Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Nuclear Iran: Not a matter of “if”, but of “when”

Via Drudge,
Iranian nuke plot vaporized in the city: NY banks unwittingly aided in material transfers, says DA

BREAKING: Chinese financier Le Fang Wei indicted in plot to send nuclear materials to Iran.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has smashed a sinister plot to smuggle nuclear weapons materials to Iran through unwitting New York banks, the Daily News has learned.

Officials plan to unseal a 118-count indictment Tuesday accusing a Chinese national of setting up a handful of fake companies to hide that he was selling millions of dollars in potential nuclear materials to Tehran.

“This case will cut off a major source of supply to Iran and it shows how they are going ahead full steam to get a nuclear bomb. Long-range missiles they pretty much have already,” a law enforcement source close to the case said.

“We think it is one of the largest suppliers of weapons of mass destruction to Iran.”

More at Jawa.

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While the celebrities pledge, Al Qaeda bungles an arms experiment

While the celebrities pledge, Al Qaeda bungles an arms experiment:

An al Qaeda affiliate in Algeria closed a base earlier this month after an experiment with unconventional weapons went awry, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Monday.

The official, who spoke on the condition he not be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said he could not confirm press reports that the accident killed at least 40 al Qaeda operatives, but he said the mishap led the militant group to shut down a base in the mountains of Tizi Ouzou province in eastern Algeria.

He said authorities in the first week of January intercepted an urgent communication between the leadership of al Qaeda in the Land of the Maghreb (AQIM) and al Qaeda’s leadership in the tribal region of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. The communication suggested that an area sealed to prevent leakage of a biological or chemical substance had been breached, according to the official.

“We don’t know if this is biological or chemical,” the official said.

The story was first reported by the British tabloid the Sun, which said the al Qaeda operatives died after being infected with a strain of bubonic plague, the disease that killed a third of Europe’s population in the 14th century. But the intelligence official dismissed that claim.

A J Strata:

While a lot of my blogging associates have been making light of the apparent deaths of 40 al Qaeda fighters in the last few weeks from a reported Bubonic Plague outbreak – my first and last feelings have been blaring alarm bells. I have a BS in biology and I must say I find it hard to believe the plague could knock out 40 people so quickly. At least the naturally occurring variety. The natural plaque (which still roams the Earth) is from flea bites from infected fleas.

What happens in some cases, which causes an acceleration of the spreading, is the virus transforms into an air borne version called pneumonic plague. It is this version of the plague causing bacteria which could make a lethal WMD.

Is the Sun’s article a false report meant to scare Al Qaeda out into the open?

For all our sakes, I hope so.

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Regarding those anthrax letters that were mailed from Princeton,

Bruce Ivins Wasn’t the Anthrax Culprit

Over the past week the media was gripped by the news that the FBI was about to charge Bruce Ivins, a leading anthrax expert, as the man responsible for the anthrax letter attacks in September/October 2001.

But despite the seemingly powerful narrative that Ivins committed suicide because investigators were closing in, this is still far from a shut case. The FBI needs to explain why it zeroed in on Ivins, how he could have made the anthrax mailed to lawmakers and the media, and how he (or anyone else) could have pulled off the attacks, acting alone.

You must read that article, which concludes,

From what we know so far, Bruce Ivins, although potentially a brilliant scientist, was not that man. The multiple disciplines and technologies required to make the anthrax in this case do not exist at Army’s Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Inhalation studies are conducted at the institute, but they are done using liquid preparations, not powdered products.

Many questions, not enough answers.

And the letters were mailed less than two miles from where I’m writing this post.

UPDATE
Anthrax Dryer a Key To Probe
Suspect Borrowed Device From Lab

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US removes uranium from Iraq

From Associated Press, that arm of the vast right wing conspiracy:
US removes uranium from Iraq.

Let’s pay attention to that: The United States military have removed

550 metric tons of “yellowcake” – the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment

which was stored at the nuclear facility in Tuwaitha, Iraq, some 12 miles south of Baghdad.

Again:

  • Saddam Hussein had a nuclear program
  • At the Tuwaitha nuclear complex just south of Baghdad
  • Which included 550 metric tons (over 1.2 million pounds) of “yellowcake”, or concentrated uranium
  • And multiple devices that could be used in a nuclear weapon

The AP does not say alleged nuclear program. It does not add “according to military experts.” It simply says “Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program.”

Other important points:
1. The yellowcake removed is the last mayor remnant of Saddam’s nuclear program. There was more.
2. The military had removed earlier this year four devices for controlled radiation exposure which “contain elements of high radioactivity that could potentially be used in a weapon”.
3. The yellowcake was sold to Cameco, which may have been involved in the Oil-For-Food scam, and is a company in which Soros Fund Management LLC owns a substantial portion.

It Must Suck Being Joe Wilson Today – Joe, you’ve been punk’d!

