The errors that let Iran seize 15 crew members

· Secret report accuses senior commanders
· MoD backs ban on military personnel selling stories

Richard Norton-Taylor
Wednesday June 20, 2007
The Guardian

A secret report on the seizure of 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines by Iranian forces has uncovered bad intelligence, inadequate training, confused communications and poor judgment by senior military commanders.

The conclusions are part of an internal Ministry of Defence inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the capture of the sailors by Iranian revolutionary guards in the northern Gulf in March. The defence secretary, Des Browne, skirted around the unpublished report yesterday when he presented the findings of a separate study on the media handling of the affair.

The incident was described yesterday by Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the first sea lord, as "one bad day in our proud 400-year history." The navy personnel were shown on television before being released in a propaganda coup exploited to the full by the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The humiliation was compounded by the navy's decision, accepted by the MoD, to allow the sailors and marines to sell their stories to the media.

The findings presented by Mr Browne yesterday said that serving military personnel should be banned from making money this way, a recommendation accepted by the MoD. The seizure by the Iranians of the naval boarding party, which had just inspected an innocent merchant ship close to, but not in, Iranian waters, was "about judgment, not about kit", Sir Jonathon said yesterday.

He insisted that the rules of engagement were not at fault, and that there was nothing wrong with the Lynx helicopter which had returned to the mother ship, HMS Cornwall, during the boarding operation.

The separate unpublished report into the incident, drawn up by Lieutenant General Sir Rob Fulton, governor of Gibraltar and a former head of the Royal Marines, will be kept secret for operational reasons, said Mr Browne, though it has been given in confidence to the Commons defence committee. Sir Jonathon said it pointed to a "collective failure" in what he called a "very complex, fast-moving operational context".

Mr Browne told MPs that Gen Fulton noted the "need for improvements in the handling of intelligence, in communications, in doctrine, and in training, both individual and collective".

Mr Browne said the Fulton report concluded that the incident was "not the result of a single gross failing or individual human error but of the coming together of a series of vulnerabilities". He suggested there was "no case for disciplinary action against any of the individuals involved". However, Sir Jonathon said later: "Appropriate administrative action will be executed." This could affect careers but is unlikely to lead to a court martial. The first sea lord said a sailor in the navy "should not have an iPod on him" - a reference to the youngest of the seized crew, Arthur Batchelor, 20, who said in an interview on his release that he had his iPod taken from him and was teased about being like Mr Bean.

Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House and former BBC director of news and current affairs, who drew up the report on the MoD's media handling of the affair, spoke yesterday of a "collective failure of judgment or an abstention of judgment" within the ministry. He said he had not been able to identify " a single person who in practice authorised the decision" to approve payments by the media to the released navy crew.

The aftermath

· Leading Seaman Faye Turney, who was 26 when she was captured, sold her story to ITN and the Sun

· Royal Navy Operator Maintainer Arthur Batchelor was 20. He was ridiculed for saying that his iPod had been taken away and he had been teased for looking like Mr Bean

· Navy sailor Nathan Summers was 21. He was shown on Iranian TV saying the British had "trespassed". But the tape showed signs of editing

· Royal Marine Captain Chris Air, 25, was shown on Iranian TV saying they were apparently seized in Iranian waters. He later said fighting back would have caused a major incident

· Royal Marine Joe Tindell, 21, said: "We had a blindfold and plastic cuffs, hands behind our backs, heads against the wall. Basically there were weapons cocking. Someone, I'm not sure who, someone said, I quote, 'lads, lads I think we're going to get executed'"

'Failings' over captured sailors

Two of the sailors sold their stories to the media Browne statement

Two inquiries into the capture of 15 Royal Navy personnel by Iran have identified "shortcomings", but have said no one person was to blame.

Defence Secretary Des Browne said the report into the capture had identified "a series of vulnerabilities", such as inadequate training in boarding.

On the decision to allow two sailors to sell their stories, there had been a "collective failure of judgment".

Armed forces personnel would be banned from selling stories in future he said.

One inquiry, led by the governor of Gibraltar, Lt Gen Sir Rob Fulton, examined how the party from HMS Cornwall were captured by Iran, after carrying out a routine search of a cargo ship in waters between Iran and Iraq in March.

Classified report

The second, headed by Royal Opera House boss Tony Hall - a former BBC director of news - looked at how the subsequent dealing with the media was conducted.

Mr Browne said the Fulton report would remain classified, because its publication would pose a risk to armed forces.

But he said its findings were that the events "were not the result of a single gross failing or individual human error".

The acceptance of payment from the media offended the public and their view of the special place of the armed forces in British life Tony Hall

They were due to "the coming together of a series of vulnerabilities" which left the sailors and marines in a position which could be "exploited through a deliberate act by an unpredictable foreign power", he said.

