Archive for May 7, 2015

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Senate Passes Corker’s Iran Bill 98-1

May 7, 2015

Senate Passes Corker’s Iran Bill 98-1

by Caroline May7 May 2015

via Senate Passes Corker’s Iran Bill 98-1 – Breitbart.

 

On a near unanimous vote, the Senate approved a bill Thursday to the require that Congress review any final nuclear deal with Iran.

The bipartisan “Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act” passed on a vote of 98-1.

The legislation, offered by

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)

and

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
, requires the president to submit any final nuclear deal with Iran to Congress — with the potential that lawmakers could reject the agreement — before being allowed to lift any sanctions.“The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act offers the best chance for our constituents, through the Congress they elect, to weigh in on the White House’s negotiations with Iran,” Majority Leader

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
said on the Senate floor Thursday before the vote. “And make no mistake, they need to have that opportunity.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)

was the lone “no” vote and his objection was that he’d like to be voting on the Iran deal as a treaty.

“A nuclear-arms agreement with any adversary—especially the terror-sponsoring, Islamist Iranian regime—should be submitted as a treaty and obtain a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate as required by the Constitution,” he said in a statement.

The House will take up the legislation next. In a statement after the vote, House Speaker

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)
said the bill would “hold President Obama’s administration accountable.”“This important, bipartisan legislation will ensure that Congress has a role in reviewing any potential agreement regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” he said. “Our goal is to stop a bad agreement that could pave the way to a nuclear-armed Iran, set off a regional nuclear arms race, and strengthen and legitimize the government of Iran – which threatens Israel and other allies in the region, as well as supports terrorism throughout the Middle East.”

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Russian Tank Crew Cries ‘May Day’ While Rehearsing for May Day Parade

May 7, 2015

Russian super-tank ‘stalls’ on rehearsal parade in Moscow
Via BBC News


(Sputter sputter clunk clunk pop. – LS)

Russia’s new high-tech battle tank has ground to a halt during a rehearsal for 9 May Victory parade in Moscow, prompting speculation of a breakdown.

(Gee, you think? – LS)

One of T-14 Armata tanks suddenly stopped on Red Square, and the driver raised a red flag – apparently to signal that he had problems.

(A white flag would have been more appropriate. – LS)

A tow vehicle was brought in, but the tank later managed to drive on.

(The tow vehicle did, however, run without incident. – LS)

The parade announcer said the stoppage had been planned to show how to “evacuate weaponry”.

(In a manner reminiscent of Baghdad Bob. – LS)

This prompted laughter from the crowds who gathered to watch the rehearsal in the Russian capital, Reuters reports.

(There will be no laughing when Boris Taxpayer gets the bill. – LS)

Alexei Zharich, deputy head of the Uralvagonzavod tank producing factory, later wrote on Twitter (in Russian) that the tank “was in full working order and left on its own”.

(With a driver I hope. – LS)

He also posted a video showing the vehicle leaving Red Square.

(Sure to go viral. – LS)

Russia’s military was responsible for the rehearsal, Mr Zharich added, and any questions should be addressed to it.

(As soon as their responses are approved by the Politburo. – LS)

The T-14 Armata has been the most talked-about innovation in Russia’s new armoury ahead of the 9 May World War Two Victory parade.

It has a remotely controlled cannon and offers additional protection to its crew, Russian military experts say.

And Russia’s RT news says the Armata could “evolve into a fully robotic battle vehicle”.

(Of course, Putin will have his very own joystick. – LS)

The experts also claim the tank is superior to the T-90 – the current mainstay of the Russian army – and also to all Western analogues.

(Rumored to be a bit more reliable than the Trabant. – LS)

Russia plans to bring in about 2,300 Armatas, starting in 2020.

(As soon as the check from Europe clears for all that natural gas. – LS)

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U.S. Military Starts Training Syria Fighters to Combat Islamic State

May 7, 2015

U.S. Military Starts Training Syria Fighters to Combat Islamic State

BY:
May 7, 2015 12:31 pm

 By Dasha Afanasieva and Phil Stewart

via U.S. Military Starts Training Syria Fighters to Combat Islamic State | Washington Free Beacon.

 

ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military has started training Syrian fighters to combat Islamic State militants, U.S. and Middle East sources told Reuters on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding the program had begun in Jordan and would soon launch in Turkey.

The U.S. plan to train and arm a force that is expected to eventually total more than 15,000 troops is a major test of President Barack Obama’s strategy in Syria, which critics say is too limited to steer events.

The Pentagon declined comment. No further details were available, including on the number of forces being trained.

The program itself must overcome deep skepticism, including among rebels fighting inside Syria. Some rebel leaders say the force risks sowing divisions and cannot succeed without directly targeting Syrian government forces.

The Obama administration says the program aims only to target Islamic State forces, since the United States is not at a war with Syria.

But critics, including in the U.S. Congress, say that theoretical limitation is unlikely to withstand the realities of Syria’s messy civil war.

U.S.-trained Syrian fighters, they say, are likely to come in contact with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces eventually. And the priority of key U.S. allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, is to topple Assad.

It was unclear whether Obama had yet decided how extensively and under what circumstances Washington might back the force militarily inside Syria – a commitment that would risk the very entanglement in the war that Obama has long sought to avoid.

U.S. officials had previously told Reuters it was possible training would begin without that clarity.

Part of the U.S. strategy, according to Obama administration documents seen by Reuters, is to pressure Assad by steadily increasing the opposition’s prowess and territory under its control.

