$100 million bonus to Nabors boss for stepping aside

FeulFix, Tom Fowler, October 28, 2011

SEE ALSO:

• Nabors CEO Eugene Isenberg steps down; COO Anthony Petrello takes helm
• Tiller stepping down as Abound Solar CEO
• Asia’s Buffett Bonus For Energy, Mining
• Lundin boss joins fat cat ranks
• Former Chinese coal boss gets life in jail for graft

For most of us, taking on a job with less responsibilities might mean a pay cut. For Eugene Isenberg, the outgoing CEO of Nabors Industries, it means a bonus. A really big bonus.

 Eugene Isenberg, the outgoing
CEO of Nabors Industries

Isenberg will be given a $100 million cash payment as he drops the CEO title but remains chairman of the board.

As we noted earlier, the company said Chief Operating Officer Anthony Petrello will take the CEO post, a move that has long been expected because Petrello was considered the hand-picked successor to the 81-year-old Isenberg almost since the first day he was hired 20 years ago.

The drilling and oil field services company said in a filing with the SEC Friday night it will take a $100 million contingency liability in the fourth quarter related to the payment to Isenberg.

The filing makes reference to pay information on pages 29-31 of Nabors’ most recent proxy statement, where a table seems to indicate Isenberg also would realize another $10.1 million in stock options and $16 million in stock shares. Those values, however, are based on the difference between the company’s $23.46 closing stock price on December 31, 2010 and the exercise price of previously granted yet unvested options and shares.

Isenberg and Petrello have consistently ranked high on the Chronicle’s annual pay survey, with Isenberg taking the No. 1 spot three times since 2006.

But just to put the $100 million cash payment in perspective, that’s almost the same as the complete pay packages of the top 5 executives on the 2011 Chron 100 survey.

It’s also more than the $72 million in net income the company reported for the third quarter of this year.

Put as an hourly wage for a working stiff on a 9 to 5  job, that’s something like $48,000 per hour.

But as we noted back in 2007, Isenberg has been in line before for even larger payouts in the past for just leaving the company. Back then the company could have owed him up to $525 million just for walking away.

Apparently Isenberg doesn’t think $100 million is all that much. According to a transcript of a conference call this week with analysts, Isenberg discussed the impact of Nabors retiring 84 rigs and 60 trucks, plus another 13 rigs from Nabors International.

“The impact of all these is about $100 million of write-downs,” Isenberg said. “Which I suggest, again, we ignore.”

Related Article:

Goldman CEO awarded $14.12 million compensation for 2010

Occupy the Boardroom: protesters get message to inboxes of CEOs

New website run in conjunction with Occupy Wall Street allows users to directly message heads of major corporations

guardian.co.uk, Karen McVeigh, Friday 28 October 2011

Occupy Wall Street protesters plan to hand-deliver messages written to
CEOs of major corporations. Photograph: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Thousands of Americans who were badly hit by the recession have been able to directly message the most powerful figures in the country's top financial institutions via a new website set up as part of the Occupy movement.

So far, almost 7000 people have sent messages via OccupytheBoardroom.org directly into the inboxes of figures like Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup and Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase.

To make sure the executives can't just ignore the emails, activists from Occupy WallStreet plan to print them off and hand-deliver them in a march on Friday.

Those who have sent messages include foreclosure victims, students unable to pay off loans, and ordinary hard working people affected by the recession and then by debts called in by banks.

Some are heartbreaking, many are angry, and a few rely on sarcasm to get their point across. In one message, a Marine Corp veteran who has served in the Middle East described to Joe L Price, a Bank of America executive, how he got into debt because his son had a lengthy spell in hospital, and how he can't afford the mounting fees.

He writes: "You may think that this is ok but it is not ok... as a patriot of the original founding fathers beliefs, you are unpatriotic and I was willing to lay my life down for people such as yourself. Tell me, what sacrifice are you willing to make for me?"

