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Iran and Israel: Time Is Running Out

dialn — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:09:40 +0000

By Nick Dial

As each month dwindles by, so does another month with no progress made towards countering Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The situation is becoming grave and the sands of time are beginning to run low. Iran has made no attempt at hiding its intentions towards those who oppose its quest for nuclear nirvana. Repeated threats of wiping nations of the map appear to be common place with Iran’s regime. Ever since the 1979 takeover of Iran, Its people have been strongly oppressed by the Mullahs. While it’s safe to say that a great deal of the Iranian people do not support Iran’s current nuclear venture, they continue to be held hostage by a rogue group of dictators and thugs that constantly thumb their nose at the world in defiance. So far, what has the world shown in return? Apathy. Clear and simple apathy with no will to hold a nation at face value for its words or actions.

In 1945 The United Nations was created to deter such issues from taking place. The world had just been through a horrible world war and the thoughts of smooth talking demagogues that commanded powerful armies with advanced weapons were fresh in the world’s minds. Hitler had left a scar on the world and had proven how apathy from Europe and failure to react to the red flags clearly being presented, cost the world in blood. Humanity had been pushed to its very limits and if you try just a little, you can still see, feel, and listen to the aftermath of that horrible event. Today, it would seem that scar has faded away. Instead of the U.N. proudly displaying this scar to remind the world of its existence and why never again such an action should take place, they choose to cover it up with a little make up and put on a smile. Sure the U.N. is large and it can have quite a bark, but all too often there is never any bite. Instead we get an organization that is so corrupt it could rival ACORN, pitching nations against one another for veto power and serving their own self interest. What once started with good intentions has now turned into nothing more than a world class dog and pony show. Look no further then the Rwanda atrocities to find an example of their incompetence. Let’s not forget the Oil for Food scandal, where Russia, China, and Germany had illegal deals with Saddam. It’s no wonder they didn’t want us to go into Iraq, They were afraid we would find out the truth and they would have egg on their face. Turns out, they were corrupt and hid behind the disguise that they opposed the War on Terror because it was “unjust” when in reality they had their reputations on the line and were afraid of getting exposed. The reason the United Nations doesn’t work is because you have multiple countries with vast differences and agendas, especially Russia and the NATO west. They never agree and do nothing but out vote one another and jockey for position. When you can constantly veto your advisory, why vote in favor of helping them when it may make them stronger in the long run? The countries of the U.N. all have their own interest in mind, talking rather than acting and innocent people pay the price in blood and oppression for such incompetence.

In June of 2009, Iran faced a massive demonstration of the human spirit. When an evident case of election fraud re-elected Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, The Iranian people took to the streets and faced brutal resistance from the Mullah Regime. People were shot, beaten, and even had acid poured down on top of them from helicopters. Despite all of this , they continued to persevere. The one true image being seen that the mainstream media could not, was right in front of them. Iranians were holding signs of protest written in English. What many Westerners may not realize is the fact that most of these people do not speak English and had to go out of their way to accomplish this. This was a clear message to the western world, “We are here, and we want democracy too”. It was a cry for help, even if only to get moral support for the cause of freedom.

During the protest, what did we see from the Obama administration? Finally after much hesitation he “condemned” the brutal tactics of the Mullahs, but did nothing to really give moral support to the people fighting for a noble cause. The world sat back and watched as a people were brutalized. Many times before this event took place, Obama and his administration had made repeated attempts to have “talks” with Iran, only to be slapped away and publicly belittled for trying. Once again, an attempt has been made to negotiate with Iran and once again they simply said, “no.” What has Obama decided to do? The administration has stated they will be holding talks in October of 2009, talks of which Iran has made clear they want no part of in regards to their nuclear program. This is like scheduling a phone call with someone who says they won’t pick up. How many times does this administration need to be publicly humiliated before they realize they are having a one way conversation?

