For most of the month of August, Congress will be on recess. Consider this the calm before the storm.
Most in Washington are aware that September will bring with it the biggest push for Iran sanctions in years. AIPAC has been lobbying for months on the Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA), and on September 10 the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations will kick off a massive nationwide lobbying effort, which they compare to the "Save Darfur" movement. All of this will culminate at the end of the month when, conveniently enough, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in New York for the UN General Assembly.
Yes, right around the time Ahmadinejad is at the podium in the UN, Congress is expected to impose what it calls "crippling sanctions" on Iran's economy. The plan is to blockade Iran's foreign supplies of gasoline, hoping that an increase in the price per gallon at the pump will cause the Iranian people to rise up and demand a halt to Iran's nuclear program.
But this plan has a number of obvious flaws.
First, the Iranian people have already risen up against the government's hardline leadership. What we have witnessed in Iran for the last two months is unprecedented. To think that marginally higher gas prices will mean anything to a population willing to risk their lives for freedom and democracy is at once naïve and hubristic. According to Juan Cole, imposing broad sanctions on Iran will likely only destroy Iranian civil society and bolster the state's repressive apparatus--as it did in Iraq.
What's more, even if the Iranian people were to demand that the government halt its enrichment program--which they wouldn't, since the vast majority of Iranians support Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology--does anyone think that the government will actually go along with it? Has Tehran been particularly responsive to the wishes of its citizens lately? No, in fact, that is what these people are fighting for each and every day: to have their voices heard.
Next, even if the sanctions were effective in harming the Iranian economy, there isn't a single historical example of economic sanctions translating into a desirable change in the Iranian government's behavior. Just as the hardliners are resisting their people's calls for change, so too will they refuse to be seen as capitulating to the demands of the West.
So why is Congress fixated on this idea if it doesn't stand a chance of stopping the nuclear program? Some would say that the government has to be punished for the brutality with which it has treated its people. Politicians in Washington were universally outraged by the violence against the Iranian people. And for many lawmakers, this was a time to stand up in support of these brave Iranians.
Senator John McCain spoke passionately from the floor of the US Senate, saying:
The United States of America must, and this body must, affirm our support for fundamental human rights of the Iranian people who are being beaten and killed in the streets of Tehran and other cities around Iran. We are with them.
Republican Mike Pence of Indiana said:
We are bound to support the courageous and decent people in Iran who are struggling for their rights and their freedom.
And even Minority Whip Eric Cantor spoke up, saying:
We must rally the world around the cause of the Iranian people.
But now, almost in the same breath, those same lawmakers are calling for "crippling sanctions" on the Iranian economy. They are quick to mention that Iran imports 40% of its refined petroleum, making that industry Iran's "Achilles heel" so these sanctions will be able to "bring the economy to its knees."
So much for standing with the Iranian people.
What better way to show our support than by casting the common man into financial ruin? Think about who suffers the most in the US when gas prices rise due to shocks--it's the poor. Why would it be any different in Iran? Certainly the elite won't suffer the brunt of these sanctions--the Revolutionary Guards have been getting rich off smuggling sanctioned goods into the country for years. And with Russia and China ready to provide anything the US won't sell to Iran, the mullahs will surely find a way to fill their gas tanks. So that will just leave the poor and middle class to suffer.
Even neoconservative scholar Fred Kagan has acknowledged the real effect of these petroleum sanctions, saying "Look we need to be honest about this: Iranians are going to die if we impose additional sanctions." So despite all their lip-service, it seems that Congress' priorities haven't changed. They are planning to continue the same failed approach to Iran of the last three decades. To them, these petroleum sanctions made sense before Iran's election, and miraculously, they are still our best option after the election.
Iran changed forever on June 12. We are now dealing with a completely altered country, and we would be wise to tailor our policies to reflect that reality. Congress should brainstorm some new ideas for how to support the Iranian people and still protect our security and nonproliferation objectives.
For most of the month of August, Congress will be on recess. Consider this the calm before the storm.
Most in Washington are aware that September will bring with it the biggest push for Iran sanctio...
For most of the month of August, Congress will be on recess. Consider this the calm before the storm.
Most in Washington are aware that September will bring with it the biggest push for Iran sanctio...
VIENNA — Iran has lifted a yearlong ban and allowed U.N. inspectors to visit a nearly completed nuclear reactor as well as granting greater monitoring...
12:30 PM ET -- "Fighting side by side." This site publishes audio of a colorful voicemail apparently left by a woman in Iran. It begins, "I am 66 year old lady, we are group of 3, that have contact with each other and going out for protest together, and we are our own leader! I am the youngest one in this group, the next two are 70 and 73 years old! We are fighting side by side with our young ones!"
12:22 PM ET -- Ayatollah Watch. Tehran Bureau has an update list of the Ayatollahs who have spoken out in favor of the demonstrators.
8:33 AM ET -- No changes to House Foreign Affairs Committee panel. The communications director for Rep. Howard Berman, the Democratic committee chairman, tells me this morning that no new witnesses have been added to the Iran hearing this morning. As discussed yesterday, the panel is tilted towards neoconservatives, a particularly dangerous imbalance given how crucial it is that members of Congress receive good information on Iran.
To make matters worse, I just learned that, before the hearing (actually, as I type), committee member Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is holding an Iran briefing with two former Bush administration uber-hawks Elliot Abrams and John Bolton. Here's the release:
Ros-Lehtinen Schedules Iran Briefing with Abrams, Bolton
Members Only briefing will precede Full Committee hearing on Iran
(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will host a briefing next Wednesday (July 22) on Iran with former Deputy National Security Advisor, Elliott Abrams, and former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
"The Iranian regime has never broken its stride in its pursuit of nuclear weapons, other unconventional weapons, and missile capabilities. Iran has also never waivered in its support of violent Islamist extremist groups with global reach.
"The regime has demonstrated an unparalleled disdain for the rights and human dignity of the Iranian people.
"Some still want to appease Tehran. But for our security, for the sake of our ally Israel, and in the interest of global peace and stability, we cannot afford to continue with a 'wait and see' approach, looking for the 'magic carrot' that will entice the Iranian regime to reverse course.
"No more delays. No more excuses. Let us take control of the process and stop allowing Iran to manipulate the U.S. and other free nations into silence or submission.
"The U.S. and other responsible nations must immediately cut off Iran's economic lifelines and block Iran's access to the funds, materials, and technology needed to carry out its deadly agenda."
7:30 AM ET -- Clinton talks Iran. For U.S. policy planners, the great downside of a weaponized Iran is a regional arms race, and Hillary Clinton's latest remarks suggest that the U.S. is trying to reassure relevant states that they will be protected even if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon.
