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Enemy Number One?
07-Sep-2012
It was in 1987, 25 years ago, that Yitzhak Rabin, the late PM of Israel said, "Iran is Israel's best friend and we do not intend to change our position in relation to Tehran, because Khomeini's regime will not last forever."
Things have changed quite a bit since then.
A year ago, in a classroom, I was giving a talk about Iran when a young woman asked me a question.
She was a Jewish Iranian-American who had never set foot in Iran. Yet she had very strong views, as if she had spent quite some time there. She thought Iranians deserved Ahmadinejad and that Iran was the number-one threat to Israel.
I respectfully disagreed with her and brought up the example of the thousands who turned up during the aftermath of the rigged elections of 2009. I argued that Iranians deserved better and had proved it through their sacrifices during that period. She was so upset with me that she did not even bother to look at the books I had brought to class.
Was she brainwashed? Yes. Are many Iranians brainwashed inside Iran about the West and Israel? Yes.
In a different classroom -- on journalism, covering the Middle East -- which I took, mostly out of curiosity - Iran dominated some 80 percent of the course. The Middle East began and ended with Iran. Surely, the Iran hysteria has overtaken all rationale even in simple classrooms. Who is channeling this hysteria?
After hearing that as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu's latest fear-mongering, many Israelis were buying masks to protect themselves from a possible confrontation with Iran, I decided to go on the website of AIPAC, America's most powerful pro-Israel lobby. It was astounding to see that every other article on their website mentions Iran. It actually begins with a photo of Ahmadinejad and Iran's Foreign Minister in one of Iran's nuclear power plants. The titles were: "IAEA to press Iran," "Iran struggles to reflag oil tankers," "Iranian universities shut female students," "Prevent a nuclear capable Iran," and "Congress approves new Iran sanctions."
The war with Iran did not begin after Ahmadinejad's various infamous and irresponsible statements about Israel, the Jews and the Holocaust. It began the day the Islamic Republic following the Revolution closed down the Embassy of Israel in Tehran and handed the key to the late Yasser Arafat.
At the same time, relations between the two countries have seesawed between secret collaboration to public vilification, often simultaneously.
In the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war, the Israelis sold arms to Iranians who were fighting Saddam's army. The Islamic regime's nature was no different then but selling missiles to your enemy to fight another enemy was alright in their eyes. One hundred TOW missiles were sold to Iran. In his book, Treacherous Alliances, Trita Parsi writes, "Kimche [a British born Israeli diplomat and a Mossad deputy director] inquired whether the United States would replenish Israeli missile arsenals if Israel were to go ahead and make a deal with the Iranians." Reagan happily agreed.
That was then.
Today, Israel blames Iran's unsavory activities abroad and has continuously pointed the finger at the IRI for supporting Hezbollah and Hamas. It has blamed Iran for the bombings in Argentina and lately the Jewish tourist bus in Bulgaria. Iran, on the other hand, blames Israel for the assassination of its nuclear scientists and for supporting and funding some separatist groups.
Iran never used WMDs in its war with Iraq; but Saddam, with tacit approval of the U.S. and its allies used mustard gas and deadly weapons against the Kurds and the Iranian army. Joost Hiltermann, a researcher on the subject of the Iran-Iraq war wrote some years ago, "Today the world faces the prospect a nuclear-armed Iran, which never again will allow itself to be caught so dangerously exposed to superior arms, illegal methods of warfare, and the world's tolerance of such."
According to some Israeli and American nuclear scientists and the IAEA, Iran is far from having the capability of building the bomb. On the other hand, Israel has close to 300 nuclear warheads. As of 2012 and contrary to a barrage of misinformation, Iran has NONE.
What prompted America to go to war in Iraq was an endless stream of misguided advice by neo-cons working for Washington think tanks who on false premises pushed the Bush administration into war. Quite a few names come to mind: Ledeen, Perle, Wolfowitz, Abrams. Even the famous Princeton scholar, Bernard Lewis, became a regular guest at the Bush White House. The mantra was that the Iraqis would welcome the Americans as liberators. History proved them wrong. Once we have invaded Iraq, then Iranians would beseech us, "Come this way," Lewis proclaimed.
William Kristol added, "We are already in a death struggle with Iran [...] and must also take the fight to Iran, with measures ranging from public diplomacy to covert operations."
