Eye On U.K

[Rasputin]

Tony Blair has said Iran poses a "major strategic threat" to the Middle East and is "deliberately causing" problems.
At his monthly media briefing the prime minister said the Iranian regime was "deeply extreme".

He called the Holocaust conference in Iran this week, which had speakers including an ex-Ku Klux Klan leader, "shocking beyond belief".

Mr Blair also played down suggestions current problems in Iraq were caused by US decisions after Saddam's fall.

There is no point in hiding the fact that Iran poses a major strategic threat to the cohesion of the entire region

Tony Blair
Prime Minister


Press conference key points

"Iran is deliberately causing maximum problems for moderate governments and for ourselves in the region - in Palestine, in Lebanon and in Iraq."

He said there was "little point" in including Iran and Syria in regional issues, such as Iraq, "unless they are prepared to be constructive".

'Major challenge'

"There is no point in hiding the fact that Iran poses a major strategic threat to the cohesion of the entire region," Mr Blair told reporters.

There were "major, major problems" in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, but "all of this is now overshadowed by the issue of Iran".

He said it would be a "major challenge" to deal with Iran.

Describing a "deadlock" over the Palestinian situation, Mr Blair said: "You only have to see what is happening in Iran in the past couple of days to realise how important it is that all people of moderation in the Middle East try to come together and sort out the problems.

"There literally could be nothing more important on the international agenda at the moment than that."

This problem hasn't originated naturally. It's originated as a result of the deliberate outside interference linking up with internal extremism

Tony Blair

Asked about the Iraq Study Group's report, published in the US last week, Mr Blair said it was still the intention to withdraw British troops once Iraqi authorities were able to take over.

"I certainly do not take the Study Group as saying that we should get out, come what may.

"What they are saying is that we have to increase our driving up of the capability of the Iraqi forces, because it's obviously better that the Iraqis themselves take responsibility and indeed the Iraqi government is increasingly saying it wants to take responsibility.

"Then the coalition forces will still be in a support role but it won't be the same as it is at the moment."

Strategy

He said the situation for UK troops in Basra was different from that for US troops in Baghdad, where there was more sectarian violence, but the UK withdrawal would not be affected by US decisions.

"If and when they [US troops] are able to change the situation in Baghdad, then they too will be in a different set of circumstances, but the pace at which both of those things may happen may be different," Mr Blair said.

Mr Blair was also asked about ex-defence secretary Geoff Hoon's suggestion recently that the UK had not wanted the Iraqi army disbanded after Saddam Hussein's fall.

Mr Blair said: "The principal reason we are having a problem in Iraq is because people are deliberately giving us a problem.

"There's sometimes a sense in which, it's as if, if only we sort of had a different post-conflict strategy, somehow we could have avoided this problem.

"This problem hasn't originated naturally. It's originated as a result of the deliberate outside interference linking up with internal extremism."

[Rasputin]

اتهامات دولتمردان انگليسى در راستاى توجيه و سرپوش گذاشتن بر سياست*هاى شكست*خورده و استعمارى آن كشور در منطقه است.
سيد محمدعلى حسينى, سخنگوى وزارت امور خارجه, در پاسخ به اظهارات نخست*وزير انگليس, با بيان اين مطلب, با اشاره به سابقه دخالت*هاى اين دولت به رهبرى بلر در مسايل منطقه*اى, اظهارداشت: ثمره مداخله غيرقانونى انگليس, جز افزايش كشتار, خرابى و ناامنى براى مردم منطقه به ويژه مردم عراق,* افغانستان*, لبنان و فلسطين دستاوردى در پى نداشته است.

وى افزود*: جمهورى اسلامى ايران به طور مكرر اعلام داشته كه قدرت*هاى اشغال*گر و بالاخص انگليس به جاى دخالت در امور داخلى كشورهاى منطقه,* بهتر است منطقه را ترك و امور آن را به مردم آنجا واگذار نمايند.
سخنگوى وزارت امور خارجه, با رد اتهامات نخست*وزير انگليس تصريح كرد*: در افكار عمومى مسلمانان جهان به ويژه منطقه خاورميانه خليج*فارس, هيچ موضوعى نفرت*انگيزتر از اعلاميه ننگين* و خاطرات مداخله گرايانه و تفرقه افكنانه انگليسى نيست.
سيد حسينى, با اشاره به كاهش شديد مقبوليت دولت انگليس در ميان مردم آن كشور, اعلام كرد: اعلام چنين مواضعى جايگاه بلر را جز در ميان عناصر صهيونيست ارتقا نخواهد بخشيد.
سخنگوى وزارت امور خارجه, گفت*: بلر بهتر است به*جاى صرف هزينه*هاى هنگفت به حساب مردم انگليس و اصرار بر تداوم سياست*هاى كهنه و فرسوده خود در مسيرى گام بر دارد كه به حل واقعى و هر چه بهتر مشكلات عديده انگليسى بيانجامد.

[Rasputin]

Moderate Muslim states must form an "alliance of moderation" to counter Iran and challenge its influence, UK prime minister Tony Blair has urged.
He called on the world to "wake up" to the monumental struggle between the forces of moderation and extremism.

At the end of his Middle East tour, Mr Blair said the ideological battle was the challenge of the 21st Century.