What do you think?
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Iran Wednesday that the United States would extend a "defense umbrella" over its allies in the Persian Gulf if the Islamic Republic obtains a nuclear weapons capability.
Appearing on a Thai TV program, Clinton said the U.S. would also take steps to "upgrade the defense" of America's Gulf allies in such an event, a reference to stepped-up military aid to those countries.
Clinton's reference to a U.S. "defense umbrella" over the Persian Gulf represented a potentially significant evolution in America's global defense posture. Washington already explicitly maintains a "nuclear umbrella" over Asian allies like Japan and South Korea, but seldom, if ever, has any senior U.S. official publicly discussed the concept in relation to the Gulf.
The secretary's remarks also suggested the course the Obama administration might pursue if, as many analysts predict, an unchecked Iran succeeds in obtaining a nuclear weapons capability before President Obama's term expires -- in effect, how the United States might live with a nuclear-armed Iran. Clinton's comments evoked a vision of the U.S. countering such a threat by bolstering regional defenses and reminding Iran of the dangers of mutually assured destruction -- but not by seeking regime change in Iran or by taking military action to destroy the country's nuclear apparatus.
"We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fair assessment that if the United States extends a defense umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the Gulf, it's unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer because they won't be able to intimidate and dominate as they apparently believe they can once they have a nuclear weapon," Clinton said.
7:20 AM ET -- Khomeini's son leaves Iran. From the NIAC:
The 50 year old grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, Sayed Hassan Khomeini, has reportedly left Iran rather than bow to recent pressure that he attend Ahmadinejad's upcoming inauguration ceremony. Sayed Hassan is a mid-level cleric who is also in charge of the beautiful and vast (5,000 acres) Mausoleum of his grandfather.
Worth reading the full post.
7:05 AM ET -- Activity in Tehran yesterday. I still haven't seen any accounts on whether the efforts to briefly shut down the electrical grid yesterday were successful. If you see any, let me know. (Update: an anecdotal update here, in Farsi.)
Additionally:
Amateur video has emerged of today's jittery encounter between would-be demonstrators and plainclothes Basiji militiamen wielding batons.
The video above could not be confirmed but appears to conform to witness accounts that described club-wielding Basiji militiamen hurrying pedestrians and would-be demonstrators along in Tehran's Seventh of Tir Square.
"Go!" the security forces call out, striking their clubs against metal objects for punctuation. "Don't stop."
Plainclothes Basiji militiamen hit passers-by with batons on a crowded main Tehran street to ensure they wouldn't gather, according to video from the site posted on line. A young woman in a headscarf can be seen arguing with the Basijis, who shove her.
Regular police forces were out in large numbers in parts of central Tehran, causing large traffic jams, but witnesses around the city speaking to The Associated Press did not report that any protests came together. There was no immediate report of arrests in the day's clampdown.
Here's more coverage from CNN:
7:00 AM ET -- L.A. County supervisors vote to divest from Iranian energy sector.
6:52 AM ET -- Ahmadinejad's VP pick: My praise of Israelis was actually criticism. In the tradition of politicians everywhere, he was for Israelis before he was against them.
Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, Iran's newly appointed Vice President, explains his earlier controversial remarks on Israel.
Rahim-Mashaei, whose appointment as the Vice President has brought Mahmoud Ahmadinejad under fire, explained his remarks on Israel in an interview with IRNA released on Tuesday.
In 2008, Rahim-Mashaei's comments on Israel unleashed a torrent of criticism in the country when he said Iran was a "friend of the Israeli people". He later detached himself from his earlier stance, saying that his comments had been misinterpreted.
The controversial figure, who served as the head of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization before receiving the elevation, however explained his remarks on Tuesday from a different perspective.
"What I said had nothing to do with the Israeli regime. I did not talk about the usurper Zionist regime. My remarks were about the people of the occupied lands and were in fact a psychological warfare against the Israeli regime," he said.
"What I said was that this regime was in such mess that it no longer enjoyed international support," he added, but insisted that he did not mean that Iran was a friend with Israelis.
He went on to defend his remarks by saying that he had just criticized Israel two days before his controversial remarks.
"I had said just two days before that, in a speech broadcast by the media, that the Zionist regime was a dead one but only no funeral procession had been conducted for it."
TUESDAY JULY 21
12:19 PM ET -- Khamenei overrules Ahmadinejad, fires his deputy.Ouch.
The Supreme Leader has ordered Ahmadinejad's first deputy to resign from Ahmadinejad's cabinet just days after his appointment, according to the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. Deputy Speaker Aboutorabi said, "eliminating Mashaei from key positions and the first deputy position is a strategic decision by the regime. The Supreme Leader's opinion about the removal of the Mr. Rahim Mashaei from the position of president's first deputy has been submitted to the President in writing."
UPDATE: NIAC notes that Ahmadinejad's camp is fighting back:
That apparently did not stop Ahmadinejad's senior assistant from saying on a live TV program that "I have not seen a clear and convincing reason given by anyone to make [Mashaei's] appointment to the first deputy position impossible. Some say he has med mistakes in some of his statements. Well, everyone makes mistakes."
11:45 AM ET -- New demonstrations in Tehran. Reuters reports:
Iranian riot police detained dozens of pro-reform protesters in central Tehran on Tuesday, a witness said.
The witness said the protesters were chanting slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the government, including: "Ahmadinejad -- resign, resign" and "Death to the dictator."
The witness added: "Riot police are taking dozens of protesters into their cars and they are taking them away."
More details from the L.A. Times.
11:10 AM ET -- Guardian: Iran prisoner refuses to leave prison in protest. This is the first I've heard of Saeed Hajarian refusing to leave Evin prison, but it's a fascinating display of bravery if true.
Of all those dumped in Evin prison and other secret detention centres, the case of Hajarian does most to expose the regime's moral squalor and callousness. Long hailed as the intellectual mastermind of the reformist movement, he is today physically frail thanks to a failed assassination attempt nine years ago ordered, in all probability, by the same hardline zealots who plotted the recent election buffoonery.
Hajarian is confined to a wheelchair and able to speak only with great difficulty, having suffered severe spinal cord damage after being shot in the face by a fundamentalist who, though later convicted, hardly served any jail time. [...]
Hajarian's captors fear his brain. They are trying to force him to sign a confession owning up to plotting a "colourful" or velvet revolution that would have seen the Islamic republic toppled and replaced by a pro-western puppet government, the political bogeyman that keeps Khamenei and his acolytes awake at night. In return, he would be allowed to leave prison - thereby handing the regime a propaganda coup and sparing it the increasing embarrassment of imprisoning a man whom it is already responsible for reducing to a shell.