The report has recommended improvements in intelligence, communications, training and information sharing with other nations.

A recommendation that specialist boarding teams, not "composite teams", should be used in future had already been acted on, Mr Browne said.

Rules of engagement

But he said the report concluded that the rules of engagement had been "entirely appropriate".

And he said, despite speculation, there had not been a shortage of helicopter support, nor problems with the size and suitability of HMS Cornwall, or of the boarding party's boats.

Mr Browne said that while the report concluded there was no case for disciplinary action against any individuals, it did say that "many of these individuals could have done more to prevent what happened".

Mr Browne said recommendations had been accepted

BBC defence correspondent Paul Wood said the report had pointed to a central failing by the Navy, in "situational awareness" - of not seeing the approaching threat on radar, and of failing to appreciate that the Iranians were a serious threat to British troops.

An interim ban on serving military and civilian personnel selling stories, introduced after the incident in March, is to become permanent, Mr Browne told MPs, as recommended by the Hall report.

It found there had been a "collective failure of judgment or an abstention of judgment" within the Ministry of Defence.

And it said the Navy should not have taken the decision to allow the media sales - and in future the MoD should take the lead in such cases.

'National embarrassment'

"The acceptance of payment from the media offended the public and their view of the special place of the armed forces in British life," Mr Hall said.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the government's handling of the issue had made "a national embarrassment incomparably worse" and pointed out that it appeared "no-one is to blame at all".

This report does conclude that everyone was to blame a bit but no one was to blame a lot Nick Harvey Lib Dems

He blamed the government for abolishing uniformed press officers at the MoD in order to "politicise" the press office - something he said was a mistake that the Conservatives would reverse if voted into government.

For the Liberal Democrats, Nick Harvey added: "This report does conclude that everyone was to blame a bit but no-one was to blame a lot.

"It turned out to be only a national embarrassment. It could have been a national disaster."

Lives saved

Paul Carman, whose son Felix was the officer in charge, told the BBC the report had failed to answer many questions.

He added: "We think he acted in an exemplary fashion, and that basically saved the lives of himself and all the people who were there, so we're really shocked and very depressed about the prospect that there might be some criticism of him."

The Royal Navy crew, eight sailors and seven marines, were on patrol boats in the Gulf on 23 March when they were detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The Iranians accused the crew of straying into its waters, but the British say they were in Iraqi territory.

They were released nearly two weeks later, but the decision by two crew members to sell their stories was widely criticised by former military figures and the families of those killed or injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Browne has already apologised for not blocking the sales of the story. He told MPs he accepted all the recommendations of both reports.

نتيجه تحقيق درباره بازداشت ملوانان بريتانيايی در ايران

اينکه نظاميان بريتانيا چگونه بدون مقاومت تسليم شدند، پرسشهايی در بريتانيا برانگيخت.

وزارت دفاع بريتانيا نتيجه دو مورد تحقيق و تفحص را در اختيار مجلس عوام اين کشور قرار داد که اين وزارتخانه در ارتباط با قضيه بازداشت پانزده ملوان و تفنگدار نيروی دريايی بريتانيا به دست نظاميان ايرانی در آبهای خليج فارس تهيه کرده است.اين پانزده ملوان بريتانيایی بامداد جمعه 23 مارس (سوم فروردين) که در چارچوب عمليات جلوگيری از قاچاق به عراق در حال گشتزنی در آبهای خليج فارس بودند پس از بازرسی از يک کشتی هندی به بازداشت افراد سپاه پاسداران درآمدند و پس از دوازده روز به دستور رئيس جمهور ايران آزاد شدند.

اينکه نظاميان بريتانيا چگونه در حالی که مسلح و تحت پوشش حفاظتی ناو بريتانيايی کورنوال و هليکوپترهای گشتی بودند، بدون مقاومت تسليم افراد سپاه پاسداران ايران شدند، پرسشهايی در بريتانيا برانگيخت.هيئتی که تحت نظارت مستقيم دز براون، وزيردفاع بريتانيا دست به تحقيق و تفحص در اين زمينه زده، به اين نتيجه رسيده که بازداشت پانزده نظامی بريتانيايی ناشی از "نارساييهايی" بوده اما هيچ فرد مشخصی در اين ارتباط مقصر و شايسته تنبيه نيست.موضوع ديگری که در قضيه بازداشت ملوانان، باعث اختلاف نظر و رويارويی مقامات در بريتانيا شد، اقدام وزير دفاع بريتانيا بود که ابتدا اين ملوانان را در مصاحبه با رسانه ها آزاد گذاشت اما پس از آنکه اعتراضاتی به اين تصميم ابراز گرديد، از تصميم خود بازگشت و اعلام کرد که ملوانان بازداشت شده حق ندارند داستان دوران بازداشت خود را به رسانه ها بفروشند.

