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Topic started on 6-9-2008 @ 07:22 PM by Shere Khaan
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Iran's a strong friend, says Hu
www.shanghaidaily.com
 The Sino-Iranian relationship has achieved progress in recent years as the two countries maintained momentum on economic and trade cooperation
and started working together on issues such as anti-narcotics, anti-terrorism and regional security, Hu added.
"Both China and Iran are big, developing nations and have strong economic complementarity and great potential for cooperation," he
said. (visit the link for the full news article)
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 07:22 PM by Shere Khaan
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So, China and Iran have been joining forces on anti-terrorism activiities. Looks like China and Iran are tighter than ever, especially with such
strong language as this.
www.shanghaidaily.com
(visit the link for the full news article)
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 07:30 PM by chips
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reply to post by Shere Khaan
Oh, more than that: Iran is seeking to join an alliance with China (and Russia).
This is breaking:
TEHRAN – President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on Saturday expressed Iran’s interest to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
“The Islamic Republic is determined to boost cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and believes this would benefit all regional
states,” Ahmadinejad told Chinese President Hu Jintao.
The Chinese leader welcomed Iran’s interest to join the SCO, saying an expert committee will be formed to consider the proposal.
( tehrantimes.com)
Does anyone know if the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has an equivalent to NATO's 'Article 5'?
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 07:46 PM by princeofpeace
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LOL-it all depends on what articles people read and what they choose to post out of the articles. I mean Rice is in Libya now and i read things in the
news today that would make you think the US and Libya are now strategic allies. It all depends on if you believe the media and everything you read and
see.
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 07:48 PM by Shere Khaan
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Well, if this alliance forms between Iran China and Russia before Israel takes it's shot at Iran, things are going to get very complicated. The
Triumvirate of Evil (my cynical term) would make a significant opponent for a US assault on Iran, or even a NATO/US offensive.
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 08:03 PM by chips
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reply to post by princeofpeace
That really doesn't make much sense at all. This has nothing to do with Libya. There comes a point when being so suspicious of the media can
make you sound a bit loopy.
It's just a fact that Ahmadinejad said that to Hu Jintao; it's just a fact that the SCO are considering the membership of Iran into the organization
(unless the Tehran Times is blatantly lying here; which you might believe if you were a tad paranoid about such things).
There's going against the grain ― and then there's just being a bit mental.
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 08:08 PM by stumason
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reply to post by chips
They don't seem to have anything as concrete as Article 5, but Wiki say's this about the SCO:
Cooperation on security
The SCO is primarily centered around its member nations' Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as
being terrorism, separatism and extremism. However evidence is growing that its activities in the area of social development of its member states is
increasing fast.[citation needed]
At the June 16-17 2004 SCO summit, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the Regional Antiterrorism Structure (RATS) was established. On 21 April 2006, the
SCO announced plans to fight cross-border drug crimes under the counter-terrorism rubric.[4]
Grigory Logninov claimed in April 2006 that the SCO has no plans to become a military bloc; nonetheless he argued that the increased threats of
"terrorism, extremism and separatism" make necessary a full-scale involvement of armed forces.[5]
There have been a number of SCO joint military exercises. The first of these was held in 2003, with the first phase taking place in Kazakhstan and the
second in China.[6]
On a larger scale, but outside the SCO framework, the first ever joint military exercise between the PRC and Russia, called Peace Mission 2005 started
on August 19, 2005. Following their successful completion, Russian officials have begun speaking of India joining such exercises in the future and the
SCO taking on a military role.
The joint military exercises in 2007 took place in Chelyabinsk Russia, near the Ural Mountains and close to Central Asia, as was agreed upon on April
2006 at a meeting of SCO Defense Ministers. More than 4,000 soldiers participated from China. Air forces and precision-guided weapons were have likely
to be used. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that the exercises will be transparent and open to media and the public.[6][7]
In October 2007, the SCO signed an agreement with the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, to broaden
cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and drug trafficking.[8] Joint action plans between the two organizations are planned to be signed by
early 2008 in Beijing.[9]
WIKI LINK
So there have been apparent moves to strengthen military ties, but under the guise of Anti-terrorism and regional security, rather than as a direct
counter balance to NATO/US
EDIT: Oh, Iran has officially applied for full SCO membership as of March 24th 2008
[edit on 6/9/08 by stumason]
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 08:22 PM by chips
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reply to post by stumason
Cheers for that. 
