Truck and Barter

Comments

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Okie wrote:

Wow!! A brand new scratch pad..

I've been calling around to see if anything exciting is coming out of Iraq related to the new Government....very quiet. At least we're seeing a lot of forward movement that we can credit to the new PM.

-- April 30, 2006 12:57 PM ∞

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Okie wrote:

I think we will see more Refinery expansion during the coming years. Folks, this is good news but I'm sure the liberal press will find something to bitch about. The companies involved in this are world class leaders in their field and will do an outstanding job.

http://www.construction.com/NewsCenter/Headlines/RP/20060104tx.asp

-- April 30, 2006 2:10 PM ∞

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Okie wrote:

More and more of the news coming out of Iraq Is positive. The formation of this type of Government in the Middle East is monumental and will be so noted in the history books.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060430/ts_nm/iraq_dc_2

-- April 30, 2006 2:29 PM ∞

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Bill1 wrote:

Sounds great Okie.

And, thanks for the comments about my girls ...just got some boxes off to them yesterday.

Sounds like the "Dinar Train" is back on track again!!!

Best of luck to the Iraqi People!

Bill1

-- April 30, 2006 9:52 PM ∞

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carl wrote:

THOUGHTS-WORDS-DEEDS

The three tools which mankind uses to create the reality of the world and the events within it.

What is thought..? Simply Energy.....Active thought is active energy...concentrated thought is concentrated energy....concentrated energy focused on a goal or purpose becomes harnessed power...

In other words Thought is simply the attitude of the mind toward life...this attitude determines the experiences with which mankind will meet and experience life.

Religion, sciences and philosophies which the world is familiar have been based upon the effects of concentrated thought. Mankind keyed on the effects of concentrated thought, all the while ignoring and misunderstanding the cause of the effects itself.

For this we have God & Devil in Religion, Positive and Negative in Science, Good and Bad in Philosophy.

Some say the answer to all problems of the world is mankind has to change their attitude of thought toward one another...

I believe Jesus said, it best..." Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

Until the attitude of thought changes, mankind will continue to have conflicts....

-- April 30, 2006 11:28 PM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Iran: U.S. Threats are Violation of International Law

UNITED NATIONS — Iran denounced the United States on Monday for contemplating possible nuclear strikes against Iranian targets and urged the United Nations to take urgent action against what it called a dangerous violation of international law.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan obtained by The Associated Press, Iran's U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif called President George W. Bush's refusal two weeks ago to rule out a U.S. nuclear strike on Iran and a similar follow-up statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "illegal and insolent threats."

Bush was asked on April 18 whether U.S. options regarding Iran "include the possibility of a nuclear strike" if Tehran refuses to halt uranium enrichment. "All options are on the table," the president replied, but he stressed that the United States will continue to focus on diplomacy.

Iran insists it is legally entitled under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium to provide fuel for civilian power plants but the United States suspects its real aim is to produce nuclear weapons, a view backed by Britain and France.

Zarif said the use of "false pretexts" by senior U.S. officials "to make public and illegal threats of resort to force against the Islamic Republic of Iran is continuing unabated in total contempt of international law and fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter."
The "U.S. aggressive policy" of contemplating the possible use of nuclear weapons also violates the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and other U.S. multilateral agreements, he said.

"Such dangerous statements, particularly those of the United States president, widely considered in political and media circles as a tacit confirmation of the shocking news on the administration's possible contemplation of nuclear strikes against certain targets in Iran, defiantly articulate the United States policies and intentions on the resort to nuclear weapons," Zarif said.

"In view of the past illegal behavior of the United States, these assertions yet again constitute matters of extreme gravity that require an urgent, concerted and resolute response on the part of the United Nations and particularly the Security Council," he said.

"It is indeed regrettable that past failures of the United Nations in responding to these illegal and inexcusable threats have emboldened senior United States officials to go further and even consider the use of nuclear weapons as an `option on the table'," the Iranian ambassador added.

After lengthy negotiations, the U.N. Security Council adopted a statement a month ago demanding that Iran stop enriching uranium. A new report Friday from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, confirmed what the world already knew: Iran has refused to stop enriching uranium.

The United States, Britain and France immediately announced plans to introduce a new Security Council resolution this week which would make Iran's compliance with their demands mandatory. To intensify pressure, they want the resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which means it can be enforced through sanctions or military action.

China and Russia, the two other council members with veto power, oppose sanctions and military action and want the Iran nuclear issue resolved diplomatically, with the IAEA taking the lead, not the Security Council.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Annan had not yet received the letter. The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said it was also waiting to see the letter before commenting.

-- May 1, 2006 3:21 PM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Four Iraqis Killed, Protesters Demand Better Security in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq — About 200 Shiites rallied outside the Green Zone on Monday to demand that U.S. and Iraqi forces do more to stop insurgent attacks in the capital and help Iraqis who are fleeing their homes because of sectarian violence.

Most of the protesters were women dressed in abaya, the full-length black robes worn by devout Muslim women. One weeping demonstrator held up the photo ID card of her husband, a truck driver, and said he recently had been killed in a drive-by shooting.

Other protesters waved large cloth banners with slogans demanding that the Iraqi government provide better care for displaced families.

The rally took place outside the tall cement wall surrounding the Green Zone, where Iraq's government meets and the U.S. and British embassies are located. At one point, two Iraqi men — a soldier and a civilian — left the compound to meet with the protesters and briefly take notes about who they were and what they were demanding.

Meanwhile, the bullet-ridden, handcuffed and blindfolded bodies of three Iraqi men were found in Baghdad's southern neighborhood of Dora, said police Capt. Jamil Hussein said. A drive-by shooting also killed a Shiite grocer was killed in his shop, Hussein said.

Elsewhere, three roadside bombs exploded in Baghdad on Monday, a national holiday in Iraq, wounding two Iraqi civilians, police said.

The first bomb exploded at 8 a.m. in the Mashtal district of eastern Baghdad, wounding two Iraqi civilians, said police Maj. Mahir Musa.

The second blast, targeting an Iraqi police convoy, occurred at 9:45 a.m. on a highway in the nearby district of Kamsara, causing no casualties, said police Lt. Bilal Ali Majid.

About five minutes later, a fuel can being used as a roadside bomb exploded about 500 meters (yards) behind a U.S. military convoy in Al-Bayaa, a neighborhood of southern Baghdad, causing no injuries or damage, the U.S. military said.

May 1, known as Workers' Day, is a national holiday that closes government offices across Iraq, but many businesses and stores work normal hours.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have fled their homes in mixed Sunni-Shiite areas because of sectarian violence, some of it caused by militias allied with Iraqi political parties. A surge in such attacks began after the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra in northern Iraq.

In other violence Monday:

— Insurgents fired two mortar shells at a U.S. military base in Haqlaniyah, 220 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad, prompting soldiers to search surrounding houses and shops for suspected militants, witnesses said. No casualties were reported.

— In Tikrit, the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, roadside bombs aimed at American convoys exploded in two nearby neighborhoods, police said. No casualties were reported, but U.S. and Iraqi forces to searched homes in both areas.

On Sunday, a roadside bomb in Tikrit, which is 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, destroyed an American Humvee, the military said. It said no service members were killed in the attack, but did not say whether anyone was injured.

-- May 1, 2006 3:23 PM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Skinheads, Militants Disrupt Gay Night at Moscow Club

MOSCOW — A group of skinheads and elderly Russian women holding religious icons disrupted a gay night at a Moscow nightclub, forcing clubbers to be evacuated by bus, media reported Monday.

Over 150 far-right activists and Orthodox Christian militants blocked the entrance to the La Guardia nightclub on Sunday evening, the Interfax news agency reported, citing an unidentified police official.

Police had to form a human chain to separate the protesters from people inside the club and the party did not take place because most of its guests could not enter the club.

Some of the young people started to throw eggs, tomatoes and plastic bottles when the guests began leaving the club by bus, according to footage shown by NTV television.

"We know this is a sin and we can't allow it to flourish here, these lesbians and sodomites, their souls will die, they will go to hell," said one elderly Orthodox woman.

The protesters yelled homophobic insults, the Ekho Moskvy radio station reported.

Moscow's mayor earlier this year refused to allow the Russian capital's first gay parade because the proposed May 27 event had "evoked outrage in society, in particular, among religious leaders."

Human rights groups criticized the decision as a violation of civil rights.

Police declined to comment on the nightclub incident.

But the leftist Radical Party, accused the police officers at the scene of failing to protect the clubbers from the protesters.

"If the police chiefs cannot force their subordinates, among whom there are significant numbers of homophobes, to obey orders, these chiefs should be fired," the party said in a statement.

-- May 1, 2006 3:33 PM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Carl,

Interesting philosophy on thought. Unfortunately, attitudes are hard to change since many people are either closed minded (i.e. always think they are in the right) or ignorant. Some more appropriate quotes for today's circumstances could be Confuscious' Golden Rule: "A man should practice what he preaches, but a man should also preach what he practices" and another Confuscious saying similar to Jesus' quote, "Do NOT do to others what you do NOT want done to yourself"

-- May 2, 2006 11:33 AM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Iran will hit Israel if US does "evil": agency
Tue May 2, 2006 9:01am ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will target Israel first if the United States does anything "evil", a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday.

