Monday, November 18, 2013

Is The Monroe Doctrine Dead Or Are The Reports Of Its Demise Somewhat Exaggerated? US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday declared that a nearly 200-year-old policy which had governed Washington's relations with Latin America was finally dead - AFP


Published on Nov 18, 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday declared that a nearly 200-year-old policy which had governed Washington's relations with Latin America was finally dead. Duration: 01:22

john kerry and monroe doctrine 

monroe doctrine



Is "Monroe Doctrine" dead? 

THE MONROE DOCTRINE Reports of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated


Read more: THE MONROE DOCTRINE Reports of Its Death Are Greatly Exaggerated - TIME http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826499,00.html#ixzz2l6ANdUTt


  1. Monroe Doctrine 2012: U.S. Congress Wants Iran to Stay Out of "Our ...

    www.cepr.net › Publications › Blogs › The Americas Blog

    Dec 13, 2012 - Apparently the U.S. Congress did not get the memo that even the Council on Foreign Relations considers the Monroe Doctrine to be dead- an ...


Kerry declares the end of the Monroe Doctrine era - AFP

Al Jazeera America-9 hours agoShare
... which had governed Washington's relations with Latin America was finally dead. Known as the Monroe Doctrine after it was adopted in 1823 by former U.S. ...


Reuters UK
MIAMI/HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. relations with Cuba have undergone a surprise warming in recent months, raising expectations of possible agreements to bring the two countries closer after more than 50 years of hostility. U.S. and Cuban officials overcame ...

Latin American Herald Tribune
"The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over," says US Secretary of State John Kerry. "The relationship that we seek and that we have worked hard to foster is not about a United States declaration about how and when it will intervene in the affairs of other ...

UPI.com
Kerry told the audience a relationshipbetween Washington and Latin Americabased on U.S. domination was obsolete and needed to be replaced by a recognition of equal partnership and shared responsibilities to advance common goals and secure ...

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john kerry speech before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives and monroe doctrine transcript

Kerry’s comments in April 2013 before Congress - GS

Kerry’s comments in April 2013 before Congress - DOState Search 

john kerry speech before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives in April 2013 - DOState Search



Remarks

John Kerry
Secretary of State
Organization of American States
Washington, DC
November 18, 2013