His call comes as he was criticised by Iraq's vice-president on the issue of troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Speaking in New York, Tareq al-Hashemi suggested Mr Blair had supported his idea of announcing a timetable for withdrawal, but was then "brainwashed" into changing his mind by US President George Bush.

President Bush has so far refused to set a timetable for troop withdrawals.

'Partnership possible'

Mr Blair has been on a tour of the Middle East, visiting Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, the West Bank and Israel.

We must recognise the strategic threat the government of Iran poses

Tony Blair


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In a speech to British and United Arab Emirates businessmen in Dubai, Mr Blair said a new partnership was possible with Iran and Syria, if they were prepared to play a constructive role in the Middle East.

But he warned: "We must recognise the strategic threat the government of Iran poses - not the people, possibly not all of its ruling elements, but those presently in charge of its policy.

"They seek to pin us back in Lebanon, in Iraq and in Palestine. Our response should be to expose what they are doing, build the alliances to prevent it and pin them back across the whole of the region."

He said achieving this would need the support of moderate Middle Eastern countries, but his spokesman later said it was not a call for a confrontation between the two Muslim traditions - Sunni and Shia.

'Unconventional war'

Mr Blair, who is due to step down as prime minister next year, said: "We have to wake up. These forces of extremism based on a warped and wrong-headed interpretation of Islam aren't fighting a conventional war, but they are fighting one against us.

"And 'us' is not just the West, still less simply America and its allies. 'Us' is all those who believe in tolerance, respect for others and liberty.

"We must mobilise our alliance of moderation in this region and outside it to defeat the extremists."

During his tour, Mr Blair has met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip to reassure him of the UK's support for Turkey's bid to join the EU.


Mr Blair has been on a tour of the Middle East

And he has met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to discuss the peace process.

In his speech, he set out three priorities to restore momentum to that process, including an early meeting between the two leader and, a relaunch of the political process leading to a two-state solution.

He also called for an office of president of Palestine, which should be given the capacity to improve the lives of the Palestinian people.

It is hoped a stronger role would allow international aid to be channelled through Mr Abbas - bypassing Hamas, which holds a majority in the Palestinian parliament.

The Palestinians have also been suffering under an international aid boycott since Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel or give up its armed struggle, was elected to a majority of seats in January's parliamentary poll.

[Rasputin]

تونی بلر، نخست وزير بريتانيا در پايان ديدار پنج روزه خود از ترکيه، مصر، عراق، اسراييل، سرزمين های فلسطينی و امارات عربی متحده، کشورهای مسلمان منطقه را به تشکيل يک ائتلاف ميانه رو برای مقابله با آنچه وی افراط گرايی تحت رهبری دولت ايران ناميد، فرا خواند.
آقای بلر که در بين جمعی از بازرگانان و روزنامه نگاران محلی در دوبی سخن می گفت، تاکيد کرد که در سفر پنج روزه خود به خاورميانه، دريافته است که افراطی ها و خشونت ناشی از آنها بزرگترين چالش قرن ۲۱ است، چالشی که به گفته وی به طور تکان دهنده ای واقعی، روشن و مخاطره آميز است.

نخست وزير بريتانيا "عناصری" در دولت ايران را متهم کرد که آشکارا در پی تخريب روند دمکراسی در عراق، ساقط کردن دولت لبنان و خنثی کردن تلاش های بين المللی برای تحقق صلح در فلسطين هستند و در عين حال، ضمن انکار هولوکاست، برای دستيابی به تسليحات اتمی تلاش می کنند.

سخنان آقای بلر در دبی صريح ترين و در عين حال تندترين موضع گيری وی در برابر دولت ايران تلقی می شود، دولتی که وی سعی کرد حساب مردم ايران و حتی برخی از طيف های حاکم را از آن جدا کند.

"تهديد استراتژيک"

تونی بلر پيش از ديدارش از خاورميانه نيز ايران را تهديد استراتژيک بزرگی برای خاورميانه ناميده بود، اما سخنان او در دوبی خالی از هر نوع پرده پوشی ديپلماتيک بود.

اظهارات تونی بلر در دوبی نشان می دهد که احتمالا هدف اصلی او از سفر به خاورميانه متقاعد کردن رهبران اين منطقه برای تشکيل يک ائتلاف جهانی عليه ايران بوده است، ائتلافی که از نگاه آقای بلر نمی تواند بدون گشايشی جدی در روند صلح بين اسراييل و فلسطينی ها صورت عملی به خود گيرد.

احتمالا به همين علت بود که تونی بلر از تصميم محمود عباس رئيس دولت خودگردان فلسطين برای برگزاری انتخابات زود هنگام پارلمانی و رياست جمهوری در سرزمين های فلسطينی به شدت دفاع کرد، زيرا به تصور وی، اين تصميم می تواند به آغاز سريع مذاکرات صلح بين محمود عباس و اهود اولمرت نخست وزير اسراييل منجر شود.

در ماههای گذشته تونی بلر کوشيده است تا مراکز بحرانی در خاورميانه را به گونه ای به يکديگر ربط دهد، که حل آنها جز از طريق جلب همکاری يا مهار ايران از يک سو و آغاز مذاکرات صلح بين اسراييل و فلسطينی ها از سوی ديگر، قابل تصور نيست.

