its personnel reverted to their peacetime occupations (or regular service in the armed forces), but 280 personnel were taken into the “Special Operations Branch” of MI6. Some of these had served as agents in the field, but MI6 was most interested in SOE’s training and research staff.

For details about the creation, operation, success and failures of this remarkable organization, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Operations_Executive.

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It seems that in the end, Chamberlain learned a hard lesson about appeasement: it doesn’t work when you’re dealing with a madman like Hitler – and it won’t work with current madmen (and religious fanatics) like Ahmadinejad and his allies.

I hope President Obama doesn’t have to learn this hard lesson the same way Chamberlain did.

Black and blue

Tags

earthquakes, fires, floods, Iran, Matthew 24, mudslides, nuclear weapons, Prophecy, typhoons

Colors define eras in some artists’ work. For instance, Picasso’s Blue Period (1900-1904) when he painted mostly in shades of blue and blue-green. He went from painting in mood-reflecting shades of blue, to rose, to black, depending on events in his life, so art historians claim.

Jazz musician Miles Davis had a blue period, too – he even recorded an album titled “Blue Period.” His own musical mood was reflective of happenings in his own life, broken relationships, drug addiction, emotional depression.

The last couple of months I’ve felt blue-green myself. I’m even wearing more black and blue clothing than usual, for me. I’ve felt unsettled. A bit quiet, but not a restful quiet. As if I’m listening for the other shoe to fall…

I find myself reading more of a particular fiction genre, more of a particular kind of non-fiction and more of a specific kind of news. And I’m praying a more determined type of prayer. More directed. More intentional. More specific.

As I read assorted scripture passages these days, I seek out those that describe today. Happenings. Relationships between nations, between national personalities. Cause and effect events, some political, some social, some natural, and some supernatural.

As I read and think about Jesus’ description of disasters in Matthew 24, some political, some social, some natural and some supernatural, I listen to the internal voice of the Author. Sort of a running commentary.

I personally believe every one of those predictions have already come true. Yes, I know some Bible scholars say “this gospel of the kingdom” has not yet been preached to all the world. We still have some ethnic groups left to find, still have some preaching to do, right?

Maybe. But the witness to all nations has certainly been accomplished. When the book of Matthew was written, how many nations were there? How many have risen and fallen since then? How many more are being created as we speak? How many ethnic groups have splintered and split, how many become extinct?

It’s true that Jesus said it would be after all that, that the end (of the age) would come. He didn’t say it would be immediately afterward, though, so maybe we have a few years yet to go…

I don’t count on it. Why? Because of what I am NOT reading in the major secular media headlines. Jesus has become less dependent on mankind to preach “this gospel of the kingdom” in some places. Visions and dreams of Jesus are driving people by the dozens, even hundreds, to find someone to talk to them about Jesus. This is happening with increasing frequency in the African – Middle Eastern regions of the world, and probably other places too.

As I read and pray and listen and read, I’ve started keeping a running blog (www.tapister.wordpress.com) with news articles that fit one or more of the descriptions in Matthew 24 and elsewhere. Some days there are so many that I just settle for one.

Disastrous fires have become almost commonplace in California. Unseasonable snow storms are occurring in western states, and it’s just early October. Multiple typhoons just days apart have washed away whole communities. Six major earthquakes in ten days, so far, have killed or buried thousands of people. Maniacal dictators threaten the civilized world.

And people keep on buying and selling, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. It’s only logical to be in the midst of a blue period, seems to me.