Iranian Alert -- DAY 8 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

LIVE THREAD PING LIST | 6.13.2003 | DoctorZin

[DoctorZIn]

We are getting so many excellent stories coming in about the protests in Iran that it is time to create a live thread.

Please post all news stories in this thread and ping your lists to this thread so we can increase the overall awareness of what exactly is going on.

[poindexter]

In 1979 it was the "students" who took over our embassy. How long until these "students" are chanting "Death to America" in the streets again?

I'm from Missouri on this one....

[Poohbah]

In 1979 it was the "students" who took over our embassy.

If they were alive today, they'd be in their mid-forties. However, if you look at the age distribution for Iran, you'll notice that 2/3rds of the country is under 25 years of age--and damn near none of it is in the 35-55 demographic.

All the Iranian Islamonuts from that age cohort went off to war, waving Khomeini's Green Book...and died.

The current group of students blame the mullahs for destroying their country and their freedom.

How long until these "students" are chanting "Death to America" in the streets again?

20-25 years would be just about right...

[SevenofNine]

OHH Doctor if you hear anything POST IT ON FR

RACKKKKK Students I don't care about cops I think we seeing end of this regime or about to

You are here on FR the witness of Second Iranian revolution

RACK ITTTT

[dandelion]

BUMP for Freedom!! The Iranian people are a beautiful people who deserve better than the Gov't FOISTED upon them by outside forces... like France...

[Hipixs]

Protester sets himself on fire

From BBC:

"An Iranian man set himself on fire in central London during a political protest outside the French Embassy."

"The man is thought to have doused himself in petrol outside the embassy in Knightsbridge at 1615 BST on Tuesday. " [snip]

[SevenofNine]

Breaking news off AFP wire reporting that Paris cops busted protesters connect to student protests in Iran in Paris France

OHH COPS in France can you be LAPD here HELLOOOOO they were peacefully LAPD would tell the protesters stay on sidewalks

[DoctorZIn]

This just in...

We are hearing that Rafsanjani the former president and major player in the regime, met last night with his leaders re their next step. It was reported that the Basji (the thugs trying to put down the protest) are getting exhausted and can not keep up their efforts. They may give them a rest for a few days and then try to clap down hard.

There are also reports that Rafsanjani wants to kill (sacrifice the life of) Khamenei (their glorious leader) and replace him so they can stay in power.

There are reports the leaders are selling their foreign investments to get cash incase they need to leave quickly. The broadcasters are asking people in the banking system to report to them their efforts so they can instruct them what to do next. The broadcasters are asking people to withdraw their funds from the banks to keep the regimes leaders from walking away with it.

Also, the LA based Iranian broadcasters into Iran are a story people need to now more about. People from Iran call in for advice and instructions and the broadcasters give them very specific advice on who to target and how. People will call in the license # of a car full of Basji and the broadcasters alert the Iranian public to be on the lookout for the car and attack it. They produce maps to show where the Basji are traveling and telling them point to intercept them and where they are living. People are going to these homes and torching them.

They give names of people in various cities and encourage people to attack them. It is amazing. I wish you could hear their broadcasts in English.

Their broadcasts are in Farsi but they show pictures of what is going on. If you would like to see the broadcasts go to:

http://www.azaditv.com/L_B_2.htm

The people of Iran keep calling, thanking Bush and begging people to do anything they can to put pressure on the regime. Call the media for instance, attend demonstrations like those in LA and the upcoming event of July 9th in Washington DC.

I just heard a Basji who called into the broadcast and told the people to disobey the government. He has converted.

I could go on and on but you get a flavor of the efforts.

Perhaps we could ask the media to interview these broadcasters. They are articulate, intelligent and very informed.

I wish these broadcast stations would post their stories on the net but they appear too busy just handling the faxes and phone calls from Iran.

BTW, I know this may make me sound like crazy, but as I reported yesterday, my computer keeps getting attacked and I am forced to reboot the system before I can post. Yesterday the intruder was from Russia and I am told this has happened to others doing this work.

