In contrast to US president George Bush’s failure to conduct a press encounter at this week’s United Nations General Assembly, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took questions from the media during an hour-long press conference yesterday at UN headquarters in New York.

During the conversation, which was at times confrontational, Ahmadinejad retained a sense of relaxed composure. Though he skirted issues such as detention of dissidents, media transparency, and nuclear threats to Israel, Ahmadinejad was willing to engage on multiple, controversial topics.

Ahmadinejad spoke of his country’s willingness to allow IAEA inspectors in to Iran, and denied the possibility that Iran would preemptively attack Israel, stating that “[the world] is entering a post-nuclear” era. The president also discussed his willingness to cooperate with the Iraqi government, cautioned the West about it’s excursion in Afghanistan, and warned of the hazards of continued violence in the Middle East.

Listen to Audio File (5:06), via translation

Listen to Entire Press Conference (59:10), via translation

Bomb Iran or Regime Change: Former UN Ambassador John Bolton – Listen to Audio File (4:55)

By Jack Rice for Talk Radio News

Click To Play

While Day One at the Republican National Convention seemed a little unstable, Day two seems to be back on course. During the afternoon, I saw a familiar face with the walrus mustache and knew that it was Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton.

And while the focus seems to be on Sarah Palin’s daughter’s baby, I knew that Bolton would not be talking about that. Instead, I knew that the one topic that he is most passionate about is Iran. So, I asked a very opened ended question: Can you talk about recent development, pro or con, involving Iran?

And Amb. Bolton was off. Essentially, Bolton described the failures of the UN Security Council and concluding that there were truly only two foreign policy options available to the U.S. at this point. The first option is regime change within the country. The second option was a series of strategic strikes. To make sure I heard what I thought I had, I repeated what he said – just to confirm. And, yes, that is what he meant.

Bolton then stated that the Israelis may carry out the strikes. I asked about whether if this were the policy it would be better to do them ourselves as it would be perceived as an attack by proxy anyway. And, again, he agreed, believing that the U.S. should carry out the attacks.

I then turned to the question of John McCain and whether John McCain would follow such advice. Bolton appeared confident that McCain seemed more willing to take the threat seriously and may act accordingly. Barack Obama, according to Bolton was unwilling to take the situation as seriously as it needed to be taken.

Recent Developments in the Russia-Georgia Conflict

By Amanda Grinstead, TRNS intern

Tuesday August 12th

* A Dutch cameraman, Stan Storimans of RTL TV, was killed in Gori, and the correspondent accompanying him was wounded.

* the UK-based oil company BP shut down 3 of its pipelines as a “precautionary measure” in response to fighting in the region.

* Russian officials claimed that their actions were aimed at stopping Georgia’s military attacks on Russian peacekeeping forces and civilians, with one diplomat stating that as many as 2,000 people had perished after Georgia entered South Ossetia.

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia had had no option but to use military force against Georgia: “If Russia had a different option of reacting to Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia, we would have used it,” he said. “But we didn’t have this option. When several thousand civilians are killed, the state must act accordingly.”

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia, step down, although he said Russia was not demanding this.

Wednesday August 13th

* The French Presient Sarkozy, is to broker a 6-point ceasefire agreement between Russia and Georgia, to be submitted to the EU and then the UN Security Council. Sarkozy said that they are aiming to make the agreement “long-term”.


* The terms included immediate ceasefire and allowing humanitarian aid access to the conflict regions.

* This was announced only hours after Russia withdrew its military incursion into Georgia.

* Reports claimed that there are 15,000 Russian troops present in Georgia.

* George Bush said that Russia’s behaviour had seriously called into question its suitability as an ally of the US, and also that the G8 was considering expelling Russia as punishment for its aggression.


* Russia and Georgia both accused each other of breaking initial ceasefire.


* Lavrov claimed that Russian troops remain in Georgia to neutralise abandoned weapons arsenals and to enforce the peace that Georgia was ignoring.


* Saakashvili stated: “Russian tanks continue to ravage Georgia town and villages, killing people, destroying buildings, looting. … They’ve been doing worse things to what I’ve heard in the past and I could never imagine happening in my country.” He went on to blame the West, in part, for failing to respond to Russia adequately, and for failing to correctly read Russia’s intentions in Georgia.


* Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Georgian government officials had fled Gori, and that Russian soldiers were providing food and water to residents, although there were other reports of looting.

Thursday August 14th

* US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to take a ceasefire document to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, which offers a slight concession to Russia and closes the loophole left by Sarkozy’s agreement: the French-brokered agreement allows for Russia to take “additional security measures” until an international agreement is reached- this was seen as permitting Russia to remain in Georgia outside the main zone of conflict. Under this ceasefire agreement 1,500 Russian peacekeeping troops are permitted to remain, and patrol up to 6 kilometers outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia. They may not patrol in Gori or any other cities, and may not hinder aid or control ports, highways or railways.

Friday August 15th

* Human Rights Watch said that there is evidence that Russia had been dropping cluster bombs on Georgian civilians, including over Gori, killing 11, and had also seen evidence that houses are being set on fire.

* Saakashvili signed the ceasefire agreement, brought by Rice to Tbilisi. It includes a provision for independent monitors and an eventual reconstruction plan for Georgia’s economy.


* Rice and Saakashvili met for almost 5 hours to discuss the agreement. Rice said that the priority was now for Russia to withdraw.


* Later on Friday, Sarkozy says Medvedev confirmed Russia’s cooperation.

Saturday August 16th

* Georgia accused Russian troops of mining and exploding a key railway bridge and starting huge fires in the Borjomi Gorge, in spite of the new ceasefire agreement.


