I like how they precede his name with Martyr....LOL fuck him and fuck them he is just a dead roach.
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I like how they precede his name with Martyr....LOL fuck him and fuck them he is just a dead roach.
What our supreme leader needs to do is get Saudi, Qatar, and any other mid east nation not interested in seeing Iran become nuclear armed to stand up united with America and Israel and say together if action is taken it will be together jointly. If Russia is going to stand up for Iran then these allies if they are allies need to get a backbone and stand up and declare this Iranian regime illegitimate.
obama has no clue he is a patsy with less balls than his wife michelle.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin praised Cold War-era scientists on Thursday for stealing U.S. nuclear secrets so that United States would not be the world's sole atomic power, in comments reflecting his vision of Russia as a counterweight to U.S. power.
Spies with suitcases full of data helped the Soviet Union build its atomic bomb, he told military commanders.
"You know, when the States already had nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union was only building them, we got a significant amount of information through Soviet foreign intelligence channels," Putin said, according to state-run Itar-Tass.
"The were carrying the information away not on microfilm but literally in suitcases. Suitcases!"
Putin's remarks referred to the dawn of the Cold War more than half a century ago, but they echoed a message he has made loud and clear more recently: that the United States needs to be restrained, and Russia is the country to do it.
It has been known for decades that there were spies among the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, the U.S. atomic bomb design operation. Putin suggested those who helped Moscow build its bomb acted out of concern for humanity.
"It was the cream the scientific world that was gathered in America, and I personally have gotten the impression that they consciously gave us information on the atom bomb," Putin was quoted as saying.
"They did this consciously because the atom bomb had been used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and scientists from mankind's intellectual elite at the time understood what unilateral possession of such a weapon might lead to."
A need for Russia to act as a counterweight to U.S. power has been a continuous theme of Putin's time in office since he - himself a former Soviet spy - became president in 2000. He stepped down in 2008 to become prime minister but is poised to reclaim the presidency in an election on March 4.
Last year he criticized the United States for helping Libyan rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi. Lately he has suggested Washington has similar designs on Syria, where Russia has vetoed U.N. action. Earlier this month Putin said the world faced a growing "cult of violence".
(Writing by Steve Gutterman)
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday accused the West of seeking "regime change" in Iran and warned Washington that Russia intended to keep its nuclear weapons to keep US power in check.
"Under the guise of trying to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction... they are attempting something else entirely and setting different goals -- regime change," news agencies quoted Putin as saying.
"We have such suspicions," said Putin. "And we are trying to take a stand that differs from the one they are trying to force on us... concerning the ways that the Iranian nuclear problem might develop."
Russia has longstanding commercial and military ties with Iran and has condemned unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union over its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Putin's tough talk came as he toured a nuclear research centre in the once-secret city of Sarov ahead of a March 4 presidential election in which he is widely expected to secure a return to the Kremlin.
Footage showed the former KGB spy inspect research stands and then chair a security meeting in which he lashed out at US plans to deploy a missile defence shield in Europe that Russia fears might make its nuclear forces ineffective.
Putin often clashed with the United States while president between 2000 and 2008 and has remained a key decision-maker in the past four years who spearheaded Russia's criticism of the NATO-led air campaign in Libya.
Russia now faces both Western and Arab world condemnation for its refusal to blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for an 11-month crackdown on street protests that the opposition says has claimed more than 7,600 lives.
The Russian strongman earlier this month accused Western powers of acting "like a bull in a china shop" in Arab conflicts and on Friday firmly defended Russia's veto of a UN Security Council resolution that blamed the violence on Assad.
"I think that our position at the UN Security Council on Syria shows that we do not intend to be anyone's yes-men. And I hope that this is how things continue," said Putin.
"Unfortunately, there are many regional conflicts and their number is only growing. But the balance of strategic forces will help avoid major conflicts," he warned.
Putin spent much of his meeting in Sarov laying out a future Russian nuclear defence strategy that kept the United States from establishing a global monopoly on power.
"This is not only our national objective, but also an obligation before all humanity -- to keep a balance of strategic forces and their capabilities," Putin said.
