Iran Declares War

The New York Sun VIA Little Green Footballs.com ^ | 5-11-06 | editorail

[blasater1960]

New York Sun Editorial May 11, 2006

President Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush, widely interpreted as a peaceful overture, is in fact a declaration of war. The key sentence in the letter is the closing salutation. In an eight-page text of the letter being circulated by the Council on Foreign Relations, it is left untranslated and rendered as "Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda." What this means is "Peace only unto those who follow the true path."

It is a phrase with historical significance in Islam, for, according to Islamic tradition, in year six of the Hejira - the late 620s - the prophet Mohammad sent letters to the Byzantine emperor and the Sassanid emperor telling them to convert to the true faith of Islam or be conquered. The letters included the same phrase that President Ahmadinejad used to conclude his letter to Mr. Bush. For Mohammad, the letters were a prelude to a Muslim offensive, a war launched for the purpose of imposing Islamic rule over infidels.

[blasater1960]

Yeah, I heard that guy too, from the Citizen magazine. Didnt he say to watch out next for what they rant about during Friday Prayers?

[jude24]

Trust me, none of us are calling for war lightly.

I would beg to differ. There seems to be no shortage of knee-jerk claims to war right now.

This letter appears to be a declaration of a new phase of jihad,

So says an American blog. I'm not convinced LGF has a deep enough knowledge of Iranian culture to understand this letter. They're trying to read between the lines, but from a Western mindset that assumes the worst about Islam - which may or may not be true.

We cannot afford to take it lightly for any reason, not even to save you brave men and women from making more sacrifices.

No, we can't afford to take it lightly. We have to keep ourselves prepped for the worst case scenario. We should not, however, lurch into war based of half-cocked psychoanalysis of a letter written by an entirely foreign culture. Especially not when our forces are exhausted by two wars already.

[El Gato]

For Mohammad, the letters were a prelude to a Muslim offensive, a war launched for the purpose of imposing Islamic rule over infidels.

If that's what President ImaWackJob meant, all I can do is quote President Bush "Bring Em On", sooner rather than later.

Of course if they were smart, which they aren't especially, they'd wait until at least after the 2006 elections, and preferably after the 2008. The American people are not the Spanish.

[PghBaldy]

I saw that too. On Sept 11, there were peace signs drawn in front of the Barnes & Noble here... I screamed I was so angry. (Oh - I voted for Gore. Regretted that within hours...another topic)

[ladyinred]

Bring it on!

[PghBaldy]

Supposedly, Clinton received such a letter (though it MAY have been a public one) by OBL, which would have allowed OBL to do all of the mentioned...

[PghBaldy]

LGF is not the only one. Robert Spencer of JihadWatch believes this to be the case also.

[spokeshave]

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[Old_Mil]

They're trying to read between the lines, but from a Western mindset that assumes the worst about Islam - which may or may not be true.

Out of curiousity, exactly what have you seen out of Iran - or for that matter out of Islam - that would make you assume anything but the worst about either?

[jude24]

Out of curiousity, exactly what have you seen out of Iran - or for that matter out of Islam - that would make you assume anything but the worst about either?

There's not enough evidence to only assume the worst. Simply, the Eastern mindset is entirely different than the Western. It would be hubris to pretend we understood it.

[jude24]

Robert Spencer of JihadWatch

Oh, there's an objective source.

[Old_Mil]

There's not enough evidence to only assume the worst. Simply, the Eastern mindset is entirely different than the Western. It would be hubris to pretend we understood it.

Iran's mindset hasn't been the "eastern" mindset you cite for 1400 years. What you say might have been true of of the Vietnamese in the 60s, or the Chinese even today. Iran's mindset, however, is an Islamic mindset. There is plenty of evidence to understand that.

* 1993 (Feb.): Bombing of World Trade Center (WTC); 6 killed.
* 1993 (Oct.): Killing of U.S. soldiers in Somalia.
* 1996 (June): Truck bombing at Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killed 19 Americans.
* 1998 (Aug.): Bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; 224 killed, including 12 Americans.
* 1999 (Dec.): Plot to bomb millennium celebrations in Seattle foiled when customs agents arrest an Algerian smuggling explosives into the U.S.
* 2000 (Oct.): Bombing of the USS Cole in port in Yemen; 17 U.S. sailors killed.
* 2001 (Sept.): Destruction of WTC; attack on Pentagon. Total dead 2,992.
* 2001 (Dec.): Man tried to denote shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.
* 2002 (April): Explosion at historic synagogue in Tunisia left 21 dead, including 14 German tourists.
* 2002 (May): Car exploded outside hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14, including 11 French citizens.
* 2002 (June): Bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12.
* 2002 (Oct.): Boat crashed into oil tanker off Yemen coast, killing 1.
* 2002 (Oct.): Nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killed 202, mostly Australian citizens.
* 2002 (Nov.): Suicide attack on a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 16.
* 2003 (May): Suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
* 2003 (May): 4 bombs killed 33 people targeting Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian sites in Casablanca, Morocco.
* 2003 (Aug.): Suicide car-bomb killed 12, injured 150 at Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
* 2003 (Nov.): Explosions rocked a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia housing compound, killing 17.
* 2003 (Nov.): Suicide car-bombers simultaneously attacked 2 synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25 and injuring hundreds.
* 2003 (Nov.): Truck bombs detonated at London bank and British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 26.
* 2004 (March): 10 bombs on 4 trains exploded almost simultaneously during the morning rush hour in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 and injuring more than 1,400.
* 2004 (May): Terrorists attacked Saudi oil company offices in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 22.
* 2004 (June): Terrorists kidnapped and executed American Paul Johnson, Jr., in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
* 2004 (Sept.): Car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed 9.
* 2004 (Dec.): Terrorists entered the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 9 (including 4 attackers).
* 2005 (July): Bombs exploded on 3 trains and a bus in London, England, killing 52.
* 2005 (Oct.): 22 killed by 3 suicide bombs in Bali, Indonesia.
* 2005 (Nov.): 57 killed at 3 American hotels in Amman, Jordan.

