Antichrist Demands Maliki Resignation

Iraq: Sadr and Hakim demand Maliki resignation

Suicide attacks on Sunni and Shi'ite mosques kill 9 and injure dozens on Tuesday.

Ammar al-Hakim (L), leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hold a news conference in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, May 8, 2013. (REUTERS/Haider Ala.)

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Two of Iraq’s most prominent Shi’ite figures, Moqtada Al-Sadr and Ammar Al-Hakim, have stepped up their criticism of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s passive reaction to the wave of bombings that struck Baghdad and several other Iraqi provinces last Sunday.
Taking place less than one week after Iraq’s largest jailbreak which saw 500 Al-Qaeda-affiliated prisoners escaping from Abu Ghraib and Taji prisons, Sunday’s bombings left hundreds dead and wounded.
In a statement issued on Monday, Moqtada Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist Movement, called on the members of the ruling National Iraqi Alliance to resign.
“I am not writing a condemnation [statement] because this is no longer useful. I am not asking the government and the parliament to resign, they are both already dying,” Sadr said.
He added: “I demand that security apparatus, ministries, and the commander of the armed forces resign.”
Addressing “the conscientious among Iraq’s Shi’ites particularly those in the National Iraqi Alliance” Sadr said: “Brothers, protect the reputation of Shia Islam,” calling on them “either to resign or to agree on what is right.”
For his part, Ammar Al-Hakim, the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), announced that the recurrent security breaches clearly demonstrate negligence on the part of those in charge of Iraq’s national security.
“The Taji and Abu Ghraib prison break a few days ago and the successive attacks that have taken place across the country require Iraq’s political leaders to hold an urgent meeting to discuss objective plans,” Hakim announced.
Echoing Sadr, Hakim raised questions about the “fate of billions of dollars spent on national security, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of security staff.”
Hakim also called on Iraq’s security leadership to “be courageous, admit their failures, and submit their resignations.”
For his part, MP Amir Kinani of the Sadrist Movement informed Asharq Al-Awsat: “Requests and appeals are not enough anymore. Therefore, what Mr. Sadr and Mr. Al-Hakim have demanded is an urgent call for a meeting of the National Iraqi Alliance because it is time to take drastic decisions.”
“The Sadrist Movement is part of the National Iraqi Alliance which, as the largest political entity, is responsible for what is happening. This means that it is the duty of Shi’ites [to resolve the situation]. This is why Mr. Sadr issued this call to protect the reputation of Shia Islam.”
“Among the scenarios which will be put forward is either the resignation of Al-Maliki; the Egyptian scenario of inciting the public to topple the government; or waiting for the results of the next parliamentary elections.”
For his part, ISCI MP Furat Al-Shara told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The call for an urgent meeting of the National Iraqi Alliance is to discuss the status quo in the country and the future challenges because unless we work on laying the foundations for a state of institutions, rather than individuals, we cannot expect security stability.”
“Mr. Al-Hakim did not just call for an urgent meeting of the National Iraqi Alliance but also demanded all those in charge of the security file resign because this is the least they can do in light of the successes the terrorist groups have achieved. This is something that we can no longer tolerate, whether it is on purpose or the result of ignorance or failure,” he added.
According to Iraqi police officials, an explosion targeting Shi’ite worshipers leaving Assad Allah mosque in Baghdad on Tuesday killed seven and wounded 11. At the same time, a suicide attack targeted a Sunni mosque in western Baghdad left at least two people dead, according to the Associated Press.

Antichrist to Topple Iraq Government

Muqtada Sadr calls on government to resign
The leader of Sadr Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, called on the government to resign as it is in a countdown, Nina news said.

Releasing a statement, Sadr said he will not give the government another chance after Saturday bombings that killed more than 60 people.

He asked people to "rise up and demand the resignation of the government that kept nothing but his throne, and those with him.”

Sadr stressed he would not give the current government a hundred days or even less than that, and the government is now in the final countdown.

