George W. Bush

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

However, the commission found that the designation should have only been applied to people who are members or associates of terrorist networks. Neither the police nor customs had any such evidence of that concerning Mr. Arar or his wife, an economist.

From there, the Mounted Police asked that the couple be included in a database that alerts United States border officers to suspect individuals. The police described Mr. Arar and his wife as, the report said, “Islamic extremists suspected of being linked to the al Qaeda movement.”

The commission said that all who testified before it accepted that the description was false.

According to the inquiry’s finding, the Mounted Police gave the F.B.I. and other American authorities material from Project A-O Canada, which included suggestions that Mr. Arar had visited Washington around Sept. 11 and had refused to cooperate with the Canadian police. The handover of the data violated the force’s own guidelines, but was justified on the basis that such rules no longer applied after 2001.

In July 2002, the Mounted Police learned that Mr. Arar and his family were in Tunisia, and incorrectly concluded that they had left Canada permanently.

On Sept. 26, 2002, the F.B.I. called Project A-O and told the Canadian police that Mr. Arar was scheduled to arrive in about one hour from Zurich. The F.B.I. also said it planned to question Mr. Arar and then send him back to Switzerland. Responding to a fax from the F.B.I., the Mounted Police provided the American investigators with a list of questions for Mr. Arar. Like the other information, it included many false claims about Mr. Arar, the commission found.

The Canadian police “had no idea of what would eventually transpire,’’ the commission said. “It did not occur to them that the American authorities were contemplating sending Mr. Arar to Syria.”

While the F.B.I. and the Mounted Police kept up their communications about Mr. Arar, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs was not told about his detention for almost three days. Its officials, acting on calls from worried relatives, had been trying to find him. Similarly, American officials denied Mr. Arar’s requests to speak with the Canadian Consulate in New York, a violation of international agreements.

Evidence presented to the commission, said Paul J. J. Cavalluzzo, its lead counsel, showed that the F.B.I. continued to keep its Canadian counterparts in the dark even while an American jet was carrying Mr. Arar to Jordan. The panel found that American officials “believed — quite correctly — that, if informed, the Canadians would have serious concerns about the plan to remove Mr. Arar to Syria.”

Mr. Arar arrived in Syria on Oct. 9, 2002, and was imprisoned there until Oct. 5, 2003. It took Canadian officials, however, until Oct. 21 to locate him in Syria. The commission concludes that Syrian officials at first denied knowing Mr. Arar’s whereabouts to hide the fact that he was being tortured. It says that, among other things, he was beaten with a shredded electrical cable until he was disoriented.

American officials have not discussed the case publicly. But in an interview last year, a former official said on condition of anonymity that the decision to send Mr. Arar to Syria had been based chiefly on the desire to get more information about him and the threat he might pose. The official said Canada did not intend to hold him if he returned home.

Mr. Arar said he appealed a recent decision by a federal judge in New York dismissing the suit he brought against the United States. The report recommends that the Canadian government, which is also being sued by Mr. Arar, offer him compensation and possibly a job.

[Rasputin]

بوش مردم ايران را به دوستی دعوت کرد


بوش خطاب به ايرانيان گفت: شما شايسته برخورداری از اقتصادی هستيد که درخور استعدادها و قابليتهايتان باشد
جورج بوش، رئيس جمهور آمريکا طی سخنرانی در شصت و يکمين مجمع عمومی ساليانه سازمان ملل متحد، خطاب به مردم ايران گفت که چشم به راه روزی است که ايران و آمريکا دوستان خوب و هميارانی نزديک در راه برقراری صلح در جهان باشند.
آقای بوش نخستين سخنران بود که پس از نطق افتتاحيه کوفی عنان، دبيرکل سازمان ملل متحد به ايراد سخنان خود در مجمع عمومی اين سازمان پرداخت و قرار است محمود احمدی نژاد، رئيس جمهور ايران نيز ساعاتی پس از وی در اين مجمع سخنرانی کند.

رئيس جمهور آمريکا در بخشی از سخنرانی خود ملت ايران را طرف خطاب قرار داد و گفت که آمريکا به تاريخ ايران و "فرهنگ زنده" اين کشور و نقشی که ايران در تمدن جهانی ايفا کرده است احترام می گذارد.

وی خطاب به ايرانيان گفت: "شما شايسته فرصتی برای تعيين سرنوشت خود و برخورداری از اقتصادی هستيد که درخور استعدادها و قابليتهايتان باشد".

آقای بوش افزود: "بزرگترين مانع در راه دستيابی به چنين آينده، حکمرانان شما هستند که بنا را بر محروميت شما از آزادی و استفاده از منابع کشورتان برای کمک مالی به تروريستها و دامن زدن به آتش افراطی گری و دستيابی به سلاح هسته ای گذاشته اند".