But Hajarian - himself one of the principle founders and architects of the intelligence ministry in his younger days - has turned the tables by refusing to leave prison. He has refused to give any admission, even when his jailers tried to break his resolve by interrogating his wife and detaining - though later releasing - his son. Effectively, the prisoner is holding his captors hostage, forcing them to provide, and even administer, the treatment needed to keep him alive. His interrogator has been reduced to carrying out his daily physiotherapy sessions.
10:47 AM ET -- Women praying with men. I've received multiple images like this in recent days. The reader who sent this noted, "in Islam, women NEVER pray in front of men - in fact, they typically pray in a separate room and all mosques are segregated."
Iran's women breaking barriers again.
10:45 AM ET -- Iran blackout planned tonight. A reader notes, "It looks like opposition supporters are planning to create another blackout tonight in Iran at 9:00 pm to commemorate those killed in the past 30 days (including Neda) by turning on their irons and other electrical goods at the same time."
From another reader, "If this works it could create a lot of problems for the government because it could take days trying to start up the power plants again. It's been planned for weeks. It could really shake up the system even more."
10:42 AM ET -- Iran's tragic joke. Roger Cohen's latest in the Times:
Allow me to quote the British novelist Martin Amis, writing about Persia in The Guardian: "Iran is one of the most venerable civilizations on earth: it makes China look like an adolescent, and America look like a stripling."
Iranians, aware of that history, are a proud people. They do not take kindly to being played around with, nor to seeing their country turned into a laughing stock. They do not like the memory of an election campaign that now seems like pure theater, the expression of the sadistic whim of some puppeteer.
So the line I take away from the important Friday sermon of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the two-time former president who believes that the Islamic Republic's future lies in compromise rather than endless confrontation, is this one: "We shouldn't let our enemies laugh at us because we've imprisoned our own people."
There's been tragedy aplenty since June 12 -- dozens of killings, thousands of arrests, countless beatings of the innocent -- and I hope I belittle none of it when I say there's also been something laughable.
Iran's police chief is accusing opposition leaders of provoking instability, after they called for a referendum on the government's legitimacy.
The official IRNA news agency on Tuesday quoted Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam as saying those who do not abide by law are "liars" who seek to create discord by spreading doubt in the Islamic republic.
Iranian hardliners denounced on Tuesday a call by reformists for a referendum to resolve the deepening political crisis in the Islamic republic, branding it a Western plot to cause more "havoc."
The Association of Combatant Clerics, a reformist group led by former president Mohammad Khatami, on Monday urged a referendum to try to end the turmoil gripping Iran since the June 12 disputed presidential election.
"They have suggested yet another Western plot to raise havoc by proposing a referendum," said Hossein Shariatmadari, managing director of the hardline newspaper Kayhan who is appointed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"The main idea of this plan is to trigger tension. Their proposal is illegal amd impractical," Shariatmadari wrote.
12:40 AM ET -- Popular American interest in Iran. Via reader Goli, a YouTube video posted by an American "grannie"... I mention it less for the content of the video than simply to note again how much the Green uprising has increased Americans' interest in Iran and changed how people view the country.
12:32 AM ET -- "Hard-Line Force Extends Grip Over a Splintered Iran." A wonderful piece of reporting by the New York Times exploring Iran's Revolutionary Guard (and an example, in the midst of the Twitter fascination, of the importance of good journalism).
It's worth reading the full story, but I'd like to highlight two pieces. First, on the extent of control over political and economic levers that the Guard now holds:
"It is not a theocracy anymore," said Rasool Nafisi, an expert in Iranian affairs and a co-author of an exhaustive study of the corps for the RAND Corporation. "It is a regular military security government with a facade of a Shiite clerical system."
The corps has become a vast military-based conglomerate, with control of Iran's missile batteries, oversight of its nuclear program and a multibillion-dollar business empire reaching into nearly every sector of the economy. It runs laser eye-surgery clinics, manufactures cars, builds roads and bridges, develops gas and oil fields and controls black-market smuggling, experts say.
If you're interested in digging deeper into Iran, the study by Nafisi mentioned above is essential.
Point two, on the ideological roots of the current Guard leadership:
Within this bloc is a core of military elites who have displaced -- and at times clashed with -- the clerical revolutionaries who worked beside Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in founding the Islamic republic. They are the second generation of revolutionaries, ideologically united and contemptuous of first-generation clerics like former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and of reformers and those eager to engage with the West. The corps has even trained its own clerics.
In an essay describing the rise of the Revolutionary Guards phenomenon, Professor Sahimi drew a portrait of the new elite: leaders in their mid-50s who as young men joined the corps and fought two wars: one against Iraq in the 1980s and another to force out the Mujahedeen Khalq, which the United States considers a terrorist organization and which is now based in Iraq.
The corps then split into two groups. One believed that Iran needed a chance to develop politically and socially; the other, which emerged the victor, was intent on maintaining strict control. Mr. Nafisi said Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was close to that second group.
Neocons invited to Congressional hearing on Iran. Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee announced that it was holding a hearing this Wednesday titled, "Iran: Recent Developments and Implications for U.S. Policy."
My initial thought was that the panel was decent but a bit disappointing, and lacking in progressive voices. Among the initial four witnesses announced were Patrick Clawson, a Bush administration supporter who repeatedly advocated that the U.S. use the threat of military strikes to shift policy in Iran, and Abbas Milani, whose 2004 op-ed arguing that President Bush should resist negotiations and publicly endorse democracy activists in Iran was distributed by the neocon outfit Project for a New American Century. (Milani has since shifted his position on the matter of negotiations.)
Suzanne Maloney, a Bush-era State Department official who notably worked against the administration's hawkish elements, is also invited to testify. So is Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment, who has generally done excellent work on Iran.
On Friday, I spoke with committee chairman Rep. Howard Berman's staff and suggested that they invite Trita Parsi, the superb analyst who heads the National Iranian American Council, to testify. I was told that Parsi would be considered but that it was late in the process to add witnesses.
But on Monday morning, the committee announced two new additions to the hearing, both aggressive neoconservatives whose Middle East analysis has proven detrimental. One is Orde F. Kittrie of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the other is Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute. (These witnesses were chosen by Republican members of the committee.)
Rubin's addition, in particular, is rather stunning. His career work include aiding Doug Feith in the notorious Office of Special Plans to advance dubious intelligence that helped lead the U.S. into war in Iraq; repeatedly advocating for military action against Iran over the last several years; and, in June, laying out the case for why Ahmadinejad would be preferable to a "more soft-spoken and less defiant" president like Mousavi -- "it would be easier for Obama to believe that Iran really was figuratively unclenching a fist when, in fact, it had it had its other hand hidden under its cloak, grasping a dagger."