"We do not see today, but silence does not exceed shy condemnation, which cannot feed hungry mouths or provide security or peace for Iraqis," he continued.

"Kirkuk is suffering as Baghdad and the provinces in the center, south and north, which become vulnerable to bomb attacks, bombings and assassinations and the militias move freely and the government is not moving or saying a word," he went on to say.

Antichrist Prepares For Coup In Iraq

Sadr calls for uprising against Maliki

Muqtada Sadr calls on Iraqi people to rise against Maliki

Al Baghdadiya TV, 21 July 2013 – Sadr Movement leader Muqtada Sadr called on the Iraqi people to rise against Nouri Maliki due to insecurity and bombings throughout Iraq.
Sadr issued a statement calling on the people to demand their rights and protest insecurity and lack of protection.
“If such bombings took place in other the people would rise and demanded the government to step down, with the prime minister topping the list,” Sadr said.
The Sadrists leader also emphasized these bombings are unacceptable.

Bowls of Wrath 2014

Iran Could Reach Critical Capability by 2014

 

The uranium enrichment plant at Fordow, as seen from space on January 22, 2013. All underground facilities are ready, protected under thick layers of earth. Photo: Astrium

Iran is expected to achieve a critical capability in mid-2014, which is defined as the technical capability to produce sufficient weapon-grade uranium from its safeguarded stocks of low enriched uranium for a nuclear explosive, without being detected. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) reported in its recent analysis last week.
David Albright and Christina Walrond explain in their report that Iran would achieve this capability principally by implementing its existing, firm plans to install thousands more IR-1 centrifuges, and perhaps a few thousand IR-2m centrifuges, at its declared Natanz and Fordow centrifuge sites. Iran’s criticality date could be achieved a few months earlier, if Iran successfully deploys and operates several thousand advanced centrifuges and continues installing thousands of IR-1 centrifuges. “Preventing Iran from achieving a critical capability through sanctions, increased frequency of international inspections, and negotiations is a priority”. The report understated.

The same site at Fordow, as seen four years ago – January 2009. The underground facilities are under construction, still exposed. Photo: Digitalglobe.

Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities continue to grow. However, by charting Iran’s possible future paths to obtaining a nuclear weapon, the United States and its allies can identify opportunities to slow this growth. One critical factor affecting Iran’s potential timeline to the bomb is the speed at which its declared centrifuge capacity could reach a level where it could use its existing, safeguarded stockpile of low enriched uranium to “dash,” without timely warning for the international community, to the production of sufficient weapon-grade uranium for a nuclear explosive device. Adequate warning would allow enough time for a response to this action. During the final presidential debate of the 2012 campaign, President Barack Obama characterized such a time as when “we would not be able to intervene in time to stop [Iran’s] nuclear program.” When Iran reaches the technical capability to produce sufficient weapon-grade uranium for a nuclear explosive without being detected, it can be understood to have achieved what is defined here as a “critical capability.”

ISIS has assessed that in a breakout or dash to nuclear weapons Iran could produce a significant quantity (25 kilograms of uranium enriched to above 90 percent U-235) at its declared centrifuge enrichment plants in as little as a few months. During the next several months of 2013, this minimum timeline could decrease to about one month, depending on the growth of Iran’s stock of near 20 percent low enriched uranium and the number of centrifuges it deploys to enrich uranium.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which regularly inspects Iran’s declared centrifuge plants and the low enriched uranium these sites have produced, would be able to detect breakout within these time periods.

As Iran continues to expand the numbers of its deployed centrifuges at its declared Natanz and Fordow gas centrifuge sites, its breakout times are expected to further decrease. The number of centrifuges it can build and install in cascades depends, among other factors, on its ability to smuggle key goods in violation of other countries’ national trade control laws and United Nations Security Council sanctions. But current efforts to stop Iranian smuggling are not sufficient. Iran has installed new centrifuges at a very fast rate over the past year, implying that it is still obtaining key supplies from abroad for its IR-1 centrifuges. Nonetheless, the available information is insufficient to conclude Iran has all it needs in hand to deploy thousands more IR-1 centrifuges or predict with certainty how many additional IR-1 centrifuges Iran will deploy in the next year.