This administration is quick to reprimand the likes of Honduras, a nation that ousted a true tyrant, Manuel Zelaya, in the name of freedom to preserve their constitution, yet fumbles on supporting the people of Iran. Instead, they side with leaders like Chavez and Castro. Obama has been openly critical toward Israel and has done little to show them good faith in protecting their borders with an ever growing threat, Iran. One thing Israel should have done was pick up the ball that Obama dropped. For over a year, Iran and its nuclear venture has been front and center. Obama should have supported the Iranian people and put added pressure to topple the Iranian regime. We could not have asked for a better situation. Here was a golden opportunity to help the implosion of a rogue nation without the use of a massive military operation. That window is now most likely closed. Israel could and should have reached out to the people of Iran and built a bridge of moral support to fight against the Mullahs. Unfortunately this option may no longer be achievable and time is not on Israel’s side. A choice will have to be made. As months continue to go by, so does the deadline for Israel in making a decision. Strike them first, or wait for the worst. The United Nations played a key role in the creation of the Zionist state in 1948 and yet now, the U.N. seems so willing to offer this nation up on the altar of sacrifice as they sit back and do nothing. No doubt if Israel is forced to take action, the world will look upon them with damning eyes, very reminiscent of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War, regardless of the fact that Israel was fired on repeatedly before taking action. In the World’s eyes, Lebanon was portrayed widely as the victim. The fact they elected Hamas, a known terrorist group into government rule, seemed to have no contributing responsibility. In reality, Lebanon themself had brought this aggression on through acts of violent aggression of their own. Even to this day, Israel is still fired on with random rockets hitting their inner cities. Will Israel ever be given the respect to defend herself that so many other nations on the world stage are privileged to do? Or, will they continue to be treated as some bastard stepchild who must always look down at the ground and only speak when spoken to?

Exclusive: Iran is at a Crossroads

dialn — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:37:11 +0000

By Clare M. Lopez

No matter how the street protests across Iran play out, it is clear that an era is coming to an end. The Khomeini Revolution is out of steam, out of favor, out of supporters. Its last remaining zealots are the Pasdaran or Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its subordinate divisions of street thugs, the Bassij and Ansar-e Hizballah. Survivors of the brutal 1980s war with Iraq, the Pasdaran are among the only true believers left whose loyalty the clerical acolytes of the Ayatollah Khomeini can count on. Maybe. Masses of deeply conservative and impoverished Iranians in the countryside also rally to the populist policies of Iran’s IRGC president Ahmadinejad. But what is unfolding on the streets of Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz and other Iranian cities has taken on a life of its own that may prove unstoppable.

Thirty years on, what is left of Khomeini’s Revolution is a savage scramble for power and wealth among the top ranks of a ruling class rotten with corruption. The Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who succeeded Khomeini as Supreme Leader in 1989, so lacked the religious credentials for the job that he had to be jumped up a rank so he would make a suitable compromise candidate (given that most of the rest of the senior clergy of the day had been disqualified because of their opposition to Khomeini). That and a decided lack of charisma meant that Khamenei’s position among the top Shi’a clergy never even remotely approached the status enjoyed by Khomeini or the other Grand Ayatollahs. So, to shore it up, he made a Faustian alliance with the Pasdaran, whose formidable power may now rival his own. It was a calculated decision by Khamenei that brought IRGC veteran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency in 2005 and then backed him again in these elections.

Khamenei’s personal nemesis is the wily political infighter, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and speaker of the Majles. Currently head of the Assembly of Experts (which elects and can dismiss the Supreme Leader), Rafsanjani is a crafty operator whose alliances among the clergy and all-important bazaaris (merchants) remain mostly opaque. Despite his deep involvement in both domestic repression and extraterritorial terror, Rafsanjani has always been most interested in amassing wealth – and the power necessary to secure it. The Rafsanjani clan owns numerous industrial properties as well as vast land holdings across Iran. Rafsanjani also owns the largest network of private universities in Iran, called the Azad. This network with some 300 branches not only brings in revenue, but also provided a cadre of some 3 million students, ready recruits for the presidential campaign when Rafsanjani decided to make his move against the powerful IRGC by backing Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Mousavi, himself a former prime minister who was intimately involved in the brutal early years of Khomeini’s revolution, cynically portrays himself as a “reformer,” the better to target Iranian youth who yearn to break free of stifling restrictions on their everyday lives. Former president Khatami rounded out a campaign alliance that took direct aim at the top power structures of the regime.

What began as a ploy on all sides to ride the election vehicle to greater political advantage went badly off track when the regime miscalculated the extent of election rigging Iranians would swallow. Outrage spread like wildfire and Iranians of all ages spilled into the streets even though, thus far, it is students who make up the majority of demonstrators. With some 60 percent of Iranians under the age of 30, a generational shift is inevitable, even if the aging mullahs now clinging desperately to power succeed in hanging on a little while longer. What those numbers mean is that the majority of Iranians alive today have no personal memory of the Ayatollah Khomeini, his Revolution, or the Shah they swept from power. Young Iranians are overwhelmingly urbanized, highly educated, and keenly aware of what’s going on in the rest of the world by way of the Internet and those ubiquitous camera-equipped smart phones.

