Bush setting America up for war with Iran
By Philip Sherwell in New York and Tim Shipman in Washington
Last Updated: 2:29am BST 17/09/2007
Senior American intelligence and defence officials believe that President George W Bush and his inner circle are taking steps to place America on the path to war with Iran, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.
Dick Cheney ('The Man') with George W Bush
Pentagon planners have developed a list of up to 2,000 bombing targets in Iran, amid growing fears among serving officers that diplomatic efforts to slow Iran's nuclear weapons programme are doomed to fail.
Pentagon and CIA officers say they believe that the White House has begun a carefully calibrated programme of escalation that could lead to a military showdown with Iran.
Now it has emerged that Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, who has been pushing for a diplomatic solution, is prepared to settle her differences with Vice-President Dick Cheney and sanction military action.
In a chilling scenario of how war might come, a senior intelligence officer warned that public denunciation of Iranian meddling in Iraq - arming and training militants - would lead to cross border raids on Iranian training camps and bomb factories.
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A prime target would be the Fajr base run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force in southern Iran, where Western intelligence agencies say armour-piercing projectiles used against British and US troops are manufactured.
Under the theory - which is gaining credence in Washington security circles - US action would provoke a major Iranian response, perhaps in the form of moves to cut off Gulf oil supplies, providing a trigger for air strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and even its armed forces.
Senior officials believe Mr Bush's inner circle has decided he does not want to leave office without first ensuring that Iran is not capable of developing a nuclear weapon.
The intelligence source said: "No one outside that tight circle knows what is going to happen." But he said that within the CIA "many if not most officials believe that diplomacy is failing" and that "top Pentagon brass believes the same".
He said: "A strike will probably follow a gradual escalation. Over the next few weeks and months the US will build tensions and evidence around Iranian activities in Iraq."
Possible flash points: Click to enlarge
Previously, accusations that Mr Bush was set on war with Iran have come almost entirely from his critics.
Many senior operatives within the CIA are highly critical of Mr Bush's handling of the Iraq war, though they themselves are considered ineffective and unreliable by hardliners close to Mr Cheney.
The vice president is said to advocate the use of bunker-busting tactical nuclear weapons against Iran's nuclear sites. His allies dispute this, but Mr Cheney is understood to be lobbying for air strikes if sites can be identified where Revolutionary Guard units are training Shia militias.
Recent developments over Iraq appear to fit with the pattern of escalation predicted by Pentagon officials.
Gen David Petraeus, Mr Bush's senior Iraq commander, denounced the Iranian "proxy war" in Iraq last week as he built support in Washington for the US military surge in Baghdad.
The US also announced the creation of a new base near the Iraqi border town of Badra, the first of what could be several locations to tackle the smuggling of weapons from Iran.
A State Department source familiar with White House discussions said that Miss Rice, under pressure from senior counter-proliferation officials to acknowledge that military action may be necessary, is now working with Mr Cheney to find a way to reconcile their positions and present a united front to the President.
The source said: "When you go down there and see the body language, you can see that Cheney is still The Man. Condi pushed for diplomacy but she is no dove. If it becomes necessary she will be on board.
"Both of them are very close to the president, and where they differ they are working together to find a way to present a position they can both live with."
The official contrasted the efforts of the secretary of state to work with the vice-president with the "open warfare between Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld before the Iraq war".
Miss Rice's bottom line is that if the administration is to go to war again it must build the case over a period of months and win sufficient support on Capitol Hill.
The Sunday Telegraph has been told that Mr Bush has privately promised her that he would consult "meaningfully" with Congressional leaders of both parties before any military action against Iran on the understanding that Miss Rice would resign if this did not happen.
The intelligence officer said that the US military has "two major contingency plans" for air strikes on Iran.
"One is to bomb only the nuclear facilities. The second option is for a much bigger strike that would - over two or three days - hit all of the significant military sites as well. This plan involves more than 2,000 targets."
