Obama's Czars

In this series we are going to look at the czars Obsma hass appointed to oversee snd answer for the security and well bring of the United States and her citizens. 

Webster defines czar as one having great power or authority. 

For America, this term identifies a person with great authority over a particular policy. This person is selected and appointed by and answerable only to the president. This is a person who tells people what to do in an autocratic way or who determines behavior in a particular sphere.

Who does this to Americans? It started with President Roosevelt and has accelerated over time. 

As disturbing as it was to learn that Bush appointed 33 czars, it is even more so horrifying that Ovama has appointed 52 czars and has 18 slots awaiting czars now.

The following includes the position, the appointee, and some quick basics as to who these people are that have so much power and so little accountability.

Afghanistan 

Marc Grossman

Marc Grossman was a career Foreign Service officer from 1976 to 2005. He retired as the U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, with previous service as a director general of the Foreign Service, assistant secretary of state for European affairs and ambassador to Turkey.

It also bears mentioning that this is the man chosen to hold meetings in Qatar with Taliban leaders from Afghanistan.

AIDS

Grant Coffax

Is the focal point for the administration's goal of "zero new HIV infections." That would entail stopping ALL unprotected sex (more government in our bedrooms?) and to end the reuse of dirty needles for IV drug use. 

What are the HIV demographics? 

Black America remains at the epicenter of the domestic HIV epidemic. Blacks represent only 13 percent of the nation's population but account for 44 percent of all new HIV infections, according (pdf) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Approximately 1.2 million people live with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. -- including approximately 545,000 who are Black.

Asian Carp

John Goss

Overseeing federal efforts to halt the invasive and destructive Asian Carp, an $80 million (minimum) effort, to include the possibility of permanently shutting down the Chicago waterway system which links Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.

BA Public Affairs; MA Economics

Indiana Council Environmental Quality, 

Automobile 

Ron Bloom

Working closely with the National Economic Council, Bloom will provide leadership on policy development and strategic planning for the President’s agenda to revitalize the manufacturing sector.  

 Habonim — “a progressive Labor Zionist youth movement that emphasizes cultural Judaism, socialism and social justice.”

In 1996 Bloom joined the United Steel Workers (USW) union as a special assistant to the president. At that time, the USW president was George Becker, a co-founder of the Campaign for America’s Future. Bloom retained his position as special assistant when Becker was replaced by Leo Gerard (who today serves as a board member of the Apollo Alliance) in 2001. Both Becker and Gerard have close ties to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

A socialist teaching business to People's Workers Unions.

Auto Recovery

Edward Montgomery 

Oversees the automobile industry for Obama, was selected and appointed by Obama to carry Obama's plans. What has happened in this vein?

Both the assembly and parts sectors display declining employment, with assembly recording a 8% loss since 1990, and an even more dramatic 14% since 2000, and the parts industry losing 17% of total employment since 2000. Parts in particular are likely to be affected by increased offshore production, as US imports have increased 309% to $92.2 billion dollars.

This increase in foreign investment, however, has not been enough to negate the decline in production by domestic firms, leading to ever-increasing rates of unemployment among auto workers. Even more cause for concern is the fact that jobs with foreign-owned firms are more likely to be non-union, thereby leading to probable decreases in benefits and possibly wages for American auto workers. 

His financial contributions to Obama's campaign include $52,200.

Bank Bailout 

Herbert Allison (Senate Confirmed)

Quite simply put, Allison has both contributed money to Obama's campaign and testified to Congress that the $23 billion in tax dollars spent on "green energy" firms was going to be a solid and positive investment.

Borders

Alan Bersin

former failed superintendent of San Diego . Ultra Liberal friend of Hilary Clinton. Served as Border Czar under Janet Reno – to keep borders open to illegals

Served as border czar under Clinton-Reno and now again under Obama-Napolitano 

Customs and Border Patrol commissioner during Eric Holder's Operation Gunrunner

Also was at the top for the region when and where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered 15 miles inside the United States by a heavily armed Mexican gang.

The 45 Steps of Communism

For those unacquainted with Communism’s 45 Steps, I strongly advise that you study them. Many have already been accomplished. America has just elected a president who has more in common with communism than he does with America. If you love this country, fight to make sure Obama and his bots do not fulfill these steps. It is a fight too many of us are too late engaging in, but it ain’t over yet.