This panel really needs some balance. If you're interested in calling the committee and suggesting Trita Parsi (or someone else), you can reach them at (202) 225-5021. You can also call the offices of members of the committee -- here are a few:
-- Rep. Gary Ackerman (Chairman, Subcommittee On the Middle East and South Asia): 202-225-2601
-- Rep. Donald Payne: 202-225-3436
-- Rep. Brad Sherman: 202-225-5911
-- Rep. Bill Delahunt: 202-225-3111
-- Rep. Lynn Woolsey: 202-225-5161
-- Rep. Barbara Lee: 202-225-2661
-- Rep. Keith Ellison: 202-225-4755
Let me know if you hear anything back.
MONDAY JULY 20
6:38 PM ET -- Seemingly small audience turns up for Ahmadinejad in Mashad. Earlier today, I received a video with the attached caption, "This is how many people that came to see Ahmadinejad speech in Mashad."
I didn't post it at first. Though Ahmadinejad delivered his speech in Mashad on Thursday, the video in question was only uploaded today, and you can't actually make out Ahmadinejad's face in the video.
But reader Chas Danner was able to track down the original version of the video and indeed, it appears that this was actually from Mashad, during Ahmadijad's speech.
In some related developments, I missed noting this news over the weekend:
Mr. Rafsanjani traveled over the weekend to the northeastern city of Mashad to discuss the postelection political crisis with high-ranking Shiite clerics. The move was likely to fuel rumors that Mr. Rafsanjani is building clerical support for the opposition. Two of the clerics Mr. Rafsanjani was meeting have declined to congratulate Mr. Ahmadinejad on his victory and may already be sympathetic to the opposition's claims that the election was rigged for Mr. Ahmadinejad.
Mr. Rafsanjani's reception in Mashad contrasted strikingly with that of Mr. Ahmadinejad, who was snubbed by at least one top-ranking cleric during his own visit two days earlier.
6:24 PM ET -- Iran proposes frightening new Internet law.
Iran has passed a new internet law that experts fear will make information on internet users more readily available to the authorities.
Press TV, a news channel funded by the Iranian government, said on Monday that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the country's president, has issued an order for the implementation of the law.
According to Press TV, the cyber law would provide internet users with "more security", as internet service providers are required to save all data sent and received by their clients for at least three months.
But critics of the legislation say the stored data would enable the authorities to monitor internet users, including anonymous bloggers opposed to the regime in the Islamic republic.
A reader who sent that piece along noted this anecdote from Iran published by Foreign Policy magazine several days ago:
A trusted colleague - who is married to an Iranian-American and would thus prefer to stay anonymous - has told me of a very disturbing episode that happened to her friend, another Iranian-American, as she was flying to Iran last week. On passing through the immigration control at the airport in Tehran, she was asked by the officers if she has a Facebook account. When she said "no", the officers pulled up a laptop and searched for her name on Facebook. They found her account and noted down the names of her Facebook friends.
6:14 PM ET -- Bruno on Ahmadinejad. A comedic interlude...
1:51 PM ET -- Government-sanctioned killers. New video, date uncertain, from Iran.
1:41 PM ET -- Man reportedly tortured for information in Evin prison unable to answer their questions because he's deaf and mute.
1:38 PM ET -- Haute culture goes Green. Via the National Iranian American Council:
Green has never looked so good. Italian designer Guillermo Mariotto wore a Neda Alive shirt to honor Neda, who was killed during the Iranian election aftermath. Mariotto's attention to detail is quite admirable as every model on the catwalk wore a green ribbon on their wrist
1:24 PM ET -- Green scrolls in Paris. People at events held around the world have been signing their names to long green scrolls that declare, "Ahmadinejad is not Iran's president!" The plan is for those scrolls to be sent to Paris and, on Saturday July 25, they'll be attached together and displayed at the Eiffel Tower.
An activist with Whereismyvote.fr says that Paris has already received 87 such scrolls from around the world. "We're waiting for the next hundred or so to come during the next days," the group says. Pretty impressive.
UPDATE: Much more on Saturday's demonstrations.
Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureates, Iranian Poets and Artists Support July 25th Global Day of Action
Protests in Iran Continue - Global Activism Increasing
"We deplore the violence and crackdown on peaceful protesters, the increasing restrictions on civil liberties, and the imprisonment of a growing number of civil leaders in Iran. " Archbishop Destmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1984
"If one country sincerely wants to support democracy in another country that is under dictatorial rule, the only thing to do is to support the freedom fighters who stand for the democratic institutions of that country. Done this way, the sapling of democracy will bear the flower of freedom." Shirin Ebadi, Iranian human rights activist, Nobel Peace Laureate, 2003
"The Iranian leadership is violating the country's own commitments to international human rights treaties, as well as contravening Iran's own laws." Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1976
"We call for the release of all political prisoners, the secession of violence against protesters, and respect for human rights and civil liberties in Iran." Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1997
The two most prominent living Iranian poets, Ismael Khoie, and Simin Behbahani, who lives in Tehran, have joined the Global Day of Action. Dariush, socially conscious singer and Iranian cultural icon, will perform at the Washington D.C. United4Iran rally.
In over 55 cities around the world solidarity rallies are planned in support of civil and human rights for the Iranian people and for an end to the violence. Check www.united4Iran.org for a full list of participating cities and supporting organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Nobel Women's Initiative and Peacejam.
12:47 PM ET -- "Senior U.S. defense official": Israel attack on Iran would be destabilizing. From the Jerusalem Post::
Amid reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is heading to Israel next week for talks on Teheran's nuclear program, a senior US defense official has told The Jerusalem Post that an Israeli strike on Iran could be profoundly destabilizing and would affect US interests.
Israel needed to take its relationship with America into account in contemplating any such attack, he warned.
Gates, who last week described the Islamic republic's nuclear drive as the greatest current threat to global security, is set to spend six hours here next Monday, discussing the Iranian threat with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will also visit Jordan, according to officials involved in planning the trip.
In his interview with the Post at the Pentagon, the senior US defense official also suggested that Syria might be ready to "fundamentally" reorient its position toward the United States, which would include restarting talks with Israel, at a time when Hamas and Hizbullah have been put "on the defensive" by Obama administration policies and events in Iran.
10:14 AM ET -- Photos of Neda's alleged killer. There are some floating around on blogs, but I'm going to hold off posting until there is better confirmation.
Update: Dr. Arash Hejazi, who was with Neda when she was shot, says he has confirmed the ID of the person who killed Neda. A photo of the alleged killer is here.
9:28 AM ET -- Mousavi: Release the prisoners.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated reformist candidate in Iran's presidential election, has demanded the release of scores of protesters detained following the poll, which he insists was rigged.