اين در حالی بود که برخی رسانه ها مبالغ قابل توجهی به ملوانان آزاد شده برای فروش داستان دوران بازداشت آنان پيشنهاد کرده بودند.اين موضوع به تشکيل هيئت ديگری برای تحقيق و تفحص در اين زمينه تحت نظارت وزيردفاع انجاميد.اين هيئت در گزارش نهائی خود از تصميم اين وزارت دفاع در اعمال ممنوعيت فروش داستانهای ملوانان بازداشتی به رسانه ها دفاع کرده است.چند تن از ملوانان و تفنگداران بريتانيايی طی دوره بازداشت خود بر تلويزيون ايران ظاهر شدند و بر خلاف موضعی که دولت بريتانيا اتخاذ کرده بود، اعتراف کردند که علت بازداشتشان ورود غيرقانونی به آبهای ايران بوده و از اين بابت عذرخواهی کردند.اما اين افراد پس از آزادی و بازگشت به بريتانيا اعلام کردند که اين اعترافات تحت فشار از آنان گرفته شده است.دولت ايران نيز هرگونه اعمال فشار را در طول دوران بازداشت آنان رد کرد.

ایران اعطای لقب شوالیه از سوی ملکه بریتانیا برای سلمان رشدی را محکوم کرد

ایران: تقدیر از رشدی، مقابله با اسلام است

	ایران، تقدیر از سلمان رشدی را نوعی رویارویی با اسلام می داند

ایران اعطای لقب شوالیه از سوی ملکه بریتانیا برای سلمان رشدی را محکوم کرد.

سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران گفت جمهوری اسلامی، اقدام دولت بریتانیا در دادن لقب شوالیه به نویسنده کتاب "آیه های شیطانی" را محکوم می کند.

سلمان رشدی نویسنده بریتانیایی روز گذشته از سوی ملکه الیزابت لقب شوالیه دریافت کرد.

کتاب "آیه های شیطانی" آقای رشدی احساسات بسیاری از مسلمانان در اطراف جهان را برانگیخت.

در سال 1989، آیت الله خمینی رهبر وقت ایران، فتوایی علیه سلمان رشدی صادر کرد. بدنبال این فتوا جایزه ای برای کشتن او از سوی برخی از نهادهای ایرانی تعین شد.

آقای رشدی، در پی فتوای قتل آیت الله خمینی برای سالیان دراز در اختفا زندگی می کرد.

'مرتد'

	بدنبال فتوای آیت الله خمینی علیه سلمان رشدی، جایزه ای برای کشتن او تعیین شد

محمد علی حسینی سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران گفت تصمیم به ستایش از یک "مرتد"، بریتانیا را رودر روی مردم دیگر قرار می دهد.

آقای حسینی، تقدیر از سلمان رشدی را، نوعی جنگ با اسلام توصیف کرد.

سخنگوی وزارت خارجه ایران در یک کنفرانس خبری در تهران گفت: "مدال دادن یکی از منفورترین چهره ها در جهان اسلام، نمونه بارزی از ضدیت با اسلام در میان مقامات ارشد بریتانیاست".

این مقام ایرانی گفت مدال دادن به سلمان رشد، نشان داد که روند توهین به اسلام، تصادفی نبوده، بلکه با حمایت کشورهای غربی انجام شده است.

سلمان رشدی پنجاه و نه ساله، در یک فهرست تقریبا نهصد و پنجاه نفری قرار داشت که روز شنبه 16 ژوئن، برای دریافت مدال از سوی ملکه بریتانیا معرفی شدند.

آقای رشدی که یک سکولار سفت و سخت است از سخنان جک استرا وزیر خارجه سابق بریتانیا، در مورد حجاب زنان مسلمان پشتیبانی کرد و علیه آنچه استبداد گرایی اسلامی خواند هشدار داد.

سلمان رشدی که فرزند یک بازرگان هندی است در سال 1947 در خانواده ای مسلمان در شهر بمبئی (مومبئی) هند به دنیا آمد.

وی که در دانشگاه کمبریج انگلستان تحصیل کرده است، نخستین رمان او "گریموس"، در سال 1975 چاپ شد که عمدتا مورد بی توجهی خریداران کتاب و محافل ادبی قرار گرفت.

اما دومین تلاش او در داستان نویسی - بچه های نیمه شب - او را یکشبه به شهرت ادبی رساند.

این کتاب جایزه بوکر سال 1981 را برد و در سال 1993 پس از آنکه بهترین رمان در میان برندگان بوکر در 25 سال نخست اعطای جایزه شناخته شد "بوکر بوکرها" را برد.

وی در روز 19 ژوئن پا به 60 سالگی می گذارد.