Congressional Record

Appendix, pp. A34-A35

January 10, 1963

EXTENSION OF REMARKS OF HON. A. S. HERLONG, JR. OF FLORIDA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Thursday, January 10, 1963

Mr. HERLONG. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Nordman of De Land, Fla., is an ardent and articulate opponent of communism, and until recently published the De Land Courier, which she dedicated to the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of communism in America.

At Mrs. Nordman’s request, I include in the RECORD, under unanimous consent, the following “Current Communist Goals,” which she identifies as an excerpt from “The Naked Communist,” by Cleon Skousen:

1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament [by] the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev’s promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to “eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms.”

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. “Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art.”

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the “common man.”

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the “big picture.” Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture–education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand [or treat].

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use ["]united force["] to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction [over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction] over nations and individuals alike.

-- 

Winston Churchill -- Although personally I am quite content with existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement.  

What We Pay Them To Kill Us

Bottom Line Up Front: In 2008 the countries that would be part of the Arab Spring received $1.9 billion dollars in U.S. financial aid, Saudi Arabia was among them was and is an OPEC top country. The Arab Spring states in 2010, including Saudi Arabian-U.S. oil revenues, received from U.S. tax payers $2.5 trillion. A 76% increase in U.S. monies and this week Saudi Arabian and Egyptian Islamic clerics said Muslims world wide should celebrate the damage brought by Hurricane Sandy.

Last year I took a look at the Middle eastern states, talked about their hate for the West, and looked at how much U.S. tax dollars the Middle East was getting. This year I looked specifically at the Arab Spring states. Of the 14 countries participating in the revolution 12 are recipients of U.S. financial aid. One of those recipients, Saudi Arabia, has long been OPEC's leading earner in oil revenue, remains on the recipient list for aid. The following chart is a summary of information from U.S. federal reports.

2010                   Aid                      Oil Revenue

Saudi Arabia    $1.8 trn              $195 bln

Sudan                                                $100 bln

Mauritania        $495.3 mln  

Morocco            $135.1 bln

Jordan               $359.3 bln

Lebanon.           $43.8 bln

Bahrain

Syria                   

Yemen                $545.7 bln

Libya

Egypt                 $98.8 bln

Tunisia

That is $1.8 trillion dollars paid to these countries. They all have something else in common, though, that comes back to Saudi leadership and their distribution of money. That is multinational terrorism.

First, Saudi Arabia provides funding and support to 70% of the Sunni terrorist groups globally, the top of that list is all-Qaeda. 

Second, there is a group within AQ that is considered to be more extreme than AQ. This group is called Takfir wa Hijra. This sect believes that, basically, the world must go back to the lifestyle and developmental levels at the time if Mohammed. Some of the more notable members of this sect include 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta, Aiman al-Zawahiri, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Third, there are a number of Islamic Jihad Groups throughout the region, simply insert the country of operation and you have the group. Libyan Islamic Jihad, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and so on. It feels franchised to me. 

That is the return on our investment in the world. We are funding, with American tax dollars, international terrorism. There are 535 congressmen and senators, start calling them until the tax dollars going to terrorists is paying off the American deficit

Muslim Clerics Declare Sandy A Just Punishment For America

BLUF: Leading Saudi Arabian and Egyptian clerics are calling Hurricane Sandy a just soldier (one of allah's weakest) taking vengeance against America.

Saudi clerics. the Saudi prince, and Egypt have no respect or positive regard for our nation, none whatsoever. The US has given grants and funds to Egypt for decades. In 2009 the United States gave Egypt $3.5 billion dollars in grants and economic & military aid, according to US Census Bureau information. These monies from American tax payers when added to the money earned from the Suez Canal totals $8.2 billion dollars yearly revenue. We provide political support and billions in financial aid and they kick us while we are down. Typical, really, for the Middle East at large.

What about Saudi Arabia? Saudis must surely appreciate being the beneficiary of the largest transfer of wealth in world history. According to the Energy Information Agency (www.eia.gov) in 2010 the U.S. imported approximately 1.2 billion barrels of oil which, at today's rates $84.62, is $203 billion dollars in two years. 

