Lawrence, we're playing God, birthing the Middle East. That makes me scare, very scared, when somebody plays God. We created a Frankenstein and now we'll chase it through the frozen tundras of our minds forever. ----- Original Message ----- From: Lawrence Helm To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: 8/23/2006 12:22:52 PM Subject: [lit-ideas] Iran's Nuclear Birth I?m not sure what Irene meant by ?scare tactics? in the note in which she accused me of making up quotes. But since the subject was August 22 and Iran, perhaps she thinks it a scare tactic that they might actually have nuclear weapons as we speak. If that is what she meant (admitting in advance that I am no expert on what Irene means) then be scared, Irene. Be very scared. Of course ?nuclear birth? is somewhat ambiguous, but it seems unlikely that Ahmadinejad is going to be making this fuss over Iran?s first nuclear power plant. Lawrence Special Dispatch - Iran August 24, 2006 No. 1261 Al-Borz News Service: President Ahmadinejad Expected to Announce Iran's "Nuclear Birth" To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit: http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD126106 . The Iranian news service Al-Borz, which is known to have access to sources in the Iranian government, predicted that on the first anniversary of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's government, in late August 2006, Ahmadinejad is expected to announce what the news service called Iran's "nuclear birth." In addition, an August 23, 2006 article about Iran's reply to the incentives proposal, that was posted on the Iranian Foreign Ministry-affiliated website www.tehrantimes.com , implied that Iran's nuclear technology had already reached the point of no return: "... If the West is seeking to impede Iran's nuclear industry, it should realize that Iran has passed this stage."(1) The following are excerpts from the Al-Borz report:(2) "It is expected that the first anniversary of the forming of the ninth government will be the date of the Ahmadinejad government's 'nuclear birth.' "... Together with [the celebration of] the anniversary of the forming of the ninth cabinet, the president of the country [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] will hold his third press conference... where he will answer questions from journalists from Iran and from abroad. "In addition to detailing the activities of the government at the end of [its first] year, the head of the government [i.e. Ahmadinejad] will officially present Iran's positions on: economic and cultural matters, the nuclear dossier, the activities of nuclear research centers, and developments in the region." Endnotes: (1) Tehran Times (Iran), August 23, 2006. (2) Al-Borz, August 21, 2006. ********************* The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request. MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837