Iranian Alert -- DAY 50 -- LIVE THREAD PING LIST

The regime is working hard to keep the news about the protest movment in Iran from being reported.

From jamming satellite broadcasts, to prohibiting news reporters from covering any demonstrations to shutting down all cell phones and even hiring foreign security to control the population, the regime is doing everything in its power to keep the popular movement from expressing its demand for an end of the regime.

These efforts by the regime, while successful in the short term, do not resolve the fundamental reasons why this regime is crumbling from within.

Iran is a country ready for a regime change. 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.

Please continue to join us here, post your news stories and comments to this thread.

Do you see a pattern in these recent headlines?

Iran and Malaysia keen to boost bilateral ties Click Here

Iran and Brazil stress cooperation in education Click Here

Iran, Afghanistan to broaden ties Click Here

Iran, Yemen vow to expand sport ties Click Here

Iran, Sudan review expansion of economic cooperation Click Here

Iran, Italy coop on home appliances Click Here

Iran urges cooperation with Syria Click Here

Iran eager to boost ties with Norway Click Here

Zambia for broadening of ties with Iran Click Here

Kuwait's FM: Kuwait, Iran ties model for ultimate cooperation Click Here

Blame Unprincipled Foreign Polciy for 9/11

July 28, 2003
FrontPageMagazine.com
Onkar Ghate

The 900-page Congressional report criticizing the operations of the FBI and CIA in the months prior to the September 11 attacks misses the fundamental point.

Whatever incompetence on the intelligence agencies' part, what made September 11 possible was a failure, not by our intelligence agencies--but by the accommodating, range-of-the-moment, unprincipled foreign policy that has shaped our government's decisions for decades.

September 11 was not the first time America was attacked by Islamic fundamentalists engaged in "holy war" against us. In 1979 theocratic Iran--which has spearheaded the "Islamic Revolution"--stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 54 Americans hostage for over a year. In 1983 the Syrian- and Iranian-backed group Hezbollah bombed a U.S. marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 241 servicemen while they slept; the explosives came from Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. In 1998 al-Qaeda blew up the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 individuals. In 2000 al-Qaeda bombed the USS Cole in Yemen, killing 17 sailors.

So we already knew that al-Qaeda was actively engaged in attacking Americans. We even had evidence that agents connected to al-Qaeda had been responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. And we knew in 1996 that bin Laden had made an overt declaration of war against the "Satan" America.

But how did America react? Did our government adopt a principled approach and identify the fact that we were faced with a deadly threat from an ideological foe? Did we launch systematic counterattacks to wipe out such enemy organizations as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Fatah? Did we seek to eliminate enemy states like Iran? No--our responses were short-sighted and self-contradictory.

For instance, we initially expelled Iranian diplomats--but later sought an appeasing rapprochement with that ayatollah-led government. We intermittently cut off trade with Iran--but secretly negotiated weapons-for-hostages deals. When Israel had the courage to enter Lebanon in 1982 to destroy the PLO, we refused to uncompromisingly support our ally and instead brokered the killers' release. And with respect to al-Qaeda, we dropped a perfunctory bomb or two on one of its suspected camps, while our compliant diplomats waited for al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks to fade from the headlines.

At home, we treated our attackers as if they were isolated criminals rather than soldiers engaged in battle against us. In 1941 we did not attempt to indict the Japanese pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor--we declared war on the source. Yet we spent millions trying to indict specific terrorists--while we ignored their masters.

Despite emphatic pronouncements from Islamic leaders about a "jihad" against America, our political leaders failed to grasp the ideology that seeks our destruction. This left them unable to target that enemy's armed combatants--in Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia--and the governments that assist them. Is it any wonder then that, although our intelligence agencies prevented many planned attacks, they could not prevent them all?

Unfortunately, little has changed since September 11. Our politicians' actions remain hopelessly unprincipled. Despite the Bush administration's rhetoric about ending states that sponsor terrorism, President Bush has left the most dangerous of these--Iran--untouched. The attack on Iraq, though justifiable, was hardly a priority in our war against militant Islam and the countries (principally Saudi Arabia and Iran) that promote it. Moreover, when Bush does strike at militant Islam, he does so only haltingly. Morally unsure of his right to protect American lives by wiping out the Taliban and al-Qaeda, Bush feared in Afghanistan world disapproval over civilian casualties. Consequently, he reined in the military forces (as he also did in Iraq) and allowed numerous Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters to escape. And Bush continues to allow their comrades-in-arms in the Mideast to go unharmed. He pretends that the Palestinians and Islamic militants attacking Israel--and who have attacked Americans in the past and will try again in the future--are, somehow, different from the killers in Afghanistan and deserving of a "peace" plan.

