UN atom watchdog chief says to quit if Iran attacked

Source: Reuters

The chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said in remarks aired on Friday that he would resign if there was a military strike on Iran, warning that any such attack would turn the region into a "fireball".

"I don't believe that what I see in Iran today is a current, grave and urgent danger. If a military strike is carried out against Iran at this time ... it would make me unable to continue my work," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamad ElBaradei told Al Arabiya television in an interview.

"A military strike, in my opinion, would be worse than anything possible. It would turn the region into a fireball," he said, emphasising that any attack would only make the Islamic Republic more determined to obtain nuclear power.

"If you do a military strike, it will mean that Iran, if it is not already making nuclear weapons, will launch a crash course to build nuclear weapons with the blessing of all Iranians, even those in the West."



Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20498230.htm

for a long time.

Both the USA and Israel would attack Iran for no other reason than to get rid of him as head of the IAEA. They both bitterly opposed him as Chairman of the IAEA. That's more than a win win situation. It's a win win win situation. Israel wins by destroying an enemy. Bush/Cheney wins with expanded war profits. They both win when El Baradei resigns. He should have threatened to Petetion the UN to be made permanent Chairman of the IAEA. THEN they would think twice about attacking Iran. But this threat is actually just more incentive to attack Iran. It's an added bonus for the Neocons that hate him with a passion because of his integrity.

Yes, permanent. Yes, more profits.

and he knows it and the United nations is a joke too

WWIII will be upon us

and the World will be a different place and the NeoCons will cause their own destruction

win win win win?

(is your :sarcasm: tag missing)

"If you do a military strike, it will mean that Iran, if it is not already making nuclear weapons, will launch a crash course to build nuclear weapons with the blessing of all Iranians, even those in the West."

Correction: If you do a military strike, it will mean that China and Big Dog Russia will launch their own system of retaliation. They have a vested interest in Iraqi oil--and blowing up the middle east by neocons will not be tolerated. And even Dick Cheney in his mental oasis state of mind can understand this. No need to worry, we no longer have the upper hand in the middle east.

Cheney's reality aversion field is very strong...

neocons. War is money to these soulless fools; Big war is even bigger money. Israel is controlled by big money interests, America is controlled by Israel.

I think that the war profiteers in Israel--like the 'christian' right here--have hitched their wagons to the Bush Cartel (U.S. war profiteers and oil corps)--and have been shrewdly used for a corporate resource war. Yes, Israel has influence here. Of course that's true. And Israel's rightwing leaders couldn't be happier to have the entire U.S. military ensconced in the Middle East, because it removes the burden of peacemaking, diplomacy and creative thinking from Israel, and makes Israel dependent on them and their war profiteering, and their fascist policy. But the Iraq War could not have happened on the volition of Israel's rightwing leadership alone. And it is very important to understand this. It is our war profiteers, and our oil giants, and our Democratic Party colluders, and our fascists in the White House who manufactured this war.

Israel's leaders have made an enormous mistake in allying themselves with the Bush Junta--the most hated U.S. regime in history, here and abroad. The Bush Cartel does nothing--NOTHING!--that is not in the interest of their own profits and power. And they would betray Israel in a cold minute, if there was profit in it. If they decided that it was in their interest to SELL nuke technology to Iran, they would not blink. They sold chemical weapons to Saddam, to use against Iran! They helped ARM Iran, in the hostage crisis in 1980, in order to get Reagan elected! They are ruthless shit-heads with loyalty to NO ONE.

And they have now put Israel is extraordinary danger, by invading Iraq (killing over one million innocent people, and torturing thousands), and threatening Iran. Iran would have no interest in nuclear weapons--and their spiritual leader has made this clear--if they were not threatened. Imagine if China somehow invaded Mexico, and killed a million people, and tortured thousands and were occupying Mexico. Would we not feel THREATENED? Jeez. And added to this, China started saber-rattling against the U.S. and calling us a "terrorist state." We have no territorial ambitions as to Mexico (just as Iran has shown NO territorial ambitions in the Middle East). We don't want to occupy and govern Mexico (just as Iran doesn't want to occupy and govern Iraq, or anyone else). But put an invading foreign power into the picture, right on our border, and what would we do? Iran has shown amazing restraint, in truth. But what might they do, under constant threats and saber-rattling, with the U.S. military occupying their neighbor country? And where does that leave Israel--the ally of this horror in Iraq?

I have no illusions about Israel's rightwing and its war profiteers. I frankly think that they could have been involved in 9/11. They are as anti-democratic and as devious as the Bush Junta. But we should remember that there, as here, there are the government/corporate powers and there are the PEOPLE. WE have been put in danger, too, by this Junta--as the Israeli people have been put in danger. And the Israeli people are vastly more vulnerable and subject to fear-mongering.

