By GEORGE P. SHULTZ, WILLIAM J. PERRY, HENRY A. KISSINGER and SAM NUNN
January 4, 2007; Page A15

Nuclear weapons today present tremendous dangers, but also an historic opportunity. U.S. leadership will be required to take the world to the next stage -- to a solid consensus for reversing reliance on nuclear weapons globally as a vital contribution to preventing their proliferation into potentially dangerous hands, and ultimately ending them as a threat to the world.
Nuclear weapons were essential to maintaining international security during the Cold War because they were a means of deterrence. The end of the Cold War made the doctrine of mutual Soviet-American deterrence obsolete. Deterrence continues to be a relevant consideration for many states with regard to threats from other states. But reliance on nuclear weapons for this purpose is becoming increasingly hazardous and decreasingly effective.

North Korea's recent nuclear test and Iran's refusal to stop its program to enrich uranium -- potentially to weapons grade -- highlight the fact that the world is now on the precipice of a new and dangerous nuclear era. Most alarmingly, the likelihood that non-state terrorists will get their hands on nuclear weaponry is increasing. In today's war waged on world order by terrorists, nuclear weapons are the ultimate means of mass devastation. And non-state terrorist groups with nuclear weapons are conceptually outside the bounds of a deterrent strategy and present difficult new security challenges.
Apart from the terrorist threat, unless urgent new actions are taken, the U.S. soon will be compelled to enter a new nuclear era that will be more precarious, psychologically disorienting, and economically even more costly than was Cold War deterrence. It is far from certain that we can successfully replicate the old Soviet-American "mutually assured destruction" with an increasing number of potential nuclear enemies world-wide without dramatically increasing the risk that nuclear weapons will be used. New nuclear states do not have the benefit of years of step-by-step safeguards put in effect during the Cold War to prevent nuclear accidents, misjudgments or unauthorized launches. The United States and the Soviet Union learned from mistakes that were less than fatal. Both countries were diligent to ensure that no nuclear weapon was used during the Cold War by design or by accident. Will new nuclear nations and the world be as fortunate in the next 50 years as we were during the Cold War?
* * *
Leaders addressed this issue in earlier times. In his "Atoms for Peace" address to the United Nations in 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower pledged America's "determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma -- to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life." John F. Kennedy, seeking to break the logjam on nuclear disarmament, said, "The world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution."
Rajiv Gandhi, addressing the U.N. General Assembly on June 9, 1988, appealed, "Nuclear war will not mean the death of a hundred million people. Or even a thousand million. It will mean the extinction of four thousand million: the end of life as we know it on our planet earth. We come to the United Nations to seek your support. We seek your support to put a stop to this madness."
Ronald Reagan called for the abolishment of "all nuclear weapons," which he considered to be "totally irrational, totally inhumane, good for nothing but killing, possibly destructive of life on earth and civilization. " Mikhail Gorbachev shared this vision, which had also been expressed by previous American presidents.
Although Reagan and Mr. Gorbachev failed at Reykjavik to achieve the goal of an agreement to get rid of all nuclear weapons, they did succeed in turning the arms race on its head. They initiated steps leading to significant reductions in deployed long- and intermediate- range nuclear forces, including the elimination of an entire class of threatening missiles.
What will it take to rekindle the vision shared by Reagan and Mr. Gorbachev? Can a world-wide consensus be forged that defines a series of practical steps leading to major reductions in the nuclear danger? There is an urgent need to address the challenge posed by these two questions.
The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) envisioned the end of all nuclear weapons. It provides (a) that states that did not possess nuclear weapons as of 1967 agree not to obtain them, and (b) that states that do possess them agree to divest themselves of these weapons over time. Every president of both parties since Richard Nixon has reaffirmed these treaty obligations, but non-nuclear weapon states have grown increasingly skeptical of the sincerity of the nuclear powers.
Strong non-proliferation efforts are under way. The Cooperative Threat Reduction program, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, the Proliferation Security Initiative and the Additional Protocols are innovative approaches that provide powerful new tools for detecting activities that violate the NPT and endanger world security. They deserve full implementation. The negotiations on proliferation of nuclear weapons by North Korea and Iran, involving all the permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany and Japan, are crucially important. They must be energetically pursued.
But by themselves, none of these steps are adequate to the danger. Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev aspired to accomplish more at their meeting in Reykjavik 20 years ago -- the elimination of nuclear weapons altogether. Their vision shocked experts in the doctrine of nuclear deterrence, but galvanized the hopes of people around the world. The leaders of the two countries with the largest arsenals of nuclear weapons discussed the abolition of their most powerful weapons.
* * *
What should be done? Can the promise of the NPT and the possibilities envisioned at Reykjavik be brought to fruition? We believe that a major effort should be launched by the United States to produce a positive answer through concrete stages.
First and foremost is intensive work with leaders of the countries in possession of nuclear weapons to turn the goal of a world without nuclear weapons into a joint enterprise. Such a joint enterprise, by involving changes in the disposition of the states possessing nuclear weapons, would lend additional weight to efforts already under way to avoid the emergence of a nuclear-armed North Korea and Iran.
The program on which agreements should be sought would constitute a series of agreed and urgent steps that would lay the groundwork for a world free of the nuclear threat. Steps would include:
• Changing the Cold War posture of deployed nuclear weapons to increase warning time and thereby reduce the danger of an accidental or unauthorized use of a nuclear weapon.