Instead of taking consistent, principled action to destroy our terrorist adversaries, politicians from both parties continue to focus on details like reshuffling government bureaucracies and haggling over how much criticism of Saudi Arabia the 900-page Congressional report can contain. Thus, too unprincipled to identify the enemy and wage all-out war, but not yet completely blind to their own ineffectualness, our leaders resignedly admit that we're in for a "long war" and that there will be more terrorists attacks on U.S. soil.

There is only one way to prevent a future September 11: by rooting out the amoral, pragmatic expediency that now dominates our government's foreign policy.

Onkar Ghate, Ph.D. in philosophy, is a resident fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, Calif. The Institute promotes the philosophy of Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

http://frontpagemag.com/articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=9106

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Graham prefers to 'push Iran along' on Kazemi investigation

The Canadian Press
Tuesday, July 29, 2003

TORONTO -- Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham yesterday toned down the rhetoric that has engulfed the case of Zahra Kazemi, a Quebec-based photojournalist who was beaten to death by Iranian authorities, saying he was "encouraged" by reports that Iran has arrested five security agents in connection with the killing.

Mr. Graham also urged Canadians to give Iran a fair chance to conduct an investigation before branding the regime corrupt and unco-operative. "Give us an opportunity to at least encourage them to have this inquiry," Mr. Graham said.

"This is a positive development. Let's push them along and try to get the best possible development we can."

Mr. Graham said he will continue to pressure Iran to prosecute those who actually committed the crime -- not a scapegoat.

Ms. Kazemi was arrested June 23 for snapping pictures of a student protest outside a Tehran prison.

http://canada.com/national/story.asp?id=28298372-D63B-4E1A-9184-AA8F31BAF973

I have some criticism to make regarding this post.
First of all, the title should be, "BLAME UNPRINCIPLED JOURNALISTS FOR 9-11"
Secondly, the author, Onkar, hasn't given Mr. Bush a whole lot of time to accomplish all that HE thinks the President needs to. President Bush has been rather busy since he first took the pledge. Give him another 4 yrs after 2004, and then complain about what he hasn't done.
As for Iran, the Iranians are working on it. It's not being ignored. And there are reasons we moved our military base out of Saudi. Think about that, Onkar.
Bush doesn't have a magic wand. And if the press and news media would try printing stories that would HELP any of these situations, we'd get rid of the terrorists a lot faster.They could be printing articles and editorials that are patriotic, uplifting, affirming, supportive,and
encouraging.
"...when Bush does strike at militant Islam, he does so only haltingly. Morally unsure of his right to protect American lives by wiping out the Taliban and al-Qaeda, Bush feared in Afghanistan world disapproval over civilian casualties."
IF this is what the author believes, that Bush "does so only haltingly" & "feared in Afghanistan world disapproval over civilian casualties", it's because of people in his profession jumping at every opportunity to report (whether true or not)(exaggerated) civilian casualties(and the heck with the mission and what we're trying to achieve). AS for whether Mr. Bush is "unsure of his right to protect American lives..." that's Hogwash! Ridiculous! Stupid!
When the author and the rest of the naysaying, doubting,Anti-Bush,pro-democratic party, "gotcha", "don't care how the majority of Americans feel" media attain the morals MR. Bush lives his life by, it will not only be a cold day in Hades, but we'll have stopped any future 9-11
catastrophes from happening.
Remember Onkar,
"Loose lips sink ships."

Iran human rights body concerned over detainees

World News
Jul 29, 2003

TEHRAN - An Iranian human rights watchdog body has expressed concern over the fate of a number of liberal opposition figures detained in the Islamic Republic in June, the press reported Tuesday.

The Islamic Commission for Human Rights has received a letter from the families of a number of the opposition members detained, saying they had no news of their relatives since they were arrested.

The Commission said that not having heard anything for 40 days, the families' "concern" was "right and understandable".

The news blackout constituted "a violation of human rights and the bodies concerned must provide proper explanations", the Commission added, reformist newspaper Yas-e-No reported.

Such action would have "a high cost for the country on the international stage", the Commission added.

The letter was signed by the families of dissident Mohsen Sazgara and a number of other liberal opposition figures arrested in June on suspicion of plotting unrest.

Three other opposition members, Hoda Saber, Taghi Rahmani and Reza Alidjani, were reported to have been arrested on June 16.

Meanwhile, members of the main reformist student body at leading Tehran university Amir Kabir denounced the "bad treatment" it said was inflicted on "dozens" of its members.

One student, Matin Meshkin, demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the treatment of colleagues detained in section 325 of the capital's notorious Evin prison, and also called for an inquiry by the UN Human Rights Commission.