Mr. Secretary-General, thank you very, very much. Thank you for a wonderful welcome on this absolutely beautiful, luscious, seductive fall day, as pretty as it gets, and one that’s quickly prompting all of us to ask why we’re at work today. I’m privileged to be here. I want to thank the Inter-American Dialogue. Thank you, Michael Shifter, and thank you, Ambassador Deborah-Mae Lovell for the invitation to be here. I want to thank the Organization of American States for inviting me to speak here this morning. And it’s always wonderful to be in this remarkable, beautiful, historic building.
A few minutes ago, we were down below in the atrium and Secretary-General Insulza took me over to see the peace tree that President Taft planted more than 100 years ago. It’s a remarkable tree, and it’s a testimony to the deep roots of the OAS, which is the quintessential multilateral entity of the Americas and has its origins obviously dating back to even before that peace tree was planted. The – I was tempted to tell a story about William Howard Taft who – and a famous introduction that he made – but I’m going to spare you that particular story – (laughter) – but it’s a very funny one, and worth at some point sharing with you. I’m delighted to be in the company of former Trade Representative Carla Hills. Great to be here with you. And I’m particularly proud to be here with our Assistant Secretary Roberta Jacobson, who does such an outstanding job with respect to all of the Western Hemisphere, has come – just come back from China on a dialogue in China regarding the Western Hemisphere and Latin America particularly.
Since I became Secretary of State, I’ve had the privilege of speaking in some beautiful rooms like this in about, what, 30 countries all over the world. But I cannot tell you how nice it is to speak in one where I get to drive for two minutes instead of fly 12 hours. It makes a difference.
The fact is that this is a very important moment for all of the American states. Fifty years ago, President Kennedy spoke about the promise of the Western Hemisphere, and in what would become, sadly, his final address on foreign policy. President Kennedy expressed his hope for a hemisphere of nations, each confident in the strength of its own independence, devoted to the liberty of its citizens. If he could only see where we are today. In the half century since he spoke, more and more countries are coming closer and closer to realizing his vision and all of our hopes.
When people speak of the Western Hemisphere, they often talk about transformations that have taken place, but the truth is one of the biggest transformations has happened right here in the United States of America. In the early days of our republic, the United States made a choice about its relationship with Latin America. President James Monroe, who was also a former Secretary of State, declared that the United States would unilaterally, and as a matter of fact, act as the protector of the region. The doctrine that bears his name asserted our authority to step in and oppose the influence of European powers in Latin America. And throughout our nation’s history, successive presidents have reinforced that doctrine and made a similar choice.
Today, however, we have made a different choice. The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over. (Applause.) The relationship – that’s worth applauding. That’s not a bad thing. (Applause.) The relationship that we seek and that we have worked hard to foster is not about a United States declaration about how and when it will intervene in the affairs of other American states. It’s about all of our countries viewing one another as equals, sharing responsibilities, cooperating on security issues, and adhering not to doctrine, but to the decisions that we make as partners to advance the values and the interests that we share.
As the old proverb says, La union hace la fuerza. The union – in unity, there is strength. Through our shared commitment to democracy, we collectively present a vivid example to the world that diversity is strength, that inclusion works, that justice can reject impunity, and that the rights of individuals must be protected against government overreach and abuse. We also prove that peace is possible. You don’t need force to have fuerza. The vision that we share for our countries is actually within our grasp, but we have to ask ourselves some tough and important questions in order to secure our goal.
First and foremost, will we together promote and protect the democracy, security, and peace that all the people of the Americas deserve? Second, will we seize the chance to advance prosperity throughout the Western Hemisphere and educate the young people who will drive the economies of the future? And third, will we together meet a responsibility that requires more strength, and thus more unity than ever before, and thereby effectively address the threat posed by climate change?
Now, how we answer these questions will determine whether or not we can actually become the hemisphere of nations that President Kennedy envisioned, each country existing side-by-side, confident, strong, and independent and free. The first question is actually answered by the broad protection of democratic values that have become the rule and not the exception within the Western Hemisphere. In a few short decades, democratic representation has, for the most part, displaced the repression of dictators. But the real challenge of the 21st century in the Americas will be how we use our democratic governments to deliver development, overcome poverty, and improve social inclusion.
Last summer, I traveled to Brasilia, and as I was leaving my meeting with the Foreign Minister, I was greeted by a group of protestors. Now, I don’t speak Portuguese – my wife does, I don’t – but I did understand the four-letter words that they yelled because they were in English. (Laughter.) And as jarring as it can be sometimes, that moment was actually the picture of a healthy democracy.
And today, it is our shared democratic values that have enabled us to weather challenges like the understandable concerns around the surveillance disclosures, concerns that prompt us all to figure out how we’re going to get through and build a stronger foundation for the future based on our common democratic values and beliefs.
Successful democracies depend on all citizens having a voice and on respecting those voices, and all governments having the courage and the capacity to listen to those voices. We can be immensely proud, I think, of this hemisphere’s democratic trajectory and of the institutions that we built in order to hold ourselves to the future and to be accountable. That is the difference, and to hold ourselves to the OAS Charter.
And we also express our concern when democratic institutions are weakened, as we’ve seen in Venezuela recently. In March of this year, the United States joined with many of you right here in this very room, as a matter of fact, to affirm the independence and the mandate of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
We have also joined together to support the OAS electoral observation missions throughout the hemisphere, including the one for the election in Honduras next week. All of us here have an opportunity to help assure that this election is transparent, inclusive, peaceful, and fair, and that the process is one that the Honduran people could actually rely on in order to express their will. We – all of us – must do everything that we can to support the OAS efforts to provide assistance and impartially observe the elections. There is no better expression of our strength and unity than following through on that effort.
