Roadmap to war against Iran #10

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has frustrated Western officials by refusing to reply to their offer of various incentives in exchange for Iran’s discarding its nuclear program until August 22. The Western governments had asked Ahmadinejad to reply by June 29; why would Tehran need two extra months?

Farid Ghadry, the president of the Reform Party of Syria, has offered a provocative explanation for this delay. He asserts that the Supreme National Security Council of Iran chose the August 22 date “for a very precise reason. August 21, 2006 (Rajab 27, 1427) is known in the Islamic calendar as the Night of the Sira’a and Miira’aj, the night Prophet Mohammed (saas) ascended to heaven from the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on a Bourak (Half animal, half man), while a great light lit-up the night sky, and visited Heaven and Hell also Beit al-Saada and Beit al-Shaqaa (House of Happiness and House of Misery) and then descended back to Mecca.…”

The Night Journey, or Miraj, is central to Islam’s claim to Jerusalem as an Islamic holy city. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was carried on a Buraq, a miraculous horse with a human head, from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he ascended into heaven and met the other prophets. The only thing the Qur’an has to say about it is this: “Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless, in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things)” (17:1). There is no identification of the “farthest Mosque” with any mosque in Jerusalem in this, but the Hadith is very clear on the identification of its location with Jerusalem.

The traditions say that Muhammad and the Buraq, along with the angel Gabriel, went to the Temple Mount, and from there to heaven itself, where Muhammad encountered various prophets. In the sixth heaven was Moses, occasioning a dig at the Jews. “When I left him,” Muhammad says, “he wept. Someone asked him, ‘What makes you weep?’ Moses said, ‘I weep because after me there has been sent (Muhammad as a Prophet) a young man, whose followers will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my followers.’”

Evidently, however, Muhammad’s stories of his journey were not altogether convincing: even some of the Muslims abandoned their faith and challenged Muhammad’s most faithful follower, Abu Bakr, to do the same. Abu Bakr was contemptuous: “If he says so then it is true. And what is so surprising in that? He tells me that communications from God from heaven to earth come to him in an hour of a day or night and I believe him, and that is more extraordinary than that at which you boggle!” The world has continued to witness such unshakeable devotion from Muslims to this day.

Did Muhammad really go anywhere? According to his favorite wife, Aisha, he did not: “The apostle’s body remained where it was but God removed his spirit by night.” Nevertheless, the Night Journey has become firmly embedded in the Islamic consciousness, such that Muslims today celebrate it as one of the central events of Muhammad’s life. And now, according to Ghadry, Ahmadinejad is planning an illumination of the night sky over Jerusalem to rival the one that greeted the Prophet of Islam on his journey. What the Iranian President, he says, is “promising the world by August 22 is the light in the sky over the Aqsa Mosque that took place the night before. That is his answer to the package of incentives the international community offered Iran on June 6.”

Certainly a nuclear attack on Jerusalem or even an all-out conventional assault against Israel by Iran would be consistent with Ahmadinejad’s oft-repeated denials of Israel’s right to exist and recent predictions that its demise was at hand. He hinted at the use of nuclear weapons in his phrasing when he said that Israel “pushed the button of its own destruction” by finally retaliating against Hizballah’s relentless rocket barrage from south Lebanon.

“Arrogant powers,” Ahmadinejad said, “have set up a base for themselves to threaten and plunder nations in the region. But today, the occupier regime” – that is, Israel – “whose philosophy is based on threats, massacre and invasion, has reached its finishing line.”

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Op maandag 14 augustus 2006 00:06 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
Robert Spencer doet werpt een balletje op over het verhaal van de Mahdi en de apocalyps die zijn terugkomst verzekerd.
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AMSTERDAM - Op zijn weblog kun je, zoals het hoort, een stem uitbrengen op een stelling. De vraag luidt of de VS en Israël de intentie hebben om via ‘Libanon’ een nieuwe wereldoorlog te beginnen. Het antwoord is opmerkelijk. 43 Procent is het met de stelling eens, liefst 57 procent is het oneens.

Het is een uitkomst waar de geachte Mah-moud Ahmadinejad, president van Iran, niet echt blij mee zal zijn. Ahmadinejad heeft sinds vrijdag een eigen weblog (www.ahmadinejad.ir). Ahmadinejad leverde tot nu toe één bijdrage, waarin hij, na de traditionele islamitische begroetingen, vooral uitweidt over zijn eigen jeugd.

Geboren in een dorp op negentig kilometer ten oosten van Teheran, verhuisde hij als peuter met zijn ouders naar de hoofdstad. De familie was arm, maar de jonge Mahmoud was echter wel goed op de hoogte van het wereldnieuws. Zijn vader kocht elke dag kranten. Het waren de jaren van de sjah, die een ‘huurling en marionet was van Groot-Brittannië en de VS.’

