Leader: Repeated US failures show new world order

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the repeated US failures in different countries and the loss of its influence both indicate the undeniable fact of world change.

"The US had far greater failures in the Islamic Republic of Iran than in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Palestine," said Ayatollah Khamenei in a meeting with visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday.

The Leader touched upon changing the situation in Latin America and said, "A power has been formed in this region which was once regarded by the US as its courtyard."

Iran and Venezuela should make efforts to prepare the grounds for strengthening their independence, said the Leader.

"Along with political coordination, Iran and Venezuela should enhance industrial, economic, banking and transportation cooperation," Ayatollah Khamenei added.

Tehran and Caracas had previously signed an array of agreements, pledging to work together in oil exploration, building low-income housing and assembling tractors and bicycles as well as military projects among other ventures.

Chavez, who is on his seventh official visit to Iran, hailed positive talks between the high-ranking Venezuelan delegation and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior Iranian officials.

The Venezuelan president, a vocal critic of the global capitalistic system, said that enhanced cooperation and unity between the two countries would be the only way to fight against enemy plots.

Venezuela has been a vociferous defender of Iran and its nuclear program as Western countries, spearheaded by the US, accuse Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program and demand a halt to the country's uranium enrichment activities.

Tehran, however, denies all such allegations and has called for the removal of weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.

The Venezuelan president visited Libya, Algeria and Syria before coming to Iran. He is also scheduled to go to Belarus, Russia, Turkmenistan and Spain after his Tehran visit.

Brazil's Lula rejects Iran sanctions, urges talks

PARIS (Reuters) - Western powers should stop punishing Iran over its nuclear program and instead talk to it in order to foster peace, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday.

A rising diplomatic power campaigning to gain a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council, Brazil has adopted a much more conciliatory line toward Iran than Western allies including the United States.

"I think there are a lot of sanctions and not enough conversations with Iran," Lula said during an interview with three French media, TV5 Monde, RFI radio and Le Monde newspaper.

The West suspects Iran of trying to build nuclear bombs, while Tehran says its programme is for peaceful power generation.

U.S. President Barack Obama has given Iran until later in September to take up an offer from the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany to discuss trade benefits if Tehran shelves nuclear enrichment. The alternative is to face harsher sanctions.

Lula rejected the idea of new sanctions, urging Western leaders to talk to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"I think Obama should talk to him, (French President Nicolas) Sarkozy should talk to him, (British Prime Minister) Gordon Brown should talk to him, I should, everybody should," he said.

"Stop punishing him. Third-level U.N. officials take decisions that punish a country and make it more and more isolated. It will get harder and harder to reach an agreement," he said, speaking through a French interpreter.

Lula gave the interview just ahead of a visit to Brazil by Sarkozy, who has been one of the most vocal Western leaders in criticizing Ahmadinejad and his disputed re-election. Sarkozy has repeatedly said Iranians deserved better than their current leadership.

Lula said electoral disputes were common all over the world, citing the 2000 presidential election in the United States, and said other countries should not meddle in Iran's internal affairs.

Somali rebels 'reclaim town near Mogadishu'

Sun Sep 6, 2009

Somalia's Al Shabaab militia say they have recaptured a key town in battle with pro-government forces, leaving 13 people killed and many others wounded.

Al Shabaab guerrillas claim to have retaken control of the key Somali town of Beledweyne in the central Somali region of Hiiran where a large military base sheltering pro-government troops was located.

At least nine government soldiers and four Al Shabaab insurgents have been killed in the ongoing fierce fighting initiated by the anti-government fighters in the surprise pre-dawn attack, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Al Shabaab group has also reportedly seized a number of soldiers at the base and injured scores of others during the nocturnal raid.

Fighting continues over the strategic border town of Beledweyne which links Mogadishu with Ethiopia and central Somalia and has so far been swapped several times between the fighters vying for control in the country's polity and Somali government forces.

The news of Al Shabaab's recapturing of some Somali towns and districts comes in the aftermath of a recent international troops rise under an African Union mandate in order to boost the government strongholds across the war-ravaged country.

Somalia has lately witnessed a resurgence of militancy across the poverty-stricken Horn of Africa nation that has been grappling with an ongoing civil war after the 1991 overthrow of the country's last military dictatorship under the former leader General Mohamed Siad Barre.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/105437.html.

Arabic Defense Website Established

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- A company in the United Arab Emirates has established the first defense news website in Arabic.

The Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis has set up the first Arabic news website to focus on defense and security. Sdarabia.com was designed to provide news in Arabic to military officers, defense officials, analysts and executives.

Source: Middle East Newsline.
Link: http://menewsline.com/article-1173,4507-Arabic-Defense-Website-Establishe.aspx.

Iraq presses for tribunal for Syria bomb suspects

By JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD – Iraq's prime minister pressed a U.N. envoy Sunday on the need for an international tribunal to bring Syrian-based bombing suspects to trial, as Damascus refused to hand over those it called political refugees.

