'Praise Bush and the Iraq war' Scotsman 29/10/20006 'Praise Bush and the Iraq war' CHRIS STEPHEN IN SAN ANTONIO THE lights were down in the giant amphitheatre of Cornerstone Church, Texas, as last weekend's Feast of the Tabernacles got into full swing. An orchestra, backed by a several hundred-strong choir, is belting out biblical hymns. Centre stage, two camouflaged figures embrace, one dressed as an Israeli soldier complete with machine gun, the other his US army counterpart. George Bush may be facing defeat in the upcoming mid-term elections from an electorate alarmed by Middle East wars and ballooning federal spending, but one corner of the country remains firmly behind him - the Christian right. Fully one quarter of Americans describe themselves as Evangelical Christians, and their support for the president remains rock solid. Cornerstone Church, a vast squat white temple in San Antonio, is rapidly becoming the movement's epicentre, thanks to the charismatic founder, Pastor John Hagee, the rising star of America's TV evangelists. For these evangelists, the war in Iraq is not a disaster, but the beginning of the fulfilment of biblical prophecies that culminate, possibly very soon, in a mighty struggle between good and evil at Armageddon. This belief lies at the core of the teachings of the bespectacled pastor, who argues that Christians and Jews must make common cause against forces of darkness he identifies as Arabs, Russians and even a future president of the EU. Christians who fail in their duty will be "left behind" when the obedient are summoned to heaven. "Listen up, president of Iran," booms the pastor. "We are going to be your worst nightmare, Mr Ahmadinejad. The pharaoh threatened Israel, he ended up fish-food in the sea. When you say Israel is going to disappear in a sudden storm you may be predicting the way you disappear." The 5,000-seater church, patriotically decked out in red carpet, white walls and blue seats, is packed and the crowd are immediately on their feet, arms raised, shouting hallelujah. While mainstream churches across the land struggle to attract congregations, Cornerstone and hundreds more so-called Mega Churches are packed week after week, forming the last remaining bastion of support for the troubled Bush presidency. Hagee set up his church 28 years ago and sits through services on a throne, in suit and tie, facing his son, Mathew, who he has appointed as his deputy. "When you get the sin out of your life you get happy," he tells the congregation. "What we are doing is righteous." By taking the bible as literal truth, these evangelists argue that Israel can do no wrong because their enemies are, by definition, forces of darkness who can be disposed of. His stance has brought the pastor powerful friends, among them disgraced former House of Congress majority leader Tom Delay and ex-CIA chief James Woolsey. Hagee is rapidly taking the place as top TV preacher from fellow Evangelist Pat Robertson, who has lost support after angering Bush by using one of his sermons to call for the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. "Pastor Hagee is experienced, charismatic and efficient, and his message is simple," says writer Victoria Clark, who is researching a history of Christian Zionists. "Hagee preaches that if Americans want God to bless America then Americans had better bless the Jews." Yet despite the fervour, clouds are appearing on the horizon. Bush, the country's first Born Again president, is in deep trouble. In a fortnight's time, barring a miracle God seems disinclined to grant, the Republicans will lose one, possibly both, houses of Congress, blunting their foreign policy and the cause of the Christian Right. Meanwhile, mainstream churches worry about the absence in the pastor's fiery sermons of more traditional Christian fare such as forgiveness. And liberal American Jews accuse the pastor of ignoring divisions raging within Israel about how to treat its Arab neighbours. But none of this can shake the devotion of Pastor Hagee's flock, whose hefty donations have given him a reported personal income in excess of a million dollars a year. One devotee, tourist office supervisor Liz Andrews, grew tearful as she said: "I hope America stands by them [Israel] because I think that if Americans don't, something bad will happen to us. I don't want to be one of the ones left behind. I don't want to endure what's going to happen." Another follower, teacher Patrick Hewitt, said the pastor will shortly post instructions, on his website on how parishioners should cast their ballots for the mid-term elections. "I'm going to vote the way he tells me," he said.

9/11 only "make-believe," Iranian government official says German Press Agency October 27, 2006 Tehran- An Iranian government official on Friday accused the US of orchestrating the attacks of September 11, 2001, saying New York's World Trade Center towers were actually blown up by a bomb rather than planes hijacked by terrorists. "What we watched on the TVs regarding the slamming of two planes into the New York Twin Towers, was in fact a make-believe scene," Deputy Culture Minister Mohammad-Hadi Homayoun was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying, in an address to the Iran-Russia Dialogue among Civilizations Conference in Moscow. "The sky-scrapers were destroyed through bomb explosions and afterwards the massive US media propaganda and the crusade issue began," the minister said, making reference to the controversial remarks by US President George W Bush outlining a "crusade" against terrorism following the September 11 attacks