Monday, September 17, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Scholarship and spirituality blend seamlessly at Baha'i conferencePosted : September 14, 2007 - 4:13pm | Terms : News | Human Interest
Michael Penn, a Baha'i and an associate professor of psychology at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, was headed for the 31st Annual Conference of the ABS (Association for Baha'i Studies-North America) in Ontario, Canada, and found himself seated next to another scholar on the plane.
Michael PennDuring the course of their conversation, Mr. Penn felt moved to share how the spiritual forces of intellect, will and love help shape civilization. "Your ideas are wrong," the man responded, and then proceeded to soliloquize for half an hour on Mr. Penn's "inadequate thinking." This caused Mr. Penn, for all his learning and convictions, to feel very small indeed -- and thankful he soon would be among those who not only welcomed, but sought out, others' opinions.
Indeed, the Association for Baha'i Studies was formed in 1975 to offer scholars an opportunity to present the results of their research and exchange ideas. The Baha'i approach to scholarship encourages people to assume "a humble posture of learning" and opens up dialogue to more than just those with a PhD. Anyone who can demonstrate a serious approach to the study of a subject may apply to present his or her findings at an ABS conference.
This year's ABS conference, "Scholarship and Community Building," offered presentations by Baha'is and non-Baha'is on the intersection of the Baha'i writings with research in the fields of science, literature and the arts. Approximately 1,200 participants came from a variety of backgrounds and ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school junior to an 85-year-old English professor.
Mr. Penn's paper centered on the protection and refinement of the human spirit, inspired by the words of Abdu'l-Baha:
"Verily, Thy lovers, thirst, O my Lord . . . robe them in the garments of learning and knowledge."
Mr. Penn's talk was poetic and incisive, encouraging as well as scholarly, full of hope and meaning, calling humanity to its noble destiny. Using the knowledge of scholar-activists from Confucius and Socrates to present-day thinkers, he emphasized that the development of civilization and knowledge must include the cultivation of spiritual forces that animate the mind and heart.
Mr. Penn concluded by saying he was in the presence, at this conference, of many of the most cultivated minds on this planet. A rousing ovation followed his words, and no listener was made to feel small.
Michael Penn, a Baha'i and an associate professor of psychology at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, was headed for the 31st Annual Conference of the ABS (Association for Baha'i Studies-North America) in Ontario, Canada, and found himself seated next to another scholar on the plane.
Michael PennDuring the course of their conversation, Mr. Penn felt moved to share how the spiritual forces of intellect, will and love help shape civilization. "Your ideas are wrong," the man responded, and then proceeded to soliloquize for half an hour on Mr. Penn's "inadequate thinking." This caused Mr. Penn, for all his learning and convictions, to feel very small indeed -- and thankful he soon would be among those who not only welcomed, but sought out, others' opinions.
Indeed, the Association for Baha'i Studies was formed in 1975 to offer scholars an opportunity to present the results of their research and exchange ideas. The Baha'i approach to scholarship encourages people to assume "a humble posture of learning" and opens up dialogue to more than just those with a PhD. Anyone who can demonstrate a serious approach to the study of a subject may apply to present his or her findings at an ABS conference.
This year's ABS conference, "Scholarship and Community Building," offered presentations by Baha'is and non-Baha'is on the intersection of the Baha'i writings with research in the fields of science, literature and the arts. Approximately 1,200 participants came from a variety of backgrounds and ranged in age from a 15-year-old high school junior to an 85-year-old English professor.
Mr. Penn's paper centered on the protection and refinement of the human spirit, inspired by the words of Abdu'l-Baha:
"Verily, Thy lovers, thirst, O my Lord . . . robe them in the garments of learning and knowledge."
Mr. Penn's talk was poetic and incisive, encouraging as well as scholarly, full of hope and meaning, calling humanity to its noble destiny. Using the knowledge of scholar-activists from Confucius and Socrates to present-day thinkers, he emphasized that the development of civilization and knowledge must include the cultivation of spiritual forces that animate the mind and heart.