فتوای مرگ

سلمان رشدی با قوه خارق العاده تخیل تاریخ را به زبان داستان به تصویر می کشد و اکثر آثارش در هند و پاکستان می گذرد.

کتاب چهارم او - آیه های شیطانی چاپ 1988 - نبردی کیهانی میان خیر و شر را ترسیم می کند و عالم خیال، فلسفه و طنز را در هم می آمیزد.

	سلمان رشد و همسرش پامدا لاکشمی که هنرپیشه است

اما این کتاب بلافاصله پس از چاپ به خاطر آنچه مسلمانان ارائه تصویری کفرآمیز از پیامبر اسلام دانستند محکوم شد.

کتاب در بسیاری کشورهای اسلامی ممنوع شد و در سال 1989، آیت الله خمینی بنیانگذار جمهوری اسلامی، با صدور فتوایی خواستار قتل سلمان رشدی شد. این فتوا رسما تا سال 1998 به قوت خود باقی بود.

سلمان رشدی که پس از آن فتوا عملا مثل زندانی و تحت محافظت پلیس زندگی می کرد به نگارش رمان و چندین رساله ادامه داد.

آقای رشدی پس از ظهور مجدد در انظار عمومی از جنجال پرهیز نکرده است.

وی در حمایت از سخنان جک استرا درباره زنان مسلمانی که روبنده می پوشند حجاب را "زننده" توصیف کرده است زیرا آن را مظهر "محدودیت برای زنان" می داند.

وی همچنین در پی جنجالی که در جهان اسلامی بر سر کاریکتاتورهای پیامبر اسلام که در یک روزنامه دانمارکی چاپ شده بود به راه افتاد، نسبت به "استبداد گرایی" اسلامی هشدار داد.

وی در مورد دریافت لقب شوالیه به پاس خدماتش به عالم ادبیات، گفت: "من از دریافت این افتخار بزرگ احساس هیجان و کوچکی می کنم، و عمیقا سپاسگذارم که کارم به این شکل مورد توجه قرار گرفته است."

Iran protest at UK Queen's party

By Frances Harrison BBC News, Tehran

The protesters said the UK envoy must be expelled

Demonstrators have thrown paint and eggs at the UK embassy in Tehran to try to prevent an annual party in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.

They said any Iranian guests who tried to attend the party were dirty traitors willing to sell out their country.

The protesters also called for the expulsion of the ambassador and relations to be cut off.

Police beat back demonstrators as they tried to block the mission's side entrance to stop guests from entering.

This is the first time protesters have tried to sabotage an embassy reception like this, and it stems from a desire to stop Iranians having contacts with foreigners.

'England's servants'

"The British embassy should be shut down" and "Death to England, down with the den of spies," the demonstrators shouted.

Riot police tried to push the protesters away from the mission

All this as 1,500 guests were invited for the biggest diplomatic reception of the year at the embassy.

Islamic students in black shirts pelted the front gate of the building with bags filled with coloured paint, tomatoes and eggs.

"Shame on you, servants of the English," they chanted.

They called the guests dirty Iranians willing to eat the birthday cake of the queen of lies and corruption.

The women demonstrators screamed as the riot police pushed and shoved them to try to make them leave.

The police chased away journalists as they did not want to be seen beating their own people to defend a foreign embassy.

Some diplomatic cars turned back as they saw how volatile the situation was.

At least one vehicle was attacked, and many guests gave up trying to go to the party after getting stuck in traffic.

A couple of hundred determined guests did make it inside the compound.

But the intention was to intimidate Iranians from attending.

This comes as Iran's minister of intelligence recently warned Iranians not to give interviews or information to foreigners, and a number of Iranian-Americans have been jailed on suspicion of spying.

Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926, but official celebrations to mark her birthday are held in June.

MSNBC Brian Williams Reports: The Tony Blair Interview

MSNBC Brian Williams Reports: The Tony Blair Interview. Pt4


MSNBC Brian Williams Reports: The Tony Blair Interview. Pt3


MSNBC Brian Williams Reports: The Tony Blair Interview. Pt2



MSNBC Brian Williams Reports: The Tony Blair Interview. Pt1

MI6 probes UK link to nuclear trade with Iran

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday June 10, 2007
The Observer

A British company has been closed down after being caught in an apparent attempt to sell black-market weapons-grade uranium to Iran and Sudan, The Observer can reveal.

Anti-terrorist officers and MI6 are now investigating a wider British-based plot allegedly to supply Iran with material for use in a nuclear weapons programme. One person has already been charged with attempting to proliferate 'weapons of mass destruction'.

During the 20-month investigation, which also involved MI5 and Customs and Excise, a group of Britons was tracked as they obtained weapons-grade uranium from the black market in Russia. Investigators believe it was intended for export to Sudan and on to Iran.

