Reply #1: UN General Assembly Hears Bush, Ahmadinejad Trade Criticism [View All]

[CHIMO]

UN General Assembly Hears Bush, Ahmadinejad Trade Criticism

AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us. Can you talk about what President Ahmadinejad and President Bush -- the major conflict going on, expressed on the world stage at the UN?

PHYLLIS BENNIS:.....

That would be reflected in the new stories that have come out in the last couple of days in Time magazine and elsewhere, indicating that there have in fact been orders preparing to deploy U.S. Navy warships towards Iran with the goal being not necessarily a direct military strike, but rather a naval blockade of Iranian oil ports, which, of course, constitute an act of war. In that situation, the danger, of course, is that if there was, for example, imagine, a week or so of a U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports, Iran knows, its government and its people know, that that's an act of war. Most Americans don't know that a blockade is considered an act of war. And if Iran responded militarily, which unfortunately would be their right under Article 51 of the UN Charter calling for self-defense rights, the Bush administration would very likely call that an unprovoked attack on peaceful U.S. ships and would respond militarily, claiming to be responding in self-defense. That's, I think, a very serious danger that we face right now. And seeing Bush at the United Nations choosing not to use that rostrum as a podium for escalating threats, direct threats, against Iran, it makes the danger of a unilateral military move right now all the greater.

Frigate to patrol in Mideast

Canadian warship to do six-month tour in tense region
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1156542610772

Matches up pretty nicely.