Speaking to the families of some of the activists and protesters held since the June 12 poll, Mousavi said that detaining people would not resolve the dispute over its outcome, reformist websites reported on Monday.
"Who believes these people, many of them prominent figures, would work with the foreigners and to endanger their country's interests?" he was quoted as saying.
"They should be immediately released."
9:27 AM ET -- Gates to Israel. "US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit Israel on 27 July for talks likely to focus on Iran's nuclear program and US-Israeli strategic ties, officials involved in planning the trip said on Sunday. 'We expect Iran to be the main issue. There is obviously a value in a show of Americans and Israelis closing ranks about Iran,' one official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said about the visit, reports Reuters."
9:26 AM ET -- Iran and the West. The BBC begins a 3-part series.
7:58 AM ET -- Supreme Leader warns opposition to back down. Khamenei's first remarks since Rafsanjani's speech on Friday show him as recalcitrant as ever:
Iran's supreme leader told politicians Monday not to disturb the country's security in a strong warning to the opposition to back down after one of its top figures called for a referendum on the government.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed "Iran's elite" and warned them to be cautious in the positions they take on the turmoil that has shaken the country since the disputed presidential election on June 12.
He said that hurting Iran's security was "the biggest vice," adding that "anybody who drives the society toward insecurity and disorder is a hated person in the view of the Iranian nation, whoever he is."
Khamenei did not mention any names, but the comments reported on state radio were clearly directed at Mir Hossein Mousavi, the pro-reform candidate who claims to have won the election, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the powerful cleric who on Friday criticized the leadership over the elections in a clear challenge to Khamenei.
7:56 AM ET -- Iran releases the last of nine British embassy staff, on bail.
7:55 AM ET -- 36 Army officers reportedly arrested over protest plans. The Guardian has a rather remarkable story.
The Iranian army has arrested 36 officers who planned to attend last week's Friday prayer sermon by former president Hashemi Rafsanjani in their military uniforms as an act of political defiance, according to Farsi-language websites.
The officers intended the gesture to show solidarity with the demonstrations against last month's presidential election result, which was won by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but which has been clouded by allegations of mass fraud. [...]
The officers were rounded up on Friday morning by army intelligence agents who had caught wind of the plan. They are said to have been arrested at their homes and taken to an unknown location.
Peiknet, a Farsi website, said the officers had agreed the action at a weekly prayer meeting the night before at the Shah Abdolazim religious shrine in Shahr-e Rey, on Tehran's southern outskirts. "They decided to attend the Friday prayer in their military clothes as a sign of protest against the cruel massacre of people by the basij and revolutionary guards and to show their objection against this process and support for the people," the site said. It named 24 of the officers, who included two majors, four captains, eight lieutenants, six sergeants and four warrant officers.
7:52 AM ET -- Demonstrations on Sunday in Shiraz.
Several videos posted on social media sites showed what was billed as a protest by students at Ehsan University in Shiraz on Sunday. Scores of students are visible in the clips, which featured students demanding the release of political prisoners and singing songs from the 1979 revolution.
7:50 AM ET -- Al Jazeera: Iran's power struggle. A 23-minute mini-documentary broadcast this weekend:
7:45 AM ET -- Karrubi blasts "clear lies" of current government. Mehdi Karrubi, Iran's former parliament speaker and a reformist candidate in June's presidential election, has "blasted what he called the 'thoughtless and clear lies' of the country's security forces Sunday," referring to the government's claims that it hadn't attacked his supporters as "astonishing."
"How do they try to say that they do not confront people violently or to blame others? All of this took place in front of people's eyes," Karrubi told supporters, according to Aftab. "They kill the youth in front of people's eyes and then say that they didn't have firearms. As a member of this system, I am embarrassed of these thoughtless and clear lies."
There were reports Friday that Karrubi himself was roughed up by members of the Basij, the paramilitary force loyal to Iran's hardline leadership. CNN could not independently verify those reports at the time, but Karrubi said he was "assaulted" and that his turban was knocked off, according to Aftab.
7:37 AM ET -- Reformist former president calls for nationwide referendum.
Former president Mohammad Khatami has called for a nationwide referendum on the legitimacy of the government, saying Iranians have lost faith in their political leaders after last month's disputed election, according to reports posted Monday on several reformist Web sites. [...]
"Durability of order and continuation of the country's progress hinge on restoring public trust," Khatami, a popular reformist, said, according to the sites.
"From the start, we said there is a legal way to regain that trust. I openly say now that the solution to get out of the current crisis is holding a referendum."
Khatami, according to the Web sites, also accused hard-liners of undermining democracy and challenging the foundations of the Islamic republic when they chose to stand by the election results.
"We need to ask the people whether they are satisfied with the current situation? If a majority of the people are happy with this situation, we will submit (to their vote)," he said, referring to the referendum.
It is too early to say whether Khatami's call for a referendum would be adopted by authorities, but it constitutes the latest challenge to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader who has the last word on state matters. Khamenei has declared the results of the elections valid.
TEHRAN, Iran — Investigators have recovered the three black boxes belonging to a Russian-made jetliner that crashed in northwest Iran shortly after taking off from...
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's supreme leader rebuffed President Barack Obama's latest outreach on Saturday, saying Tehran was still waiting to see concrete changes in U.S....
Speaking to Congress Thursday, President Obama announced renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran, thus adhering to a precedent that began in 1995. According to the BBC:...
A few years after the revolution, Monel fled the country after being beaten in a rally to protest the new regime's imposition of conservative clothing that forced women to don chadors.
There are a number of steps facing Obama to reach the Kennedy dream of a nuclear-free world. It is not only a diplomatic, political or military issue. It is indeed, a moral imperative.
I would guess that in the past year, there were more regime-change-in-Iran plots floated by members of the intelligence community than there are Iranians.
If our thousands of nuclear weapons actually do serve to deter, then why should we be concerned about a nuclear North Korea or Iran? If they do not serve to deter, then why retain them at all?
As Iran's election crisis continues, hundreds if not thousands of prisoners remain in Iran's notorious Evin prison. Let me introduce you to one of them.
Crafting an effective strategy to productively involve the general public in homeland security should center on two technologies: mobile communication devices and Web 2.0 social media.
There are several good reasons why president Barack Obama should join dozens of other world leaders who have extended congratulations to Iran's duly re-elected president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
There is a shift in how business is seeing and reacting to the social media cascade. As we build out our online personas, products will find their way to us rather than the other way around.
Washington is in a quandary. Do we really need another monster crisis after "liberating" Afghanistan, and Iraq, or after the messes in Pakistan and Palestine?