When a natural disaster strikes any one of the 190 countries in the world, America cries with those victims. What do the leading Islamic voices in these two countries do when America gets hit? The majority of the religious elites called Hurricane Sandy revenge from Allah against America.

The Arabian and Egyptian  clerics directly published on this include Saudi Clerics Nassir al-Omar, Sheikh Salan al-Odeh, Sheikh abd al-Aziz bin 'Abdallah aal al-Sheikh, Egyptian Cleric Al-Azhar Sheikh Salam abd al-Al Galil, and UK native Anjem Choudray (one group of his was banned  in England) have all spoken about the damage to the East Coast.

Al-Omar issued a fatwa to celebrate the death and destruction along the East Coast. He referred to America as "the spearhead of evil then asks why not celebrate? We are called arrogant and tyrannical and all Muslims globally should celebrate Hurricane Sandy's swath of death and destruction.

Choudray chimed in that hurricanes are among the least of allah's army and that America deserves them.

Aal al-Sheikh, the Saudi Arabian Mudti, was concerned only for the Muslims who were in the path of Sandy. He said that to celebrate the destruction and to "curse them is improper" as there were muslims in the areas hit. Real deep concern, right folks?

Galil was concerned about the image that Muslims would earn if seen celebrating. He is telling the muslim community that it is perfectly fine to dance, sing, and rejoice privately, just do not do it in the streets where you will be seen.

Al-Odeh was even less obvious saying that America is, as Muhammad said, idolaters in Mecca "may their sons become muslim.

These and other public statements should be shown all over American news. Our policy makers should penalize those countries. Pull our aid, get England to stop arms sales to these and other anti-West states (read as our enemies). If they rejoice at our pain then they are clearly not friends. Geo-Politically, not being friends in this manner equates to enemies. We have an obligation to not pay them.

http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/67

http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/crude-oil.aspx86.htm

Clinton-Rebels VS Obama-Iran

BLUF: Hillary Clinton encourages Saudi backed rebels in Syria. She shows them more respect than she has ever shown to US military and veterans. Obama continues to provide tacit support to Iran by not calling them out over their supporting Assad.

Here we have American Secretary of State Clinton "directing" rebel groups in Syria. Or has she, as some reports state, suggested a different tack? Either way Clinton has put American suggestion out there publicly for the rebels, who are not just anti-Assad but anti-Iran. This would get them more support from, among others, Saudi Arabia. Obama, conversely, has shown by not acting that he supports Iranian ends in the region. Those of you who have read my blog have seen this illustrated already.

Unfortunately for US policy and the rebel groups, a house divided cannot stand.  I say this as Assad and Obama have shown that they support Iranian goals. Now Clinton is showing support for Saudi goals. These two MUST be trying to start a regional war there.

"There has to be a representation of those who are in the front lines fighting and dying today to obtain their freedom."

It's too bad Hillary does not feel the same way about veterans in America. We have all seen the authorized lists of the potential home-grown terrorists that include US Veterans. 

Meanwhile, Russia and China both oppose any effort from the West. The two countries continue to work against the US in blocking resolutions, undermining Western policies, and isolating our few allies.

Clinton directs rebel groups in Syria

Syrian rebels open talks in Doha as bombing hits Damascus

Top news: Syrian rebel groups began negotiations in Doha over forming a united political front. The talks come shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested that the Syrian National Council has outlived its usefulness and should be integrated into a larger umbrella opposition group which would allow greater coordination between fighters in Syria, exile groups, and the opposition's foreign backers.

The SNC, which has been frequently consumed by infighting over the course of the campaign against Bashar al-Assad's government, is attempting to reform itself to become more exclusive in order to head off a challenge from the new U.S.-backed coalition, the Syrian National Initiative. Expectations that the meeting will end in a successful resolution are low.

Meanwhile, back in Syria, a massive bombing hit near an Army compound in Damascus. Opposition activists say the bombing was likely the work of the Ahfad al-Rasoul Brigade, an Islamist militant group. Rebels also captured an oil field in Eastern Syria on Sunday.

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/1409429

ZAGREB (Reuters) - The United States called on Wednesday for an overhaul of Syria's opposition leadership, saying it was time to move beyond the Syrian National Council and bring in those "in the front lines fighting and dying".

