HA! Someone saw my post reporting an article on marriage problems for black women, and assumed I was having a problem. That person was also too much of a coward to reveal their name. Well, while the Bay Area does make finding a wife a bit of a chore, that says nothing for bachelor life; it's totally fun. So, if that's the "problem," I'll take it!
Heck, I love the idea of marriage, but I'll be damned if I jump into anything without looking first. After all, it's supposed to be forever, not for one year.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Wait. Didn't We Already Do This With Iraq? - Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism - Wash Post
I think there's a twisted logic here. We've already done a good job of keeping any terrorist units out there active. Attacking Iran will just make things worse. It's time we close the tent on the Mid East as there's so many problems here -- like New Orleans after Katrina.
Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism
U.S. Experts Wary of Military Action Over Nuclear Program
By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 2, 2006; Page A01 - Click on the link for the rest.
As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide.
Iran would mount attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq, where Iranian intelligence agents are already plentiful, predicted these experts. There is also a growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, they said.
U.S. officials would not discuss what evidence they have indicating Iran would undertake terrorist action, but the matter "is consuming a lot of time" throughout the U.S. intelligence apparatus, one senior official said. "It's a huge issue," another said.
Citing prohibitions against discussing classified information, U.S. intelligence officials declined to say whether they have detected preparatory measures, such as increased surveillance, counter-surveillance or message traffic, on the part of Iran's foreign-based intelligence operatives.
But terrorism experts considered Iranian-backed or controlled groups -- namely the country's Ministry of Intelligence and Security operatives, its Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah -- to be better organized, trained and equipped than the al-Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Iranian government views the Islamic Jihad, the name of Hezbollah's terrorist organization, "as an extension of their state. . . . operational teams could be deployed without a long period of preparation," said Ambassador Henry A. Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism.
The possibility of a military confrontation has been raised only obliquely in recent months by President Bush and Iran's government. Bush says he is pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but he has added that all options are on the table for stopping Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons.
Speaking in Vienna last month, Javad Vaeedi, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, warned the United States that "it may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wants to pursue that path, let the ball roll," although he did not specify what type of harm he was talking about.
Government officials said their interest in Iran's intelligence services is not an indication that a military confrontation is imminent or likely, but rather a reflection of a decades-long adversarial relationship in which Iran's agents have worked secretly against U.S. interests, most recently in Iraq and Pakistan. As confrontation over Iran's nuclear program has escalated, so has the effort to assess the threat from Iran's covert operatives.
U.N. Security Council members continue to debate how best to pressure Iran to prove that its nuclear program is not meant for weapons. The United States, Britain and France want the Security Council to threaten Iran with economic sanctions if it does not end its uranium enrichment activities. Russia and China, however, have declined to endorse such action and insist on continued negotiations. Security Council diplomats are meeting this weekend to try to break the impasse. Iran says it seeks nuclear power but not nuclear weapons.
Former CIA terrorism analyst Paul R. Pillar said that any U.S. or Israeli airstrike on Iranian territory "would be regarded as an act of war" by Tehran, and that Iran would strike back with its terrorist groups. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. . . . Whether it's overseas at the hands of Hezbollah, in Iraq or possibly Europe, within the regime there would be pressure to take violent action."
Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism
U.S. Experts Wary of Military Action Over Nuclear Program
By Dana Priest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 2, 2006; Page A01 - Click on the link for the rest.
As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide.
Iran would mount attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq, where Iranian intelligence agents are already plentiful, predicted these experts. There is also a growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, they said.
U.S. officials would not discuss what evidence they have indicating Iran would undertake terrorist action, but the matter "is consuming a lot of time" throughout the U.S. intelligence apparatus, one senior official said. "It's a huge issue," another said.
Citing prohibitions against discussing classified information, U.S. intelligence officials declined to say whether they have detected preparatory measures, such as increased surveillance, counter-surveillance or message traffic, on the part of Iran's foreign-based intelligence operatives.
But terrorism experts considered Iranian-backed or controlled groups -- namely the country's Ministry of Intelligence and Security operatives, its Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah -- to be better organized, trained and equipped than the al-Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Iranian government views the Islamic Jihad, the name of Hezbollah's terrorist organization, "as an extension of their state. . . . operational teams could be deployed without a long period of preparation," said Ambassador Henry A. Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism.