Recently, the "internationally acclaimed scholar," Ledeen, wrote in one of his "brilliant" articles:
What do Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria have in common? Mayhem, much of which flows from the terror masters in Tehran [...] WE, not the Israelis, are the prime targets of the terror masters and those two thousand Americans killed in Afghanistan were sent to their graves without the need for nukes. Just like the nearly three thousand massacred in America on 9/11, in which the Iranians were similarly deeply involved.
Since 2003, Iraq has seen very little sign of democratic progress, its society is in total disarray, corruption is rampant, its infrastructure has been destroyed, millions have been turned into refugees, hundreds of thousands have been killed and daily suicide bombings occur in cities across Iraq. The damage is not just in Iraq. Thousands of American soldiers have lost their lives and in July of this year alone, 38 U.S. military personnel committed suicide.
War is tragic on all fronts.
There are few countries in the Middle East which are not battered by car bombs, assassinations, kidnapping, murder, and more bloodshed.
Iran is still functioning and yet it is not. Sanctions have crippled the economy and the nuclear issue is like a looming scarecrow. For every Iranian who is only trying to bring bread to the table while fighting surging inflation, life has become ever more depressing. Even for those of us who live in the West, the fear of an attack on Iran is never far from our minds.
In Israel itself, the discussion is heated. While Barak and Netanyahu are adamant that their rhetoric become real --
'We will do it even if the world says no,' Peres and other moderates such as Shaul Mofaz say, 'Wait a minute, not so fast.' Peres recently admitted that he cannot sleep at night over a possible war with Iran. Nor can we, Mr. Peres.
On what grounds does Israel with its 300 nukes which at any minute can annihilate the entire Middle East, have the right to attack a sovereign country and wipe it really off the map? Which international body gives it permission to do so?
Has the Israeli government's arrogance blinded the eyes of its citizens? We hope not. By and large, most Israelis are against a major confrontation with Iran. As recently as a few days ago, Israel's former Supreme Judge, charged Netanyahu and Barak with "endangering the country both physically and economically," reproaching Barak for saying that only 500 Israeli citizens will die in case of war.
Iran is not an exemplary country by any measure, and it is far from having a representative government. It has a dismal human rights record but it is preposterous to claim that it is the biggest threat not just to Israel and the United States but to the world.
At the end of the day, Iranians will have to find a way to overcome their many problems and make the ultimate changes. The problem will not go away if Iran is shattered to pieces. The outcome is multidimensional and far worse.
Just imagine that tomorrow, the beautiful and historic city of Isfahan, home to many Jewish-Iranians and several old synagogues, may vanish, with just one bomb, from the many Israel possesses.
The Natanz nuclear power plant is not too far away.
First published in HuffingtonPost.com.
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The height of ignorance
by Dr. Mohandes on Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:30 PM PDTAshk Dovom
A tint upstart???? are you klidding yourself?Where have you been living, behind a rock? has the love for your iran blinded you so much to even not see the real, hard realities around you.
This is what plain bigorty and nationalism!! does to you. So get so out of control that call one of the most advanced nations on the face of the earth a misleay upstart!! and rather stick to the notion of Iran the great country with millioonsss years of history.
Take a look around you and see who and what creatures, in fact have made humiliation of our nation into a science, that makes them so proud and milk it every second of their misrable exitence while being on the payroll of all suckers and backward beasts of this world.
So who is your top guy whom you perceive as qualified to intercede!! on your behalf? Stop the talk and walk the walk. who is your main man? who is your big dog? name some names big man. let's hear them.
I believe the world is round
by Ashk Dovom on Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:23 PM PDTDid Khamenei ever say someone should go and assassinate Mr Forouhar and his wife? The answer is no. There is nothing on record that suggests he did. As a matter of fact the government formed a committee to investigate the deaths. Nevertheless, everyone knows on whose orders they were murdered. Is Khamenei on the record for ordering the shooting of innocent people after the bogus presidential election? The answer is no. But we all know under whose blessings they took place. People are not as stupid as you think. Reza Pahlavi does not have to come out and say that he is in favour of an Israeli attack on Iran for people to know that he would be delighted when it happens. Reza Pahlavi cannot have his cake and eat it too. He has been on the Israeli and Saudi payroll for many years. The patriotic persona that he tries to present publicly is an insult to one's intelligent. A tiny upstart country comes out every two minutes and threatens our ancient homeland with invasion and bombing and what does the heir to the Peacock Throne do? Nothing, as a matter of fact worse than nothing. Cosies up to the Israelis, relentlessly appears on their television and radio and humiliates our nation by pretending to intercedes on our behalf. What a ridiculous masquerade!!!!!
