Iranian Alert -- March 28, 2004 [EST]-- IRAN LIVE THREAD -- Americans for Regime Change in Iran

The US media almost entirely ignores news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran. As Tony Snow of the Fox News Network has put it, “this is probably the most under-reported news story of the year.” But most American’s are unaware that the Islamic Republic of Iran is NOT supported by the masses of Iranians today. Modern Iranians are among the most pro-American in the Middle East.

There is a popular revolt against the Iranian regime brewing in Iran today. I began these daily threads June 10th 2003. On that date Iranians once again began taking to the streets to express their desire for a regime change. Today in Iran, most want to replace the regime with a secular democracy.

The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movement in Iran from being reported. Unfortunately, the regime has successfully prohibited western news reporters from covering the demonstrations. The voices of discontent within Iran are sometime murdered, more often imprisoned. Still the people continue to take to the streets to demonstrate against the regime.

In support of this revolt, Iranians in America have been broadcasting news stories by satellite into Iran. This 21st century news link has greatly encouraged these protests. The regime has been attempting to jam the signals, and locate the satellite dishes. Still the people violate the law and listen to these broadcasts. Iranians also use the Internet and the regime attempts to block their access to news against the regime. In spite of this, many Iranians inside of Iran read these posts daily to keep informed of the events in their own country.

This daily thread contains nearly all of the English news reports on Iran. It is thorough. If you follow this thread you will witness, I believe, the transformation of a nation. This daily thread provides a central place where those interested in the events in Iran can find the best news and commentary. The news stories and commentary will from time to time include material from the regime itself. But if you read the post you will discover for yourself, the real story of what is occurring in Iran and its effects on the war on terror.

I am not of Iranian heritage. I am an American committed to supporting the efforts of those in Iran seeking to replace their government with a secular democracy. I am in contact with leaders of the Iranian community here in the United States and in Iran itself.

If you read the daily posts you will gain a better understanding of the US war on terrorism, the Middle East and why we need to support a change of regime in Iran. Feel free to ask your questions and post news stories you discover in the weeks to come.

If all goes well Iran will be free soon and I am convinced become a major ally in the war on terrorism. The regime will fall. Iran will be free. It is just a matter of time.

JOHN KERRY: THE ARAB HOPE?

By AMIR TAHERI
NY Post

March 28, 2004 -- IF elected president, will John Kerry offer the Arabs a better deal? This is the question raised in the Arab media these days.
Many different answers are given, but a consensus seems to be emerging that a Kerry presidency will lift what the Arab elite regards as its worst nightmare during the presidency of George W Bush.

The Kerry debate was kicked off by the Saudi daily Al-Jazeera, which published a front-page photo of the Massachusetts senator with Prince Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, the Saudi ambassador in Washington. Several other Saudi papers later ran the "friendship photo" "the history of a long and close friendship between Sen. Kerry and the Saudi kingdom."

The pan-Arab daily Asharq Alawsat, for example, claimed that Kerry's recent promise to end America's dependence on Saudi oil is merely an electoral tactic. The paper also claimed that Kerry was introduced to the Saudi ambassador by Edward Kennedy, the senior Massachusetts senator, in 1990. The two "worked hard" to organize an exhibition in Boston to introduce "Saudi culture and civilization" to Americans.

The Saudi media also cite "official documents" that testify to the "close friendship" Kerry ostensibly developed with Riyadh for more than a decade.

Kennedy's "Arab connection" is even older. In 1976, he toured several Arab capitals - including Baghdad, where he met Saddam Hussein, then Vice-President of Iraq. "Kennedy understands the Arabs because he has visited the region and developed relations with Arab leaders," says a Saudi official. "As the senior figure of the Democratic Party, Kennedy will help put a Kerry administration on the right track with regard to relations with the Arabs."

Beyond Saudi Arabia, the assumption in Arab media and political circles is that Kerry as president will abandon Bush's "dreams of change" in the Middle East and restore Washington's traditional policy of support for the status quo in the Arab world.

