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John Bolton Watch: Obama – “We Haven’t Plumbed The Depths Of That Ignorance Yet”
Former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton slammed Barack Obama for his policies of appeasement
Hugh Hewitt interviewed former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton yesterday. The key subject of discussion was Barack Obama’s inexperience and naivety in foreign policy.
The transcript is here and the Podcast is here.
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Iran Nuclear Watch: Israel – Iran Could Have Nukes by 2009
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2nd L) visits the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, 350 km (217 miles) south of Tehran, April 8, 2008
Israel now believes that Iran with its uranium enrichment centrifuges spinning at Natanz will be able to begin enriching uranium on a military scale this year.
The new assessment moves up Israel’s forecasts on Teheran’s nuclear program by almost a full year – from 2009 to the end of 2008. According to the new timeline, Iran could have a nuclear weapon by the middle of next year.
Iran, a senior defense official said on Tuesday, had encountered numerous technical obstacles on its way to enriching uranium but was now on track to master the technology needed to enrich uranium within six months.
Israel is also concerned that Teheran is developing a cruise missile that can evade interception by the Arrow, the IDF’s anti-ballistic missile defense system. Iran is suspected of having smuggled Ukrainian X-55 cruise missiles and using them as models for an independent, domestic project. A cruise missile, which flies at low altitudes to dodge radar detection and interception, could be used to carry a nuclear warhead.
In the meantime, the United States sits idly by as Iran exports extremists to kill American soldiers in Iraq.
Flap agrees with John Bolton on this one.
So, will the United States continue its emphasis on economic and political sanctions while Iran develops BREAKOUT CAPABILITY?
Stay tuned…….
Previous:Iran “Reminded†with Deployment of USS Abraham Lincoln
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Demands Azerbaijan Deliver Russian Nuclear Shipment
Shocker: Iran Threatens To Eliminate Israel
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John Bolton Endorses John McCain for President
Former United States Ambassador (seen here voting in the UNSC) to the United Nations has endorsed Senator John McCain for President
Team McCain yesterday issued a press release stating that John Bolton has endorsed John McCain for President.
The key quotes:
“John McCain was very active and supportive during my confirmation hearings to be the U.S. Ambassador to the UN. His belief in me at that time was a testament to his courage to fight the liberals in the Senate and vigorously advance American interests at the UN.
“I whole-heartedly endorse John McCain for President because when he takes office in January 2009 he will be prepared immediately to lead us. John will not need on the job training.
“American conservatives will have a President they can be proud of in John McCain.”
A good conservative endorsement for McCain which is noteworthy from the LEFT. McCain would be well advised to use Bolton in his campaign against the status quo State Department and in a run against Washington.
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John Bolton Watch: Bolton Smacks Down BBC Interviewer
Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton speaks to the media in New York, 2006. Bolton accused a top BBC presenter of being leftwing and “a superior Brit” in a colourful on-air spat.
Flap knew he liked John bolton when he was at the United Nations. Listen as he dresses down a lefty interviewer with the NON “fair and balanced” BBC.
Talk about a smack down……..
Is there any wonder why the UN and the Democrats wanted him OUT?
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: John Bolton – We Must Attack Iran Before it Gets the Bomb
Iran Nuclear Watch: Bolton – United States Iran Policy FLAWED
John Bolton Watch: Mideast Peace Efforts a Waste of Time
Zalmay Khalilzad Watch: New United States Ambassador for the United Nations?
John Bolton Watch: Who Will Replace United Nations Ambassador Bolton?
John Bolton Watch: Bolton Resigns as United Nations Ambassador
John Bolton Watch: Bolton and Bipartisanship
John Bolton Watch: President Bush Resubmits Bolton Nomination – DEAD ON ARRIVAL
John Bolton Watch: Biden – “And I Think John Bolton’s Going Nowhereâ€
Technorati Tags: JohnBolton
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Iran Nuclear Watch: Bolton – United States Iran Policy FLAWED
Readers: Please Vote in Flap’s January 2008 GOP Presidential Poll
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton answers questions during a press conference at Japan’s National Press Club in Tokyo. Bolton said that six-way talks with North Korea had failed and a breakthrough would only come after the collapse of Kim Jong-Il’s regime.