The best way to enhance prospects for diplomacy with Iran might actually be not to pursue diplomacy for now. Better instead to make a tactical pause and be ready to engage at the right time.
Iran will be able to export gasoline in the next one and a half years as refinery upgrades and construction plans will also end costly petrol imports to the country. "
Also: While they are doing so, a substancial part of the iranian fleet of cars is being retrofitted with high pressure-canisters, to use natural .g.a.s (NG) as fuel, which doesn't need any refining at all for use in cars.
Also, many cars in Iran are being retrofitted for use of LPG (Liquid Petroleum-G.a.s) which is a free by-product of oil-froduction, too.
Also, many cars manufactured in Iran (Iran manufactures ONE MILLION passenger cars a year and is the only Middle East country with a substantial car-industry - did you know?) are being sold factory-equipped with provision to use either NG or LPG these days.
Simply put: Iran WILL NOT NEED any more gasoline imports - starting this summer.
Question to the US-congress: Is it fun to make yourself the laughing-stock of the world while succumbing to A.I.P.A.C....?
Mogamboguru: "Iran to end petrol import Iran will be able to
Is 'sanctions' America's Last Great Hope for Mankindâ„¢? Because we are right now imposing oil & gas sanctions on Afghanistan by NOT allowing Afghans to apply $2.89B lease payment they received from China MCC for their copper reserves, towards building a mere ~$1B oil refinery that would give tall Afghans 100 years, yes, a century, of energy independence! Instead, right now, US firm Gustavson Associates is quietly conducting private short-listing towards negotiated-price giveaway for BILLIONs of barrels of Afghan oil and TRILLIONs of cubic feet of Afghan natural gas to US:UK multinational robber barons, under contract written by World Bank back in 2001 while Cheney was prestidigitating at Tora Bora, a Hydrocarbon Law which specifically EXCLUDES environmental monitoring, cleanup, remediation or compensation, and will displace 10,000s of Afghans from their homes, to add to the currently 2,500,000 internally displaced refugees and 1,600,000 orphans. Gustavson is also privately leasing away Afghanistan's world-class iron and coke reserves, karzai is keeping his lips sealed, not a single word of this in the global media, obsessed with Financial Bailout, Health Care, Iran and Sharon Stone. We are deliberately leaving Afghanistan a bankrupt smoking moonscape Narcostan, with only grapes, firewood and child-brides to trade for imported gasoline. Criminal sanctions, indeed!
Chipher: Is 'sanctions' America's Last Great Hope for Mankindâ„¢? Because we
If we speak out against the threat of force against Iran (regarding the nuclear conflict) and warn against a military strike, we cannot be silent on the use of force in Iran itself against its own civil society. For solidarity with the civil society and a peaceful order in the region constitute the primary concern of our efforts. If we condemn foreign sanctions against the Iranian people, we deplore all the more domestic sanctions directed at peaceful demonstrators, journalists, trade unionists, professors, students and others...
Not only as individuals but also conjointly as a group of engaged scholars, we want to announce our resolute protest against the brutal clampdown of demonstrators and against the mass arrests,...
We strongly remind that the state of siege and the continuing threat of force that have emanated from foreign governments once again fatally demonstrate how thereby the space for a democratic development in Iran are being reduced...
Also, it is astonishing that precisely those who have supported crippling sanctions and pushed for preventive strikes against Iran whereby civilians have been and would be harmed, suddenly speak about solidarity with the Iranian people. They only will be convincing when they stand up against sanctions and the threat of force and advocate a peaceful dialogue in the region.
wereeverywhere: From Statement by 40 Engaged Scholars http://www.juancole.com Sat. Aug. 8th
Look how well sanctions worked in Cuba, heck, Castro should be overthrown by his people seeking democracy any day now. Look at Iraq: we bombed them into the stone age n the early 90's, cut the country into thirds, applied sanctions which killed close to half a million children, and 10 years later said they were still able to get WMD's right under our noses, which the same groups also 'verified'. Everything the author says is true, except he misses one key point: the only people who want peace are the Iranians, who are also the only people willing to admit Iran is a decade away from a bomb. Iran is the latest victim in the fulfillment of needs by the same old special interests who own our government.
Hank007: Look how well sanctions worked in Cuba, heck, Castro should
I DON'T BELIEVE AHMADINEJAH OR SUPREME LEADER will ever Back down on their Nuclear bomb
CAN ANYONE TRUST A NUCLEAR IRAN ?? / MAYBE WITH MOUSAVI ? WE WILL NEVER KNOW ?
SUPREME LEADER KEEPING TO THE { STATUS QUO} ! POWER -HUNGARY ? THE IRANIAN PEOPLE 'S STRUGGLES TO HAVE A VOICE in there GOVT ? GIVING ADMADINEJAH [ILEGITIMACY]
IS A GAME -UP FOR THEM ! [ APPOINTED ONLY] !
MARNIE2: I DON'T BELIEVE AHMADINEJAH OR SUPREME LEADER will ever Back
Could anyone trust a nuclear Soviet-Union? Obviously so - because you are still alive, while they STILL have their nukes (only that the SU is now called Russia).
You know: Nuclear deterrence either works, or it doesn't.
If it worked with the the Soviet-Union for over half a century, it will work with Iran too.
But if it doesn't work - then your politicians s.c.r.e.w.e.d. America into paying 5 Trillion Dollars for a nuclear arsenal and a military strategy, which didn't work, over the past 60 years.
Which one is it? Pick a choice - because you can't have both.
Mogamboguru: Could anyone trust a nuclear Soviet-Union? Obviously so - because
This is where the bomb Iran crowd throws in the insane argument that the Ayatollah believes in the apocalyptic return of the 12th Imam, and that all Muslims believe that 80 virgins await martyrs. Thus MAD is not applicable to Iran. In other words, Muslims, and by extrapolation, Iranians, are not rational beings.
Wozzeck: This is where the bomb Iran crowd throws in the
if IRAN CAN'T BE TRUSTED WITH ELECTIONS CAN WE TRUST THEM GOING
NUCLEAR ? no ! / [NOT] was long as ISLAMIC GOVT. is in place [ hard liners] if
they mistreat their own peole barbarically &executed political prisoners . ANY opposition to the regime is a [kiss of death] ! maybe we can get that big UMBRELLA- HILLARY was talking about ??? { mother of all UNBRELLA'S } lol !
MARNIE2: if IRAN CAN'T BE TRUSTED WITH ELECTIONS CAN WE TRUST
Great insight, Patrick. Especially like the subtle tie-in to Maslow. But, if you're seeking self-actualization from Congress, then I have to ask where you've been for the past decade. Bully tactics, lack of concern for humanity and a greed that knows no bounds - not signs of self-actualization; rather, the signs of a romper-room gone mad.
ewoman: Great insight, Patrick. Especially like the subtle tie-in to Maslow.