"We are certain that a Democratic administration will be more realistic," says a senior advisor to Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak. "Bush's talk of imposing democracy can only de-stabilize the region and produce catastrophe for all concerned."

Arab chancelleries are doing all they can to freeze all issues pending the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. But some Arab politicians reject this "wait and see" position. "For decades, we have geared Arab politics to the rhythm of American presidential elections," says Lebanese politician Walid Jumbalat. "Each time, we deluded ourselves into believing that a change at the White House would lead to a change in our favor."

Jumbalat is right. The deus ex machina of American elections has seldom helped save the Arab from a tight spot.

Many Arab leaders also fail to understand the sea-change that 9/11 has produced in the average American's view of the world. What Bush has tried to do is to reflect that change - which, incidentally, goes against his original inclination to keep the United States as clear of international affairs as possible.

Today, it is safe to say that no one can get elected president of the United States on an anti-war platform. The rise and rapid fall of Howard Dean, the anti-war populist, was a sure sign of that. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the most ardent of the anti-war hopefuls, has failed to rise above the 1 percent level in Democrat primaries.

The Arabs should not delude themselves into believing that a Democratic administration will be able to abandon the War on Terror or ignore its root cause, which is the absence of democracy and human rights in countries where religious fascism has established itself as the key challenger to often corrupt and despotic ruling cliques.

The Arabs are not alone in deluding themselves that a Democrat at the White House will let them do as they please. Kerry's claim that several foreign leaders told him they need him to beat Bush is not as fanciful as the Republicans pretend. Some "old Europe" politicians, including France's President Jacques Chirac, also hope a President Kerry will dance to their tune - not only on Iraq, but also on issues such as the Kyoto Protocol and the International Criminal Court.

Dominique de Villepin, France's foreign minister, makes no secret of his belief that the Bush presidency has been an "aberration" and that a Democratic president will "lift the fog of war."

What the outside world must understand is that most Americans now believe that they are threatened by enemies who can strike in the very heart of the United States. But the average American's reaction is quite different from that of the Spaniards who changed their votes because of the 3/11 terrorist attacks on Madrid. Few Americans are prepared to turn the other cheek for Osama bin Laden and societies that have helped breed, raise and finance him. Nor would they share the "old Europe" illusion that one can change the nature of a man-eater by feeding him vegetables and cuddling him.

Sens. Kerry and Kennedy may be "sincere friends of the Arabs," as the Saudi media suggest. It is also quite possible that de Villepin told Kerry "you've got to beat Bush for all of us." But the problem that Arabs and some in the "old Europe" have is that they do not yet understand that, for a majority of Americans, the War on Terror is a real war - not a pose that can be altered with a change of administration.E-mail:

amirtaheri@benadorassociates.com

http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/17649.htm

Iran Begins Uranium Experiment

March 28, 2004
AFP
news.com.au

Iran had resumed work on a key part of the nuclear fuel cycle, its atomic energy body chief said today, in an apparent step back from a deal with the UN nuclear watchdog to suspend all uranium enrichment-related activity.

Gholam Reza Aghazadeh told state television that "the experimental phase of the Isfahan processing installation has begun and by the end of this phase, in the next 20 days, experimental production at this facility will start".

"The uranium processing plant in Isfahan will produce all raw materials for the fuel cycle," he added.

The Isfahan installation is listed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), where the refining of yellow cake takes place to produce materials that can be then used to produce enriched uranium.

In a deal with the IAEA struck late last year, the Islamic republic agreed to suspend uranium enrichment - and all related activities - while UN inspectors delved into suspicions the country was using a bid to generate atomic energy as a cover for developing nuclear weapons.