The number of centrifuges deployed in Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities 207 – 2013. Source: ISIS report.

Another factor that will likely decrease breakout times is Iran’s deployment of the advanced centrifuge, the IR-2m, at the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant. Predicting the effect of this deployment remains difficult because Iran has not begun enriching in these centrifuges as of mid-June 2013 and little hard data are available about their performance.
Given uncertainty over the success of efforts to stop Iranian smuggling efforts to outfit its centrifuge program and its continued deployment of centrifuges, an assessment of future enrichment capabilities and reduced breakout timelines is warranted. This report evaluates Iran’s ability to increase its number of deployed centrifuges beyond current levels and when Iran could produce sufficient weapon-grade uranium without the IAEA being able to provide timely and reliable warning of that breakout, or when Iran is first estimated to reach what is defined here as a critical capability. The report assesses this date by projecting the number of IR-1 and IR-2m centrifuges Iran could deploy in the next year and by estimating the resulting impact on breakout times.
A central conclusion is that Iran is expected to achieve a critical capability in mid-2014. To delay that date, this report recommends measures to head off significant increases in deployed centrifuges and improve chances of timely detection of a breakout.

Benjamin Versus Esau

Benjamin Netanyahu has again warned that Israel will not wait “until it’s too late” to stymie Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and that scientists in the Islamic Republic could be ready to make a push towards producing a bomb within a few weeks.

In a rare interview with the Western media, Mr Netanyahu told the US television network CBS that Iran is getting “closer and closer to the bomb”. “I will not wait until it’s too late,” he added. The comments come on the eve US Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest visit to the region.
Mr Netanyahu has made stopping Iran’s nuclear programme his priority since being returned to office in January. Until now, Israeli officials have maintained that its allies – by which they largely mean the United States – should present a credible military threat as well as the crippling economic sanctions that have already been imposed on Tehran.
Mr Netanyahu appeared to hint in the CBS interview that he felt that a decision on any military action against Iran may be nearing. “They’re edging up to the red line,” Mr Netanyahu said in reference to a speech he made to the United Nations last year in which he held up a cartoon picture of a bomb with a red line drawn across it, to demonstrate how close Iran is to producing a bomb. “They haven’t crossed it yet. They’re also building faster centrifuges that would enable them to jump the line, so to speak, at a much faster rate - that is, within a few weeks,” he said.
Iran denies that its nuclear programme is intent on making a nuclear weapon, rather it is designed for the production of efficient nuclear energy.
Some in the West welcomed last month’s election of Hassan Rouhani as the next president of Iran, pointing out that among the list of six candidates, he was the most moderate. At the time of his election, Dr Rouhani made conciliatory statements in relation to the US, and on Iran’s nuclear programme; a marked change from the approach adopted by his predecessor, the outgoing president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
“We’ve spoken many times, President Obama and I, about the need to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. I know that is the US policy. What is important is to convey to them, especially after the election, that that policy will not change. ...And [it] should be backed up with ratcheted sanctions. You should ratchet up the sanctions and make it clear to Iran that they won’t get away with it. And if sanctions don’t work, they have to know that you’ll be prepared to take military action - that's the only thing that will get their attention.”
Mr Netanyahu, dismissed the idea that Dr Rouhani’s election would lead to a change in Iranian nuclear policy. Mr Netanyahu said that Dr Rohani had himself referred to Mr Ahmadinejad as being “a wolf in wolf’s clothing.” Dr Rohani’s approach, though, the Israeli leader said, is to, “be a wolf in sheep’s clothing - smile and build a bomb.”

Do Snowden's Files Reveal The Truth About 911?

Former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden possesses dangerous information which could potentially lead to America's “worst nightmare” if it is revealed, according to the journalist who first published Snowden's leaked documents.
“Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the US government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States,” Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist responsible for publishing some of Snowden’s first leaks, told Argentina-based newspaper La Nación.