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad muntte uit op school. In zijn examenjaar, ‘drie jaar voor de revolutie van 1979’, was hij van 400 duizend leerlingen nummer 132. Ahmadinejad wijdt daarna uit over de ayatollah Khomeini, naar wiens toespraken hij ‘hartstochtelijk’ luisterde. Daarna vocht Ahmadinejad acht jaar als soldaat in de oorlog tegen Saddam, die ‘in die tijd tegen ons en tegen zijn eigen volk vocht.’

De blog van Ahmadinejad is beschikbaar in vier talen. Zijn eerste bijdrage (in de Engelse versie) is 2300 woorden lang: ‘Mijn volgende bijdrage zal korter en eenvoudiger zijn.’ En, zoals het hoort bij een blog, reacties van lezers zijn welkom – maar helaas niet door derden te lezen.

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Op maandag 14 augustus 2006 09:11 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
De Volkskrant laat weer duidelijk zien dat de krant niet aan de kant van vrijheid en democratie staat:

Ahmadinejad blogt over sjah, Khomeiny en VS
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Sorry, je hebt niet de rechten om dit bericht te wijzigen.

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By ASSOCIATED PRESS
TEHERAN, Iran

Iran will launch a series of large-scale military maneuvers across the country and has not made plans for an end to the ongoing war games, the army said Thursday.

"The maneuvers are aimed at introducing Iran's new defensive doctrine," military spokesman Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted as saying by state-run television.

He said the exercises would begin on Saturday in the south east of the country. "It will continue in the whole of Iran, stage by stage for an unspecified period," Ashtiani said.

The announcement came as Iran faces heightened international scrutiny because of its contentious nuclear program and for supporting the Lebanese Hizbullah guerrillas.

Iran denies Israeli accusations it is arming and training Hizbullah fighters.

Ashtiani praised Hizbullah for its month-long fight against Israel. "Human forces can decide fate of a war. We saw it in Lebanon," the general said, echoing Hizbullah claims it won the war by resisting a massive bombing and ground offensive for more than a month before a UN-brokered cease-fire came into place earlier this week.

The military spokesman said Iran's maneuvers reflected the current level of tension in the Middle East. "We have to be prepared against any threat and we should be a role model for other countries," local newspapers quoted Gen. Ashtiani, as saying. "Our army is ready to defuse all plots against Islamic Republic of Iran."

The military exercise, involving 12 infantry regiments, is called "The Blow of Zolfaghar," in reference to a sword that belonged to Imam Ali, one of the most revered figures of Islam for Shi'ite Muslims. A majority of Iran's 70 million people are Shi'ite.

On Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said that Iran also plans to boost security patrols on its borders.

Ministry spokesman Mostafa Pourmohammadi said the move targeted smugglers. Drug traffickers killed 8 police officers during a firefight in southeastern Iran last week.

Iran has routinely held war games over the past two decades to improve its combat readiness and test locally made equipment such as missiles, tanks and armored personnel carriers. In April, Teheran launched its biggest military maneuvers so far, during which it said it tested several advanced weaponry including missiles.

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Following are excerpts from a speech by Ahmad Khatami, member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts, which aired on the Iranian News Channel (IRINN) on August 15, 2006.

Ahmad Khatami: This victory was promised in the Koran: "The party of Allah must triumph." On this occasion, I want to tell Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert that they should learn a lesson from this shameful defeat. They should not bare their fangs, expose their stings, or make threats against Islamic Iran. They should learn a lesson from the fact that a single party [Hizbullah] has turned their days into dark nights. If they decided to display the slightest aggression against Islamic Iran, they should bear in mind that the missiles of the Lebanese Hizbullah, with a range of 70 kilometers, have turned Israel into a ghost-country. They should fear the day that our missiles, with a range of 2,000 kilometers, land in the heart of Tel Aviv. Therefore, we hope that Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert have learned the necessary lesson. They should know that playing with Islam is like playing with a lion's tail.

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Op vrijdag 18 augustus 2006 07:43 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
Vrede is dan ook niet het stokpaardje van Bush.

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Op vrijdag 18 augustus 2006 08:16 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
Het "stokpaardje" van Bush is vrijheid. Iets waar de tegenstanders in dit conflict geen enkel benul van hebben, zowel in woord, daad en eindresultaat van hun acties. Verder pretendeerd het christendom niet de religie van vrede te zijn, maar de religie van ware spiritualiteit. Iets waar de moslims totaal niet toe in staat zijn en daarom misleid als ze zijn het aardse leven compleet verstieren.

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Op vrijdag 18 augustus 2006 05:36 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
Iran to launch major military maneuvers
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http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525895086&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Raar, de islam is toch de religie van vrede?

