Posted on 11/20/2005 12:21:14 PM PST by freedom44
Top News Story
IranFocus
Tehran, Iran, Nov. 20 – A top military commander who has been responsible for recruitment of suicide bombers in Iran’s armed forces was on Sunday promoted to the position of Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Brigadier General Hossein Salami was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the IRGC while Brigadier General Ali Fazli was promoted the position of Director of Operations in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
During an inauguration ceremony, the Commandant of the IRGC, Major General Rahim Safavi, said that the latest reshuffles in the IRGC meant that the elite military force was “on the path of expansion”.
Salami is best known for his efforts to recruit radical fanatics loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei into Iran’s armed forces.
On July 4, 2004, Salami, who was IRGC’s Director of Operations at the time, called for the destruction of the United States during a ceremony to recruit suicide bombers that were willing to attack Western and Israeli targets.
Referring to suicide attacks against Israel, Salami said, “A young group following the ideology of Imam [Ruhollah] Khomeini and the [1979] Islamic revolution have started a new strategy of struggle and jihad against the Israelis”.
He said that the West and Israel were terrified of suicide operations. “Now, no part of the Islamic world is safe and secure for America, thus the U.S. cannot move forward in the region is currently trying to secure its present location”.
A Daily Briefing of Major News Stories on Iran:
Hurray!!! Perhaps they'll have a 21 terrorist salute.
Champ
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Join Us At Today's Iranian Alert Thread – The Most Underreported Story Of The Year!
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ANNOUNCEMENT
This Afternoon...6:00PM Eastern (Brit Hume's show)
Reporter's Notebook: Inside Iran
By Amy Kellogg
I took the overnight flight from London to Tehran, which arrived at 6:30 in the morning. Iran said it would only grant FOX News one visa. Usually I travel with a producer and a cameraman. This time, I was entirely on my own.
Since I am a U.S. citizen and America has no diplomatic ties with Iran, I figured going through the arrival routine might be a nightmare. I had arranged, at the cost of $100, to use the CIP service: Commercially Important Persons. I never thought a journalist (except maybe Barbara Walters) could be considered "commercially important," but apparently anyone with an extra Ben Franklin qualifies.
Go "Inside Iran" on Special Report w/ Brit Hume starting Monday,
Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. ET.
In the Islamic Republic of Iran it is the law that women cover their heads, so before disembarking from the plane I threw a headscarf and a long wool coat on. In some places the all-enveloping black cloak called the "chador" is mandatory, otherwise a scarf and regular coat will do. The problem is the coat stays on all the time — even in heated office buildings — until you are back in your home or hotel.
I was met on the ramp by a man in a suit with a sign, then was whisked through the bowels of Mehrabad International Airport. He turned me over to two men in uniform who kept me waiting for a while, and then led me to a remote room in a dimly-lit basement. They couldn't find the light switch in the room, so there we were, the three of us, searching the dark room for light. One of them then fished out a little-used vat of ink and rifled through some papers, as if trying to figure out what do do next. Since America apparently fingerprints Iranians at JFK, there's a tit-for-tat reciprocal arrangement in Tehran. I have never given my prints before so I figured a digit or two would do, then it became clear that all 10 were required. I asked if I could get some wet-wipes out of my briefcase to avoid reaching in with two inky hands later. I don't speak Farsi and they didn't speak much English, so a strange little pantomime ensued. One of my guards gave me a look as if to say, "I am so sorry I have to do this to you." He took the baby wipes from me, opened the packet, and got one ready. I was feeling a bit disoriented, weak, blinking through very dry contact lenses. Cleaning ink off 10 fingers is not easy, and suddenly the officials seemed in a huge hurry to move me along. I began to fumble with my bulging briefcase, trying to close it and find a garbage can for my grimy wet wipe. My scarf slipped off my head. A third man appeared out of nowhere and barked at me to adjust it...
From there I was handed over to my "fixer," the term journalists use for people we employ when travelling to foreign countries to help us "fix" our interviews and video shoots. I had been speaking to this man for months on the phone as the details of my visit were worked out, and felt I knew him already. I was very glad to see him, finally, in the flesh. He shook my hand heartily — he had warned me in advance that he would, so I wouldn't be taken aback. Men and women don't usually shake hands in Iran, but he was relaxed, friendly and raring to go. Time was of the essence.
It was the day Iranians mark the anniversary of the hostage taking of dozens of Americans at the U.S. Embassy in 1979, and we had to get to the demonstration on time. It had already begun. Before I knew it, I was right in the middle of a crowd of young people, burning American flags, chanting "Death to America," "Death to Israel," and I think "Death to Britain" was thrown in for good measure. We hooked up with a camera crew and then split up. Men to one side, women to another. In the middle of it all, up on a podium festooned with large, funereal flower arrangements, a student leader of the Basijis (the militant, para-military revolutionary group), a kid who looked like a young version of Iran's new president, was barking speeches over a PA system. He was jabbing alternately, his right hand, then left — first toward the men, then toward the women, for emphasis. As he carried on, he whipped the crowd of thousands into something of a frenzy.
There I stood amidst the young women all in chadors and trademark green Basiji headbands, some with incendiary placards. They gathered into small groups and by turn, just stared at me. One by one, the representative of each little group who could speak English would approach me and ask where I was from. "America," I said. And each time, I got a disarmingly warm smile in return —wide eyes peaking out from black cloaks. "America?" And then, "Welcome to Iran! How are you? Is this your first time here? I hope you will like it and your trip will be successful."
The irony of their warm greetings, given the circumstances, was surreal. In turn, each of them went on to tell me how much they dislike American foreign policy but how they like Americans.
(excerpt - see link for more)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176045,00.html
Does this means that the mullahs are no longer playing hide the Salami amongst each other?
I voted for you today!!! thanks for continual updates in Iran
Done.
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