Legion of Angels News Archive

SYDNEY (AFP) – The world is on the brink of an avalanche in the spread of devastating weaponry, a new global non-proliferation group warned Tuesday, saying that a nuclear incident would dwarf the September 11 attacks.

The Middle East, particularly Iran, is a potential tipping point, according to Gareth Evans, co-chair of the newly formed International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.

Evans, a former Australia foreign minister, said the world had been “sleepwalking” on the issue of atomic weapons for a decade.

“The devastation that could be wreaked by one major nuclear weapons incident alone puts 9/11 and almost everything else (in) to the category of the insignificant,” he said, referring to the attacks inflicted on the United States in 2001.

Evans was speaking as the commission, which was first proposed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd after a visit to the Japanese city of Hiroshima in June, entered the second and final day of its inaugural meeting in Sydney.

The group, chaired by Evans and Japan’s former top diplomat Yoriko Kawaguchi, is tasked with reinvigorating the global debate on the spread of nuclear weapons and disarmament.

Evans told reporters there were between 13,000 and 16,000 nuclear warheads actively deployed around the world and that it was “really a bit of a miracle” that a nuclear catastrophe had not occurred during the Cold War or afterwards.

“But unless we energise ourselves, unless we re-invigorate a high level political debate which is then accompanied by effective action, we potentially have very alarming consequences staring us in the face,” he said.

“We are on the brink of… an avalanche or a cascade of proliferation unless we are very, very careful indeed and find ways collectively to hold the line.”

Evans, Australia’s foreign minister from 1988 to 1996, said the world had failed to address the rise of nuclear-armed India and Pakistan and the assumption that Israel also possesses such weapons.

But he pointed to the Middle East as a key area of concern.

“If there is a breakout by Iran, or a perceived breakout by Iran, the Middle East alone is the cockpit in which we can anticipate such a cascade of proliferation by a number of other countries,” he said.

A change in leadership in the US, however, may provide a breakthrough in international talks, before comparing possible changes under Republican candidate John McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

“An Obama administration would, on the face of it… be one that’s likely to be more substantially focused on this but even with an McCain administration, it would be an improvement,” said Evans. “There’s not much to beat frankly.”

He said if the US were to sign up to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty the implications would be “quite profound” and could lead to China finding itself under “irresistable pressure” to do likewise.

“That in turn would, I think, have ripple effects right throughout the international community,” he added.

The commission, whose members include former US secretary of defence William Perry and Norway’s former prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, is working towards building consensus ahead of a 2010 conference on the 40-year-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Source — Yahoo!

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday warned Americans and lawmakers reluctant to pass a $700 billion financial rescue plan that failing to act fast risks wiping out retirement savings, rising foreclosures, lost jobs and closed businesses. “Our entire economy is in danger,” he said.

His dire warning came not long after the president issued extraordinary invitations to presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, one of whom will inherit the mess in four months, as well as key congressional leaders to a White House meeting on Thursday to work on a compromise.

“Without immediate action by Congress, American could slip into a financial panic and a distressing scenario would unfold,” Bush said in a 12-minute prime-time address from the White House East Room that he hoped would help rescue his tough-sell bailout package.

Bush explicitly endorsed several of the changes that have been demanded in recent days from the right and left. But he warned that he would draw the line at regulations he determined would hamper economic growth.

“It should be enacted as soon as possible,” the president said.

The bailout, which the Bush administration asked Congress last weekend to approve before it adjourns, is meeting with deep skepticism, especially from conservatives in Bush’s own party who are revolting at the high price tag and unprecedented private-sector intervention. Though there is general agreement that something must be done to address the spiraling economic problems, the timing and even the size of the package remained in doubt and the administration has been forced to accept changes almost daily.

Seeking to explain himself to conservatives, Bush stressed he was reluctant to put taxpayer money on the line to help businesses that had made bad decisions and that the rescue is not aimed at saving individual companies. He tried to address some of the major complaints from Democrats by promising that CEOs of failed companies won’t be rewarded.

“With the situation becoming more precarious by the day, I faced a choice: to step in with dramatic government action or to stand back and allow the irresponsible actions by some to undermine the financial security of all,” Bush said. “These are not normal circumstances.”

The president turned himself into an economics professor for much of the address, tracing the origins of the problem back a decade to a large influx of money into the U.S. system from overseas, low interest rates, the “faulty assumption” that home values would continue to skyrocket, easy lending by mortgage companies, over-borrowing by home owners and exuberant building by construction firms.

But while generally acknowledging risky and poorly thought-out financial decisions at many levels of society, Bush never assigned blame to any specific entity, such as his administration, the quasi-indepedent mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or the Wall Street firms that built rising profits on increasingly speculative mortgage-backed securities. Instead, he spoke in terms of investment banks that “found themselves saddled with” toxic assets and banks that “found themselves” with questionable balance sheets.

Intensive, personal wheeling and dealing is not usually Bush’s style as president, unlike some predecessors. He does not often call or meet with individual lawmakers to push a legislative priority.