خاورميانه بزرگ

اين در واقع، همان طرح خاورميانه بزرگ دولت جورج بوش رئيس جمهور آمريکاست، طرحی که به گمان برخی از تحليلگران به دليل مشکلات فراروی ايالات متحده در عراق، از مرکزيت دستور کار دولت آقای بوش خارج شده است، اما با توجه به تحرک ديپلماتيک تونی بلر، به نظر می رسد که طرح خاورميانه بزرگ همچنان بزرگترين هدف استراتژيک دولت آمريکا و متحدان نزديک آن است، هرچند که ظاهرا دولت جورج بوش در اين مرحله ترجيح داده است که يکی از متحدان آن برای پيشبرد اين طرح زمينه سازی کند.


نخست وزير بريتانيا "عناصری" در دولت ايران را متهم کرد که آشکارا در پی تخريب روند دمکراسی در عراق، ساقط کردن دولت لبنان و خنثی کردن تلاش های بين المللی برای تحقق صلح در فلسطين هستند و در عين حال، ضمن انکار هولوکاست، برای دستيابی به تسليحات اتمی تلاش می کنند

به نظر می رسد آقای بلر به لحاظ شخصی نيز علاقمند است که در ماههای باقی مانده تا کناره گيری وی از قدرت، نقشی ماندگار در طراحی نظم جديدی برای خاورميانه بازی کند. ظاهرا او می پندارد که برای ايفای چنين نقشی از موقعيت بی همتايی در روابط بين المللی برخوردار است.

تونی بلر نزديک ترين رهبر يک کشور خارجی به آمريکاست و از اين رو، حمايت دولت جورج بوش را در پشت خود دارد. افزون بر اين، آقای بلر در شمار رهبران برجسته اروپايی است و کشورش جايگاه مهمی در اتحاديه اروپا دارد.

موقعيت استثنايی بلر

اگر به دو مورد فوق، نفوذ سنتی بريتانيا در بين اعراب محافظه کار منطقه خاورميانه، بويژه کشورهای حوزه خليج فارس را هم اضافه کنيم، آنگاه موقعيت تقريبا استثنايی تونی بلر برای کمک به پيشبرد يک سياست در خاورميانه آشکار می شود.

در اين ميان، توانايی های فردی تونی بلر نيز قابل کتمان نيست. هر چند که او در سالهای اخير محبوبيتش را به عنوان يک رهبر موفق در بين بسياری از مردم کشورش از دست داده است، اما حضور ده ساله او در قدرت به خودی خود نشان دهنده تبحرش در اسفاده از شرايط سخت و دشوار است.

همه اين مسائل می تواند برای دولت آقای احمدی نژاد، رئيس جمهور ايران که به صورت هدف اصلی سفر تونی بلر به خاورميانه در آمده است، هشدارآميز باشد.

قاعدتا محافل نزديک به آقای احمدی نژاد خواهند کوشيد که از اهميت سفر آقای بلر به خاورميانه و يا جدی بودن اظهارات او در دوبی بکاهند، اما آن دسته از مقام های باتجربه ايرانی که با سياست های پيچيده بريتانيا در منطقه آشنايی دارند، ممکن است از اظهارات او چنين برداشت کنند که خطر شکل گيری يک ائتلاف جهانی با حضور کشورهای منطقه عليه ايران نزديک است و از همين رو، در صدد رفع اين خطر برآيند.

[Rasputin]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrapped up a Middle East tour Wednesday with a blunt speech warning that the world faces a monumental struggle between moderates and extremists — and labeling Iran the main obstacle to hopes for peace.

In an address to business leaders and journalists in Dubai, Blair said combating extremism and the violence it foments was the greatest challenge of the 21st century. He said the lesson he had drawn from his five-day Mideast trip was "startlingly real, clear and menacing."

"There is a monumental struggle going on worldwide between those who believe in democracy and moderation, and forces of reaction and extremism," Blair said.

"We have to wake up. These forces of extremism — based on a warped and wrongheaded misinterpretation of Islam — aren't fighting a conventional war. But they are fighting one, against us — and us is not just the West, still less simply America and its allies," Blair said.

"We must therefore mobilize our alliance of moderation in the region and outside of it to defeat the extremists."

Blair has repeated that message throughout his trip — in Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian territories and the United Arab Emirates.

He identified his chief foe in the region — the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran is a sponsor of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Western countries claim Tehran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, and Blair has accused Iran of backing Shiite insurgents in Iraq.

Blair said there were "elements of the government of Iran, openly supporting terrorism in Iraq to stop a fledgling democratic process; trying to turn out a democratic government in Lebanon; flaunting the international community's desire for peace in Palestine — at the same time as denying the Holocaust and trying to acquire nuclear weapons capability; and yet a large part of world opinion is frankly almost indifferent. It would be bizarre if it weren't deadly serious.

"We must recognize the strategic challenge the government of Iran poses," Blair added. "Not its people, possibly not all its ruling elements, but those presently in charge of its policy."

Blair's language differed slightly from excerpts of the speech released in advance by Blair's office, which called Iran a "strategic threat."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini called Blair's speech "hostile" and "obvious intervention" in the region's affairs.

"The negative and discordant tendencies of Britain, along with the warmongering and unilateral policies of (President) Bush and Blair, have been the reason for tension and extremism and the cause of public hatred in the region," Hosseini told the state news agency IRNA.