Mr. Penn concluded by saying he was in the presence, at this conference, of many of the most cultivated minds on this planet. A rousing ovation followed his words, and no listener was made to feel small.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Chers Amis,
L'Organisation des Nations Unies a proclamé que le "21 Septembre" de chaque année sera la :
" Journée Internationale de la Paix ",
que nous préférons appeler, ainsi :
" Journée Internationale pour la Paix ",
"Journée" au cours de laquelle des actions et des initiatives devraient être prises en faveur de la Paix.
A l'occasion, de la "Journée Internationale pour la Paix" de cette année, qui aura lieu le :
Vendredi 21 Septembre 2007
le "Centre Bahà'i de Nice" (ville au sud-est de la France) lance, au niveau mondial, une :
"Journée de Prières inter-Religieuses",
afin que, pendant 24 heures, les croyants de toutes les religions fassent des Prières pour que la violence et la guerre
diminuent dans le monde et qu'elles soient remplacées progressivement par l'esprit de Paix et d'Amour, et, bientôt, par la Paix promise par toutes les grandes Religions révélées.
Mais, les Prières auront encore plus d'effets, si elles sont accompagnées par des actions concrètes.
" Aide-toi, et le Ciel t'aidera ! ", dit un dicton français.
Nous vous prions donc de bien vouloir faire une ou des Prières lors de cette "Journée" et, si vous avez envie de la partager avec d'autres personnes, l'envoyer à notre adresse : CentreBahaiNice@Absmark.com, afin que toutes les prières soient groupées et retransmises à tous.
Veuillez indiquer, si possible, la source de cette prière (la religion dont elle est issue ou la personne qui l'a rédigée), la langue dans laquelle elle est écrite, ainsi que votre Nom si vous voulez qu'il apparaisse comme "expéditeur" de la Prière.
Seigneur Dieu, fais que ton Royaume qui est au Ciel, s'installe aussi sur la Terre !
Certes, les Hommes ont le libre-arbitre de travailler ou non dans ce sens, néanmoins, aide-les à suivre tes Commandements : ce sont Tes enfants, mais ils manquent d'humilité et de discernement !
Avec nos cordiales pensées,
pour le "Centre Bahà'i de Nice",
.
Rochan MAVADDAT.
–––––––––––––––––––––
Veuillez retransmettre cette information à tous vos amis et correspondants afin
qu'une grande chaîne de Prières puisse être tissée autour du monde !
M E R C I.
- P.S. : Le Vendredi 21 Septembre 2007, le Centre Bahà'i de Nice (24 Rue Maréchal Joffre. Nice, France) organise, à 20 h, une Réunion de Prières inter-religieuses, accompagnées par de la musique inter-culturelle.
Vous y êtes tous les Bienvenus !
« La Terre n'est qu'un seul pays,
et tous les Hommes en sont les citoyens. »
« Le bien-être de l’Humanité, sa paix et sa sécurité
ne pourront être obtenus, si son unité n’est pas fermement établie. »
Écrits sacrés de la Foi Bahà'ie (1863 ).
" AL-SALÂM " calligraphié en arabe = " PAIX ", en français.
= " PEACE ", in English.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
English translation :
Dear Friends,
The United Nations Organisation proclaimed that the “21st of September” of each year will be the :
“International Day of Peace”,
that we prefer to call :
“International Day for Peace”,
a “Day” during which actions and initiatives should be taken in favour of Peace.
On the occasion of the “International Day for Peace” of this year, which will take place on :
Friday, September 21st 2007,
the “Bahà'i Centre of Nice” (city in the south-east of France) will launch, on a worldwide level, a “Day of inter-religious Prayers”, so that, during 24 hours, the believers of all religions pray in order for violence and war to decrease in the world and be replaced gradually by the spirit of Peace and Love, and, soon, by that Peace promised by all the great revealed Religions.
However, the Prayers will have even greater effects, if they are accompanied by concrete actions.