It's interesting, Stu, because at the end of March there was this:
Russia, China Unlikely To Welcome Iran Into SCO
"[China and Russia] are concerned that Iran's presence would possibly take [the SCO] in a different direction [that could] result in regional
conflicts and confrontations between the East and the West." -- Turaj Atabaki, Leiden University
( payvand.com)
And now there's this:
The Chinese leader welcomed Iran’s interest to join the SCO, saying an expert committee will be formed to consider the proposal.
( tehrantimes.com)
Could the Russians now be pushing for Iran's entry into the SCO due to what's happened with NATO and the U.S. since March?
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 08:55 PM by Shere Khaan
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reply to post by chips
I think it is highly likely to be the case. I note with interest that the SCO agreement mentions speratism several times, which has a very definite
link to Russia's interests in Georgia and China's in Tibet and Xinjiang province.
It is a shame that recent events have pushed this closer to actuality.
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 09:26 PM by chips
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reply to post by Shere Khaan
Yeah, I agree completely, which is why I was wondering about an SCO equivalent to 'Article 5' (and now you've got Russia — thanks to the
belligerence of NATO and the Bush administration — about to further aid Iran's nuclear program, too).
Whose fault is most of this, though? Well, we don't have to look far for the answer (just today's news, for example). Cheney said that Eastward NATO
expansion will continue whether Russia likes it or not; Medvedev immediately responded:
“The war was a moment of truth for us,” said Mr. Medvedev. The world is different after August 8 when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, he added.
“Russia will never allow anyone to infringe upon the lives and dignity of its citizens,” he said, adding: “Russia is a nation to be reckoned
with from now on.”
( hindu.com)
This isn't just remarkably silly and reckless — it's massively dangerous. Eastward NATO expansion will be countered with the expansion of the SCO
(and Iran into it, probably).
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 09:34 PM by bubbles75
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I think they are just thinking or hinting that they might turn this group into a Nato counterbalance, it would make sense, but that would take time I
think.
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 09:42 PM by stumason
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reply to post by bubbles75
It's something they could do, but they have a long way to go to make their militaries as intergrated and well organised as any NATO force.
Although, those exercises they are doing together are exactly for that reason.....
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reply posted on 6-9-2008 @ 11:57 PM by Shere Khaan
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reply to post by stumason
I'm not so sure, I can't say that NATO forces are working particularly well together in Afghanistan. Russia and China have performed military
exercises together many times in the past. Russia China and Iran also use many of the same weapon systems so technically it shouldn't be hard to
integrate and given the amount of Russian involvement in Iran in the past their militaries might have similar training too.
And think they would be the most obvious countries to counterbalance NATO expansion.
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reply posted on 7-9-2008 @ 04:27 AM by manson_322
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good to know that China , is considering protecting Iran from the USA
[edit on 7-9-2008 by manson_322]
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reply posted on 7-9-2008 @ 08:59 AM by chips
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(Iran-related):
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Iran’s al Qods, Hizballah secretly integrate rocket and commando units
DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources disclose that an Iranian Revolutionary Guards delegation last week signed a secret accord with
Hizballah leaders for the integration and operational merger of their missile-rocket and commando units.
This may not have been news to US vice president Dick Cheney, when he “revealed” Saturday, Sept. 6, that Russia had sold advanced weapons to Syria
and Iran, some of which had been channeled to Lebanon and Iraq.
However, Israeli president Shimon Peres, who responded by waving aside the need for an Israeli attack on Iran, was clearly out of the picture evolving
ominously across the border in Lebanon.
There, Iran and Syria are deepening their stranglehold on Lebanon and preparing to attack Israel by using al-Qods’ resources to further fortify
Hizballah.
The new accord enables the two terrorist machines to fight under a unified command controlled from Tehran.
Like President Peres, the rest of Israel’s policy-making levels appears oblivious to the fact that key elements of Hizballah’s fighting machine
against Israel have been taken over by the al Qods commander, Ghasem Suleimani, whom DEBKAfile identifies as the senior commander of Iran’s
terrorist and intelligence networks in the Palestinian territories and the Persian Gulf.
Western military experts point to the contiguous operational control Iran has acquired for al Qods - from Iraq, via Syria, Lebanon and up to the
Mediterranean coast of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Last week, defense minister Ehud Barak warned that Israel is closely and cautiously following developments to the north. “Our enemies” had better
not put IDF to the test, he said.