Jewish or Iranian?
by Alidad on Wed Sep 12, 2012 01:44 AM PDTAn American Jewish-Iranian or Jewish Iranian-American etc.. what is that? Clearly if this woman thinks Iran is a threat to Israel and that Iranians deserve Ahmadinejad, she harbours no affection for Iran. If she has never set foot in Iran and is of Jewish parentage - Semitic in other words - how can she be Iranian? Iranians are not Semitic in spite of the greatly studied and debated mix of linguistic and ethnic groups that are said to constitute "Iranians." Jews they are not just as Jews are not Iranians unless, I suppose, they currently have Iranian passports. You could say about this person - aside her antipathy to Iran - that she is descended from or related to Jews who used to live in Iran until 1979. There was a Jewish community in Iran for at least 2,000 years, and now some idiot hooked on Fox News says Iran is a threat to Israel? How is she Iranian?
har gerdi gerdoo nist
by anglophile on Tue Sep 11, 2012 09:31 AM PDTJenab_e Irajkahan
I am sorry that I cannot share your excitement, and that of your cheer leader, about comparing the IRI's stance against Israel with their belief that the world is round (although I am not sure if they really do believe in it). Yes the Islamic regime has also promoted the art of calligraphy and pottery an in case you didn't know the Nazis built the first autobahns in Genrmay but does that make them any less anti-semetic or more human-loving?
As for the monarchists such as Prince Reza (reminds me of Marx's famous words in reponse to a group of runaway communists who called themselves 'Marxists" and said: "if anythything I am not a Marxist!) whom you allege to have hoped for an Israeli attack on Iran, can you please let me know where and when he said such a thing. Unless of course you are a clairvouynat and can read his mind and his 'hopes'. If you hear such things from a group of runaway monarchists let me reassure you that Prince Reza is not a monarchist :)).
I believe the world is round
by Ashk Dovom on Tue Sep 11, 2012 07:46 AM PDTIraj khan, fabulous answer. You're spot on!
Jenabe anglophile,
by iraj khan on Tue Sep 11, 2012 06:38 AM PDTI believe the world is round.
The Islamic regime of Iran also says 'the world is round'.
Questions:
Is the world round or is it another piece of propaganda by IRI?
Does is make me parroting IRI if I believe the world is round?
As for Israel and her influence on U.S. and Eroupean governments, there's nothing to prove. One needs to go to google/news and search for Iran and then Israel and just read.
Also, I'm aware the monarchists such as Reza Pahlavi have a soft spot for Israel, hoping one day Israel along with U.S. and U.K. would 'attack' and 'save' Iran for the monarchists.
Iraj
You are parroting the Islamic Regime Irajkhan
by anglophile on Tue Sep 11, 2012 01:14 AM PDT"enemy for Iran in the short term ... is Israel"
and so is NIAC!
Repeat
by anglophile on Tue Sep 11, 2012 01:16 AM PDTRepeat
Number 1
by iraj khan on Mon Sep 10, 2012 02:48 PM PDTenemy for Iran in the short term
and number 1 enemy for U.S. in the long run is Israel.
This is what was reported today:
"US rebuffs Israel, says red line on Iran 'not useful'
//www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4279698,00.html
State Department says Israel shouldn't question President Obama's commitment to barring Iran from obtaining atom weapons with demand for deadline"
They push and manipulate U.S. political process resulting in disaster for Americans.
oh sorry
by Dr. Mohandes on Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:34 PM PDTI did not pay attention to the fact that i was talking to a witch who apparently knows everything about me and thinks she / he is perfect.
ok i am taking the first step here...
LOL
ok you are not keeedeeeng me, now go take a shoverrrrr and coooolll offff. okayyyy?
Dr. Mohandes
by Mashala on Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:34 PM PDTWhy? Do I sound familiar to you?
Why do you ask for solution when you don't really want to know? Those were the first steps you should take.
So that you know, I am perfect and I am not kidding you.
Mashalah
by Dr. Mohandes on Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:44 AM PDTHave we met before?
Do you realize that as an eeraneean those vile aspects of our national charateristics would apply to you as well.
Whom am i jealous of? Whom did i betray?
What is the matter with you people? You don't even tolerate an opposite view! all you need is a "let's get some help" and whoosh! you guys burst into flames and start throwing wild accusations left and right!
Well, i see a tons of so many other things in you that i can not mention.