We also know well that the critical ingredient of a successful democracy is how we provide for our security at home for all of our citizens. Safe streets, safe neighborhoods, safe communities, really do depend on upholding the rule of law.
In June, I went to Guatemala and I met with Attorney General Paz y Paz. She has made extraordinary progress in combating corruption and organized crime, protecting women from violence, and prosecuting human rights violations.
In August, I traveled to Bogota and I saw a remarkable demonstration of Colombia’s sacrifice and progress in the fight against illegal drugs and violence, a fight which has actually made it possible for President Santos’s courageous effort to achieve sustainable and just peace.
I think it is undeniable what our unity of purpose is. Step by step, making our democracies stronger and our people more secure – in Guatemala, in Colombia, and throughout the Americas. And for the most part, I think you’ll agree with me the Western Hemisphere is unified in its commitment to pursuing successful democracies in the way that I describe.
But one exception, of course, remains: Cuba. Since President Obama took office, the Administration has started to search for a new beginning with Cuba. As he said just last week, when it comes to our relationship with Cuba, we have to be creative, we have to be thoughtful, and we have to continue to update our policies.
Our governments are finding some cooperation on common interests at this point in time. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans visit Havana, and hundreds of millions of dollars in trade and remittances flow from the United States to Cuba. We are committed to this human interchange, and in the United States we believe that our people are actually our best ambassadors. They are ambassadors of our ideals, of our values, of our beliefs.
And while we also welcome some of the changes that are taking place in Cuba which allow more Cubans to be able to travel freely and work for themselves, these changes should absolutely not blind us to the authoritarian reality of life for ordinary Cubans. In a hemisphere where citizens everywhere have a right to be able to choose their leaders, Cubans uniquely do not. In a hemisphere where people can criticize their leaders without fear of arrest or violence, Cubans still cannot. And if more does not change soon, it is clear that the 21st century will continue, unfortunately, to leave the Cuban people behind.
We look forward to the day – and we hope it will come soon – when the Cuban Government embraces a broader political reform agenda that will enable its people to freely determine their own future. The entire hemisphere – all of us – share an interest in ensuring that Cubans enjoy the rights protected by our Inter-American Democratic Charter, and we expect to stand united in this aspiration. Because in every country, including the United States, each day that we don’t press forward on behalf of personal freedoms and representative government, we risk sliding backwards. And none of us can accept that.
Even as we celebrate the democratic values that have spread throughout Latin America, we must also acknowledge where those values are being challenged. After all, timely elections matter little if they are not really free and fair with all political parties competing on a level playing field. A separation of powers is of little comfort if independent institutions are not able to hold the powerful to account. And laws that guarantee freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion are of little consequence if they are not enforced. Democracy is not a final destination; it is an endless journey. And every day, all of us must renew our decision to actually move it forward. And we are no less immune to that reality here in the United States than anywhere else; in fact, in recent days, perhaps even more susceptible to it.
We’ve also – all of us – got important decisions to make about how we bring about shared economic prosperity – the prosperity to which we all aspire. To start with, educational opportunity, above all, must be a priority. It is only with widely available, high-quality education that our workforce, the workforce of the hemisphere, will be equipped for the jobs of the future. Education, as we all know, opens up other doors as well. As former Senator J. William Fulbright said: “Having people who understand your thought is much greater security than another submarine.” That’s the idea behind the State Department’s Fulbright exchanges. And it is the idea behind President Obama’s 100,000 Strong in the Americas initiative, which is aimed at increasing the flow of exchange students in both directions here in the Western Hemisphere.
But my friends, education, as we know, is only the first step. We must also press even harder to help create jobs and economic opportunity for our young people for the day after graduation comes and goes. Our hemisphere is already, as the Secretary General mentioned in his introductory comments, a thriving market of nearly a billion people. Over the past decade, the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean grew at a rate of 4 percent a year. The United States is proud to play a role in this. Just last week, we announced more than $98 million in private financing for 4,000 small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the hemisphere in order to encourage this energy and create it and keep it moving.
And the kind of growth that the region is experiencing fueled by sound economic policies, innovative social programs, and increased international trade and investment – that growth has dramatically improved the lives of all of our citizens. In the past decade alone as trade has grown between the United States and Latin America – nearly tripled – more than 73 million people, as the Secretary General mentioned, have been lifted out of poverty. Think about that. That’s more people than live in Canada and Argentina combined. It’s an extraordinary story, and it’s a story of success. It’s a story of policies that are working but need to be grown, not moved away from. Imagine what is possible if we continue to open up trade and investment in our children’s futures.
When I was a senator, I was very proud and pleased to vote to ratify both the Colombia and the Panama Trade Promotion Agreements, which President Obama signed into law. And we’re already seeing the growth that these agreements made possible. During the first year of the U.S.-Colombia FTA, nearly 800 Colombian companies of all sizes entered the U.S. market for the very first time. These new exporters sold their goods and services in more than 20 different American states. And today, Vice President Biden is traveling to Panama to visit the canal expansion project that will continue to spark increased trade throughout the region.
Under President Obama’s leadership, we’ve also helped expand the region’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, taking it beyond Chile and Peru to include Canada and Mexico. And we have redoubled our commitment to NAFTA, the greatest single step toward shared prosperity in this hemisphere, which I am pleased to say also I voted for at a time when I think people remember it was very contentious and very difficult. But all of us know – can’t rest on those agreements alone. That’s not enough. We know we can do more. And if we do more, the Western Hemisphere will continue to be a leader in the global markets for decades to come.
One of the opportunities that is staring at us that I just mentioned a moment ago about these many opportunities – one of those opportunities is a $6 trillion market and has 4 billion users. I’m talking about the new energy market – biggest market in human history. The market that created such extraordinary wealth in the 1990s where in America, in the United States, every single quintile of American income earner, from the bottom right through to the top – everybody saw their incomes go up. And we all know it was a time when we balanced the budget three years in a row. It was a time of extraordinary growth.