Someone of a cynical frame of mind might see two battling camps which deliberately used the presidential elections to drop a match into the tinderbox that is Iran these days, each thinking they could control the burn. Behind the scenes, these powerful forces in fact are engaged in a fight to the death with the Rafsanjani-Mousavi alliance more than willing to let the angry masses of Iranian youth confront the regime in ways they dare not openly. Those young freedom fighters have galvanized the nation and the world with their courage and their fury. Khamenei, Ahmadinejad, the IRGC, and security and intelligence services still wield all the important tools of repression, but if they mount a crackdown by way of guns or arrests and intimidation, they have no way of knowing whether such measures will quell what is fast becoming a national rebellion or inflame the population to broader involvement or greater violence. Key segments of society including bazaaris, ethnic minorities, labor, and women have yet to throw the combined weight of their own disenfranchised fury behind this uprising. If and when they do, this will truly be a revolution.

In the end, it is up to the Iranian people to take their own future into their hands. This isn’t about a stolen election anymore, any more than it is any longer just a face-off between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi. Feeble exhortations to respect for free speech and an end to violence miss entirely the significance of what is happening in Iran. This is nothing less than the beginning of the end of Khomeini’s revolution, a revolution that terrorized its children, threatened its neighbors, and waged war against the United States for 30 years. The world must be prepared for what is to come: Khomeini’s thugs are not likely to relinquish their bloody grip on power without a great deal of violence, in large part because there is no place for them to go if they lose. For one thing, they are Shi’ites in a Middle East dominated by Sunni regimes that despise and fear them. Exile abroad is not a realistic expectation either, given that there are international arrest warrants out for a number of them, including both Khamenei and Rafsanjani. They have few options but to fight to the death, especially Rafsanjani and Mousavi (who has even expressed his readiness for “martyrdom”) now that they have openly challenged the rule of the Supreme Leader. The students on the street couldn’t be clearer about their objectives either; chants of “Death to the Dictator” don’t just mean Ahmadinejad. This is about regime change now.

Iran is on the brink of revolutionary change that will come inevitably, whether this week, or month, or year. The mullahs know their days are numbered, which is one reason they have dedicated such resources to acquiring the nuclear weapons they believe the only means of saving their revolution (and their skins). Iranian society has changed irreversibly and cannot go back. Thirty years of pent-up rage is bursting forth and a new generation is demanding an end to tyranny. Iranians have unified before to depose tyrants only to split into warring factions easily dominated by a new tyrant. Massive rallies among exiled opposition groups around the world mirror the angry crowds on streets across Iran. Somehow they must all come together to build a future for Iran that is democratic, modern, and responsible. Azadi.

Obama to pledge 900 million to Hamas: The Iran Connection and The Revolving Door

dialn — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:11:23 +0000

by Nick Dial

The connection between Israel and Palestine concerning terrorism in the Middle East is a long bloody road. Since 1947 ,with the introducton of Israel by the United Nations, the countries of the Middle East have been more inflamed then a serious case of hemorrhoids. In the end, the British felt like good chaps with the Balfour Declaration, while the Muslims felt betrayed. Israel became immediately under attack as a bastard nation of the west. Soon Israel had to earn their right to exist in blood. From Black September to the Six Day War, Israel was pushed into a sink or swim situation. The result of this has led to a nation that requires every citizen to serve in the military, an open carry policy for weapons, and an ever aggressive military constantly training. The difference of life or death literally relies on Israel’s ability to react quickly and powerfully. The tensions between Jews and Muslims are nothing new. however. They go back to biblical time and now where a saber was once used, F-16 fighting falcons and hellfire missiles take its place. The weapons may have changed with the times, but ,unfortunately, the ideology and inability to show tolerance for others has not. The rhetoric of the past has stayed the present and continues to shed blood on the very same sand that was repeatedly stained red centuries before. If the land was not so engulfed with bigotry and fertilized with the blood of the innocent, perhaps more would grow in the region then palm trees.

Today, Iran is the undisputed champion of funding terror. In the name of God this nation provides training, money, weapons, and good old fashioned propaganda for one purpose and one purpose only - to wipe Israel off the earth, kill infidels and all who support Israel’s existence, and to take a global grasp in the name of Islam so Mohammed can one day return and rule in all his glory. Iran’s cleric leadership looks at this as their divine duty, and will stop at nothing. Hamas, which comes from Egypt, and Hezbollah which comes from Iran, have something in common. They are both located in Gaza, they both hate Israel, they both receive funding, training and men from Iran, and Hamas is the “elected” government of Palestine. Asia Times stated the following:

“Although Hamas was a Sunni party and the Tehran government wanted to spread a Shi’ite Islamic revolution, the two parties were working together, each for personal reasons. Hamas wanted a regional heavyweight to supply it with arms. Iran wanted a military group to lean on in Palestine, just like it had Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Badr Brigade in Iran.” (Moubayed, Sami 2008).