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, signaling a more active stance by Washington in attempts to form a credible political opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said a meeting next week in Qatar would be an opportunity to broaden the coalition against him.

"This cannot be an opposition represented by people who have many good attributes but who, in many instances, have not been inside Syria for 20, 30, 40 years," she said during a visit to Croatia.

"There has to be a representation of those who are in the front lines fighting and dying today to obtain their freedom."

Clinton's comments represented a clear break with the Syrian National Council (SNC), a largely foreign-based group which has been among the most vocal proponents of international intervention in the Syrian conflict.

U.S. officials have privately expressed frustration with the SNC's inability to come together with a coherent plan and with its lack of traction with the disparate internal groups which have waged the 19-month uprising against Assad's government.

Senior members of the SNC, Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other rebel groups ended a meeting in Turkey on Wednesday and pledged to unite behind a transitional government in coming months.

"It's been our divisions that have allowed the Assad forces to reach this point," Ammar al-Wawi, a rebel commander, told Reuters after the talks outside Istanbul.

"We are united on toppling Assad. Everyone, including all the rebels, will gather under the transitional government."

Mohammad Al-Haj Ali, a senior Syrian military defector, told a news conference after the meeting: "We are still facing some difficulties between the politicians and different opposition groups and the leaders of the Free Syrian Army on the ground."

Clinton said it was important that the next rulers of Syria were both inclusive and committed to rejecting extremism.

"There needs to be an opposition that can speak to every segment and every geographic part of Syria. And we also need an opposition that will be on record strongly resisting the efforts by extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution," she said.

Syria's revolt has killed an estimated 32,000. A bomb near a Shi'ite shrine in a suburb of Damascus killed at least six more people on Wednesday, state media and opposition activists said.

NEW LEADERSHIP

The meeting next week in Qatar's capital Doha represents a chance to forge a new leadership, Clinton said, adding the United States had helped to "smuggle out" representatives of internal Syrian opposition groups to a meeting in New York last month to argue their case for inclusion.

"We have recommended names and organizations that we believe should be included in any leadership structure," she told a news conference.

"We've made it clear that the SNC can no longer be viewed as the visible leader of the opposition. They can be part of a larger opposition, but that opposition must include people from inside Syria and others who have a legitimate voice which must be heard."

The United States and its allies have struggled for months to craft a credible opposition coalition.

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has said it is not providing arms to internal opponents of Assad and is limiting its aid to non-lethal humanitarian assistance.

It concedes, however, that some of its allies are providing lethal assistance - a fact that Assad's chief backer Russia says shows western powers are intent on determining Syria's future.

Russia and China have blocked three U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at increasing pressure on the Assad government, leading the United States and its allies to say they could move beyond U.N. structures for their next steps.

Clinton said she regretted but was not surprised by the failure of the latest attempted ceasefire, called by international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi last Friday. Each side blamed the other for breaking the truce.

"The Assad regime did not suspend its use of advanced weaponry against the Syrian people for even one day," she said.

"While we urge Special Envoy Brahimi to do whatever he can in Moscow and Beijing to convince them to change course and support a stronger U.N. action we cannot and will not wait for that."

Clinton said the United States would continue to work with partners to increase sanctions on the Assad government and provide humanitarian assistance to those hit by the conflict.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE89U1AY20121031?irpc=932

Russia, Syrian opposition slam US calls for new leadership against Assad

By Julian Pecquet  - 11/02/12 11:59 AM ET

    

Russia joined Syria's main exiled opposition group on Friday in accusing the Obama administration of picking and choosing the people it wants to run Syria if President Bashar Assad falls.

The comments come after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the United States will propose its own list of individuals and organizations as part of a multinational conference in Doha, Qatar, next week aimed at trying to create a unified rebel front. Clinton said the main exiled opposition group, the Paris-based Syrian National Council, was made up of people who haven't been in the country in decades and does not represent the various groups currently fighting on the front lines against Assad.

The Syrian National Council denounced Clinton's statement on Friday, the Agence France-Presse wire service reported.