Please try to keep this in perspective. There is nothing that AIPAC or the Israeli lobby or Mossad could have done, to force or entice the U.S. to invade and occupy Iraq, and threaten Iran, if the Bush Junta didn't see vast profits in it. Neither Saddam's Iraq, nor Iran, had ANYTHING to do with Al Qaeda. Both hated and feared Al Qaeda. There was NO REASON to attack or threaten either of them, except that they sit on the biggest oil reserves on earth. Israel's rightwing leaders might think that war on Iraq and threatening Iran are great, and they have certainly allied themselves with these horrors. But they had no power to make them happen, and they are wrong, wrong, wrong in thinking that this makes Israel SAFER. What it does is making Israeli taxpayers easier to loot, just as it does here. And it has made both countries the pariahs of the world. How is that SAFE?

He can say that Israel controls the orbit of Mars. That is far from making it true.

before the invasion of their country.

There is no question that the U.S. Jewish lobby--and the Israeli lobby--are powerful influences in Washington DC. But "control"? No. I think what these lobbies do is to look out for the interests of the U.S. Jewish population (the U.S. Jewish lobby)--including related and traditional progressive policies--and, in the case of the state of Israel (the Israeli lobby), they use their influence to the hilt to protect Israel (a tiny country surrounded by unfriendly/hostile neighbors--now made even more hostile by Bush Junta fiat), and, with the current leadership, to promote war profiteers on both sides. There are, of course, ties between the two--close ties between the U.S. Jewish community and Israel. Unfortunately, what this means is political support for the U.S. war profiteers--a decidedly un-progressive policy. Thus, you get "NeoCons"--warmongers--many of them U.S. Jews. But they are no more representative of the U.S. Jewish population--or Israel's population, for that matter--than Donald Rumsfeld is representative of you and me. What we have, in Washington DC, is a nexus of corruption--geez, a cauldron of corruption--involving many types of people, all tied into corporate rule and war profiteering. Neither the U.S. Jewish lobby, nor the Israel lobby, nor the NeoCons "control" the U.S. government. The Bush Cartel controls it, and USES all of these people--Jews, rightwing 'Christians,' Republican "brownshirts," the super-rich, government contractors, corrupt Democrats, anti-Castro Miami fascists, Eastern European mafias, Colombian drug traffickers, etc.--to serve Bush Cartel ends.

Some of those interested in Israel's survival--and others into war profiteering--latched onto to this dreadful Bushite regime. Thinking what? I don't know. There is safety in fascism? The NeoCons are beyond understanding. But I would bet that most U.S. Jews think they are nuts, and understand the mistake they made, and the mistake Israel made, in allying with these fuckwads. Israel has ended up with really only one friend in the world--the U.S.--and that support has been endangered by the alliance between the Israel's rightwing leaders and war profiteers, and the Bush regime and our war profiteers.

It's easy to see it the other way around--as Sharon asserts, that Israel "controls the U.S."--partly because that exonerates US, the American people, from OUR responsibility for the Iraq War and other crimes. And partly because these Jewish lobbies are powerful--some of it for the good, and some not--but they are not "controlling," in my opinion. They are simply powerful, reflective of well-organized lobbying groups and cohesive communities, much like any other. (Look what the anti-Castro Miamians have done! You want to talk about "controlling" the U.S.!). And they have the same problems, too, of the lobbying group leaders NOT fully or accurately reflecting the views of their constituents. If you don't like some of what Jewish lobbies have done, then you need to get organized and out-lobby them, and find ways to express your opinion, and, to see that the democratic will of the American people is done, if it conflicts with these lobbying groups (as it well might on the Iraq War and on threats/war against Iran). But to blame Israel--or Jewish lobbies--for the actions of our government is scapegoating. It is not a realistic assessment of the situation. It is distorted view. And, as such, it is not helpful. WE need to restore our control of our government. We need to do about a decade of hard work on our democratic institutions--such as transparent vote counting, and alternative news media. To blame others--especially a tiny, vulnerable country like Israel--for OUR troubles, and our loss of control of our government, is a distraction.

which originally came from the Islamic Association for Palestine; hardly an unbiased source. It has since been taken up by such stellar organizations as David Duke's site, Stormfront, and WakeUpFromYourSlumber.

So, probably about as accurate as the rumours about Saddam's WMD.

And even if Sharon actually said it, it would only demonstrate the megalomania of an individual known to be about as reliable as Bush.

Israel is a much smaller country, and depends on American aid - not the other way round.

To some degree, Israel - and Britain - are controlled by America. To a much larger degree, both Israel and Britain sometimes have RW governments that choose to collaborate with the American RW government.

Your government needs to take responsibility for its own actions; not blame foreigners for 'controlling' it.

I will bet you Bush has been told in no uncertain terms to fuck off. When Blair had those 15 sailors held in Iran, Bush put a second carrier in the Gulf and then offered to help BLiar, Blair told Bush to get his carriers away from Iran and the Gulf. Thats what Bush did. Blair then got his 15 sailors back thru talking.

SO Russia, China and the UK want the mid east calmed down, they have told Bush what will happen. Which may include the take down of any US carrier involved in attacking Iran. Iran has a basic but realitively new air defense system 3 layers deep, including cruise missiles like the mach 4.5 Sunburn that are designed to sink US ships.

SO there wont be an attack on Iran, thats very successful. The US Military brass knows this, they dont want to lose 2 carrier groups and 10k sailors in the process.