رئيس جمهور آمريکا خطاب به مردم ايران تأکيد کرد: "برخلاف آنچه رژيم [ايران] به شما می گويد، ما هيچ مخالفتی با تلاش ايران برای دستيابی به برنامه ای جهت توليد صلح آميز انرژی اتمی نداريم و برای يافتن راه حلی ديپلماتيک برای حل اين بحران می کوشيم".

وی به مردم ايران گفت که در حالی که چنين تلاشی ادامه دارد، دولت او "چشم به راه روزی است که شما در آزادی به سر بريد و آمريکا و ايران بتوانند دوستانی خوب و هميارانی نزديک در راه صلح جهانی باشند".

در حالی که سخنرانی جورج بوش در بامداد نخستين روز از نشست سران دولتهای عضو سازمان ملل متحد ايراد شد، سخنرانی محمود احمدی نژاد برای عصر اين روز برنامه ريزی شده است.

بر اساس آئين نامه داخلی سازمان ملل، ترتيب سخنرانيها در اجلاس مجمع عمومی بنا بر زمان درخواست سخنرانی از سوی دولت هر کشور معين می شود.

محمود احمدی نژاد نخستين رئيس جمهور ايران است که دو بار و طی دو سال پياپی در مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل متحد شرکت می کند.

[Rasputin]

Choose between freedom or extremism

President Bush challenged world leaders to do more to build democracy in the Middle East in an address at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday.

Bush used a noontime speech to the General Assembly to ask U.N. members for help in fighting extremism in the Middle East.

"From Beirut to Baghdad, people are making the choice for freedom," Bush told the General Assembly.

"And the nations gathered in this chamber must make a choice as well," he said. "Will we support the moderates and reformers who are working for change across the Middle East, or will we yield the future to the terrorists and extremists?"

Following up on a speech he made last week on the five-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Bush said the "calling of our generation" is the fight between extremism and the "peaceful majority."

The American president cited electoral advances across the Mideast as proof that democracy is advancing in the region and said the lack of reform seen in the past decades fertilized extremism.

Bush said people who have hope for a future "are less likely to blow themselves up in suicide attacks" and asked Muslim nations to support democratic reforms in the Middle East.

He praised the people of Iraq for voting for a democratic government and vowed to stand behind the elected leaders in securing Iraq's future from "terrorists and extremists."

Afghanistan voters also drew his praise for establishing a free government that combats terrorists.

And peace between Palestinians and Israelis "is one of the great objectives of my presidency," Bush said, and he praised the commitments of both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Bush cited Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt as examples of countries providing the diplomatic and financial leadership needed to foster Mideast democracy.

And Bush said the United States respects the people of Iran and wants them to have leaders that allow them the freedom to pursue their dreams.

He said Iran must comply with U.N. demands on halting nuclear enrichment activities so Iran can benefit fully from what the rest of the world has to offer.

Among those in the audience was expected to be Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an acerbic critic of U.S. foreign policy who has previously challenged Bush to a debate. The two were not expected to talk directly.


"I'm sure both will have minders working hard to keep them apart," said U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown. "So probably, the great clash of the titans, the rumble of the jungle -- whatever you want to call it -- is not going to happen."

Ahmadinejad will address the assembly Tuesday evening.

After meeting with French President Jacques Chirac Tuesday morning, Bush warned Iran that "time is of the essence" for the country to avoid sanctions by complying with U.N. demands to stop uranium enrichment activities.

Uranium enrichment is key to producing nuclear weapons. The United States suspects Iran of using its nuclear program to develop weapons, while Tehran insists its program is only for peaceful purposes.

The U.N. Security Council had demanded that Iran suspend all uranium enrichment by August 31 or face the possibility of economic sanctions. Iran missed the deadline but said it would consider temporarily suspending its program as a condition for beginning talks with the United States.

In an interview before the U.N. visit, Time magazine asked Ahmadinejad if Iran would suspend enrichment "as a confidence-building measure."

"Whose confidence should be built?" the Iranian leader asked.

"The world? Who is the world? The United States? The U.S. administration is not the entire world," he said. "Europe does not account for one-twentieth of the entire world. When I studied the provisions of the NPT [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty], nowhere did I see it written that in order to produce nuclear fuel, we need to win the support or the confidence of the United States and some European countries."

In the Time interview, Ahmadinejad said that the Bush administration must "change its behavior, and then everything will be solved.

"It was the U.S. which broke up relations with us. We didn't take that position. And then they should make up for it," Ahmadinejad told Time.