“But that's not his goal. His objective is to expose software that people around the world use without knowing what they are exposing themselves to, without consciously agreeing to surrender their rights to privacy. He has a huge number of documents that would be very harmful to the US government if they were made public,” Greenwald said.

He added that Washington should be exercising care in dealing with the Snowden because he has the potential to do further damage to the US.

“The US government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare,” he said.

Greenwald said that “the most important thing [for Snowden] is not to end up in US custody,” describing  the government’s approach to people who reveal uncomfortable truths as “vindictive.”

When asked whether he believed that someone would attempt to harm or kill the whistleblower, he said that Snowden has “already distributed thousands of documents and made sure that several people around the world have their entire file,” stating that it would not be beneficial for anyone to attempt assassination.

He added that the US should be praying that no one would attempt to take Snowden’s life. “If something happens, all the information will be revealed, and that would be [America’s] worst nightmare,” he said.

Greenwald later responded to initial reports on the interview, rebutting allegations that he was "blackmailing" or "threatening" the US. He stated in a Guardian column that the reported fact Snowden had created a "dead man's switch" of sorts was not new, but he was rather reiterating that it was precaution "against all eventualities," adding that  he himself does not have access to the "insurance" documents and played no role in arranging the dead man's switch.

Greenwald also pointed out Snowden's insistence that journalistic discretion was exercised. "The oft-repeated claim that Snowden's intent is to harm the US is completely negated by the reality that he has all sorts of documents that could quickly and seriously harm the US if disclosed, yet he has published none of those," Greenwald wrote.

Antichrist Prepares To Take Over Iraq

Iraq: Sadr and Hakim form new “strategic” alliance

Iraq's two main Shi'ite parties form "strategic" alliance following success at local level

Ammar Al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr hold a news conference in Najaf, 100 miles (160 km) south of Baghdad, on May 8, 2013. (REUTERS/Haider Ala)

Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Sadr Movement leader Moqtada Al-Sadr has announced a new alliance with the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) led by Ammar Al-Hakim, describing it as a “strategic” alliance.
In reply to a question from one of his followers about doubts in the alliance between the Sadrist Al-Ahrar Bloc and the ISCI’s Al-Muwatin Bloc, Sadr said: “Many people have tried to end this alliance and make it a failure in any way they could.”
He added: “This alliance strengthens the Iraqi, national, Islamic Shi’ite alliance,” and “makes the political arena fairer and removes domination and monopoly.”
This alliance brings together the two most important Shi’ite factions in Iraq following an experiment that seems to be somewhat of a success on the local level, namely the sharing of power in a number of Iraq’s governorates, particularly Baghdad. This experiment has seen a Sadrist-ISCI coalition defeat Iraqi prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s State of Law (SLC) coalition, which had monopolized the most important posts in the capital, including that of governor and head of the governorate council, for more than eight years.
Al-Ahrar bloc MP Mohammed Ridha Al-Khafaji informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “the new alliance between ISCI and the Sadr Movement also includes the Kurds.” However, the leader of the Kurdistan Alliance in the Iraqi parliament, Fuad Maasoum, denied that the Kurds had joined any alliance.
Khafaji said: “The meeting between the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Massoud Barzani, and the political bureau of the Sadr Movement, discussed the basis of this alliance.”
He added: “The political bureau of the Sadr Movement has told Barzani that it rejects any extension in the terms of the three leadership posts, including that of the post of prime minister.”
Khafaji stressed: “The new alliance, which includes the Kurds, will not be against any one, including the Sunni front, because everyone knows that the Shi’ite–Kurdish alliance is a historic alliance.”
The leader of the Kurdistan Alliance in the Iraqi parliament, Fuad Maasoum, denied that the Kurds had joined this alliance. Speaking exclusively to Asharq Al-Awsat, Maasoum said: “This issue was not raised by anyone, whether during the visit by Massoud Barzani to Baghdad and his intensive meetings with senior leaders and officials, or at the Kurdish leadership level.”
He stressed, “It is premature to talk about any type of alliances, and therefore, I confirm that there is no truth in any reports about this [alliance].”
Commenting on Barzani’s visit to Baghdad, Maasoum said: “The visit achieved its aims from all angles, and the most important thing about it is that the leaders agreed not to delve into the details and leave them to the joint committees.”
He added, “Barzani was very satisfied with the meetings and the points which were discussed, and what had been achieved by all parties,” adding, “There is agreement between the two main parties in Kurdistan—the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)—on this visit and what was discussed. Everything takes place with the agreement of both parties, for the interest of the Kurdistan region and Iraq.”