The dispute, triggered by devastating suicide truck bombings on government ministries in Baghdad last month, threatens to unravel steps toward better ties between the one-time adversaries.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has bluntly accused Syria of betrayal and of harboring killers, briefed the special United Nations envoy, Ad Melkert, on the intensifying dispute, Iraqi state TV reported.

Both nations have recalled their ambassadors in a serious setback to relations that had just begun to improve after years of animosity during Saddam Hussein's rule.

Iraq says two wanted members of Saddam's Baath Party who fled to Syria at the start of the war planned and financed the Aug. 19 attacks. Syria has refused to hand them over, demanding evidence.

On Sunday, Syria said through a government-run newspaper that it would not hand over people it considers political refugees.

"Syria never handed over people who took shelter from the threat of injustice, arbitrary acts and death," the Al-Thawra newspaper said.

It said that if Damascus had followed such a policy, Iraq's prime minister and president — who both lived as dissidents in Syria during Saddam's rule — would not have fared well.

"They all know what their fate would have been if Syria had such political morals," said the paper, referring to al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani.

One of the Iraqis linked to the August bombings is Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed, who was high up in the Baath Party and has been near the top of Iraq's most-wanted list for several years. The other suspect is Satam Farhan.

Syria and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in November 2006, ending a 24-year break that began when Damascus accused Iraq of inciting riots in Syria in 1982.

At the time of their break, the countries were ruled by rival factions of the Baath Party. Syria also sided with non-Arab Iran during its 1980-88 war with Iraq, further aggravating relations.

The dispute over last month's bombings is again straining relations.

The attacks devastated the foreign and finance ministries in Baghdad and killed about 100 people. They also severely shook confidence in al-Maliki's government, which wants to demonstrate it can guarantee security after the June withdrawal of American troops from urban areas.

Al-Maliki is also hoping to hold onto his job after January's national elections and had touted recent security improvements in his public appearances. He has faced criticism over the security lapses revealed by the attacks — one suspect said in a televised confession that the bombers got past checkpoints by paying bribes.

Because of the international element to the case, Iraq has asked the U.N. Security Council to investigate and set up a special court to try suspects. A U.N. spokesman said Thursday that the request was expected to be distributed to the 15 council members shortly.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Friday that such investigations are usually biased and have "brought catastrophes for us."

Solutions to the region's problems, he said, "should come from within the region."

Syria could also find itself before an international tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, though the court has yet to issue any indictments.

After the Baghdad attacks, al-Maliki ordered reinforcements to the Syrian border to shore up defenses against fighters crossing into Iraq.

The cross-border flow of fighters and weapons is helping fuel violence that continues to plague remaining insurgent strongholds like the northern city of Mosul, where five people were killed Sunday.

A gunman broke into a house in the eastern part of the city, killing a 3-year-old girl and her grandmother before fleeing, said a provincial police official and a doctor at the city's hospital. Neither wanted to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.

Gunmen also attacked checkpoints in the city, killing three policemen, police said.

In southeast Baghdad, a car parked near a security checkpoint exploded, killing one person and wounding five civilians, police said.

Space Sights and Smells Surprise Rookie Astronauts

Tariq Malik
Managing Editor
SPACE.com

WASHINGTON - For rookie astronauts flying aboard the International Space Station, the food is good, the rocket thrusters are loud and there's an odd tang in the air - apparently from outer space.

"It's a very, very different environment than I expected," Discovery shuttle pilot Kevin Ford, a first-time spaceflyer, said from orbit late Friday.

One of things Ford wasn't ready for is the weird smell.

"From the [spacewalks] there really is a distinct smell of space when they come back in," Ford said from the station in a Friday night news conference. "It's like...something I haven't ever smelled before, but I'll never forget it. You know how those things stick with you."

In the past, astronauts have described the smell of space as something akin to gunpowder or ozone.

The sounds of spaceflight have also been surprising, especially when Discovery fires up its large maneuvering thrusters, Ford said.

"It definitely gives the shuttle a kick and you just feel a little twang throughout the whole orbiter when they're firing to keep you in position," he added.

Of the 13 astronauts aboard the International Space Station and docked shuttle, nearly half are taking their first trip to space. For some, it's a short trip aboard the shuttle, which blasted off last week with three rookies aboard.

Other first-time spaceflyers are on the station for the long haul. Some have already been there for months, so the term "rookie" barely applies.

"The food is wonderful," said rookie astronaut Nicole Stott, who arrived at the station Sunday on Discovery to begin a three-month stay. "Of course we have a mix from all the partners now."

The result, she said, is a sort of orbital smorgasbord that includes food from the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe.

"I think you can find something for everyone," Stott said.

Discovery's seven-astronaut crew is in the middle of a 13-day mission to deliver fresh supplies and new science gear to the space station. The astronauts ferried Stott to the outpost to replace another NASA astronaut who will come home on the shuttle.

They also delivered a $5 million treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert.

Even some of Discovery's grizzled veterans were surprised by the life aboard the station, which is the $100 billion product of 16 different countries.

"It's really awesome to see all the work that's been achieved up here since our last flight," said Discovery commander Rick Sturckow, who is making his fourth flight to the station. "They've added a new solar array and some new modules. The station is something that all the international partners can be very proud of for their contributions."