Among the 27 world leaders speaking Tuesday, according to Reuters, are Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South African President Thabo Mbeki, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, French President Jacques Chirac, Mexican President Vicente Fox, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Jordanian King Abdullah II Bin al-Hussein and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

[Rasputin]

Bush defends Mid-East line at UN

US President George W Bush has defended his policies on the Middle East at the annual UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders in New York.
Mr Bush said democracy was gaining ground in the region and terrorists were being marginalised.

The meeting was opened by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who made an urgent plea for peace in the Middle East.

Mr Annan also raised the Darfur crisis in Western Sudan, which he described as the UN's biggest challenge.

In his address, he said ongoing violence there "makes a mockery of our claim to shield people from abusers".

Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions

George W Bush

BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says the issue hangs like a dark shadow over this session, raising questions about the UN's effectiveness and relevance.

The Security Council has backed the despatch of a full UN peacekeeping mission to protect civilians, but the Sudanese government has not approved the force.

Iran divide

Mr Bush said that if the Khartoum authorities did not do so quickly, the UN had to act. "Your lives and the United Nation's credibility are at stake," he added, addressing the people of Darfur.

The US president also announced the appointment of a special US envoy to the region.


Darfur is set to be a contentious issue at the meeting

On the Middle East, Mr Bush rejected criticism that his policies were destabilising the region: "This argument rests on a false assumption - that the Middle East was stable to begin with."

He said recent elections showed that democracy was progressing in many countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

"A world beyond terror where the extremists are marginalised by the peaceful majority" was within reach, the US president said.

He also highlighted the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme and urged Tehran to "abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions".

Despite US and European efforts, there has been no unanimity in the Security Council on the issue of sanctions against Iran, which has refused to follow UN demands that it suspend the enrichment of uranium.

Chirac meets Bush

While Russia and China have been dubious about sanctions, France broke ranks with its European allies on Monday when President Jacques Chirac said he did not believe suspension of enrichment should be a precondition for new negotiations with Iran.

Mr Chirac, in his own address to the assembly, said "dialogue must prevail" in the standoff.

However the French leader - who met earlier Mr Bush earlier on Tuesday - also urged Tehran to respond to concerns over its nuclear program.

"International legality must prevail over the threats of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.

Mr Annan's opening speech to the assembly was his last as secretary general. His second five-year term in office ends at the end of the year.

On the Israel-Palestinian conflict, he said: "As long as the Palestinians live under occupation, exposed to daily frustration and humiliation, and as long as Israelis are blown up in buses and in dance halls, so long will passions everywhere be inflamed."

[Rasputin]

Bush accuses Iran of backing terror, nuclear arms

President George W. Bush said on Tuesday in a message to the Iranian people that the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is using their resources to fund terrorists and pursue nuclear weapons.

In his annual address to the U.N. General Assembly, Bush directed a portion of his remarks to Iranians, saying "you deserve an opportunity to determine your own future" and an economy that rewards their talents.

"The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons," Bush said.

Bush has long sought to show his support for Iranians against a Tehran government that Washington sees as a major supporter of terrorism.

With the United States and Europeans pressuring Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, Bush told Iranians that "despite what the regime tells you, we have no objection to Iran's pursuit of a truly peaceful nuclear power program."

"We're working toward a diplomatic solution to this crisis. And as we do, we look to the day when you can live in freedom, and America and Iran can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace," Bush said.

[mike435]

you know i never really liked bush up until his speach today at the UN.
WOW bravo what a speach.
how gutsy of him to stand there and acctualy dra lines between truth and lies and call out nations who have done wrong
this guy didnt bs his way he said what he wanted to say to apeasment
bravo.

[Rasputin]

Bush Reproaches Iran and Syria in U.N. Speech

Declaring that "a more hopeful world is within our reach," President Bush called on world leaders at the United Nations today to "stand with democratic leaders and moderate reformers" across the Middle East.

But he also upbraided several countries by name, demanding that Iran "abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions" and telling Syrians that their government has allowed the country to become "a crossroad for terrorism" and "a tool of Iran."
In a speech at today's opening of the annual U.N. General Assembly, Bush defended his decisions in the war on terrorism while also speaking optimistically about his "freedom agenda" for spreading democracy abroad. He claimed successes in Iraq and Afghanistan, pledging that the United States would not abandon them to "terrorists and extremists" and would continue helping them defend their "democratic gains."

Addressing some of his remarks to foreign audiences, Bush told people in the Middle East, "My country desires peace," and he rejected what he said were extremists' claims "that the West is engaged in a war against Islam."