A number of Britons, who are understood to have links with Islamic terrorists abroad, remain under surveillance. Investigators believe they have uncovered the first proof that al-Qaeda supporters have been actively engaged in developing an atomic capability. The British company, whose identity is known to The Observer but cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, has been wound up.

A Customs and Excise spokesman said: 'We continue to investigate allegations related to the supply of components for nuclear programmes including related activities of British nationals.'

It is not clear whether all of those involved in the alleged nuclear conspiracy were aware of the uranium's ultimate destination or of any intended use.

British agents believe Russian black-market uranium was destined for Sudan, described as a 'trans-shipment' point. The alleged plot, however, was disrupted in early 2006, before the nuclear material reached its final destination.

Roger Berry, chairman of Parliament's Quadripartite Committee, which monitors arms exports, said: 'With the collapse of the Soviet Union there was always the question over not just uranium but where other WMD components were going and how this could be controlled. Real credit must go to the enforcement authorities that they have disrupted this. The really worrying aspect is that if one company is involved, are there others out there?'

Politically, the allegations hold potentially huge ramifications for diplomatic relations between the West and Tehran. Already, tensions are running high between Iran, the US and the European Union over the true extent of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran refuses to suspend its nuclear programme in the face of mounting pressure, arguing its intent is entirely peaceful and solely aimed at producing power for civilian use.

Investigators are understood to have evidence that Iran was to receive the uranium to help develop a nuclear weapons capability. 'They may argue that the material is for civilian use but it does seem an extremely odd way to procure uranium,' said Berry.

Alleged evidence of Sudan's role will concern British security services. The East African state has long been suspected of offering a haven for Islamist terrorists and has been accused of harbouring figures including Osama bin Laden who, during the mid-Nineties, set up a number of al-Qaeda training camps in the country.

Details of the plot arrive against a backdrop of increasing co-operation between Sudan and Iran on defence issues, although the level of involvement, if any, of the governments in Khartoum and Tehran in the alleged nuclear plot is unclear.

However, circumstantial evidence suggesting that elements within both countries might be colluding on military matters has been mounting in recent months. A Sudanese delegation visited Iran's uranium conversion facility in February, while the East African country reportedly recently signed a mutual defence co-operation pact with Iran, allowing Tehran to deploy ballistic missiles in Sudan

Blair seeks wartime powers for police

Mon, 28 May 2007

British Prime Minister Tony Blair plans to push for a new anti-terrorism law before he steps down giving wartime powers to police.

Blair, who is due to step down on June 27 after a decade in office, wrote in an article in The Sunday Times that his government planned to publish new anti-terrorism proposals "within the next few weeks".

An interior ministry spokeswoman confirmed the government was looking at a "stop and question" power in the new legislation. "We are considering a range of powers for the bill and 'stop and question' is one of them," she said.

The "stop and question" power would enable police to interrogate people about who they are, where they have been and where they were going, The Sunday Times said. Police would not need to suspect a crime had taken place.

If suspects failed to stop or refused to answer questions, they could be charged with a crime and fined, The Sunday Times said. Police already have the power to stop and search people but have no right to ask them their identity and movements.

The new law comes after three suspects disappeared last week.

Writing in The Sunday Times, Blair argued that the disappearance of three terror suspects under control orders, a form of house arrest, was due to society's mixed-up priorities rather than government mistakes.

"The fault is not with our services or, in this instance, with the Home Office (interior ministry). We have chosen as a society to put the civil liberties of the suspect, even if a foreign national, first," Blair wrote.

The proposal has received a volley of criticism, with a member of Blair's own cabinet joining the skeptics.

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, who is running for the Labor party deputy leadership, warned that the move could become "the domestic equivalent of Guantanamo Bay".

Shami Chakrabarti, of civil rights campaigners Liberty, accused Blair of "political machismo, a legacy moment."

"Stopping and questioning anyone you like will backfire," she said.

The Sunday Times said the powers already existed in Northern Ireland. Civil rights groups viewed the plan to extend them to the rest of Britain as an attack on civil liberties, it said.

Such powers had existed before in other parts of Britain only in wartime, it said.

Interior Minister John Reid is proposing other measures to combat terrorists, the report said. These would give police the power to take documents away for examination, even if their value as evidence was not immediately obvious, and the power to remove vehicles to examine them.

Blair's government passed tough anti-terrorism measures after the September 11, 2001, attacks on US cities and again after four British suicide bombers killed 52 people on London's transport network in July 2005.

قديري ابيانه: امكان ايجاد هولوكاست به برخي كشورها "حق وتو" داده است

محمدحسن قديري ابيانه" سفير جمهوري اسلامي ايران در مكزيك، نظام كنوني بين‌المللي را داراي "اشكالات اساسي" خواند و گفت كه برخورداري از امكان ايجاد هولوكاست در ابعاد ميليوني، موجب برخورداري از "حق وتو" در شوراي امنيت شده است.