But with the nation facing the biggest financial meltdown in decades, Bush took the unusual step of calling Democrat Obama personally about the meeting, said presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino. White House aides extended the invitations to Republican McCain and to GOP and Democratic leaders from Capitol Hill.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the senator would attend and “will continue to work in a bipartisan spirit and do whatever is necessary to come up with a final solution.” Senior McCain advisers said McCain will attend, too. The plans of the other invitees were unknown, and the exact details of the meeting, which Perino said was aimed at making fast progress to stem the biggest financial meltdown in decades, were still being set.

In another move welcome at the White House, Obama and McCain issued a joint statement urging lawmakers — in dire terms — to act.

“Now is a time to come together Democrats and Republicans in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people,” it said. “The plan that has been submitted to Congress by the Bush administration is flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail.”

The two candidates — bitterly fighting each other for the White House but coming together over this issue — said the situation offers a chance for politicians to prove Washington’s worth.

“This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe,” they said.

However, the Oval Office rivals were not putting politics aside entirely. McCain asked Obama to agree to delay their first debate, scheduled for Friday, to deal with the meltdown. Obama said the debate should go ahead.

Bush last gave a prime-time address to the nation 377 days ago, on Iraq. This one, carried live by all five major television outlets, could be the last of his presidency.

White House and administration officials have warned repeatedly of a coming “financial calamity.”

But that has not closed the deal, which for many recalls previous warnings of grave threats from Bush — such as before the Iraq war — that did not materialize. So Bush’s goal with his speech was to frame the debate in layman’s terms to show the depths of the crisis, explain how it affects the people’s daily lives and inspire the public to demand action from Washington.

He said that more banks could fail, the stock market could plummet and erase retirement accounts, businesses could find it hard to get credit and be forced to close, wiping out jobs for millions of Americans.

“Ultimately, our country could experience a long and painful recession,” Bush said. “Fellow citizens, we must not let this happen.”

But he ended on a positive note, predicting lawmakers would “rise to the occasion” and that the nation’s economy will overcome “a moment of great challenge.”

Through the crisis, the White House has struggled over how to deploy Bush.

As the problem mushroomed over the weekend of Sept. 13, Bush generally stayed out of the limelight, letting Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke take the lead with reporters, lawmakers and the public. Bush remained silent for days.

Since last Thursday, however, the president has talked about the crisis almost daily, although usually briefly, and yet he still has had trouble breaking into the debate. News coverage has barely mentioned Bush’s comments.

The decision to pull out perhaps a president’s largest available weapon — the ability to demand a presence on evening television screens nationwide, from a setting with the ultimate bully-pulpit power — is one sign that the rescue package still faced daunting hurdles.

With so many crises hitting the United States at once, the presidential race has taken a back seat and so has Bush’s involvement in politics. Bush canceled a fundraising trip to Florida on Wednesday to deal with the problem, the third time in a week that he has scrapped his attendance at out-of-town fundraisers, either because of the market turmoil or Hurricane Ike.

The economic crisis also is almost certain to overshadow the rest of Bush’s four months left in office and could hugely impact his legacy. It has been assumed that the long-term view of Bush’s presidency was to be shaped largely by Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Now, the dire economic problems and the aftermath of the government’s attempted solution will certainly be added to that list.

Source — Yahoo!

(CNN) – Tropical Storm Edouard is not expected to make landfall in Texas until Tuesday morning, but forecasters warned the storm could spawn tornadoes as soon as Monday evening.

Forecasters expanded warnings early Monday along the Gulf Coast in Texas as Edouard picked up speed.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River, just south of New Orleans, Louisiana, to Port O’Connor, Texas.

A warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area within 24 hours.

A hurricane watch, which means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours, was in effect from west of Intracoastal City, Louisiana, to Port O’Connor.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said in its 2 p.m. ET advisory, “Isolated tornadoes are possible over portions of southern Louisiana and the upper Texas coast later today and tonight.”

Despite the threat of inclement weather, Edouard seemed to be causing few problems in the Gulf of Mexico, where employees on thousands of oil rigs and platforms produce and search for oil.

The price of oil dropped $3.69 Monday to settle at $121.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“That’s going to be a nonevent,” said Tom Orr, head of research for Weeden & Co. “It’s moving away from oil-producing facilities.”

Some companies reported minor disruptions and small-scale evacuations, but others said Edouard posed no threat to their workers, some of whom are more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) offshore.

ConocoPhillips said Edouard is not disrupting its exploration or production activities. Shell Oil reported that it had evacuated about 40 personnel from its operations in the western Gulf, but the company didn’t expect any impact to its production activities.

Rowan Cos., a drilling outfit with nine rigs in the Gulf, left most of its workers in place, except on its rig about 30 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas. Employees also were preparing for flooding at a company shipyard in the Sabine Pass, on the Texas-Louisiana border.

Rowan spokesman Bill Provine said Monday morning that one of its rigs was in Edouard’s eye and employees were reporting winds of about 35 mph.

