Friday, March 20, 2009
Arctic Intrigue: Canada's Summer Sub Sighting
Cold War-style competition for the Arctic appears to be, well, heating up.
Russia may have brazenly blown a hole in the ice to allow one of its submarines to penetrate the storied Northwest Passage. UPI reports from Ottawa:... The Canadian military is keeping a lid on the sighting of a foreign submarine in the Arctic last summer, The Globe and Mail said.
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Using the access to information law, the newspaper said documents show hunters reported the sighting to military observers in August near the eastern entrance of the Northwest Passage.
The sighting was 10 days after a mysterious, loud and smoky explosion was reported in the Arctic waters about 10 miles away, the newspaper said.Obama Escalates Diplomatic Offensive Toward Iran
US President Barack Obama sought to slash through decades of distrust and animosity Friday and launched an historic appeal directly to the Iranian people, urging a resolution of differences and an "honest" engagement with Tehran.
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In one of the most decisive foreign policy statements of his young tenure, Obama said Washington was committed to pursuing "constructive ties" with the Islamic republic and that Tehran could take its "rightful place" in the world if it renounced terror and embraced peace.
"My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community," Obama said in the message marking the start Friday of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year.
"For nearly three decades relations between our nations have been strained," he said. "But at this holiday we are reminded of the common humanity that binds us together."
Obama's stunning appeal follows yesterday's news that the United States and Iran will meet in Moscow next week under cover of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (which was ironically set up to counter U.S. influence). Scroll for the story.
VOA describes the President's comments as "most striking, perhaps, for their tone. Unlike his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who refused to deal with Iran's leaders and once referred to Iran as part of an axis of evil, Mr. Obama focused on the future."
"President Obama has raised the prospect in the past of possible diplomatic engagement with Iran," VOA adds. "But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently had harsh words for Tehran, saying it is encouraging divisions in the Arab world, promoting terrorism, and seeking to intimidate others. She later said the Obama administration wants to engage in talks with Iran, but only if it is sure the discussions will be productive."
Click below to view a VOA video of the President's speech.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The White House is hoping for change in Iran as a solution to the nuclear issue--more specifically, that Iran's last prime minister, a so-called reform candidate, will win the upcoming Iranian presidential election. It's a false hope. Click here for an in-depth analysis.Thursday, March 19, 2009
Ex-Chinese Spy Urges Washington to Press Beijing
Friday, 20 March 2009
AFP reports:
A man who claims to have been a Chinese spy has appealed to the United States to stand up to Beijing. Read about it here.
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