Iran Witness: On the State of the Economy and Standing in Line (Tohidlou)

[Officials] don't like to speak about the rise of prices. The [lack of transparency] is the factor that is leading people to try hoarding what they can. And this is how the lines for gasoline get longer and longer.

All the news is about rising prices. For example, the 30 percent rise in the price of plane tickets, which means a rise in the price of other things and also a rise in the price of rice and oil, which has led many to go to shops to buy rice and oil at the old price.

There is worry these days over an uncertain future. A future that will bring a shock to the economy and to people's lives like the 10 percent increase in the dollar rate did. These days in different lines that are spreading, you can hear the concern of the people about their way of life now and in the future.

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Northern Ireland: Why the Rise in Violence and Bombings?

In recent weeks, there has been a rise in violence, include a spate of bombings, in Northern Ireland. On Monday night, the Real IRA claimed responsibility for a car bomb outside a commercial centre in Derry.

The news has even caught the attention of The New York Times, and former US President Bill Clinton commented on the situation during his appearance last week at our partner in Dublin, the Clinton Institute for American Studies, noting that "every process leaves a trail of disappointees", especially amidst current economic difficulties, but adding that there is no evidence that politicians or the majority of the population want to abandon the path to reconciliation and stability.

Our partners at Outpost, a leading blog on Irish-American relations, have been providing cutting-edge coverage. Their latest comment, coming after the Derry bomb:

Apart from the continued condemnations [of the violence] that are a political necessity, more needs to be done. It is....time for constructive political engagement. The reversion to typical soundbites of condemnation and the need for entrenchment of peace and social stability have to be backed up [by action]. They can no longer be a disguise or vacuum for a lack of political dialogue.

US Politics: Your Latest "Islamic Flag Over the White House" Campaign Alerts

The conservative non-profit West Virginia Conservative Foundation has put out an ad attacking West Virginia Congressman Nick Rahall, who is third-generation Lebanese-American, for his involvement with the Arab-American community.

The WVCF was founded by Mike Stuart, who is now chairman of West Virginia's Republican Party. Stuart claims he is no longer linked to the Foundation.

An opinion poll this week shows Rahall 25 points ahead of his Republican opponent, Spike Maynard.

Meanwhile, The Washington Times, the number-two newspaper in the nation's capital, declares in an editorial, "Islamic Flag Over the White House: Radical Muslims Want America Ruled by Shariah". It explains:

Islamists say the Koran is destined to rule America. In fact, the Muslim takeover of the White House is not just an unfolding action plan but a directive from Muhammad himself....

Many Americans believe this conquest is well underway, if not already secretly completed. President Obama was concerned enough about perceptions of his faith to address the question at one of his recent "backyard discussions" in New Mexico. Mr. Obama said he is "a Christian by choice," which may or may not assuage the concerns of those who believe he is a Muslim by birth.

Pakistan: More Attacks on NATO Tankers as Islamabad Challenges Washington

The fourth attack in six days on NATO oil tankers killed one person and burned at least 20 vehicles. 

The attack outside the city of Quetta was claimed by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which said the assaults "will further intensify attacks with the intensification of US drone strikes" in the country. 

Beyond the "Taliban", however, the political and military story is the Pakistani Government's acceptance of the attacks on its American ally. Islamabad is still blocking the key supply route to Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass. While another route into southern Afghanistan is still open, the Khyber Pass road has been the main supply line. About 70% of NATO's supplies in Afghanistan come through the Pakistani port of Karachi.

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Iraq: US Challenging Deal for New Government? (Dagher)

Last Friday, news emerged of a possible agreement amongst most Iraqi Shi'a parties, including that of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, for a national government in Baghdad, seven months after Iraq's elections. Under the arrangement, Nuri al-Maliki would continue as Prime Minister.

Not so fast, at least for the US Ambassador to Baghdad. Six years ago, Washington entered into a war with Sadr and his forces, even seeking the cleric's assassination. Looks like those animosities may not have eased enough for American acceptance of a confirmed government for Iraq, especially when the "Iran" spectre is invoked.

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Afghanistan: Taliban & Karzai Government in "High-Level Talks" (DeYoung/Finn/Whitlock)

In The Washington Post, Karen DeYoung, Peter Finn, and Craig Whitlock report that the Taliban and the Afghan Government have begun discussions for an end to conflict.

Not all observers find this dramatic or promising. In response to the question of Times of London reporter Jerome Starkey, "Did we know this already or did I dream it?", an aid worker in Afghanistan responded, "I don't think you were dreaming. It's lather, rinse, repeat."

