No country in the world posses a greater threat to global stability than Iran. Their nuclear program has lead to intense sanctions on the country with many still considering the military option. Recent developments especially show how fragile the situation really is.

Iran’s Nuclear Ambition

Senior UN nuclear officials have been conducting talks in Tehran over the last several days. Their goal was to have Iran discuss the West’s growing suspicions that Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran wasted the final day of talks.

According to one Vienna-based diplomat briefed on the discussions, it contained a procedural “new work plan” at odds with the nature of the discussions until then, in which the U.N. experts had tried to focus on concrete steps required by Iran.

In the view of Western officials, the Iranian move was further proof of the kind of stalling tactics Tehran has often used during the decade-long dispute over its nuclear program.

“It is delay. It is talks about talks,” a senior Western envoy said about the Iranian negotiating strategy.

Reuters then reported today that Iran is increasing work in one of their most secure nuclear sites.

(Reuters) – Iran is believed to be expanding uranium enrichment activity deep inside a mountain, diplomatic sources said Monday, a move likely to add to tension with Western powers that suspect Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

The move to increase sensitive nuclear work at the Fordow underground site near the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Qom, even if expected, underlines the Islamic state’s defiance in the face of intensifying Western pressure to curb such activity.

Sanctions Heightened

Iran has been actively enriching nuclear material for several years despite objections from Western nations. Fears of a nuclear Iran fueled sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. Just today, President Obama signed an executive order further restricting Iran’s access to it’s assets.

The White House announced Monday it was freezing all property owned in the U.S. by Iran or the Central Bank of Iran. President Barack Obama, in an executive order signed Sunday, said the Central Bank of Iran was concealing transactions of sanctioned parties and that Iran was not making progress in halting money laundering.
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The U.S. is already implementing sanctions that aim to cut off Iranian oil exports, a major source of revenue for Iran’s government. Top U.S. officials recently met with Japanese and Chinese leaders, who are being asked to cut off Iranian crude oil imports.

The European Union also approved an embargo on Iranian oil that goes into effect in July. Collective efforts to block Iran oil shipments have forced Asian and European countries to look for alternative supplies from Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers.

The US and EU hopes that regime change is the the end result of sanctions being place on Iran. There is hope of Iranian citizens rising up much like the Twitter revolution of a couple of years ago and replacing the current government with one more friendly to the West. Sanctions along with the diplomatic weight currently being applied to Iran is the ideal path for President Obama.

Israel is right to be concerned about Iran’s push to join the league of nations that possess nuclear weapons, but diplomacy – not military intervention – remains the “preferred solution” to averting a potential arms race in the Middle East, President Barack Obama said Sunday [5 February].

During a live interview with TODAY’s Matt Lauer, the president left the military option open if there’s evidence that economic sanctions and diplomatic efforts fail to convince the Iranian regime to give up its nuclear ambitions and threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic gateway to the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

Military Option

President Obama isn’t the only one still leaving open a military option. A near majority of respondents to a poll conducted by The Hill would also consider military action.

Nearly half of likely voters think the United States should be willing to use military force to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to this week’s The Hill Poll.

Forty-nine percent said military force should be used, while 31 percent said it should not and 20 percent were not sure.

Americans aren’t the only ones that would like to keep a military strike a possibility. A high ranking member of the Israeli intelligence community does as well.

Amos Yadlin, the recently retired chief of of Israeli military intelligence, told CNN’s David McKenzie today that while newly announced sanctions against Iran were certainly welcome, the option of using force against the country’s nuclear program should not be taken off the table.
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“All strategies all options should be on the table simultaneously,” Yadlin said.

LtGen Gabi Ashkenazi (ret), former IDF chief of staff, feels the same.

“In comparison to 10 years ago, the possibility of a conflict is not something that we just need to talk about. We also need to prepare for it,” Ashkenazi said at a conference in Tel Aviv.

Calling for a strategy that combines “everything that can be done under the radar” – likely a reference to covert action – with “painful and crippling sanctions,” Ashkenazi also said that Israel needed to create a military option and declare its readiness to use it.

However, other members of the Israeli government have said to stop suggesting a military strike as an option.

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned his officials to stop “blabbing” about the possibility of an attack targeting Iran’s nuclear program, the newspaper Maariv reported on Monday.

Netanyahu is said to have directed the instruction at a number of military officials and government ministers who he believes have been speaking too freely about a potential Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

A military strike is also opposed in other parts of the Middle East.

Reuters reports that in a speech to the Munich Security Conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a gathering of security officials and diplomats: “A military option will create a disaster in our region. So before that disaster, everybody must be serious in negotiations. We hope soon both sides will meet again but this time there will be a complete result.”

Iran’s military and intelligence community are no doubt working overtime to plan for and prevent any possible attack or invasion. Their military recently concluded exercises aimed at combating an invasion.

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the ground forces in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, said commando teams and aerial combat squads successfully defended against “the hypothetical enemies’ armored and mechanized columns,” Iran’s state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

What does the future hold?