The market that drove that growth was a $1 trillion market with 1 billion users – the high-tech computer, home computer model. That was the market – technology. The energy market is six times that market. And the 4 billion users today will grow to 6 billion, ultimately 9 billion between now and 2050. It will help us to answer the third and final question that I mentioned – whether or not we will leave to our children and grandchildren a planet that is healthy, clean, and sustainable. Actually, this is not so much a question as it really is a compelling challenge, the challenge of a generation, maybe even the challenge of a century, maybe even the challenge of life itself on the planet if you digest adequately all that science is telling us today.
More than two decades ago, I visited Brazil as part of the U.S. delegation to the Rio Summit. This was the first time that the global community came together united to try to address climate change. It was also the trip where I got to know an amazing Portuguese-speaking woman named Teresa, who three years later would become my wife. So I like Rio. It’s a good place. (Laughter.)
But Teresa and I still talk about a young 12-year-old girl from Vancouver named Severn Suzuki, who took the stage at that summit in order to, as she put it, quote, “fight for her future.” Twenty-one years later, I still remember what she said about climate change, as follows: “I’m only a child,” she told us, “yet I know we are all in this together and should act as one single world towards one single goal.” Severn understood something that a lot of folks today need to grasp, something still missing from our political debate, like the saying goes that I said a moment ago, La union hace la fuerza – we need that more than ever now with respect to this challenge of climate change. Decades later, we have a lot to learn from that young woman.
The Americas have become the new center of our global energy map. Our hemisphere supplies now one-fourth of the world’s crude oil and nearly one-fourth of its coal. We support over a third of global electricity. And what that means is that we have the ability and the great responsibility to influence the way that the entire world is powered. To do this, it will require each of our nations to make some very fundamental policy choices. We need to embrace the energy future over the energy of the past.
And I am well aware – I’ve been through these battles in the United States Senate – I know how tough it is. I know how many different industries and how many powerful interests there are to push back. But we, people, all of us have a responsibility to push back against them. Climate change is real. It is happening. And if we don’t take significant action as partners, it will continue to threaten not only our environment and our communities, but as our friends from the Caribbean and other island nations know, it will threaten potentially our entire way of life, certainly theirs.
The challenge of climate change will cost us far more for its negative impact than the investment that we need to make today in order to meet the challenge. Every economic model shows that, and yet we shy away. Our economies have yet to factor in the monetary costs of doing nothing or doing too little. The devastating effects that droughts can have on farmers’ harvests; the hefty price tag that comes with rebuilding communities after every catastrophe, after every hurricane or tropical storm tears through them and leaves a trail of destruction in their wake; the extraordinary cost of fires that didn’t burn as ferociously and as frequently as they do today because of the increased dryness; the increasing signs of loss of water for the Himalayas as the glaciers shrink; and therefore, as the great rivers of China and other countries on one side and India on the other are threatened as billions of people see their food and food security affected.
These are real challenges, and they’re not somewhere in the future. We’re already seeing them now. For all of these reasons, combating climate change is an urgent priority for President Obama and myself, and we know that we are one of the largest contributors to the problem. There are about 20 nations that contribute over 90 percent of the problem. That’s why President Obama unveiled a new Climate Action Plan to drive more aggressive domestic policy on climate change than ever before. And the good news is the agenda that he’s put together is one specifically designed to be able to be done by administrative order so you don’t have to wait for Congress to act.
Many other nations in the Western Hemisphere are also working hard to do their part as well. And I’m proud to say that as part of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, the United States has collaborated with more than two dozen countries, Latin America, and the Caribbean in order to support effective programs to address the reality of this grave threat. But if we take advantage, my friends, this is not a threat where there is not a solution. We have a solution, a number of them staring us in the face. We just don’t make the political decision because of these forces that push back.
We know what the alternatives are. We know the advantage of the enormous breakthroughs that are happening in clean energy. And if we share expertise and deploy new technologies throughout the region, if we connect the electrical grids throughout the Americas, then we can share and sell power to each other at different points of time in different ways with a more vibrant marketplace. If we harness the power of the wind in Mexico and the biomass in Brazil, the sunshine in Chile and Peru, the natural gas in the United States and Argentina, then the enormous benefits for local economies, public health, and of course climate change mitigation could reach every corner of the Americas and beyond.
This is what a new inter-American partnership is really all about. The Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho, one of the most widely read authors in the world, wrote “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change.” So the question for all of us is: Will we have the courage to make the tough choices and the willingness to change? Fifty years from today, on the hundredth anniversary of President Kennedy’s call to the region, will the hemisphere of nations that he dreamed about become a reality?
Many years ago, the United States dictated a policy that defined the hemisphere for many years after. We’ve moved past that era. And today, we must go even further. All of the things that we’ve talked about today – the future of our democracies, the strength of our democracies, the development of those democracies, the inclusion of all of our people in a system with accountability and without impunity for the defections, our shared prosperity and all that brings us, the education of our children, the future of our planet, our response to climate change – all of these things do not depend on the next administration or the next generation. They depend on us now.
And the question is: will we work as equal partners in order to achieve our goals? It will require courage and a willingness to change. But above all, it will require a higher and deeper level of cooperation between us, all of us together, as equal partners in this hemisphere. That is the way we will make the difference, and that is the way we will live up to our responsibility.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)