So there may be breaks between some of my reports.

I will post again, soon. I have another call coming in.

[Becki]

Iran lashed out Monbday at the United States -- which has welcomed the demonstrations -- and sent a "vigorous protest" over Washington's "interference" in its internal affairs.

We are not interferring in Iran. Just like they did not interfer with Iraq.

Becki

[Constitution Day]

BUMP

[smith288]

Wow...this is becoming bigtime!

[Constitution Day]

No kidding!

[Becki]

But we will continue to shed our blood, if that is what it takes to obtain the freedom we seek.

God Bless you, Koorosh, and all of your patriots. May He keep you all strong and true.

Becki

[the Real fifi]

andrewsullivan.com will be posting stuff in Iran and he has listed websites and bloggers to keep the pressure on. All interested readers, post Dr. Zin's stuff on at least one other board. Register your support for the students at the website. Keep the flame of freedom burning.

[DoctorZIn]

Iranian Alert: FAX The British!!!

Jack Straw, the foreign minister of Britain said today that they are not supporting the protest movement. He says Britain is supporting president Khatami. But Khatami is not a friend of the US or freedom. Khatami. For Instance, Khatami is the brains behind Hezbollah.

Also the British government is preparing to return a number of Iranian political asylums back to the regime.

The Iranians are furious and are being called out to destroy the British embassy.

Fax Jack Straw and express and threaten a boycott of British products and a copy to Tony Blair. Tony Blair appears more receptive to our concerns so be sure to fax him.

Jack Straw’s Fax Number: 44 02 0700 82144

Tony Blair’s Fax Number: 44 1 429 880 950 if faxing outside of Britain
44 207 839 9044 if faxing outside of Britain

Please do this now!


"If you want on or off this Iran ping list, Freepmail me."

[FairOpinion]

Great!

You may be interested in this too. Let your friends in Iraq know, that US support is coming -- hopefully very soon.

Iran: Pressure Builds On Washington To Promote 'Regime Change'
By Jeffrey Donovan

http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/06/17062003151041.asp

As student protests against the government continue in Iran, debate is growing in Washington about U.S. policy toward Tehran. On the one hand, the Bush administration has provided strong rhetorical support for the demonstrators. But for now, President George W. Bush has stopped short of publicly promoting "regime change."

Washington, 17 June 2003 (RFE/RL) -- As student-led protests against the Iranian government continue for a seventh day, pressure appears to be mounting on the Bush administration to more clearly articulate its policy toward Tehran.

Since taking office in January 2001, the administration of President George W. Bush has still not issued its national security directive on policy toward Iran. Observers say that's because the administration, split between its State Department "doves" and Pentagon "hawks," has yet to make up its mind on what to do.

Gary Sick, an Iran expert and professor at Columbia University in New York City, says, "I don't think the United States really has a policy toward Iran at the present time, other than a sort of rhetorical policy."

That policy has included public appeals by Bush directly to the Iranian people -- "over the heads of their leaders to let them know that we agree with them," as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has put it.

More than 140 people have been detained in Iran during the past week of protests, which have involved thousands of people and are the most serious challenge to the leadership since university protests last November and in the summer of 1999.

The demonstrations are aimed at both Iran's hard-line Islamic regime and the reform group led by President Mohammad Khatami. Protesters say the reformers have not gone far enough in promoting democratic change.

Asked about the protests on 15 June, Bush again offered his moral support for those taking risks by publicly protesting Tehran's Islamic regime. "This is the beginnings of people expressing themselves for a free Iran, which I think is positive," Bush said.

To be sure, such rhetorical support has been enough to prompt Tehran to accuse Washington of meddling in its affairs. Iran has also accused the United States of materially aiding the protesters, which Washington denies.

But recent developments on the ground are fueling a heated debate in Washington on whether U.S. policy toward Iran should, in fact, get tougher.

First, there have been revelations that Iran's nuclear program is much further ahead than was previously thought. And now, a week-long wave of student-led protests appears to have underscored yet again the potential for a peaceful revolution in Iran.

