Iran | Charles Duelfer | Page 5

Category Archives: Iran

Syrian CW – The Next Stage

OPCW head Mehmet Uzumcu announced today that the initial removal of some chemicals from Syria had taken place today.  Chemicals in their specially designed and built containers were loaded onto the Danish ship Ark Futura at the port of Latakia.  … Continue reading

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD | Leave a comment

The Iran Nuclear Deal

    It is difficult to be categorical when judging this agreement. Much depends upon huge uncertainties that will play out over years or decades.  American politicians are condemned to focus on near-term costs and consequences.  Our system tends to … Continue reading

Posted in Iran, Iraq, United Nations, WMD | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Lavrov’s Plan

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has offered a plan that could provide a way out of the Obammá Syrian dilemma. Lavrov, who was Russian ambassador to the UN during the height of the Iraqi-UN weapons inspection activities, seems to have … Continue reading

Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, United Nations, WMD | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Response to US attack – Cyber?

It is hard to imagine Moscow or Tehran or Damascus doing absolutely nothing in response to a US attack. Will it be Cyber? If I were Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, that’s what I would be talking about with President Putin. … Continue reading

Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, WMD | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sniper Attacks on UN Inspectors – Not Surprising

Dr. Ake Seltron’s UN inspection team has now drawn sniper fire. Unfortunately, the UN inspectors are easy targets. To do their job, they have to be out in the open. Using highly visible UN SUVs may be questionable, but committed … Continue reading

Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, Uncategorized, WMD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Syrian Agreement for Inspections–Why?

If Damascus is permitting the weapons inspectors access to the sites of recent apparent CW attack sites (as reported Sunday 25 August 2013) then why, if they had a role in the recent attacks? First, the weapons inspectors are only … Continue reading

Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, Uncategorized, WMD | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Syria CW Use: Who crossed whose red-line?

Did Bashir cross Obama’s redline, or the other way around? The perspective in Damascus may be different. The Syrian situation has taken yet another turn for the worse. Which is to say it has become even more unpredictable. The apparent … Continue reading

Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, Uncategorized, WMD | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

UN Inspectors to Syria

Many comparisons are being made between the Syrian and Iraqi circumstances regarding CW use. Some background on the Iraqi case. The UN first became involved in Iraqi CW use allegations during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980’s. A small team … Continue reading

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Syria CW, WMD | Leave a comment

Bashir CW Action will Unify Security Council – And NATO Will Bomb-And Iran?

NBC’s Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski (who has been working in the Pentagon longer than many of its current inhabitants have been alive) reported yesterday: “The Syrian military is prepared to use chemical weapons against its own people and is awaiting … Continue reading

Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, WMD | Tagged | Leave a comment

Is Syria Playing Chicken with Chemical Weapons?

President Obama has publicly warned that any use by Syria of chemical weapons would have consequences. Reportedly US intelligence shows that CW related materials have been moved. It is unclear from the outside whether this indicates Syria has taken steps … Continue reading

Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Syria CW, WMD | Leave a comment