Each stop on the tour played a role in Blair's vision of an "arc of moderation" that could work to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and defuse the anger that helps fuel international terrorism. He backed Turkey's bid to join the European Union, praised Egypt's role in mediating between Israel and the Palestinians, and urged support for the fragile Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

On Tuesday, he praised the oil-rich United Arab Emirates and its booming commercial hub, Dubai, as a model of economic openness that could set an example for the wider Arab world — even claiming the UAE's model "is what Basra or Gaza could be, were there people not so savagely let down by the politics of their countries."

He said the fate of the Middle East, "for good or ill," would be felt around the world.

While Blair's rhetoric was strong, the concrete achievements of the trip have been few.

Blair called for an "early meeting" between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the relaunch of the peace process and support to bolster Abbas' authority in his struggle with the Islamic militant group Hamas. But he announced no new commitments or agreements on that front.

Blair, who has said he will step down by mid-2007, is on one of the last big foreign tours of his 10-year premiership, seeking to cement a foreign-policy legacy that goes beyond his role as the chief U.S. ally in Iraq.

A report released Tuesday by the influential Chatham House think-tank concluded that Blair's foreign policy ambitions have stalled because he is unable to exert real influence on the White House, despite offering the United States almost a decade of unflinching support.

[Rasputin]

ملکه بريتانيا در پيام سالانه خود به مردم بريتانيا و جامعه کشورهای مشترک المنافع به مناسبت کريسمس، از فشارهايی که اختلاف نسل بر روی زندگی خانوادگی و جوامع گذاشته صحبت کرده است.
ملکه اليزابت که امسال ۸۰ ساله شد، در اين پيام که در کليسای جامع Southwark در لندن ضبط شده، می گويد که تمام اديان لزوم پرورش و راهنمايی جوانان را پذيرفته و در عين حال احترام به سالخوردگان را ترغيب کرده اند.

ملکه بريتانيا با اشاره به محيط تکنولوژی که دائما در حال تغییر است گفت که خطر ايجاد يک شکاف واقعی بين نسل ها وجود دارد.

ملکه بريتانيا در اين پيام گفت: "بسيار آسان است که بر تفاوت های اديان تکيه شود و نقاط مشترک آنها در نظر گرفته نشود- پيروان اديان مختلف به دليل لزوم کمک به نسل جوانتربرای اينکه شهروندان بافکر وفعالی بشوند به ناچار به هم پيوسته اند."

امسال برای اولين بار سخنرانی ملکه اليزابت علاوه بر راديو و تلويزيون از طريق پادکست نيز قابل شنيدن است.

[Rasputin]

Two things occurred last week, apparently unconnected. In the first, Tony Blair, at the end of his tour of the Middle East and the Gulf, issued a thunderous denunciation in Dubai of the 'threat' posed by Iran. He painted a scary picture. (Doesn't he always?)
Iran, he said, was 'at war' with the 'moderate' Arab world and Western forces trying to bring peace and stability to the region. If it was not for evil Iran, Blair implied, Iraq and Afghanistan could become holiday hotspots for tourists, following the example set by Dubai, which has had more than a million British visitors this year. Iran at war with the Arab world? The last statesman who framed it in that ugly context was ... Saddam Hussein.

The second event was unconnected, but only in the Prime Minister's mind. Iran held local elections and polls for the influential Council of Experts. Elections. That democracy thing that Blair and President George W Bush keep saying they intend to deliver to our poor benighted Arab and Persian brethren.
And as the results emerged, it was clear that ultra-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - he of the Holocaust denials and alleged nuclear ambitions - had been given a trouncing. In cities such as Shiraz and Bandar Abbas, not a single pro-Ahmadinejad candidate won a council seat. In Tehran, too, candidates supporting Mayor Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, a moderate conservative, won seven of 15 council seats, while reformists were set to win four. Which has left Ahmadinejad loyalists with only three seats.

Anti-Ahmadinejad sentiment was visible in elections for the Council of Experts - 86 clerics who monitor Iran's supreme leader and choose his successor. There, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani polled the most votes of any Tehran candidate to win re-election to the assembly. Also re-elected was Hasan Rowhani, Iran's former nuclear negotiator whom Ahmadinejad has accused of making too many concessions to the Europeans.

So what will Blair's comments have achieved? Certainly they will not have bolstered Iranians like the students who recently heckled Ahmadinejad for his poor record on jobs and confrontational attitude to the West. Instead, Blair's comments fit precisely into Ahmadinejad's narrative of 'them and us'.

And what happened to Downing Street's insistence barely two weeks before that we should be talking to Iran about Iraq? It was rejected by George Bush. So apparently it has been forgotten.

None of this is to say that there are not problems over Iran. Its tutelage of the increasingly powerful Shia crescent has sometimes seemed disruptive for the hell of it - in Iraq and Lebanon in particular.

But is it a war on 'moderate' Arabs, or is it that the Tehran leadership - to which Shias look - has yet to mature into something more politically responsible as Iran becomes a regional power? It may indeed be maturing: Iran appears, over Iraq at least, belatedly to be recognising that the last thing it needs as a neighbour is a failed state and a proxy war with Saudi Arabia.

Others have been asking these questions. Not Tony Blair.

But then Blair's performance in Dubai was the inept conclusion to a clumsy trip that seemed to break the fundamental rule of prime ministerial diplomacy - only to go on these kinds of tours when there is something to achieve.