U.S.-German rift emerges over Afghan deaths case

By JASON STRAZIUSO and FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Writers

KABUL – An airstrike by U.S. fighter jets that appears to have killed Afghan civilians could turn into a major dispute for NATO allies Germany and the United States, as tensions began rising between them Sunday over Germany's role in ordering the attack.

Afghan officials say up to 70 people were killed in the early morning airstrike Friday in the northern province of Kunduz after Taliban militants stole two tanker trucks of fuel and villagers gathered to siphon off gas.

Afghan and NATO investigations are just beginning, but both German and U.S. officials already appeared to be trying to deflect blame.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said the Taliban's possession of the two tankers "posed an acute threat to our soldiers." German officials have said the tankers might have been used as suicide bombs.

"If there were civilian casualties or injuries, of course we deeply regret that. At the same time, it was clear that our soldiers were in danger," Jung said in comments to German broadcasters. "Consequently, I stand clearly behind our commander's decision" to order the air strike.

Meanwhile, Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith, the top U.S. and NATO spokesman in the country, said German troops let too many hours pass before visiting the site of the bombing Friday.

He explained that it's important to hold the ground after a strike and determine what happened before the enemy comes out with its own version of events.

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, visited the site Saturday where two charred trucks and yellow gas cans sat on a riverbed. He asked a top commander in Regional Command North about the response time.

"Why didn't RC-North come here quicker?" McChrystal asked Col. Georg Klein, the commander of the German base in Kunduz.

"I can honestly say it was a mistake," Klein answered, in a discussion witnessed by an Associated Press reporter.

On Sunday, Smith said that in McChrystal's judgment the response time "was probably longer than it should have been."

German troops in Afghanistan have long been criticized for avoiding combat operations, even as militants have increasingly infiltrated northern Afghanistan the last year, destabilizing the once-peaceful region.

Taliban militants stole two fuel tankers late Friday that became stuck on a riverbed outside Kunduz. Villagers — either forced by the militants or enticed by offers of free fuel — gathered near the trucks, even as U.S. jets patrolled overhead.

German commanders watching images from the U.S. aircraft could see about 120 people, McChrystal said Saturday. The commanders decided that the people were militants and ordered the airstrikes, Smith said, even though images provided by the U.S. aircraft would have been grainy and difficult to see.

Whether the German commanders or the U.S. pilot are at fault for any civilian casualties may turn into an inner-NATO tussle.

Smith said the ground force commander "is the decision maker for close air support. That's doctrine." But he also conceded that a pilot can refuse an order to drop a bomb.

Klein, in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, declined to say whether images provided by the U.S. jets had been clear enough for weapons to be seen among Afghans on the ground, citing the ongoing investigation.

A German Joint Terminal Air Controller, or JTAC, who spoke on condition that his name not be used because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly, said the rules for ordering an attack clearly state that the ultimate decision rests with the ground commander.

But rules also require that both the pilot and the JTAC get a good positive identification of the target before the commander can order a weapon deployed, the JTAC said.

"Only when both are sure that what we see is a target, only then will the pilot drop the bomb," the JTAC said.

The German Defense Ministry, meanwhile, pushed back against a story published in the Washington Post that German officials said painted their commander in a poor light and played up the U.S. version of events. The ministry said the article "will definitely influence at least the preliminary investigation by the various bodies."

"The Defense Ministry is very surprised about the unusual procedure of using a journalist as a source to reveal initial investigation results," the ministry said.

Kris Coratti, director of communications for the Washington Post, said in an e-mail: "The story speaks for itself."

Smith said a trip to Kunduz by military officials from Kabul was not an official investigation but a fact-finding trip.

"And I think it's much, much better for people to understand the facts," he said of the decision to allow a journalist to witness the discussion among military officials.

No NATO officials will yet say how many civilians they think may have died. Smith on Saturday said the preliminary overall death toll was believed to be 56. Afghan officials say it's in the low 70s.

Smith said he hopes a U.S.-German rift does not develop over the strike. "I hope everyone allows the investigation to proceed and we'll determine what we know more precisely and move on from there," Smith said.

The director of an Afghan human rights group criticized NATO's International Security Assistance Force for the deaths. "It was carelessness in terms of ISAF using force without doing enough to investigate whether this is a civilian location," Ajmal Samadi of Afghan Rights Monitor said.

German troops have long been criticized for restrictions that limit the battle their troops see. A U.S. based military analyst, Anthony Cordesman, said German troops don't have "the situational and combat experience" to confront Taliban on the ground.

"They're as oriented toward staying in their armored vehicles as any group I've met," Cordesman said. "They're not active enough to present much of a threat to the Taliban most of the time."

Klein rejected the claim that his troops lacked combat experience.

"Since I arrived here we have unfortunately seen many combat situations and my soldiers performed very well," he said.

"But the thing that's always given us a very good reputation in the civilian society here is that we tried as best as possible to exclude any civilian casualties, and I've got very good feedback on that from the Afghan people," he said.