In an extraordinarily bellicose statement Wednesday, US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn accused Iran of “destabilising behaviour across the Middle East” and warned, “As of today we are officially putting Iran on notice.”
He denounced Tehran for carrying out a ballistic missile test on Sunday and accused the Iranian regime, without any substantiation, of responsibility for an attack on a Saudi Arabian warship by Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday.
Flynn appeared at the daily briefing for the White House press corps, which had no advance notice that he would make a statement. He was called to the podium by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer to deliver a blistering tirade not only against Iran, but also against the Obama administration, after which he walked out without taking any questions.
Flynn gave no indication of the US actions being prepared against Iran. Hours later, in a closed-door briefing to the media, senior administration officials declared that the US intended to take “appropriate action” against Iran over its missile test. “We are considering a whole range of options,” one official said, refusing to rule out military action against Iran.
Flynn condemned Sunday’s “provocative ballistic missile launch,” claiming it was “in defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls upon Iran ‘not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.’”
Iran has repeatedly denied that its ballistic missiles can carry nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency—the organisation responsible for monitoring Resolution 2231—has confirmed this. An Iranian foreign ministry statement declared that missile tests “are an integral component” of Iran’s self-defence” and rejected “politically motivated comments regarding Iran’s missile program.”
Flynn provided no evidence to back up his claims, either on the missile test or the alleged attack on the Saudi warship.
The national security adviser declared that Monday’s attack on the Saudi naval vessel was one of “a series of incidents in the past six months in which Houthi forces that Iran has trained and armed have struck Emirati and Saudi vessels, and threatened US and allied vessels transiting the Red Sea. In these and similar activities, Iran continues to threaten US friends and allies in the region.”
Neither Flynn nor anyone else in the Trump administration has demonstrated that Iran is training and arming the Houthi rebels. What is clear, however, is that Saudi Arabia, in league with the US and various Gulf States, is waging a bloody war, in which more than 10,000 people have been killed, to oust the Houthi-led government in Yemen. Saudi warplanes, supported by the US armed forces, have killed civilians in attacks on hospitals and other non-military facilities.
Flynn’s remarks follow the bellicose comments of the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, after an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, convened at Washington’s request over Iran’s missile test. Haley branded the missile launch as “absolutely unacceptable” and declared: “We’re going to act. We’re going to be strong. We’re going to be loud and we’re going to do whatever it takes to protect the American people and the people across the world.”
Tehran is already at loggerheads with Washington over the Trump administration’s visa ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran. Tehran retaliated on Tuesday, imposing a ban on American citizens traveling to Iran.
The Trump administration’s immediate target is the nuclear agreement reached with Iran in 2015 by the Obama administration, along with Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia. The deal, formalised in UN resolution 2231, ended the crippling economic sanctions on Iran in return for the shut-down of Iran’s nuclear programs and intrusive inspections.
Flynn condemned the Obama administration for failing “to respond adequately to Tehran’s malign actions.” He continued: “President Trump has severely criticised the various agreements reached between Iran and the Obama administration, as well as the UN, as being weak and ineffective.”
Speaking last March to the Zionist lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Trump declared: “My No.1 priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran… This deal is catastrophic—for America, for Israel, and for the whole Middle East.” He vowed to halt Iran’s missile program, claiming it threatened Israel, Europe and the United States. “We are not going to let that happen,” Trump stated.
Israel, Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East, is armed to the teeth with the aid and assistance of the United States, and has built its own substantial nuclear arsenal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who bitterly opposed the 2015 nuclear agreement, immediately condemned the Iranian missile test on Monday. He said he would press the Trump administration to renew economic sanctions on Tehran when he visits Washington this month.
The Trump administration includes pro-Zionist figures, such as his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, as well as politicians and generals who are deeply hostile to Iran. Newly-installed CIA chief Mike Pompeo led the campaign in Congress in 2015 to block the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Flynn is notorious for his anti-Muslim xenophobia and outlandish views, which contributed to his removal as Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) director. The New York Times reported one case involving the attack on the US diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. Flynn blamed Iran and insisted that his DIA subordinates find evidence to prove he was right. None existed.