"This is very important. After World War II, this balance ensured the absence of global conflicts.
Putin's decision to fire his latest barb at Washington from the heart of a Soviet-era nuclear research centre was another piece of master-crafted theatre from a Russian leader who has perfected the art of populist talk.
He used passionate tones and simply language to argue that Russia was on the path to recovery from an early post-Soviet era in which its diplomatic and military might waned to new lows.
"Only a few years ago, they did not say it to us directly, but they said it to their NATO colleagues -- they said let Russia putter about, we are not even that interested anymore. All they have is a bunch of rust left," Putin said.
"Well, that is not the case. That is really not the case anymore."
He added more starkly "that the realisation that we might encounter some sort of new wave of the arms race, this must move us all to be more constructive."
BEIJING, China - The United States and Europe are "harbouring hegemonistic ambitions" in Syria, China's state news agency said Saturday, a day after Beijing was condemned at an international conference held to find a way to halt the Syrian regime's nearly year-old suppression of an anti-government uprising.
At the Friends of Syria meeting in Tunisia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted Russia and China as "despicable" for vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning the crackdown by President Bashar Assad's government.
"They are clearly not on the side of the Syrian people," Clinton said.
The official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary that China's position on Syria was balanced and that "most of the Arab countries have begun to realize that the United States and Europe are hiding a dagger behind a smile."
"In other words, while they appear to be acting out of humanitarian concern, they are actually harbouring hegemonistic ambitions," it said.
Both China and Russia boycotted the Friends of Syria conference, which Xinhua said ended with a "broad consensus" on avoiding a militarization of the conflict in Syria.
The conference urged Assad to end the violence immediately and allow humanitarian aid into areas hit by his regime's crackdown. It also proposed tighter sanctions on the country and Assad's inner circle.
Calls and faxes to China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday asking for comment on Clinton's charges were not immediately answered.
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at several news conferences this week that China wanted more information on the goals and mechanisms of the conference before it would attend.
Xinhua quoted him as saying China was a friend of the Syrian people, and that "any action taken by the international community should help to cease tensions, boost political dialogues, resolve differences and maintain peace and stability in the Middle East."
The U.N. estimated in January that 5,400 people have died in the conflict. Hundreds more have died since, with activists saying the death toll is more than 7,300.
Assad's regime blames the violence on terrorists and armed thugs, not people who want to reform the system.
China sent a vice foreign minister to Syria last week for talks. It says it vetoed the U.N. Security Council vote on Syria because it was called before differences over the proposal were bridged.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has blasted Russia and China for opposing U.N. Security Council action on Syria, calling it "despicable."
Clinton says she's willing to go back to the U.N. as often as needed "but we need to change the attitude of the Russian and Chinese governments."
She spoke Friday at an international conference in Tunisia aimed at persuading Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies into accepting demands for a democratic transition.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — In a move aimed at jolting Syrian President Bashar Assad and his allies into accepting demands for a democratic transition, more than 60 nations asked the United Nations on Friday to begin planning a civilian peacekeeping mission that would deploy after the Damascus regime halts a brutal crackdown on the opposition.
Still unwilling to commit to military intervention to end the bloodshed, the group offered nothing other than the threat of increasing isolation and sanctions to compel compliance from Assad, who has ignored similar demands.
Assad allies Russia and China, which have blocked previous U.N. action on Syria and are eager to head off any repeat of the foreign intervention that happened in Libya, gave no sign they would agree to peacekeepers.
In Tunisia, the Friends of Syria, meeting for the first time as a unified bloc, called on Assad to immediately end the violence and allow humanitarian aid into areas hit by his regime's crackdown. The group pledged to boost relief shipments and set up supply depots along Syria's borders, but it was unclear how it would be distributed without government approval.
The friends, led by the U.S. and European and Arab nations, also vowed to step up ties with the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group. They took a tentative step toward recognition by declaring the council to be "a legitimate representative" of the Syrian people, a possible precursor to calling it "the legitimate representative."
"You will pay a heavy cost for ignoring the will of the international community and violating the human rights of your people," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned the Assad regime, accusing it of having "ignored every warning, squandered every opportunity and broken every agreement."