"We have announced that wherever America does something evil, the first place that we target will be Israel," Revolutionary Guards Rear Admiral Mohammad-Ebrahim Dehqani was quoted as saying by Iran's student news agency ISNA.

The Islamic Republic has never recognized Israel and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map."

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-05-02T130318Z_01_BLA246839_RTRUKOC_0_US-NUCLEAR-IRAN-ISRAEL.xml&rpc=22

-- May 2, 2006 1:07 PM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Iran ’shelling PKK in Iraq’, say Kurds

5/2/2006 FT - By Gareth Smyth
Iraqi Kurdish officials yesterday reported Iranian artillery shelling of positions held by fighters of the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) inside Iraq. This was a day after the Iraqi defence ministry said Iranian troops had recently attacked PKK positions inside Iraq, crossing 5km into Iraqi territory near Haj Umran. Iran denied the charge.

http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=12165

-- May 2, 2006 1:09 PM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Carl;

I agree with you that, quote: "mankind has to change their attitude of thought toward one another..."

I also believe that God is not the author of evil and does not endorse it, as I posted before about evil just being the absence of God (who is Love, Light, Truth, Compassion, etc).

But the reality we confront in many dimensions, some examples of which you quoted when you said "Positive and Negative in Science, Good and Bad in Philosophy and God & Devil in Religion" do appear to be real constructs and not merely a trick of our imaginations. There really is a negative and positive polarity to a magnet, and if you look around you and see the effects of real evil in man's inhumanity to man (such as the terrorists in what they do to innocent men women and children in bombing them as they go about their daily routines), it does seem malevolent and not merely passive, intentional rather than accidental, concentrated (as you said) and not merely dilute. War is definitely called "Hell" for a reason - if Hell can be called a place where evil does indeed happen. Yet, on earth, even in the direst, dirtiest and most hellish places on earth, we can still sometimes see God. So it isn't really hell here, just a lot like it sometimes.

The reason we have wars, hellishness, and evil.. is precisely because mankind is not always capable of changing their attitudes of thought toward one another. Because there is a point where the two polar opposites of "Good and Bad" which you spoke of, cannot come to a place of agreement. Then we have a war. But, we are not in that day concerning Iran yet. I still see "wiggle room" to avoid further conflict as being possible. However, in light of the past few posts about Iran, they appear to be of the mindset that they will not change their attitudes.. and I do not think the world has the option of acceding to their demands and allowing them to "wipe Israel off the map". Therefore, this drama is unfolding in such a way that peace, love, diplomacy and brotherhood may not be capable of resolving this conflict due precisely to what you said here, a segment of mankind being hell bent on the destruction of another portion of mankind (in this case Israel, wishing to "wipe" it off the face of the map of our earth) and their not being capable of changing their attitudes or thoughts.

Sara.

-- May 2, 2006 1:37 PM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Meanwhile in Iraq, progress
Posted by: McQ on Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Once the logistical tail and the C3I nodes needed to support the military and security battalions in the field are in place we'll see a huge jump in level one battalions. That is targeted for happening this year. And when it does, coalition forces should begin to stand down in earnest.

As we've mentioned any number of times, there are various factions loosly lumped under the label "insurgent". One of the largest is the Sunni insurgency. There may be some significant progress in ending that portion of the insurgency according to Iraq's President, Jalal Talabani:

Meanwhile, in an attempt to reach out to insurgents, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he has been meeting with seven armed groups in hopes of agreeing a deal to include them in Iraq's political process.

None of these groups include people loyal to al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to a statement issued Sunday from Talabani's office.

"These groups who are holding talks with the president are those who believe in a prosperous Iraq. Their will to fight America has waned," said a spokesman in the president's office.

A source close to Talabani said the meetings have been under way for some time.

The groups are realizing that Americans are not their true enemy, the source said, and that they have been "fighting the wrong enemy."

"[These groups] are coming to the realization that one day the Americans will leave — and that the most important thing is an Iraq that is free from Iranian influence," the source added.

Again, a critical step. Success in shutting down the Sunni insurgency would allow coalition and Iraqi security forces to concentrate on the smaller groups to be found among al-Queda and the Ba'athist dead-enders.

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?entry=3808

-- May 2, 2006 1:57 PM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Meanwhile in Iraq, progress, more
Posted by: McQ on Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Speaking of al-Qaeda, Counterterroism Blog reports that there is all but open warfare between the Sunnis and al-Qadea in Iraq (and the information gathered supports Talibani's claim to be making progress in stopping the Sunni insurgency):

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point looks at newly released al-Qaeda communiques from the Harmony database. The final analysis concludes "al-Qa`ida operational commanders [in Iraq] are increasingly vexed by the continued loss of popular support, which they attribute to the willingness of Sunni tribal leaders and politicians to participate in the political process." The report continues:

"One of these letters, written by an unknown commander in Zarqawi’s organization, describes the problems that local community leaders have caused for al-Qa`ida, particularly in al-Anbar province. By supporting local elections, collaborating with American military officials, and encouraging young Iraqi men to join police and security forces, Sunni politicians and tribal sheikhs have successfully steered thousands of Iraqis away from the jihadi message and toward the participation in the political process. The author, therefore, advocates the assassination of these figures."

Major progress. In fact, so much so that it appears that al-Qaeda has decided to change its entire way of fighting in Iraq:

"The leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is attempting to set up his own mini-army and move away from individual suicide attacks to a more organised resistance movement, according to US intelligence sources.

Faced with a shortage of foreign fighters willing to undertake suicide missions, Zarqawi wants to turn his group into a more traditional force mounting co-ordinated guerrilla raids on coalition targets.

Al-Qaeda is sending training and planning experts to help to set up the force and infiltrate members into Iraq with the assistance of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the sources said."

Note too that this report also supports Talibani's contention that "the most important thing is an Iraq that is free from Iranian influence". And here we have reports of al-Qaeda teaming with Iran to staff it's "army".

One assumes the Iraqi people know leopards don't change their spots and won't buy into supporting al-Qaeda now that it has gone 'conventional'. But doing so is almost a gift. It plays right into the hands of both coalition and Iraqi security force's training. It's very hard to defend against a human being who is willing to blow themselves up in order to kill others. It isn't as difficult to fight a more conventional enemy, especially one who has already ostracized the majority of the population.

Add the fact that the government is now forming and preparing to govern and one has to see that progress is indeed being made in Iraq.

http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?entry=3808

-- May 2, 2006 2:04 PM ∞

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Okie wrote:

Let the negotiations begin....

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Political leaders of Iraq's Sunni minority staked their claim to steering constitutional change through parliament on Tuesday, on the eve of the new assembly's first day of normal business since an election in December.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060502/wl_nm/iraq_constitution_dc_3

-- May 2, 2006 2:22 PM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Report: Japan to Pull Out of Iraq When U.K., Australia Go

TOKYO — Japan will withdraw its non-combat troops deployed in southern Iraq at the same time that Britain and Australia pull their troops out, a news report said Tuesday.

Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga officially told Washington on Monday about the terms under which Japan plans to pull out the 600 troops it has stationed in Samawah, southern Muthana province, on a humanitarian mission, Kyodo News agency reported.

"The foundations for reconstruction in Muthana province to a certain extent have been completed," Nukaga told a meeting of senior U.S. and Japanese defense and foreign ministry officials in Washington, according to an unidentified Japanese official cited by Kyodo.

"We want to complete our troops' activities at the same time as the British and Australian forces do, provided conditions allow," he said, according to Kyodo.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193887,00.html

-- May 2, 2006 4:10 PM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

The CIA Leak: Plame Was Still Covert

Feb. 13, 2006 issue - Newly released court papers could put holes in the defense of Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, in the Valerie Plame leak case. Lawyers for Libby, and White House allies, have repeatedly questioned whether Plame, the wife of White House critic Joe Wilson, really had covert status when she was outed to the media in July 2003. But special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald found that Plame had indeed done "covert work overseas" on counterproliferation matters in the past five years, and the CIA "was making specific efforts to conceal" her identity, according to newly released portions of a judge's opinion. (A CIA spokesman at the time is quoted as saying Plame was "unlikely" to take further trips overseas, though.) Fitzgerald concluded he could not charge Libby for violating a 1982 law banning the outing of a covert CIA agent; apparently he lacked proof Libby was aware of her covert status when he talked about her three times with New York Times reporter Judith Miller. Fitzgerald did consider charging Libby with violating the so-called Espionage Act, which prohibits the disclosure of "national defense information," the papers show; he ended up indicting Libby for lying about when and from whom he learned about Plame.

The new papers show Libby testified he was told about Plame by Cheney "in an off sort of curiosity sort of fashion" in mid-June—before he talked about her with Miller and Time magazine's Matt Cooper. Libby's trial has been put off until January 2007, keeping Cheney off the witness stand until after the elections. A spokeswoman for Libby's lawyers declined to comment on Plame's status.

© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.

-- May 2, 2006 4:13 PM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

MSNBC: Plame was working on Iran

Melissa McEwan May 2, 2006.

Earlier this year, in a story largely ignored by the mainstream media, Raw Story's Larisa Alexandrovna reported that CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose covert status was compromised by a White House leak in retribution against her husband, Joseph Wilson, for concerns raised about the use of pre-war intelligence, was monitoring weapons proliferation in Iran. At the time, officials to whom Alexandrovna spoke confirmed that Plame's "outing resulted in 'severe' damage to her team and significantly hampered the CIA's ability to monitor nuclear proliferation."

