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U.S. lawmakers plan backup nuclear sanctions against Iran

U.S. lawmakers plan backup nuclear sanctions against Iran
Tehran agrees to put nuclear activities on hold in exchange for sanctions relief

Lawmakers from both parties said Sunday they are skeptical that Iran will stick to a new nuclear deal and want Congress to prepare beefed up economic penalties to hit Tehran if the accord falls apart.

In an early morning announcement, Tehran agreed Sunday to a six-month pause of its nuclear program while diplomats continue talks aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. International observers are set to monitor Iran's nuclear sites and ease about $7 billion US of the crippling economic sanctions.

But the announcement, after months of secret face-to-face talks between the United States and Iran, left many U.S. lawmakers deeply doubtful of the most significant agreement between Washington and Tehran in more than three decades of estrangement. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, said Sunday he would work with colleagues to have sanctions against Iran ready "should the talks falter or Iran fail to implement or breach the interim agreement."

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Such distrust that Iran was negotiating in good faith ran across political parties that are otherwise deeply divided. And ready-to-go sanctions seemed to have rare bipartisan support across both of Congress' chambers.

The House in July passed its latest round of sanctions against Iran with backing from both parties but the measure stalled in the Senate.

President Barack Obama convinced Senate leadership to hold off consideration of the measure while negotiators pursued an agreement. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada agreed to the request but said his chamber would take up new sanctions in December -- with or without an agreement with Iran.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, a member of his party's leadership team, said he was "disappointed" by the deal, which he called disproportional. The New York Democrat said sanctions forced Iran to negotiate and said he plans further discussions with colleagues.

"This agreement makes it more likely that Democrats and Republicans will join together and pass additional sanctions when we return in December," Schumer said.

The Senate returns to session on Dec. 9 and lawmakers already were talking about sanctions designed to caution Iran that failure to use the six-month window to reach a deal would only leave Iranians in worse economic straits.

"Congress, I think, will want to make it clear that if Iran does not live up to these commitments, we will not only insist that the sanctions be reapplied, but we will have stronger sanctions against Iran," said Sen. Ben Cardin.

"There is now an even more urgent need for Congress to increase sanctions until Iran completely abandons its enrichment and reprocessing capabilities," added Sen. Marco Rubio.

Washington has been layering sanctions against Iran since 1987, crippling its economy and putting pressure on the nation's middle class. Many of those economic penalties are set to remain in place during the six-month negotiating window announced Sunday.

Israel calls Iran nuclear deal 'historic mistake'

But lawmakers seemed to expect talks to collapse, forcing them to restore old sanctions and levy new ones.

"If Iran does not consent to a comprehensive agreement that ensures it cannot acquire a nuclear weapon, there is a broad consensus in Congress to impose even tougher sanctions," said Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

A deep distrust of Iran pervaded Sunday's discussion of the deal.

"We need to be very, very careful with the Iranians," said Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "I don't trust them, I don't think we should trust them. .... Sanctions should always be hanging there because that's what brought Iran to the table in the first place."

Rep. Ed Royce, the California Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Iranians "are capable of cheating."

Republican House Speaker John Boehner, too, said the six-month pause deserves healthy skepticism.

"Iran has a history of obfuscation that demands verification of its activities and places the burden on the regime to prove it is upholding its obligations in good faith while a final deal is pursued," he said.

Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican who chairs the House intelligence panel, was more critical of a deal he said aids "the leading nation-state of terror."

"We have just rewarded very bad and dangerous behavior," he said.

During interviews on Sunday, some lawmakers compared the current deal with the 1990s pact that gave North Korea a respite from sanctions if they promised to stop work on their nuclear program.

"We've seen what's happened in North Korea; they now have nuclear weapons. And I don't want to see that happen in Iran," said Sen. Bob Corker.

Added Sen. Saxby Chambliss: "We've trusted the Iranians before, just like the North Koreans, on nuclear issues, and what have we gotten for it?"

Cardin and Corker spoke with "Fox News Sunday." Hoyer was on CBS' "Face the Nation." Engel, Royce and Rogers appeared on CNN's "State of the Union." Chambliss joined ABC's "This Week."

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[SinoSoldier]

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Bring out the UAVs. Seems like the CH4 just got a new assignment.