Instead, Blair blundered round without much purpose. He met a cool welcome in Egypt and later a rebuke from Turkey over Palestine.

And if his trip was calculated to prove to Muslims, particularly at home, that Britain does care about the plight of Palestinians, that too spectacularly backfired.

Whatever you think about Hamas and its victory in the Palestinian elections in January, it won fairly in elections that the West insisted on. And while the Arab street has equally mixed views about Hamas, it also sees the hypocrisy of insisting on Arab democracy, then undermining the result and offering to support the losing party in something close to civil conflict.

All of which leads one to conclude that something pretty terrible has happened to British diplomacy.

As Downing Street has further and further encroached on Foreign Office territory, we have been left not so much with a foreign policy that has been thought through, but a policy made by hunches and 'feel-good' ideas on the Number 10 sofas. All of them have been designed, it would appear, to bolster the reputation of a lame-duck Prime Minister in his last months in office.

As Blair has travelled to Washington and to the Middle East, his journeys increasingly have been accompanied by the sense that no one - in the White House, Turkey, Tel Aviv or in the Arab world - much listens or cares what he thinks or does these days.

[Rasputin]

Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to strongly criticise recent comments made by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Geoffrey Adams was told by a senior Iranian official that Mr Blair's claims that Iran posed a threat to the Middle East were "baseless".

The official was also quoted as saying that Mr Blair was trying "to cover up his failure" in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Blair made the comments during a tour of the Middle East a week ago.

"Tony Blair has brought up baseless charges against Iran to cover up his failure in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, but to no avail," Ebrahim Rahimpour told Mr Adams, according to Iran's official Irna news agency.

Mr Rahimpour - the Iranian foreign ministry's director general for Western European affairs - also criticised London for co-sponsoring a UN Security Council resolution that on Saturday imposed sanctions against Iran over its failure to halt uranium enrichment.

"The resolution will not have any impact on the national resolve to produce nuclear energy in line with [the] Non-Proliferation Treaty," the Iranian official said.

A British embassy spokeswoman in Tehran confirmed that the ambassador had been summoned, Reuters news agency reported.

'Strategic threat'

Mr Blair made his comments on Iran in a speech to British and United Arab Emirates businessmen in Dubai on 20 December.

He said moderate Muslim states must form an "alliance of moderation" to counter Iran and challenge its influence.

"We must recognise the strategic threat the government of Iran poses - not the people, possibly not all of its ruling elements, but those presently in charge of its policy.

"They seek to pin us back in Lebanon, in Iraq and in Palestine. Our response should be to expose what they are doing, build the alliances to prevent it and pin them back across the whole of the region."

However, Mr Blair said a new partnership was possible with Iran and also Syria, if they were prepared to play a constructive role in the Middle East.

[Rasputin]

سربازان انگليسى ادعا مي*كنند كه تروريست*ها با استفاده از تصاوير بخش Earth سايت Google حملات خود را در عراق طراحى مي*كنند.

به گزارش روزنامه*ى تلگراف، پايگا*ه*هاى نظامى انگليس در عراق روزانه چند بار مورد تهاجم عراقي*ها قرار مي*گيرند. نيروهاى نظامى انگليس معتقدند كه تصاوير كامل Google از عراق به شناسايى مناطق ضعيف نظامى آنان كمك مي*كند. تنى چند از سربازان انگليسى نيز گفته*اند چنان*چه در درگيري*ها زخمى شوند از Google شكايت خواهند كرد.

مديران Google مي*گويند كه سرگرم بررسى موضوع هستند. با اين همه، بسيارى اعتقاد دارند كه ديگر دير شده و هم*اكنون نقشه*هاى موجود در بخش Earth سايت Google در اختيار همه*گان قرار گرفته است.

يك سرباز انگليسى در اين باره مي*گويد: تروريست*ها حالا ديگر به نقشه*ها دست پيدا كرده*اند و خيلى خوب مي*دانند كه كجا غذا مي*خوريم، كجا مي*خوابيم و خلاصه مشغول چه كارى هستيم.

[Rasputin]

Blair: no exemption for Catholics on gay adoption

Tony Blair tonight insisted there would be "no exemption" from new gay rights laws for faith-based adoption agencies, but said that the rules would not come "fully" into force until the end of 2008.
Until then there will be a "statutory duty" for religious agencies to refer gay couples to other agencies, the prime minister said. Mr Blair's official spokesman said that the statement reflected the government's position, and said that the Commons would not be given a free vote.

I start from a very firm foundation. There is no place in our society for discrimination," Mr Blair said.
"That's why I support the right of gay couples to apply to adopt like any other couple.

"And that way there can be no exemptions for faith-based adoption agencies offering public-funded services from regulations that prevent discrimination."

The regulations would be brought forward by the government "shortly", he said.

"In the interests of the children they will include a transitional period before those regulations come fully into force at the end of 2008 for existing adoption agencies," he added.

"This will be coupled during this period with a statutory duty for any adoption agency which does not process applications from same-sex couples to refer them to another agency."

In his statement, Mr Blair said he had listened to "strongly held views" from all sides on the subject over recent days.

"While views obviously differ, everyone is agreed that above all the interests of the children and particularly the most vulnerable children must come first," he added.