On last night's Hardball, MSNBC correspondent David Shuster confirmed that report:

MSNBC has learned new information about the damage caused by the white house leaks.

Intelligence sources say Valerie Wilson was part of an operation three years ago tracking the proliferation of nuclear weapons material into Iran. And the sources allege that when Mrs. Wilson's cover was blown, the administration's ability to track Iran's nuclear ambitions was damaged as well.

The white house considers Iran to be one of America's biggest threats.

For a very long time, an essential part of the GOP spin on this issue has been that Plame was not covert, so leaking her name "didn't matter." If Raw Story's and MSNBC's sources are correct, this report wholly undermines that assertion--in addition to casting the gravity of the outing in a whole new light.

It also necessarily raises (at least in the mind of this cynic) the possibility that the assumptions about the White House's motive for the leak was not exclusively about political payback. The administration's rhetoric on Iran is eerily similar to that we saw during the run-up to the war with Iraq, as illustrated by this post at The Belgravia Dispatch. Knowing as we now do that the administration was bent on war with Iraq and the lengths to which they went to make that war happen, it would be foolish to think they would not endeavor to do to same if they are similarly bent on a confrontation (more here) with Iran. If Plame could have provided information that disputed Iran's nuclear readiness, which is serving as the key justification for escalating alarmism about Iran, it's very useful indeed from the administration's perspective to have her out of the picture.

-- May 2, 2006 4:18 PM ∞

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drtayl0r wrote:

I've been reading through the history of posts recently. It seems alot of news is being posted, however, not alot directly relating to the dinar. Does anyone had any speculation as to the future of the Dinar once a pull-out occurs?

-- May 2, 2006 5:18 PM ∞

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Mary Lou wrote:

Iran's secret plan if attacked codenamed 'Judgment Day'

Tehran has recruited and funded eight Islamic fundamentalist organizations to undertake retaliatory strikes against U.S. and British military and economic interests across the Middle East – and perhaps in the U.S. and Europe – in the event Iran's nuclear facilities are attacked, reports a London Arab daily, Asharq Al-Awsat.

The plan, which has been heavily funded and was created by a number of experts in guerilla warfare and terrorist operations, includes suicide attacks against U.S. and British targets in the region as well as their allies. According to information gleaned from a senior source in the Iranian armed forces' joint chief of staff, logistical support for the groups that would participate in the plan comes from Brigadier General Qassim Suleimani of the of the Revolutionary Guards' al Quds Brigades.

"Most of Iran's visitors in the last four months, including the leaders of revolutionary groups in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the heads of Hezbollah cells in the Persian Gulf and Europe and North America were asked, when they met with the Iranian intelligence minister Gholamhossein Mohseni Ezhei and his aides: 'Are you ready to defend the Islamic revolution and vilayat e faqih (rule of the clergy)?'" the source said. "'If you agree to take part in the great jihad, what would you need to be ready for the great fight?'"

The leader of one of the Iraq groups that is part of the "Judgment Day" plan told the Iranians his men would turn Iraq into hell for Americans in the event of an attack on Iran. The Revolutionary Guards' military training camps have been made available to Moqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army. Al Sadr has received more than $20 million from the Iranians.

Street-fighting training has been given in Isfahan, Iran, to members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as large sums of money and large quantities of arms.

As reported by WorldNetDaily, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has recruited Imad Mugniyah, the Lebanese commander of Hezbollah's overseas operations, to oversee retaliation against Western targets following any U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Officers sent to southern Lebanon last month are in command of more than 10 thousand rockets aimed at Israel's cities. It is believed they've been given control of Hezbollah's missiles to attack Israel if Iran's nuclear sites are hit. U.S. officials and Israel intelligence sources believe Mugniyah is in charge of these operations.

"When and if the Iranians decide to hit the West in its soft belly, Imad will be the one to act," a Western intelligence source said.

Approximately 80 members of Hezbollah received training last year in ultralight aircraft and undersea operations in order to carry out suicide attacks.

Implementation of the plan is set to begin immediately following a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and would progress in six stages:

U.S. bases in Iraq and the Persian Gulf region to be struck by Iranian missiles.

Suicide attacks in a number of Muslim countries against U.S. embassies, military bases, economic and oil-related facilities tied to U.S. and British firms, and targets in countries allied with the U.S.

Attacks by Revolutionary Guards and Iraqi insurgents loyal to Iran against U.S. and British forces in Iraq.

Hundreds of rockets launched by Hezbollah against pre-selected targets in Israel.

If U.S. military attacks continue, more than 50 Shehab-3 missiles will be launched against Israel and 50 terrorist cells in the U.S., Canada and Europe will be given approval to launch attacks against civil and industrial targets in those countries.

Maximize civilian casualties with germ agents and "dirty bombs."

Full Article

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Tehran insider tells of US black ops

A former Iranian ambassador and Islamic Republic insider has provided intriguing details to Asia Times Online about US covert operations inside Iran aimed at destabilizing the country and toppling the regime - or preparing for an American attack.

"The Iranian government knows and is aware of such infiltration. It means that the Iranian government has identified them [the covert operatives] but for some reason does not want to show this," said the former diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Speaking in Tehran, the ex-Foreign Ministry official said the agents being used by the US "were originally Iranians and not Americans" possibly recruited in the United States or through US embassies in Dubai and Ankara. He also warned that such actions will engender "some reactions".

"Both sides will certainly do something," he said in a reference to Iran's capability to stir trouble up in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan for the occupying US troops there.

Veteran US journalist Seymour Hersh wrote in a much-discussed recent article in The New Yorker magazine that the administration of President George W Bush has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack as the crisis with Iran over its nuclear program escalates.

Hersh wrote that "teams of American combat troops have been ordered into Iran, under cover, to collect targeting data and to establish contact with anti-government ethnic-minority groups". The template seems identical to the period that preceded US air strikes against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan during which a covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) campaign distributed millions of dollars to tribal allies.

"The Iranian accusations are true," said Richard Sale, intelligence correspondent for United Press International, referring to charges that the US is using the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) organization and other groups to carry out cross-border operations. "But it is being done on such a small scale - a series of pinpricks - it would seem to have no strategic value at all."

There has been a marked spike in unrest in Kurdistan, Khuzestan and Balochistan, three of Iran's provinces with a high concentration of ethnic Kurdish, Arab and Balochi minorities respectively. With the exception of the immediate post-revolutionary period, when the Kurds rebelled against the central government and were suppressed violently, ethnic minorities have received better treatment, more autonomy and less ethnic discrimination than under the shah.

"The president hasn't notified the Congress that American troops are operating inside Iran," said Sam Gardiner, a retired US Army colonel who specializes in war-game scenarios. "So it's a very serious question about the constitutional framework under which we are now conducting military operations in Iran."

Camp Warhorse is the major US military base in the strategic Iraqi province of Diyala that borders Iran. Last month, Asia Times Online asked the US official in charge of all overt and covert operations emanating from there whether the military and the MEK colluded on an operational level. He denied any such knowledge.

"They have a gated community up there," came the genial reply. "Not really guarded - it's more gated. They bake really good bread," he added, smiling.

But that is contrary to what Hersh was told by his sources, According to him, US combat troops are already inside Iran and, in the event of air strikes, would be in position to mark critical targets with laser beams to ensure bombing accuracy and excite sectarian tensions between the population and the central government. As of early winter, Hersh's source claims that the units were also working with minority groups in Iran, including the Azeris in the north, the Balochis in the southeast, and the Kurds in the northwest.

Last week, speaking on the sidelines of a Palestinian solidarity conference, Major-General Yehyia Rahim Safavi, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, sent a warning to the US and British intelligence services he accuses of using Iraq and Kuwait to infiltrate Iran. "I tell them that their agents can be our agents too, and they should not waste their money so casually."

On April 9, Iran claimed to have shot down an unmanned surveillance plane in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, according to a report in the semi-official Jumhuri Eslami newspaper. US media have also reported that the US military has been secretly flying surveillance drones over Iran since 2004, using radar, video, still photography and air filters to monitor Iranian military formations and track Iran's air-defense system. The US denied having lost a drone.

This new mission for the combat troops is a product of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's long-standing interest in expanding the role of the military in covert operations, which was made official policy in the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, published in February. Such activities, if conducted by CIA operatives, would need a Presidential Finding and would have to be reported to key members of Congress.

The confirmation that the US is carrying out covert activities inside Iran makes more sense out of a series of suspicious events that have occurred along Iran's borders this year. In early January, a military airplane belonging to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards went down close to the Iraqi border. The plane was carrying 11 of the Guard's top commanders, including General Ahmad Kazemi, the commander of the IRGC's ground forces, and Brigadier-General Nabiollah Shahmoradi, who was deputy commander for intelligence.

Although a spokesman blamed bad weather and dilapidated engines for the crash, the private intelligence company Stratfor noted that there are several reasons to suspect foul play, not least of which was that any aircraft carrying so many of Iran's elite military luminaries would undergo "thorough tests for technical issues before flight". Later, Iran's defense minister accused Britain and the US of bringing the plane down through "electronic jamming".

"Given all intelligence information that we have gathered, we can say that agents of the United States, Britain and Israel are seeking to destabilize Iran through a coordinated plan," Minister of Interior Mustafa Pour-Mohammadi said. This sentiment was echoed on websites such as AmericanIntelligence.us, where one reader commented, "We couldn't have made a better hit on the IRGC's leadership if planned ... sure it was just an accident?"