Proponents of the U.S. military program note Assad is already facing growing pressure after government forces endured a series of recent setbacks on the battlefield and Islamist fighters edge closer to Assad’s stronghold in the coastal areas.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington and Dasha Afanasieva in Istanbul; Editing by Will Dunham and Doina Chiacu)

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Iranian Pirates Release Ship After Taking Booty

May 7, 2015

Operator of cargo ship seized by Iran says vessel released
By Amir Vahdat and David Rising | AP May 7 at 9:04 AM


(Man the cannons! Hoist the colors! – LS)

TEHRAN, Iran — A Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship seized by Iran has been released and the crew members are all in good condition, according to the ship’s operator.

Rickmers Ship Management told The Associated Press in an e-mail Thursday that the MV Maersk Tigris was released following a court order. It will now continue its scheduled voyage to Jebel Ali, in the United Arab Emirates, where it will be met by representatives from Rickmers and others.

Iranian forces seized the ship April 28 as it traversed the Strait of Hormuz. It was taken to Bandar Abbas, the main port of Iran’s navy, under escort by Iranian patrol boats.

Iran claimed that the Danish shipping company that chartered the ship, Maersk Line, owed money to an Iranian firm. Rickmers’ spokesman Cor Radings would not comment on whether any money was paid to settle the case with Iran, saying in a telephone interview from Amsterdam “that is up to Maersk and the Iranian authorities, our responsibility is with the vessel and crew.”

He said his company had confirmed that the ship had left the Iranian port with all 24 crew members on board and all of its cargo, and that it was expected to arrive in Jebel Ali late Thursday night or early Friday morning.

Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization said in a statement that the government had received the appropriate assurances from Maersk Line. The Danish company had, “ensured the provision of a letter of guarantee for the enforcement of the judicial decision,” the statement said.

In Copenhagen, Maersk Line spokesman Michael Storgaard told AP that the case “is not over yet,” but confirmed that the company was committed to covering the $163,000 debt claimed by the Iranian firm, if necessary. “We have said we would be willing to pay the $163,000 but for now we have not paid anything,” he said.

Storgaard said lawyers from both sides will now begin looking into the matter.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard made reference to an apparent role by his government in the negotiations, saying it was “gratifying that our joint efforts” had led to the release of the ship.

“For Denmark as a seafaring nation, it is obviously a priority that international obligations are complied with and that ships can sail in the Persian Gulf,” Lidegaard said in a statement. “We have also made that clear in our contact with the Iranian authorities.”

The incident came at a critical time in Iran’s relations with the West, as talks on Tehran’s contested nuclear program continue and frictions rise amid a U.S.-backed campaign by a Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen.

Following the Maersk incident, Washington adopted a policy change, allowing any U.S.-flagged ship to be accompanied by Navy warships through the narrow strait, which includes Iranian territorial waters. Navy ships are positioned nearby and are ready to respond if needed, but they do not actually escort a vessel.

The Strait of Hormuz is the route for about a fifth of the world’s oil and is only about 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point.

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Exclusive: Obama to back Palestinian state at Security Council – payback for Israel’s right-wing cabinet

May 7, 2015

Exclusive: Obama to back Palestinian state at Security Council – payback for Israel’s right-wing cabinet, DEBKAfile, May 6, 2015

Net-0b_clash_5.15Barack Obama plans to punish Israel again

DEBKAfile reports exclusively from Washington: US President Barack Obama did not wait for Binyamin Netanyahu to finish building his new government coalition by its deadline at midnight Wednesday, May 6, before going into action to pay him back for forming a right-wing cabinet minus any moderate figure for resuming negotiations with the Palestinians.

Banking on Netanyahu’s assertion while campaigning for re-election that there would be no Palestinian state during his term in office, Obama is reported exclusively by our sources to have given the hitherto withheld green light to European governments to file a UN Security Council motion proclaiming an independent Palestinian state. Although Netanyahu left the foreign affairs portfolio in his charge and available to be filled by a suitably moderate figure as per the White House’s expectations did not satisfy the US President.

The White House is confident that, with the US voting in favor, the motion will be passed by an overwhelming majority and therefore be binding on the Israeli government.

To show the administration was in earnest, senior US officials sat down with their French counterparts in Paris last week to sketch out the general outline of this motion. According to our sources, they began addressing such questions as the area of the Palestinian state, its borders, security arrangements between Israel and the Palestinians and whether or not to set a hard-and-fast timeline for implementation, or phrase the resolution as  a general declaration of intent.

Incorporating a target date in the language would expose Israel to Security Council sanctions for non-compliance.

It was indicated by the American side in Paris that the Obama administration would prefer to give Netanyahu a lengthy though predetermined time scale to reconsider his Palestinian policy or even possibly to broaden and diversify his coalition by introducing non-aligned factions or figures into such key posts as foreign affairs.

At the same time, both American and French diplomats are already using the club they propose to hang over the Netanyahu government’s head for gains in other spheres.

French President Francois Hollande, for instance, the first foreign leader ever to attend a Gulf Council of Cooperation summit, which opened in Riyadh Tuesday to discuss Iran and the Yemen war, used the opportunity to brief Gulf Arab rulers on Washington’s turnaround on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

And US Secretary of State John Kerry plans to present the Obama administration’s new plans for Palestinian statehood to Saudi leaders during his visit to Riyadh Wednesday and Thursday, May 6-7. Kerry will use Washington’s willingness to meet Palestinian aspirations as currency for procuring Saudi and Gulf support for a Yemen ceasefire and their acceptance of the nuclear deal shaping up with Iran.

Categories: Coalition, Elections in Israel, Foreign policy, International Community, Israel, Israel, Palestinians, Kerry, Netanyahu, Obama, Peace process, Two state solution, United Nations
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