In other news, Iraqis lead final purge of Al-Qaeda, Islamism is discredited, and We’re winning this War on Terror.

The Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean will be up in a couple of hours. Bear with me – with the rescue of the Colombian hostages, it’s going to be huge!

Special thanks to Hip Hop Republican and Larwyn.

Crossposted

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Noon roundup: WaPo realizes Bush didn’t lie, the al-Khaiwani verdict, and more

The Anchoress has an excellent post, WaPo: Bush “substantiated by intelligence”, where she quotes from this article, ‘Bush Lied’? If Only It Were That Simple

On Iraq’s nuclear weapons program? The president’s statements “were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates.”

On biological weapons, production capability and those infamous mobile laboratories? The president’s statements “were substantiated by intelligence information.”

On chemical weapons, then? “Substantiated by intelligence information.”

On weapons of mass destruction overall (a separate section of the intelligence committee report)? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.” Delivery vehicles such as ballistic missiles? “Generally substantiated by available intelligence.” Unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.”

As you read through the report, you begin to think maybe you’ve mistakenly picked up the minority dissent. But, no, this is the Rockefeller indictment. So, you think, the smoking gun must appear in the section on Bush’s claims about Saddam Hussein’s alleged ties to terrorism.

But statements regarding Iraq’s support for terrorist groups other than al-Qaeda “were substantiated by intelligence information.” Statements that Iraq provided safe haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda “were substantiated by the intelligence assessments,” and statements regarding Iraq’s contacts with al-Qaeda “were substantiated by intelligence information.” The report is left to complain about “implications” and statements that “left the impression” that those contacts led to substantive Iraqi cooperation.

The bottom line:

But the phony “Bush lied” story line distracts from the biggest prewar failure: the fact that so much of the intelligence upon which Bush and Rockefeller and everyone else relied turned out to be tragically, catastrophically wrong.

THAT is the real issue.

Stephen Hayes has More on Rockefeller’s Feculent Senate Report from today’s NY Sun editorial

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Jane Novak posts that today is The Worst Day for Press Freedom in Yemen as journalist Abdul-Karim al-Khiwani has been sentenced to six years’ hard labor in jail.

Speaking of Yemen, Over half of women who marry in Yemen are under 15 years of age (h/t the Baron)

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Snapped Shot has a display of Government insurance, government efficiency that may be heading our way.
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Top Talent Scout for Obama Tied to Subprime Lender. Who sent him?

Richard Fernandez comments on growth of the Obama-Rezko connection and quotes from Salon,

After law school, Obama went to work for the firm of Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland. During Rezko’s stint in ghetto rehab, Davis Miner represented three community groups in partnership with Rezmar. Through them, the law firm helped Rezko obtain $43 million in government funds.

At last week’s debate in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton stung Obama for “representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum-landlord business in inner-city Chicago.”

If Clinton was trying to stick Rezko on Obama, that was the wrong line of attack. At Davis Miner, Obama did a total of five hours of legal work for Rezko, under the supervision of more-experienced attorneys. Obama didn’t really become tight with Rezko until he ran for the state Senate, in 1995. Rezko, who can spot a comer, was first in line with a check. The day the campaign started, Obama received $2,000 from two of Rezko’s fast-food businesses. Eight years later, when Obama was campaigning for the U.S. Senate, Rezko hosted a fundraiser at his suburban mansion.

Richard points out that

Apart from being a slum landlord, Rezko has also been accused of trying to take control of a $40B Illinois teacher’s pension fund so that he could loot it.

The world of Chicago politics and international intrigue seems to loop around. Not only was Tony Rezko tight with former Saddam moneyman Nahdmi Auchi, guess who put up bail money for the pizza magnate? Aiham Alsammarae.

The Chicago Sun Times reports:

A former Iraqi official and ex-international fugitive helped spring Tony Rezko from jail earlier this month, putting up homes that comprise nearly one-third of the $8.5 million in property and cash securing Rezko’s bail, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

The three homes belonging to former Iraqi Electricity Minister Aiham Alsammarae — a dual U.S.-Iraqi citizen who broke out of a Baghdad jail in 2006 — are part of a long list made public in Rezko’s case Friday following a Sun-Times request.

Don’t tell me: they weren’t that way when Obama first met them…
Brutally Honest has All Obasms all the time

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Al Qaeda "pranks", and not

ABC News has this report, Al Qaeda Supporters’ Tape to Call for Use of WMDs

“There have been several reports that al Qaeda will release a new message calling for the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against civilians,” FBI spokesman Richard Kolko told ABC News in an e-mail.

“Although there have been similar messages in the past, the FBI and [Department of Homeland Security] have no intelligence of any specific plot or indication of a threat to the U.S.,” the e-mail said. “The FBI and U.S. intelligence community will review the message for any intelligence value.”

The video in question appears to have been put together by jihadi supporter(s) and is already available on a YouTube channel devoted to spreading al Qaeda propaganda.