به گزارش سفارت ايران در شهر مكزيكو، وي در ديدار با "لوپز گومز" معاون خبر شبكه خبري "تله ويسا"، يكي از مهمترين شبكه‌هاي تلويزيوني آمريكاي لاتين افزود:" آنچه موجب شده است انگليس با حدود ‪ ۶۰‬ميليون نفر جمعيت از حق وتو در سازمان ملل برخوردار باشد، اما مكزيك با بيش از ‪۱۰۰‬ ميليون جمعيت از چنين امكاناتي برخوردار نباشد، ناشي از مسلح بودن انگلستان به سلاح هسته‌اي است."
قديري ابيانه، برخورداري كشورهاي داراي سلاح هسته‌اي از حق وتو را با منطق "قانون جنگل" قابل قياس دانست.

وي گفت: تاريخ بيش از دو قرن اخير نشان مي‌دهد ايران به هيچ كشوري تجاوز نكرده، حال آنكه شكل‌گيري آمريكا بر اساس جنايت و تجاوزات صورت گرفته است.

سفير ايران خاطرنشان كرد: اگر هولوكاست به معناي نابودي انسانها در كوره‌هاي آدم سوزي است، بايد گفت آمريكا با بمباران اتمي هيروشيما و ناكازاكي، دو شهر را با صدها هزار نفر جمعيت به كوره آدم سوزي مبدل ساخته است.

قديري ابيانه در بخش ديگري از سخنانش، از تحريف و وارونه جلوه دادن حقايق توسط رسانه‌هاي آمريكايي ابراز تاسف كرد و اظهارداشت: همانگونه كه وقتي گفته مي‌شد نازيسم و فاشيسم بايد از بين برود به معناي از بين رفتن سرزمين آلمان و ايتاليا و كشته‌شدن مردم آن نبود، زماني هم كه از لزوم نابودي صهيونيسم سخن به ميان مي‌آيد، مقصود از بين رفتن قطعه‌اي از يك سرزمين و مردم ساكن در آن نيست.

وي افزود: متاسفانه، رسانه‌هاي تحت سلطه امپرياليسم با تحريف واقعيات اينگونه وانمود مي‌كنند كه ايران با برنامه هسته‌اي خود، به دنبال توليد بمب براي حذف ساكنان سرزمين فلسطين از روي نقشه كره زمين است اما اين حقيقت ندارد.

سفير ايران تصريح كرد: ما همانطور كه فاشيست‌ها و نازيستها كه خود را مسيحي مي‌دانستند با مسيحيت يكي نمي‌دانيم، صهيونيستها را هم كه خود را يهودي مي‌دانند با يهوديت يكسان نمي‌پنداريم.

قديري ابيانه گفت: ما همچنين مي‌گوييم اگر نازيها جناياتي مرتكب شده‌اند چرا بايد تاوان آن را فلسطيني‌ها بپردازند؟
وي بااشاره به زندگي مسالمت آميز پيروان اديان الهي در ايران تصريح كرد: آمريكا مي‌داند كه ايران به دنبال سلاح هسته‌اي نيست اما دروغ پردازي جزيي از راهكار آمريكا عليه ساير ملتها به ويژه در خاورميانه است تا شايد بتواند منابع نفتي آنان را غارت كند.

سفير ايران در بخش ديگري از سخنانش به سياست ايران براي توسعه روابط با كشورهاي آمريكاي لاتين اشاره كرد و شناخت دو ملت ايران و مكزيك از يكديگر را لازمه تحقق چنين هدفي دانست.

قديري ابيانه در اين راستا، لزوم تبادل خبرنگاران دو كشور، همكاري رسانه‌هاي گروهي و انعكاس واقعيات از سوي آنها را مورد تاكيد قرار داد.

Authorities investigate allegations of nuclear material in crashed plane

An investigation into a private plane that crashed after taking off from Trabzon on Turkey's Black Sea coast en route to neighboring Iran is ongoing and a series of allegations, including that the aircraft was carrying nuclear materials, are under examination, the interior minister said Wednesday.

Rescue teams located on Tuesday the wreckage of the two-seat private plane in a mountainous area about 50 kilometers southeast of Trabzon in the Black Sea region.

"Judicial authorities are in charge of the matter. Relevant authorities are assessing it," Interior Minister Osman Güneş told reporters, when asked to comment on allegations that the two-seat plane had been carrying nuclear materials. "No information has yet been submitted to us." Asked whether the two people on board -- a British pilot and a Pakistani national, who reports said was a retired general -- were being watched, he said "yes."