Despite the show of unity, which diplomats said they hoped would impress upon Assad that the end of his family's four-decade autocratic rule is inevitable and at hand, there were signs of division. Some nations argued for arming Assad's foes, while others called for the creation of protected humanitarian corridors to deliver aid.
Neither idea was included in the conference's final document, which instead focused on steps nations should take to tighten the noose on the regime, including boycotting Syrian oil, imposing travel and financial sanctions on Assad's inner circle, and working with the opposition to prepare for a post-Assad Syria, including lucrative commercial deals. It also welcomed the appointment of former U.N. chief Kofi Annan to be a joint U.N.-Arab League special envoy for Syria.
On the sanctions front, France said the European Union would on Monday freeze assets of Syria's national bank held in EU jurisdictions while Clinton vowed that already tough U.S. penalties would be strengthened.
Highlighting the divisions, though, Saudi Arabia called publicly for weapons and ammunition to be sent to the opposition, including the Free Syrian Army, a Turkey-based outfit made up largely of Assad regime defectors.
"I think it's an excellent idea," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told reporters as he prepared to meet Clinton on the margins of the conference. Asked why, he replied: "Because they have to defend themselves."
Clinton demurred on the question. But on Thursday in London, she said the opposition would eventually find arms from some suppliers if Assad keeps up the relentless assault.
The Obama administration initially opposed arming the opposition but has recently opened the door to the possibility by saying that while a political solution is preferable, other measures may be needed if the onslaught doesn't end.
The Syrian National Council, for its part, said it would be grateful for help in any area.
"We welcome any assistance you might offer, or means to protect our brothers and sisters who are struggling to end the rule of tyranny," council president Burhan Ghalioun told the conference. He laid out the council's goal of a free, democratic Syria free of the "rule of a Mafia family" in which the rights of all would be respected.
Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, who has been a driving force to unite Arab opinion against the Syrian regime, directly called on Assad to step down. And, together with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, he called for the creation of humanitarian corridors to get aid to embattled citizens.
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, the host of the conference who only recently assumed power after his country became the first in the Arab Spring to topple its longtime leader last year, called for an Arab peacekeeping force to ensure stability during an eventual transition.
"We have to respond to the demand of the majority of the Syrian people to get rid of a corrupt, persecuting regime," he said. "We have to stop the bloodshed, but this cannot be through military intervention."
The Friends group recognized this call by giving a green light to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to start drawing up plans for such a joint Arab League-U.N. peacekeeping operation that would be comprised of civilian police officers. Ban is expected to begin recruiting possible contributors to the mission and preparing its mandate.
Such an operation would not be a military intervention but would still require authorization from the U.N. Security Council, where it will likely face opposition from veto-wielding members China and Russia, neither of which attended the Tunis conference, and Iran. Russia and Iran are Syria's two biggest military suppliers.
Clinton took direct aim at all three countries, although not by name.
"If the Assad regime refuses to allow this lifesaving aid to reach civilians, it will have even more blood on its hands," she said. "So too will those nations that continue to protect and arm the regime. We call on those states that are supplying weapons to kill civilians to halt immediately."
On the sanctions front, France said the European Union would on Monday freeze assets of Syria's national bank held in EU jurisdictions and Clinton vowed that already tough U.S. penalties would be strengthened.
As the conference began, about 200 pro-Assad demonstrators tried to storm the hotel. The protest forced Clinton to be diverted briefly to her hotel.
The protesters, waving Syrian and Tunisian flags, tussled with police and carried signs criticizing Clinton and President Barack Obama. They were driven out of the parking lot by police after about 15 minutes.
___
Associated Press writers Lynn Berry in Moscow, David Stringer in London, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/wo...bomb.html?_r=1
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...870,full.story
Just sounds like pre-iraq war fear and warmongering
It just seems That current America needs an enemy, needs to have their lives threatened and face impending death. I don't know why? but it seems you do... If its not from iran, its from muslims, or the left wing, or communism, or maxism, or socialists , war on drugs, war on religion, war on this and that, invade this country, nuke that county , or obama the african communist marxist alien from space hell bent on killing america (or what ever the current trend is). Its the state of fear, i don't know why but it seems people need this fear...