“They’re probably shooting pool or probably eating,” Provine said of the rig workers. “It’s not a big deal.”

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. also expects to evacuate a rig outside Galveston, said Senior Vice President Gary Krenek.

Richard LeBlanc, spokesman for ENSCO International Inc., said the storm formed too quickly to evacuate workers but said oil rigs in the Gulf were designed to withstand tropical storms.

“We’ve certainly ridden out much tougher storms than this,” he said.

Edouard’s center could be “very near the upper Texas coast or the coast of southwestern Louisiana by Tuesday morning,” according to the hurricane advisory.

“Edouard could be nearing hurricane strength before reaching the coastline,” it said.

The storm started as a depression Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico.

At 2 p.m. ET, the center of the tropical storm — the fifth one this season — was about 145 miles south-southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana, and about 240 miles east-southeast of Galveston, the hurricane center said.

The storm was moving west-northwest at nearly 8 mph. Its maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph, with higher gusts, the hurricane center said.

Tropical storm-force winds extend up to 45 miles from the center.

Edouard is expected to dump up to 5 inches of rain along the Louisiana coast, and “maximum amounts of 10 inches are possible over southeastern Texas,” the hurricane center said.

Source — CNN

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief warned in comments aired Saturday that any military strike on Iran could turn the Mideast to a “ball of fire” and lead Iran to a more aggressive stance on its controversial nuclear program.

The comments by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, came in an interview with an Arab television station. It aired Saturday, a day after U.S. officials said they believed that recent large Israeli military exercises may have been meant to show Israel’s ability to hit Iran’s nuclear sites.

“In my opinion, a military strike will be the worst. … It will turn the Middle East to a ball of fire,” ElBaradei said on Al-Arabiya television. It also could prompt Iran to press even harder to seek a nuclear program and force him to resign, he said.

Iran also criticized the Israeli exercises Saturday. The official IRNA news agency quoted a government spokesman as saying the exercises demonstrate that Israel “jeopardizes global peace and security.”

Israel sent warplanes and other aircraft on a major exercise in the eastern Mediterranean this month, U.S. military officials said Friday.

Israel’s military refused to confirm or deny that the maneuvers were practice for a strike in Iran, saying only that it regularly trains for various missions to counter threats to the country.

But the exercise the first week of June may have been meant as a show of force as well as a practice on skills needed to execute a long-range strike mission, one U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record on the matter.

The New York Times quoted officials on Friday as saying that more than 100 Israeli F-16s and F-15s staged the maneuver, flying more than 900 miles, roughly the distance from Israel to Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, and that the exercise included refueling tankers and helicopters capable of rescuing downed pilots.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said he prefers that Iran’s nuclear ambitions be halted by diplomatic means but has pointedly declined to rule out military action.

The United States also says it is seeking a peaceful, diplomatic resolution to the threat the West sees from Iran’s nuclear program, although U.S. officials also have refused to take the threat of military action off the table.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice refused to comment on the Israeli maneuvers in an interview with National Public Radio aired Saturday but said, “We are committed to a diplomatic course.”

Russia’s foreign minister warned Friday against the use of force on Iran, saying there is no proof taht it is trying to build nuclear weapons with the a program, which Tehran says is for generating power.

One Israeli lawmaker urged caution Saturday, saying that the world should first do more to toughen and broaden the sanctions against Iran to persuade its leaders to halt the nuclear program.

Tzahi Hanegbi, chairman of the powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in Israel’s parliament, suggested steps including banning Iranian planes, ships and sports delegations from entering Western countries.

“There’s a long way to go before diplomatic efforts are exhausted,” Hanegbi said. “The sanctions aren’t very strong; they are very shallow; there’s a lot of room for enhancing them.”

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel published Wednesday, Olmert said the current international sanctions against Iran would probably not succeed alone, saying there were “many things that can be done economically, politically, diplomatically and militarily.”

Asked whether Israel was capable of taking military action against Iran, Olmert said, “Israel always has to be in a position to defend itself against any adversary and against any threat of any kind.”

Meanwhile, reaction to the Israeli exercises rippled across other parts of the Gulf.

In Dubai, the government-owned Khaleej Times newspaper warned in an editorial Saturday that an attack on Iran by Israel or the United States would have “disastrous consequences for the region.”

“A nuclear Iran is in nobody’s interest, but military action and armed rehearsals will also not be tolerated,” the paper said.

The United States and many Western nations accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear bomb. Iran has rejected the charges saying its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity not a weapon.

A U.S. intelligence report released late last year concluded that Iran has suspended its nuclear weapons program, but Israeli intelligence believes that is incorrect and that work is continuing.

There is precedent for unilateral Israeli action. In 1981, Israeli jets bombed Iraq’s Osirak nuclear facility to end dictator Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program. And last September, Israel bombed a facility in Syria that U.S. officials have said was a nuclear reactor being constructed with North Korean assistance.

Source — CNN