Headlines for 11-15-07

US general: Iran sticking by pledge


British MPs make rare visit to Iran A group of British MPs is visiting Iran for talks with top officials, a rare trip by an official British delegation to the Islamic republic, diplomats said Thursday.


US urges more sanctions on Iran


Iran threat assessment won't be released, intelligence chief says The National Intelligence Estimate is intended to lay out the entire intelligence community's best estimate on the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program. The Bush administration maintains Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons, but the Iranians say the program is to meet the country's energy needs.


US: China to be responsible for diplomacy failure if it opposes new Iran sanctions China would be responsible if diplomatic solutions fail in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions, the US ambassador to the United Nations warned Thursday, saying Washington expects and will seek Beijing's cooperation for new sanctions.


Iran says IAEA report shows nuclear drive peaceful


China calls for Tehran to work with IAEA


Wary of war, Gulf eyes Ahmadinejad visit for clues Gulf Arab states hope Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will use a visit to Bahrain on Saturday to show his country is not seeking to escalate a standoff over its nuclear program, analysts say.


IAEA: Iran generally truthful on nukes A report from the U.N nuclear watchdog agency on Thursday found Iran to be generally truthful about key aspects of its nuclear history, but it warned that its knowledge of Tehran's present atomic work was shrinking.


Intel chief blasts 'cherry picked' intel


Entangling Alliances by Rep. Ron Paul Entangling alliances with no one means no foreign aid to Pakistan, or Egypt, or Israel, or anyone else for that matter. If an American citizen determines a foreign country or cause is worthy of their money, let them send it, and encourage their neighbors to send money too, but our government has no authority to use hard-earned American taxpayer dollars to mire us in these nightmarishly complicated, no-win entangling alliances.
Truer words never spoken.


Sanctions Against Iran Will Cure Nothing


ADL taking concerns to Ron Paul The Anti-Defamation League plans to ask Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul to distance himself from extremist groups.


Ron Paul collecting fans, big money


In the Hands of the Military ** The battle is between the Cheney camp, which would like to carry out strikes on Iran before Bush leaves office, and Gates and his senior generals.


Israel Begins Preparations for Possible Iranian Attack


Pressure for Iran sanctions continues Israel is getting increasingly restless about the failure of sanctions to effect a change of direction by Iran and is likely to press Washington for action at some stage.


Ex-presidents to hail Israel at 60 Israel's 60th Independence Day, which will be celebrated on May 8, 2008, will be marked by a year of events across the United States beginning early next year, according to Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Presidents Conference. Why the US? Why not in ISRAEL?


Tough homecoming for Lebanon's refugees "We had one television smashed and one stolen, three radios stolen, and $8,000 in cash stolen," says Mahmoud. "The soldiers wrote us a note saying that the money was for them not us."


Report: Nasrallah in al-Qaida's sights An al-Qaida branch in Lebanon reportedly tried to assassinate the leader of Hezbollah.


Judge in AIPAC case to probe jurors on anti-Jewish bias The problem is: exactly how is 'anti-Jewish bias' defined? If it were up to the Israel-defenders, it would include criticism of Israel.


With Iran set to get nukes, Israel plans for "day after" "First, we must make clear that this is a threat not just to Israel but to the wider world,? said Ami Ayalon, a minister in Olmert's security Cabinet. If Israel felt that threatened by Iran, they would have nuked them (yes, Israel has nukes NOW) already. Read paragraphs 11-18 especially. Whose war is it?


Germany toughening on Iran, but critics say not enough Germany?s position as Iran?s biggest trade partner in Europe and Merkel?s insistence on pursuing a diplomatic solution prior to pushing for tougher sanctions have some Israeli officials, American Jews and U.S. neoconservatives homing in on Germany for not doing enough to thwart Iran?s nuclear aims.


LAPD's Muslim mapping plan killed there is no scientific data on the size of the nation's Muslim population, let alone its location, with estimates of totals ranging from about 1.4 million adults in a Pew Research Center study this year to the 7 million or more claimed by some community organizations. Census data on ancestry would also fail to yield accurate Muslim estimates, because large numbers of people with Iranian backgrounds are Jewish and many people with Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian roots are Christian.


First death among Palestinian refugees on border The UNHCR said about 11 children at al-Waleed camp are suffering from leukaemia, spinal injury, skin diseases and intestinal problems. None is able to obtain care inside the country.


AIPAC judge to probe anti-Jewish bias The federal judge in the case against two former AIPAC staffers wants to probe prospective jurors for anti-Semitic views.