Dr. Mohaness aziz: We could go round and round …
by Bavafa on Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:18 AM PDTIn what you said and believe or what my interpretation of your message was. It is however mostly irrelevant in the context of Iranian people and what I think or what you may have said.
However, in regards to freedom for Iran and Iranians, I believe, Yes, IRI could and probably will use more heavily equipped forces to combat people but that maybe the price Iranian people will have to pay if they want [lasting] freedom. No one is saying that it will be easy or IRI will just walk away.
The way I see it, IRI would have a much freer hand to use such heavily and drastic measures if it can point to the outside forces as being the source of uprising which of course they wouldn’t even be calling it uprising. And I believe Iranian people will gain little if the main source is the outside forces as they have no intention in freeing Iranians and helping to establish a real free and democratic Iran.
Of course, I have always and will support any help from the outside if Iranians are in the lead and those outside roles are only supportive. Sadly such support has been very absent so far as we have seen little to no action by the West when it comes to the aspiration for freedom in Iran. All the sanctions, closing embassy or hostile posturing has been in relation to Iran foreign policy and IRI hostility towards Israel and support of Palestinians.
Case in point, In 2009 when so many Iranians came on to the streets, what did the West do?
'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory
Mehrdad
Dr. Mohandes
by Mashala on Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:15 AM PDTYou can start by getting rid of the negative parts of our national characteristics in you? Jealousy, slander, lies, backstabbing, as Fariba mentioned.
as well as, disrespect, depending on foreigners to do your job, betraying Iran, which is very very common and that has been by far the most damaging to IRAN and I see tons of it in you, unfortunately.
Farib, In case of any attacks, they will pop champagne and party through the night.
Mehrdad jan
by Dr. Mohandes on Mon Sep 10, 2012 09:26 AM PDTWhat if they use more heavily equipped and vicious forces to launch counterattacks against the desired mass uprising that you want to see?
Would you not believe that in the final analysis people will be on the losing end? Don't u think having some outside, effective and massive help would not be so bad?
I NEVER EVER Said we are irrelevant. Please do not tiwst my words. And i NEVER EVER Said west should have a free hand.
you run in circles, in a sense that you keep coming up with these ideally looking and sophisticated so-called solutions, while you do not know and have any idea at all, how do people should go about carrying them out. and keep on going and going on end.
Even worst, you counter your opponents by accusing them of wanting no roles for the people and wanting the west to do as they wish.
hope that was enlightening enough!
Mehrdad jan
by Dr. Mohandes on Mon Sep 10, 2012 09:25 AM PDTWhat if they use more heavily equipped and vicious forces to launch counterattacks against the desired mass uprising that you want to see?
Would you not believe that in the final analysis people will be on the losing end? Don't u think having some outside, effective and massive help would not be so bad?
I NEVER EVER Said we are irrelevant. Please do not tiwst my words. And i NEVER EVER Said west should have a free hand.
you run in circles, in a sense that you keep coming up with these ideally looking and sophisticated so-called solutions, while you do not know and have any idea at all, how do people should go about carrying them out. and keep on going and going on end.
Even worst, you counter your opponents by accusing them of wanting no roles for the people and wanting the west to do as they wish.
hope that was enlightening enough!
Dr. Mohandess jan: I have no doubt Iranians want freedom….
by Bavafa on Mon Sep 10, 2012 08:17 AM PDTOtherwise not so many of them, in the millions, would risk their neck and come on to the streets, not to mention the so many thousands currently in jail.
To answer your question, yes those [the likes of Nasrin Setoodeh] who have shown the courage to stand up against this tyranny and dictatorship are my heroes and leaders. And if more enough to follow and to stand up and say no-more, than I believe this regime will fall.
Now just wondering what is your alternative recommendation/solution?
Based on our conversation in the past, I know you believe we are irrelevant and the West does as it wishes to.
BTW, I fail to see how I run in a circle. Perhaps you an enlighten me a bit.
'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory
Mehrdad
Bavafa jan
by Dr. Mohandes on Mon Sep 10, 2012 08:02 AM PDTSo, In a way you are saying that those who are incarcerated now, are the ones who are qualified to be our leaders!? if that is indeed what you are saying, i have to say, hmmmm...they are in jail right now! what is plan b?
Trust me. Iranians Reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
want freedom. they do. if they really persist and take to the streets, we will see the same scenes we saw three years ago, which would mean the jails will be filled up one more time. Is that what you want? more prisoners?
I know , it would be a fantastic deal, wouldn't it! But have we not been saying and wishing that for decades? what is new on that front?