To say that future relations between Iran and the West are anything short of fragile would be a gross understatement. The world hasn’t been so on edge concerning the possibility of a nuclear attack since India and Pakistan entered into an arms race. Iranian leadership has expressed their desire to wipe Israel off the map numerous times in the past. They have assured the world that their nuclear program is one of peaceful energy production, but those assurances have been tempered by past rhetoric.

I predict the next twelve months to be the key time in the sanctions and negotiations process between the West and Iran. If Iran does not slow it’s nuclear material enrichment and make full disclosure to nuclear watchdogs there may very well be a military strike by Israel, the US, and/or members of the EU.

Many people over the last 10 years the nation has been at war have made a decision to support service members and veterans by riding bicycles and motorcyles, hiking, or driving across the nation. A new project has begun as three gentlemen start to plan the Long Road Home from Seattle to Washington, DC.

In December 2011, the War in Iraq officially ended, meaning that record numbers of US soldiers are now returning stateside. As they transition to civilian life, many soldiers face significant challenges.

The Long Road Home Project was founded to help our troops overcome some of their obstacles as they return home.

Starting in Seattle in July 2012 and ending in our nation’s capital about four months later, three veterans will go on a life changing, cross-country bicycle ride. During their inspirational journey, a small film crew will document the healing power long-distance cycling has on the human spirit.

Along the way, we will meet, stay, and speak with hundreds of other veterans, shedding light on the question:

What can we do as a nation to help our troops as they come home?

They are searching for veterans for the project and other financial and logistics support. Check their site if you’re interested in participating or if you can provide other support.

Stars and Stripes reports that Army Knowledge Online (AKO) is recommending that users monitor their credit card statements and change online passwords, especially if they used their Stratfor password with other accounts. Hackers recently published hundreds of thousands of registered email addresses and Stratfor usernames online, along with thousands of credit card numbers. If users find fraudulent activity on their credit cards, AKO recommended contacting one of the three main credit bureaus and submitting a fraud alert.  Stratfor is providing 12 months of identity theft coverage to all of its paid customers.  For more tips on avoiding financial and computer scams, visit: http://mnstr.me/A2m9Bk

The VFW is sponsoring free calls for troops overseas back home. Details were posted as a Facebook event.

VFW salutes the Armed Forces with an Operation Uplink Free Call Day! Troops and hospitalized veterans in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait can call the U.S. for free for a full 24 hours on Sunday January 22, 2012.

The Free Call Day will begin at 12:01AM on January 22, and end at 11:59PM January 22 (EST).

Free Call Days are offered at more than 800 MWR internet cafes using SPAWAR located at various military installations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

To place a call:
Use regular dialing procedures using your SPAWAR prepaid PIN number. If you do not have a PIN, you can obtain one from the café manager. Upon dialing, you will hear a sponsor announcement informing you that your call is free of charge.

Take advantage of this Free Call Day and call your loved ones in the Unites States!

Feedback is welcomed and encouraged!
uplink@vfw.org

Don’t worry if operational commitments would prevent your loved one from calling home tomorrow for free. The VFW and others are sponsoring additional dates, two a month in fact, for the rest of the year! Let your deployed loved one know so they can get in line early!

Noah Currier served on the front lines of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and returned home safe and sound. He never expected to be confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life, but that is exactly what happen after he was in an accident 3 days after returning from Iraq. Now he and three other disabled veterans are on a mission to bring the best all-American made military apparel to your closet. They are Oscar Mike.

They have a goal to raise $20,000 to grow their product line, offer better service, and ultimately hire additional veterans. They’re raising money on Kickstarter and have raised $6,928 of their goal. That’s just over a third of the way, but they only have six days to raise the remaining $13,072. Check out their video from Kickstarter and then pledge to support their project. Pledges of $25 or more will receive some special stuff from the guys which you can see on their project page. If you like what these guys are doing, show them some support.

You Served contributor and You Served Radio host Troy Steward will be appearing via telephone on BBC’s World Have Your Say today at 1 PM EST to discuss the video that has recently surfaced of US Marines purportedly urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. He will be joined by John Lilyea of This Ain’t Hell and a few others. This is sure to be a great segment.

Troy has already given a brief snippet of his thoughts on the situation and you can listen to that after the break. He has also posted his reaction on his personal blog.

It is with great sadness that I post the obituary of Jim “Seamus” Garrahy. He was a Marine’s Marine and never lost the spirit of Semper Fidelis, even after spending many days and nights fighting bone cancer. I remember reading one of his longer “All Hands” emails that he wrote (he didn’t write many long entries of his own since he wasn’t what we would call tech inclined) about possibly ending All Hands. At the end of the email, he fired off a “One more thing!” like Steve Jobs would have at an Apple keynote and announced he had cancer. It seemed to be such an after thought because he knew that the disease would not take him without a fight. His motivation to beat cancer was very easy to see. Two days later, he wrote the following.