Then, in late January, a previously unknown Sunni Muslim group called Jundallah (Soldier of Allah) captured nine Iranian soldiers in the remote badlands of Sistan-Balochistan province that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. And in mid-February, another airplane crashed just inside Iraq after taking off from Azerbaijan and transiting Iranian airspace. The Iranian Mehr news agency reported that the "passengers on board were possibly of Israeli origin". It added that US troops have restricted access to the site to Iraqi Kurdish officials and that Western media were reporting the passengers aboard as having been German.

The Iranian government has not sat idly by and just taken these breaches of sovereignty. Early this month, an unidentified source in the Interior Ministry was quoted by the hardline Kayhan newspaper as saying that the leader and 11 members of the Jundallah group had been killed by Iranian troops. Then last Friday, Iranian missile batteries shelled Iranian Kurdish rebel positions inside Iraqi territory. They were targeting a militant group called PJAK that seeks more autonomy for Iran's Kurdish population and has been operating out of Iraq since 1999.

The former Iranian ambassador argues that in the event that US pressure on Iran continues, "the end of the tunnel" for President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's administration is "weaponization of the nuclear technology ... and a military strike".

Full Article

Back to Top

Iran Vows To Strike Back: Israel First Target

Iran threatened on Tuesday to attack Israel in response to any "evil" act by the United States and said it had enriched uranium to a level close to the maximum compatible with civilian use in power stations.

The defiant statements were issued shortly before world powers meet in Paris to discuss the next steps after Tehran rejected a U.N. call to halt uranium enrichment.

Senior officials from the U.N. Security Council's permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany were to discuss how to curb an Iranian program that Western nations say conceals a drive for atomic warheads.

"We have announced that wherever America does something evil, the first place that we target will be Israel," ISNA quoted a senior Revolutionary Guards commander, Rear Admiral Mohammad-Ebrahim Dehqani, as saying on Tuesday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map".

Iran's deputy oil minister said there was "some possibility" of a U.S. attack on his country over its nuclear program.

"I am worried. Everybody is worried," Mohammad Hadi Nejad-Hosseinian said in New Delhi after talks on a proposed $7-billion pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan.

Concerns that Iran's dispute with the West could lead to disruption of its oil output pushed oil prices above $74 a barrel, close to the record of $75.35 touched last month.

The United States, Britain and France are expected to introduce a resolution to the Security Council this week that would legally oblige Iran to comply with U.N. demands. The three countries favor limited sanctions if Tehran remains defiant.

Iran said Russia and China, also veto-wielding permanent council members, would not back any punitive measures.

"The thing these two countries have officially told us and expressed in diplomatic negotiations is their opposition to sanctions and military attacks," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Iran's Kayhan newspaper.

China and Russia both have big energy interests in Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil exporter. Russia is also helping Iran build its first atomic power plant in the Gulf port of Bushehr.

Nicholas Burns, the U.S. under-secretary of state for political affairs, said in Paris that Tuesday's meeting would seek to keep the Security Council members and Germany united before a meeting of foreign ministers in New York on May 9.

Asked about Mottaki's comments, he said: "All I know is that China and Russia say that they don't want a nuclear-armed Iran. And China and Russia have voted with us against the government of Iran. So we intend to preserve this unity."

Burns said he expected a consensus to emerge over the next 30-40 days on the need to send a "stiff message" to Iran, adding that a range of sanctions had been discussed privately.

These included restricting exports to Iran of dual-use technology that could support its research and development or help it fabricate fissile material or a nuclear device.

Other options were travel curbs on Iranian officials and a ban on arms sales to Iran, such as a planned Russian missile deal. Oil and gas sanctions were not being discussed now.

"We hope that the U.N. Security Council, through a resolution, will send a firm and united message to Iran," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said in Paris.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says it cannot confirm that Iran's goals are peaceful, but has found no proof of a military program

A U.N. resolution would be adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, making it binding in international law. A separate resolution would be required for sanctions or military action.

Full Article

-- May 2, 2006 9:05 PM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Wednesday's Parliamentary session notes

By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer May 3, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In Baghdad, Iraq's parliament met Wednesday for only the third time since it was elected last year. In an opening speech, parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab, urged the lawmakers to be "the healers" of Iraq's deep sectarian divisions.

Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, is in the process of choosing a Cabinet for the new unity government from Iraq's complex mix of political parties controlled by majority Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

Al-Maliki was officially appointed as prime minister-designate on April 22 and has pledged to complete his Cabinet this month. That will be the final stage in establishing the new government. U.S. officials believe a unity government can, over time, calm sectarian tensions and lure many Sunnis away from the insurgency.

But on Tuesday, Shiite officials reported a new snag in the negotiations when Sunni politicians insisted on key posts, including deputy prime minister and a major ministry such as finance or education. Shiites, who hold 130 of the 275 seats, offered a lesser ministry but the Sunnis refused, according to Shiite politician Bassem Sharif.

Talks were to continue Wednesday, he said.

Sunni politicians are also eager for parliament to consider amendments to the new constitution. Sunnis oppose several provisions, including one allowing formation of regional governments. Many Sunnis fear that would lead to Iraq's breakup and deprive them of a fair share of the country's vast oil wealth.

Shiites and Kurds agreed to study changes in the constitution in the first four months of the new parliament. But in Wednesday's brief session, parliament decided to postpone forming a committee to discuss the constitution until after the Cabinet is appointed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060503/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

-- May 3, 2006 9:29 AM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

15 Dead in Fallujah Police Headquarters Bombing
Wednesday, May 03, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Insurgents stepped up their campaign to stop Sunni Arabs from joining government security forces, killing 15 police recruits in a suicide attack Wednesday and fatally shooting three soldiers who recently had entered the Iraqi army, officials said.

Both attacks occurred in Anbar province, a mostly Sunni area west of Baghdad where some of Iraq's worst terrorist attacks and battles between Sunni-led insurgents and U.S. forces have taken place since the Iraq war began more than three years ago.

On Tuesday, Anbar Gov. Maamoun Sami Rashid al-Alwani narrowly escaped a homicide car bomb attack on his convoy as he headed to work in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. The attack killed 10 Iraqi civilians and wounded five of al-Alwani's bodyguards, the U.S. military said.

On Wednesday, a homicide bomber blew himself up while standing in a line of recruits outside Fallujah's police headquarters, killing 15 people and wounding 30, said police 1st Lt. Omar Ahmed. Thirteen of the dead were recruits and two were policemen, Ahmed said.

The bomber, dressed in civilian clothes, struck outside the entrance of the police building, police said. His hidden bomb exploded several minutes after he joined the crowd of recruits waiting to enter the building and apply for jobs, Ahmed said.

At about the same time, police found the bodies of three soldiers from Fallujah who had been shot and dumped in Khaldiyah, a city west of their hometown, said Dr. Rafie Mahmoud.

On Sunday, the three men had graduated from basic training as part of the first all-Sunni class in the Iraqi army. On Tuesday, the bodies of four other Iraqi soldiers from that class were found in Ramadi, officials said.

In Baghdad, Iraq's parliament met Wednesday for only the third time since it was elected last year. In an opening speech, parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab, urged the lawmakers to be "the healers" of Iraq's deep sectarian divisions.

Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, is in the process of choosing a Cabinet for the new unity government from Iraq's complex mix of political parties controlled by majority Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds.

Violence continued in other areas of Iraq.

— Police found the bodies of 16 Iraqi men in Baghdad who apparently were the latest victims of a wave of sectarian violence involving death squads that kidnap civilians, torture them in captivity, and dump their bodies.

— A roadside bomb exploded in an outdoor market in northern Baghdad, wounding 16 civilians, said police Maj. Raid Moussa.

—Gunmen attacked a police patrol in central Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing a police officer and wounding another, police said.

— A roadside bomb exploded near an elementary school for girls in Tikrit, 80 miles north of the capital, wounding one child, said policeman Hakim al-Azawi.

— A mortar round landed inside Camp Echo in southern Iraq where Polish forces are based, but no one was hurt, said Iraqi army Capt. Ali Hakim. Poland has about 900 troops in Iraq.

The U.S. military also said nearly 1,500 Iraqi soldiers and police on Wednesday completed the fourth day of a search for insurgents in Mosul, a city 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, during which they detained 36 known or suspected militants.

Al-Maliki was officially appointed as prime minister-designate on April 22 and has pledged to complete his Cabinet this month. That will be the final stage in establishing the new government. U.S. officials believe a unity government can, over time, calm sectarian tensions and lure many Sunnis away from the insurgency.

But on Tuesday, Shiite officials reported a new snag in the negotiations when Sunni politicians insisted on key posts, including deputy prime minister and a major ministry such as finance or education. Shiites, who hold 130 of the 275 seats, offered a lesser ministry but the Sunnis refused, according to Shiite politician Bassem Sharif.

Talks were to continue Wednesday, he said.

Sunni politicians are also eager for parliament to consider amendments to the new constitution. Sunnis oppose several provisions, including one allowing formation of regional governments. Many Sunnis fear that would lead to Iraq's breakup and deprive them of a fair share of the country's vast oil wealth.

