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A Decent Respect for the Opinions of Mankind: Iran Literacy Quiz
As we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from the jackboot of British imperialism, consider a phrase in the Declaration that should surely vex some purported American patriots today: "a decent respect for the opinions of mankind."
The text seems to indicate that the signers of the Declaration believed some level of respect for the opinions of mankind should be considered decent. This would seem to suggest that they actually gave a rat's behind what people in other countries thought of American actions. How different is Washington today from Philadelphia in 1776!
Americans are often criticized for their ignorance of world affairs. But maybe if our government were not constantly screwing up world affairs, the rest of the world would cut us a bit more slack on the whole "knowledge of world affairs" thing. On the other hand, maybe if we knew a bit more about world affairs, our government would not be screwing them up so much.
They say bombing other countries is our government's way of teaching Americans geography. (If it's not what they say, it's what they should say.) But the more our government goes around bombing other countries, the more the rest of the world kvetches and moans about how Americans ought to learn a little something about these countries before our government starts bombing them. It's hard to make progress this way. The more we learn about the world by destroying other people's countries, the higher our foreign critics raise the bar for our knowledge.
Since it doesn't look like Washington has any intention of swearing off its bombing addiction anytime soon, in the spirit of '76, and with a decent respect for the levity with which the anniversary is now generally celebrated, I offer the following "conflict with Iran literacy quiz" for the edification of the General Public. The questions start out easy -- and they remain so.
Iran Conflict Literacy Quiz
1. Iran's leaders have declared their intention to acquire nuclear weapons.
True
False
2. Iran is training, arming, financing, and politically supporting Al Qaeda in Iraq.
True
False
3. Iran's leaders have declared that the acquisition of nuclear weapons would be contrary to Islam.
True
False
4. On May 13, the Iranian government sent a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations. In this letter, Iran
a) demanded that God not inscribe the Zionist entity occupying Jerusalem in the Book of Life
b) offered comprehensive negotiations on all issues in dispute with the West, including Iran's nuclear program.
5. In Iran's May 13 proposal for comprehensive negotiations, Iran indicated its willingness to negotiate on a proposal for international enrichment of uranium in Iran with Iranian participation. In March, a similar proposal was put forward in an article in the New York Review of Books co-authored by a prominent member of Washington's foreign policy establishment. Who was that former US government official?
a) Ramsey Clark, Attorney General in the Johnson Administration
b) Andrew Young, Ambassador to the United Nations in the Carter Administration
c) Thomas Pickering, Ambassador to the United Nations in the first Bush Administration, and Ambassador to Israel during the Reagan Administration.
6. President Bush has said that the United States has no dispute with the Iranian people. According to a recent poll by the Program in International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, about what proportion of Iranians believe that it is "very important" that Iran master the nuclear fuel cycle?
a) 1%
b) 2%
c) 3%
d) 81%
7. According to the same poll, about what proportion of the Iranian population think that Iran should pursue the acquisition of nuclear weapons?
a) 100%
b) 99%
c) 98%
d) 20%
8. Iran's leaders have pledged to destroy Israel.
a) Yes, this pledge is chanted in unison each morning in the Iranian parliament, while the Iran Army Orchestra whistles Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."
b) No, Iran's leaders have never threatened to attack Israel if Iran is not attacked first.
9. In Iran's government system, the Leader with Supreme authority over the government, especially foreign and military affairs and the country's nuclear program, is
a) Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
b) President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad
10. In 1953, the democratic government of Iran was overthrown in a coup organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency, after Iran's parliament voted to nationalize the country's oil sector, angering the British (cf. "jackboot," above) who responded to the Iranian parliament's action by imposing a naval blockade of the country to prevent it from exporting oil; just as today Representative Ackerman's House Concurrent Resolution 362 seeks to prevent Iran from importing gas by "imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran," suggesting a blockade, an act of war.
True
False
11. Representative Ackerman's resolution has been co-sponsored by nine Members of Congress who earlier co-sponsored a resolution to impeach Vice-President Cheney on the grounds that (among other crimes) he "openly threatened aggression against the Republic of Iran absent any real threat to the United States":
True
False
Answers:
1) False. But President Bush claimed it was true. When reporters challenged Bush Administration on this, they insisted President Bush had done nothing wrong.
2) False, as far as we know; and the claim is extremely implausible. Senator McCain claimed it was true three times before he finally corrected himself.
3) True. This fact is not generally acknowledged in the U.S. It's not obvious why this should be so. Presumably, leaders of an "Islamic theocratic regime" would not make such statements lightly.
4) They offered comprehensive negotiations on all issues in dispute. But you might well have missed that under-reported fact, unless you happened to be reading the Boston Globe, which published an interview with Iran's UN Ambassador on May 31.
5) Pickering's article appeared on March 20, and you can find it here.
6) 81%. The poll is here.
7) 20%. Again, the poll is here.
