Target Centermass

Day: January 23, 2006

  • Iranian Nuke Crisis: the Dance Continues

    The song remains the same, though the tempo seems to be taking a slight uptick. It is difficult to tell whether Iran or its multitude of dance partners is leading this tripping of the light mushroomic.

    Iran threatens to ramp up nuclear program

    Iran will immediately retaliate if referred to the UN Security Council next week by forging ahead with developing a full-scale uranium enrichment program, Tehran’s senior envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday.

    The comments by Ali Asghar Soltaniyeh reflected Iran’s unwillingness to bow to growing international pressure, especially in the West, to end all nuclear enrichment activities.

    Iran recently announced it was resuming limited nuclear enrichment. The process can be used to provide fuel for nuclear reactors or, if taken far enough, material for nuclear weapons.

    Step, and then the counter.

    Bush commits US to defence of Israel in face of Iran threat

    George Bush yesterday committed the US to the defence of Israel against threats from Iran, saying he would not allow the world to be “blackmailed” by an Iranian nuclear weapon.

    […]

    “I am deeply concerned about Iran, as should a lot of people be concerned about Iran. I am concerned when the country of Iran’s president announces his desire to see that Israel gets destroyed,” Mr Bush said, referring to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threat to “wipe Israel off the map”.

    He added: “Israel’s our ally. We’re committed to the safety of Israel, and it’s a commitment we will keep.

    “Secondly, I’m concerned about a nontransparent society’s desire to develop a nuclear weapon. The world cannot be put in a position where we can be blackmailed by a nuclear weapon. I believe it is very important for the Iranian government to hear loud and clear from not only the United States, but also from other nations around the world.”

    Quite. Freakin’. Right.

    And the song continues. I can almost picture Dubya crooning to Iranian president/puppet/madman (pick your poison) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:

    Strangers in the night exchanging veiled threats
    Wond’ring in the night
    What were the chances we’d be launching bombs
    Before the night was through.

    Something in your eyes burned so insanely,
    Something in the way you spoke so vainly (apocalyptic),
    Something in my heart,
    Told me I must stop you.

    Doobie doobie doo …

    [With mucho apologies to Frank. That, and the rhyme and rhythm suck]

  • Philippine Army Probes Troops Amid Coup Rumours

    There are whispers, allegations and denials of a possible coup among the Philippine military against troubled president and slimy invertebrate Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

    The Philippine military said on Monday it had begun an investigation to unmask soldiers who may be involved in a plot to unseat President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, but senior commanders sought to play down the threat.

    The armed forces, undermined by corruption and lack of funds, have spawned at least a dozen coup attempts since dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted by a “people power” uprising in 1986.

    Arroyo, who survived the desertion of allies and an attempt by her political foes to impeach her last year over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption, had put down a brief mutiny by 300 young officers in July 2003.

    “I think we can say there’s a threat,” General Generoso Senga, the armed forces chief, told a news conference, flanked by the commanders of the army, navy and air force.

    “There were indications of some intentions but these were different from their capabilities,” he added, dismissing the threats as “not serious enough”.

    Senga declined to elaborate on any specific plots the military had uncovered, appealing to politicians not to drag the troops into their power struggles.

    “We have a mission to do, secure our country and police against different armed and terrorist threats,” he said at the main military camp in Manila, admitting that they were distracted by the political crisis.

    Last Friday, Raul Gonzales, the justice secretary, said the government had learned of a plot by Arroyo’s opponents to seize power that day, the fifth anniversary of her rise to power after a “people power” uprising ousted predecessor Joseph Estrada.

    There may indeed be little or nothing to the current rumors. Still, unless there is a major change in the Philippine political landscape, one could reasonably think that a coup would be an eventuality, especially given the recent history of the nation and Arroyo’s troubled presidency.

    Should a successful coup occur, there is no way to predict the nature of the government that would emerge to fill the void. Nevertheless, I would not shed a tear at the departure of Arroyo. We are talking about a woman who politically survived a morass of corruption, in part because of a willingness to exile her own husband. More disgusting than the corruption, however, is Arroyo’s pathetic willingness to undermine our efforts in Iraq by paying terrorists $6 million and withdrawing Philippine troops from the Iraqi theater, all for the ransom of one truck driver.

    Corrupt and willing to finance and cower to terrorists — no, I won’t shed a tear when Arroyo is gone. Rather, that’ll be a fine day to burst forth in an enthusiastic, if awkward, Happy Dance.