Shiites and Kurds agreed to study changes in the constitution in the first four months of the new parliament. But in Wednesday's brief session, parliament decided to postpone forming a committee to discuss the constitution until after the Cabinet is appointed.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,194065,00.html

-- May 3, 2006 9:36 AM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Iran's Nuke Chief: Enriched Uranium at Reactor Fuel Levels
Wednesday, May 03, 2006

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's nuclear chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh said Wednesday that Iran has enriched uranium up to 4.8 percent — the upper end of the range needed to make fuel for reactors.

The announcement tops Iran's declaration last month when it said it had surpassed the 3.6 percent level.

Uranium enriched to between 3.5 and 5 percent is used to make fuel for reactors to generate electricity. Enriched to more than 90 percent, it becomes suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

"The latest enrichment percentage carried out in Iran is 4.8 percent," state-run television quoted Aghazadeh as saying.

Aghazadeh added that Iran has no intention of enriching uranium beyond 5 percent.

Aghazadeh also announced the discovery of uranium deposits in southern Iran near the port city of Bandar Abbas.

Iran announced April 11 that it had enriched uranium for the first time.

The Security Council has demanded that Iran cease all of its enrichment-related activities until Tehran answers its questions on its nuclear program.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran flouted the council's requests.

Iran says its nuclear program is confined to generating power, but the United States and France accuse the country of secretly trying to build nuclear weapons.

Mohammad Ghannadi, deputy chief for nuclear research and technology, told a conference in Qom, south of the capital Tehran, Tuesday that the country's political leadership had ordered him to ensure that enrichment did not go beyond 5 percent.

"We need enriched uranium to produce electricity ... we have been given orders to enrich uranium only up to 5 percent," he said.

Aghazadeh, the nuclear chief, said studies show there are considerable amounts of uranium ore at Bandar Abbas.

"The deposits have not been identified fully but studies show that there are considerable amounts of uranium (ore) at the site," he said adding that additional exploration at the site was underway," television quoted Aghazadeh as saying.

The announcement of the deposits came just after Ghannadi, the deputy, said Tuesday that Iran had discovered uranium ore at three new sites in the central Khoshoomi, Charchooleh and Narigan areas.

Aghazadeh, who is also the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said Iran was planning vast investments to extract uranium from its deposits.

"Experts at the (Iran's) Atomic Energy Organization are making plans to identify the country's uranium reserves. It is predicted that we will have vast investments in various parts of the country," he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,194062,00.html

-- May 3, 2006 9:38 AM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Drtayl0r;

I agree, the posts lately may have been off topic. Here are my suggestions to help address this.

Ministryoflies

I do not see the point of your barrage of posts which do not appear to have any relevance to the Dinar topic or Iraq's government and society. Could you please not post anything irrelevant. Plame may be interesting, but this is a DINAR discussion board. Iraq and possible incursions by Iran into Iraq (which would affect our investment if it occurred) are the topics we are discussing on the thread. Thank you.

MaryLou;

Interesting posts about Iran's positions on things. Thank you for your input, it is appreciated. It is a bit long, could you cut down the articles you post just a bit and only give us the most relevant bits along with the url for clarification or to see more, please. Again, your input is appreciated. :)

For Marylou, ministryoflies, Drtayl0r, and the board..

Could you give your view on the news, what you see as its being relevant to this Dinar board discussion, please? We can all read the news itself, therefore, unless it is something self explanatory (like the last post I did which explains where Iraq is in its efforts to set up a governing body which Maliki must do by the 21st of this month) please explain why you posted it.

Thanks everyone, lets keep working on it and learning together. :)

Sara.

-- May 3, 2006 9:41 AM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

One more thing..

While I know that the "if it bleeds it leads" mentality of the MSM (main stream media) fills the news with all the gory details of the latest body count in Iraq, and I care about and pray for the troops and people of Iraq daily, yet, because we are focusing on the DINAR and our investment in Iraq in this discussion thread, please do not quote long gory bodycount statistics like Ministryoflies just did. It also glorifies the tactics of those who wish to destabilize Iraq and destroy it and our investment, and we are people who believe in Iraq and its fortunes so it is counterproductive to our viewpoint to constantly wade through these statistics to glean the bits of info relevant to the discussion. The parts in the above posted article which spoke about the cabinet formation were what I posted already. That is relevant to the board, the rest of the post is off topic and an unnecessary a waste of time for us to wade through (in my case, AGAIN, because I read the entire version before I posted, shortening it to the relevant version, above). Please take time to make sure the posts you make are concise and on topic before posting or Kevin may start moderating our comments again. (Thanks for this board and all you do for us, though, Kevin! :) We DO appreciate it!)

Sara.

-- May 3, 2006 9:54 AM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Afghan Army Jeep Explodes in Government Compound
Wednesday, May 03, 2006

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A governor in eastern Afghanistan escaped an apparent assassination attempt Wednesday when a car bomb exploded outside his offices, while suspected Taliban gunmen killed a judge in the west, officials said.

No casualties were caused in the explosion that occurred shortly after 9 a.m. in the eastern Nangarhar provincial capital of Jalalabad, 75 miles east of Kabul, said police chief Abdul Basir Salangi.

Salangi said a bomb had been planted in an Afghan army jeep used by the assistant head of the province's administration department.

The jeep was parked inside the governor's compound near the car of Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai at about 5 a.m. and was timed to explode about four hours later, he said.

"Fortunately the governor arrived at work earlier than the 9 a.m. time he usually arrives," Salangi said. "From the preliminary evidence, it seems to have been an assassination attempt as the jeep was parked near the governor's car."

Salangi said the jeep driver was detained for questioning but was not regarded as a suspect.

Sherzai was an influential warlord from the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar who captured that southern city from the former hard-line regime during the U.S.-backed military campaign to oust the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Meanwhile in the far west of the country, Farah's deputy civil court judge, Sheikh Mohammed, was shot dead after he left a Sunni Muslim mosque following evening prayers Tuesday in Farah city, about 465 miles southwest of Kabul.

"Two Taliban militants on motorcycles waited for Judge Mohammed as he left the mosque in Farah city and shot him dead before speeding away," Gov. Izadullah Wasfi told The Associated Press.

Radical remnants of the toppled Taliban regime have been targeting Afghan officials and U.S.-led coalition forces in an incessant campaign of violence aimed at derailing this war-ravaged country's American-backed government.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,194077,00.html

-- May 3, 2006 10:05 AM ∞

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MinistryOfLies wrote:

Sorry about all the posts, I was just following your lead Sara. As anyone can see, these boards are not helpful with the wanton posting of news articles unrelated to the Dinar information. Being well-informed means getting information on both sides. Lets get rid of the politics and focus on things people come on the board to see - DINAR INFO. News articles just clutter and make it hard for people to have any meaningful conversations. Commentary is better than copy / paste / repeat. Oh, by the way Sara - my name is Ministry Of LIES, not flies. If it is hard to spell, you can just copy and paste my name from these boards (which is a skill you seemed to have mastered).

MoL

-- May 3, 2006 10:15 AM ∞

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Okie wrote:

"Lord of the Flies"

The future of the Dinar depends on how well the new Government performs....that's why you see a lot of postings related to Politics....Duh!
As my Brit friends say "don't get your knickers in a knot"....if you don't like a posting...skip it and go to the next one.

-- May 3, 2006 6:50 PM ∞

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Mary Lou wrote:

Info found elsewhere:

I checked the CBI auction today. Auction price=1478, Amount sold = 32,950,000.

Two interesting observations. First, the CBI has held the value of the Dinar relative to the dollar very stable for a long time, including the "civil war" period. Second, 32,950,000 is very low relative to the 60,000,000 and 70,000,000 we have been seeing lately.

The CBI now has two sources increasing their dollar reserves. The price of oil is going up and people in Iraq are requesting less dollars from banks that participate in the CBI auction. The CBI must be accumulating a significant amount of excess reserves. This will put pressure on the CBI to increase the value of the Dinar (revalue).

As the Iraq economy opens up to foreign investment, there will be more demand for Dinars, less demand for Dollars. If the insurgency is controlled, more oil will be produced and the price of oil will probably continue to go up. This will lead to more reserves and more pressure to increase the value of the Dinar (revalue).

I never have anticipated a time when the CBI would all of a sudden just increase the value of the Dinar (sudden large reval) with no respect to macroeconomics. It could be that the CBI auction today is just a break from the norm, but if the trend holds, then the Dinar should in fact start to revalue soon and even though it will be relatively slower than some here hoped for, I think it will be a large revalue in the long run.

-- May 3, 2006 11:04 PM ∞

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Carl wrote:

Are Our Leaders That Stupid?

Iran
..... is begging, pleading, scratching, digging, provoking, throwing dirt in the face, name calling, snickering, poking, kicking, threatening, doing anything that they hope cause either om Israel or America to attack. If we don't attack they cannot achieve the final glue that will unite all of the shiites of Iraq against the USA. They cannot get the other fundalmentalistic minded Muslims countries to join in their little percieved war, that will bring forth the 12th Imadi..they want it...they need it...and as sure as chickens lay eggs, you can look for some more in your face tactics to come....they are going to have their little war regardless...
So far, we or Israel have not taken the trap bait....but they are continuing to crank up the scent of the bait on a daily basis....
May our leaders use good common sense....and allow the surrounding Arab Nations to remove the threat.