Gazz,
We don't need or want any enemies,but there are plenty out there.
Whether they are internal like Barry or external like Iran.
The war on drugs is mostly a waste. The war on religion ? It sure seems like NBC, CBS, ABC, NPR get there panties in a wad when someone (rick santorum who I don't care for) questions Barry's cult of environmentalism and man made global warming cult. Odd how they have never heard of the sun, maybe the earth is still flat to them.
They are allowed to question other peoples belief . I think if you are going to run for public office your belief system should be questioned but not for just one side.
Yeah gazz that whole needing an enemy is so true I mean iran isnt on video chanting death to America while they simulatiously are developing nuclear weapons. The Americans were not just hit by islamic terrorist on Sept 11th 2001 just a short 10 years ago. We were not the victims of Pearl Harbor and then being thrust into WW2. We dont have al-qaeda attacking us and the world with bombs...Right gazz its just our made up shit....Great that is your opinion. The world sat and waited for hitler and japan to really get rolling before stepping up what did that teach? if you are gazz then history taught your nothing not even history from 10 years ago. All the terrorist being corralled by the FBI and CIA are just figments of our imagination.
as for obama facts are facts they passed the ndaa and it is what it is a measure that can bypass the 4th amendment. That is real that is happening gas is going to historic levels and obama has cut off the canadian gas line and drilling in areas that were previously used for oil drilling. He actually is doing things that hurt this country but I guess these facts are just imagination. He is an appeaser and regardless if he is an American appeaser or European appeaser or any other appeaser they are all bad.
Go ahead keep up the deep thoughtful observations.
MOSCOW - Vladimir Putin has accused the United States and its Western allies of supporting the Arab Spring revolts in its own interests and strongly warned against a military intervention in Syria.
Putin said in an article published Monday in the Moscow News daily that the Western push for sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad's government was "cynical." He insisted that both the government and opposition forces should pull out of cities to end bloodshed.
Putin defended a Russia-China veto of a U.N. resolution condemning Assad's crackdown on protests, saying that Moscow wouldn't allow the replay of what happened in Libya, where a NATO air campaign helped Libyans end Moammar Gadhafi's regime.
He also warned strongly against any attack on Iran, saying its consequences would be "catastrophic
MOSCOW (AP) — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned against military intervention in Syria or an attack on Iran in scathing criticism of the West on Monday as he laid out his foreign policy priorities less than a week before Russia's presidential election.
Putin said the West had backed the Arab Spring to advance its interests in the region, and that instead of promoting democracy the revolts had given rise to religious extremism.
Anti-Western rhetoric has been a key part of Putin's campaign, aimed at rallying support among his core electorate of blue-collar workers, farmers and state employees widely suspicious of the West after years of government propaganda.
In criticizing the Arab Spring and accusing the U.S. of trying to encourage a similar uprising in Russia, Putin on Monday played on patriotic feelings by posturing as a defender of national interests in the face of potential unrest.
His lengthy article, brimming with criticism of the United States and its Western allies, was the latest in a series of manifestos Putin has published in Russian newspapers ahead of Sunday's election. Although none of the other four candidates poses a challenge and Putin is all but certain to win, he has been rattled by an unprecedented outburst of public discontent in Russia.
Putin defended the Russia-China decision earlier this month to veto a United Nations resolution condemning Syrian President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests, saying that Moscow wouldn't allow a replay of what happened in Libya, where NATO airstrikes helped Libya's rebels oust Moammar Gadhafi's regime.
"Learning from that bitter experience, we are against any U.N. Security Council resolutions that could be interpreted as a signal for military interference in domestic processes in Syria," Putin said in the article published in Moscow News.
He said that any attempt to launch military action without U.N. approval would undermine the world body's role and hurt global security.
"I strongly hope that the United States and other nations will learn from the sad experience and won't try to resort to a forceful scenario in Syria," Putin said. "I can't understand that bellicose itch."