Mr Blair's official spokesman said that it had been important that ministers took "the time" and "the flak" to reach a considered decision.

He paid tribute to the communities secretary, Ruth Kelly, and the education secretary, Alan Johnson, believed to be key figures in cabinet wrangling over the issue.

Ms Kelly, a prominent Catholic who was thought to be demanding exemptions for the church, greeted the announcement as a "breakthrough" that should be "welcomed by everyone".

"I have met a broad range of those with a direct interest in these regulations and each has had passionately held views, expressed with real conviction," she said.

"Two things are clear: first, that everyone wants to ensure that as a government we tackle discrimination, and, second, no one wants to lose the excellent adoption expertise that helps some of the most vulnerable children.

"The package announced today gives us the opportunity to meet both of those tests.

"The transition arrangements will give adoption agencies time to adapt and address how they work alongside an independent assessment of the process to ensure that the high-quality expertise that exists is not lost.

She said that the government would work with the agencies to work out how they could adapt their methods to meet the new rules.

"An independent team will be reporting to the prime minister on the practicalities of ensuring that the needs of vulnerable children and their adoptive parents will continue to be met both during the transition period and thereafter.

"Clearly listening to the experts on child welfare and adoption is vital."

"Good government is about robust debate and finding solutions that meet our principles in a practical way.

"This is the right way forward. I hope that all concerned will now work with us to implement the package we have announced today.

"At the end of the day, we all know that there is a wide range of potential adoptive parents out there, including lesbians and gay men who can provide a loving home for children."

Ms Kelly said that the government had a proud record on equality and supported a society where every citizen was treated fairly and with respect.

A spokesman for the Catholic Herald described the decision to refuse an exemption from the new equality laws as "a decision against Catholics in Britain."

The Tory leader, David Cameron, earlier today signalled his personal support for the new regulations but promised fellow Tory MPs a free vote on the issue, which he said was a matter of conscience.

Mr Cameron's frontbench colleague, David Davis, has already indicated his opposition to the proposals and said over the weekend he would "almost definitely" vote for an exemption to the Equality Act for Catholic adoption agencies.

Speaking earlier today on the issue, Mr Cameron said that it was "right" to have clear rules against discrimination.

But he called for a compromise solution which would give the Catholic agencies three or four years to find a way of dealing with the regulations - perhaps by developing twinning arrangements with other adoption services.

"I shall vote for the regulations, because I think it is right to have in this country clear rules against discrimination," said Mr Cameron.

"On the issue of the Catholic adoption agencies, I don't think personally that it is right to give them a block exemption from the law, because otherwise we will have other people wanting block exemptions from the law."

But he added: "We really need to find a decent compromise, because we want to keep the Catholic adoption agencies. They do a fantastic job in placing hard-to-place children."

A row over the regulation was sparked after the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, warned that the agencies would close rather than accept rules that required them to hand over babies to gay couples.

[Rasputin]

British troops have assisted an operation to surround the Iraqi city of Basra and close the border with Iran.
A British military spokeswoman said UK forces had secured checkpoints as part of the Iraqi-led operation to support the country's new security plan.

This follows reports that radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr and many of his supporters have fled to Iran.

The spokeswoman said the aim was "to halt smuggling and contain criminal and rogue militia operations".

Security crackdown

She added two nearby border crossings had been closed for 72 hours, after instructions from the Iraqi government.

Mr Sadr and key figures from his Mehdi Army, which has been identified by the US military as one of the key threats to law and order in Baghdad, have reportedly already crossed the frontier.

Codenamed Operation Troy, the mission began at 0600 local time (0300 GMT) on Thursday and involved British troops, Iraqi police and the Department of Border Enforcement, BBC News has been told.


Click to see a map of Operation Troy
It will continue for three days.

Troops from 19 Light Brigade assisted with the "lockdown", assisting Iraqi police in the task of checking every vehicle on the eight routes into and out of the city.

British military spokesman Maj David Gell said the move was linked with a security crackdown that began on Wednesday.

We see this as another step along the way towards the Iraqi authorities taking responsibility for the security of Basra

Capt Ollie Pile

He told BBC News: "This is part of the same operation.

"Specifically in our area, in Basra, it will involve vehicle checkpoints, security operations that involve overt patrolling, enhanced point-of-entry security and patrols supported by coalition air assets if required."

Capt Ollie Pile of the 19th Light Brigade told BBC News forces involved in the move, codenamed Operation Troy, had been led by 2,000 Iraqi troops and included 1,200 British soldiers.

He added eight main routes into city were now subject to vehicle checkpoints, with all traffic stopped and searched.

Boat patrols are also in operation along waterways , with the Royal Marines searching traffic along the Shatt Al Arab waterway.

Security patrols are also in force within the city.

Curfew extended

Capt Pile said the purpose of the move was to prevent the movement of weapons and munitions.

He added: "We see this as another step along the way towards the Iraqi authorities taking responsibility for the security of Basra."

Of the four provinces round Basra, two have already been handed over to Iraqi security.

The Iraqi and US security crackdown has already seen the closure of crossing points to Iran and Syria. Three to Syria and four to Iran will reopen after 72 hours, but others will close indefinitely.

Weapons permits have been suspended in Baghdad to all but Iraqi and US forces and registered security companies, the capital's nightly curfew extended by an hour and stop-and-search powers increased.