It is my opinion, the Iranians have every intention of moving into Iraq....That was and still is the plan... If they can create a situation, where they are seen as defender of Islam by the other nations, Iraq falls to their power without too much blood shed. I believe you will see Iranian Military forces building along Iraq's border in the coming months...

With all of that said....I hope I am just whistling dixie here....and all of the above just proves that I am a blubbering idiot...

-- May 4, 2006 9:29 AM ∞

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Rob N. wrote:

All:

As I have been reading the most recent post regarding Iraq and Iran. I think there is something of value we (as DINAR investors)may want to take into consideration.

The liklihood of a military strike against Iran and using Iraq a the staging area. Do not expect U.S. troop withdrawal soon. In my view, the invasion of Iraq is the precursor to a military conflict with Iran.

Looking ahead to Iran makes the invasion of Iraq make more sense. WMD, Sadam and his connection with Bin Laden were flimsy excuses but necessary to spoon feed the the media and the American people on the idea of war.

For George W. Bush Iraq apparently has been the road to go through to get to Tehran. Geographically, Iraq is perfect for a military strike against Iran. Since U.S. forces occupy the country (IRAQ)it is possible for us to fly bombing missions in and out of Iran without much danger.

I am not sure whether a war with Iran could help quickly stablize the Dinar. I have not thought through all of those variables.

I am sure that Syria is next folks. Your thoughts.

Thanks,

Rob N.

-- May 4, 2006 10:32 AM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Notice this 'in country' blogger agrees with your assessment, Carl.. where she says: "various news sources are reporting Iranian troops by the thousand standing ready at the Iraqi border." The build up you spoke of in your post appears to be happening, by this account.

Sara.

The following is a blog entry by "Riverbend," a young Iraqi woman who writes about her daily life on "Baghdad Burning." Baghdad Burning was chosen as one of the Best Journalistic Webblogs in the 2005 Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards.

U.S. Forces in Iraq Are Iranian Hostages
The big question is what will the U.S. do about Iran?
Tuesday, May 02, 2006

(Concerning Iran)...
Today they rule the country. Over the duration of three years, and through the use of vicious militias, assassinations and abductions, they've managed to install themselves firmly in the Green Zone. We constantly hear our new puppets rant and rave against Syria, against Saudi Arabia, against Turkey, even against the country they have to thank for their rise to power: America. But no one dares to talk about the role Iran is planning in the country.

The last few days we've been hearing about Iranian attacks on northern Iraq, parts of Kurdistan that are on the Iranian border. Several sites were bombed and various news sources are reporting Iranian troops by the thousand standing ready at the Iraqi border. Prior to this, there has been talk of Iranian revolutionary guard infiltrating areas like Diyala and even parts of Baghdad.

The big question is what will the U.S. do about Iran? There are the hints of the possibility of bombings, etc. While I hate the Iranian government, the people don't deserve the chaos and damage of air strikes and war.

I don't really worry about that though, because if you live in Iraq, you know America's hands are tied. Just as soon as Washington makes a move against Tehran, American troops inside Iraq will come under attack. It's that simple: Washington has big guns and planes... But Iran has 150,000 American hostages.

http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?menu=A11100&no=289406&rel_no=1&back_url=

-- May 4, 2006 11:51 AM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Ministryoflies;

I simply copied your name without the capitals.. lies, flies.. depends on how you read it, I suppose.

Your post called, "Afghan Army Jeep Explodes in Government Compound" does not in any way add to the Dinar discussion or that which affects Iraq. Please stay on topic with political or economic events which affect our investment in the Dinar. Thank you.

Sara.

-- May 4, 2006 12:05 PM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Although I disagree with the blogger whom I quoted concerning her deeply cynical outlook on the emerging Iraqi government and the deeply leftist bias in her viewpoints, I felt her blog had some good factual points which support what Carl was saying - such as the build up along the border of Iranian troops - so I posted it. I am still optimistic Iraq will do well, and here is a good development this morning on the Iraqi political front.

Sara.

Outlines of possible Iraqi govt emerging
Wednesday, May 03, 2006

BAGHDAD –– Iraqi politicians involved in negotiations on the formation of a new government said on Wednesday that an agreement on the top five ministries is close.

Maliki has said he may need only two weeks and several negotiators said they were looking to a possible deal next week. After an initial demand to retain under Sunni control the post of defence minister, the main Sunni bloc, the Accordance Front, said it would now rather have the finance portfolio.

Political blocs say they are using a complex points system based primarily on results from December's election to determine how many ministries are allocated to each grouping. Khudheyir al-Khuzai, a member of the Alliance, which holds just under half the seats in parliament, said Kurds were insisting on keeping the foreign ministry, while Shi'ites hoped to keep the key, controversial interior portfolio. The secular list of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi might now get defence.

"The United Iraqi Alliance hopes it will take the Interior Ministry," Khuzai said on the sidelines of Wednesday's session of parliament. "Defence may go to (Allawi's) Iraqi List." Khuzai said there were many meetings every day in an effort to form the government: "The deadline to form the government is May 22, but Nuri al-Maliki has set himself a target of May 9. "We are willing to work 20 hours a day to achieve this." –– Reuters

http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=29267&pn=international

-- May 4, 2006 12:14 PM ∞

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ontheground wrote:

I am here in Iraq. I see so much development it is amazing but you certainly won't hear it on the news until it is too late to invest in the country. Example: 22 months ago I entered Iraq and found Baghdad International Airport to be a shell of a building with wires hanging out the ceiling, no lights, no electricity, and sand piled up against the walls. Today it is beginning to look like a miniature Dubai! I have seen the Iraqi Police Stations being built in the Southern Region. They are like small forts. They are nothing the insurgency can easily even get close to much less blow up...believe me. The freeway for approximatly 200 miles South of Baghdad is under construction being widened to 4 lanes for the entire 200 miles! I have been involved in Civil Construction all my life and I have never seen a road construction project 200 miles long but there it is stretching through the Iraqi Desert. I have seen house after house being built throughout the southern region as I have travelled in convoys and seen the economy in terms of farming and salt production mushroom before my eyes in these past 22 months. I have appreciated this site and found the group that posts here to be very intelligent people. That is helpful to me as I track the monetary/economic developments in Iraq. I have invested in Dinar and would like to ask some rather elementary questions of the group: 1. How long before I can exchange my Dinar for Dollars in a U. S. bank? 2. How do you plan to exchange your Dinar...might you go outside the U. S. to exchange it in order to avoid taxes? 3. Do you think they will change the currency again and if they do I understand that one can exchange it for the New New Iraqi Dinar in Kuwait...do you agree? I guess I should try and answer these questions if I expect you to. I think the Dinar will be on the world market in about 2 more years and I think it will open at somewhere around 10 cents on the Dinar. My wife and I plan to exchange half of our invesetment at that time by taking the money offshore on a Carribean Cruise and opening an offshore account. I do not think they will change the currency again. If they do I have seen the monetary exchangers in the Kuwait Airport so I would think it would be simple to fly to Kuwait and exchange the currency.

-- May 4, 2006 3:25 PM ∞

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Turtle wrote:

Sara: I actually understand every word the lady you quoted wrote. I see A LOT going the way of success right now but we do have losses and some areas are not under our controle. If she lives in one of those areas or has lost loved ones in the battle, I can understand her dark perspective. I also agree with her that the thought of bombings, nuclear being among our few alternatives, is a very sad thought. I am not the bleeding heart type but once you've heard the explosions you can't help but sometimes feel for the innocents caught in that. Anyway, that is war. I support this one but if you ever thought I loved it... Naaa. Oh yeah, if we do go to war with Iran and Syria... Call me an arrogant American, but they will see what our military can do when the only goal is destruction and the rules of engagement are kill anything that is not running away and kill that if it has any form of visible weapon - rocks count.

Rob N: Syria and Iran have a pact that if one is attacked, the other will jump in. If we attack Iran, we will be fighting a 2 front war and Syria will not be next, it will be simultaneous. Both of these countries have Biological/Chemical weapons so it will likely get ugly. Increasing the probability of nuclear strikes on key targets in both. Anyway, your prediction of Syria being in the plans is almost a certainty.

-- May 4, 2006 10:51 PM ∞

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Sara Madgid wrote:

Turtle;

I agree.. the blog depicts the dark perspective of the writer, with very little silver lining to the cloud she sees. It is depressing stuff, and cynical. She sees no hope that the government can ever win or do anything, and from her perspective all the efforts politically are a joke. I find that sad.

I am not a warmonger, nor do I consider you one. We both feel for the innocent caught in the crossfire, perhaps the horrors of war this lady has seen firsthand. I would prefer a peaceful outcome and pray that if there is a way it can be found. However, as you said, the US army is not to be trifled with.. There is a reason they are "The Powers That Be"..

If the US military were to engage itself in the Middle East to address the Iranian threat, the outcome is already foreknown. It would not be in the cards if they tried it. However, as Carl posted, the wisest thing is not to engage the US military might at all, but only to let the Middle Eastern politicians take care of it themselves. Whether there is enough time for us to let it develop in this way so that we are assured of the desired result in our eventual aims.. And whether we have the restraint necessary to stand back for long periods of time and let them work it through in order to resolve that situation themselves.. has yet to be tested in this time period we are about to go through..

Sara.

-- May 5, 2006 2:07 AM ∞

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Terri wrote:

Hello everyone!