8) No. The claim that President Ahmedinejad threatened to "wipe Israel off the map" was a media canard that has been thoroughly discredited by Middle East scholar Juan Cole, among others. One doesn't see this claim in mainstream media in the U.S. nearly as much as one used to, but it still pops up occasionally, usually in lower-tier media.
9) Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is top banana.
10) True. On the US role in the coup, see, among others, the book by Stephen Kinzer; a short video tells the story here. The text of Ackerman's resolution can be found here. You can ask your Representative to oppose it here.
11) True. The nine impeachment poseurs, at least as far as Iran is concerned, are: Robert Wexler, [FL-19]; Jan Schakowsky, [IL-9]; Bob Filner, [CA-51]; Danny Davis, [IL-7]; Robert Brady [PA-1]; Wm. Lacy Clay, [MO-1], Steve Cohen, [TN-9]; Hank Johnson, [GA-4]; Edolphus Towns, [NY-10]. The Cheney impeachment co-sponsors are here and the Iran gas embargo co-sponsors are here.
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Well NL207, when I have to choose between believing an unknown quantity and believing a known liar, who lied to get us into a useless war, and continues to lie about the war and its cost on the American economy, I'm going to go with the unknown quantity. Your tough-minded attitude is now known to be a phony pose, even faker than "I feel your pain." The only hope you have of convincing me that anything you say is true is if you drop the fake tough guy act, and admit that the bumbler-in-chief is out of his depth. Lies only go so far.
http://www.juancole.com/2006/05/hitchens-hacker-and-hitchens.html
That link up there referring to Juan Cole is a "must read" for everyone to set the record straight... I wish HuffPo would see if they could Post it again since it is from 2 years ago... and we are still in the exact same place.... or, the circumstances are even more dire today.
You forgot number 12
Dick Cheney was involved in a meeting where the subject was how to CREATE a casus belli between Tehran and Washington?
True
False
THE POINT IS: the menace of iran is a scare tactic used by our corrupt government and military indistrial complex the rob us blind and control our behavior.
We are sheep, sad but rue.
The author states that the phrase "wipe Israel off the map" is still misquoted but only occasionally by
"lower tiered media" ---Ha!!
It could read,' lower tiered media and our current Republican Presidential nominee, John McCain.'
This video shows how uninformed McCain is again, this time about Iran. When asked questions by Time reporter, Klein, he looks uncomfortable, makes a couple of wisecrack remarks and then condescendingly banters as if he is the scholar on Iranian information.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/20/mccain-confronted-with-ne_n_102614.html
Unfortunately, that phrase and other misconceptions about Iran are cemented in the minds of Americans. Isn't it comforting to know one of the two candidates running for our president is contributing to the general pool of ignorance. This is classic McCain misinformation.
"11. Representative Ackerman's resolution has been co-sponsored by nine Members of Congress who earlier co-sponsored a resolution to impeach Vice-President Cheney on the "
10 Members of Congress who have clearly demonstrated that (a) They do not understand the separation of powers. The Constitution invested the President [executive branch] with the power to make foreign policy with the advice and consent of the Senate. These Congressmen are not Senators. (b) They are unable to recognize the threat to world peace posed by the Iranians and the terrorists they support in the Middle East and elsewhere. Some people in this country think that these clowns ought to authorize drilling some new oil and gas wells and building some new Nuclear Power plants instead of meddling in foreign affairs.
Deconstruction complete.
"The Congress shall have the power to declare war" - US Constitution, Article I
"10. In 1953, the democratic government of Iran was overthrown in a coup organized by the US Central Intelligence Agency, after Iran's parliament voted to nationalize the country's oil sector, angering the British "
This is an incomplete assessment of who was behind this coup. "Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the CIA and British intelligence" source: http://www.rense.com/general40/roots.htm British Intelligence was omitted. Indeed, based on the admitted Coup motivation, one might argue that British Intelligence was principally behind this action in the fist place. The sole CIA contribution appears to have been $100,000 to supply the Shah's forces.
In 1953, nationalization of foreign assets was an act of war. This is exactly what happened when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956: France and Britain declared war. The Iranians should have expected no different than war in 1953.
"9. In Iran's government system, the Leader with Supreme authority over the government, especially foreign and military affairs and the country's nuclear program, is"
This is only relevant if the author wishes to contend there is some SIGNIFICANT difference between the policies of Ahmadinejad and Khameini. No evidence is offered to supports such a contention.
"The Supreme Leader is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, controls the military intelligence and security operations"
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Iran
Given that Khameini controls the Revolutionary Guard and the Revolutionary Guard overtly supports Hezbollah, we must conclude that Khameini also supports Hezbollah and its activities. Since Hezbollah are terrorists, Khameini must also be a terrorist.
"4. On May 13, the Iranian government sent a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations."
And what has come of these overtures? Nothing. See Frence-Iran negotiations.