“Help yourself, and Heaven will help you !”,
says a French saying.
We therefore kindly ask you to make a Prayer (or several) during this “Day” and, if you want to share it with others, please send it to our E-Mail address : CentreBahaiNice@Absmark.com, so that these Prayers can be gathered and transmitted to all.
Please, indicate, if possible, the source of the prayer (the religion from which it come, or the person who wrote it), the language in which it is written, as well as your Name if you want it to appear as the “sender” of the Prayer.
Lord God, make that Thy Kingdom, which is in Heaven, be settled also on Earth !
All men have the free-will to work or not in this direction, nevertheless, help them follow your Commandments : they are your children, however they lack humility, discernment soul and understanding !
Warm Regards,
For the “Baha’i Centre of Nice”, France,
Rochan MAVADDAT, General Secretary.
________________
Please forward this information to all your friends and correspondents
so that a large chain of Prayers can be woven
around the world !
Many Thanks !
=> P.S. : On Friday September 21st, 2007, the Bahà’i Centre of Nice (24 Rue Maréchal Joffre. Nice, France) organizes, at 20 hours (8 p.m.), an inter-religious Prayer Meeting, accompanied by inter-cultural music.
You are all Welcome !
« Today there is no greater glory for man than that of service
in the cause of the "Most Great Peace".
Peace is light whereas war is darkness. Peace is life; war is death.
Peace is guidance; war is error. Peace is the foundation of God; war is satanic institution.
Peace is the illumination of the world of Humanity; war is the destroyer of human foundations. »
« The Earth is but one country, and Mankind its citizens ! »
The Baha’i Faith’s Scripture (1863)
Prayers
by Kathleen Lehman
Appeared: 09/07/2007
http://www.planetbahai.org/cgi-bin/articles.pl?article=326
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We Bahá’ís are lucky to have a huge library of prayers revealed to us by the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. We use them all the time, and we love them. But frequently when I pray, I find my thoughts turning to other prayers, written by average folks like you and me. OK, so most of them were saints, and some of them are the greatest figures Christianity has ever known, but they’re sort of “you-and-me” prayers. Prayers that were composed, not by the Great Lights, but by people who, like you and me, daily sought God, occasionally got lost, and wept more often than Jesus did.
People sometimes wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, including prayers they themselves had written. To one Bahá’í, He responded:
The brief prayer which thou didst write at the close of thy letter was indeed original, touching and beautiful. Recite thou this prayer at all times.
(‘Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 66)
To a believer who asked about the form prayer should take, Shoghi Effendi wrote:
In regard to your question: we must not be rigid about praying; there is not a set of rules governing it; the main thing is we must start out with the right concept of God, the Manifestation, the Master, the Guardian -- we can turn, in thought, to any one of them when we pray. For instance you can ask Bahá'u'lláh for something, or, thinking of Him, ask God for it. The same is true of the Master or the Guardian. You can turn in thought to either of them and then ask their intercession, or pray direct to God. As long as you don't confuse their stations, and make them all equal, it does not matter much how you orient your thoughts.
(from a letter dated 24 July 1946 to an individual believer, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, p. 241)
I’ve been thrilled to see prayers written by Bahíyyih Khánum included in some of the recent women’s prayer books. I suppose I should hesitate in calling a member of the Holy Family “average folks”, but Bahíyyih Khánum has a lot more in common with most women than does, say, her big brother. This prayer, which is almost lovely beyond words, was part of a letter written to the Spiritual Assembly of Tabríz the spring after His passing:
O God, my God!Thou seest me immersed in the depths of grief, drowned in my sorrow, my heart on fire with the agony of parting, my inmost self aflame with longing. Thou seest my tears streaming down, hearest my sighs rising up like smoke, my never-ceasing groans, my cries, my shouts that will not be stilled, the useless wailing of my heart.