Flynn told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 2015 that “regime-change in Iran” was the best means to stop Iran’s nuclear programs. In a book entitled The Field of Fight: How We can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies, he and anti-Iran hawk Michael Ledeen laid out a blueprint for war against Iran. They denounced Iran as “the lynchpin” of a coalition of nation states and terrorist groups focused on attacking the US.
At the same time, divisions exist within the Trump administration over tearing up the 2015 nuclear deal. That would create a major rift with key European allies and undermine commercial opportunities, including for American corporations, which have an eye on the Iranian market and large reserves of oil and gas.
At his confirmation hearing last month, Defence Secretary James Mattis declared that the nuclear pact was “an imperfect arms control agreement” but the US was obliged to continue to abide by it. For Mattis, the issue is a tactical one—a clash with Iran might not be the top priority as Trump prepares to confront China. On his first overseas trip, Mattis is en route to East Asia to visit two American allies, South Korea and Japan.
That said, Mattis is not opposed in principle to a war against Iran. During his time as head of the US Central Command, he was preoccupied with the alleged threat posed by the Iranian regime. He reportedly advised the Obama administration in 2011 to take military action inside Iran in retaliation for alleged attacks on US forces in Iraq by Iranian-backed militia. He was removed from his post after urging the deployment of a third aircraft carrier battle group to the Persian Gulf in preparation for war with Iran.
The escalating war of words with Iran has its own logic. It could lead to clashes and conflict that would rapidly draw in other countries in the Middle East and internationally. The fact that the threat against Iran has emanated from Trump’s National Security Council, a cabal of ex-generals and extreme right-wing figures, including the fascistic Stephen Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, is the sharpest of warnings.
Less than two weeks in office, the Trump administration is rapidly emerging as a regime of militarism and war directed at any obstacle to the interests of the super-rich oligarchy it represents.
Iran has tested medium-range missiles in response to recent decisions of the Trump administration. Republican Alcee Hastings introduced a resolution entitled "Authorization of Use of Force Against Iran," which entitled the US President for the use of force against Iran to stop the country from creating nuclear weapons. Is the war near?
On Monday, Iran tested a medium-range ballistic missile. The missile flew for over 900 kilometers and then exploded before reaching the target, as Pentagon spokesman said describing Iran's "unsuccessful" experiment. On Wednesday, Iranian Defence Minister confirmed the information about the tests, Iranian news agency Tasnim reports.
Washington's tantrums
The United States immediately called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that the world should be "alarmed" by the Iranian tests. Haley also urged the UN Security Council to take appropriate measures.
Washington refers to the UN Security Council resolution from 2010, which prohibits Iran from conducting any activity related to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.
Donald Trump had repeatedly stated during his election campaign that he would revoke the agreement with Tehran on its nuclear program, even though his predecessor Barack Obama valued the agreement a lot. In March 2016, Trump stated that the people who represented the United States at the conclusion of the agreement were "very stupid." "My number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran," he proclaimed in March while addressing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Tehran conducted the tests after Trump insulted the Iranians by putting them on a par with major suppliers of jihadists to the United States. Trump's immigration order imposed a temporary, 90-day ban on people entering the US from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. According to the order, those countries are either torn apart by jihadist violence or remain under the control of hostile, jihadist governments.
Iran apparently falls under the second category of countries. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif called the decree "a shameful act". Indeed, Iran is known for its opposition to the Islamic State. Why does Washington think of Iran as a jihadist nation?
Let us keep in mind the fact, dear reader, that the United States still considers the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement to be responsible for the largest terrorist attack committed against the US military after World War II (in Beirut on October 23, 1983). As many as 241 US servicemen were killed as a result of the terrorist attacks on headquarters of US and French peacemaking contingents. In 2003, US District Judge Royce Lamberth accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of the attacks. Hezbollah was recognized a terrorist organization in the US.
Iran making excuses
Iranian Minister Mohammad Zarif said after meeting with his French counterpart on Tuesday that the Iranian missiles "were not capable of carrying a nuclear warhead." "Our ballistic missile was designed to carry a conventional warhead for the purpose of legal self-defense." The official expressed a hope that the new American administration would not use the implementation of Iran's military defense objectives "as an excuse to create new centers of tension."