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9114959%255E1702,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3575165.stm

Nuclear inspectors return to Iran

The inspectors will visit the gas centrifuge facility in Natanz

Experts from the UN atomic watchdog are back in Iran to resume inspections of the country's nuclear facilities.
The Iranians suspended the inspections earlier this month, because of a dispute with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The IAEA accused Tehran of keeping some nuclear activities secret.

The US says Iran is using its nuclear power programme to develop weapons, while Iran insists it is designed to meet its energy needs.

Rebuke

A team of two inspectors arrived in Tehran on Saturday and immediately began work, IAEA spokesperson Melissa Fleming said.

They are due to visit a gas centrifuge enrichment facility at Natanz and the Isfahan nuclear research centre.

ElBaradei is due in Iran in April
The inspectors are looking for any evidence that Iran has been trying to develop nuclear weapons.

IAEA chief Mohammed ElBaradei is expected to visit Iran next month.

On 13 March the Vienna-based agency issued a resolution rebuking Iran for failing to disclose certain aspects of its nuclear programme, as it is expected to do as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

The US has called on Iran to suspend all uranium-related activity.

The IAEA has a June deadline to present a judgment on Tehran's nuclear activities.

Advocates Urge EU to Introduce Resolution in the UN Human Rights Commission on Iran's Abuses

•In a public letter, a group of human rights advocates urged the European Union to introduce a resolution in the UN Human Rights Commission condemning the Islamic government's human rights violations. Since no resolution has yet been introduced on Iran, we wrote to the EU as an ultimatum, Paris-based human rights advocate, and deputy director of the federation of human rights organizations Abdolkarim Lahiji tells Radio Farda. Hopefully, the EU and Canada will introduce a resolution within the next couple of weeks, otherwise we will have to continue our campaign, he says. Democratic governments need to justify their neglect of Iran's human rights abuses to their own people, he adds. In talks with the EU officials, “we said we did not oppose their policy of dialogue with Iran, but dialogue cannot be one-sided, and you can't have dialogue with the deaf, he says. (Fereydoun Zarnegar)

Iran and the Prospect of A Democratic Iraq

•The Islamic Republic faces big trouble in Iraq, internationally syndicated columnist Amir Taheri tells Radio Farda, after speaking last night to a crowd of more than 500 of the admirers of his articles, which are now appearing regularly in the New York Post. “On one hand, the Islamic regime does its best to make things as hard as possible for the US forces in Iraq. On the other hand, Iran cannot afford a US failure in Iran, which for Iran would mean being sucked into chaos and disintegration of the cosmic black hole that would become of Iraq. “A democratic, Muslim Iraq means that the dictatorship based on the principle of clerical rule cannot survive in Iran,” he says. (Behnam Nateghi, New York)

http://www.radiofarda.com/transcripts/topstory/2004/03/20040327_1430_0439_0716_EN.asp

I needed some background on this. Here's something I found:

EXPOSED FOXES

Putting an End to the Wildlife of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)

By Farhad Mafie

May 7, 2003

Almost 35 years ago Bijan Mofid, one of Iran’s greatest contemporary playwrights, in his famous play "Shahr-e Ghesseh" ("The City of Fable"), very creatively and correctly presented the Iranian Mullahs (Islamic clergymen) as "foxes" scattered throughout society with no value added. In that entertaining play he showed the Mullahs as hypocritical personalities who continuously lie and deceive the Iranian masses. This was the same exact message that other Iranian playwrights, poets, and thinkers, such as Mirza Agha-Khan Kermani, Iraj Mirza, Obaid Zakani, Hafez, etc., have communicated to Iranian people in different eras.

-A Page from History: A New Fox (i.e., Khatami) Is Born-

On April 10, 1997, a German court convicted four Iranians in the 1992 murders of dissident Iranian-Kurdish leaders in a Berlin restaurant, the Mykonos. The prosecutors proved that the "highest state levels" in Iran’s capital ordered the killings, specifically, Iran's "Committee for Special Operations," which comprises of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Rafsanjani, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and Information and Security Minister Ali Fallahian. Furthermore, the court ruled that Mr. Fallahian had overseen the operation’s logistics; since the court had previously issued an international arrest warrant for him, the case remains open. The court’s ruling led the E.U. nations (15 countries) to withdraw their ambassadors from Tehran on April 11; immediately afterward (on April 15) Japan suspended its high-level dialogue with Iran.