Counterterrorism blog states the video is

meandering, boring, and difficult to follow–and it certainly was not the product of Al-Qaida.

CT Blog points at the possiblity of a prank. Jawa is not alarmed but remains cautious to the possibility that the video may point to a bacteriological attack on September 2008.

However, in Iraq a new al-Qaeda cell has been created for Iraqis under 16 years old; the cell is named “The Youths of Heaven”. And that is no prank. (h/t the Baron)

UPDATE
With al-Qaeda, it’s starting to look as if it’s a matter of women and children first…

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A Jacksonian posts on Syrian WMD capability

Syrian WMD Sites – The Basic List:

First, and most importantly, is that the phosphate deposits in Syria are a multi-part threat. Phosphates, of course, are used in agriculture for fertilizer and in the steel and glass-making businesses, along with standard chemical industry. Phosphate is one of the basic building blocks of life and a necessary element for life to continue. As such it also serves as the dual basis for the chemical and biological weapons development going on in Syria. The prime mover in this is that Syria has not signed on to the Chemical Weapon’s Convention and feels free to develop such weapons. On the biological weapons side, things are a bit more nebulous: even though a treaty signatory, Syria has been putting together a multi-use pharmaceutical industry which would also serve as the basis for a bioweapons industry.
…
On the chemical weapons side, however, there is no doubt of Syrian manufacture of same, especially VX nerve gas and Sarin. These are both dependent upon the phosphate industry and the steep ramping up of that industry does not bode well for those trying to limit Syrian manufacture of chemical weapons.

This is a must-read.

If you can’t believe this will affect you because it’s clear across the world, bear in mind that Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said during a visit to Damascus in August that he and Syria

will “build a new world” free of US domination, vowing eventually to “dig the grave of US imperialism.”

and that Iran Air launches weekly flights to Venezuela through Syria.

More on Syria and WMDs from A Jacksonian,
Syrian WMD facilities: Palymra and Homs
Fun with GIS and INTEL Analysis
Your own All Source Exploitation organization

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One party? Not so fast

Venezuela’s communists, other leftists, resist president’s push for single socialist party. See update below

At the same time, Academic Elephant, blogging at Red State, asks, Is the opposition in Venzuela really dead? Rosales is forming a new opposition party.

Are there signs to a crumbling power equation? Gustavo Coronel explores the subject as Chavez shifts from strategic action to instrumental action.

Academic Elephant had a great post on Chaveonomics 101. Things are so bad in the Venezuelan economy that Hugo’s officially announced that he’ll massage the inflation numbers so they don’t look as bad. Things are getting worse:

In the slums of Caracas, Chavista grocery patrons are now being branded on their bellies (food goes into your belly, right?) with indelible ink by store personnel to ensure that they do not buy more chicken than the government arbitrarily allows.

Still, he continues to nationalize whatever he sees fit. Crime is rising, and tourists are robbed and raped in their hotels

Venezuela was ranked among the four most dangerous countries on the Latin Security Index developed by Holder International for Latin Business Chronicle.

According to the US State Department, Venezuela’s one of the principal drug-transit countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Venezuela News and Views has a round-up on How to deal with Chavismo – and Hillary wants us to turn off the lights ‘because we don’t want to send any more money to Chavez in Venezuela’. Good idea Hillary, now please go tell Joe to go fall in line because ‘I Do Feel Noways Tired of his affiliation with the newly-minted dictator.

While continuing to enhance ties with Iran, Hugo’s not friendly towards its neighbor Guyana. Now imagine a small defenseless country bordering with a large country that has embarked in an arms race that appears to have no limit.

Last evening I was working on this post when my friend Sigmund Carl and Alfred emailed me this article, Syria ready with bio-terror if U.S. hits Iran
Damascus reportedly hiding WMD among commercial pharmaceuticals. As it turned out, he sent the email just as I was reading that the Venezuelan Foreign Minister was visiting Syria’s Bashar Assad in preparation for Assad’s visit to Venezuela.

Update V Crisis posts on the single party story: Venezuela’s communists weary of Chavez’s hegemonic construct?

The business of determining what Venezuelan political event will be picked up by major international news outlets is tricky. The communist State of Venezuela has become a place where not two weeks go by without a major scandal hitting the news. And when I say major scandal I’m not exaggerating. Check out these examples since the beginning of this year:

— Hugo Chavez declares himself a dictator and promises to send Church hierarchs literature on Marx and Lenin so that they’ll understand what his ‘socialism of the 21st century’ is all about.
— Officials from Venezuela, by any measure an underdeveloped country, sign in London, by any measure and in itself one of the world’s leading economies, an agreement to subsidise fuel of its public bus fleet.
— Hugo Chavez sort of makes official his break up with Israel.
— Hugo Chavez nationalizes local and foreign owned power and telecom companies.

You must read the rest.

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