Indeed, given the fact that Iran renounced nuclear weapons and let the IAEA control its nuclear programme, one shall assume that the country has no nuclear weapons. As long as Iran has no nuclear weapons, the country may test missiles.
One way or another, many international agreements have one big drawback - their understatement. Each side interprets them in their own way, and it can be hard to find where the truth lies.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is right when he says that Trump is a "newcomer in politics." "This is a completely new environment for him. His actions will cost the United States a lot until he finds out what's going on in the world," Rouhani said Wednesday.
Iran has long been at the forefront of the struggle against the Islamic State. Iran has a significant influence in Syria; the country took part in the Geneva process in 2015. Iran uses its leverage to reduce violence and achieve peace in the Middle East. Iran is an ally of Russia and Turkey in the Syrian conflict. If the United States tries to solve the problem of the Islamic State without the participation of Iran, the latter may set its coalition partners against the US and disrupt the offensive near Mosul.
"Trump is a representative of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States," doctor of political science Mikhail Aleksandrov, a leading expert at the Center for Military-Political Studies at MGIMO told Pravda.Ru. "Iran had had a large-scale missile program before those UN Security Council resolutions. The Iranian missile program does not appear in the restrictions of the UN Security Council. Yet, the US tries to misinterpret those restrictions. The resolution from the senator appears to be a way of psychological pressure on Iran. One does not need any resolutions from Congress to use force against Iran. The US president can simply sign an order to do that," the expert told .
Home is not a harbour
Home home home
Is where it hurts ...
陳真
2017. 01. 30.
===============================
Home Is Where It Hurts
My home has no door
My home has no roof
My home has no windows
It ain't water proof
My home has no handles
My home has no keys
If you're here to rob me
There's nothing to steal
(A la maison
Dans ma maison
C'est là que j'ai peur)
Home is not a harbour
Home home home
Is where it hurts
My home has no heart
My home has no veins
If you try to break in
It bleeds with no stains
My brain has no corridors
My walls have no skin
You can lose your life here
Cause there's no one in
(A la maison
Dans ma maison
C'est là que j'ai peur)
Home is not a harbour
Home has not a hearse
Home is not a harvest
Home home home
Is where it hurts
你一定會覺得桌神 Betago 哪能跟圍棋之神 Alphago相提並論。當然不行，桌神的智慧顯然是比較高的，打桌球畢竟不是0 跟 1 或 on and off 那樣的一種運算。曾經有人說，人工智慧比羅素更擅於證明數學定理，但這有什麼稀奇呢？做為一個 "前" 珠算神童，我心算速度再快，也快不過一台最陽春的電子計算機，但這就是所謂智能嗎？智能只是這樣那樣的一些運算嗎？
假設人腦可以被模擬，意味著它是可以被複製的。各位一定知道電腦的 "複製與剪貼" 功能吧，你能不能想像你的腦 (亦即你這個人) 被複製剪貼儲存在比方說 C 槽，而且手機、平板、家裏和辦公室到處都各自儲存一個 "你"。於是，當有人想跟 "陳真" 說話時，就從 C 槽中把陳真叫出來，講完話就再把他存回C槽。當這事成為一種可能時，也許所謂人工智慧才真正取得它字面上應有的意義，否則其實就只是個 "比方"，就像周星馳的箱神那樣，也許很有用，但與 "智能" 或 "智慧" 八竿子打不著一點邊。
我當然不是說這樣那樣一些科技進展不好，而只是說事物總該有著一種適當的理解方式。每當一種新科技出現或取得某種進展時，人們就會開始做白日夢，想很多；幻想是好的，妄想卻不太妙。下回當有人跟你談人工智慧時，你可能得先問問他，"What do you mean by 人工智慧？" 因為以他的智慧，很可能不知道自己在說什麼。
近二十幾年，醫界許多研究十分流行所謂 fMRI，也就是functional magnetic resonance imaging(功能性核磁共振)，比方說在一個談戀愛的人的腦子的某個區塊發現較為熱絡的血流與生理活化跡象，於是就說找到了！找到了！找到愛情的秘密了！原來愛情的感覺就是由腦子的哪個區塊所發動。真是有夠好笑。想太多了吧！？