I
ran sent a diplomatic letter. So what? On Dec 6, 1941, Japan sent a Diplomatic message to the United States' State Department.
source: http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/pha/narrative/30.html
The next morning they bombed the snot out of Pearl Harbor.
From reading this post one would think that the Iranian Navy had two carrier battle groups stationed off OUR coast.
"5. In Iran's May 13 proposal for comprehensive negotiations, Iran indicated its willingness to negotiate on a proposal for international enrichment of uranium in Iran with Iranian participation."
Great news! The Iranians want somebody who knows how to enrich Uranuium efficiently to show them how!
In case nobody has noticed, the French have negotiating with the Iranians on this subjecvt with no success.
source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1561540/Nicolas-Sarkozy-warns-of-Iran's-nuclear-crisis.html
source: http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/france_sarkozys_nuclear_sweeteners_middle_east
So long as our policy towards Iran is regime change (and it is) the Iranians have no incentive to talk to us. They're not going to negotiate themselves out of existence.
"6. ... According to a recent poll ...what proportion of Iranians believe that it is "very important" that Iran master the nuclear fuel cycle?"
"7. According to the same poll, about what proportion of the Iranian population think that Iran should pursue the acquisition of nuclear weapons"
Neither poll question has any relevance. Iran is an Islamic Republic, a Theocracy where a collection of religious FUNDAMENTALISTS make all the policy decisions, not the people. I thought liberals did not like or trust religious fundamentalists. Apparently not Mr. Naiman. He seems to like them as long as they are sworn enemies of the Western Liberal tradition.
Iran has a very pro Western population. That will change the moment the first American bombs start falling on the country. I can think of few things that would make the population line up behind their government faster.
What a hoot!
"8. Iran's leaders have pledged to destroy Israel.
a) Yes, this pledge is chanted in unison each morning in the Iranian parliament, while the Iran Army Orchestra whistles Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."
b) No, Iran's leaders have never threatened to attack Israel if Iran is not attacked first."
Iran funds, trains and equips Hezbollah. Hezbollah surely intends to destroy Israel. Iran's Revolutionary Guards most certainly endorse this action by Hezbollah.
source: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSBLA83745220080218
"3. Iran's leaders have declared that the acquisition of nuclear weapons would be contrary to Islam."
"After the Iranian Revolution, the Ayatollah Khomeini determined that nuclear research was incompatible with Islam. But Saddam Hussein also took control of Iraq in 1979, instigating war with Iran shortly afterward. So Khomeini relented and allowed nuclear-weapons research to proceed to counter his hostile neighbor."
source: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=10082
Khomeini has been dead for nearly 20 years, and, as the apologist source referenced above freely admits, his 'fatwa' did not prevent him from endorsing nuclear weapons if his intended foe has them. Israel has nuclear weapons.
"1. Iran's leaders have declared their intention to acquire nuclear weapons."
Iran has officially denied this. Iran's Twelver leader, Ahmadinejad, has called yesterday for Israel to be "wiped off the map" source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/1501620/Wipe-Israel-off-map,-says-Iran's-president.html
Quick Show of hands: How many people here believe Iran is telling the truth about its nuclear intentions?
Ahmadinejad has also said "Iran is a threat to no other country, including the Zionist Entity." Of course, I'm only supposed to believe him when he says something that bolsters our case for attacking Iran. Which we wanted to do long before he became President.
Drivel.
"2. Iran is training, arming, financing, and politically supporting Al Qaeda in Iraq."
Let's re-word this statement thusly.
Iran is training, arming, financing, and politically supporting Muqtada Al Sadr and his Mahdi Army in Iraq.
Show of hands: How many of you think this is false?
I think you miss the point. The Neocons and warmongers are (falsely) trying to link Iran to Al Qaeda just like they (falsely) did with Iraq. The Mahdi Army and Al Qaeda are two very different organizations. One is Sunni, the other Shiite. One is a homegrown Iraqi insurgency, the other a foreign terrorist organization. And of course, Al Sadr didn't attack us on 911. These are pretty important differences.
The fact that so many people still can't distinguish between Sunni and Shiite (including McCain, by the way), and don't understand why it makes a difference, is particularly strong proof of the author's thesis.
THE POINT IS: the menace of iran is a scare tactic used by our corrupt government and military indistrial complex the rob us blind and control our behavior.
We are sheep, sad but rue.
NL207
Maliki's party is much more closely aligned with Iran than Al-Sadr.
Al-Sadr is an Iraqi nationalist trying to get us out AND trying to minimize Iranian influence.
We (the US) are actually supporting the more Iranian-friendly (Maliki) of the two as the one we oppose (Al-Sadr) tries to minimize Iranian influence in Iraq.
And the United States is supporting anti-Iranian terrorist (oops, I meant to say freedom fighter) groups like the MEK. Not to mention that we very likely have special forces operating inside of Iranian territory.
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