"This propaganda is false, and its purpose is to confuse you and justify acts of terror," Bush said. "We respect Islam, but we will protect our people from those who pervert Islam to sow death and destruction."

Bush told Iranians that they deserve a future of greater political and economic opportunities.

"The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons," Bush said. Adding that "Iran must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions," Bush told the Iranian people, "Despite what the regime tells you, we have no objection to Iran's pursuit of a truly peaceful nuclear power program. We're working toward a diplomatic solution to this crisis. And as we do, we look to the day when you can live in freedom and America and Iran can be good friends and close partners in the cause of peace."

Bush addressed the General Assembly after a meeting this morning with French President Jacques Chirac to discuss a variety of issues, including the diplomatic standoff between Western nations and Iran over Iran's nuclear program. Chirac told reporters after the meeting that France and the United States "are entirely on the same wavelength" regarding Iran, and he professed puzzlement over reports of an apparent break with the Bush administration over dealings with that nation by European nations and the United States.

Asked about reports that Chirac has proposed suspending the threat of sanctions against Iran as an incentive for negotiations, Bush said, "France and the United States share the same goal, and that is for the Iranians not to have a nuclear weapon." He said the two countries also both want to "solve this problem diplomatically."

He said France, Germany and Britain -- European Union members known as the EU3 in the negotiations with Iran -- will continue talks aimed at getting Iran to "verifiably suspend" its program to enrich uranium. Once the program is suspended, "the United States will come to the table," Bush said.

"And we believe time is of the essence," he said. "Should they continue to stall, we will then discuss the consequences of their stalling. And one of those consequences, of course, would be some kind of sanction program. But now is the time for the Iranians to come to the table. And that's what we discussed."

Chirac concurred, saying that he and Bush "see eye to eye on this one. I totally agree with President Bush." He said that "there has never been any ambiguity" about the approach of "the six" -- meaning the EU3, the United States, Russia and China -- toward Iran. He said that "negotiations are the way we are heading."

[Rasputin]

Chirac added, "Nonetheless, we have equally said that we cannot have negotiations if we do not have prior suspension, on the one hand, of uranium enrichment activity on the part of Iran, and on the other, on the part of the six, the agreement not to approach the Security Council on this matter in particular. This will include the possibility of examining a sanction program."

In his U.N. speech, Bush spoke optimistically of "a world beyond terror" where "voices of moderation are empowered" and "extremists are marginalized."

Asserting that a "bright future" is starting to "take root in the broader Middle East," Bush pointed to the U.N. seats of Iraq and Afghanistan, which he said are now held by elected democratic governments instead of dictators. He also cited what he described as recent democratic advances in Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt.

"Some have argued that the democratic changes we're seeing in the Middle East are destabilizing the region," Bush said. "This argument rests on a false assumption, that the Middle East was stable to begin with. The reality is that the stability we thought we saw in the Middle East was a mirage." He said that for decades, millions of people in the region "have been trapped in oppression and hopelessness," conditions that he said have sown disillusionment and made the Middle East "a breeding ground for extremism."

Bush told Iraqis, "Working together, we will help your democracy succeed, so it can become a beacon of hope for millions in the Muslim world."

He pledged to Afghans that the United States will help defeat resurgent militants of the radical Islamic Taliban movement "and build a free Afghanistan that will never again oppress you or be a safe haven for terrorists."

He told Iranians, "The United States respects you. . . . You deserve an opportunity to determine your own future, an economy that rewards your intelligence and your talents, and a society that allows you to fulfill your tremendous potential."

Addressing the people of Syria, Bush said, "Today your rulers have allowed your country to become a crossroad for terrorism. In your midst, Hamas and Hezbollah are working to destabilize the region, and your government is turning your country into a tool of Iran." He referred to the militant Islamic Palestinian group known as Hamas that won Palestinian parliamentary elections earlier this year and to the radical Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militia in Lebanon that waged a cross-border war with Israel this summer.

Bush also told the people of the Darfur region of Sudan that in the face of "unspeakable violence" and "genocide" against them, "the world must step forward to provide additional humanitarian aid." He called on the United Nations to act if the Sudanese government continues to block the deployment of a "more robust" African peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Bush announced the appointment of Andrew Natsios, a former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as his new special envoy to lead American peace efforts there.

[Rasputin]

دراجلاس سازمان ملل
بوش با دور زدن حاكميت ج. ا
خطاب به مردم ايران سخن گفت
برای علی لاريجانی ويزای امريكا صادر شد، اما اجازه خروج از ايران نگرفت!



مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل گشايش يافت و جورج بوش، در سخنرانی خود دراين مجمع، خطاب به مردم ايران سخن گفت! سخنان او آشكارا عليه رهبران جمهوری اسلامی و مواضع اتمی آنها بود و سمت گيری انتقاد از نبود آزادی ها درايران. بوش خطاب به مردم ايران گفت:

ما چشم به راه روزی هستيم كه ايران و آمريكا دوستان خوب و هميارانی نزديك در راه برقراری صلح در جهان باشند. شما شايسته فرصتی برای تعيين سرنوشت خود و برخورداری از اقتصادی هستيد كه درخور استعدادها و قابليتهايتان باشد. بزرگترين مانع در راه دستيابی به چنين آينده ای، حكمرانان شما هستند كه بنا را بر محروميت شما از آزادی و استفاده از منابع كشورتان برای كمك مالی به تروريست ها و دامن زدن به آتش افراطی گری و دستيابی به سلاح هسته ای گذاشته اند.

سازمان ملل يك قطعنامه روشن كه از رژيم تهران می خواهد به تعهدات بين المللی اش عمل كند تصويب كرده است. ايران بايد دست از بلندپروازی ها جهت دستيابی به سلاح هسته ای بردارد.

مردم ايران بايد بدانند كه ما برخلاف آنچه حاكمان ايران به آنها می گويند، ما هيچ اعتراضی به تلاش ايران برای دستيابی به يك برنامه واقعا صلح آميز انرژی اتمی نداريم و برای يافتن راه حلی ديپلماتيك برای حل اين بحران می كوشيم.

در حالی كه چنين تلاشی ادامه دارد، ما چشم به راه روزی هستيم كه شما در آزادی به سر بريد و آمريكا و ايران بتوانند دوستانی خوب و هميارانی نزديك در راه صلح باشند.

هنگام سخنرانی بوش، احمدی نژاد كه برای شركت در اين اجلاس در نيويورك بسر می برد در جلسه حضور نيافت و تنها مقام ارشد جمهوری اسلامی كه دراين سخنرانی حضور داشت وزير امور خارجه جمهوری اسلامی "منوچهر متكی” بود.

بعد از ظهر روز اول اجلاس قرار بود احمدی نژاد سخنرانی كند كه تا لحظه تنظيم اين خبر و انتشار سايت اين سخنرانی انجام نشده بود.

غيبت لاريجانی

شايد مهم تر از سخنرانی احمدی نژاد و يا حضور او در سازمان ملل، غيبت علی لاريجانی برای حضور در امريكا و شركت دراين اجلاس بود. غيبتی كه جان بولتون نماينده امريكا در سازمان ملل متحد از آن بهره برداری كامل تبليغاتی كرد و در پاسخ به انتقاداتی كه درارتباط با عدم صدور ويزا برای تيم همراهان احمدی نژاد و خبرنگاران ايرانی مطرح است گفت:

ما برای دبير شورای امنيت ملی ايران ويزای ورود به امريكا صادر كرده ايم. يعنی برای آقای لاريجانی كه طرف مذاكره اتمی با وزير خارجه اتحاديه اروپاست. از حكومت ايران بايد پرسيد كه چرا به لاريجانی اجازه آمدن به امريكا را نداده اند. همين غيبت نشان نمی دهد كه ايران اهل مذاكره نيست و در جستجوی زمان است؟

[Rasputin]

Bush says US not at war with Islam

In a speech at the United Natiions on Tuesday, the US president moved to assure Muslims that the United States was not engaged in a war with Islam.



Speaking to world leaders at the UN General Assembly, George Bush also urged Iran to return immediately to international talks on its nuclear programme.



"My country desires peace," Bush said.



"Extremists in your midst spread propaganda claiming that the West is engaged in a war against Islam. This propaganda is false and its purpose is to confuse you and justify acts of terror. We respect Islam."



Bush spoke to Iraq directly, saying, "we will not abandon you in your struggle to build a free nation."



Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, was scheduled to speak to the body later on Tuesday, but he was not at the country's table in the hall when Bush spoke.



Speaking to Iranians, Bush said their country's future has been clouded because "your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons."



The US and other countries fear Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its uranium enrichment programme is solely for civilian purposes.



Darfur crisis



Bush delivered strong warnings to both the United Nations and the Sudanese government on the violence in its Darfur region. He said both UN and the Sudan must act now to avert a further humanitarian crisis.



Bush said that if the Sudanese government did not withdraw its rejection of a UN peacekeeping force for Darfur, the world body should act over the government's objections.



"The regime in Khartoum is stopping the deployment of this force," Bush said. "If the Sudanese government does not approve this peacekeeping force quickly, the United Nations must act."