Another, written to John G Stumpf, chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo, under the heading "Congratulations Mr Stumf", reads: "I work two jobs (retail and freelance) to keep up with my student loan payments ($700/mo), mortgage ($1100/mo), utilities, insurance, credit, and two car payments ($1500/mo). I have so many payments, sometimes my account gets really low, and I like to pretend its a game to see if my paycheck will clear in time before the payment goes through! Its very exciting, and when I lose, YOU WIN! $30 each time!

The site is a collaboration between Occupy Wall Street, New York Communities for Change and a coalition of community and labour groups. It has posted 200 names of CEOs and board members of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, with links allowing messages to be sent directly to their inboxes.

Olivier Leirer, of New York Communities for Change, said the idea was aimed at giving ordinary people a chance to tell their stories and have their voices heard.

"The letters touched on four key issues, foreclosure, unemployment, anger at rising fees and corruption and collusion between Wall Street executives and our elected officials" said Leirer, who helped set it up.

They had originally intended to publish the emails and other contact details of all the board members and executives, but learned that they could be prosecuted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act if their actions unwittingly crashed the email servers of the banks.

"It could be punishable by time in jail and we decided it wasn't a good way to go about things" she said.

Instead of sending out thousands of emails, with the potential risk, OTB devised a system where individuals write into a group blog, which is then tagged and sent in batches of 99 emails to the intended recipient.

Leirer said that they are able to discern if the emails are being opened and, so far, around 20% of them are.

"We know that they are not being sent directly to trash. But even if they are, we are printing off the letters and delivering them directly."

The site also urges readers to choose a "Best Friend Forever " among the "1 per cent". By clicking on their name, they are encouraged to find out more about them and even meet them. It stresses, however, that they should not be harassed.

The site, which has been running for two weeks, has not gone unnoticed by the institutions it has targeted.

A memo from Fay Feeney, a consultant and member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, described how corporations should prepare to combat the Occupation movement.

In the memo, leaked to the Occupy Washington and first published by website October2011.org, Feeney warns "corporate counsels, CEOs and board rooms" about OccupytheBoardroom.

She said: "As the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters are hitting the streets worldwide, another movement is quietly unfolding online; OccupyThe Boardroom"

"Users can access a list of CEOs and share their stories regarding bankruptcy, job losses, and unfair treatment. According to OTB (which claims it has the contact information for al members listed) prizes will be awarded to the best funnniest and most revelatory interactions."

She warns: "Board members and corporate counsels prepare themselves for a bumpy ride by future-proofing their companies."

"Protests can spin out of control, with real time data processing from Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites."

Among the steps taken to protect themselves is to use social networks to gather intelligence so "board chairs and CEOs should always remain one step ahead in protecting their boardroom."

When contacted by the Guardian, Feeney said in an email: "This guidance was for directors to listen to stakeholders and take action to make the board responsive to the voices - whether internal or external... My counsel is aimed at improved governance and enlightening the boardroom."

Related Article:

Directors' pay rose 50% in past year, says IDS report

Ex-Goldman director Gupta arrested in Galleon case

Reuters, NEW YORK, Wed Oct 26, 2011

A Goldman Sachs sign is seen over their kiosk on the floor of the

New York Stock Exchange, April 26, 2010. (Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

Related News

• Rajaratnam says U.S. pushed to turn on friend: report - Mon, Oct 24 2011
• Commodity traders: The trillion dollar club - Fri, Oct 21 2011
• Citigroup to pay $285 million to settle fraud case - Wed, Oct 19 2011
• Goldman posts quarterly loss, investments sink - Tue, Oct 18 2011
• Rajaratnam gets 11-year prison sentence - Thu, Oct 13 2011

(Reuters) - Rajat Gupta, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc director and former global head of McKinsey & Co, was in FBI custody on Wednesday on criminal charges related to his hedge fund manager friend Raj Rajaratnam, the central figure in a U.S. crackdown on insider trading.