For the sun of joy has set, has sunk below the horizon of this world, and in the hearts of the righteous the lights of courage and consolation have gone out. So grave this catastrophe, so dire this disaster, that the inner being crumbles away to dust, and the heart blazes up, and nothing remains save only despair and anguish.
Thou seest, O my God, in the midmost of this terrible event, this ultimate calamity, when the devoted never put aside their mourning dress, and the moaning and the tears never cease -- how that malevolent band have, with all their powers, mounted an attack against Thy loved ones who are loyal to the Covenant, even as the assault of wolves upon the flock. They are striving, with all their strength, to bring down the mighty structure of Thy Covenant in ruins, and level Thy strong citadel to the ground, and turn away from Thy straight and clearly-marked path those Thou hast guided aright. O my Lord, I voice my complaint before Thee, and lay bare my griefs and sorrows, and supplicate at the door of Thy oneness, and whisper unto Thee, and weep and cry out.
O my kind Lord! Thou didst make a clear compact and a Covenant explicit and firm, not in veiled and allusive language, that all should turn unto the Centre of Thy Covenant and the Protector of Thy Cause -- so that no doubts whatever would remain for the hostile and the suspicious to exploit; and then Thy lone Servant rose up to lift Thy banner high, and carry the day for Thy Faith. For thirty years He summoned the people unto Thee, publicly, privately, and spread Thy Teachings and Thy principles to every corner, every country of the earth. Night and day, He fostered Thy loved ones in the cradle of divine knowledge and wisdom, and endowed them with the qualities of the spirit. And all this time He bore, at the hands of that evil crew, not once but over and over again, every kind of outrage, and calumny, and oppression. For they were forever lying in wait for Him, were spying on Him at all times from their ambush, attacking Him in whatever manner they chose, swelling with their insolence and pride. And yet, through Thy strong support, Thine overwhelming confirmations, they were the losers in the end, and their strivings came to nothing in this world's life, and all they gained was their own ruin.
Then, O my Lord, Thou didst make Him to ascend unto Thee, to place Him at Thy side, and by this the pillars of joy were shaken to their base, and the hearts of the devoted were terrified, and the smoke of their sorrow overspread the earth. At such a time that hate-filled band, seeing their advantage in the dire event, came in from every highway and byway, advancing on every side to topple over the throne of Thy Covenant, and lead Thy loved ones to perdition. They have laid their very being in ruins and they know not. How far, how very far have they gone in their ignorance!
But the Centre of Thy complete and flawless Covenant, He Who occupies the seat of servitude to Thee in Thine exalted and all-glorious Cause, had written by Thy will and Thy power a Book that shall never be lost nor ever forgotten. Within it by Thy predestinating knowledge and might, He had set forth all that is essential and obligatory for the upraising of Thy Cause in this world below. It is a book in which all things are explained in minute detail, in such wise that no matters whether small or great have been left out. And by Thy will and pleasure He designated therein, in place of His own Person, a Branch grown out from the Tree of Thy holiness, one fresh and tender, verdant and flourishing, arising to serve Thee, dwelling in the groves of Thine eternity, and Thine immortal gardens. And he, after turning to Thy gracious countenance and through Thine ancient succour, is inviting the people unto Thee and unto Thy Covenant, sound and firmly-established, and is spreading Thy commandments and Thy doctrines throughout Thy land, and guiding Thy servants to the path that leads aright.
O my God, I beg of Thee by all the days which Thy Light, the Centre of Thy Covenant, did spend in scattering Thy sweet scents abroad, and by all the nights when that delicate and fragile Being rested not, but kept the long vigils, crying out unto Thee, expending His efforts to guard Thy Cause and Thy dear ones, exerting His utmost to spread out Thy bounties and bestowals -- while the malevolent, comfortable against their pillows, rested in their beds -- I entreat Thee, by the ordeals He endured, for the sake of exalting Thy Word, at the hands of those who join partners to God, and the deniers, and the deserters, to keep Thy loved ones safe from the arrows of the calumniators, and the doubts of those who mislead and betray. Hold them fast, then, in the gardens and groves of Thy Covenant and Testament, and make them to enter the pavilions of Thy good pleasure, and shelter them in the refuge of Thy protection, and cast upon them the glance of Thy mercy's eye, and guard them from deviation and schism. Make them to live in unity and harmony, one with the others, and aid them to serve Thy Faith and to spread Thy Teachings far and wide.