Although I've been a faithful reader for several months, I've only posted once before. HOWEVER, today I read what "ontheground" wrote...he/she hit home for me! I'm very anxious to read the groups replies to his questions, all of them, 1, 2 and 3...

AND, would someone inject some comments on his opinion "...THE DINAR WILL BE ON THE WORLD MARKET IN ABOUT 2 MORE YEARS AND...WILL OPEN AT SOMEWHERE AROUND 10 CENTS."

Ontheground is 100% on target with his comment that most of you are extremely intelligent -- for the most part, most of what I read merely goes "over my head" -- but, I too have invested in Dinar's and it's my only hope of ever becoming "debt free".

Please someone give me some directions on his/her comment about an offshore account...how do "offshore" accounts work as far as taxes and regulations are concerned... Yeah, I'm just a regular single mom, not super intelligent, etc -- but I'm sure praying that God sees fit to bless me and all of you with substantial profits from these investments...

Sara I admire your faith based comments and references.

Just a closing comment: "thank you all, sincerely, for your comments, input and for your participation -- I truly look forward to reading each day!"

-- May 5, 2006 2:17 PM ∞

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Turtle wrote:

I agree with ontheground's assessment except that I think they will put the dinar out in the next year at around 25 cents to the $. It's all specualtion mind you, but the US is going to start pressing hard to get the dinar on the world market once the government is fully formed. There is a lot of work that needs to be done here and we need to ease the financial burden on the US. Plus, these military units we are training cost money. All in all, the US government has a lot to gain by using all of its significant influence to get the dinar on the market soon at a good rate. Just my opinion though, I have no solid information backing my thoughts, just theory based on circumstances and past history in this region.

Terri: Don't feel stuck to one investment. You seem to be more intelligent than you realize but limited in your scope of thinking. This thread is about one possible investment that a lot of people, me included, see as a good investment. However, with limited resources you are good to look into a slow building process. Diversify your portfolio. Look for investments that offer solid small gains in short term to offset something like this that offers high risk/high reward over long term. Always keep a safe nest because I've been in your shoes, minus children, and credit card debt killed me. I only used them for necessities but there were more necessities than income. Finances also helped kill my marriage and thus I am in Iraq now. LOL Anyway, open your mind to other possibilies like Iceland or other countries that have strong financials and are looking to join the EU. There are better minds than mine to help guide you on this but I do recommend looking for opporunites outside the dinar. Iknow this would be a tangent to this thread but if anyone would like to share some of their ideas that could help someone like Terri build from little, I would enjoy reading it as a suppliment to the dinar. Assuming we can do this without trashing the purpose of this thread.

-- May 6, 2006 4:06 AM ∞

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ontheground wrote:

Turtle:
Boy do i hope you are right on all accounts. The more and the quicker the better for me!
ALCON:
I do not see this as speculation in terms of the seeming allusion to it being something of a gamble. Risky yes but I see things here in Iraq that I think most people don't see because they are not here and that kind of gives me a type "inside" information on this investment.

Terri:
I too am new to this invesement game but I have made some gains that have been smart. In that one (gold) I used a similar kind of "in"sight. Only this was simply seeing that the economy in the U. S. could not keep going up and hitorically when it goes down gold goes up so, with the Dinar this is my thinking: Oil is a finite resource. There is no magic technology on the horizon that will create a Western lifestyle other than oil based economies. Everybody (except fundementalst Islamics)seem to want our material way of life if not our "decadence" so it seemed to me that we (The West) would soon exploit this resource in Iraq and it is cheaper to give the people of Iraq a good life in return than to create defacto slavery in this third world nation. Also traveling to Dubai and Kuwait opened my eyes to what is, in my opinion, "spreading" to Iraq. Dubai reminds one of a big Las Vegas!

-- May 6, 2006 5:34 AM ∞

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Turtle wrote:

With the son now in charge, Kuwait may soon follow the path of Dubai. Can you imagine being able to grab a mix drink before going north? If the son follows through on his past statements, there will be money to be made in Kuwait also.

-- May 6, 2006 12:20 PM ∞

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Ziarian wrote:

==== A Intresting Calculation, May be a Research Paper ====

The second type is the currency board. A currency board is not a central bank. It does not lend money to banks. The sole responsibility of a currency board is to maintain the exchange rate between the local currency and the pegged currency.

" It must maintain a reserve of 100% of the value of the local currency in the pegged currency. So say a country has 1 trillion dinars circulating and wants to maintain a 1:1 exchange rate with the US dollar, the currency board must hold $1 trillion in US currency. "

Now according to the above qouted Statement, we will calculate Iraqi dinar's Possible Rate,

Total Amount of Iraqi dinar which have been printed or Circulating = 4360 Billion Iraqi dinar
Iraq Total Reserves : 8.4 Billion Dollar

now according to the statement if Iraq pegs its Currency to the US Dollar at the Rate of 1 IQD = 1 USD then central bank of iraq will need to have 4360 billion US Dollar in reserve . Let me do calculation in Mathmetical Form ,

IF 1 IQD = 1 USD then Reserve must be 4360 Billion Dollar.
IF 1 IQD = .50 USD then .......... 2285 billion dollar.
IF 1 IQD = .25 USD then ......... 1142.5 billion dollar .
IF 1 IQD = .125 USD then ......... 571.25 billion dollar .
IF 1 IQD = .0625 USD then ........ 285.625 billion dollar .
IF 1 IQD = .03125 USD then ....... 142.812 Billion Dollar.
IF 1 IQD = .015625 USD then ...... 71.4062 Billion Dollar.
IF 1 IQD = .0078125 USD then ..... 35.7031 Billion Dollar.
IF 1 IQD = .00390625 USD then .... 17.8515 Billion Dollar.

" IF 1 IQD = .001953125 USD then ... 8.92578 Billion Dollar."

Now u can see the relation between Currency Rate and its Reserves, i calculated total reserve needed to peg the Currency at Suitable exchange rate . in the last qouted statement, u can see we reach at the current level of reserves and on the other hand we got the suitable Exchange rate .001953 USD it is the Current hiddin value of iraqi dinar .

Fixed Value of iraqi dinar = 1 USD = 1460 IQD
Total Reserves when above Price Fixed = 5 Billion USD

Hidden Value of iraqi dinar = 1 USD = 512.03 IQD
Current level of Reserves = 8.5 Billion USD

it means Central Bank of iraq can minimum Possible peg their Currency at 1 USD = 512.03 IQD.

but still i m confused that what is the possible solution because i read another statement that Total of 300 Billion IQD are circulating Outside IRAQ. it means CBI need to hold total reserve according to the amount circulating outside the iraq , not against total iraqi dinars which are in circulation outside and inside the IRAQ . so we will calculate price in Terms of Dinar Circulating outside the iraq ,



Total Amount of Iraqi dinar which is circulating outside the Iraq = 300 Billion iraqi dinar
Total Reserves = 8.4 Billion USD

IF 1 IQD = I USD then reserves must be 300 Billion USD.
IF 1 IQD = .50 USD ........... 150 Billion USD.
IF 1 IQD = .25 USD ........... 75 Billion USD.
IF 1 IQD = .125 USD .......... 37.5 Billion USD.
IF 1 IQD = .0625 USD ......... 18.75 Billion USD.
IF 1 IQD = .03125 USD ........ 9.375 Billion USD.

" IF 1 IQD = .02734 USD ........ 8.2031 Billion USD. "

it means the possible and maximum PEG will be around .02734 and it is also the current value of iraqi dinar . i did this calculation because when dinar's rate will go UP, dinar which are circulating outside iraq will then come back to iraq to convert thus CBI must have required Reserves of Dollars to keep stable Iraqi dinar .

i hope U All will easily Understand these calculations and statements . i m looking for Comments hope u all will give Comments. thanks

Bye
Ziarian

-- May 6, 2006 7:39 PM ∞

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Anonymous wrote:

Sell Sell Sell
You'll be lucky to get 3/4 your money back. Market for the IQD not looking good.
Pretty soon there's going to be a pretty big mirror that glows in the dark. My suggestion is to invest in electric cars.

-- May 6, 2006 8:26 PM ∞

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Turtle wrote:

I like that Ziarian. based on your calculations, the worst I would do is tripple my money. It won't buy my first mansion but it still makes for a good investment. Plus, based on your theory, the value would slowly rise with the increase in stock of foreign currency. Based on their main export being oil, it seems the value would rise very quickly. If war breaks out and we do turn Iran/Syria into a large glowing mirror, that would actually help the Iraq economy. I actually feel okay with those last 2 posts.

-- May 6, 2006 11:43 PM ∞

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Carl wrote:

Turtle:
If war breaks out what do you think Iran and Syria will be doing?

What kind of clue does Iran give you of their intentions, since they have been and are presently expanding their small attack boat bases all along their shores of the strait of Hormuzich? This increase in vessels by the hundreds have the capability of firing missles and torpedios at 10,000 yards. (The US and Coalition forces have 45 vessels)
We know that 17 Million barrels of oil flow through the hormuz every day on ships that are unarmed and have no armed escorts. What do you think will be the success rate of Iran in either blocking the channel, slowing the oil transport down, or stopping it entirely?