PRN: 2013/1435

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  1. State Dept: Era of Monroe Doctrine is Over

    Washington Free Beacon-56 minutes agoShare
    Q: So was the secretary — I mean, the Monroe Doctrine is dead, RIP, after 200 years. Is that something that just has been decided today? MS.








State Dept: Era of Monroe Doctrine is Over



BY: 
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki got into a testy exchange with AP reporter Matt Lee Monday over Secretary of State John Kerry’s assertion that the “era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.” Psaki failed to provide Lee reasoning behind Kerry’s statement and ended the discussion by stating “I would caution anyone from making a larger analysis of what it meant.”
The full exchange is available below:
Q: So was the secretary — I mean, the Monroe Doctrine is dead, RIP, after 200 years. Is that something that just has been decided today?
MS. PSAKI: He’s said that before, Matt. I’m happy to find you past references.
Q: OK. Can I — OK. He has?
MS. PSAKI: I believe so.
Q: OK. All right. What was wrong with the Monroe Doctrine?
MS. PSAKI: (Laughs.) Matt, I would point you to the discussion of his speech and –
Q: Well, one of the things that he talked about was — OK.
MS. PSAKI: — in his speech and our relationship with the Western Hemisphere and where we want to go moving forward, which is what he was conveying.
Q: I — OK, but one of the things that he seemed to be implicitly criticizing about the Monroe Doctrine was that the United States would act unilaterally to prevent any kind of interference in the hemisphere, which is portrayed, I think, at least the implication of it was that this is somehow kind of arrogant and that the United States, as they treat all the countries of the hemisphere as a — as a partner. And I — and with respect. And I’m just — I don’t see how you can do that when every single country in this hemisphere opposes your policy towards Cuba. Every single country in the world, with one exception, Israel, your new best friend over the Iran nuclear deal, is opposed to this policy.
If the Monroe Doctrine was arrogant, what is the policy towards Cuba?
MS. PSAKI: There’s a lot in that question, Matt. I don’t have anything new. Obviously if there was anything new to convey vis-a-vis our policy toward Cuba, the secretary would have conveyed it today in his speech. He was making the point that we need to work closely with the Western Hemisphere. Our partnership is important. We want to work in coordination and conjunction. And that was the point he was making in his speech.
Q: All right. But does the — does the abandonment of the Monroe Doctrine after 200 years imply that the United States is going to be more willing to listen to its partners in the hemisphere? And if does, why do you refuse to listen to them on this issue?
MS. PSAKI: Well, broadly speaking, Matt — and I hate to go down this pole here, but broadly speaking, we’re always happy to listen, and we hope other countries are happy to listen when we have thoughts as well. I doesn’t mean we agree with every country on every issue. By the nature of that, you wouldn’t;’t be able to, because many countries disagree, having nothing to do with the United States.
So the point is, we’re going to continue to work with the Western Hemisphere.
The relationship is important. He’s looking forward to traveling back to the region soon. Beyond that, I would caution anyone from making a larger analysis of what it meant.

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Iran

» This Iranian political cartoon nicely captures the country's view of nuclear talks ... - Iranian
18/11/13 02:26 from iran news - Google News
This Iranian political cartoon nicely captures the country's view of nuclear talks ... Iranian Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency ran a two-part political cartoon this week satirizing the latest round of nuclear talks between ...



This Iranian political cartoon nicely captures the country’s view of nuclear talks | washingtonpost


Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency ran a two-part political cartoon this week satirizing the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and global powers. The negotiations, in Geneva, did not result in a deal; some reporting suggests that French representatives had objected to the proposed agreement. Here's the cartoon:
Click to enlarge. (Fars News)
In case you don't know your foreign diplomats by sight, the left panel shows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gesturing to E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The joke is pretty clear: that the United States, under the guise of good-faith negotiations, is actually pushing Iran (and maybe the European Union) toward disaster. It's a reminder that, just as many in the United States are skeptical of Iran's intentions, so, too, are many Iranians skeptical of the Americans.
The panel on the right is a joke about France's reported objections to the proposed agreement. We're meant to understand that the table represents Iranian and Western negotiators and that the man holding the Eiffel Tower represents Saudi Arabia; the implication is that the nefarious Saudis used France to block the deal. (Iranians tend to be highly suspicious of Saudi Arabia, a regional rival, and Iranian state media have suggested that the Saudis bought France's veto with an arms deal.)
The cartoon offers an interesting lens onto one Iranian perspective of the ongoing talks -- and a reminder that Iranian-Western mistrust remains a significant obstacle on both sides.
Hanif Zarrabi-Kashani, of the Wilson Center, an independent analytical forum, tweeted that the cartoon "basically summarize[s] the majority of reactions inside Iran on the P5+1 talks in Geneva."
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» Geneva Talks Put Iran's Nuclear Program in the Spotlight: Q&A - Businessweek
18/11/13 01:19 from Top Stories - Google News
Sydney Morning Herald Geneva Talks Put Iran's Nuclear Program in the Spotlight: Q&A Businessweek Nuclear negotiations between world powers and Iran are scheduled to resume on Nov. 20 amid controversy about the merits of the prosp...