Activists estimate that close to 7,500 people have been killed in the 11 months since the Assad regime's brutal crackdown on dissent began.
Putin said both the Syrian government and opposition forces must pull out of populated areas to end bloodshed, adding that the Western refusal to demand that from Assad's opponents was "cynical."
Syria is Russia's last remaining ally in the Middle East. Moscow has maintained close ties with Damascus since the Cold War, when Syria was led by the current leader's father, Hafez Assad.
Putin said that Russian companies have lost ground in the countries engulfed by the Arab Spring uprisings and are being replaced by firms from the nations that backed the regime change.
"That raises the thought that the tragic events to some extent had been driven not by concern about human rights, but a desire by some to redistribute markets," he said. "We mustn't watch that with an Olympian calm."
Putin also warned against an attack on Iran.
"Russia is worried about the growing threat of a strike on Iran," Putin said. "If it happens, the consequences will be truly catastrophic. Their real scale is impossible to imagine."
He said the international community must acknowledge Iran's right to conduct uranium enrichment in exchange for placing the program under close supervision by the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Iran has insisted that its controversial uranium enrichment program is aimed at producing energy and medical isotopes, but the West believes it's a cover for developing nuclear weapons.
"The West has gotten carried away trying to 'punish' some nations," Putin said. "It reaches out for sanctions or even a military club at the drop of a hat."
He said the Western emphasis on using force could encourage more countries to seek nuclear weapons in a bid to protect themselves: "If I have a nuclear bomb in my pocket, they wouldn't touch me because it would cost them. And those lacking a bomb should wait a 'humanitarian' intervention."
Putin also accused the U.S. of using non-governmental organizations as an instrument of "soft power" aimed at destabilizing regimes.
"It's necessary to draw a clear distinction between the freedom of speech, normal political activities on the one hand, and illegal instruments of soft power on the other," he said, adding that U.S. attempts to interfere in Russian elections have strained ties.
The statement follows Putin's earlier claims that the U.S. was behind the protests against his rule.
In Monday's article, Putin again criticized the U.S.-led plans for a NATO missile defense system in Europe, saying it's aimed against Russian nuclear forces.
"The Americans are obsessed with the idea of ensuring absolute invulnerability for themselves, which is utopian and unfeasible from both technological and geopolitical points of view," he said. "An absolute invulnerability for one means an absolute vulnerability for all the others. It's impossible to accept such a prospect."
Putin is clearly as insane as Ahmadinejad that is why they are allies. He has created his own fantasy about what is happening in the world. He blames the U.S. for his people tired of him....he is a dictator just like Ahmadinejad.
I was wrong in titling this thread as Ahmadinejad is not capable of starting a world war Iran has not the military to push a world war. The fact is Iran and Ahmadinejad are actually the catalyst for a world war. It will be Vladimir Putin that starts a world war from his dark and deranged mind. He would push the button on a nuclear attack and he feel threatened by democracy becoming a world wide phenomena. He has confused freedom with utopia.
Freedom and democracy are opposites of anti-freedom and anti-democracy. You have a ruler(dictator) when there is no democracy. You are told by your government what the laws are in all aspects of your life when there is little freedom. Look to North Korea, China, Cuba for these things. Russia is going backwards and at a very fast rate if not they are already there. Putin will be "elected" LOL :lol: or re-titled back to president again. He has ruled for how many years now? That isnt a democracy its another communist rule dictator.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/27/world/...html?hpt=hp_t3
A new Amnesty International report documents what is described as repression in Iran.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A new Amnesty International report documents what is described as repression in Iran
The human rights advocacy group urges the international community to take action
"We are ordered to crush you," one interrogator told a detainee, according to the report
Things may get worse with elections around the corner, Amnesty says
(CNN) -- While the world's attention has been focused on tumult in the Arab world, Iran has cracked down with impunity on dissent and is feared to come down even harder as elections approach, Amnesty International said in a sweeping report.
The global human rights monitor documented "widespread and persistent human rights violations in Iran."