If anyone wishes to understand Middle Eastern culture and survive, they must comprehend one thing above all. This part of the world does not respond to talk. It only responds to force and knows such. Talk has been attempted for centuries, but always comes down to a fight. Talking is perceived as a sign of weak ness and projecting such a weakness in this region leads to increased aggression by the other party. When the bull is staring you down, most times you have to smack him on the nose to get the point across. Recently, our new president and administration has been pushing for what history shows to be a big mistake. They wish to kiss the cobra on the nose and expect not to get bit in return. Despite warnings from Israel, President Obama attempted to talk to Iran with negations. According to News Vrine, Israel stated the following:

“President Obama’s policy of direct diplomacy with Iran may buy Tehran enough time to produce nuclear weapons, Shabtai Shavit, former chief of the Mossad intelligence agency, warned in an exclusive WND interview today.
“I don’t believe there is a political solution which can be achieved through negotiations with Iran,” he said.
“My concern is that until Obama finishes his learning curve of the subject, the Iranians are going to have maybe the first or even more nuclear bombs” (2009) .

“Learning curve” is the key word in this citation. Despite warnings from the older and wiser, our nation has foolishly elected a president who ran on rhetoric equivalent of high school student body speeches of chocolate milk for all and apparently learning on- the -job is ok. Obama sent Iran a letter, requesting talks with the nation. What was their response to Obama? Iran stated the following televised to the masses. “This means western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed” (Shepherd, Noel, 2009). If this was not enough to raise an eyebrow, the following will certainly ruffle a feather or two. President Obama and his administration are pledging to give nine hundred million dollars to Hamas. ( That’s right, as in the terrorist organization. ) The logic for such an action is to buy off loyalty. By providing money, they expect to have Hamas rely less on Iran and hopefully earn a soft spot in Hamas’s fluffy rocket shooting heart. Obama defends this action by stating that the money will not be given to “militants”. He declares the funds instead will be transferred to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, also known as UNRWA. Therefore ,the money will be used for legitimate purposes, right? Unfortunately, like many Americans, Obama should have taken a history class or two. UNRWA has very friendly and close ties with Hamas. According to WorldNet Daily,

“On July 6, 2001, Hamas convened a conference in the UNRWA school in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, with students, teachers, and school administrators in attendance. Yassin presented his ideology and then an official named Saheil Alhinadi, who represented the teaching sector of UNRWA, praised students who had recently carried out suicide attacks against Israel, declaring “the road to Palestine passes through the blood of the fallen and these fallen have written history with parts of their flesh and their bodies” (2009)

I’m sure given the mild language of the UNRWA, they would be more then ethical in the disbursement of these funds. A rocket, ….a hum,…I mean shovel for every man. The article goes on to state about intelligence reports that indicate weapons storage and firing of rockets from various UNRWA camps.

Let’s pretend for one minute that all the nine hundred million dollars were to go to honest use. There is one big loop hole that people have not addressed. Hamas is the elected government and much of its budget has to go toward community services such as school, medical, construction, etc. The money in their budget they would have spent for repair and rebuilding is now free. They get to take all their funds and simply shift it to militant use. Thanks to the United States taxpayers and their generous President, they will be killing more Jewish men, women, and children in no time. Courtesy of the red, white, and blue. The phrase “the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air” will take on a whole new meaning as rockets explode in Israeli neighborhoods once again.

References
(2009). Hamas happy with obamas 900 million dollar pledge. Worldnet Daily, Retrieved 03/07/2009, from
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89949
(2009). Israeli warning to obama: Your talk gives iran nukes. Newsvine, Retrieved 03/07/2009, from
http://calbarran.newsvine.com/_news/2009/02/19/2454507-israeli-warning-to-obama-your-talk-gives-iran-nukes
(2008). Who are hezbollah?. BBC, Retrieved 03/07/2009, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/43

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Eberthart, Dave (2008). Terror expert: Wmd attack on u.s. inevitable. Newsmax, Retrieved 03/07/2009, from
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/cetron_terror_attack/2008/09/10/129636.html