» Carter: Nuclear negotiations with Iran doomed from start - The News Journal
18/11/13 01:13 from iran news - Google News
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» Israel steps up rhetoric ahead of Iran talks - Financial Times
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The Guardian Israel steps up rhetoric ahead of Iran talks Financial Times Israel escalated its rhetoric over Iran's nuclear programme at the weekend, with a senior official warning it was prepared to launch a unilateral military stri...

» Liberation Newspaper Shooting: Man Critical
18/11/13 07:45 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
Officers keep watch at media offices across the French capital after a pump-action shotgun attack leaves a man critical.

» Shots fired at two Paris locations, journalist wounded
18/11/13 08:06 from Reuters: International
PARIS (Reuters) - Shots were fired at the offices of a left-wing French newspaper and outside the headquarters of a major bank in Paris on Monday and police said the same gunman appeared to have carried out both attacks.


» Shots fired at Libération and SocGen
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Shots fired at the offices of a leftwing French newspaper and outside the HQ of a major bank and Paris police say the same gunman appears to have carried out both attacks


» Shots fired near bank after attack on Paris newspaper
18/11/13 08:00 from Reuters: International
PARIS (Reuters) - A man fired shots outside the headquarters of French bank Societe Generale in the La Defense business district of western Paris on Monday, according to a spokeswoman for the bank who said there were no casualties.


» Kazan airport plane crash sparks investigation in Russia - video
18/11/13 07:45 from World news: World news + Video | guardian.co.uk
All 50 people on board a Boeing 737 plane died when it crashed at Kazan international airport in Tatarstan, officials say
» Russia seeks clues over plane crash that killed 50
18/11/13 07:34 from Reuters: International
KAZAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russian investigators sifted through the charred remains of a Boeing 737 airliner on Monday in the search for clues about what caused it to crash and burst into flames, killing 50 people, officials said on Monday.


» Boeing airliner crashes in Russian city of Kazan, 50 killed
18/11/13 07:06 from Reuters: International
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Boeing 737 airliner crashed on Sunday in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people on board and spotlighting the poor safety record of regional airlines that ply internal routes across the world's largest nation.


» Airliner Crashes While Landing in Russia
18/11/13 06:39 from WSJ.com: World News
A Russian passenger airliner crashed while trying to land at the airport in the city of Kazan, killing all 50 people aboard.


» Russia Plane Crash: Briton Among Dead
18/11/13 06:35 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
The British victim is named by her employer as one of 50 people killed during an aborted landing in western Russia.


Boeing takes $100 billion in orders from Gulf - Boston.com (Nov 17, 2013 13:49) 
Boeing takes $100 billion in orders from Gulf Boston.com DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (A...


» Syrian delegation holds talks in Moscow on peace conference
18/11/13 07:33 from Reuters: International
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Syrian government delegation met Russian officials on Monday to discuss plans for an international peace conference on the conflict in the Middle East nation.
» Syrian Rebel Leader Dies After Government Attack
18/11/13 07:41 from NYT > International
The death of Abdulkader al-Saleh, who led one of the most effective factions fighting President Bashasr al-Assad’s forces, comes amid a government offensive.


» Syrian rebel leader Abdul Qader Saleh dies of injuries sustained in airstrike
18/11/13 08:19 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post
BEIRUT - The leader of one of the most prominent rebel factions fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has died of wounds sustained in a government airstrike last week, rebels and activists said on Monday. Read full article &#...


» Bomb at Base Kills at Least 31 Syrian Troops
18/11/13 04:31 from NYT > International
The attack, one of the deadliest against government soldiers in recent months, came as an offensive against rebels continued on three fronts.


» Putin tells Iran's Rouhani he sees a chance to end nuclear row
18/11/13 07:19 from Reuters: International
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday he believes there is a "real chance" to resolve the international standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, the Kremlin said.


» Putin: 'Real Chance' to Resolve Iranian Nuclear Issues
18/11/13 08:07 from Voice of America
Russian President Vladimir Putin says there is a "real chance" to resolve the decade-long standoff over Iran's nuclear program.The Kremlin said Monday Mr. Putin delivered the statement in a telephone conversation with Iranian President H...

» Indonesia warns relations with Australia to worsen after spying leak
18/11/13 06:46 from Reuters: International
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia called back its envoy to Australia for consultations on Monday after media reported that Australia's spy agencies had tried to tap mobile phones of top officials, calling the eavesdropping an "unfriendly" ac...
» Indonesia Recalls its Ambassador to Australia
18/11/13 06:46 from Voice of America
Indonesia has recalled its ambassador to Australia after claims that Australian spy agencies tried to listen to the phone conversations of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.   Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Monday ...

