Gathering Storm
Iran: 80% of the Way to a Nuclear Weapon
The Gathering Storm, October 2, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Former weapons inspector David Kay said yesterday that Iran is 80% of the way to a nuclear weapon and will only need two to five years more for it effort to be complete. He also said the U.S. should be prepared for the possibility that international pressure on Iran will fail to stop its progress on nuclear weapons. "You've got a clear record of country that is damned determined at some point to develop nuclear weapons," Kay told a group at the Nixon Center. "The real question to ask is, ‘What are the political strategies we can follow now that can lessen the impact?'" [Read More]
Nuclear Venezuela
The Gathering Storm, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Hugo Chavez said over the weekend that he will accept Russia's help in developing a nuclear reactor. "In Venezuela we are interested in development of nuclear energy, of course for peaceful purposes, for medical purposes, for purposes of electricity generation...Brazil has various nuclear reactors, so does Argentina. We will have ours," he told a rally of Communists and others hostile to the U.S. Chavez will also visit Belarus and Iran. [Read More]
Socialist Capitalism?
The Gathering Storm, September 25, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Visiting China yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said socialism has protected both countries' economies from financial crises, noting "In the face of the collapse of global capitalism, we can say: how fortunate that China had a revolution, how fortunate that Venezuela had and still has a revolution, how fortunate that we got to know each other." The two countries also agreed to double a joint investment fund to $12 billion. The money will be invested in an oil refinery in Venezuela and four massive tankers that will transport oil to China. [Read More]
Military Maneuvers
The Gathering Storm, September 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
An adviser to Iran's supreme leader has warned that the country's missiles can reach ships passing through the Gulf region. Why is this so alarming? Because forty percent of the world's oil passes through the southern end of the Gulf. "At a time of war no ship can pass through the region of the Persian Gulf without being in the reach of the Revolutionary Guards' coast-to-sea missiles," Yahya Rahim-Safavi, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told an Iranian newspaper. [Read More]
Risky (Enemy) Business
The Gathering Storm, September 18, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A federal grand jury in Miami has returned an indictment against eight South Florida corporations and eight individuals charging them with selling electronic equipment to Iran that can be used to make explosive devices including IEDs or "road side bombs." These types of bombs have killed almost 2,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The equipment was purchased by intermediaries in Europe, China, and Malaysia and funneled to Iran. Most of those charged are Iranian nationals. [Read More]