The British-registered Sky Arrow 650T plane went missing on Sunday and its wreckage was located on Tuesday in a mountainous area about 50 kilometers southeast of Trabzon. The Transportation Ministry said the plane had set out from Ankara Thursday and landed at Trabzon for refueling. It was forced to wait until Sunday to resume its flight due to adverse weather conditions. A land and airborne rescue operation was launched after Turkish authorities were informed by officials in Tabriz that the aircraft had not landed at the city as intended.

The crash of the plane has roused suspicions about the identity of its passengers and the purpose of its flight from Trabzon to Iran. There was speculation that the people on board, British citizen Michael Newman and Pakistani B. Bhangoo, were intelligence agents. Authorities have said every aspect of the incident was being investigated. Feeding suspicions, the two men had dared a risky flight with a small plane above the mountainous area, instead of taking a scheduled flight.

The pair stayed in a small hotel in Trabzon, whose manager told reporters after the accident that police and officials from the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) had frequently come to the hotel to ask questions about them. One speculation is that MİT was keeping a close eye on Newman and Bhangoo as part of efforts coordinated with the CIA to stem nuclear technology transfer to Iran, which the West suspects is trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability. According to speculation Bhangoo might have been carrying chips containing nuclear know-how and materials that could be used in nuclear weapons production.

The cause of the crash also remains a mystery. Newspaper reports said Wednesday that the high-quality fuel that planes of that type should use was not available in Trabzon and that the fuel obtained there might have caused the plane to crash during the trip.

"These are all under investigation now," said Trabzon Governor Nuri Okutan in response to questions about the possible role of low-quality fuel in the crash. "These are technical issues and my comment would not be appropriate." The fate of the bodies of the two men will be determined after Turkish authorities discuss the matter with officials at the relevant embassies, Okutan also said.

British Author Tariq Ali on the Resignation of Tony Blair: “The Fact That He’s Leaving is Because He’s So Hated”

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced his plans to resign next month after more than a decade in power. British author Tariq Ali talks about Blair’s legacy, his fatal decision to follow the Bush administration into Iraq, and his likely successor, finance minister Gordon Brown.

---

Blair made the announcement on Thursday in a speech to Labour Party members in his Sedgefield constituency. He will stay on in Downing Street until the Labour Party elects a new leader - widely expected to be finance minister Gordon Brown. In his address, Blair defended his decision to send British troops to war in Iraq.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Blair, President Bush’s closest ally, invoked 9/11 to defend his staunch backing of US foreign policy.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Back in Washington, President Bush paid tribute to Tony Blair at a Pentagon news conference.

President Bush.

We go to London to speak with British author Tariq Ali.

• Tariq Ali. Historian, one of the editors of the New Left Review as well as the author of many books, including “Rough Music: Blair Bombs Baghdad London Terror.”

Blair will step down as British PM in June

Leader says he leaves country more confident after doing his best
Last Updated: Thursday, May 10, 2007

CBC News

British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced Thursday he will step down on June 27 after a decade in office.

Blair made the formal announcement in his northern England riding of Sedgefield.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced he's stepping down next month as he addressed supporters at Trimdon Labour Club in his Sedgefield constituency on Thursday.
(Owen Humphreys/Associated Press)

"I've been prime minister for just over 10 years," Blair told supporters at Trimdon Labour Club, where he launched his campaign to become Labour Party leader in 1994.

"In this job, in the world of today, I think that's long enough for me but more especially for the country. Sometimes the only way you conquer the pull of power is to set it down."

In an announcement that drew mixed reaction from world leaders, Blair said Britain has changed in the 10 years he has been in power because of Labour Party policies. The country, with higher living standards and a stronger economy, has become confident of its future, he said.

"Britain is not a follower today. Britain is a leader.

"There is only one government since 1945 that can say all of the following: more jobs, fewer unemployed, better health and education results, lower crime, and economic growth in every quarter. Only one government, this one."

'Comfortable in own skin'

Blair said Britain is now "comfortable in the 21st century, at home in its own skin."

'Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right.'—Tony Blair

He said he always put the country first and he saw that priority as his duty.

"Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right."

In his short speech, the British prime minister said his government has accomplished much during his term in office. He helped to bring about peace in Northern Ireland and has contributed to the war on terror by joining the U.S. in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Blair acknowledged, however, that British military involvement in the Iraq war has been "bitterly controversial."

He said removing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons from power, as well as the Taliban from government in Afghanistan, was done with "relative ease."

"But the blowback since from global terrorism and the elements that support it has been fierce, unrelenting and costly. For many, it isn't and can't be worth it. For me, I think we must see it through."

Blair admitted when he came to power that expectations may have been too high, but it was a new beginning for the country, "a sweeping away of all the detritus of the past."

Blair added: "I may have been wrong. That's your call."

Several world leaders agreed with Blair that he did his best while leader of his country.