“Any discussions aimed at passing over the Syrian National Council or at creating new bodies to replace it,” the group said in a statement, “are an attempt to undermine the Syrian revolution by sowing the seeds of division.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry also lambasted the United States, the AFP reported, saying Clinton's comments violated an agreement reached with Russia and others over the summer to support a transition government approved by the Syrian people. 

“We heard direct orders [from the United States] about what the Syrian opposition should do to form a 'government in exile,' and about who should join such a government – up to specific people," the Russian ministry's statement said. “They are bluntly making clear that they see the Syria conflict being settled exclusively on their terms.”

The United States is expected to back a new coalition, called the Syrian National Initiative, during the meeting in Doha. The initiative is being pushed by Syrian dissident Riad Seif, a former member of parliament and businessman who has put forward a plan for a new leadership council.

http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/265593-russia-syrian-opposition-slam-clintons-calls-for-new-leadership-against-assad

Anti American UN Vote Observers

BLUF: The voter observation team that had been requested by the ACLU, NAACP, and the group called Leadership on Civil and Human Rights, is supervised by at least three anti-American Soviet puppets. These three are Bolat Berselayev, Elchin Musayev, and Janez Lucarcic.

While Clinton and Obama want to support the anti-Assad rebels in Syria, the UN is starting to look at those rebels for war crimes. These crimes include the video taped beating and execution of Assad forces after they had surrendered. Executing surrendered prisoners and watching the voting process in America where the concept of voting freely in a democratic-republic has been successfully proven for more than 200 years. It begs the question who are the vote observers?

The leading names on this list are pro-Soviet, anti-American hard liners.

Khazakhstan, a recently added member to the UNSC (http://msmignoresit.blogspot.com/2012/10/i-wanted-to-take-quick-look-at-newest.html?m=1), is represented by Bolat Berselayev. Kazakhstan is part of the anti-West voting bloc at the UNSC. The last elections held in Kazakhstan were reminiscent of other KGB styled elections. It resulted in a 95% vote for the brutal, corrupt, lifelong Communist Party member Nursultan Nazarbayev. No doubt that Borislav was selected for his experience in voter fraud for Soviet sympathizers.

Azerbaijani representative, Elchin Musayev, is another Soviet approved appointee in this cesspool of "observers". The Azerbaijani president, Ilham Alitev, was raised by a KGB officer, Hatdar Alieyev. Alieyev served under Joseph Stalin. It is no leap to conclude that the electoral process, as observed in Azerbaijan, was as pure as the driven slush in Chicago. The prodigal son of the KGB has, undeniably, given his approval to Musayev being part of this.

The third nefarious character is Janev Lenarcic. Lenarcic also an ardent anti-American politician. He is the director of the UN affiliated group Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Europe, a social welfare state from ocean to sea to sea, is the model Lucarcic wants to enforce here. Lucarcic is also pro- muslim. He supports the same groups that have declared war on the United States. 

This group of "observers" support the same entities that have declared war against the United States. This group follows the Communist Party Line. This group is setting the chess board for chaos and riots within the United States of America. They are doing so with the full knowledge of Obama, Biden, Clinton, and their advisory boards and czars.

For Reference and Further Reading

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13324109-un-says-syrian-video-killings-very-likely-constitutes-war-crime

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/13492-who-is-bolat-bersebayev-and-why-is-he-monitoring-our-elections

http://www.juliagorin.com/wordpress/?p=2921

Foreign Pilicy Magazine: Brit In Plot To Sell Iran Missile Parts

British businessman pleads guilty to plot to sell missile parts to Iran

---

 

A retired British businessman and millionaire Christopher Tappin has pleaded guilty in a Texas court to charges of attempting to sell batteries to Iran for surface to air missiles. He admitted to aiding and abetting two business associates in attempting to sell "zinc/silver oxide Reserve Batteries" to Iran, which is used in Hawk Air Defense Missiles, defying export regulations. A U.S. federal indictment was filed in 2007 after a sting operation. Tappin was extradited from Britain in February. The case has brought extradition arrangements under scrutiny from opponents who claim harsh sentences force suspects to reach plea deals instead of standing trial. Tappin isexpected to be sentenced on January 9, and will likely be sentenced to 33 months. Prosecutors said they would not oppose him serving his sentence in Britain. Had he not pleaded guilty, he could have faced up to 35 years in jail.