Quickhits
(NYTimes) "Iraq has agreed to award $1.1 billion in contracts to Iranian and Chinese companies to build a pair of enormous power plants, the Iraqi electricity minister said Tuesday."
(And, of course, the US sees a red under every bed. “As you know, it’s not always as it appears. Their Quds Force routinely uses the cover of a business to mask their real purpose as an intelligence operative.”)
(AP) "The Pentagon is preparing to alert eight National Guard units that they should be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer.... Some of those being alerted this week have done tours in the war zone already." (Just one weekend a month.....)
(Reuters) "Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Iran a "special message" on its disputed atomic program and other issues, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator was quoted as saying on Wednesday, without giving details."
Later: The NYTimes also talks about "the special message," "proposed a new way to help resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program..."
(RollCall) Dennis Hastert is expected to announce tomorrow that he won't run again.
And, Everyone seems amazed that AG nominee Mukasey is saying he'll be independent and protect civil liberties. Really, what did you expect him to say?
(And, of course, the US sees a red under every bed. “As you know, it’s not always as it appears. Their Quds Force routinely uses the cover of a business to mask their real purpose as an intelligence operative.”)
(AP) "The Pentagon is preparing to alert eight National Guard units that they should be ready to go to Iraq or Afghanistan beginning late next summer.... Some of those being alerted this week have done tours in the war zone already." (Just one weekend a month.....)
(Reuters) "Russian President Vladimir Putin gave Iran a "special message" on its disputed atomic program and other issues, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator was quoted as saying on Wednesday, without giving details."
Later: The NYTimes also talks about "the special message," "proposed a new way to help resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program..."
(RollCall) Dennis Hastert is expected to announce tomorrow that he won't run again.
And, Everyone seems amazed that AG nominee Mukasey is saying he'll be independent and protect civil liberties. Really, what did you expect him to say?
posted by mikevotes at
9:42 PM
3 Comments:
Mike,
Here's the Esquire piece on Iran I was talking about.
http://www.esquire.com/features/iranbriefing1107
By
Anonymous, at 2:28 PM
Cool, thanks. That is pretty interesting.
By
mikevotes, at 2:32 PM
I think the most interesting thing is this section
"This is what Leverett and Mann fear will happen: The diplomatic effort in the United Nations will fail when it becomes clear that Russia's and China's geopolitical ambitions will not accommodate the inconvenience of energy sanctions against Iran. Without any meaningful incentive from the U.S. to be friendly, Iran will keep meddling in Iraq and installing nuclear centrifuges. This will trigger a response from the hard-liners in the White House, who feel that it is their moral duty to deal with Iran before the Democrats take over American foreign policy. "If you get all those elements coming together, say in the first half of '08," says Leverett, "what is this president going to do? I think there is a serious risk he would decide to order an attack on the Iranian nuclear installations and probably a wider target zone.""
The thing is, I think the Russians have come in and started driving this process. Reading the tea leaves around the Putin visit, it sounds like they're working for a different accomdation that the US will then have to accept or be isolated.
It's getting into heavy diplomacy, and that's not this administration's strongsuit. (What is?)
By
mikevotes, at 3:27 PM
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