The Nukes Are Ready

People's Mujahedin of Iran claims evidence of hidden nuclear site

Exiled Iranian group alleges nuclear site has existed since 2006 beneath mountain near town of Damavand, Rowhani had ‘key role’ in programme.

Middle East Online

Rowhani PARIS - An exiled Iranian opposition group claimed on Thursday to have evidence of a hidden nuclear site located in tunnels beneath a mountain near the town of Damavand, 70 kilometres (44 miles) northeast of Tehran. The Paris-based militant group the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), alleges the site has existed since 2006 with the first series of subterranean tunnels and four external depots recently completed. The group also claims the recently elected president Hassan Rowhani, a former nuclear negotiator, had a "key role" in the programme. Founded in the 1960s to oppose the rule of the Shah, the MEK was considered a terrorist organisation by the United States until last year, and has provided information about the Iranian nuclear programme on several occasions. "The organisation of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) has discovered credible evidence of a secret new nuclear site, gathered over a year by 50 sources in various parts of the regime," said a statement from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the umbrella group of which MEK is a part. "The codename of the project is 'Ma'adane-e Charq' (literally 'the mine of the east') or 'Project Kossar'. This site is hidden in a series of tunnels under a mountain near the town of Damavand," it said. The report added that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a senior official in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, is also a managing director of a company the MEK claims is overseeing the project's "nuclear, biological and chemical programmes." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has attempted to speak to Fakhrizadeh in the past without success. The "next phase" of the project will be the construction of up to 30 tunnels and 30 depots, the report added. The report concluded: "These revelations demonstrate once again that the Mullahs' regime has no intention of stopping or even suspending the development of a nuclear weapon," the MEK said, calling on the IAEA to visit the secret site.

Congress Warns Rowhani Not Moderate

Congress warns Obama nothing ‘moderate’ about Iran’s new president

Special to WorldTribune.com
WASHINGTON — Congress has warned that Iran’s new president would not
resolve his country’s nuclear standoff with the West.
House members have urged President Barack Obama against embracing Iran’s
new president, Hassan Rowhani, the Shi’ite cleric elected last month. In a
letter to Obama, 43 Democrats and Republicans said the presidential election
appeared to have been rigged.

“There appears nothing ‘moderate’ about his nuclear policies, which are a continuation of the policies that have been roundly opposed by the international community,” the letter read. “Moreover, decisions about Iran’s nuclear program and foreign policy rest mainly in the hands of Iran’s supreme leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei. Khamenei has recently reiterated his view that Iran has no reason to normalize relations with the United States.”
The letter signed by the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Ed Royce as well as all the members of the panel. Royce and the committee members said Rowhani has supported Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“Iran’s election unfortunately has done nothing to suggest a reversal of
Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapons capacity,” the letter said.
“President-elect Rowhani, who served as a nuclear negotiator for Iran at a
time its illicit program was well underway, indicated his support for Iran’s
nuclear ambitions in his first post-election press conference.”
The letter marked a contrast to the hopeful messages by the Obama
administration that Rowhani could reconcile with the West. The House members
said Iran was “dramatically expanding its nuclear infrastructure: installing
advanced centrifuges which would quadruple the speed with which Iran can
enrich uranium, while continuing construction of a heavy water reactor which
will permit a plutonium option.”
The letter urged Obama to intensify sanctions and other pressure on
Iran. The House members said Congress would introduce legislation that would
bolster sanctions.
“It is important that you leave no doubt in the minds of the Iranian
government that the United States will do all it can to prevent Iran from
acquiring a nuclear weapons capability,” the letter said.