These events combined were about to deliver the final blow to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Already under severe economic and political sanctions by the U.S., the IRI could not afford to undergo additional isolation from the West. For the IRI, the new widespread political sanctions by the 15 E.U. countries and Japan were absolutely unbearable. By April 15, 1997, the Islamic Republic of Iran became completely isolated from the Western world. With the complete failure of its internal policies and objectives and now entirely isolated from its badly needed Western support, the IRI needed to present a completely different image in order to rebuild its badly damaged relationships with its European trade allies.

The IRI was left with only two options: (1) It could wait for a sudden internal blow-up, which in turn would inevitably cause its destruction, or (2) it could design a sophisticated pressure-release mechanism to present a "newer and gentler IRI" to the West. This is the reason behind the sudden birth of its smiling President, Mr. Khatami, and the creation of state-controlled and state-managed dog-and-pony MODERATE party.

Supporters of the Fox. . .

In 1997 selected groups of Iranians in the West worked very diligently and assiduously to support the IRI’s new-born fox, Khatami. These groups included (1) Iran’s Godless leftover leftists who, almost overnight, finally found God, (2) the usual well-known loyal IRI supporters in the West, (3) many pro-Constitutional Monarchy political activists who are as confused as always, and (4) selected infamous Iranian producers and journalists working in the Iranian media in Los Angeles, etc.

For the first two years under the IRI’s newborn fox, Presidency Khatami, these groups did their best to promote and support Khatami as much as possible. They used every possible justification to rationalize Khatami’s ineffective, meaningless, deceiving policies and behaviors. They fought anyone who was against Khatami, claiming that everyone needed to support this newborn child so that he can bring democracy and justice to Iran and the Iranian people.

Gradually many of these people realized that Khatami’s only function was to prolong the IRI’s life in Iran; they started distancing themselves from Khatami and his dog-and-pony show, called "the Reformist Movement." Some even went so far as to claim that they never supported the newborn fox. Thanks to the Information Age, they can lie but they cannot erase their well-documented past!

This entire ordeal created further division among the Iranian opposition forces living in the West, a division that fosters the IRI’s overall short- and long-term strategic objectives.

[Copyright©2003 by Farhad Mafie. All rights reserved. Any reprint of this article must bear this notice.]

(For full article please) see....http://www.spectacle.org/0603/mafie.html

Iranians Parade in New York with banned "Lion & Sun" flags

SMCCDI (Information Service)
Mar 27, 2004

Hundreds of Iranians paraded in New York, today, in order to celebrate the Iranian cultural heritage and over 3000 years of contribution to the World's civilization. This is was the first time that such event was taking place by Iranians especially in a city healing from its wounds inflicted by Islamist terrorists on September 11, 2001.

During this unprecedented two hours event, hundreds of Iranian Women, Men, boys and girls holding the banned "Lion & Sun" flags and chanting the banned "Oh Iran!" National anthem, marched, danced and exposed different aspects of Iran's cultural heritage for thousands of residents gathered to support them.

New York policemen and firefighters joined the Iranians by offering their assisstance for security and orchestra which played the "Oh Iran!"

It's to note that several self called American-Iranian organizations and notorious political brokers, such as Houshand Amir-Ahmadi of AIC, had tried, hard, to avoid the use of the "Lion and Sun" flags by the participants, during several meetings held prior to today's parade, but they were, as usual, ignored by the participants who used the parade to show as well their deep believe in the illegitimacy of the Islamic republic regime and their strong support of Iran's National and Freedom aspirations.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/smccdinews/article/publish/article_4166.shtml

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