From the NYT:
Still, after 18 months in which the administration has touted the virtues of collective action against Iran by the United States and its allies, the sanctions are a major turn toward unilateralism.
The shift represents a tacit acknowledgment that the diplomatic strategy pressed most vigorously by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been […]
From East-Asia-Intel.com (subscription):
The Dair el Zor raid in Syria on Sept. 6 was not against a nuclear facility but a major arms depot… “Dair el Zor houses a huge underground base where the Syrian army stores the long and medium-range missiles it mostly buys from Iran and North Korea,” the newsletter reported. “The […]
As soon as I go on a vacation, things go badly! Market crash in Asia, Bush 43 folds on Iran…
But first, here is a strange coincidence. I crossed paths with Ambassador John Bolton at the men’s room (!) of the United Airlines Red Carpet Lounge at Dulles on my way out of […]
Just kidding:
Iran has no brake and no reverse gear in its nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday, while a deputy foreign minister vowed Tehran was prepared for any eventuality, “even for war.”
[. . .]
“Iran has obtained the technology to produce nuclear fuel and Iran’s move is like a train … which has […]
Rumors abound:
Is Israel, supported by the Bush Administration, preparing to launch an atomic war against Iran? On January 7, the London Sunday Times claimed that the Israeli government is planning to attack Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. While the Israeli government denies the story, recent statements by top Israeli officials and […]
Recently a little birdy in D.C. told me that there is a movement afoot to attempt to disintegrate the Iranian mullah-tocracy without using U.S. forces by supporting the political asperations of non-Persian ethnic minorities such as Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Azeris, Baluchis and so on.
The thought that came to my mind immediately was: wouldn’t that […]
Today Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, threatened to conceal its nuclear program and share the technology with other nations.
While I personally believe that the UN, and its nuclear arm the IAEA, have already proved their ineffectiveness in North Korea, this may be the last test. I don’t mean that they will cease to […]
Recently I wrote of “Russia’s Foolish Alliance with China,” in which I mentioned Ilan Berman.
Berman has written an article, which explains — much more eruditely than I can — of what I call Russia’s foolish alliance with Iran. I share many of its analyses and points. Some choice bits follow.
The background:
For more than a […]
Venezuela, Sudan, Burma… and now Iran. The list of China’s “friends” grows quickly.
China is hastening to complete a deal worth as much as $100 billion that would allow a Chinese state-owned energy firm to take a leading role in developing a vast oil field in Iran, complicating the Bush administration’s efforts to isolate the […]
Via the Times: "The exhibition features 400 hand-painted posters dating from the peak of the Dear Leader Kim Sung Il's power in the 1950s to the present regime led by his son, Kim Jong Il." The article has only one image, but has several interesting propaganda quotes.
- #Young Korean Herrenvolk engaging in their version of Agoge, at least according to the New York Times. The two Korean schools mentioned in the article are similar to Exeter or Andover in the United States in someways (they are private academies that serve children of affluent parents). But my guess is that the studious atmosphere and intense regimen compare more to the likes of Stuyvesant (my alma mater) in NYC or T.J. in Virginia (both highly selective, but publicly-funded high schools).
- #North Korea claims that on 25 April 1932 the Korean People’s Army (KPA, 조선인민군/ Chosŏn inmin'gun) was formed. However, the more likely accurate date is 08 February 1948. It is celebrated as “Military Foundation Day” in Kimland.
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