» Revealed: Australia tried to monitor Indonesian president's phone - The Guardian
18/11/13 04:46 from world - Google News
The Guardian Revealed: Australia tried to monitor Indonesian president's phone The Guardian Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with his wife Kristiani Herawati Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, accompanied by his first lady, Kristiani Herawati, speaks...


» Australia 'spied on Indonesia President Yudhoyono' - BBC News
18/11/13 04:39 from Top Stories - Google News
BBC News Australia 'spied on Indonesia President Yudhoyono' BBC News Australia's intelligence agencies spied on phone calls of the Indonesian president and close confidantes, leaked documents reportedly show. President Susilo...
» Gunmen Kill Egyptian Security Official
18/11/13 06:44 from Voice of America
Gunmen have killed an Egyptian national security official who was in charge of monitoring the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. Officials say the gunmen shot Mohamed Mabruk seven times late Sunday outside his home in eastern Cairo. There was ...
» Gunmen Kill Egyptian Security Official
18/11/13 06:44 from Voice of America
Gunmen have killed an Egyptian national security official who was in charge of monitoring the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.Officials say the gunmen shot Mohamed Mabruk seven times late Sunday outside his home in eastern Cairo.There was no...
» Assailant opens fire at Paris newspaper HQ
18/11/13 06:40 from Reuters: International
PARIS (Reuters) - An assailant opened fire at the central Paris office of left-wing daily newspaper Liberation on Monday, seriously injuring one person before fleeing, a police official and staff at the newspaper said.

» Shots fired at two Paris locations, journalist wounded
18/11/13 08:06 from Reuters: International
PARIS (Reuters) - Shots were fired at the offices of a left-wing French newspaper and outside the headquarters of a major bank in Paris on Monday and police said the same gunman appeared to have carried out both attacks.


» Boeing, Airbus Reel In Persian Gulf Orders
18/11/13 04:44 from WSJ.com: World News
Boeing formally launched its 777X jetliner with record orders, as jet-buying commitments at the Dubai Airshow for Boeing and rival Airbus highlighted the growing ambition of Persian Gulf airlines.


» Toronto Mayor Rob Ford poses for photos whilst cheered at football match
18/11/13 04:28 from Uploads by ITN
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford poses for photos whilst cheered at football match Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who has admitted smoking crack cocaine, is cheered by football fans as he leaves the Argonauts game. Report by Sophie Foster. From: ITN View...


» Five addiction experts weigh in on how Rob Ford could be helped - The Globe and Mail
17/11/13 23:43 from Top Stories - Google News
Montreal Gazette Five addiction experts weigh in on how Rob Ford could be helped The Globe and Mail The outrageous Rob Ford drama that unfurled last week at Toronto City Hall has turned a spotlight on substance abuse and addiction treatm...


» Ford in 'campaign mode' as council looks to further diminish his authority - CTV News
17/11/13 23:32 from Top Stories - Google News
Toronto Star Ford in 'campaign mode' as council looks to further diminish his authority CTV News Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, seemingly chastened on Friday after a week of headline-grabbing scandal, appeared defiant and in g...


» Israel secretly holding suspected Qaeda man over three years
18/11/13 03:31 from Reuters: International
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has secretly detained a suspected al-Qaeda biological weapons expert for more than three years, court documents disclosed on Monday, after the man appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to free him.



Al-Qaeda biological weapons


  1. Al-Qaeda cell killed by Black Death 'was developing biological ...

    www.telegraph.co.uk › ... › Africa and Indian Ocean › Algeria

    Jan 20, 2009 - An al-Qaeda cell killed by the Black Death may have been developingbiological weapons when it was infected, it has been reported. 

Al-Qaeda cell killed by Black Death 'was developing biological weapons'

An al-Qaeda cell killed by the Black Death may have been developing biological weapons when it was infected, it has been reported.


The group of 40 terrorists were reported to have been killed by the plague at a training camp in Algeria earlier this month.
It was initially believed that they could have caught the disease through fleas on rats attracted by poor living conditions in their forest hideout.
But there are now claims the cell was developing the disease as a weapon to use against western cities.
Experts said that the group was developing chemical and biological weapons.
Dr Igor Khrupinov, a biological weapons expert at Georgia University, told The Sun: "Al-Qaeda is known to experiment with biological weapons. And this group has direct communication with other cells around the world.
"Contagious diseases, like ebola and anthrax, occur in northern Africa. It makes sense that people are trying to use them against Western governments."
Dr Khrupinov, who was once a weapons adviser to the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, added: "Instead of using bombs, people with infectious diseases could be walking through cities."
It was reported last year that up to 100 potential terrorists had attempted to become postgraduate students in Britain in an attempt to use laboratories.
Ian Kearns, from the Institute for Public Policy Research, told the newspaper: "The biological weapons threat is not going away. We're not ready for it."




