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Why Bush is taking a more diplomatic approach on Iran

With prospects fading for tough economic sanctions against Iran anytime soon, the United States is shifting its stance even more solidly toward a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
President Bush is sounding more conciliatory, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is approving more leeway for the Europeans to pursue talks with the Iranians - and everyone is insisting the aim is to allow Tehran the peaceful nuclear-power program it says is its only goal.
The US insists that the option of sanctions remains on the table, but the reasons for the softer approach appear to be twofold. First, Iranian officials are themselves sending mixed messages about their openness to suspending uranium enrichment in exchange for broad talks with the West. And second, international powers appear further than ever from joining to impose the sanctions they had agreed to this summer if Tehran did not suspend the nuclear activities that could lead to a bomb.

The question now niggling the US and others is whether Tehran is indeed debating the merits of backing off enrichment for the potentially more economically promising negotiations - or is just playing the international community for more time.

Iran's power circles are divided over what foreign policy to pursue, and that division is currently being played out in internal debate over the nuclear program, analysts say. What is less clear is when that debate might be settled enough to yield a clear answer to the countries - the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany - offering negotiations to Iran.

"Iran doesn't have a united front, that's clear," says Jon Wolfsthal, a nonproliferation expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington. "The problem is that the default for them [in the absence of unity] is a more aggressive approach, as opposed to accepting a deal."

Just last week, Mr. Bush warned the international community against falling into a trap set by Iran, and again on Tuesday, he said Tehran is simply stalling. If that continues, he added, "We will then discuss the consequences of their stalling." But in his speech to the UN General Assembly, the president refrained from any urgent language, saying the US accepts Tehran's right to a peaceful nuclear-power program.

At the same time, Secretary of State Rice convened a meeting Tuesday night of key foreign ministers - a meeting that was originally envisioned as the setting for the next steps towards sanctions. Instead, she allowed that preliminary talks between the Europeans and Iran will proceed. Her deputy, Nicholas Burns, said those talks are already in "extra innings," but there was no hint of a precise deadline for reaching a conclusion.

That approach reflects a consistent approach on the part of the administration, Mr. Wolfsthal says, which is to let Iran convince the world it ultimately is not willing to shut down its nuclear-weapons ambitions. "I don't think anyone in the administration really expects Iran to compromise," he says. "So the whole diplomatic path has been to demonstrate to the rest of the world that Iran never was serious about a diplomatic solution."

But other analysts say the American seesaw from tough talk to more conciliatory language reflects a hard-line/ pragmatist policy divide within the administration that is not unlike the split coloring Tehran's approach.

"Iran is another chapter in the administration's internal struggle for control of foreign policy," says Joseph Cirincione, a weapons-proliferation policy expert at the Center for American Progress in Washington. "Depending on where you sit in this divide, what we're seeing in terms of Iran is either the collapse of the Bush strategy [to arrive at international sanctions], or it's all unfolding according to plan."

Mr. Cirincione says "hard-liners" in the administration - starting with Vice President Dick Cheney - "have always thought Rice's strategy of going for sanctions would fail," but they have gone along as a way to prove the international community won't act. The objective, he says, is to let diplomacy run its course, especially with military action against Iran's nuclear installations so unpalatable right now.

"From their perspective, it's fine to have the president talking softly at the UN," he says, "as long as plans for military action proceed at the White House and in the backrooms of the Pentagon."

That does not mean the US is doing nothing more than sitting back while, from its perspective, Tehran hangs itself. Over recent weeks, the US has begun pressing other countries to pursue the kinds of unilateral measures it is already taking against Tehran, including freezing the assets of companies.

One Swiss bank, Union Bank of Switzerland, has already cut off relations with Iran, but the US would like to see more - especially since European intelligence reports earlier this year reported Iran was diligently looking throughout Europe and former Soviet countries for materials and technological know-how.

In the midst of the American and Iranian mixed signals, President Jacques Chirac of France came up with a new proposal this week that he said could break the diplomatic logjam: The Iranians would agree to suspend uranium enrichment once talks begin - not as a condition for talks as the US insists - and agree to honor the suspension as long as talks go on.

That suggestion took the US by surprise. But Mr. Chirac quickly reassured Bush publicly after a breakfast in New York Tuesday that he continues to see "eye to eye" with the US president on the necessity of forestalling a nuclear-armed Iran.

Cirincione says that Chirac, who saw the reality of the sanctions effort going nowhere fast, is "probably planting this as a face-saving solution" that could appeal to all sides.

But he adds that while he believes a deal is still possible, the conditions may be too much for Washington to allow. The US and its international partners would have to "accept some amount of enrichment activity in Iran," he says, while the US would have to cease "all talk and promotion of regime change in Tehran."