• Continuing to reduce substantially the size of nuclear forces in all states that possess them.

• Eliminating short-range nuclear weapons designed to be forward-deployed.

• Initiating a bipartisan process with the Senate, including understandings to increase confidence and provide for periodic review, to achieve ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, taking advantage of recent technical advances, and working to secure ratification by other key states.

• Providing the highest possible standards of security for all stocks of weapons, weapons-usable plutonium, and highly enriched uranium everywhere in the world.

• Getting control of the uranium enrichment process, combined with the guarantee that uranium for nuclear power reactors could be obtained at a reasonable price, first from the Nuclear Suppliers Group and then from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or other controlled international reserves. It will also be necessary to deal with proliferation issues presented by spent fuel from reactors producing electricity.

• Halting the production of fissile material for weapons globally; phasing out the use of highly enriched uranium in civil commerce and removing weapons-usable uranium from research facilities around the world and rendering the materials safe.

• Redoubling our efforts to resolve regional confrontations and conflicts that give rise to new nuclear powers.

Achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons will also require effective measures to impede or counter any nuclear-related conduct that is potentially threatening to the security of any state or peoples.
Reassertion of the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and practical measures toward achieving that goal would be, and would be perceived as, a bold initiative consistent with America's moral heritage. The effort could have a profoundly positive impact on the security of future generations. Without the bold vision, the actions will not be perceived as fair or urgent. Without the actions, the vision will not be perceived as realistic or possible.
We endorse setting the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and working energetically on the actions required to achieve that goal, beginning with the measures outlined above.

Why the Holy Quran was Revealed over 23 Years



It is important to note that if the Qur'an had been revealed all at once, people would ask, "Why was it sent down all at once and not in stages?" The ultimate answer to such questions lies with Allah, the All-Wise and All Knowing. Our decisions are based on a very limited viewpoint, as we are limited creatures.



The Divine decree, on the other hand, considers everything our moral and spiritual well-being, worldly happiness, and both the present and future and weaves the whole into a single pattern that is coherent with grace and wisdom. Thus, the benefit we derive from the Divine commandments is immeasurable, and the blessing that flows from obeying them is beyond our imagination. And so it is with the method that Allah chose to reveal the Quran.



The Revelation began when it was time for humanity to reach maturity. The Prophet's (PBUH) mission and that of his community was to become the most complete, progressive, and dynamic exemplars for humanity, and to achieve such a level of advancement that they would be the masters and guides for all subsequent people.



But these reformers first had to be performed. Their qualities and characters had been conditioned by the surrounding non-Islamic environment, where their ancestors had been living for centuries. Islam was to turn their good qualities into qualities of unsurpassed excellence and to purge their bad qualities and habits in such a way that they would never reappear.



If the Quran had been revealed all at once, how would they have reacted to its prohibitions and commandments? Certainly they would have been unable to understand, let alone accept and apply them in the ideal manner. This lack of gradualism would have been self-defeating, as proven by history. Wherever Islam was taken, it spread gradually but steadily, and so became firmly established.



We see people all around us who can not free themselves from their bad habits and addictions. If you confined such people, even if you convinced them to abandon their habits for their own benefit, they would not be happy with you. On the contrary, they would feel angry, bored, and irritated. They would complain and try to escape from your program of reform so that they could revert to their habits as soon as possible. All the arguments and documented evidence put forth by specialists and experts would not persuade them to change. Even those who are cured occasionally suffer a relapse. Indeed, some of those who campaign against harmful habits, such as smoking and consuming alcohol, still indulge in them!.



Remember that the Quran came to change not one or two habits; it came to change everything ways of living and dying, marrying, buying and selling, settling disputes, and how to perceive ones relation with the Creator, and more. Given the scope of the change envisioned, we can begin to grasp why it was revealed in stages.



