War on Terror - Iran in the the spotlight as Iraqi violence continues

Iraq – And the country continues to see daily attacks. In the northern city of Mosul an American military helicopter crashed whilst going to the aid of a group of Iraqi police who were under attack. The US military said the helicopter came down in enemy fire. Two pilots were said to be injured. Meanwhile five police were injured in a car bombing in Baquba.
In a city of precious little security a black market thrives. Playstations, DVDs and other consumer products are freely available; many are counterfeit. “We know it’s fake,” says one customer who had bought some ‘Nike’ trainers, “but we don’t care because it’s cheap”. And bribery can be seen as Iraqis are rationed in the supply of petrol, many taking on the job of queuing for others in never ending petrol lines. And as rationing took the form of supplying to customers with odd and even number plates on alternate days, a black-market in number-plates swiftly took hold.


Iran’s nuclear issue has gone up a notch as George Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both aired their concerns over Iran’s defiance.

“What is essential and crucial is that … a consultation process was followed ... and that a proposal should be made to the Iranians making clear their [nuclear] policy will not be tolerated,” said Merkel whilst on her first US visit. George Bush said Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon to “blackmail other countries”.

Russia said that not all diplomatic efforts had been exhausted. One official speaking on CNN said, “We are giving them a chance to develop their nuclear energy policy but not to enable Uranium enrichment.”
The reaction from Iran continues to remain belligerent. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected much of the criticism and threats of sanctions. One threatened sanction is that of sport. Besides having recently called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”, Iran has insisted its nuclear policy is peaceful. Yesterday France and Germany both called for the matter be referred to the UN Security Council. Failure in any resolution is feared to precipitate unilateral military action against the country by the US and possibly Israel, both nuclear states.
[21:09 GMT 13/01/2006]