 

[Dizasta1]

Anyone who kills innocent people in the name of Islam, Allah Subhanaho Wata'aalah or Muhammad Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam, is NOT A MUSLIM. Rather, they are illiterate, idiots who have no sense of what Islam is all about.

There are 2 billion Muslims in the world, and around 90% of them do not share this sort of ideology.

These terrorists have hijacked the peaceful faith of Islam and are giving Islam a bad name. The Muslim Ummah ought to collectively wage an effort to bring these terrorists before the Islamic Courts and be tried for not only being murderers of innocent people (both Muslims and Non-Muslims), but also for using Islam as their cause for mass murder.

I am a Muslim and I can say this with conviction in my heart, that if I ever came across such bafoons, who call themselves Muslims and kill innocent people in the name of Islam. I would do everything in my power to bring these people before the Islamic Justice System and have them prosecuted for their crimes.

May such murderers, who have killed many of my fellow countrymen, women and children (Pakistanis), burn not only in the afterlife, but also in this life.

 

[AssassinsMace]

The Western media reporting it as terrorism is for Western audiences only. It's only terrorism enough to make the anti-China faction happy that China is hated enough to be terrorized. But of course China is not allowed to handle terrorism like the West. Were they terrorists or not? The Western media keeps spinning contradicting itself because they want to play every political angle they can against China. Inflicting terrorism on China won't have the same effect as inflicting it on the US. The West does not portray Chinese as innocent victims in any sense. The West portrays China as a horrible place to live in the first place. So what would terrorizing do? All that would happen is the authorities will clamp down violating all the rights the West already says are being violated among Uighurs. The Chinese government is not going to yield to their demands so the only thing they can hope for is if the West takes a stand against Chinese violating rights. Is this new? Has that ever happened to the point it hurts China? Notice how the plight of Syrian rebels against Assad is not on the news anymore?

Let's see... three terrorists are dead by their own actions and killed two bystanders which at least one was a tourist. Doesn't sound like these "terrorists" are anything special or anything more dangerous than all the evils the West portrays happen in China all the time. Really, if they were that inept, you have to wonder if it was really terrorism and is just being spun and taken advantage of by the Western media. Did they really need three people to set-off a gasoline bomb? By some reports the terrorist(s) brought the family along to commit suicide. Really horrible reporting by the West or really stupid terrorists. Given what methods these terrorists are using from axe attacks to setting off gasoline bombs, the government seems to be doing very well clamping down on their capabilities.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

Nov 25, 4:03 AM EST


Japan says China's new defense zone unenforceable

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) -- China's new maritime air defense zone is unenforceable and dangerous, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday, in a continuing war of words over air space that includes the area above islands claimed by both.

Abe told a parliamentary session that China's declaration of an air defense identification zone alters the state of affairs in the East China Sea and escalates a tense situation.

"The measures by the Chinese side have no validity whatsoever for Japan, and we demand China revoke any measures that could infringe upon the freedom of flight in international airspace," Abe said. "It can invite an unexpected occurrence and it is a very dangerous thing as well."

On Saturday, Beijing issued a map of the zone and a set of rules which say all aircraft must notify Chinese authorities and are subject to emergency military measures if they do not identify themselves or obey Beijing's orders.

Abe said the measures one-sidedly impose rules set by the Chinese military on all flights in the zone, and violate the freedom to fly above open sea, a general principle under the international law. Abe also slammed China for showing the disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, as Chinese territory in the zone.

Since taking office almost a year ago, Abe has been spearheading a move to step up Japan's defense capability, citing threats from China's growing maritime and military presence in the region. Japan has had a similar zone since the 1960s.

South Korea also complained Monday about the Chinese zone, which includes the air space above a set of submerged rocks that are controlled by Seoul but also claimed by Beijing.

South Korea's Defense Ministry summoned China's military attache in Seoul, saying the zone is unacceptable because it was drawn unilaterally, according to ministry officials. Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said South Korea's control over the area remains unchanged and Seoul won't notify China when its planes pass through the region.

Earlier Monday, China's Foreign Ministry said it had complained to the United States over its "irresponsible remarks" about China's drawing up of the zone for the disputed islands, which are administered by Japan.

