Alexander Cockburn on the Israel Lobby and Libya
Interview in Russia Today:
Iranian nuclear physics professor killed by remote-controlled bomb
An Iranian nuclear physics professor has been killed in a bomb blast in the north of the capital, Tehran, state media has reported. Massoud Mohammadi, a professor at Tehran University, was killed on Tuesday when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle was triggered by remote control outside his home.
“The explosion took place near the professor’s home in Qeytariyeh neighbourhood, in northern Tehran,” the state-run Press TV said.
It said Mohammadi was a “staunch supporter” of Iran’s 1979 revolution and that he was “assassinated in a terrorist act by counter-revolutionary elements”. The broadcaster said police and security officials have launched an investigation. Iranian media reports described Mohammadi as a nuclear energy professor, citing Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor.
“Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was a professor in the nuclear field and there has so far been no arrests of those behind this incident,” the Fars News Agency reported.
Disputed nuclear programme
Al Jazeera’s Alireza Ronaghi, reporting from Tehran, said Mohammadi might have had links to Iran’s disputed nuclear programme. “Authorities who decided to remain unnamed tell me that Mohammadi had some connections with Iran’s nuclear programme and this could be related,” he said. He said it was unclear who might have been behind the bombing.
“Anyone who is connected to Iran’s nuclear programme could be an easy target for [foreign] intelligence services.
“Iran tries to protect its nuclear scientists very well but sometimes things get out of hand, and incidents like this happen.”
Baqer Moin, an Iranian author and journalist in London, said Iranian media have accused ”Zionist agents” as being behind the blast.
“They are looking towards people who are interested in delaying the Iranian nuclear programme. Websites close to the [Iranian] authorities are making these statements,” he told Al Jazeera.
“There have been in the past reports that many nuclear scientists or people who wanted to join the Iranian nuclear organisation have been intimidated.
“There also were claims of other assassinations. But this is the first time in recent months that in Tehran such an occurrence has happened.”
Western powers, including the US, accuse Iran of covertly seeking to develop atomic weapons. They demand that Iran accept a UN brokered offer that would delay Iran’s ability to make a nuclear weapon as well as engage in broader talks with the ultimate goal of persuading it to stop its enrichment programme. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
read more: al jazeera
9/11 – lies to be revealed
9/11 – lies to be revealed
PilotsFor911Truth.org: Newly decoded data provided by an independent researcher and computer programmer from Australia exposes alarming evidence that the reported hijacking aboard American Airlines Flight 77 was impossible to have existed. A data parameter labeled “FLT DECK DOOR”, cross checks with previously decoded data obtained by Pilots For 9/11 Truth from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) through the Freedom Of Information Act.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 departed Dulles International Airport bound for Los Angeles at 8:20 am Eastern Time. According to reports and data, a hijacking took place between 08:50:54 and 08:54:11[1] in which the hijackers allegedly crashed the aircraft into the Pentagon at 09:37:45. Reported by CNN, according to Ted Olson, wife Barbara Olson had called him from the reported flight stating, “…all passengers and flight personnel, including the pilots, were herded to the back of the plane by armed hijackers…”[2]. However, according to Flight Data provided by the NTSB, the Flight Deck Door was never opened in flight. How were the hijackers able to gain access to the cockpit, remove the pilots, and navigate the aircraft to the Pentagon if the Flight Deck Door remained closed?[3]
[1] Hijacker Timeline – http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=17
[2] Common Strategy Prior to 9/11/2001 – http://pilotsfor911truth.org/pentagon.html
[3] Right click and save target as here to download csv file with “FLT DECK DOOR” parameter.
Read more pilotsfor911truth.org
Tony Blair misled the public
Telegraph: The “appalling” errors that contributed to Britain’s failure in Iraq are disclosed in the most detailed and damning set of leaks to emerge on the conflict.
On the eve of the Chilcot inquiry into Britain’s involvement in the 2003 invasion and its aftermath, The Sunday Telegraph has obtained hundreds of pages of secret Government reports on “lessons learnt” which shed new light on “significant shortcomings” at all levels.
They include full transcripts of extraordinarily frank classified interviews in which British Army commanders vent their frustration and anger with ministers and Whitehall officials.
The reports disclose that:
Tony Blair, the former prime minister, misled MPs and the public throughout 2002 when he claimed that Britain’s objective was “disarmament, not regime change” and that there had been no planning for military action. In fact, British military planning for a full invasion and regime change began in February 2002.
The need to conceal this from Parliament and all but “very small numbers” of officials “constrained” the planning process. The result was a “rushed”operation “lacking in coherence and resources” which caused “significant risk” to troops and “critical failure” in the post-war period.
Operations were so under-resourced that some troops went into action with only five bullets each. Others had to deploy to war on civilian airlines, taking their equipment as hand luggage. Some troops had weapons confiscated by airport security.
Commanders reported that the Army’s main radio system “tended to drop out at around noon each day because of the heat”. One described the supply chain as “absolutely appalling”, saying: “I know for a fact that there was one container full of skis in the desert.”
The Foreign Office unit to plan for postwar Iraq was set up only in late February, 2003, three weeks before the war started.
Read more telegraph.co.uk