[Rasputin]

Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce a timetable for the withdrawal of UK troops from Iraq.
Mr Blair is set to make a statement to MPs in the House of Commons about the 7,200 British troops serving in Iraq.

It is thought he will say 1,500 troops are expected to return home in months, with 3,000 withdrawn by Christmas.

Downing Street has not confirmed the reports but Whitehall sources have told the BBC the process could be slowed down if the situation in Iraq worsens.

The plan is for the British troops remaining in Iraq to be based outside Basra for a period of time so they can provide support if needed and help monitor the border with Iran.

'Robust force'

The proposed cut in numbers of British troops comes at the same time as 21,500 more US troops are being sent to Iraq.

The White House has confirmed that President Bush and Mr Blair had discussed the plans on Tuesday.

A spokesman said: "While the United Kingdom is maintaining a robust force in southern Iraq, we're pleased that conditions in Basra have improved sufficiently that they are able to transition more control to the Iraqis.

We should have a target for the withdrawal of all British troops by the end of October this year

Sir Menzies Campbell


Should the UK withdraw?

"The United States shares the same goal of turning responsibility over to the Iraqi Security Forces and reducing the number of American troops in Iraq."

However, opponents of Mr Bush's strategy have seized on Britain's move and are using it to attack the president.

Wednesday's expected statement comes after Mr Blair told the BBC's Sunday AM that the operation to allow Iraqis to take the lead in frontline security in Basra - Operation Sinbad - had been "completed" and "successful".

He said there was progress on reconstruction and that he did not want British troops to get in the way of that progress.

Vacuum danger

In October the head of the British Army, Sir Richard Dannatt, warned that the presence of UK soldiers in Iraq was exacerbating security problems, and said they should "get out some time soon".

But Iraqi deputy prime minister, Barham Saleh, said last week that Basra might not be entirely ready to take over the running of its own affairs.

He said they had to be sure any withdrawal of British troops did not undermine security and create a vacuum.

I still believe that our presence exacerbates the security situation and we should have a target for the withdrawal of all British troops by the end of October this year

Sir Menzies Campbell
Liberal Democrat leader

Senior Whitehall sources have told the BBC the pullout was "slightly slower" than they had expected and "if conditions worsen this process could still slow up".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said: "If these reports are true, a reduction in British forces in Iraq is to be welcomed.

"But I still believe that our presence exacerbates the security situation and we should have a target for the withdrawal of all British troops by the end of October this year."

Inquiry

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague told BBC Breakfast he backed the withdrawal, but questions remained to be answered.

Britain needed to know whether the Iraqi forces were ready to take over the security of Basra and whether reduced numbers of British troops would be able to defend themselves against siege, he said.

"We need to ask him [Mr Blair] whether he is going to launch the full-ranging inquiry into the handling of the Iraq war that I think people of all opinions and all political parties want to see."

Last month Mr Blair responded to a Lib Dem call for a pull-out date by saying that to "set an arbitrary timetable... that we will pull British troops out in October, come what may... would send the most disastrous signal to the people we are fighting in Iraq".

A total of 132 British Armed Forces personnel have died serving in Iraq since March 2003. The funeral of the latest - that of Private Luke Simpson, of the 1st Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment - is due to take place on Wednesday.

[Rasputin]

طرح تونی بلر نخست وزير بريتانيا برای بازگرداندن 1600 نيروی بريتانيايی از عراق ظرف چند ماه آينده با استقبال رئيس جمهور عراق مواجه شده است.
سخنگوی جلال طالبانی گفت اين يک "کاتاليزور خيلی خوب" است که نيروهای عراقی را وادار خواهد کرد مسئوليت امنيت کشورشان را به عهده گيرند.

آقای بلر روز چهارشنبه به نمایندگان مجلس عوام بریتانیا گفت نیروهای بریتانیایی در بصره در جنوب عراق، از 7100 نفر به 5500 نفر کاهش خواهند یافت.

نخست وزیر بریتانیا افزود که حضور نظامی بریتانیا در عراق، در صورت لزوم تا سال 2008 ادامه خواهد یافت و سربازان بریتانیایی به تامین امنیت مرز عراق با ایران و راه های تدارکاتی و حمایت از عراقی ها کمک خواهند کرد.

هيوا عثمان، سخنگوی آقای طالبانی، گفت اعلاميه آقای بلر "کاتاليزوری خيلی خوب برای نيروهای عراقی است تا روی پای خود بايستند و مسئوليت حفظ امنيت را به عهده گيرند."

بيانيه آقای بلر به دنبال يک عمليات امنيتی پنج ماهه به منظور فرونشاندن خشونت ها در بصره که تحت کنترل نيروهای بريتانيايی است، صادر می شود.

نخست وزير بريتانيا گفت که عمليات سندباد با هدف آماده سازی عراقی ها برای پيشگام شدن در خط مقدم امنيتی در اين شهر موفق بوده است.

تونی بلر اذعان کرد که بصره همچنان جای "دشوار و گاه خطرناکی است" اما افزود که آمار قتل و آدم ربايی کاهش يافته و بازسازی به جريان افتاده است.

وی گفت مهم است به عراقی ها نشان داد شود که بريتانيا - و ساير اعضای نيروی چند مليتی - قصد نداشته اند نيروهايشان را بيش از حد لزوم در آن کشور نگاه دارند.