* The bridge connects East and West Georgia and has been a main route for refugees fleeing the fighting- the Georgian Ministry for Foreign Affairs claimed that Russia was deliberately trying to bring about “humanitarian catastrophe”.


* Georgia’s Interior Ministry also said that Russian-backed militias members have seized control of 13 Georgian villages and a power plant in the region.


* Russian troops remained within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of Tbilisi and were on the western front of Abkhazia.

Sunday August 17th

* Russia stated that it would begin withdrawing its forces into a buffer zone and South Ossetia on Monday 18th.

* However, Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said Moscow will withdraw only when it is “assured that Georgians will not continue to use military force” in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Monday August 18th

* Medvedev spoke, threatening punishment for the Georgians whom he claimed were responsible for ethnic cleansing in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia has made similar accusations of genocide.


* Georgia’s ambassador to the United States, Vasil Sikharulidze, said the Russian push into Georgia had been long planned:
“You just don’t move more than 1,200 tanks and 15,000 soldiers into a country within 12 hours without previous planning.”


* The Georgian Foreign Ministry said that a Russian armoured column had been sighted moving deeper into Georgian territory, travelling south of Kashuri, which is roughly 10 miles south of South Ossetia.

Tuesday August 19th

* Hopes of peace were bolstered when Russia and Georgia exchanged captured soldiers, though later at the port of Poti Russia took 21 Georgian military police officers hostage, and reportedly seized 4 American military vehicles.

* In Brussels, at an emergency meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO’s members, NATO’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer accused Russia of ignoring the terms of the ceasefire agreed last week by not withdrawing its troops to their positions before August 6th.

* Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov claimed that NATO is “biased” to Georgia’s side, while Russian General Anatoly Nogovitsyn said that troops remained in order to protect the South Ossetia border.


* Ministers at the NATO meeting said that they were “seriously” considering the implications of Russia’s actions on the NATO-Russia relationship. Scheffer said: “As long as Russian forces are basically occupying a large part of Georgia, I cannot see a NATO-Russia Council convene at whatever level.”


* Scheffer stated that a NATO-Georgia Commission is to be set up to assess Georgia’s relationship with NATO, supervise its bid for membership, and provide assistance in Tbilisi, the capital. 50 NATO staff are to be sent to Georgia to assist with air traffic control and assess the needs of Georgia’s military.


* US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Russia was isolating itself by “invading smaller neighbours, bombing civilian infrastructure, going into villages and wreaking havoc and (carrying out) the wanton destruction of (Georgia’s) infrastructure.


* The Bush administration claimed that Russia was trying to undermine Georgia because of the pro-West stance of its President, Saakashvili. Bush wants the suspension of all Russia-NATO cooperation for the moment, and also for Europe to lessen its dependence on Russia for energy supplies.


* Medvedev issued fresh commitment to withdraw, but at the same time pulled the Russian navy out of NATO exercises- relations between Russia and NATO are at an all-time low.


* The French presidency stated that: “President Medvedev announced to Sarkozy that the withdrawal of Russian troops will be concluded August 21-22, with the exception of a team of 500 personnel charged with implementing additional security measures under article five of the August 12 agreement.”

Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, Sudan’s ambassador to the United Nations, briefed the press at UN headquarters in New York today regarding the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Ambassador Mohamad repeatedly denounced the indictment by ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and rejected “in the strongest possible terms” the charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

The ambassador strongly asserted that “we do not recognize the authority of the ICC” and that “we consider this move as an affront” to the sovereignty to Sudan.  He also claimed that the charges are politically motivated, stating  “[Ocampo] only wants to settle political scores.”  When pressed on what specific political “scores” motivate Ocampo, ambassador Mohamed quickly changed the subject.

Regarding resolution of the Darfur crisis, the ambassador stated, “Darfur problems better be addressed by the Sudanese” and that international support should be “complimentary” to the efforts of the Sudanese government.

Ambassador Mohamed confidently expressed that the President’s travel schedule would not be interrupted, and that the ambassador would be surprised if President Bashir did not attend the United Nations annual General Assembly meeting in September.

More Talk Radio News Sudan Coverage

Listen to the full audio of Sudanese Ambassador to the United Nations Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad’s statement on the indictment of President Omar al-Bashir by the ICC. (16:39)

Soudbite audio below.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, spoke today at the United Nations in New York about her recent visit to Afghanistan.  Ms Coomaraswamy, along with the Director of the Office of Emergency Programmes for UNICEF Louia-George Arsenault, visited Afghanistan for five days this past week to determine the extent to which children are being used in conflict zones.  Ms. Coomaraswamy explained that her role was to ensure that the UN monitoring presence in Afghanistan is correctly established and implemented. The team met with local religious and social leaders, leading NGOs, as well as Afghani President Hamid Karai.

Ms. Coomaraswamy stated that the UN as of yet has no hard figures on the number of children currently being used in armed conflict, and that the mission goal was to establish a UN presence.  She did, however, express that children are being detained by Americans, and recruited by the Taliban and other anti-government groups.  She also witnessed evidence of Talibani and tribal recruitment of young boys.  Ms. Coomaraswamy also stated that more sexual violence occurs against young boys than young women.  She reminded officials that it is against international law to recruit boys without facial hair to “war or quarters.”

According to Ms. Coomaraswamy, all parties are aware of the fragile security situation in the country, and the impact violence has on children and society.  Ms. Coomaraswamy implored the government of the importance “to expand humanitarian space,” and allow organizations to work to assist the civilian population.  In a statement issued last week, Ms. Coomarasawmy stated “the on-going attacks targeting schools, teachers and school children are a grim reminder that concerted efforts must be made by all parties to the conflict to ensure the safety of children … we must take concrete actions now to better protect children and the future generations of the country.”