When you've conflated your own national interest with that of (a) another foreign country and (b) an industry, you're liable to do the most stupid things (from your own national security perspective).
Rog49Thomas: How about an alternative? When you've conflated your own national
AI.PAC couldn't care less whether these sanctions affect the the average Iranian or even the Iranian government. They're real goal is antagonize the Iranians into doing something in retaliation, and thus drag the US into a war with Iran on Israel's behalf. This strategy worked so successfully with Iraq it's not surprising they're trying it again. Their biggest obstacle is the current level-headed president. If McCain had won the election, the US would be at war with Iran already.
SimonNZ: AI.PAC couldn't care less whether these sanctions affect the the
when will A.IPAC be branded an organization which is anti-peace, anti-conversation, anti-negotiation, anti-humanity etc...
this is nothing but shame that house reps and senators while begging for votes from their constituents actually do bidding for these radical lobby groups who cut them a periodic check to buy their loyalties...
shame on our politicians....time to change the rule and make A.IPAC register as a foreign lobby group which is the reality...
Freenation: when will A.IPAC be branded an organization which is anti-peace,
Out of the entire over lengthy blog filled with variety of information the neuritic only see the AIPAC bogyeman. And nothing else. Kind of pathetic, really.
ModernTimes1: Out of the entire over lengthy blog filled with variety
That is not the plan. McCain said what the plan is over 7 years ago during a National political talk show interview on Sunday Morning TV. He was asked "After Afghanistan, who is next, Pakistan?" McCain replied "No not Pakistan. I got it straight from the Administration. After Afghanistan is Iraq. Then Syria. Then Somalia. Then Iran. And then Pakistan." . The stated agenda sequence has been consistant with history so far. I was surprised Somalia was on McCain's list but years later it happened. Clearly Iran is next. Then Pakistan.
watchTVgetSTUPID: That is not the plan. McCain said what the plan
Please read the most remarkable op-ed piece I've ever read about how the act of one person far away can affect a country for more than 30 years. Jimmy Carter, why are you silent about what is happening in Iran? http://iranquest.com/?p=9140
evagorman: Please read the most remarkable op-ed piece I've ever read
That article you link is a distortion. You cannot take a few short public quips made by some advisers (Young, Bill, Sullivan) and assume that policy was derived from those sentiments. Carter was told by the Ambassador in Tehran, William Sullivan, in November of 1978 that the Shah was going to fall and he should establish communication with Khomeini. Carter refused. When George Ball, an outside State Department expert, was brought in by Brzenski to evaluate the situation, he came to the same conclusion in December of 1978. Brzenski was furious with Ball's advice, and he made sure Carter never followed it. The historical documents and records show that Brzenski (NSC) was far more influential on Carter's policy than the State Department. Cyrus Vance and the State Department were largely being ignored. The State Department also warned of disastrous consequences that would result if the Shah was permitted on US soil; they lost that argument too--and their people suffered the consequences.
FrankCornish: That article you link is a distortion. You cannot take
So what is Carter's reason for not speaking up now? If human rights in Iran were so very important to him back in 1978 why aren't they important to him now? And while I'm at it, Amnesty International got their "start" due to the information they provided to Carter about Iran human rights abuses and, except for a recent blurb expressing outrage at the mass execution a couple of days ago, they are strangely silent about Iran now. Why? How hard is it to condemn what is happening in Iran? Do these agencies get so large and so top heavy that they become ineffective? And as far as that article being a "distortion", well, isn't everything distorted depending on your side and point of view? From the view of many Iranians, Carter is culpable.
evagorman: So what is Carter's reason for not speaking up now?
Well, sure the article I linked is a distortion. It's an opinion piece, after all. The truth is that many Iranians feel Jimmy Carter is culpable and it's a shame that his reason for involvement back in the 70s was human rights abuse, and now, when human rights abuses are both public and horrific, he is silent.
evagorman: Well, sure the article I linked is a distortion. It's
ReThugs can't claim to be for the Shah of Iran on the one hand, and against Saddam of Iraq on the other, they were both installed by CIA, both took their marching orders from CIA, both were put into place to pipeline their $Ts in oil & gas into Western bank accounts.
Then Saddam turned on them, nationalized the oil, still we persisted, US:UK:DE, showering him with weapons systems, *including chemical war precursors*, for his war against the Ayatollah on our behalf. Even after the Iran:Iraq War, US:UK freely traded with both countries. It was only when Saddam beat back the Kuwaiti Royals *stealing Iraqi oil using US horizontal drilling technology under the border*, that GHWBush beat Saddam back, exterminating his Royal Guard, *then we were doing business with Saddam the next day*! Cheney was still selling equipment to Saddam *even after UN sanctions went into effect!*
If Saddam hadn't made a fatal error of declaring solidarity with the anti-Zionist jihad, we would still be at the sanctions stage, that limits EU trade competition, and is where we will remain with Iran, because sanctions prevent Tehran from being involved in the US:UK Rape of Afghanistan for her *$100Bs in world-class strategic metals, uranium, diamonds and oil & gas*.
Right now, today, US firm Gustavson Associates is privately auctioning those resources away!
We will deliberately leave Afghanistan a bankrupt, smoking moonscape, NarcoStan, because as McCain pointed out, Defense needs a 'go forward' marketing strategy that demands failed states.
Chipher: ReThugs can't claim to be for the Shah of Iran
Sanctions will indeed only further drive Iran into the arms of Russia and China, and is patently retarded policy making.
Military confrontation, similarly, will spell global economic disaster and almost certainly draw Russia and China into a wider conflict (both are heavily invested in Iran, and vice versa).
The best course of action for Washington and London is to ENGAGE IRAN ECONOMICALLY. Yes, the exact opposite of sanctions. Why? Because 'you keep your friends close, but your enemies closer' as the old Machiavellian (by way of Mario Puzo!) maxim goes, and trade is a great means of achieving those ends.
Plus, the West collectively needs Iran's help in providing vital natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nabucco pipeline, and proposing sanctions aren't exactly going to help.
The US must try and strip Iran away from the growing Russo-Chinese Axis without firing a single shot (or allowing Israel to, either). This will take visionary diplomacy and many carrots, rather than the backwards, clueless policy of sanctions, which won't achieve their core purposes anyway.
hp_blogger_Pye Ian: Excellent article, and I agree 100%. Sanctions will indeed only
And for the files: I stongly support the iranian people - but I don't give a dime for the illegitimate iranian regime under illegitimate "president" Achmadi-Nejad (correct spelling - meaning "Achmadi from Nejad).