That leaves the Air Force, a rogue officer, aligned with Bush.

get a lot of their oil from Iran. *ss is setting us up for more chaos so he and his bunch of asses can profit.

The way they hate him now, they want him to quit as of yesterday. His threatening to quit will only encourage the neo-con psychopaths to bomb Iran.

He'll get the Israeli's to do it, then we will come riding to the rescue of innocent little Israel when the region blows up.

These Neocons make me sick.

Israel taking "practice" runs now.

Yep.

Diplomacy has died in this Administration.

Our next Administration can't come soon enough for me.

:kick:

is <em>encouragement</em> to these lunatics

The "rapture" crowd has no connection to reality - and there are more of them than one might think.

Otherwise seemingly intelligent, sentient beings walk among us firmly believing that people have walked on water, raised the dead, risen up to "heaven"... and that all they need to do is bring on Armageddon so they can go too.

People sneer at the jihadists who believe they will go to heaven and have sixty virgins (to rape? is that heaven?) if they just blow up some infidels, but treat the rapturists as if they were sane.

The "War on Terror" needs to be broadened to a war on stupid.

The only problem with calling the bluff of the rapturist return of christ in the face of nuclear war is that you have to have one. I see almost no other way to shut these people up than to give them what they want and wait for their sick little fantasy to not happen. It's about the only thing I can think of that would let everyone see how whacked-out, batshit crazy these people really are.

Is there any other way to shut these people up for good? Can anyone think of one?

offer trips to the comet?

ok, I'm being facetious. You are, unfortunately, right, I fear. Over the course of history there have been myriad such batshit crazy populations. People who threw virgins into volcanoes to "appease the gods." Shamans who pierced their own penises to bleed on some altar because that was supposed to somehow make the gods happy.

The various religions, creation myths, superstitions, etc. demonstrate pretty clearly that humans have a propensity for believing bullshit. There seems to be a desire to come up with mystical explanations for the commonplace - an aversion to accepting Occam's Razor. They even accuse those who do believe in facts - in reality - of being delusional. They call us "secular humanists" and think we are nuts because we reject the idea that angels sit on their shoulders and whisper sweet nothings in their ear. Or, if not nuts, then we are possessed by their "devil." They have an idiotic explanation for everything, so there is no possibility of reasoning with them. None. Nada. Period.

I am a liberal Christian... one who does actually believe in the Golden Rule, the Sermon on the Mount, etc... so please don't lump me in with those kinds of cretins!

I like what a later poster indicated... about these people trying to create Armageddon. What a joke!

NO ONE... NOT EVEN GOD THE FATHER KNOWS THE DATE AND TIME THAT JESUS WILL RETURN!! (LET ALONE ANY JERKS IN THE WHITE HOUSE!)

I find it arrogance at its worst to try to induce Armageddon. Jesus even warned about people who try to bring it on ("Wars and rumors of wars...")

Hmmm... I wonder if Jesus will place the Bush Admin in the pack of sheep or goats?

The Beatitudes NEVER mentioned "Blessed are the warmongers." :nuke:

or the Sermon on the Mount as ethical/moral guidance. I am all for treating others with respect and compassion. I happen NOT to believe in an afterlife or a mystical being keeping score for who goes where. Belief in the existence of "good" and "evil" something like the "Force" in Star Wars, with its "dark" counterpart, is fine with me. I happen to worship (through awe and respect) nature - all aspects of life on this planet, the wonders of mountains, rivers, deserts, forests...

Anyone who uses trumped-up mysticism to justify damaging THAT is, to me, a sinner. And humanity, with its runaway population growth and destruction of nature, is pretty much a blight on the planet, imo.

if these sorts ever get their way today, they can perform a ritual sacrifice upon millions at the same time.

This is the sort of shit that makes me deeply nervous about a devout anything having their hand on The Button.

in a strike against Iran. I keep thinking matters can't get worse but they continue to do so.

To all: If you haven't signed Rep. Kucinich's petition to impeach you can at this link:

http://impeachment.kucinich.us/petition/

will allow me to sign for her also.

go through, maybe using a different IP address would work. Does anyone out there in DU Land know? My husband and I both sign petitions but he uses his computer and I use mine, so I really don't know for certain.

should be able to say "no I do not want to die."

has been trying to start this from the beginning. They actually think they can force the Lord to return if they get the circumstances set up just right. I do not even know how to combat this idiocy. One very big reason to IMPEACH.

These people are just as crazy as the suicide bombers.

The progress by the IAEA would be the same as if he remained onboard--negligible.

Duke

Doin the corporate biz,
Eleanor Roosevelt's United Nations
has always been looked down upon by this
oh so righteous "moral values" Empire.

Could it possibly be,
with an entrenched two political party business set up,
the Founding Feudal Father's Wealth & Power Protection Racket
will continue to crush those who oppose.

they're talking about a (bill?) about to pass, 362, that is a resolution for a naval blockade of Iran. It has been proposed by Evan Bayh, that means the Senate, no wonder I couldn't find it at Thomas H bills.............