China's Defense Ministry also called Japan's objections to its East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone "absolutely groundless and unacceptable" and said it had made solemn representations to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement Sunday that the zone's aim is to defend China's sovereignty and the security of its airspace and land. He said it is not aimed at any country and it does not affect freedom of overflight.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel have both said the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about China's action.

"This unilateral action constitutes an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea," Kerry said in a statement released Saturday. "Escalatory action will only increase tensions in the region and create risks of an incident."

Qin said China told U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke on Sunday that the U.S. should "to correct its mistakes and stop making irresponsible remarks on China."

Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the ministry had complained to the U.S. Embassy's military attache on Sunday evening.

The U.S. doesn't take a position on who has sovereignty over the islands but recognizes they are under Japanese administration.

Along with a rise in its economic and military power in recent years, China has become more assertive over its maritime claims.

---

Associated Press writers Yuriko Nagano in Tokyo, Louise Watt in Beijing and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed to this story

ap

 

[SteelBird]

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Twelve Chinese-built Zhi-9 (Z-9) utility helicopters, which Cambodia had purchased from China, were delivered to the Royal Cambodian Air Force on Monday.

The handover ceremony was held at the capital's Military Airbase between Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo.

Tea Banh said the helicopter delivery was a new historic achievement in addition to numerous supports the Chinese government has given to Cambodia.

"The helicopters will be used to serve training in order to strengthen capacity for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces in defending territorial integrity and in cracking down on offenses in remote areas," he said. "They will also be used for humanitarian activities such as disasters."

Tea Banh also highly spoke of excellent relations and cooperation between Cambodia and China under the leadership of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese leadership.

"The friendship relations between Cambodia and China have moved closer, reaching the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Cooperation in 2010," he said. "The bilateral excellent ties will bring mutual benefits to the two countries and peoples."

Bu Jianguo said that the Z-9 choppers are capable of carrying people and materials in case of any emergency rescues.

"China believes that the helicopters will enhance capacity for the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces in emergency operations in case of any disasters," she said.

Soeung Samnang, commander of the Royal Cambodian Air Force, said the Z-9 helicopters were purchased from the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).

"They are medium-sized carriers," he said. "They will help increase efficiency and capacity for the air forces in their national defense duties," he added.

China lent Cambodia $195 million in August, 2011 to buy those choppers.

The deal is done! Looks like some of them are armed version.

 

[Jeff Head]

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WASHINGTON—A pair of American B-52 bombers flew over a disputed island chain in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, U.S. officials said Tuesday, in a direct challenge to China and its establishment of an expanded air-defense zone.

The planes flew out of Guam and entered the new Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone at about 7 p.m. Washington time Monday, according to a U.S. official.

Over the weekend, Beijing said it was establishing an air-defense zone covering disputed islands that are claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo but administered by Japan. The islands, the source of growing friction in the region, are known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan

U.S. defense officials earlier had promised that the U.S. would challenge the zone and wouldn't comply with Chinese requirements to file a flight plan, radio frequency or transponder information.

The flight of the B-52s, based at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, were part of a long-planned exercise called Coral Lightning. The bombers weren't armed and weren't accompanied by escort planes.

But the routine flight took on new significance with China's weekend announcement, and it counters Beijing's attempts to strengthen its influence over the region. China had warned that aircraft that don't comply could be subject to a military response.

The establishment of the new zone was certain to have been approved by Xi Jinping, China's new leader, who became military chief at the same time as taking over as head of the Communist Party in November last year, analysts and diplomats said.

They see the move as part of a long-term strategy to try to gradually change the status quo in the East China Sea, and make it increasingly costly for Japan to enforce its claims, without ever crossing the red lines that might provoke an actual military conflict.

But some analysts now believe that China might have overplayed its hand by angering not just Japan and the U.S., but South Korea and Taiwan—both of which have air-defense zones that overlap China's—and several other countries that have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

The U.S. official said that China didn't make contact with the B-52s as they flew over the islands. The planes returned to Guam after the exercise.

"The planes flew a pattern that included passing through the ADIZ," the official said. "The flight was without incident."

Calls to China's foreign and defense ministries went unanswered.