An FBI spokesman said Gupta, 62, surrendered to agents at his home in Connecticut and he was driven to the New York FBI office, where he was placed under formal arrest at 8.15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT).

Gupta is expected to appear in court later in the day on charges related to the Rajaratnam insider trading case, the spokesman said. Prosecutors said at Rajaratnam's trial that in 2008 Gupta leaked information about Goldman that he learned from the bank's board meetings.

Rajaratnam was convicted in May by a New York federal jury after a two-month-long trial. On October 13, a judge sentenced him to 11 years in prison, the longest recorded for insider trading.

(Reporting by Basil Katz, Grant McCool and Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

The SEC says that information from Mr Gupta helped 

convicted trader Rajaratnam make millions of dollars (BBC)

Related Articles:

Gupta arrest puts Corporate America on notice

Ex-Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta indicted in insider case

Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta in custody

Rajaratnam Insider-Trading Sentence Sends Wall Street Right Message: View Q


The Large Families that rule the world

Wall Street protest plans global rally ahead of G20

Reuters, by Michelle Nichols, NEW YORK, Mon Oct 24, 2011

Protestors and members of Occupy Wall Street shout slogans during an

 annual demonstration calling for a stop to police brutality in New York

October 22, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

(Reuters) - An anti-capitalist group which sparked the Occupy Wall Street movement has called for global protests Saturday to demand G20 leaders impose a "Robin Hood" tax on financial transactions and currency trades.

Canada-based Adbusters wants the Occupy Wall Street protest movement against economic inequality to take to the streets to call for a 1 percent tax on such deals ahead of a November 3-4 summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in France.

"Let's send them a clear message: We want you to slow down some of that $1.3 trillion easy money that's sloshing around the global casino each day -- enough cash to fund every social program and environmental initiative in the world," the activist group said on its website, www.adbusters.org.

Adbusters put out the initial call for Occupy Wall Street and since protesters set up camp in a park in New York City's financial district on September 17, they have inspired solidarity demonstrations and so-called occupations around the world.

Thousands turned out for a global day of protests on October 15, which were mostly peaceful apart from in Rome, where there were riots.

Occupy Arrests, a Twitter feed compiling arrests related to Occupy Wall Street, said that since the movement began five weeks ago nearly 2,400 people have been arrested around the world, including in New York City.

Occupy Wall Street prides itself on not having any leaders and doing everything by consensus at daily general assemblies. Adbusters has asked protesters to approve its plan for a "Robin Hood" tax and global protests at their general assemblies.

The proposal by Adbusters comes as some people question whether the movement can sustain momentum and ask what will happen next. Critics accuse the group of not having a clear message.

"As the movement matures, let's consider a response to our critics. Let's occupy the core of our global system. Let's dethrone the greed that defines this new century," Adbusters said on its website.

The protesters say they are upset that the billions of dollars in bank bailouts doled out during the recession allowed banks to resume earning huge profits while average Americans have had no relief from high unemployment and job insecurity.

They also believe the richest 1 percent of Americans do not pay their fair share in taxes.

Occupy Wall Street is urging protesters to close their bank accounts and transfer their money to credit unions, a move that is due to culminate with a bank transfer day on November 5.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Related Articles:

The Large Families that rule the world

An INTENSE moment of TRUTH with MAINSTREAM Media

The Large Families that rule the world

Pravda.ru, 18.10.2011

Some people have started realizing that there are large financial groups that dominate the world. Forget the political intrigues, conflicts, revolutions and wars. It is not pure chance. Everything has been planned for a long time.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
 leaving the 2008 Bilderberg Conference

Some call it "conspiracy theories" or New World Order. Anyway, the key to understanding the current political and economic events is a restricted core of families who have accumulated more wealth and power.

We are speaking of 6, 8 or maybe 12 families who truly dominate the world. Know that it is a mystery difficult to unravel.