AP: Bolton: U.S. Following Flawed Iran Plan
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton says the United States may not be able to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons because the Bush administration is following a flawed diplomatic strategy.
In an interview with Fox News airing Wednesday night, Bolton said that contrary to administration claims, the U.N. Security Council resolution against Iran that was approved last month is “very weak.”
Bolton stepped down in December after serving as U.N. ambassador for 16 months. He was the point man for the administration in the diplomatic debate over the resolution.
The former envoy said the diplomatic means chosen by the administration to halt Iran’s nuclear program may not achieve the desired ends.
“The disjunction between that objective and the diplomacy we have been pursuing is ultimately going to be a problem for the president,” Bolton said.
He added that the administration placed too high a priority on achieving unity in the council.
“Pursuing the goal of unity detracts from the substantive goal of preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” Bolton said.
Not only have the diplomatic efforts towards the Axis of Evil been too weak but United Nations negotiations have also been protracted and allowed Iran and North Korea to more fully develop their nuclear and missile delivery programs.
Mr. President, the “NUCELAR POINT OF NO RETURN” is IMMINENT.
The American people deserve ACTION not “stalled” and “feckless” diplomacy.
Stay tuned…….
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: North Korea Helping Iran With Nuclear Testing
Iran Nuclear Watch: United States Warns Iran – BACK DOWN
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Bars 38 IAEA Inspectors
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Defiant of United Nations Sanctions, Plan Missile War Games
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadiejad – Iran is Ready for Any Possibility
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russian Missiles Delivered to Iran: Ivanov
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran To Install 3,000 Uranium Enrichment Centrifuges
Iran Nuclear Watch: Next Target Tehran?
Iran Nuclear Watch: United States Has No Plan to Strike Iran?
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Arrests a Nuclear Spy
Iran Nuclear Watch: United States Submarine Collides With Japanese Ship
Iran Nuclear Watch: Israel Planning Nuclear Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities?
The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
Technorati Tags: Iran, Ahmadinejad AliLarijani, IsraelJohnBolton
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Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Bars 38 IAEA Inspectors
Readers: Please Vote in Flap’s January 2008 GOP Presidential Poll
AP: Iran bars 38 IAEA nuclear inspectors
Iran has barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country, the foreign minister said Monday in what appeared to be retaliation for the U.N. sanctions imposed last month.
The rejected officials are on a list of potential inspectors drawn up by the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit and monitor Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“The act of rejecting some inspectors is legal and in accordance with the agency’s regulations,” Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told the official Islamic Republic News Agency. He said others on the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s list remain eligible, but did not explain how Iran decided which inspectors to bar.
The IAEA “submits a long list of inspectors to member countries and the countries have the right to oppose the visit by some inspectors,” Mottaki said.
The United States rebuked Iran for the move. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said it was “another example of the Iranians trying to dictate the terms to the international community — in this case, the IAEA.”
Who cares?
Everyone knows that Iran has a secret nuclear weapons program. What is there to inspect?
Nothing but what the Iranian Mullahs want the IAEA to see.
And from Flap’s view there may not be much infrastructure of a nuclear program left – and soon.
Stay tuned………
Previous:
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Defiant of United Nations Sanctions, Plan Missile War Games
Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadiejad – Iran is Ready for Any Possibility
Iran Nuclear Watch: Russian Missiles Delivered to Iran: Ivanov
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran To Install 3,000 Uranium Enrichment Centrifuges
Iran Nuclear Watch: Next Target Tehran?
Iran Nuclear Watch: United States Has No Plan to Strike Iran?
Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Arrests a Nuclear Spy
Iran Nuclear Watch: United States Submarine Collides With Japanese Ship
Iran Nuclear Watch: Israel Planning Nuclear Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities?
The Natanz uranium enrichment complex in Natanz is pictured in this January 2, 2006 satellite image.