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Op vrijdag 18 augustus 2006 07:21 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
Meer "islam is vrede" nieuws van het front:

Top Iranian Official Ahmad Khatami: Israel and the US Should Fear the Day Our Missiles Land in the Heart of Tel Aviv
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http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1238

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Op vrijdag 18 augustus 2006 07:43 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
Vrede is dan ook niet het stokpaardje van Bush, heeft ook geen betrekking op de Irak-invasie en al helemaal niet op het "verzetsleger van de Heer".

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Op zaterdag 19 augustus 2006 12:19 schreef Hallulama het volgende:
YOU GUYS !

[afbeelding]

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06:49 Minister Eitan: Prepare bomb-shelters for possible confrontation with Iran (Israel Radio)

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Op dinsdag 22 augustus 2006 08:38 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
06:49 Minister Eitan: Prepare bomb-shelters for possible confrontation with Iran (Israel Radio)

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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- A Romanian oil rig off the coast of Iran came under fire from an Iranian warship and was later occupied by Iranian troops, a company spokesman said.
The Iranians first fired into the air and then fired at the Orizont rig, said GSP spokesman Radu Petrescu. Half an hour later, troops from the ship boarded and occupied the rig and the company lost contact with the 26 crew members shortly afterward.
Petrescu said he had no information about any injuries or deaths. The Orizont rig has been moored near the Kish island in the Persian Gulf since October 2005, he told the Associated Press.
Eugen Chira, the political consul at the Romanian Embassy in Tehran confirmed the incident, but provided few details.
"Some forces opened fire. That an incident has happened is true. We have no details or the reason yet," he said.
GSP, also known as the Oil Services Group (Grup Servicii Petroliere), is a private Romanian company established in 2004, which operates six offshore rigs that it bought from Romania's largest oil company, Petrom.
Two of its rigs are operating near the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf as part of a deal signed between Petrom, GSP and Dubai-based Oriental Oil Co.
The Romanian company in Iranian courts earlier this year over a dispute involving another oil rig, Fortuna, the financial weekly Saptamana Financiara has reported. It was unclear whether the incident was related to legal issues.
The Orizont rig was built in 1987 and weighs 13,000 tons.
Kish, in the southern end of the Persian Gulf, houses the offices of about 100 Iranian and foreign oil companies

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/....ap/index.html

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Op dinsdag 22 augustus 2006 10:51 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

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dit is hopelijk een grap.

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"We are liable to face an Iranian missile attack. The Iranians have said very clearly that if they come under attack, their primary target would be Israel," Eitan, a member of the decision-making security cabinet, told Israel Radio.

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Op dinsdag 22 augustus 2006 14:34 schreef sp3c het volgende:

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0w shit

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Op dinsdag 22 augustus 2006 14:39 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Oftewel, als Iran wordt aangevallen, zal het raketten afschieten op Israël en daartegen moet Israël zich beschermen. Niet echt schokkend.

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Op dinsdag 22 augustus 2006 15:29 schreef sp3c het volgende:

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mjah mits er geen doden zijn gevallen op dat boorplatform niet nee anders zou het nog wel is slecht af kunnen lopen

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Op dinsdag 22 augustus 2006 16:24 schreef Monidique het volgende:
Wie zou Iran hierom aanvallen? Roemenië? Conflict tussen een Roemeens bedrijf en de Iraanse staat. Nou ja, het zal ongetwijfeld leiden tot meer spanningen en retoriek als "zie je wel, de nieuwe Hitler, Ruhrgebied '06".

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Op dinsdag 22 augustus 2006 16:44 schreef Finder_elf_towns het volgende:
Veel hoeven we hier niet van te verwachten. In het donkerste scenario olieprijzen van $150 per vat, daarna een korte energiecrisis, waarna de EU weer na 3 dagen door de knieën gaat.

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Iran will soon announce an atomic breakthrough, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported today, a day after the country responded to an offer aimed at resolving a nuclear standoff.

'This great scientific achievement is the fruit of a long-term research project ... It will be formally announced by a top official,' Mehr quoted an informed source as saying.

'The announcement will highlight Iran's mastery of different areas in nuclear science and will reinforce Iran's position as a nuclear country,' the report said.

Amid a fanfare of publicity, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in April that Iran had successfully enriched uranium to 3.5 pct and mastered the nuclear fuel cycle.

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Op donderdag 24 augustus 2006 13:55 schreef Monidique het volgende:

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Ze zullen nu wel het gigantische succes behaald hebben van 4,6%, ofzo.

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Op donderdag 24 augustus 2006 14:07 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

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bij een doorbraak denk ik aan iets als koude kernfusie niet iets wat andere landen al 60 jaar kunnen