The gradual revelation of the Quran prepared the people to accept and then live the virtues, excellent manners, and lofty aspirations it demanded. That so much was achieved in only 23 years is a miracle. As Said Nursi said, I wonder if the scholars of today were to go to the Arabian Pennisula, could they accomplish in 100 years even one percent of what the Prophet accomplished in one year?

"We Have to Repent in this Generation, Not So Much for the Evil Deeds of the Wicked People But for the Appalling Silence of the Good People" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
10 Top Idiots of the Year 2006

Imam Badi Ali of Greensboro, North Carolina says that 2006 was the year of the IDIOT. New Trend defines an idiot politically as a person who does not know that he/she is being used, is ego oriented and forcefully carries out a hidden political agenda, thus falling prey to the actual forces at work in the political arena.
New Trend has come up with the following IDIOTS of the year 2006 after consulting and searching far and wide for people who would fit into our definition of the IDIOT. Here are the top 10:

1. Mahmoud Abbas [Abu Mazen] the President of the Palestinian Authority who is a toy in the hands of the Israelis and his western backers. He started thinking that he is really the President of Palestine!

2. King Abdallah of Jordan. He plays America's game without realizing that for America he is no more than a playboy who fulfils the current agenda of the imperialist powers. Poor fellow! He sometimes starts believing that he, really, is the King and a Hashemite to boot!

3. General Musharraf, "President" of Pakistan: He struts and frets on the Pakistani stage, selling his country's secrets, his religion, his army, his people, and all who trusted him. America keeps "upping the ante:" Bomb this village, arrest that Muslim, kill so-and-so [Bugti for instance], torture the Muslim who came from UK. Musharraf jumps and obeys. Perhaps somewhere in the back of his mind he realizes that he is being used: When America has had enough of him, he will be thrown out like a rat!

4. Hosni Mubarak, the tyrant of Egypt. Hosni has built barricades of human bodies around himself: those his secret police has killed, those his expert torturers have broken and maimed, those who fill his prisons on suspicion of being "Islamic fundamentalists. " He wants to forget that his existence is based on the billion dollar annual bonus his boss in the White House gives him. Hosni starts pretending that he in fact is the Pharoah and has the power of life and death. He wants to to pretend that the CIA, FBI and Mossad agents protecting him are not there and that he is an independent ruler!

5. Karzai, the ruler of Kabul. This one is really pathetic. The Americans built him up as the 'democratic" ruler of "democratic" Afghanistan. He was so pumped up that he forgot not only Islam but the traditions and honor of the Pushtun people. He puts on his fancy dress and comes to Washington and Ottawa to be cheered by the White Master. The Taliban are waiting to string him up.

6. Britain's Blair, Bush's "boyfriend" [some call him] or " Bush's poodle" as his own people call him. He lives in a fantasy world where he thinks he can make Muslims fight each other [in the name of fighting "extremists" ]. A dupe of the Zionists, he thinks he can fool Palestinians into recognition of "Israel.'

7. Amre Moussa, the clown of Egypt. He helped Hosni crush Gamaa al-Islamiyya, sent his troops into mosques and homes and undermined Egypt's Islamic will. He has been promoted to be in charge of the Arab League, where he sits around talking at length about the future of the Arab nations. Little does he realize that he is no more than a pawn of the western powers.

8. "Imam" W.D. Muhammad represents America on this list. The White House used him to neutralize African-American Muslims and to put them into the service of U.S. plans to generate an "American Islam." The community could not be mobilized to free Imam Jamil al-Amin and to confront Zionist tyranny owing to his foolishness. W.D.'s followers became a little cult which claimed that their leader was the "man of the Millenium. The "imam" is proud of his connection to the State department which has been sending out W.D.-types all over the Muslim world to teach the toothless new "American Islam" thought out by the Rand Corporation.

9. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the UN. It took him 8 years to realize that he was not important and had been used by the western powers. [His Jewish-Swedish wife was his ticket to promotion.] Only at the very end, he started uncovering the role his masters played in Iraq and want to carry on in Iran. It was too late. He looked foolish.

10. Donald Rumsfeld, America's warlord and attack dog in Iraq, had delusions of grandeur. He thought he would set up a new system in Iraq where U.S. military might would be decisive in all matters. He called the resistance "dead enders" and "ba'athist leftovers." Only too late, he found that an uprising of the people of Iraq was taking place led by revolutionary Islamic forces. As thousands of martyrdom operators ["suiciders" ] week after week and month after month slammed into U.S. armored columns and recruiting centers of Iraqi collaborators, "Rummy's" dreams went up in smoke. Too late, he realized that his ego had blinded him. The real agents behind the Iraq war, the Zionist Jews like Wolfowitz, Perle, Feith, Lieberman, Kristol, Krauthammer, Kissinger, prospered, and some were even promoted. "Rummy" was dumped