Coupled with those factors is the strategic, pro-democracy shift in the Middle East that has come with U.S. military victories in Afghanistan and Iraq. Sandwiched between those countries and thousands of American troops is Iran, a sworn enemy of America, with which it has not had relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Raymond Tanter, a University of Michigan professor and Iran expert who served in former President Ronald Reagan's National Security Council, doesn't think that diplomatic pressure will work. "I think that regime change ought to be the policy of the Bush administration. But regime change doesn't mean that you need the 4th Infantry Division to come in from the north and meet up in the south with the 3rd Infantry Division coming in from the south and the Marines coming in from the West. That is, Iran is not Iraq," Tanter says.

Tanter also says the United States should assist the Iraq-based People's Mujahedin Organization (MEK), so that it can launch a cross-border insurgency against Iranian regime targets. Currently, the MEK has been disarmed as part of a cease-fire deal with U.S. forces in Iraq. It is also on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations.

While such steps are controversial, the rising chorus for supporting Iran's peaceful democratic opposition can be heard in the U.S. Congress. A bill called the Iran Democracy Act is being debated that would provide $50 million to Iran's opposition.

"The students need more than rhetorical support," Tanter says. "They need covert backing for their demonstrations. They need fax machines. They need Internet access, funds to duplicate materials, and funds to keep the vigilantes from beating them up. And if you don't provide them funds, then the demonstrations are going to peter out."

But material backing for the protesters is a sensitive issue.

The State Department insists it doesn't provide it. But at a briefing on 16 June, spokesman Richard Boucher appeared to suggest that might not be the case for other parts of the U.S. government.

"Certainly, from my vantage point here, I can tell you that all that we're involved in here is expressing our moral support, our rhetorical support, our solidarity with the demonstrators," Boucher said.

Sick of Columbia University believes it is wrong for the United States to even suggest its endorsement for the opposition movement in Iran unless it is prepared to back it up with robust support. And with troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sick does not believe Washington has the resources to follow through on supporting an upheaval in Iran.

He says Washington should remember when it encouraged Iraqi Shi'ites to rise up against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Gulf War. When they did and Washington declined to support their insurgency, Hussein's regime instituted a harsh crackdown in which thousands were killed.

"I think we should be careful to avoid another situation where we are accused of having started something which we're not prepared to follow through on in which a lot of people get killed," Sick says.

Some analysts say U.S. financial support for the Iranian democracy movement could be counterproductive. They say such support allows Iranian hard-liners to justify their crackdown on dissent in the name of national unity against an external threat.

Still others believe that even if Washington does support the opposition, the Tehran regime is unlikely to fall over the next three years, by which time Iran is expected to have developed nuclear weapons. They say Washington should be prepared to launch a pre-emptive strike against any Iranian nuclear weapons facilities.

Meanwhile, U.S. pressure against Iran's nuclear program appears to be gaining strength. On 16 June, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as the European Union and Russia, called on Tehran to allow UN inspectors into the country to determine whether its nuclear facilities are purely for civilian use or, indeed, if they are involved in developing nuclear weapons.

Iran says it will not agree to stricter UN checks unless a ban on Tehran's access to nuclear technology is lifted.

[DoctorZIn]

Thanks, keep posting to this thread. Lets keep it strong.

[FairOpinion]

Picture from protest on BBC News:

Tehran students say they want a change of government

[smith288]

Jack Straw is being stupid. Always call for freedoms and the right to protest if it means an oppresive regime will die as a result!

Im ashamed of the UK for this stance.

[DoctorZIn]

Please Fax Jack Straw and Tony Blair.

[FairOpinion]

I just posted this article in post 75, but then I was thinking that since the US government is thinking about helping, but haven't committed to it yet, at least not openly, as far as we know, it may be a good idea to e-mail President Bush & Congress, urging them to support and help the Iranian people in their fight for democracy.

Iran: Pressure Builds On Washington To Promote 'Regime Change'
By Jeffrey Donovan

http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/06/17062003151041.asp