All Hands:

I am completely overwhelmed and sincerely grateful for all the prayers and good wishes I have received since my last All Hands note about some combat with bone cancer that I am soon to be engaged in. The number of e-mails from you is in the thousands. With all of your prayers and good wishes, there is no way I will not win this fight. Lock and Load!

Also, I did not know that one guy could have so many friends, that I do know and do not know, in the Marine Corps and out, that have written to call me a friend. There is nothing more important to me then your friendship, and I thank you from my heart and soul. I am the luckiest Corporal in the Marine Corps.

Also, is no way I can let the All Hands go away now. The All Hands live on!

Thank You All,
Seamus

We have all lost a dear friend and you will be missed. Semper Fi, Corporal!

Seamus Garrahy, center, poses for a photo with Congressman Todd Platts (R-PA19), left, and General James Amos, 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps. (Darryl Wheeler/Gettysburg Times)

James L. “Seamus” Garrahy, 70, 30 Plank Road, Gettysburg, PA died Monday, January 9, 2012 at his home.

He was born June 29, 1941 in Chicago, IL the son of the late John R. and Marie Lydon Garrahy. He is survived by his wife Linda Bell.

Jim was a veteran of the US Marine Corps and remained active in Marine affairs for the rest of his life. Through the years he has hosted thousands of active and retired veterans at his home in what had become known as “Steaks and Beers”. Seamus has also for the last five years hosted the finish line and post race event for the “Face of America – Wounded Warriors Bike Ride”.

Jim owned and operated “Jim Garrahy’s Fudge Kitchen”. What started as a single store on Baltimore Street grew over the years into 78 different locations in the United States, England and Scotland. Headquartered in Gettysburg the company was sold in 2009.

Seamus lived a full life filled with adventures, friendships and fun. For a year he served as a crew mate aboard the HMS Bounty tall ship sailing the Atlantic. He founded a singing group known as the “Sault Antlers Men’s Choir” singing Irish drinking songs. They recorded an album and later were a fixture in the area every St. Patrick’s Day.

In addition to his wife he is survived by two step-children; Jessica Sparaco and her husband Gerard of Arizona, Joshua Rutan of Ohio, two step grandchildren; Haley Rutan, Avery Rutan, a sister, Nancy Crawford of Chicago, IL, a brother, John R. “Jack” Garrahy, Jr. of Chicago, IL and a number of nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Service and celebration of Seamus life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, Oceanside, CA 92057 or the Adams County SPCA, 11 Goldenville Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325. Online obituary and condolences available at monahanfuneralhom.com. The Monahan Funeral Home in Gettysburg are in charge of the arrangements.

Our sponsor, Veterans United Home Loans (formerly VAMC), has not had a full time employee that spent a majority of their time on the blog and radio show. I’m thrilled to announce that has changed.

I started work this morning at VU and will be managing the You Served brand. I’m going to call this change the More, More, More campaign. Here is what that will entail.

More: Posts written by me!
More: Tweets that aren’t autoposts of blog entries!
More: Facebook posts that aren’t autoposts of blog entries!

I can’t express how excited I am for my own future and the future of You Served. With your help, we can take an already great blog and radio show and crank the volume level to 11 (which is louder than 10 in case you didn’t know).

Please feel free to leave a comment here if you have any ideas or suggestions. I would love to hear what you the audience would like to see come from You Served.

The good people over at War on Terror News have a post up about the deadlines for the people who say their health was affected by the dust and debris of the World Trade Center collapse. If you are one of these people head over to http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2011/12/-911-survivors-approach-important-january-2-deadline.html and check it out.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is pleased to offer a “Welcome Home” to members of the U.S. Armed Forces returning from war in Iraq, and pledges that when completed, The Education Center at The Wall will honor the men and women who have served in all wars and are part of America’s legacy of service. VVMF and its founders emphasize that the planned Education Center will include and honor those who bore the burden of service in Iraq and who are currently fighting in Afghanistan.

“Veterans of the Iraq war are men and women who served with pride and bravery,” says VVMF President and Founder, Jan C. Scruggs. “Much like the heroes who served in Vietnam, they have done their best for their country, for each other and for the people of Iraq. They will be rightly honored at the Education Center.”

As the war has now ended in Iraq, plans are already underway for a fitting tribute. “This process will take considerable time and deliberation. However, the sacrifices made by veterans of the war in Iraq and other wars, like Afghanistan, must be honored now,” Scruggs said.

The Education Center at The Wall is designed to be a place for us all to reflect about who we are as citizens, as a people, as a country. Future generations will connect with those individuals who died for their country, ensuring that military heroes’ sacrifices will always be treasured… and that their names will never be forgotten. As currently planned, visits will begin with a walk through a history of America’s conflicts, from Bunker Hill to Baghdad. The price of freedom will be honored in the Education Center and patriotism will be shown to be timeless.

Scruggs adds that he has met with key Members of Congress, and assures that there is broad support for honoring the more recent veterans. He continues, ”But until then, their sacrifices will be remembered at the Education Center.”