Antichrist Talks Big to US

Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr said June 30 that the future Iraqi prime minister, set to be appointed in 2014, will not deal with the White House, and that any candidate of his movement will “stand against the occupier.”

Sadr’s remarks came in response to a June statement by US Ambassador to Iraq Robert Stephen Beecroft, in which he stated, “The prime minister of the great state of Iraq has to deal with [the US].”
Beecroft told a number of journalists, including an Al-Monitor reporter, on June 26, “Talk about the possibility that Iraq's next prime minister might refuse to deal with the US — if he is affiliated with a party that refuses to deal with the US — is a theoretical matter.”
Beecroft stressed, “Regardless of who will be the prime minister of Iraq, it is hard for a prime minister of an important country such as Iraq not to join or work with the US.”
In a statement distributed to the media, Sadr said, “We will nominate as a candidate a prime minister who loves Iraqis and whom they love. He will not be hated by non-believers, and will show modesty in dealing with believers. He will be one of them.” He continued, “The prime minister ... will not deal with the unrighteous occupier, in order to give Iraq prestige, independence, dignity and honor.”
"The Americans," he said, "will not be able to manipulate the fate, rights, wealth and souls in Iraq again.” Sadr then addressed the US ambassador, saying, “Your threat will not be useful. Deal with us however you wish ... We will deal with [the Americans] in ways that you have never seen before.”
The Mahdi Army, an armed branch of Sadr's movement, engaged in bloody armed combat with American forces from 2004 to 2007. However, things changed after Sadr decided to freeze his fighters’ activity and senior officials close to the movement confirmed in 2008 that the movement would turn to political action. Yet Sadr's recent remarks directed at the US ambassador indicate that he desires to rise to power after the 2014 parliamentary elections.
Tariq Kikhany, a leading figure of Sadr's movement, said, “Our political weight grew from 2003 until the April 2013 provincial elections." In a phone interview with Al-Monitor, Kikhany said, “For the 2006 to 2010 term, the movement won 30 seats. The number of seats, however, increased to 41 for the current term.”
The leader also said, “In the 2009 local elections, the Sadr movement won 32 seats, while this number increased to 59 in the April 2013 elections." Kikhany predicted that “the Sadr movement will obtain 70 seats in the 2014 legislative elections.”
"This number of seats qualifies the Sadr movement to take over the management of the Iraqi state. The prime minister position, as well as many other senior positions in the country, will be part of the movement’s share of power,” Kirkhany said.
Sadr competes with current Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the position of head of the government. The Sadrists believe that Maliki's popularity has decreased in the provinces, particularly since he lost several seats — nearly 59 seats in 12 provinces — in local provincial councils, compared to the number of seats Maliki won in the 2009 local elections.
Sadr is trying to shape a more flexible public opinion to gain from Maliki's decline in popularity. While the opposition is trying to restrain Maliki from running for a third term, the Sadrist movement promised that a law will be enacted to limit the prime minister to two terms.
Jawad al-Jubouri, a Shiite MP affiliated with the Sadrist parliamentary bloc, said, "The bloc demanded the enactment of a law to limit the terms of the presidencies, as required by the phase that Iraq is currently experiencing, in order to ensure that dictatorship is not established in the political system and to preserve the peaceful transfer of power.”
Observers say that the Sadr movement has not spoken this way before. Jubouri told Al-Monitor, “The Sadr movement will not abandon the law to limit the terms of the presidencies, even if the 2014 legislative elections brought to the post of prime minister a figure from the movement.”
Ali Abel Sadah is a Baghdad-based writer for both Iraqi and Arab media. He has been a managing editor for local newspapers as well as a political and cultural reporter for more than 10 years.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/sadr-warns-us-new-prime-minister-maliki-iraq.html#ixzz2YBlfOrfG

The New Healthcare

Doctor:  "I'm sorry your mother has lung cancer"

Obamacare:  "O Bumma!"