[PghBaldy]

I looked, couldn't find anything. The commentator I heard must have gotten the fatwa mixed up with this. I just also remembered some Muslim scholars were upset with Osama cause he didn't give us a chance to convert before 9/11. You were right.

[blasater1960]

Howd' you know .45 is my favorite!

[blasater1960]

"Iran's mindset, however, is an Islamic mindset. There is plenty of evidence to understand that....LIST"

Ker....SLAM!

[blasater1960]

BTW what is wrong with Jihad Watch? I dont recall seeing anything there that is way off the mark?

[rock58seg]

This coded letter coupled with the new wipe out Israel comment today SHOULD have the CIA scrambling....

If the CIA were on our side, I might agree.

[PghBaldy]

And you are? If we weren't meddling, propping up the Shah, they would not be chanting "Death to America." Islamic terrorism is in part blow-back for our arrogant imperialistic meddling. Let's not make it worse. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1627907/posts?page=17#17

[Southack]

Iran's letter to President Bush wasn't a warning; it's a bluff.

And this is not a game of tiddly winks. I gave examples such as 9/11/01, the USS Cole bombing, the Khobar Towers attack, Somalia Blackhawk Down, Beirut barracks bombings, African embassy bombings, et al to hit home the key point that the **real** attacks aren't preluded by warnings.

Nor was the attack on Spain's trains (or on London's 7/7 subways).

No warnings. No warning on any of the above.

Iran's letter to President Bush re-used an ancient Jihad threat in order to give credibility to a modern bluff. Without that thin veneer, it would be obvious to all invovled that Iran was bluffing. And for those paying attention, it still is obvious.

Pause

Here is what is going on: Iran is playing the insane rodeo clown. If you are familiar with cowboy rodeos, the rodeo clowns distract the bull away from the downed bull-rider.

Well, that's what Iran is doing.

Iran is distracting the U.S. military focus away from their downed rider: Hezbollah.

The government of Beirut has precious little control over Southern Lebanon right now, but had even less control when Syrian troops occupied that country. This is where Hezbollah operates.

But Hezbollah's safe haven was blown by a botched German prisoner exchange with a known PFLP terrorist for a German national held hostage in Iraq. Once the exchange was completed, the PFLP terrorist was seen fleeing to Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon...cementing the suspicions in the Coalition that Hezbollah was directing a large part of the insurgency inside Iraq.

Moreover, Hezbollah's protection has vanished. Faced with an ultimatum from President Bush, Syria's Assad withdrew his army from Lebanon. Thus, in two brief actions, Hezbollah was exposed as well as made vulnerable...military action from Israel, the Christian Beirut government, or from the U.S. (or a combination) against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon no longer faced a wider war with Syria.

Hezbollah is on its own.

Now, you have to remember that Hezbollah is an Iranian umbrella group. Iran provides Hezbollah's funds, some training, and most of their weapons. In return, Hezbollah does Iran's bidding against the U.S. and Israel.

But with Hezbollah now exposed as a major player in the Iraq insurgency, and further made vulnerable by the withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon, Iran is facing losing one of its most powerful proxies...a loss that it can ill-afford as it has few friends in the region (Iranians are Persian, a race that has a traditional, pre-Islamic animosity toward Arabs).

And Iran has very few ways to project very little power. Defending Hezbollah physically inside Lebanon itself against an Israeli or U.S. attack would expose Iran to a crushing defeat both there as well as inside Iran itself due to simple military over-stretch.

So Iran is doing something desperate; they are "threatening" nuclear war against Israel and the U.S...two nuclear powers each capable of individually ending all life inside Iran itself.

Their theory is that the U.S. can't possibly (due to domestic and internation political considerations) wage a new war against Lebanon while Iraq is "in chaos" as Iran threatens nuclear war.

So by playing this bluff, Ahmadinejad believes that he can protect Hezbollah from being smashed by the U.S. military in Southern Lebanon.

And so far, he's right (though I'd place emphasis upon "so far").

Pause

But, it plays into Iran's gameplan to claim that radical jihadists "always warn their victims to convert before they attack."

They don't. They didn't warn before 9/11/2001, nor before the USS Cole bombing, nor before the Khobar Towers bombings, etc.

In short, making the sorts of claims that a few uninformed posters are making on this thread AIDS THE ENEMY.

Don't do that.

[Alia]

I'm with you all the way on your analysis. Early on, One term consistent through Ramsey Clarke (ad nauseum) groups was Hezbollah and Hamas, but the one most singularly adored was Hezbollah. Instanter, when WSJ report on the org names with access to terrorist states happened, oopsie, those links and the search engines were shut down from public access. An asidem point.

Thanks for pinging me.