The possibility of a military confrontation has been raised only obliquely in recent months by President Bush and Iran's government. Bush says he is pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but he has added that all options are on the table for stopping Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons.
Speaking in Vienna last month, Javad Vaeedi, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, warned the United States that "it may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wants to pursue that path, let the ball roll," although he did not specify what type of harm he was talking about.
Government officials said their interest in Iran's intelligence services is not an indication that a military confrontation is imminent or likely, but rather a reflection of a decades-long adversarial relationship in which Iran's agents have worked secretly against U.S. interests, most recently in Iraq and Pakistan. As confrontation over Iran's nuclear program has escalated, so has the effort to assess the threat from Iran's covert operatives.
U.N. Security Council members continue to debate how best to pressure Iran to prove that its nuclear program is not meant for weapons. The United States, Britain and France want the Security Council to threaten Iran with economic sanctions if it does not end its uranium enrichment activities. Russia and China, however, have declined to endorse such action and insist on continued negotiations. Security Council diplomats are meeting this weekend to try to break the impasse. Iran says it seeks nuclear power but not nuclear weapons.
Former CIA terrorism analyst Paul R. Pillar said that any U.S. or Israeli airstrike on Iranian territory "would be regarded as an act of war" by Tehran, and that Iran would strike back with its terrorist groups. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. . . . Whether it's overseas at the hands of Hezbollah, in Iraq or possibly Europe, within the regime there would be pressure to take violent action."
Green Bay Packers WR Javon Walker Does Not Want to Return To Lambeau Field - AP
Walker's threats ignored
Packers won't give in to wide receiver
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Wide receiver Javon Walker says he'd rather retire than return to Green Bay and play for the Packers. General manager Ted Thompson says he has no plans to placate the former Pro Bowler.
Walker, rehabilitating his right knee at his former college Florida State, told ESPN.com on Thursday that he wants to be traded or released.
"If I had to go back there, I'd retire," he said. "I don't have to play."
Thompson, who has reorganized the Packers in his 14-month tenure by firing former head coach Mike Sherman and bringing in Mike McCarthy, said Friday the organization will not concede to Walker's demands.
"During his time as a Green Bay Packer, Javon Walker has been well thought of by everyone here. I like Javon, certainly as a person and a player," he said in a statement. "There have been several highly publicized cases of player discontent in the National Football League. I don't anticipate us making any concessions in this matter."
Walker's new agent, Kennard McGuire of CSMG Sports, asked Thompson to move the veteran entering his sixth year or pursue a trade. His former agent, Drew Rosenhaus, made similar requests to management.
McGuire did not return messages left Friday by The Associated Press.
"I just don't feel like this is the best place for me to be right now," Walker told ESPN.com. "I really have no interest in being in a Green Bay Packers uniform or playing for Green Bay again."
Walker has been at odds with the organization since management refused to renegotiate his contract that had two years remaining on it after his Pro Bowl season in 2004, when he caught 89 passes for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Brett Favre criticized Walker's threat of holding out in 2005, and Walker returned only to tear a knee ligament in the season opening loss to Detroit.
"I just don't like the way the organization runs itself," Walker said. "They want players to come up there and play hard and work hard, but when it comes time to be compensated, it's like, 'We forgot what you've done."'
Walker also said Favre's comments last year made living in Wisconsin difficult, and he felt it was unfair the team let Favre interfere with Walker's squabble with management.
"There's an unwritten rule that players stick together," Walker said.
Walker says he will not show up for training camp or come back at all for the final season of his contract regardless of whether Favre decides to retire or return. He said he'll repay the Packers the prorated portion of his signing bonus to leave Green Bay.
"Why should I risk another year of getting beat up playing for a team that I don't want to play for? That's stupid," he said.
Walker said he'll be ready for the 2006 season wherever he lands.
"If I'm going to go out and take hits, it's going to be for a team that I love playing for," he said. "I'm not going to grandstand. I just want the Packers to give me peace of mind."
For now, the Packers say the only way Walker will be free to play elsewhere is if he finishes what he started in Green Bay.
"Javon is under contract," Thompson said. "We expect him to honor it."
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