You see how you run in circles mehrdad jan, everytime this topic comes up?:)
mm
by Fariba Amini on Mon Sep 10, 2012 08:02 AM PDTYou correctly analyzed the situation that we face. Mehrdad and I think
that the answer starts with a strong / united diaspora in order to face
the IRI as well as folks like the neocons. Do you agree, and if so, how
do we go about it.
I wish I had the answer. All indications are that they are going to go after Iran in some way or another -of course not until after the elections. Look at some of the recent events: The communique by the two Kurdish parties in Iran , the sudden closing down of the Iranian Embassy in Canada, letter by a CA Congressman to Clinton on the formation of an Azari Republic, more sanctions, to me all these efforts are relentless efforts to disintegrate Iran. The old imperial tactic ( the British): divide and conquer is now back on the table. We just have to be extremely wise not to fall into this trap. I think as individuals we can do somethings: enlighten those around us, in our workplace, at the University, in private discussions, write to our congressmen and women, write letters to the editor, local or national papers, put adds, and many other things. I am not sure if petitions do any good. But why not?
On a separate note, I got an email on the history of the Akbarmashti ice
cream and the author claimed that the Minister Amini took Mr.
Akbarmashti with him to Europe so that he would make his famous ice
cream abroad for gusts. Is that true? And, if so, was it a hit?
If you are referring to my father, he was not a minister. You maybe talking about Dr. Ali Amini who was the PM. My father was the mayor of Tehran during Dr. Mossadegh's time and his personal lawyer. He never held any positions until after the Revolution when he became Governor of Fars and resigned after only one month.
Dr. Mohandes: If you care to visit ....
by Bavafa on Mon Sep 10, 2012 07:51 AM PDTThe “Iranian Prisoner of the day” column, you will see a good example of people and how it can be accomplished. It requires backbone and persistence and history has far too many examples that it can be done if Iranians really aim to have our freedom.
What could also help a great deal, is to stop this senseless in-fighting among opposition groups.
'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory
Mehrdad
Bavafa
by Dr. Mohandes on Mon Sep 10, 2012 01:23 AM PDTWould you please discuss your plans in sufficient details so we can get some clues as to how to approach this?
I know you are not in iran and i know that you will say it would not be up to you to do this, but put yourself in the postion where you lived in iran and that was what you firmly believed in. How would you proceed? What would have been the first step?
We are all ears:)
We in the diaspora CAN help stop this madness
by Divest from War pledge ca... on Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:56 AM PDTAs usual, this is about the Israel-first crowd trying to get the US to fight their wars for them.
And their threat: if you don't do it, we will.
Let's make sure there is a high cost for them starting Middle East War III. We can do this nonviolently by pledging to BOYCOTT ISRAEL IF IT BOMBS IRAN:
//www.divestfromwar.org
Let's PREVENT the next war, instead of protesting it after the fact!
A well argued and written article.....
by Bavafa on Sun Sep 09, 2012 08:27 PM PDTIt is sad to see how with all the mayhem and destructions that has been going on in ME, much of it by the hands corrupt leaders coupled by the sense of greed of the West, some still believe the West/Israel are for democracy in Iran. They somehow have forgotten that democratically elected governments that were not to their approval were so dismissed and worked hard to make sure they never take roots all the while many deeply rooted dictators such as in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait are part of the circle of the friends in the West.
Now, vast majority of us if not all in diaspora believe IRI is a brutal regime and it must go. Somehow few believe it should be outsourced to the West and trust them that they will deliver Iran with a democratic regime to us. I believe that task belong to the Iranian people if they want to be the master of their domain and choose their own future.
A war with Iran will certainly, in my opinion, set back the Iranian’s aspiration for democracy many years back.
'Hambastegi' is the main key to victory
Mehrdad
"..and in July of this year alone, 38 U.S. military personnel
by iraj khan on Sun Sep 09, 2012 07:59 PM PDTcommitted suicide."
How about the month of August?
Does anybody knows how many American soldiers died in Afghanistan dring the month of August ?
With 53 soldiers killed, August 2012 was one of the deadliest months for the NATO coalition in Afghanistan since the war began almost 11 years ago. U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan surpassed the 2000 mark with at least 38 killed last month. And there is no end in sight until at least 2014.