Flashback: Iran says U.S., Israel ordered September 11 attacks Iran Focus September 6, 2006 The Supreme Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps accused the Bush Administration and the Israeli security service Mossad of ordering the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, DC. "The events of September 11 were ordered by U.S. [officials] and Mossad so that they could carry out their strategy of pre-emption and warmongering and unipolarisation in order to dominate the Middle East", Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi told military commanders on Tuesday. His comments were reported by the state-run news agency ISNA. General Safavi said that Iran was the leading force of the "Islamic world". "The geographic heart of the Islamic world is in Mecca and Medina. But, the political heart of the Islamic world is in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] is the flag-bearer of the front of Islamic awakening and the fronts of the awakening of third world nations", he said. He said that Washington had been defeated in its strategy of "attacking Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon" and creating a new order in the Middle East. "The U.S.'s neo-conservative strategy was to dominate the vast energy resources of the Persian Gulf in order to be able to control Europe, China, and India and drive the world to a unipolar state. Therefore, it planned to change undesirable regimes such as those of Iraq, Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan". The IRGC general said that the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had defeated Israel during their recent war. "After many years, the political and military image and hollow might of the Zionist regime was broken and the real power of Hezbollah fighters was proven. Thus, Hezbollah defeated Israel". He described Washington and Tel Aviv as two "inter-continental threats" against Tehran. "The U.S. must be livid at Iran because of its disgraceful defeats in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. Regarding [Iran's] nuclear dossier, it might try to create circumstances so that slowly but surely economic and political pressure is applied against Iran by the [United Nations] Security Council". He accused Washington of plotting a "cultural" attack on Tehran by setting up new radio and television stations broadcasting into Iran, supporting dissident groups, and stepping up intelligence operations. "Therefore, the armed forces must be completely prepared in order to combat any forms of foreign and domestic threats", he said. He charged that Britain and the U.S. were stirring ethnic and religious divisions in Iran, in particular in the provinces close to the country's frontiers. The IRGC's primary task is to export the Islamic revolution to Jerusalem via Baghdad. Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is one of many officials who stem from the IRGC.

A stalemate in Iran may trigger sanctions: Chirac WUHAN, China, Oct 27, 2006 (AFP) French President Jacques Chirac said Friday that if a stalemate develops in the dialogue with Iran over its nuclear program then sanctions should be imposed. "I hope that we can find a solution (to the Iranian nuclear issue) through dialogue," Chirac said in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. "If it goes on and appears that the dialogue will not end, then it is probably necessary to find calibrated, adaptable, temporary and reversible sanctions that will be imposed to show Iran that the entire international community does not understand their position and is hostile to it." Chirac's statements followed reports from Iran that scientists had begun feeding gas into a second cascade of centrifuges to enrich uranium, defying UN threats of sanctions over Iran's nuclear program. "The second cascade was set up two weeks ago and this week gas was injected in them," an unidentified official told the ISNA news agency in Tehran. "We have the product of the second cascade." Iran on Wednesday confirmed it had installed new equipment to step up uranium enrichment and said it would imminently start pumping gas into the equipment. The announcement came as six major powers huddled behind closed doors in New York to review a draft UN Security Council resolution mandating sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt its sensitive nuclear fuel work, which the West fears could be diverted to make a nuclear bomb. Chirac, who was in China on the third day of a four-day visit, said that he had "never been a great believer in sanctions" and that he "has never been convinced of their effectiveness." But "in this particular case, it is obvious and the entire international community recognizes this, notably China, but also Russia, the Europeans and the United States that the ambitions clearly signalled by Iran are not compatible with the idea we are making concerning non-proliferation." A top Iranian cleric, who preached Tehran's Friday sermon defied the UN over probable sanctions, calling again for a return to negotiations. "If you want to go ahead with the sanctions, go ahead," said Ahmad Khatami in a challenging tone. "You have imposed sanctions on us for the past 27 years. What did you gain? It was with these sanctions that Iranian youth reached nuclear energy and self sufficiency." In New York, the talks at Britain's UN mission brought together ambassadors from the UN Security Council's five veto-wielding members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - as well as from Germany. The focus was on the resolution crafted by Britain, France and Germany in consultations with Washington to penalize Tehran for failing to heed UN demands that it freeze its uranium enrichment activities, which the West fears could lead to Iran building a nuclear warhead. On Thursday in Beijing, a joint communiqué released by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chirac called on Iran to heed UN mandates over its nuclear program and abide by an earlier Security Council resolution to abandon its uranium enrichment program or face sanctions. "The two sides call for respect of Security Council resolution 1696 and agree to pursue their joint efforts for a resolution of the nuclear issue to maintain a close permanent contact on this matter," the statement said.

Iran calls "6+2" model best way to defend Gulf region's security www.chinaview.cn 2006-10-29 23:26:43 TEHRAN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Sunday that a security cooperation treaty among the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plus Iran and Iraq would be the best way to maintain security in the Gulf region, the official IRNA news agency reported. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini made the remarks when asked at a weekly press briefing to comment upon the military maneuvers by the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Australia and Bahrain in the Gulf. On Sunday, the U.S. Navy said that vessels from six countries began a naval training exercise off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf aimed at blocking smuggling of nuclear weapons and arms proliferation. "The GCC states plus Iran and Iraq can very well hold a meeting to agree on a security arrangement that will meet the interests of their nations," Hosseini said. Founded in 1981, the GCC is a regional political and economic alliance grouping Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. "Regional countries should agree on the security cooperation they want among themselves so foreigners will not have the excuse to stay in the region," Hosseini said. The Iranian official added that regional states themselves can best guarantee the security of the Gulf region. "The United States goes after the policy of adventurism and creates tensions in the region," Hosseini said, adding that "Iran's response will be rational and wise." Asked whether Iran had protested over the planned maneuvers or possible inspection of Iranian ships, he said the six countries had announced that their joint maneuvers would not be against Iran. "No issue has been raised regarding possible inspection of Iranian ships," he added. The maneuvers are being held under the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush in May, 2003. Bahrain's participation marks the first time a Gulf nation joins a PSI exercise.