Technorati Tags: Iran, Ahmadinejad AliLarijani, Israel
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John Bolton Watch: Mideast Peace Efforts a Waste of Time
Readers: Please Vote in Flap’s January 2008 GOP Presidential Poll
Fox: John Bolton: Mideast Peace Efforts a Waste
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with Mideast leaders to jumpstart the peace process, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton called the attempt a waste of time.
Bolton, who also said it’s time another body replace the United Nations, told the Sunday Times of London the Arab-Israeli conflict was “not a priority,” adding: “I don’t see linkage to Iraq, and Hamas and Fatah are in a state of civil war.â€
Now back at American Enterprise Institute, Bolton let loose on a variety of topics during the interview, from negotiating nuclear weapons with Iran to the reunification of the Korean peninsula.
Times Online: Ousted Bolton puts world to rights
AS America’s ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton was no tame diplomat. Armed with his feared red pen, ready to strike out waffling resolutions, he was an able and aggressive defender of US interests, but he often had to uphold policies with which he was not in tune.
“To the great chagrin of many people, I followed my instructions at the UN,†he said in his first newspaper interview since relinquishing his post. He is a free man now and eager to have his say.
Bolton on Iran
“I wouldn’t have engaged in negotiations with Iran in the first place,†he said, evidently disdainful of Britain, France and Germany’s years of reaching out to Iran. “The policy has failed. Sanctions won’t stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons.â€
Bolton thinks the Bush administration would “rather find a way for diplomacy to succeed but time is running outâ€One of his greatest concerns is the threat to Israel and the West posed by Iran’s nuclear programme. Regime change is “preferable†to striking Iran’s sites, he noted, but “the only course worse than the use of force is an Iran with nuclear weaponsâ€.
The EU3 nations’ years of negotiations with Iran were not a “neutral activityâ€. Iran used the time to develop its mastery of uranium enrichment — as its own leaders have boasted.
“There are all kinds of ways to change the regime,†he added, citing covert and overt means to topple the theocracy. “We have an extensive diaspora of people with Iranian heritage in America who we don’t use effectively.â€Bolton on Middle East Talks
Bolton believes that Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, is wasting her time trying to restart the Middle East peace process. The Arab-Israeli conflict was “not a priorityâ€, he added. “I don’t see linkage to Iraq, and Hamas and Fatah are in a state of civil war.â€
Bolton on America and Britain
In Bolton’s view, America needs to take the lead in global affairs rather than the ineffectual UN because “Who else will?†His opinion of the Foreign Office in London is not much higher than the UN. It is “European†— not a compliment.
Britain has a “fundamental choice†to make, Bolton insisted. “The real issue is whether the UK sees itself as part of a ‘little Europe’ as opposed to Atlanticist. I certainly hope the Atlanticist view will prevail.â€
Bolton on Iraq
Unlike Bush, Bolton believes Iraq is already at war with itself: “The fundamental point is whether the civil war that exists is going to continue.†Bolton has often been mistaken for a neocon, but while he considers democracy preferable to other forms of government, he does not consider it America’s duty to spread it.
The shape and form of the nation is irrelevant: what matters is that Iraq is either tolerably pro-western or de-fanged. He has no regrets about the removal of Saddam Hussein; now it is up to the Iraqis if they want to engage in “fratricideâ€. The same goes for partition: “If the future of Iraq is to stay together, that’s fine. If not, I couldn’t care less from a strategic perspective.â€
Flap somehow thinks that John Bolton will be MORE effective in developing perspectives on foreign policy than he ever could do in the United States State Department and certainly in the United Nations.
Bolton fits Jeanne Kirkpatrick’s office at AEI well.
Stay tuned……
Previous:
Zalmay Khalilzad Watch: New United States Ambassador for the United Nations?
John Bolton Watch: Who Will Replace United Nations Ambassador Bolton?