We will not be far from the truth by citing Goldman Sachs, Rockefellers, Loebs Kuh and Lehmans in New York, the Rothschilds of Paris and London, the Warburgs of Hamburg, Paris and Lazards Israel Moses Seifs Rome.

Many people have heard of the Bilderberg Group, Illuminati or the Trilateral Commission. But what are the names of the families who run the world and have control of states and international organizations like the UN, NATO or the IMF?

To try to answer this question, we can start with the easiest: inventory, the world's largest banks, and see who the shareholders are and who make the decisions. 

The world's largest companies are now: Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. 

Let us now review who their shareholders are. 

Bank of America:

State Street Corporation, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, FMR (Fidelity), Paulson, JP Morgan, T. Rowe, Capital World Investors, AXA, Bank of NY, Mellon. 

JP Morgan: 

State Street Corp., Vanguard Group, FMR, BlackRock, T. Rowe, AXA, Capital World Investor, Capital Research Global Investor, Northern Trust Corp. and Bank of Mellon. 

Citigroup:

State Street Corporation, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Paulson, FMR, Capital World Investor, JP Morgan, Northern Trust Corporation, Fairhome Capital Mgmt and Bank of NY Mellon.

Wells Fargo:

Berkshire Hathaway, FMR, State Street, Vanguard Group, Capital World Investors, BlackRock, Wellington Mgmt, AXA, T. Rowe and Davis Selected Advisers. 

We can see that now there appears to be a nucleus present in all banks: State Street Corporation, Vanguard Group, BlackRock and FMR (Fidelity). To avoid repeating them, we will now call them "The big four" 

Goldman Sachs: 

"The big four",  Wellington, Capital World Investors, AXA, Massachusetts Financial Service and T. Rowe. 

Morgan Stanley:

"The big four", Mitsubishi UFJ, Franklin Resources, AXA, T. Rowe, Bank of NY Mellon e Jennison Associates. Rowe, Bank of NY Mellon and Jennison Associates.　

We can just about always verify the names of major shareholders. To go further, we can now try to find out the shareholders of these companies and shareholders of major banks worldwide. 

Bank of NY Mellon:

Davis Selected, Massachusetts Financial Services, Capital Research Global Investor, Dodge, Cox, Southeatern Asset Mgmt. and ... "The big four". 

State Street Corporation (one of the "The big four"):

Massachusetts Financial Services, Capital Research Global Investor, Barrow Hanley, GE, Putnam Investment and ... "The big four" (shareholders themselves!).

BlackRock (another of the "The big four"):

PNC, Barclays e CIC. 

Who is behind the PNC? FMR (Fidelity), BlackRock, State Street, etc.

And behind Barclays? BlackRock 

And we could go on for hours, passing by tax havens in the Cayman Islands, Monaco or the legal domicile of Shell companies in Liechtenstein. A network where companies are always the same, but never a name of a family.

In short: the eight largest U.S. financial companies (JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon and Morgan Stanley) are 100% controlled by ten shareholders and we have four companies always present in all decisions: BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard and Fidelity. 

In addition, the Federal Reserve is comprised of 12 banks, represented by a board of seven people, which comprises representatives of "The big four", which in turn are present in all other entities.

In short, the Federal Reserve is controlled by four large private companies: BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard and Fidelity. These companies control U.S. monetary policy (and world) without any control or "democratic" choice. These companies launched and participated in the current worldwide economic crisis and managed to become even more enriched.