Considering the USA, does not get any oil from Iran, but does supply the following with these percentages of oil....china with 4%...France 7%....Korea 9%...Japan 11%...Italy 11%...Belgium 14%...Turkey 22%...and Greece with 24%...What do you think will happen to the price of oil? How do you think those other countries mentioned above will react?...What do you think will happen to the Economies of those countries, even the world ecomony?
Here in America we are now paying 2.65 to 3.10 a gallon just on the fear that we "might" get into a shooting conflict with Iran. What do you think will "happen" to our economy when we do?

Weapons and attacks against another country are delivered in many different forms. What most americans do not realize is, Iran fired the first shot several months back with saber rattling. What do you think that purpose was? Put gas in your auto lately? Buy Groceries lately? Purchase Automotive Parts lately? How many people do you believe have already cancelled or reduced their vacation stay due to the price of gas? How many people are already reducing the amount of times they eat out which effects the retail restaurant business, the trucking industry, the driver or owner of that truck,the food distributor, the manufacturer of the warehouse and shipping equipment used to load the merchandise, the food supplier, the processor, the farmer, the field hands, etc... as they say it rolls down hill, and the rolling ball of SH...has been sent your way with the warmest Iranian regards....

Collapse a Country's economy and you will weaken its ability to fight.
Winning Wars is more than pitting testorone against testorone in the field. The best way to win a war is not to fight it, but when you fight a war, you fight it on your terms... not the foes. The USA and Israel attacking Iran would be fighting just like the Iranians planned. What sense does that make?
Creating glowing parts of the world only produces parts of the world you cannot rebuilt for centuries...what kind of success to mankind is that?

Hopefully for mankind, our leaders are moving steathly and every so efficently to remove the threat of WWW 3, that now faces the world in very real terms.

Iran has already given us several clues at to what their intentions are:

Create a War which will bring massive destruction and death throughout the world. This will speed up the arrival of their 12 Imadi.

Block the strait and drive up the barrel price of oil...thus slow or collapse economies. They will not conduct a TIT for TAT war....they have every intention of boiling the world's economic market. You will see massive riots in surrounding Arab Countries to get the support of those Citizens under the Islamic Banner...some of those countries which now support us, will change hats for their own protection.
Strikes will occur in the US,and Countries that support the Coalition. Economies will start to collapse in certain countrys, which will produce riots and in some cases mass areas of total civil breakdown of order.

Attack Iraq as the U.S.A. and Coalition Forces have bases there in which to strike Iran..
*Iranian troops are already gathering along the northern border of Iraq and have been making probing missions into the Iraqi border defense...They have now started shelling the kurds in the north.
FACT:
We do not have the ability to stop them...not enough men, not enough equipment nor logistical support. We face a very real threat of loosing 120K plus military personnel and equipment either as prisoners or casualties, not including the contractors working in Iraq.
Do not mistake my resolve or faith in our military might....but I also understand logistics, manpower ability, equipment resupply such as ammunition etc... Remember! what Japan did to our men in the Phillipines?

May 5th, a Arab paper stated that Iran now has "A Strategic Position" in Iraq. The Iranians have been working since 2003 to influence the political out come of the new Iraqi government, and apparently feel they have had some success in doing so. Iran says that are going to dominate the region, and apparently feel they are well on their way to doing so. HERE IT IS FOLKS....THE IRANIAN MINISTRY OF INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY HAD SUCCESS IN INFILTRATING IRAQ IN 2003.
The new Iraqi adminstration wants to disarm and dissolve the Iraqi Militias into the police and military. The Paper is saying the Iranians stated, "the new Iraqi Government will not be successful in that move". We know that Sdar has already stated he would not go along with that move.
Yesterday, a large crowd of Basra citizens chanted at the British helocopter crash site, they are soldiers of the Sdar Milita...note they did not say Citizens of Iraq. The British Soldiers had to fight their way to the site and fight while they were securing the site. This is just a little example of what is going to happen when the fight starts with Iran.

89% of the Citizens of Iran are Shiite....the majority of the Citizens of Iraq are Shiite...
If Iran can pull off the pretense that they are fighting the Great Satan and Israel, given the religious nature of the Iraqi people...considering Iran controls the militias throught Sdar, the Police and Military are controled by Sdar's ex-commander, Chalabi controls the oil production, the new Iraqi Minister spent more time than Jarfarri in Iran....what do you think is going to happen with the Citizen Population of Iraq toward the Coalition Forces?
Even the Shiites who want to support the Coalition forces will not do so for their own safety of themselves and family.
The fact is this....we created a leadership vaccuum when Sadam was removed. This was something that Iran could not do with a 8 year war. Does it make sense they are going to allow this opportunity to feel that vacuum to slip through their fingers?
The Trap was set by in 2003, we are just now realizing who the pigeon was.
This Trap has placed our military forces in the middle of a hornets nest,and they surrounded by thousands of worker, and soldier hornets on all sides. Who do think is going to get stung when the nest is kicked?

This War will not be one battle, it will be many spread over many years....

Now! You tell us again what positive affect this is going to have on the Dinar????

-- May 7, 2006 9:45 AM ∞

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Turtle wrote:

Carl: Simple answer, as you just pointed out, we have been fighting Iran informally for the last year. Why not make it formal so we can take the gloves off and go ahead and destroy the attacker? Why do we pretend the war with Iran did not begin a long time ago? We do have the fire power to destroy them at will if we were allowed to use it. You quoted the Iraqis swarming the British... Do you think they would be doing that if the rules of engagement gave us permission to kill? I hate to tell you this but Iran does not seem to be willing to settle for anything LESS than WW3. Fighting on their terms? Would you rather we keep talking until they have nuclear capability? No... The sooner we stabalize the region, the better for us all and if that means turning Iran into a sheet of glass... Well, I sympathize for the innocents but frankly it would not break my heart. Oh and if Syria was added to the list... Well, the 2 world's biggest sponsors of terrorism taken down in one blow would just be horrible. Yes, there would be major effects on world economies. I'll give you that. But, I'd rather pay now then wait for them to kill hundreds of thousands of Isrealis, Europeans, or Americans. I understand your thoughts, but understand mine... You smack me a couple times and stick your finger in my face while promising to shoot me and my family as soon as you reach a gun... Brother, you're not going to live to get to that gun. So you tell me, how do YOU wish to deal with a man who is threatening your family and makes no bones about his desire to destroy everything you stand for? When this man has preached nothing but war since he took office, what makes you think he will ever settle for peace? Show me some hair of evidence that the man would ever accept anything but the destruction of Isreal and freedom as we know it. But Turtle, he has only preached to destroy these things in the Middle East. Do you really think he plans to stop there? No, destroy Iran and Syria and we can rebuild Iraq without their interference. The Iraqi Shiites will know that they no longer have Iran as a possible supporter and they will fall more in line with doing what is right for Iraq and not what is right for Iraq's relationship with Iran. Without the support of those 2 nations, the insurgency would fail quite quickly. Al Sadr would not be nearly as bold without Iran behind him. Without insurgent sabotage, we could ge thte oil flowing out of Iraq at full speed again. Whatever can be salvaged in Iran, will be. World economies would hurt in the meantime, no question. The dinar would sky rocket as a result of all this. Frankly, that benefit to my bank account would mean very little to me by that time but the dinar would benefit heavily from Iran falling. Now, am I calling for us to quit trying for diplomatic resolution? No, I'm not. I would likely get killed due to my current proximity from Iran and lack of chem gear. Soldiers get full chem gear,most contractors don't. But I do not agree with waiting for the man to attack me at a time that he chooses because he can maximize the damage. Anyway, as long as there is a chance for peace, I'll join you in hoping for peace. Once it becomes clear that peace is not an option, I'm going to start choosing the battlefield. What chance do you see of Iran accepting peace while Israel, a free Iraq, or the US exist?

-- May 7, 2006 1:02 PM ∞

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Carl wrote:

Turtle:
You miss my point totally....I agree with 99% of what you said...my method of removing the problem is clandestine not overt in your face action by the USA or its coalition forces. Iran wants the war, and by IMadi they are going to get action....they has already been determine.. We just need to make sure we give it to them under our terms, at our time, at our designated place, and by our method.. not theirs......end of story....issue resolved....no nuclear battle....no mass lost of life....no faltering of the world's economic structure...no shock and awe...no big show...job completed....then we move on to rebuilding Iraq without all the pain in the ass'es hanging around nipping at our heels....
I admire your confidence and get it done attitude...there is a time and place for all things....knowledge comes to all with learning abilities...but wisdom seldom comes without experience and years to hone personal attributes....

The Arab Leaque of Nations have more to lose than anyone...yet if you notice they have kept quiet.....now the question is why are they keeping quiet? Is it because under the Arab custom, silence is a sign of agreement....or...is it because they do not wish to stir the fundalmentalist in they own country, thus putting their reign at risk...or... are they assisting behind the scenes with intellengence, and giving us the ability to complete our mission?

Don't take me for a dove nor a hawk....I am strictly a pramagtic thinker...I have learn in my years it is best to avoid a fight for in fighting both sides lose...but... if you must fight ...to fight as your adversary planned ...is a fool's move....

-- May 7, 2006 1:51 PM ∞

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Turtle wrote:

Then we are in more agreement than you realize. Behind the scenes, the Arab league appears to neither help us nor hinder us. They too have called Iran to a private carpet requesting an honest report of Iran's nuclear intent. They have reasons to worry also. The problem we really have is that Iran has 25-30 years experience of defeating our at