John Bolton Watch: Bolton Resigns as United Nations Ambassador
John Bolton Watch: Bolton and Bipartisanship
John Bolton Watch: President Bush Resubmits Bolton Nomination – DEAD ON ARRIVAL
John Bolton Watch: Biden – “And I Think John Bolton’s Going Nowhereâ€
Technorati Tags: JohnBolton
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Michael Ramirez on Iran United Nations Sanctions
AFP: US warns Iran over ‘downward spiral’ with UN nuclear watchdog
The United States warned Iran against heading into a “downward spiral” of non-cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA after Tehran’s parliament authorized the government to limit the agency’s access to its atomic sites.
A White House spokesman, Scott Stanzel, urged the Islamic Republic to “immediately” conform to the demands of the UN Security Council to suspend its enrichment of uranium, a practice many fear is a cover for developing nuclear weapons.
“Iran has long been in non-compliance with its Non-Proliferation Treaty and required IAEA safeguard agreements,” Stanzel said in Crawford, Texas, where
President George W. Bush was spending the end of the year.Further non-compliance by Iran “will worsen its situation in the eyes of the world” and generate further reports of non-compliance from the
International Atomic Energy Agency, he said.“It is hard to see how such a downward spiral is in the interest of the Iranian people,” the spokesman said.
“We hope, therefore, that the Iranian regime will set aside threats and confrontation and will begin immediately to cooperate with all the requirements of the Security Council.”
Iran has NO intention to comply with any FECKLESS United Nations sanction.
The Mullahs covet a nuclear weapon and will do ANYTHING to obtain it.
Tick Tock Tick Tock
Technorati Tags: MichaelRamirez, Iran, UnitedNations
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Michael Ramirez on Kofi Annan and the United Nations
The Heritage Foundation: Kofi Annan’s Legacy of Failure
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan delivered his swan song today at the Truman Presidential Library in Missouri.[1] It was a thinly veiled parting shot at U.S. foreign policy delivered by an embittered U.N. leader seething with self-righteous indignation and resentment. Annan’s Missouri speech will go down in history as one of the most blatant assaults on a U.S. administration by a serving U.N. official……
Today’s United Nations is a broken institution in fundamental need of wholesale reform. That is Annan’s legacy, and the United States and the world looks forward to new leadership at Turtle Bay—leadership that is untarnished by the taint of scandal and actually lives up to the ideals of the U.N.’s own Declaration of Human Rights. The U.N. needs a Secretary General who will seek real reform of the U.N. bureaucracy and aggressively stand up for democracy, human rights, and freedom.
Indeed……
Technorati Tags: MichaelRamirez, KofiAnnan, UnitedNations
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Cox & Forkum: Parting Shot
Cox & Forkum: Parting Shot
CNN: Annan chides U.S. in farewell speech.
Kofi Annan had some strong words Monday for the United States in his farewell speech as secretary-general of the United Nations. …
“When power, especially military force, is used, the world will consider it legitimate only when convinced that it is being used for the right purpose, for broadly shared aims, in accordance with broadly accepted norms.”
As things stand, accountability between states is highly skewed. Poor and weak states are easily held to account, because they need foreign assistance. But large and powerful states, whose actions have the greatest impact on others, can be constrained only by their own people, working through their domestic institutions.
That gives the people and institutions of such powerful states a special responsibility to take account of global views and interests, as well as national ones. …
In fact, it is only through multilateral institutions that states can hold each other to account. And that makes it very important to organize those institutions in a fair and democratic way, giving the poor and the weak some influence over the actions of the rich and the strong.
Kofi Annan is a damn CROOK along with his son. They both belong in prison.
Good Bye and Good riddance…..
Thanks for turning the United Nations from a feckless, meaningless, international organization into a CORRUPT, feckless, meaningless, international organization.
The Heritage Foundation: Kofi Annan’s Legacy of FailureÂ
Today’s United Nations is a broken institution in fundamental need of wholesale reform. That is Annan’s legacy, and the United States and the world looks forward to new leadership at Turtle Bay—leadership that is untarnished by the taint of scandal and actually lives up to the ideals of the U.N.’s own Declaration of Human Rights. The U.N. needs a Secretary General who will seek real reform of the U.N. bureaucracy and aggressively stand up for democracy, human rights, and freedom.
Indeed……
Technorati Tags: UnitedNations, KofiAnnan