Ghostly Shadows - How bloody-minded are the tyrants of Tehran?

The New York Sun ^ | August 4, 2006 | JOHN BATCHELOR

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

How bloody-minded are the tyrants of Tehran? How far will they go in supporting their Hezbollah and Hamas legions against the Jewish State? Will they fight to the death of Lebanon and Gaza, or will they see the grave risk in their imperial overreach, using their uncertain ally Syria (and secret dupe Egypt) as an arms depot, and negotiate an armistice with the U.N. Security Council's proxies, the European legions?

The answer is not in the headlines, it's in the drama and history of the Shiites of the ummah known as the Twelvers. They believe profoundly and mystically in heroic martyrdom to gain Paradise. The legend of the self-sacrifice of the seventh century warlord Husayn at Kufa, the Lord of the Martyrs, Sayyid al-Shuhada, is well known. More up to date is a frightening tale from late in 1980, when secular Iraq occupied Iran's oil-rich Khuzistan province at the start of the eight-year long Iran-Iraq war.

The Khomeini-inspired revolution had purged Iran's officer cadre. The Tehran regime was without resources internally, and no help was coming from Europe or America because of the embassy hostage crisis. Desperation made the regime send tens of thousands of poorly armed volunteers to the front lines to face Iraqi armor. Catastrophe was imminent, and still Tehran would not relent or negotiate. Instead, the Council of Guardians — a governance invented by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — approved theatrics based upon Shia faith. Actors dressed in white robes rode white horses around the Iranian encampments late at night, and the pious recruits saw this display as proof of their commitment to martyr themselves.

The white-robed horseman was a vision of the Twelfth Imam, Muhammed al-Mahdi, who died, or vanished, at age five in the ninth century.

[MrEdd]

We invaded Iraq with a larger purpose in mind, surely. We have to have some additional Democracy western-style government holding in that area of the world - not just Israel.

Oh I completely disagree.

I believe that at this point, only despots and strongmen can reign in the Islamists.

I believe that although I once agreed with the last statement the equation has been radically altered.

The new operation in the equation is cheap pervasive video surveillance.

Fundamental Islam and Sharia law, as a way of life can not stand up to free society without death to the unbeliever. That is why the Koran mandates it. And the somewhat Orwellian camera coverage with which we are incrementally blanketing Iraq is putting up a counter to hidden enforcement of the Muslim prohibition against leaving Islam that has never existed before. Cameras, not the IDF are the weapon that is frightening the Imams. Are recent attempts to use altered photographs just part of a propaganda operation? Or are they also part of an attempt to find a way to combat photography as an accepted tool of law enforcement and the military. Islam is very much interwoven with deception as a virtue. It can not stand in the light.

Considering the long term implications I believe this is (Persian luxury) western-ism to (Roman military discipline) Fundamentalist Islam.

[Salem]

---

Zec 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.





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[backhoe]

How bloody-minded are the tyrants of Tehran?

Here's a snippet from a member of LGF:

#116

nogendavid  8/6/2006 01:00PM PDT

 

Welcome to newcomers.

I first became aware of the blogosphere, and started to read, during the first great expose of media fraud in which Charles' was a lead playeer- Rathergate. Since then, I have found it an extremely valuable tool for researching current events.

The advantage of the blogosophere is that it enables the quick and cheap dissemination of both the wisdom of crowds and of specialists. If permits people to read, as well as see images, and if you take the time, you can follow an issue through dozens of articles linking to each other, some of then by exceptionally informed or perspective observers.

One disadvantage of blogs is that some people may use it to soak only in their own ideological bathwater - merely read what they want to see and give each other ideological high fives, rather than always trying to find where the real truth lies. LGF does not have a lot of trolls - persons outside the philosophical consensus - and that contributes to the coherence of discussion. Sometimes facile or extremist views are not adequately challenged, by the overall balance of insight and expertise in the aggregated posts is impressive.

Another disadvantage is market fragmentation.
A blog with a great insight may have little influence on its own, because there are so many out there. Even mainstream media, with only four or five major newstations, have something of this problem. Blog stories have an impact when there is a chain reaction - the merit or interest of the story lead it to be picked up by numerous other blogs. Unless, however, the story breaks into mainstream media (MSM) its influence is still limited.

The MSM will for the foreseeable future have advantages the blogosphere does not. Foreign Ministers usually appear on them, even if (ro because?) the interviewer is as ill informed, lazy and sycophantic as Larry King. Also, they tend to have larger and more dispersed audiences.

Rathergate did break into the mainstream. The real scandal was not merely the original reliance on the forged document, but CBS' stubborn and prologned delay in acknowledging effor.

A real test for the conscience and credibility of the mainstream media now is whether they give major coverage to the repeated media hoaxes of jihad forces - with Qana now added to Jennin. There was a sad loss of innocent lifein Qana, but the exxageration and sensationalization of it by Jihadists and then the mainstream media has had a terrible impact on the conduct of this war. There are now dead civilians and soliders on the Israeli side because the public relations disaster that was Qana forced Israel to proceed more slowly and to use more ground forces. This has not necessarily spared innocent civilians in Lebanon suffering either - it may have prolonged it.