To finish, a look at some of the companies controlled by this "big four" group:

• Alcoa Inc. 
• Altria Group Inc. 
• American International Group Inc. 
• AT&T Inc. 
• Boeing Co. 
• Caterpillar Inc. 
• Coca-Cola Co. 
• DuPont & Co. 
• Exxon Mobil Corp. 
• General Electric Co. 
• General Motors Corporation 
• Hewlett-Packard Co. 
• Home Depot Inc. 
• Honeywell International Inc. 
• Intel Corp. 
• International Business Machines Corp 
• Johnson & Johnson 
• JP Morgan Chase & Co. 
• McDonald's Corp. 
• Merck & Co. Inc. 
• Microsoft Corp. 
• 3M Co. 
• Pfizer Inc. 
• Procter & Gamble Co. 
• United Technologies Corp. 
• Verizon Communications Inc. 
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 
• Time Warner 
• Walt Disney 
• Viacom 
• Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation., 
• CBS Corporation 
• NBC Universal

The same "big four" control the vast majority of European companies counted on the stock exchange.

In addition, all these people run the large financial institutions, such as the IMF, the European Central Bank or the World Bank, and were "trained" and remain "employees" of "The big four" that formed them.

The names of the families that control "The big four", never appear. 

Translated from the Portuguese version by: 

Lisa Karpova, Pravda.Ru

Related Articles:

Interview with Eustace Mullins 2005 - (Who Rule the Rulers ?)

Eustace Mullins - Who Rules Your Rulers? from Ritchy_Niburu_2 on Vimeo.

People & Power - The Koch Brothers (Video)

An INTENSE moment of TRUTH with MAINSTREAM Media

Germany sniffs out Luxembourg tax evaders

Swiss banks summoned to hearing on tax evasion: report


A New Global Economic Restructuring (Video)

Obama announces U.S. to pull out all troops from Iraq by end of year

English.news.cn   2011-10-22 

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a press conference at the
White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Oct. 21, 2011.
Obama on Friday announced all U.S. troops stationed in Iraq will pull
out by the end of the year, and the Iraq War will be over. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday announced all U.S. troops stationed in Iraq will pull out of that country by the end of this year, and the Iraq War will be over.

Obama made the statement after speaking with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki via video conference, and he reaffirmed U. S. commitment of drawdown to the Iraqi leader. He said both leaders agreed to the decision.

"After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over," Obama said, after over 4,400 U.S. solders were killed there and tens of thousands Iraqi lives lost in the war.

Obama said after U.S. troops are pulled out from Iraq, the relationship between the two countries will be "one normal relationship between sovereign nations," and he will be welcoming Maliki to the White House for a visit in December.

Obama vowed the United States will have "strong and enduring partnership" with Iraq, which he defined as "an equal partnership based on mutual interests and mutual respect."

Under a security agreement reached with Iraq in 2008, the United States would pull out all its troops from that country by Dec. 31. But the administration had been negotiating with Iraq on leaving some troops behind as trainers. Whether the troops would have immunity was said to be the sticking point in discussions.

Denis McDonough, Obama's deputy national security advisor, told reporters in the White House that the two sides did talk about the immunity issue, but the decision to withdraw is not based on it. He said the decision is reflective of both sides' views of "the kind of relationship both nations want to have."

After ending combat mission in Iraq last year, the U.S. military's role in Iraq has been mostly about training and advising. There are about 40,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

By pulling troops out of Iraq, Obama kept a major campaign promise. He said by ending the Iraq War, the administration can focus more on the ailing economy.

"After a decade of war the nation that we need to build and the nation that we will build is our own, an America that sees its economic strength restored just as we've restored our leadership around the globe," said the President.

Related: 

• News Analysis: U.S. pullout from Iraq, political decision or not? 
• U.S. troops still hold 20 military bases in Iraq 
• Poll shows one-third U.S. veterans think Iraq, Afghanistan wars not worthwhile 
• Special Report: Situation in Iraq

Interview with Eustace Mullins 2005

The Neo-Zionist Order - Who rules your rulers?

Most Americans would agree that there is something desperately wrong with the political and judicial system in the United States, but as many unsuspecting Americans point fingers at each other (Republicans and Democrats) what they don’t realize is that this suits the Zionist purpose.