  1. Al Qaeda Weapons of Mass Destruction Threat: Hype or Reality ...

    belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu › ... › Academic Papers & Reports › Papers

    Notably, al Qaeda's efforts to acquire a nuclear and biological weapons capability were concentrated in the years preceding September 11, 2001. Based on the ...
Al-Qaeda biological weapons - GN


Al-Qaeda biological weapons - News Review


» Sectarian violence spreads in Pakistan after days of unrest
18/11/13 08:25 from Reuters: International
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Sectarian violence spread in Pakistan on Monday after clashes between minority Shi'ite and majority Sunni Muslims near the capital Islamabad prompted the government to impose a curfew and block mobi...


» Pakistan Ex-President Musharraf Will Be Put on Trial for Treason - TIME
18/11/13 01:54 from Top Stories - Google News
Telegraph.co.uk Pakistan Ex-President Musharraf Will Be Put on Trial for Treason TIME In this Monday, April 15, 2013 photo, Pakistan's former President and military ruler Pervez Musharraf arrives under tight security to address his p...


» Pakistan to try Pak Musharraf for treason - Hindustan Times
18/11/13 01:09 from Top Stories - Google News
The Guardian Pakistan to try Pak Musharraf for treason Hindustan Times Pakistan's government plans to put former President Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason for declaring a state of emergency and suspending the constitution while...


» Pervez Musharraf to be tried for high treason: Pakistan Interior Minister - Indian Express
17/11/13 23:38 from Top Stories - Google News
Indian Express Pervez Musharraf to be tried for high treason: Pakistan Interior Minister Indian Express Pakistan government today announced that it will move the court to try former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for high treason, punis...


» Nepal's revolutionary leader loses his appeal as nation limps to the polls
18/11/13 00:49 from Reuters: International
CHAPAGAUN, Nepal (Reuters) - - Widow Narayan Kumari Ghimire has lost faith in Nepal's powerful Maoists: the only reason they will get her vote in Tuesday's election is because her son died fighting for them during the insurrection that e...


» Man Behind Nazi Art Trove Refuses to Give Up Works
18/11/13 00:18 from WSJ.com: World News
The man from whom the German government confiscated 1,400 artworks, says he won't negotiate to return any art.


» Former President Wins Chilean Vote; Faces Runoff
17/11/13 23:58 from Voice of America
Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet won nearly twice as many votes as her closest rival in Chile's presidential election Sunday, but she fell short of the outright majority needed to avoid a December 15 runoff.The moderate sociali...


» Police arrest 2 teens in assault on 2 students from UK inside NYC train station - Daily Journal
17/11/13 23:51 from Top Stories - Google News
Police arrest 2 teens in assault on 2 students from UK inside NYC train station Daily Journal NEW YORK — Two teenagers have been arrested for assaulting two students from Great Britain inside a New York City train station. Port Authority...



» Nasa's Maven Mission To Mars Set For Launch
17/11/13 23:33 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
A new robotic explorer will blast off later to try to understand how Mars transformed from a watery world to a red, dusty planet.
» In Germany, legacy of Stasi puts different perspective on NSA spying
18/11/13 08:00 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post
BERLIN — German officials have been quick to ascribe the fury of their citizens over U.S. spying to their own history with the excesses of the surveillance state. But victims of the fearsome Communist East German secret police say: not s...

» Letter from Europe: Russian Oligarch Finds a New Vocation
18/11/13 07:59 from NYT > International
The ex-billionaire Aleksandr Y. Lebedev is now head of the newspaper Novaya Gazeta’s investigative unit, a convenient platform for his campaign against “dirty money.”


» Putin accused of Soviet tactics in drafting new history book
18/11/13 09:46 from Reuters: International
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A call by President Vladimir Putin for a new textbook that reconciles differences over Russia's past has left him facing accusations of copying Soviet leaders by rewriting history for political ends.


» A Deep-Water Diver From Brooklyn Dies After Trying for a Record - New York Times
17/11/13 23:28 from Top Stories - Google News
New York Times A Deep-Water Diver From Brooklyn Dies After Trying for a Record New York Times LONG ISLAND, Bahamas — As Nicholas Mevoli lay prone, floating in the azure sea, attempting to relax, his exhales were audible. The countdown ha...

» Egypt train and bus crash kills 20 outside Cairo - BBC News
17/11/13 23:27 from Top Stories - Google News
RT Egypt train and bus crash kills 20 outside Cairo BBC News At least 20 people have been killed as a train crashed into a mini-bus and other vehicles south of Egypt's capital Cairo, officials say. The train, travelling from the city...