Mogamboguru: Absolutely exactly. Fanned and marked as favorite. And for the
Do you think Obama is unaware of the efficacy of sanctions? Do you think he has not heard the pro an con arguments on sanctions against Iran??
Do you think Obama has been deceived by the neocons and AIPAC?
Iran will be able to export gasoline in the next one and a half years as refinery upgrades and construction plans will also end costly petrol imports to the country. "
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=102237§ionid=351020102
Also: While they are doing so, a substancial part of the iranian fleet of cars is being retrofitted with high pressure-canisters, to use natural .g.a.s (NG) as fuel, which doesn't need any refining at all for use in cars.
Also, many cars in Iran are being retrofitted for use of LPG (Liquid Petroleum-G.a.s) which is a free by-product of oil-froduction, too.
Also, many cars manufactured in Iran (Iran manufactures ONE MILLION passenger cars a year and is the only Middle East country with a substantial car-industry - did you know?) are being sold factory-equipped with provision to use either NG or LPG these days.
Simply put: Iran WILL NOT NEED any more gasoline imports - starting this summer.
Question to the US-congress: Is it fun to make yourself the laughing-stock of the world while succumbing to A.I.P.A.C....?
(
If we speak out against the threat of force against Iran (regarding the nuclear conflict) and warn against a military strike, we cannot be silent on the use of force in Iran itself against its own civil society. For solidarity with the civil society and a peaceful order in the region constitute the primary concern of our efforts. If we condemn foreign sanctions against the Iranian people, we deplore all the more domestic sanctions directed at peaceful demonstrators, journalists, trade unionists, professors, students and others...
Not only as individuals but also conjointly as a group of engaged scholars, we want to announce our resolute protest against the brutal clampdown of demonstrators and against the mass arrests,...
We strongly remind that the state of siege and the continuing threat of force that have emanated from foreign governments once again fatally demonstrate how thereby the space for a democratic development in Iran are being reduced...
Also, it is astonishing that precisely those who have supported crippling sanctions and pushed for preventive strikes against Iran whereby civilians have been and would be harmed, suddenly speak about solidarity with the Iranian people. They only will be convincing when they stand up against sanctions and the threat of force and advocate a peaceful dialogue in the region.
CAN ANYONE TRUST A NUCLEAR IRAN ?? / MAYBE WITH MOUSAVI ? WE WILL NEVER KNOW ?
SUPREME LEADER KEEPING TO THE { STATUS QUO} ! POWER -HUNGARY ? THE IRANIAN PEOPLE 'S STRUGGLES TO HAVE A VOICE in there GOVT ? GIVING ADMADINEJAH [ILEGITIMACY]
IS A GAME -UP FOR THEM ! [ APPOINTED ONLY] !
You know: Nuclear deterrence either works, or it doesn't.
If it worked with the the Soviet-Union for over half a century, it will work with Iran too.
But if it doesn't work - then your politicians s.c.r.e.w.e.d. America into paying 5 Trillion Dollars for a nuclear arsenal and a military strategy, which didn't work, over the past 60 years.
Which one is it? Pick a choice - because you can't have both.
NUCLEAR ? no ! / [NOT] was long as ISLAMIC GOVT. is in place [ hard liners] if
they mistreat their own peole barbarically &executed political prisoners . ANY opposition to the regime is a [kiss of death] ! maybe we can get that big UMBRELLA- HILLARY was talking about ??? { mother of all UNBRELLA'S } lol !
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204908604574332753028699432.html
Isn't waging a preemptive war a war crime?
When you've conflated your own national interest with that of (a) another foreign country and (b) an industry, you're liable to do the most stupid things (from your own national security perspective).
this is nothing but shame that house reps and senators while begging for votes from their constituents actually do bidding for these radical lobby groups who cut them a periodic check to buy their loyalties...
shame on our politicians....time to change the rule and make A.IPAC register as a foreign lobby group which is the reality...
Why are all your comments supporting some country far away from America.
Were is your allegiance , America ! I doubt .
Kind of Pathetic Really on your part, What is it do you love about APIAC,
Will u ever love any organization which has 300 senators on their beck & call. Arent u afraid , with so much power at their hands & whjat they can do.
Then Saddam turned on them, nationalized the oil, still we persisted, US:UK:DE, showering him with weapons systems, *including chemical war precursors*, for his war against the Ayatollah on our behalf. Even after the Iran:Iraq War, US:UK freely traded with both countries. It was only when Saddam beat back the Kuwaiti Royals *stealing Iraqi oil using US horizontal drilling technology under the border*, that GHWBush beat Saddam back, exterminating his Royal Guard, *then we were doing business with Saddam the next day*! Cheney was still selling equipment to Saddam *even after UN sanctions went into effect!*
If Saddam hadn't made a fatal error of declaring solidarity with the anti-Zionist jihad, we would still be at the sanctions stage, that limits EU trade competition, and is where we will remain with Iran, because sanctions prevent Tehran from being involved in the US:UK Rape of Afghanistan for her *$100Bs in world-class strategic metals, uranium, diamonds and oil & gas*.
Right now, today, US firm Gustavson Associates is privately auctioning those resources away!
We will deliberately leave Afghanistan a bankrupt, smoking moonscape, NarcoStan, because as McCain pointed out, Defense needs a 'go forward' marketing strategy that demands failed states.
Very good informations here!
Again fanned and marked as favorite!
Do you mean Afghanistan's resources?
Cheney's Halliberton --through a subsidiary--was working in Iran until 2006??
Did you know that exports to Iran increased Under Bush?
Sanctions will indeed only further drive Iran into the arms of Russia and China, and is patently retarded policy making.
Military confrontation, similarly, will spell global economic disaster and almost certainly draw Russia and China into a wider conflict (both are heavily invested in Iran, and vice versa).
The best course of action for Washington and London is to ENGAGE IRAN ECONOMICALLY. Yes, the exact opposite of sanctions. Why? Because 'you keep your friends close, but your enemies closer' as the old Machiavellian (by way of Mario Puzo!) maxim goes, and trade is a great means of achieving those ends.
Plus, the West collectively needs Iran's help in providing vital natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nabucco pipeline, and proposing sanctions aren't exactly going to help.
The US must try and strip Iran away from the growing Russo-Chinese Axis without firing a single shot (or allowing Israel to, either). This will take visionary diplomacy and many carrots, rather than the backwards, clueless policy of sanctions, which won't achieve their core purposes anyway.
Fanned and marked as favorite.
And for the files: I stongly support the iranian people - but I don't give a dime for the illegitimate iranian regime under illegitimate "president" Achmadi-Nejad (correct spelling - meaning "Achmadi from Nejad).