Several members of the student body, the Office to Consolidate Unity (OCU), were arrested at the start of July.

Among them were student leaders Abdollah Momeni, Reza Ameri Nassab, Mehdi Habibi and Saeed Razavi Faghih.

According to press reports, nine students from universities in the western province of Ilam have been sentenced to prison terms of between one and three years for taking part in the wave of student protest demonstrations in June and July.

However, Yas-e-No reported the release on bail of at least three students from Tehran universities, including OCU member Hojat Sharifi.

http://www.daneshjoo.org/generalnews/article/publish/article_1464.shtml

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Roots of Hope in a Realm of Fear

July 28, 2003
The Washington Post
Paul Wolfowitz

Behind the police academy in Baghdad stands the forked trunk of a dead tree, unusual for the fact that on each branch the bark is permanently marked by two sets of ropes -- one high enough to tie up a man, the other, a woman. Near the tree is a row of small cells where special prisoners were held.

Our guide, the newly appointed Sunni superintendent of the academy (who had spent a year in jail for having made a disparaging comment about Saddam Hussein to his best friend) told us of unspeakable things that once happened to men and women tied to that tree and held in those cells. Beyond the torture tree, a small gate leads to the Olympic Committee Headquarters, run by Uday Hussein, who would often slip through the back gate at night to torture and abuse prisoners.

Traveling throughout Iraq last week, I heard many more accounts of unspeakable brutality -- on a scale unimaginable for Americans. While we were in the north, one commander told us workers had temporarily stopped the excavation of a newly discovered mass gravesite, after unearthing the remains of 80 women and children -- some still with little dresses and toys.

In the south, we met other remnants of the regime's horrific brutality, the Marsh Arabs, for whom liberation came just in time to save a fragment of this ancient civilization. But for the Marsh Arabs, the marshes are no more. Where there was once a lush landscape of productive, freshwater marshes, there is now a vast, nearly lifeless void. The children there greeted us with loud applause and cheers of "Salaam Bush" and "Down with Saddam." Their first request was not for candy or toys. It was, instead, a single word: "Water?"

One of my strongest impressions is that fear of the old regime is still pervasive. A smothering blanket of apprehension and dread woven by 35 years of repression -- where even the smallest mistake could bring torture or death -- won't be cast off in a few weeks' time. Iraqis are understandably cautious. Until they are convinced that every remnant of Hussein's old regime is removed, and until a long and ghastly part of their history is overcome, that fear will remain. That history of atrocities and the punishment of those responsible are directly linked to our success in helping the Iraqi people build a free, secure and democratic future.

What happened to Uday and Qusay Hussein last week is essential to the process of building that future. Their demise is an important step in making Iraqis feel more secure that the Baathist tyranny will never return, in restoring order and in giving freedom a chance. Even in Baghdad, far from the Shi'a and Kurdish areas that we associate with Hussein's genocidal murders, enthusiastic and prolonged celebrations over the news of their deaths erupted almost at once -- suggesting something else I observed: Hussein and his sons were equal-opportunity oppressors.

It was a significant step forward to get Nos. 2 and 3 on our most-wanted list of regime criminals. That same day we captured the commander of the Special Republican Guard. But we've learned in our days on the ground that the roots of that regime go deep -- burrowing into precincts and neighborhoods, like a huge gang of organized criminals. So it is the coalition's intensified focus on mid-level Baathists that we think will yield even greater results in apprehending the contract killers and dead-enders who now target our soldiers and our success. Recently captured functionaries have revealed new and helpful information, and we are working to encourage this trend.

Even though the enemy targets our success, we will win the peace. But we won't win it alone. We don't need American troops to guard every mile of electrical cable. The real center of gravity will come from the Iraqi people themselves -- they know who and where the criminals are. And they have the most at stake -- their future.

While Iraqis may remain in the grip of fear, our troops, our coalition allies and the new Iraqi national and local Iraqi councils are making significant progress in lessening its iron hold. When inevitable challenges and controversies arise, we should remember that most of the people of Iraq are deeply grateful for what our incredibly brave American and coalition forces have done to liberate them from Hussein's republic of fear.

When we've convinced Iraqis that we mean to stay until the old regime is crushed and its criminals are punished -- and that we are equally determined to give their country back to them -- they will know they can truly begin to build a government and society of, by and for the Iraqi people.

In many ways, the people of Iraq are like prisoners who endured years of solitary confinement -- without light, without peace, without much knowledge of the outside world. They have just emerged into the bright light of hope and fresh air of freedom. It may take a while for them to adjust to this new landscape free of torture trees.

The writer is deputy defense secretary.

http://iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news_en.pl?l=en&y=2003&m=07&d=29&a=7

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