This interview is with the man who exposed the rulers who dictate policies. They hand down these policies to our so called leaders to advance the Neo-Zionist plot for total control over world affairs. Only a clear picture of what’s going on behind the facade of this so called ‘war on terror’ can one truly understand that this is a ‘war of terror’ designed for killing people and destroying property to stir up conflict to advance their agenda.

Incredibly, the DC Zionist agents sent a huge American armada across the great seas to unleash a devastating military force against a people that never fired a shot at her, not even across her bow as they approached with their invading Christian army. As this invasion spreads throughout the Middle East and Asia, it will continue to be sold as a war on terror when in actuality it is a calculated plot.

As a few unsuspecting Jews, a lot of Christians and Muslims are led to the slaughter, the Neo-Zionist and their agents will continue to enslave and rob us of our national treasures and many will cheer their own demise.

Eustace Mullins was once labeled ‘the most dangerous man in America’ by war criminal Henry Kissinger. Mullins may be one of the most plagiarized authors in the world and has authored many books that are now hard to find. Although tens of thousand of copies have been printed, mysteriously many of them seem to disappear overnight.

Eustace Mullins, who died in February 2010, was one of America’s foremost historian/researchers exposing facts over the last 50+ years that everyone in the world should know. However, these facts have been furiously suppressed by Zionists and their Neo-Con agents and the results have been (and will continue to be) devastating for the world.

Mullins has been vilified by the Zionist powers that be for his supposed anti-Semitism, but as you contemplate the hard facts he has compiled, you see something much more important and frightening than some allegation about verbal insults. You see in Mullins’ voluminous scholarship a clear and terrifying picture of the forces that control the world, and don’t care a whit about real people.

In the complete interview Eustace Mullins talks about the conspiracy of the Federal Reserve, The World Order, George Bush, Zionists, Israel, Mossad, Neo-Cons, CIA, FBI, 9/11, and the Zionists design for a Christian Muslim war.

Online books of Eustace Mullins:

Secrets of the Federal Reserve - modernhistoryproject.org/​mhp/​ArticleDisplay.php?Article=FedReserve

The World Order - modernhistoryproject.org/​mhp/​ArticleDisplay.php?Article=WorldOrder

Eustace Mullins - Who Rules Your Rulers? from Ritchy_Niburu_2 on Vimeo.


Related Article:

It's Happening !

An INTENSE moment of TRUTH with MAINSTREAM Media

5.8 Virginia earthquake shakes East Coast, rattles residents

Top banks accused of colluding on ATM fees

Reuters, Wed Oct 19, 2011

A pedestrian walks past a Bank of America banking branch in 

Charlotte, North Carolina October 13, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Chris Keane)

(Reuters) - A New Jersey man sued Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo on Wednesday on behalf of ATM users, accusing the banks of colluding to fix the fees they charge customers to withdraw money.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., is the third such suit seeking class action status on the issue of automated teller machine fees in the past week.

The latest suit alleges the banks worked with Visa and MasterCard to set artificially high rates on ATM fees.

The earlier lawsuits were filed against Visa and MasterCard, Wednesday's lawsuit is directed at both the card network firms and the banks.

Customers who use ATMs not operated by their bank are often charged both by the operating bank and by their own bank, as a "foreign ATM transaction" fee.

Successful ATM operators need access to the Visa and MasterCard networks, since the vast majority of debit cards are exclusive to them. Some cards can access alternate, cheaper networks.

The lawsuits accuse Visa and MasterCard of forcing ATM operators to charge the same access fee to customers regardless of which network they use, in order to get access to the Visa and MasterCard networks.

One of the other lawsuits was filed by a group representing the operators of ATMs.

Wednesday's lawsuit accused the banks, that collect the access fees, of colluding with Visa and MasterCard in setting the transaction price.