What that would amount to, Cirincione says, is offering the Iranian regime "the same security assurances we gave the government of Libya to get that deal" of forswearing nuclear-weapons goals.

All these issues will keep diplomacy around Iran's nuclear program percolating for a while, with some analysts predicting little movement well into next year.

Another reason for the lack of urgency - fewer officials even in the Bush administration are speaking of a "crisis" - is that more nuclear experts are concluding that Iran's progress toward mastery of nuclear weapons technology has slowed.

Despite a recent House committee report faulting US intelligence for failing to keep abreast of Iran's progress, most experts say Iran has slowed its rate of advancement in the nuclear field - either by design or as a result of mounting procurement difficulties in terms of technology and materials.

"It's increasingly clear through inspections and intelligence reports that Iran is making glacially slow progress on its program," Wolfsthal of CSIS says.

"Yes, they have surprised us before," he adds. "But from what we're able to see, it's pretty clear they are not months away, but years away, from having a nuclear bomb. And that is deflating some of the pressure to act on this one way or the other right now."

[Rasputin]

Ideals and Realities Clash In Bush 'Freedom Agenda'

At the United Nations lectern this week, President Bush hailed the spread of democracy. "From Beirut to Baghdad," he said, "people are making the choice for freedom." Yet even as he spoke, tanks were rolling through the streets of Bangkok as a military coup toppled the elected leader of Thailand, who at that moment was in New York for the U.N. session.

Bush made no mention of the dramatic events on Tuesday and left New York yesterday without ever seeing the deposed prime minister, much less offering any public support for a onetime strong ally of the United States. The president's spokesman later provided a strikingly mild response only after being asked by a reporter, pronouncing the White House "disappointed" by the coup.

The timing of Bush's address on democracy to the U.N. General Assembly and the overthrow of a democratically elected government underlined the complexities and contradictions in his "freedom agenda." With the president's attention focused on the Middle East, the state of democracy elsewhere in the world does not rate as high on his priority list. In the case of Thailand, the situation is complicated by growing U.S. unease with the ousted prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

"The president's freedom agenda is inherently selective," said Thomas Carothers, head of the democracy project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "We care very much about democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, but . . . Thailand's just not part of the story, so this falls off the map a bit."

Thailand is hardly the only example. Bush strongly supports Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president who took power in a military coup, and plans to meet with him at the White House twice in the next week. Bush will also host Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, at the end of next week despite the suppression of opposition parties, newspapers and human rights groups in the oil-rich Central Asian republic.

The administration has likewise embraced autocratic leaders in such disparate places as Azerbaijan and Ethiopia while generally tempering criticism of anti-democratic policies in Russia and China. Even in the Middle East, Bush has treaded lightly in nudging allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia to reform.

On the other hand, the White House ratcheted up its pressure this month on the repressive government in Burma. After meeting with a dissident, Bush personally lobbied to get the U.N. Security Council to put Burma on the agenda last week for possible sanctions. And first lady Laura Bush hosted a roundtable at the United Nations on democracy in that country.

When the president talks about promoting democracy, as he did in New York on Tuesday, he focuses mainly on Iraq and Afghanistan. Some other countries that he once highlighted as success stories have been dropped from his speeches, most notably Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

In Ukraine, the popular coalition that led the "Orange Revolution" of December 2004 has splintered and the new prime minister is the same one the street protests targeted. In Kyrgyzstan, the brother of the president who took office after the revolution of March 2005 has been accused of trying to frame an opposition leader by planting a heroin-filled wooden doll in his luggage.

The coup in Thailand poses the latest challenge to Bush's commitment to "ending tyranny in our world," as he vowed in his second inaugural address. Aides said yesterday that he did not mention the coup in his U.N. speech because they were still gathering information, but they did not explain why he said nothing later in the day as it became clear that the military had ousted Thaksin.

"We're disappointed in the coup," White House press secretary Tony Snow said yesterday aboard Air Force One on the return flight to Washington. "We hope those who mounted it will make good, and make good swiftly, on their promises to restore democracy."

Thaksin had been a U.S. favorite for years, but relations soured recently when he was accused of abusing power for profit and undermining the parliament, the opposition and the media. Although Thaksin won reelection handily last year, the opposition took to the streets this year to protest the sale of the prime minister's family holdings in a telecommunications and satellite company for $1.9 billion -- tax-free. Thaksin announced he would step down, but he stayed in office with elections scheduled for this fall.

The distaste for Thaksin may have colored the tepid U.S. response. "Nobody wants to go to bat for Thaksin. He's just an odious figure," said Michael A. McFaul, director of Stanford University's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. "But there's the problem -- democracy's not about picking winners and losers, it's about defending institutions."

