http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-12-13-britain-sanctions-iran_N.htm Sanctions against Iran necessary, U.K. says LONDON (AP) - Sanctions against Iran are still necessary despite an assessment from U.S. intelligence claiming Tehran has abandoned its pursuit of nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday.
Brown, who has pushed for stronger sanctions to target Iran's oil and gas industries, said the Iranian regime has not offered a full explanation of why it is enriching uranium. The United States and allies have long claimed Iran's nuclear program is a cover for the development of nuclear weapons. Tehran insists it is seeking to generate electricity, but Brown said the regime had offered little proof. "If Iran is enriching uranium or seeking to do so, in a context where it has no real programs for civil nuclear power, there is a question mark over what motive ... and over the purpose of what the enrichment of uranium could, in a very short period of time, lead to," Brown told a parliamentary committee. "The world is right to insist by sanctions that Iran comes back into line," Brown said. His comments follow a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, released Dec. 3, which concluded Tehran suspended its nuclear weapons program four years ago and has shown no sign of resuming it. In a wide-ranging testimony session before the House of Commons liaison committee - made up of around 30 heads of lawmaker scrutiny committees - Brown urged Serbia to strike a deal on the future of Kosovo. He said Belgrade's aim of joining the EU could be dependent on accepting the right of Kosovo to win independence. Britain favors managed independence for Kosovo with guarantees on the rights of the ethnic Serb minority, he said. "I think that the long-term interests of Serbia really depends on it recognizing that that relationship with Europe is put at risk if we cannot get a solution to the Kosovan issues," Brown said, in his first appearance before the committee since replacing Tony Blair. The committee brings together lawmakers who lead each of Parliament's specialist scrutiny committees, panels which call witnesses and ministers to give testimony on government policy. The twice-yearly sessions with the liaison panel are historically tough, though Blair would famously appear before in his shirt sleeves, casually casting off his suit jacket as he arrived to face questions. In a famed session in 2004, with the prewar intelligence case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq collapsing, Blair was forced to concede to the committee that weapons of mass destruction may never be found in the country. Questions are not shown to the prime minister in advance. Brown, who appeared before the panel in a dark suit and vibrant blue tie, promised broad reforms of British public services, saying teaching and health care would become increasingly personalized. "The culture of the second best is not acceptable to me. It is a culture of excellence that we want to achieve," Brown said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