There is a simple story here that is not getting out. Hezbollah is a facist and genocidal force that aims to kill as many Jews as possible. All of its attacks are aimed at civilians, and intended to kill as many Jews among Israeli citizens as possible.
Israel is a democracy never targets civilians and does its best to limit collateral injury and loss of life.

Lest anyone think I use the word "genocidal" loosely, here is a story I found through blospheric research, by Michael Rubin at National Review online:

"On October 22, 2002, Hassan Nasrallah told Lebanon’s Daily Star, “If they [the Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them world wide.”

Or recall that Hezbollah apologized for killing Arabs, rather than Jews, in one of his missile attacks.

Yes, it is 1938 again, and I say that with genuine fear and horror. Instead of identifying Hezbollah and Iran as the openly genocidal and evil forces they are, an ignorance and frequently anti-American, Anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic media keeps pounding on a small and decent society fighting for survival. Maybe this latest media fraud will open the eyes of some people of conscience.

Thanks for your brave and intelligent effort on this issue, Charles.

 

[Eagle74]

I believe this would significantly improve our strategic position in the War on Terror.

We should destroy the Iranian oil industry. By Bombing all oil transportation facilities, pipelines, storage tanks, tanker trucks, rolling stock, refinery’s etc… we can cripple the funding of numerous terrorist organizations, Hezbollah, Hama’s, Sadr’s militia, Syria, as well as make it more difficult for Iran to buy missiles and such from North Korea, China, and Russia.
It would remove Iran’s threat that if we attack they will shut off the oil. Making the threat ridiculous and demonstrating that they are a single product state and without oil, and no other product that the world wants, they are nothing. Additionally, by declaring that we will destroy any reconstituting oil industry as long as the Mullacracy remains in charge, we can focus the Iranian’s blame for the situation, on the Theocracy and their support of Terrorism.
This will also bring home to all the other oil producing countries like Venezuela, Libya, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, etc… that they are very vulnerable to the same tactic.
In addition, this will gain us time for the Iraqi’s to stand on their own, and free up troops we would need if we have to go into Iran, North Korea or somewhere else.
Sure the price of gas will rise, but this will also demonstrate to the world that the USA is not in Iraq for the Oil, and the onus can be shifted on to the Democrats for not allowing more domestic production.
“It’s not the control of the spice but the power to destroy the spice that is the real power.”
It has recently been said that the nuclear production facilities in Iran are so deep underground that we can’t reach them with conventional weapons. Perhaps so, but maybe we can starve those facilities of funds. Nuclear weapons are terribly expensive to build, and if Iran now needs all its money to repair vital life supporting infrastructure, it may have to slow or stop its attempt to build an atomic bomb.
Finally, Iran is a state sponsor of Terrorists, it must be punished, and it must be seen to be punished. Iran’s continued sponsorship of terror is a slap in America’s and President Bush’s face, and it must be answered.
The following was written in response to an objection I received about having to pay more for fuel if this strategy was followed.
I think you are overly concerned about the economic considerations, and not concerned enough about the need to prosecute the War on Terror to the utmost.
1. The US has a full Strategic Petroleum Reserve of 700 million Barrels, and we aren't the only nation with an SPR. What good is it if you never use it? The average price paid on that 700 million barrels was $27, so the nation would actually make a profit selling it now.
2. The only reason the US isn't energy independent now is because of political factors. 2 Trillion Barrels of oil in oil shale (see www.oiltechinc.com). Any organic matter can be turned into fuel (see www.powerenergy.com). The US would and should be using much more Nuclear power if it wasn't for the Ecofreaks. There are also many areas in the US that are now off limits to drilling. All it takes is the political will to develop all of these. Higher fuel prices will provide that political pressure.
3. Iran is using diplomatic processes, just like the Nazi's before them. Talking is a waste of our time.
4. Iran subsidizes gas at $.10 a gallon, so by destroying the Iranian oil industry not only do we instantly remove 20% of their GDP. We put them all on foot, and in the dark.
5. The mullahs want to take their world back to the 7th century, we should assist them.

Iran exports 2.5 million barrels of oil a day, Iranian as well as the rest of the Persian gulf oil producers, produce what is called heavy sour crude which typically sell for 20%-25% less than the benchmark sweet light crude quoted on the spot markets. So, with that understanding we can roughly calculate the gross income Iran’s economy generates from oil exports. At a price of $75 Barrel Iran will get 80% of that price for its low grade crude, or $60. $60 x $2.5 million barrels x 365 days = $54.75 billion. Now from the CIA world fact book we can see that Iran has a GNP of $564 billion. So by destroying Iran’s oil industry their GDP is cut by 10% just from the lost of exports, but the damage is much deeper than that. Iran subsidizes gasoline at $.10 a gallon and Iran consumes 1.425 million barrels of oil a day. With the oil industry destroyed the cars, trucks, trains, and power plants no longer run. That means no machinery, no electricity, and no modern economy. I can’t estimate what Iran’s GDP would decline to, but the poorest nation on earth still has cars and electricity. I think much of the population would either revolt or start walking for the boarders. They couldn’t import oil because we would destroy tankers, pipelines, and rolling stock.