Iran Ahmadinejad To Attend SCO Summit - Full Membership to be Discussed

The president will hold talks with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Tuesday before leaving for Turkmenistan and then attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Kyrgyzstan.

A source in the president's office said Ahmadinejad would be seeking to raise Iran's status at the SCO group, which brings together Russia and China with other Central Asian states, from observer to full member.

During the SCO summit, Ahmadinejad will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Iran, along with Pakistan and Mongolia, is an observer nation at the SCO but is looking to enhance its role to make the group a counterpoint to US influence in the region.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=53496&New...

http://www.payvand.com/news/07/aug/1099.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070814/wl_nm/china_centralasia_dc_1

Analysts Unable to Discount the Possibility that War Will Break Out

"The Syrians have been busy building extensive defensive works on the southern Golan Heights, after having completed similar preparations on the northern part of the area.

Syria also continues to procure large numbers of advanced Russian-made anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, in part with Iranian funding, though most of the shipments have yet to be delivered.

Syrian forces have also been reinforced along the border, and training of units has been stepped up."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/893054.html

Iran Replaces Oil Minister, Says No Hike in OPEC Output

Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a decree late on Sunday which, in a surprise move, replaced Oil Minister Vaziri Hamaneh with the head of the national oil company, Gholam Hossein Nozari.

"The decisions that will be taken in future will be done with coordination between the oil ministry and the government."

In one of his final statements as oil minister of OPEC's number two producer and the world's fourth biggest, Vaziri Hamaneh said last month that Iran firmly opposed a hike in OPEC's crude oil output.

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=53499&New...

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=166689...

Israel, US, Turkey Hold Joint Maritime Recovery Operations

"The objective of this exercise is to practice coordinated emergency search and rescue procedures and measures for safety of life at sea," a spokesman said in a statement.

Such proceedures would be used to recover downed pilots in the Mediterranean.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070814/wl_mideast_afp/mideastisraelturkeyu...

Leanan,

This was a link in yesterday's drumbeat that didn't work. Where can I find this article?

The Pillars of the Next Real Revolution

Thanks! You do great work.