"It is essential if further mass human rights violations are to be avoided that the international community act on behalf of the hundreds, if not thousands, of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners imprisoned after unfair trials in Iran," Amnesty International said in the report.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini celebrated the popular revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain, saying that they reflected an "Islamic awakening" based on Iran's 1979 revolution.
But since the 2009 election, the Islamic republic has repressed similar voices within its own borders, Amnesty International said.
"Since the 2009 crackdown, the authorities have steadily cranked up repression in law and practice, and tightened their grip on the media," according to the Amnesty International report, which came out just hours after the United Nations Human Rights Council convened for its latest session in Geneva.
"In Iran today, you put yourself at risk if you do anything that might fall outside the increasingly narrow confines of what the authorities deem socially or politically acceptable," said Ann Harrison, of Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa program.
"Anything from setting up a social group on the Internet, forming or joining an NGO or expressing your opposition to the status quo can land you in prison," she said.
Iran has defended its record before the United Nations Human Rights Council and charged that Western critics are politicizing the issue of human rights for their own gain.
Yet Amnesty International said Iran has deemed demonstrations, public debate and the formation of groups and associations a threat to "national security" punishable by long prison sentences or even death.
"Lawyers have been jailed along with their clients. Foreign satellite television channels have been jammed. Newspapers have been banned," the advocacy group said.
Mahdieh Mohammadi Gorgani, wife of detained journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi of Radio Farda, describes in the report how an interrogator told her husband, "We are ordered to crush you. And if you do not cooperate, we can do anything we want with you. And if you do not write the interrogation papers, we will force you to eat them."
Amnesty International said blogger Mehdi Khazali was this month sentenced to four and a half years in prison followed by 10 years in "internal exile," plus sentenced to pay a fine on charges believed to include "spreading propaganda against the system," "gathering and colluding against national security" and "insulting officials."
Amnesty International called on the world to pressure Iran to amend laws that restrict rights of expression and assembly, as well as to allow for public debate before Iranians cast their votes in March.
It also called for an end to jail time for people who protest peacefully and independent investigations of alleged human rights violations.
The issue of human rights, said Amnesty International, can get lost as the international community scrutinizes Iran's nuclear program.
"For Iranians facing this level of repression, it can be dispiriting that discussions about their country in diplomatic circles can seem to focus mainly on the nuclear program at the expense of human rights," Harrison said.
The United States has powerful bombs at the ready in the case of possible military action against Iran and work is under way to bolster their firepower, the air force chief said Wednesday.
General Norton Schwartz, air force chief of staff, declined to say whether US weapons -- including a 30,000-pound massive ordnance penetrator (MOP) bomb -- could reach nuclear sites in Iran that were concealed or buried deep underground.
"We have an operational capability and you wouldn't want to be there when we used it," said Schwartz, when asked about the MOP bomb.
"Not to say that we can't continue to make improvements and we are," he told defense reporters.
Amid speculation that a nuclear site dug into the side of a mountain near Qom is beyond the reach of American weapons, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has acknowledged shortcomings with the giant MOP bomb and said the Pentagon was working to improve the explosive.
"The bottom line is we have a capability but we're not sitting on our hands, we'll continue to improve it over time," Schwartz said.
Asked about recent comments from retired senior officers that some targets in Iran are immune from US air power, Schwartz said: "It goes without saying that strike is about physics. The deeper you go the harder it gets."
But he added that the US arsenal "is not an inconsequential capability."
The former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired general James Cartwright, suggested last week that one nuclear facility in Iran could not be taken out in a bombing campaign.
Cartwright appeared to be referring to the Fordo plant built deep inside a mountain near the Shiite shrine city of Qom, some 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of Tehran.
Schwartz also declined to say whether air power would be effective against Iran's nuclear program but said that the outcome of any preemptive attack would depend on the goal of the strike.
"What is the objective? Is it to eliminate, is to delay, is to complicate? I mean what is the national security objective. That is sort of the imminent argument on all of this," he said.
"There's a tendency I think for all of us to get tactical too quickly and worry about weaponeering and things of that nature."
The general's carefully calibrated remarks coincided with a visit to Washington this week by Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, amid renewed speculation of a potential Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program.