U.S. President George W. Bush, who has long considered the British prime minister an important ally, said Blair was a man of his word and a "long-term thinker."

Sean McCormack, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said Blair was a "staunch defender of freedom" and a "terrific leader."

In Brussels, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said the "debate for Europe is not yet won" in Britain, but Blair was a good negotiator and advocate for the EU.

"So if Blair was successful in Europe, bringing Europe closer to Britain, he has not yet been able to change the mood completely in Britain regarding some of the most important issues in the European agenda," he said.

'His friendship was both political and religious for Israel with a real understanding about the tragedy of Jewish life ….'—Israeli Vice-Premier Shimon Peres on Blair

Israeli Vice-Premier Shimon Peres praised Blair for his thoughtful leadership, saying Blair was a "man of special meaning.

"His friendship was both political and religious for Israel with a real understanding about the tragedy of Jewish life and great influence of the biblical background," Peres said.

But not all leaders agreed with such a positive assessment.

Palestinian Information Minister Moustafa Barghouti said he hoped a new British prime minister would lead to "serious change in the British politics, that is less biased to Israel, that is more reasonable in co-operating with the Palestinian side."

And Kamal Daneshyar, head of the Iranian parliament's energy commitee, said Blair had committed "crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan" because of his foreign policy.

"The soul of all those men, women and children who have been brutally killed are waiting to witness his suffering," he said.

Uneasy relationship

Before he made his announcement, Blair informed cabinet of his plans.

The resignation was not a surprise. After leading the Labour Party to its third straight election win in 2005, Blair said he would not seek a fourth term.

Treasury chief Gordon Brown, Blair's friend-turned-rival, is expected to win the upcoming leadership contest and become the next prime minister.

The two have had an uneasy relationship in recent years as party members loyal to Brown have pushed for Blair's departure before Labour's annual fall conference leading up to the next election in 2009.

Blair's popularity in opinion polls has plummeted due to government scandals over mismanagement, and controversy over British participation in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Labour's bruising defeat last week in English municipal elections has been blamed on the party's increasing unpopularity over the Iraq war, while in Scotland, where Labour has won every election for the past 50 years, Blair's party lost the majority of seats to the independence-seeking Scottish National Party.

Conservative Leader David Cameron — himself compared to a youthful, vibrant Blair when the prime minister took office — grilled Blair in Parliament on Wednesday, asking why a "government of the living dead" needed to remain in power for the next few weeks until Blair stepped down.

Blair responded he needed the time to see through the government's economic, health and education policies.

Iraq decision could haunt Blair's legacy: observers

Amid a wave of optimism, Blair and his "New Labour" team took power in an overwhelming victory in 1997 after 18 uninterrupted years of Conservative rule.

Blair also displayed a remarkable instinct for understanding the public mood in the wake of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, that same year, demonstrated in a speech he gave in which he re-crowned her "the people's princess."

Blair's government oversaw a wide range of social reforms, including increased funding for the National Health Service and the public education system, as well as the introduction of the first minimum wage in British history.

Blair also delivered significant constitutional reform in the creation of provincial parliaments for Scotland and Wales, and the gradual reshaping of the House of Lords.

After almost three decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, Blair successfully guided talks between warring Catholic and Protestant factions that culminated in a peace agreement signed on Good Friday in 1998.

The resumption of power sharing in Northern Ireland this week is seen as Blair's crowning achievement during his stewardship.

But Blair's close alignment with the U.S. on foreign policy, especially over Iraq, has led critics as well as former cabinet members to question his legacy.

Gorbachev: Iraq war Blair's big mistake

Wed, 02 May 2007 06:21:52 Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has said that Tony Blair's decision to send British troops to Iraq has turned out as his big mistake.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News he said: "I think that he regrets and others regret what happened (after attacking Iraq)."

"It certainly was a mistake. On the day when hostilities started against Iraq, I said it was a major policy mistake.

"It turned out to be an even bigger mistake than I had thought."

"I don't know who actually played a bigger role, whether the information that Americans received from you or their own intelligence information or they invented the intelligence where there was none", he was quoted as saying.

"But ultimately they did not find weapons of mass destruction and they got a lot of bloodshed."

Gorbachev who helped bring an end to the Cold War and the nuclear arms race also condemned America's plan to build a missile shield in Poland.

He said: "(In Russia) we have been trying to avoid the arms race. But right in front of us, the United States has now a bigger defence budget than it was during the height of the cold war. What's happening?

"Why is that? And we cannot fully explain it by just the need to fight terrorism; you cannot fight terrorism with nuclear warheads. That is going too far.

"They want democracy in their own country but what about democracy in international affairs? There is no democracy; there is the rule of the fist instead."

Mr. Gorbachev is chairman of Green Cross International, an environmental version of the Red Cross.