Tehran, Damascus and Hizballah, already inured to such statements from Barak which rarely lead to action, simply ignored this one too.
Iran timed its move to coincide with the French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Damascus last week, hoping all eyes would be fixed on the visit
and no one would notice the al Qods team slipping quietly into Beirut for another step to plunge Lebanon further into Iran-backed Hizballah war
preparations against Israel.
( DEBKA)
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reply posted on 7-9-2008 @ 09:21 AM by chips
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Some more Iran-related news:
This is breaking:
Iran to hold anti-aircraft war games
TEHRAN, Iran: Iran's official news agency says that the country will launch on Monday a three-day anti-aircraft exercise.
The IRNA report says the maneuver is aimed at improving defensive capabilities and will involve new weapons and tactics.
Sunday's announcement comes amid heightened tension in Iran following Israel's major military exercises involving war planes over the eastern
Mediterranean in June. The exercise was described in the U.S. press as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
The West accuses Iran of trying to create a nuclear weapons program — a claim Iran denies, maintaining its nuclear program is for peaceful
purposes.
( International Herald Tribune)
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reply posted on 7-9-2008 @ 04:32 PM by z.solkin
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reply to post by Shere Khaan
It's crazy to think all these pieces are falling into place like on a chess board. Russia gaining allies with those not happy with the way the US is
acting to the world as the international police. China and Russia have more in common than just a close geographical location and to take in Iran for
more strength as well as the other countries flocking around them.
It's scary to see and I know something is building to which the US must pay attention to and change their international policies to avoid a possible
war with most the world. It's obvious that Russia is putting themselves in stratigic postions to counter the balance the the US holds. They want
power back and we want to keep it. This is all history repeating itself and we need to be aware of the repercutions our government has brought down on
us.
We were warned a few months ago by Bush about WWIII and now things are starting to simmer and the water is starting to show beads of water forming at
the bottom of what could turn into a situation no one wants to be in.
I hope I am wrong, but I feel something is building and not for the better.
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reply posted on 7-9-2008 @ 04:46 PM by mystiq
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This is what I've been seeing for some time. I've read about the war of contracts, which is a deliberate thing to depopulate the world and further
cartel's plan. Basically why they've instigated Russia as well, because the countries behind Iran are Russian and China. And to take on Iran would
make the war of contractual agreements a reality.
Iranians don't need to live under this fear any more than any of us do. I am so furious that they managed to elect a moderate government more in
line with the people of that land, only to have the Ayatollah Khomeini pushed on them by our cartel. Everything that happens is a set up first.
We all demand a peaceful, loving free and equal world for everyone and every child. Period.
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reply posted on 7-9-2008 @ 05:35 PM by Sky watcher
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Originally posted by chips
reply to post by Shere Khaan
Yeah, I agree completely, which is why I was wondering about an SCO equivalent to 'Article 5' (and now you've got Russia — thanks to the
belligerence of NATO and the Bush administration — about to further aid Iran's nuclear program, too).
Whose fault is most of this, though? Well, we don't have to look far for the answer (just today's news, for example). Cheney said that Eastward NATO
expansion will continue whether Russia likes it or not; Medvedev immediately responded:
“The war was a moment of truth for us,” said Mr. Medvedev. The world is different after August 8 when Georgia attacked South Ossetia, he added.
“Russia will never allow anyone to infringe upon the lives and dignity of its citizens,” he said, adding: “Russia is a nation to be reckoned
with from now on.”
( hindu.com)
This isn't just remarkably silly and reckless — it's massively dangerous. Eastward NATO expansion will be countered with the expansion of the SCO
(and Iran into it, probably).
Are they really dumb enough to invite the worlds largest supporter of terrorism into their anti-terror club? That just shows that they want a counter
to NATO and if they think India will play war games with China then they really need to see a shrink.
Oh and China is going to be the loser in all of this because Iran is going to be blockaded real real soon. 40 plus U.S. navy ships are in route to the
Persian gulf along with the carrier strike group Ark Royal. Several French warplanes are on one of our carriers in route as well because their carrier
is in dry dock. Iran is out of time.
The Georgian conflict may have been a big distraction to try to get us looking the other way but it is hiding the ship movements pretty well.
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