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Nuclear Iran more dangerous than attacking Iran: Ehud Barak

Via PressTV

Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Ehud Barak has once again echoed his country’s concerns about dealing with a nuclear Iran, saying Tel Aviv may attack Tehran if sanctions fail to stop its nuclear energy program.

Speaking during a graduation ceremony at the ministry's National Security College on Wednesday, Barak said Israel might have to make "tough and crucial” decisions about its security, noting that the military option could be preferable to a nuclear-armed Iran.

The Israeli minister emphasized that diplomatic measures and economic sanctions imposed on Iran “are not enough to stop Iran's nuclear program."

Barak’s remarks came after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that the Iranian nation will not give in to Western pressures and that the US-engineered sanctions on Iran will only make Iranian officials more determined to defend the nation's rights.

“They explicitly say that by intensifying the pressure and the sanctions, they are seeking to force Iranian officials to reconsider their calculations. But in reality, we will not rethink our calculations, and we will continue to trod the path of the Iranian nation more resolutely,” the Leader stated.

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Iran with a military option in a bid to force the Islamic Republic to halt its nuclear energy program, which Washington and Tel Aviv claim has a military component.

Iran rejects the allegations of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Unlike Iran, Israel is a non-signatory to the NPT and continues to defy international calls to join the treaty.

Israel, which is widely believed to possess between 200 to 400 nuclear warheads, maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity over its nuclear work.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/07/26/252833/barak-renews-israel-threats-against-iran/

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Understanding Politics: Interests, Identities, and Institutions

There are three principles that are significant in understanding domestic and international politics. First, people are rational beings who purse their interests. Second, people are meaning-seeking beings who are defined by their identities. Third, people’s interests and identities are shaped by and pursued within institutions. Interests, identities, and institutions are all, in turn, shaped by the global context of development.

Interests

Politics is largely the pursuit of interest. Interests define the purpose of politics. But what is politics? The definition of politics is an ontological and epistemological question. Simply, politics is defined as who get what and how. People get involved in politics to get the things that they want from government and to ensure that the state enacts laws and policies that advance their interests and the interests of the state.

Individuals are rational beings, so are states. The involvement of people in politics is therefore the pursuit of their interests. States as rational actors are also largely driven by (national) interests. These interests as realists will posit, are defined in terms of security and state survival. The pursuit of security and state survival is in various forms. It could be in economy or military terms.

Identities

Politics is also about identities. Although evidence shows that people pursue common goals with shared interests, people also frequently define their interests based on certain sets of beliefs and values, and principles. This categorization is what is termed as identity.  People will pursue certain dictates based on their religious affiliations, cultural practices, political orientations, geographical settings, economic status, gender relations, sexual orientations etc. These categorizations are what constitute identity relations and interest articulations. Politics will be approach from the different identity suppositions based on collective classifications.

Institutions

The United Nations is an institution that governs states, the state is an institution that governs citizens and the family is the basic institutional framework. Institutions form a basic framework that interests are pursued. Similar identities also come together and form institutions that advance their interests. Apart from interest articulations, institutions also set up rules and regulations that govern tranquil human coexistence.

Politics can be thus summarized as subset of interests, identities and institutional engagement.       

  

  

Raila meets Drogba and Anelka in China

Raila Odinga with Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba in China

Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga meets Shanghai Shenua players Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka in China. The PM discussed among other things, soccer projects with the two players. Mr. Odinga understands that football is an integral nation building tool that can unite people of all walks of life. Drogba is also involved in a number of developmental projects in his country Ivory Coast.

Picture courtesy of Kenya Daily Post and Raila Odinga website.
http://raila-odinga.com

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