Defense Secretary Gates criticizes NATO on Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates faulted European members of NATO on Monday for failing to offer the extra troops for security in Afghanistan that their governments had promised last year, The Associated Press reported the same day.

Of particular concern is the shortage of troops needed to train the Afghan National Army and the Afghan Police.

“I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen cannot find the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan,” Gates told a news conference after a meeting of a separate organization of southeast European countries.

During the Southeast European Defense Ministers meeting, Gates implored members to increase their contributions to security efforts in Afghanistan, warning that their countries “risk eventual irrelevance” if no action is taken.

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Vice-President Cheney warns Iran of "serious consequences"

In a foreign policy speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on Sunday, Vice-President Cheney called the Iranian government “a growing obstacle to peace in the Middle East,” The New York Times reported today. He further remarked that there would be “serious consequences” if Tehran did not stop pursuing its nuclear program.

Cheney’s remarks came after President Bush stated that a nuclear armed Iran could lead to “World War III.” People at the conference believe that the remarks by both government officials represent a significant step towards increasing pressure on Iran, which could lay the groundwork for the threat of military action.

Dennis Ross, who served as a Middle East envoy for President Clinton and the first President Bush and is now a scholar at the Washington Institute, said that Cheney’s statements were “strong words” with “serious implications.”

The UN Security Council has already placed sanctions on Iran for its uranium enrichment program. The United States is now looking to place harsher economic penalties on the country, such as a broader cutoff of bank lending and technology.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, resigned Saturday, on the eve of negotiations with Europe, and has been replaced with more of a hard-liner.

According to the article, the Bush administration seems to be hoping that the Iranian people will rise up against the Iranian government. “The spirit of freedom is stirring in Iran,” Cheney said. “America looks forward to the day when Iranians reclaim their destiny, the day that our two countries, as free and democratic nations, can be the closest of friends.”

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Iranian human rights lawyer believes military intervention would lead to domestic crackdown

Iran’s top human rights lawyer, Shirin Ebadi, said that although the human rights situation in Iran has deteriorated over the course of the past year, with executions of minors and media censorship, military action is not the solution to Iran’s domestic problems, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported today.

“A military attack will under any circumstances worsen our situation,” Ebadi said on the sidelines of an international conference in Prague this week. “It'll give the government the opportunity to use defense of national security as a pretext to increase its suppression of defenders of freedom.”

She added that Iranians speaking out for democracy and human rights are accused of receiving financial aid from the U.S. government in order to begin a “velvet revolution.” Ebadi believes, however, that this is the time human rights defenders need to be the most active.

Speculation has increased over the past months about the U.S. using military force against Iran. Washington has said it would rather settle the dispute over Iran’s nuclear policy diplomatically, but U.S. officials have also said that all options are open.

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