A spokesman for JPMorgan declined comment. Representatives for Bank of America and Wells Fargo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case is Justin Genese v Visa, MasterCard and others, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 11-01838.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Related Articles:

Occupy the Mortgage Lenders

An INTENSE moment of TRUTH with MAINSTREAM Media

[Occupytimessquare] 1 Marine vs. 30 Cops (Marine Wins)

United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY went toe to toe with the New York Police Department. An activist in the Occupy Wall Street movement, Thomas voiced his opinions of the NYPD police brutality that had and has been plaguing the #OWS movement.

Thomas is a 24-year-old Marine Veteran (2 tours in Iraq), he currently plays amateur football and is in college.

Thomas comes from a long line of people who sacrifice for their country: Mother, Army Veteran (Iraq), Step father, Army, active duty (Afghanistan), Grand father, Air Force veteran (Vietnam), Great Grand Father Navy veteran (World War II).

Related Video

Ahmadinejad likens claims of Iranian assassination plot to Iraq WMD

Iranian president says US claims of Iranian involvement in an alleged plot to kill Saudi ambassador will prove false

guardian.co.uk, Reuters in Tehran, Tuesday 18 October 2011

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said the US wants a rift
between Tehran and the Saudis. Photograph: AY/SIPA /Rex Features

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said US allegations of an Iranian assassination plot resemble its claims about weapons of mass destruction that formed the basis for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and would prove to be equally untrue.

The Iranian president suggested that the US aimed to cause a rift between Tehran and Saudi Arabia that would help Washington dominate the oil-rich Gulf and had fabricated the plot of an Iranian seeking to kill the Saudi ambassador to America.

"In the past the US administration claimed there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They said it so strongly, they offered and presented documentations and everyone said: 'Yes, we believe in you. We buy it,'" Ahmadinejad said in a live interview on al-Jazeera television on Monday evening.

"Now is everyone asking them, were those claims true? Did they find any weapon of mass destruction in Iraq? They fabricated a bunch of papers. Is that a difficult thing to do?

"The truth will be revealed ultimately and there will be no problem for us at that time," he added.

Barack Obama hopes the alleged foiled plot will lead to tighter sanctions against Iran – already under several rounds of UN measures over its nuclear programme. The Us president has repeatedly said that all options were on the table to deal with the Islamic republic, a tacit threat of possible military action.

When asked whether he thought Iran and the US were on an inevitable "collision course" towards military conflict, Ahmadinejad replied: "I don't think so. I think that there are some people in the US administration who want this to happen but I think there are wise people in the US administration who know they shouldn't do such a thing."

Nevertheless, Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of Iranian ground forces, said his troops were "fully prepared and ready to give a quick response to any aggression on Iran's soil".

"Today America is too unsteady to even think about launching an attack on Iran," he told the semi-official Fars news agency.

Saudi Arabia, Iran's main rival in the Gulf and which has close ties with Washington, requested the United Nations look into what it called the "heinous conspiracy". On Monday the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said he had passed correspondence about the affair to the security council.

Ahmadinejad called on Saudis not to fall for a US strategy which he said aimed to divide and conquer the Gulf.

"If the US administration is under the impression that by doing this it can create conflict between us and Saudi Arabia then I have to say the US administration is sorely mistaken.

"The US administration is not interested in Iran or in Saudi Arabia. They see their interests in having a dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia – they want to dominate our region," he said.

The events of the Arab spring have strained Iran's relations with Saudi Arabia, as each tries to assert its position in the region amid a welter of sectarian and geopolitical rivalries.

Even before the uprisings began, a leaked US cable published on WikiLeaks said Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah had urged the US to "cut off the head of the snake" by launching military strikes to destroy Iran's nuclear programme.

The furore over the alleged assassination plot appears to have killed any chance of a quick return to talks between Tehran and world powers concerned about its nuclear programme, but the foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, said Iran would examine the allegations.

"We are prepared to examine any issue, even if fabricated, seriously and patiently, and we have called on America to submit to us any information in regard to this scenario," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.