Lorne W. Craner, former assistant secretary of state under Bush and now president of the International Republican Institute, agreed that U.S. concerns with Thaksin did not justify a coup. "You can't sanction a coup just because you don't like the guy if you're going to stand up for democracy," he said. "It's unconstitutional."

[Rasputin]

Bush 'Taken Aback' by Musharraf Comment

President Bush said today he was surprised by reports that a former top State Department official threatened heavy U.S. bombing of Pakistan if it did not cooperate with the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and Pakistan's visiting president declined to comment on the purported threat, citing a book deal.

In a White House news briefing after a meeting in the Oval Office, Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf were asked about a threat that Musharraf has attributed to Richard L. Armitage, the deputy secretary of state at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. In an interview with the CBS program "60 Minutes" scheduled for broadcast Sunday, Musharraf said his intelligence chief had informed him that Armitage warned, "Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age." Musharraf said the purported threat was insulting and "a very rude remark," according to excerpts released by CBS.

Armitage today denied that he spoke in such terms to Pakistan's military intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Ahmad, or delivered any bombing threat. He told CNN that he instead conveyed a "quite strong" message that for Americans, "it was black or white, that Pakistan was either with us fully or not."

Asked at the news briefing in the East Room whether the United States would have actually attacked Pakistan if Musharraf had not agreed to cooperate in the war on terrorism, Bush said, "The first I've heard of this is when I read it in the newspaper today. You know, I was -- I guess I was taken aback by the harshness of the words." He said then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell informed him shortly after Sept. 11 that Musharraf "understands the stakes, and he wants to join and help root out an enemy that has come and killed 3,000 of our citizens."

Bush said his own recollection was that Musharraf was "one of the first leaders to step up and say that the stakes have changed" and that the terrorist attack "needs to be dealt with firmly."

He added, "I don't know of any conversation that was reported in the newspaper like that. I just don't know about it."

Musharraf said he would like to comment, but that he was launching a book on Sept. 25, "and I am honor-bound to Simon and Schuster not to comment on the book before that day."

As reporters laughed, Bush interjected, "In other words, buy the book, is what he's saying."

Musharraf is giving a number of television interviews in the United States to promote the book, a memoir entitled, "In the Line of Fire." He reportedly received a $1 million advance for the book.

The Pakistani general, who came to power in a 1999 coup, said he briefed Bush on a peace deal that his government recently signed with elders in the "tribal agencies" bordering Afghanistan, a lawless area where Osama bin Laden and other leaders of the al-Qaeda terrorist network are believed to have fled following the November 2001 ouster of the radical Islamic Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

"This treaty is not to deal with the Taliban," Musharraf said. "It is actually to fight the Taliban." He said he told Bush that the deal had been mischaracterized in the news media and that it represented "a holistic approach . . . to fighting terrorism in Pakistan, in the tribal agencies of Pakistan."

Musharraf said that under the deal, agreed with tribal elders in North Waziristan, "There will be no al-Qaeda activity in our tribal agencies or across the border in Afghanistan. There will be no Taliban activity in our tribal agencies or across in Afghanistan. There will be no Talibanization, which is obscurantist thoughts or way of life." He said the tribal elders are "honor-bound" to keep the agreement, and that "they have a very strict honor code -- to not only abide by it, but also that whoever violates it, they move against them."

The Pakistani leader said that after his explanation, Bush was "satisfied with that deal."

Asked about it, Bush said, "I appreciated the briefing on the tribal deal. When the president looks me in the eye and says the tribal deal is intended to reject the Talibanization of the people and that there won't be a Taliban and there won't be al-Qaeda, I believe him. . . . And when he says, if we find -- or when we find -- Osama bin Laden, he will be brought to justice, I believe him."

Bush added, "And we'll let the tactics speak for themselves after it happens. We're on the hunt, together. It's in the president's interest that al-Qaeda be brought to justice. And it's in our interest."

Until the ouster of the Taliban by U.S.-backed Afghan forces, al-Qaeda had used Afghanistan as a safe haven and had run terrorist training camps there. Before the Sept. 11 attacks, Pakistan supported the Taliban, which is made up largely of ethnic Pashtuns, the largest ethno-linguistic group in Afghanistan. Pashtuns are also numerous in Pakistan, where they make up about 15 percent of the population, living mostly in the western part of the country bordering Afghanistan.

In the news briefing, Bush also said that he and Musharraf talked about democracy in Pakistan and about Musharraf's commitment to hold "free and fair elections" in 2007. "He renewed that commitment, because he understands that the best way to defeat radicalism and extremism is to give people a chance to participate in the political process of a nation," Bush said.