Here is a few lines about one of them:
Petty Officer 3rd Class Clayton Ross Beauchamp, age 21, Weatherford, TX. Navy corpsman assigned to 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 6, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force. Clayton died after his unit set off an IED planted by insurgents during a dismounted patrol in Shaban, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on August 7th. His high school English teacher, Christine Goss, described him as a "kind and courteous young man with a lightning-fast grin. He typically was pretty quiet during class discussions, but when that grin flashed, everyone knew he had something interesting and fun to say." Clayton had planned to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend once he returned from Afghanistan.
Sohrab Sepehri
by Fariba Amini on Sun Sep 09, 2012 05:59 PM PDTTa shaghayegh hast zendegi bayad kard.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=icsucw2Xq_M
Thanks Ms. Amini - a comment and a couple of questions, pls
by MM on Sun Sep 09, 2012 04:10 PM PDTYou correctly analyzed the situation that we face. Mehrdad and I think that the answer starts with a strong / united diaspora in order to face the IRI as well as folks like the neocons. Do you agree, and if so, how do we go about it
On a separate note, I got an email on the history of the Akbarmashti ice cream and the author claimed that the Minister Amini took Mr. Akbarmashti with him to Europe so that he would make his famous ice cream abroad for gusts. Is that true? And, if so, was it a hit?
I go to Tehran all the time
by MaryamJoon on Sun Sep 09, 2012 02:39 PM PDTAm I'm supposed to think it is strange to fly into IKH airport?
Iran is a great country.
Wonderful places to go.
Wonderful people to catch up with.
Wonderful food to eat.
Wonderful things to do.
Listen, those of you that are actually Iranians on this site (and some clearly are not), need to face whatever it is that is keeping you out of Iran. Not everyone is in the same boat. Some Iranians are IMMIGRANTS (and can go back) and some Iranians are EXILES (and can't go back). For those can't go back, there almost always is a reason. You might not think it is a "fair" reason, but it is a reason. If Orthodox Jews that obey Iranian law can travel to Tehran and pray in a synagogue (even with all this war talk relating to Israel), there must be something some of you have done that prohibits you from going. Every person makes choices in life. No Iranian is forced to convert their IMMIGRANT status into EXILE status just to make others who chose EXILE status feel better. If you believed in free choice -- and if the US government and Israel believed in free choice -- all concerned would let Iranians decide for themselves.
Mama Maryam
by Dr. Mohandes on Sun Sep 09, 2012 01:28 PM PDTCut the nonsense lady.
No one thinks fondly of that culture??? what an outright lie! obviously you do since YOU ARE STILL living in the states or in the west for that matter.
Look at your beloved iran, the same old "predatory" crap you complained about, interspersed within a traditionally eastern culture.
You hate it so bad, sell the house and everything, i will get you a ticket and even come to IKH airport to pick youelr bottom up and book you into a nice hotel so you can find your way in the society and the system you are so passionately infatuated with.
Come on. I dare you.
hafez
by Dr. Mohandes on Sun Sep 09, 2012 01:19 PM PDTThank you for getting it right.
I share so much of your view on the current situation , since i myself live here and can attest to it all.
It is not that these individuals really do not love iran, i am sure they do, but it is totally an act of ignorance and hypocricy that they do not have the guts and desire to hear everyone else out on this matter and persistently attempt to push their own agenda through, completely ignoring of how people feel in iran and even in certain instances treat them as laughing stocks of the nation.
they have not been to iran in ages and they think that one lousy and simple phone call, a week would tell them all that there is to know about iran, that and i am sure all the reports from BBC and VOA! that is all they have got to go by.
Real change is not what they are looking for, Patting each other on the back and passing compliments on one another on a job well-done and writing eloquoently-worded essys, sloganeering is what they have been accustomed to and it is like a show that will drag on and on,with no end in sight and NO PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS.
all they are waiting to see is people in iran, finding a way to solve these problems that THEY DID NOT BRING ABOUT. go figure!
Iran is Eastern, why should it have a Western lifestyle?
by MaryamJoon on Sun Sep 09, 2012 01:08 PM PDTPerhaps Northern MUST adopt the Southern lifestyle.
And Western MUST adopt the Northern lifestyle.
And South-Eastern MUST become North-Western.
... GIVE IT A REST: NOT EVERYONE THINKS THE CULTURE PROMOTED BY JEWISH HOLLYWOOD, AMERICAN VALUES, OR PREDATORY WESTERN MODELS OF CAPITALISM ARE A GOOD THING. AND THAT'S THEIR RIGHT. DO INDIANS IN PERU, HAVE TO BECOME WALL STREET BANKERS BEFORE YOU ACCEPT THEM?