UN Predicts the Bowls of Wrath

(Reuters) - More action is needed to stop militants acquiring plutonium or highly-enriched uranium that could be used for atomic bombs, nuclear experts and government officials said on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting in Vienna, Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned against a "false sense of security" over the danger of nuclear terrorism.
Amano, holding up a small lead container said to have been was used try to traffic highly enriched uranium in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova two years ago, said it showed a "worrying level of knowledge on the part of the smugglers".
"This case ended well," he said. "Unfortunately, we cannot be sure if such cases are just the tip of the iceberg."
Analysts say radical groups could theoretically build a crude but deadly nuclear bomb if they have the money, technical knowledge and the amount of fissile material needed.
Many states have taken steps to prevent malicious acts such as nuclear theft and sabotage, Amano told the delegates.
"Partly as a result of these efforts, there has not been a terrorist attack involving nuclear or other radioactive material," Amano said. "But this must not lull us into a false sense of security."
Obtaining weapons-grade fissile material - highly enriched uranium or plutonium - poses the biggest challenge for militant groups, so keeping it secure is vital, both at civilian and military facilities, experts say.
An apple-sized amount of plutonium in a nuclear device and detonated in a highly populated area could instantly kill or wound hundreds of thousands of people, according to the Nuclear Security Governance Experts Group (NSGEG)lobby group.
Because radioactive material is seen as less hard to find and the device easier to manufacture, experts say a so-called "dirty bomb" is a more likely threat than a nuclear bomb.
In a dirty bomb, conventional explosives are used to disperse radiation from a radioactive source, which can be found in hospitals or other places not very well protected.
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz repeated Washington's assertion that al Qaeda had been trying for years to obtain nuclear material for a weapon.
"Despite the strides we have made in dismantling core al Qaeda we should expect its adherents...to continue trying to achieve their nuclear ambitions," he said.
More than a hundred incidents of thefts and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and radioactive material are reported to the IAEA every year, Amano said.
"Some material goes missing and is never found," he said.

Antichrist Controls His Men

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) -  Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has issued a stern warning to the ringleader of al-Qaeda against the terrorist group’s further intervention in Syria.

Sadr said Monday that Ayman al-Zawahiri needs to stay away from Syria’s affairs and allow Sunnis and Alawites to live peacefully in Syria as they always did.

He condemned al-Qaeda’s killing of Muslims and said the group and its extremist ways have no place in Islamic nations.

Zawahiri recently said that the notorious Al-Nusra Front in Syria “is an independent branch of Al-Qaeda". The militant group has carried out a range of atrocities in the Arab country.

The remarks by the influential Iraqi cleric come a day after a spate of violent bomb attacks that killed scores of people across Iraq.

Sunday's blasts began with a parked car bomb which exploded in the city of Kut -- 60 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. Six people were killed and 15 others wounded in that attack.

The attack was followed by another car bomb outside the city which targeted construction workers, killing five and wounded 12 others, police officials said.

One of the deadliest attacks took place in the Shia-populated neighborhood of al-Ameen in southeastern Baghdad. Police said a bomber blew himself up inside a cafe, killing at least 11 people and wounding 25 others.

Other attacks were carried out in the cities of Hillah, Madian, Aziziyah, Mahmudiyah, Nasiriyah, Tuz Khurmatu, Najaf, and Basra on Sunday. Reports said that most of the car bombs hit Shia-majority areas.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings, but al-Qaeda-linked militant groups, which seek to destabilize the central government of Iraq, frequently carry out such coordinated attacks.

There has recently been an upsurge in violence across Iraq, and the authorities say Qatar and Saudi Arabia have had a hand in some of the deadly incidents.

The United Nations says a total of 1,045 people were killed and nearly 2,400 were injured in violent incidents in Iraq in the month of May.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that militant groups and the remnants of the former Ba’athist regime are responsible for the latest wave of violence.