اميد به تسريع

موفق الربيعی، مشاور امنيت ملی عراق، تلاش های ارتش بريتانيا را ستود، اما آرزو کرد تخليه آنها زودتر انجام می گرفت.

وی به راديوی 4 بی بی سی گفت: "ما اميدوار بوديم که اين روند شتاب بيشتری می گرفت و تسريع می شد نه اينکه با فاصله انجام شود."

دز براون، وزير دفاع بريتانيا، گفت او انتظار دارد دولت بار ديگر در پايان تابستان شمار نيروهايی که تخليه می شوند را بررسی کند.

نيروهای بريتانيايی کليه پايگاه ها را به مقام های محلی تحويل خواهند داد، به جز پايگاه هوايی بصره و کاخ بصره، و اکثر آنها فورا به پايگاه های خود عقب خواهند نشست.

جان بولتون، که تا چند ماه پيش سفير آمريکا در سازمان ملل بود و اکنون برای يک موسسه مطالعاتی راستگرا کار می کند، به بی بی سی گفت که تصميم آقای بلر گامی در جهت صحيح است.

وی گفت: "اين تصميم بر اصل ايجاد امنيت گسترده تر در نواحی جنوب عراق بنا شده و اينکه دولت عراق بايد به فکر نقش وسيعتری برای خود باشد."

اين کاهش همزمان با اعزام 21 هزار و 500 نيروی تازه نفس آمريکايی به عراق انجام می شود.

مخالفان آقای بوش می گويند اقدام بريتانيا نشان می دهد که اين کشور راه جداگانه ای از سياست بوش را در پيش گرفته اما وزير خارجه آمريکا گفت که ائتلاف "به قوت خود باقی می ماند."

ديويد لوين، خبرنگار بی بی سی در بغداد، در اين مورد می گويد: "فکر می کنم اين يک روز خيلی مهم باشد - يک واگرايی واقعی در مورد عراق ميان دولت واشنگتن و لندن برای نخستين بار."

وی گفت هيچ يک از عراقی هايی که او در قهوه خانه با آنها صحبت کرده خواهان ماندن نيروهای بريتانيايی در کشورشان نبودند.

به گفته ديويد لوين علت اينکه بريتانيا قادر است آنجا را ترک کند اين است که به عقيده دولت بريتانيا نيروهای عراقی اکنون به اندازه کافی قوی هستند... اما بصره، همانطور که تونی بلر می گويد هنوز جايی دشوار و خطرناک است، که اين دستاوردی بسيار ضعيف تر از پيروزی است آنطور که در سال 2003 می خواستند، اما شکست کامل هم نيست."

[Rasputin]

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that diplomacy, not military action, is the best way to resolve the stand-off over Iran's nuclear programme.
He told the BBC he was not aware of any plans to attack Iran and said the only viable solution was a political one.

But he said he could not "absolutely predict every set of circumstances".

There has been tension with Tehran over its nuclear programme - which it claims is for fuel, not weapons - and its alleged role in Iraq's violence.

US officials recently displayed what they say is proof Iran is giving weapons to Shia militias in Iraq.

There is, as far as I know, no planning going on to make an attack on Iran

Tony Blair

Democrats say they see parallels with the run-up to the Iraq war, when the US made a case for action on the basis of weapons which were never found.

But Mr Bush has dismissed such speculation of an attack as "noise" by his critics.

On Thursday, Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Iran is not Iraq.

"There is, as far as I know, no planning going on to make an attack on Iran and people are pursuing a diplomatic and political solution, for a very good reason incidentally, that it's the only solution anyone can think of that is viable and sensible."


The Iraq war was unique - maybe it's time to talk again about why

BBC political editor Nick Robinson


Read Nick's thoughts in full

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said: "We remain determined to prevent Iran acquiring the means to develop nuclear weapons."

On Wednesday Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would try to achieve nuclear capability as soon as possible, as a UN deadline for Tehran to freeze its uranium enrichment programme expired.

He said those countries calling on Iran to halt its nuclear programme should shut down their own facilities for producing nuclear fuel.

Last year Iran resumed uranium enrichment - a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if greatly enriched, material for a nuclear bomb.

Tehran insists its programme is for civil use only, but Western countries suspect Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons.

[Rasputin]

دز بروان، وزیر دفاع بریتانیا، در سخنانی در پارلمان این کشور تایید کرده است که بریتانیا بیش از یکهزار نیروی تازه به افغانستان اعزام می کند.
آقای بروان گفته است که 1400 نیروی تازه بریتانیایی از ماه می در افغانستان مستقر می شوند.

بر اساس گزارشها بییشتر این نیروها به جنوب افغانستان اعزام خواهند شد.

این سربازان، در قالب نیروهای بین المللی یاری امنیتی، تحت فرمان ناتو در افغانستان خدمت می کنند.

این در حالی است که بریتانیا اخیراً اعلام کرده است که تعدادی از سربازان خود را از عراق خارج خواهد کرد.

بریتانیا پنج هزار سرباز در افغانستان دارد و تاکنون تمایلی به افزایش شمار سربازان خود در این کشور نداشته است.

نیروهای بریتانیایی هم اکنون درگیر نبرد سختی با شبه نظامیان شورشی طالبان، در ولایت آشوب زده هلمند افغانستان هستند.