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Taliban representatives and the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai have begun secret, high-level talks over a negotiated end to the war, according to Afghan and Arab sources.

The talks follow inconclusive meetings, hosted by Saudi Arabia, that ended more than a year ago. While emphasizing the preliminary nature of the current discussions, the sources said that for the first time they believe that Taliban representatives are fully authorized to speak for the Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban organization based inPakistan, and its leader, Mohammad Omar.

"They are very, very serious about finding a way out," one source close to the talks said of the Taliban.

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The Latest from Iran (6 October): Through the Looking Glass of "Justice"

1820 GMT: Gasoline Squeeze. Azerbaijani site Trend looks at Iran's energy situation, with experts sceptical that Tehran can achieve its declared goal of self-sufficiency.

1800 GMT: Extra, Extra, Read All About It. The leading reformist newspaper Shargh has resumed on-line publication.

Shargh has suffered a lengthy ban by the Iranian authorities until the print edition reappeared this summer.

The website features a series of articles on sanctions against Iran, including a feature on   Stuart Levey, the Undersecretary for Financial Intelligence in the US Treasury. He is recognised as the official who has been successful in swaying private banks and companies around the globe to support sanctions against Iran. The newspaper claims he has made 80 foreign trips, 8 to Dubai --- a key point for Iran trade and finance --- alone. 

1735 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Hashem Sabaghian, a leading member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, has been released from detention.

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Afghanistan: Endorsing the Pentagon's "Forever War" (Engelhardt)

Tom Engelhardt writes for TomDispatch:

Sometimes it’s the little things in the big stories that catch your eye.  On Monday, the Washington Post ran the first of three pieces adapted from Bob Woodward’s new book Obama’s Wars, a vivid account of the way the U.S. high command boxed the Commander-in-Chief into the smallest of Afghan corners.  As an illustration, the Post included a graphic the military offered President Obama at a key November 2009 meeting to review war policy.  It caught in a nutshell the favored “solution” to the Afghan War of those in charge of fighting it --- Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Petraeus, then-Centcom commander, General Stanley McChrystal, then-Afghan War commander, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, among others.

Labeled “Alternative Mission in Afghanistan,” it’s a classic of visual wish fulfillment.  Atop it is a soaring green line that represents the growing strength of the notoriously underwhelming “Afghan Forces,” military and police, as they move toward a theoretical goal of 400,000 -- an unlikely “end state” given present desertion rates.  Underneath that green trajectory of putative success is a modest, herky-jerky blue curving line, representing the 40,000 U.S. troops Gates, Petraeus, Mullen, and company were pressuring the president to surge into Afghanistan.

The eye-catching detail, however, was the dating on the chart.  Sometime between 2013 and 2016, according to a hesitant dotted white line (that left plenty of room for error), those U.S. surge forces would be drawn down radically enough to dip somewhere below -- don’t gasp -- the 68,000 level.  In other words, three to six years from now, if all went as planned -- a radical unlikelihood, given the Afghan War so far -- the U.S. might be back close to the force levels of early 2009, before the President’s second surge was launched.

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Iran Dispute: Number of Ahmadinejad Fans --- 2.2 Billion or 31?

France 24 looks at the audience scorecard for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the United General Assembly on 23 September.

The initial tally from Fars News, citing reader comments on an article on France 24.com, was 2.2 billion --- or about one comment for every three people on Earth and 1 1/2 comments for every Web user on the planet. 

Unfortunately for Iranian media and for Ahmadinejad, France 24 did some checking. Its article on the speech, in French and English, prompted 25 comments on the French version and six on the English. version, and 25 for the French. 

Fars' original article has now disappeared, but France 24 provides a very helpful screen-shot.

The Latest from Iran (5 October): The Economy, Arrests, and Ahmadinejad v. Parliament

1729 GMT: Nuclear Watch (Better Late than Never). The head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, said today, "The start-up process of the Bushehr power plant is progressing well and we hope to see it connected to the national electricity grid by late December, or a few weeks earlier." 

The Bushehr plant was supposed to be operational this month but Iranian official said last week that the launch would be delayed. Salehi said this was because of a "small leak" in a pool near the plant after stories circulated that Bushehr might have been hindered by the Stuxnet computer worm.

1725 GMT: Mousavi Watch. In his latest interview on Kalemeh, Mir Hossein Mousavi has declared that President Ahmadinejad's foreign policies are destructive and his performance should be judged in a referendum.

1720 GMT: Currency Watch. Iranian Labor News Agency reports that lines in front of governmental currency exchange shops are 10 meters long. Dollars are being traded at open rates, as opposed to the government's official rates, elsewhere.

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