U.S. officials said they believe they had to challenge the ADIZ to make clear they don't consider the Chinese move to be appropriate. But they said they don't believe U.S. flights over the island will create a military conflict.

The White House said the territorial dispute between China and Japan should be solved diplomatically. "The policy announced by the Chinese over the weekend is unnecessarily inflammatory," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in California, where President Barack Obama was traveling.

"These are the kinds of differences that should not be addressed with threats or inflammatory language," he said.

China is now requiring aircraft flying in the region to register their flight path with the Foreign Ministry, identify their transponder and their radio frequency. Col. Steve Warren, the Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. wouldn't comply with those requirements.

"The United States military will continue conducting flight operations in the region, including with our allies and partners," said Col. Warren on Monday, prior to the B-52 flight. "We will not in any way change how we conduct our operations as a result of the Chinese policy of establishing an ADIZ, an Air Defense Identification Zone."

Col. Warren said the U.S. didn't agree with China's decision to establish the zone, and the U.S. wouldn't comply with it while flying over the disputed islands. "We see it as a destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region," Col. Warren said.

Qin Gang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a regular news briefing earlier in the day Tuesday that China's new zone wouldn't affect regular international civilian flights, according to a transcript on the Foreign Ministry web site.

Asked if China would take military action against aircraft that didn't comply with its demands in the zone, Mr. Qin said: "It was written very clearly in the announcement. With regard to the question you've asked, the Chinese side will make an appropriate response according to the different circumstances and the threat level that it might face."

China's Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Chinese military would take "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft that didn't obey the rules in the new zone. It didn't specify what those measures would be.

China's official Xinhua news agency announced earlier Tuesday that the country's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was making its maiden voyage to the South China Sea, where China is also embroiled in territorial disputes with its neighbors.

The Liaoning left its homeport of Qingdao in eastern China on Tuesday and was being escorted by two destroyers and two frigates to the South China Sea where it would conduct training exercises, Xinhua said.

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said Saturday that China was planning to establish more ADIZs, and many analysts expect one of them to be over the South China Sea, where China's claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

 

[bd popeye]

If your post is missing it is in the thread below.

http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/air...adiz-no-reaction-china-2-6657.html#post256475

Use that thread to discuss the US incursion into the ADIZ .

bd popeye super moderator

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

27 November 2013 Last updated at 12:13 ET
Italy's Senate expels ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi
The Italian Senate has voted to expel ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament with immediate effect over his conviction for tax fraud.
Berlusconi, who has dominated politics for 20 years, could now face arrest over other criminal cases as he has lost his immunity from prosecution.
He told supporters in Rome it was a "day of mourning" for democracy.
Ahead of the vote, he vowed to remain in politics to lead his Forza Italia in a "fight for the good of Italy".
Berlusconi told supporters gathered outside his Rome residence that "no political leader has suffered a persecution such as I have lived through".
He said: "It is a bitter day, a day of mourning."
Berlusconi, 77, said his struggle would continue outside parliament.
He said: "We must stay on the field, we must not despair if the leader of the centre-right is not a senator any more. There are leaders of other parties who are not parliamentarians."
Ineligible
The debate in the Senate had been heated, with two rival senators nearly coming to blows.
Manuela Ripetti of Berlusconi's Forza Italia party shouted: "Your only aim is to eliminate Silvio Berlusconi!"
No formal vote was held, but senators rejected a series of challenges from Berlusconi's supporters.
The Senate speaker then declared the three-time prime minister ineligible for a seat.
"The conclusions of the committee on elections have been approved, abolishing the election of senator Silvio Berlusconi," Speaker Pietro Grasso said.
After the vote, Beppe Grillo, the leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, tweeted: "Berlusconi has been expelled by the Senate. One is out. Now we must evict all the others from the House."
Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012 over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. The verdict was upheld in August.
He will have to serve a one-year sentence, probably under house arrest or by doing community service because of his age.
He has also been convicted of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and of a breach of confidentiality over a police wiretap. He is appealing against both convictions.

Once more Italian Politics moves on.

 

[Equation]

Once more Italian Politics moves on.

Aww...I kinda like the guy. He does have a very good taste in women (although some are supposedly under age).