"Iran plane crash kills 71 in emergency landing; 35 survive; Pilots say there is technical failure" by Nasser Karimi, Associated Press / January 10, 2011
TEHRAN — Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Secretary of State, defended the international sanctions against Iran and said the world must keep pressure on Tehran over its suspect nuclear program.
Clinton told reporters accompanying her on a three-nation tour of the Persian Gulf that Iran remains a serious concern no matter when it might be able to produce a nuclear weapon....
She said that on the same day that this happened:
Yesterday, an IranAir passenger jet carrying 106 people crashed as it was making an emergency landing in a snowstorm in the country’s northwest yesterday and broke into several pieces, killing 71 of those on board, Iranian media reported....
Airline officials and Red Crescent rescuers examined the wreckage of the IranAir Boeing-727 that crashed yesterday during an emergency landing in a snowstorm in Iran’s northeast. (Ali Asghar Shadjou/ IRNA via Associated Press) I see a plane in pieces and I think Shanksville, Pennsylvania on 9/11.
State television reported also said the aircraft disappeared from radar and went down in farmland. There was no word on what might have caused the crash....
The beginning of the article said the pilot radioed about technical failure.
State television aired footage showing rescue workers and local farmers searching for survivors last night in parts of the wrecked plane under snowfall and in the darkness....
Heavy snow complicated rescue efforts, said Gholam Reza, the head of the State Emergency Canter. Fog was also reported in the area.
Snow? In Iran?
The plane broke into several pieces, but there was no explosion or fire, said Mahmoud Mozaffar, head of the rescue department of Iran’s Red Crescent Society.
Iran has a history of frequent air accidents blamed on its aging aircraft and poor maintenance. Iranian airlines, including those run by the state, are chronically strapped for cash, and maintenance has suffered, experts said.
US sanctions prevent Iran from updating its 30-year-old American aircraft, such as Boeing and Airbus models, and make it difficult to get European spare parts or planes as well.
Then I hold the U.S. responsible for the deaths.
The country has come to rely on Russian aircraft, many of them Soviet-era planes that are harder to get parts for since the Soviet Union’s fall.
In July 2009 a Russian-made jetliner crashed in northwest Iran shortly after taking off from the capital, killing all 168 on board.
In February 2003 a Russian-made Ilyushin-76 carrying members of the Revolutionary Guard crashed in the mountains of southeastern Iran, killing 302 people aboard.
Acts of terrorism?
No condolences from Clinton:
"Clinton urges Arab world to back sanctions on Iran, reject conflict; Quest for nuclear weapons has been slowed, she says" by Matthew Lee, Associated Press / January 11, 2011
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the first stop of a three-nation tour of the Persian Gulf, accused Iran of trying to foment new conflict in the Middle East to distract attention....
She must have been falling-down drunk.
Clinton said it was clear Iran is actively trying to scuttle peace efforts by promoting tensions that some fear could lead to war between Israel and Iranian and Syrian proxies in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Oh, I didn't know Iran was expanding settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
“I am aware of the drumbeats, and I think that those unfortunately are being created for very cynical purposes,’’ she told the audience. “Let’s be very blunt here. I think that there is very little doubt that Iran does not want to see any kind of negotiated peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.’’
Yeah, a war to distract that bankers and their mortgage securities fraud.
“We cannot let that attention get diverted, and we cannot let any outside influence cause a conflict in the Middle East that would be a disaster for everyone,’’ Clinton said. “The responsible leadership in the region must do everything it can to prevent anyone from taking action that could launch a conflict.’’
TELL IT to ISRAEL!!
As part of that effort, she said Arab nations should recommit to a Saudi-proposed comprehensive land-for-peace proposal under which the entire Arab world would normalize relations with Israel.
The Israelis could not have liked hearing that.
That, she said, would help give the Israelis the security assurances they need to take the risks needed to make peace with the Palestinians.
“The Arab world needs to make it clear that the Arab peace initiative will be implemented,’’ Clinton said.
So when is Israel going to be held to what they say?
Clinton made her comments on the program “Sweet Talk,’’ which was hosted by three women.
During the wide-ranging interview and chat with the audience, Clinton also urged Arab women to press for equal rights and said they should begin to prepare for inevitable changes in traditional gender roles. She said she thought America is ready for a female president but again shot down suggestions she might make another run for the White House.
Translation: She is running.
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Related: Middle East He Said, She Said
I couldn't understand what she said because she was slurring her words.
"Iran links Israel to professor’s killing; Assassins target atomic scientists, spy agencies say" by Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press / January 11, 2011
TEHRAN — Iran’s intelligence services said yesterday that they have arrested suspects in the assassination a year ago of a nuclear physicist after a months-long covert operation that also let them penetrate Israel’s Mossad spy agency.
Iran blames the Mossad for the slaying of a Tehran University physics professor, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, who was killed by a bomb-rigged motorcycle that exploded outside his house as he was leaving for work in January 2010....
Yesterday’s announcement said Iranian agents arrested a network of spies linked to the slaying, opening up revelations about further Israeli plots against the country, including a campaign to assassinate nuclear scientists....
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Also see: Iran is Paranoid
Even though hit teams are out to get them.
As for provoking conflict....
"Gaza rocket attack targets Israeli city" by Associated Press / January 11, 2011
JERUSALEM — Three rockets fired from Gaza exploded in an industrial section of the Israeli city of Ashkelon yesterday, the military said, causing no casualties but pointing toward an escalation of violence between Israel and Gaza militants.
Yeah, Israel is going back in to Gaza and needs a false-flagging excuse to justify it.
Related: The Gaza Rocket Squads
See a pattern, readers?
The latest rocket attack raised Israeli-Palestinian tensions already heightened by Israel’s destruction of an old hotel in an Arab east Jerusalem neighborhood. Plans call for replacing it with Jewish housing, pushing peace efforts further away.
In a related development, European Union consuls are recommending that Europe begin relating to east Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, according to a document prepared for EU leadership, said an EU official in the West Bank.
See: Palestinian State on the Way
Rockets hit south of populated areas of Ashkelon, the military said. Israel has a practice of hitting back for such attacks with airstrikes at militant facilities and smuggling tunnels in Gaza.
In another incident yesterday, a 65-year-old Gaza man was shot to death by an Israeli guard tower on the border, said a Gaza Health Ministry spokesman.
Remember the scene in "Schindler's List" where the Nazi commander was picking off Jews from the balcony?
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Israeli Oooops!
They make too many "mistakes."
The Gaza incidents came as a hotel in east Jerusalem was razed to build apartments for Jews. The Palestinians, EU, and US condemned the project, saying it undermines hopes for peace.
The condemnations ring hollow seeing as Israel is allowed to continue its land-stealing rampage.
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Where is Clinton's criticism?
