The internet is buzzing about this report on heraldscotland.com, where we find that large, “bunker buster” bombs are being shipped from Concord, California to a base on the island of Diego Garcia. The report claims the bombs are intended for immediate use in an attack on Iran. An alternate explanation would be that the bombs are meant to increase pressure on Iran to prevent enrichment of uranium to weapons grade.

Tags: bunker busters, Diego Garcia, Iran, underground nuclear facilities

One has to wonder why VoteVets chose to use Dick Cheney-fabricated “intelllegence” in what is otherwise a good cause.

Tags: Bush, Dick Cheney, EFP, Iraq, Odierno, VoteVets

I want the Greens to win. I want the Islamic Republic to lose. But I’m not going to fool myself into thinking that if and when that happy day arrives, a host of foreign-policy dilemmas automatically unlocks, or even gets set on a glide path to unlocking. Not everything good is good together, or all at once, so let’s stop treating democracy like a children’s fable or magical incantation.

Tags: Green Movement, Islamic Republic of Iran, Shadi Hamid

The “Liberal” Washington Post editorial page, turning rationality into leftist-extremism.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Iranians appeared at rallies and counter-protests marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. The Basiji militia intimidated and oppressed reformist protesters today in a brutal crackdown. In a speech to ralliers, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that Iran had successfully upped their uranium enrichment, while insisting that the country was [...]

Not long ago on GRITtv, Hamid Dabashi told us that the Iranian protests are turning into a civil rights movement with long-term potential for change. We’ll talk to Hooman Majd, Hadi Ghaemi, and Kelly Golnoush Niknejad at noon about the protests, the regime, and what happens next.

Also, President Obama made news with his question and answer session with Congressional Republicans. Now he’s planning a televised health care summit with the GOP. We ask Mother Jones’ David Corn if this new strategy will work, and why he’s calling for more question time.

http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2010/01/09/hillary-mann-leverett-pwns-jeffrey-goldberg/

Tags: Hillary Mann Leverett, Jeffrey Goldberg, Leverett

Arrogance like this gets people killed.

Tags: intelligence, Iran, Iraq, Noah Shachtman, Pentagon, predator drone, unmanned drone

On Friday, the IAEA voted overwhelmingly to censure Iran for its uranium enrichment activities, including what they consider a the illegal construction of a secret enrichment plant near Qom. The 25-3 vote for censure included not only Western powers but China and Russia, which have been reluctant to impose sanctions or penalties on Iran. The response inside Iran has not been positive. One official intimated that Iran could pull out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to which it is a co-signer, and Sunday the regime announced a plan to build ten new uranium enrichment sites. Unfortunately, an increasing hardline stance both in Tehran and Western capitals could spark an unnecessary action.

Tags: foreign policy, IAEA, nuclear proliferation

It’s the 30th anniversary of the Tehran embassy seizure. The Iranian dissidents are out in the streets. But they’re not condemning U.S. imperialism. They’re condemning the brutality and avarice of the Iranian regime, and reclaiming their revolution. And they’re risking life and limb to do it.
At one point, one crowd of protesters turned its message [...]

Tags: Hadi Ghaemi, International Campaign for Human Rights, Jackson Diehl, Jeffrey Goldberg, National Iranian-American Council, neoconservatives, Tehran, Trita Parsi