Verily Thou art the Living, the Eternal, the Watchful, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
(Bahíyyih Khánum: The Greatest Holy Leaf, p. 125)
Overwhelming. I hear in this prayer not only the love of a human being for her brother but the weeping of the Maid of Heaven. I’m looking forward to listening to more of Bahíyyih Khánum’s words, whenever we get them, although I’ve become resigned to the likelihood that most of them were spoken to other women who may or may not have made note of them; their fragrance long ago vanished on the breeze.
When I think of the long and painful roads that some of us travel before we reach a home in the Faith, this prayer of St. Augustine comes to mind. Augustine was a wild and crazy youth who was the despair of his Christian mother, Monica, who nevertheless prayed constantly for him. Eventually Augustine had his moment of clarity, and the rest is history. In his Confessions, written around the year 400 C.E., he wrote this prayer, which has become a classic:
Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new; late have I loved Thee: for behold Thou wert within me, and I outside; and I sought Thee outside and in my unloveliness fell upon those lovely things that Thou hast made. Thou wert with me, and I was not with Thee. I was kept from Thee by those things, yet had they not been in Thee, they would not have been at all. Thou didst call and cry to me to break open my deafness: and Thou didst send forth Thy beams and shine upon me and chase away my blindness: Thou didst breathe fragrance upon me, and I drew in my breath and do now pant for Thee: I tasted Thee, and now hunger and thirst for Thee: Thou didst touch me, and I have burned for Thy peace.
(Augustine of Hippo, Confessions)
Hmm, there’s something familiar about that “ancient Beauty”!
St. Francis of Assisi, who lived from 1181 to 1226 (and whose memory is perpetuated in stone and bronze in gardens ‘round the world), composed prayers of exquisite simplicity. The prayer usually called the Canticle thanks God for the material world—fire, water, the sun, moon, and stars, air and wind, death, and so forth—and inspired the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon. My favorite prayer of St. Francis’s is this one:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled, as to console,
To be understood, as to understand,
To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
You might have seen that prayer; it’s popular and appears in many places. If only more people would pay attention!
St. Patrick, who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries C.E., had the right attitude toward the Manifestation:
Christ, be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Salvation is of the Lord,
Salvation is of the Lord,
Salvation is of the Christ,
May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.
This prayer of Patrick’s always makes me think of the long prayer of the Báb invoking God’s protection “from what lieth in front of us and behind us, above our heads, on our right, on our left, below our feet and every other side to which we are exposed”. It’s also quite a teaching challenge to be “Christ in every eye that sees me” and “Christ in every ear that hears me”. While we want the Manifestation to go with us, we also need to remember that we are representing Him to others. We don’t want to appear anything less than (in Patrick’s day, anyway) Christlike.
Interfaith prayer books are now beginning to appear with some regularity, and I think they’re great. They should be in every Bahá’í library. The words we use in approaching God are universal. And there are marvelous prayers that people have written over the ages.
I’d like to leave with this one. It was turned into the song “Day By Day” in the musical Godspell; a catchy tune contemporary with a rock version of the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus Christ Superstar, during the ecumenical revival of the early 1970s. The prayer, however, was composed in the thirteenth century C.E. by St. Richard of Chichester. St. Richard, of course, writes of Christ, but you are free to substitute a different Manifestation.
Thanks be to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which Thou hast given us; for all the pains and insults which Thou hast borne for us. O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother, may we know Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly, and follow Thee more nearly; for Thine own sake.
Amen. So be it.
http://www.planetbahai.org/cgi-bin/articles.pl?article=326
Friday, September 7, 2007
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