War mongers in congress are o...

Niloufar

We all see the facts on the ground through different prisms, but to be so far apart on the basic facts of the past 30 years of the rise of Islamic terrorism, the early attempts to export the revolutionary fervor into Iraq (Iran caused and supported a Shiite uprising in Iraq which caused Saddam to attack Iran, in what some people in some circles call the imposed war), and Iran being the safe heaven for some of the most notorious terrorists in the world (Emad Moghnia, Abu Nidal, …), makes a debate pointless.   

To set things straight, Iraq did have a nuclear program which the French were helping with, and did use chemical weapons, but all of that is secondary since the WMD was an excuse to remove one of the most destabilizing forces in the Middle East.  Not only did Saddam Hossein attack Iran and Kuwait, he systematically went about destroying oil fields in both countries.  It is true that the West has a dependency on oil, but so does the East.  They can’t drink that oil, and they must sell it to get technology and medicine and all the other goodies in return.  Iran and Iraq have overplayed their oil card.  I don’t think anyone would have guessed that Saddam, the butcher of Baghdad would one day become so dear that people would feel nostalgic about him and damn the US for removing him.  The war in Iraq has not been going so well because Iraqi’s are only just realizing that by killing each other they have been missing an opportunity to have a Democratic system in their country.  Too bad Iran has not been given that chance because Iranians are far more mature and much readier for a democracy than Iraq will be in many years to come.  

I don’t think you were born yesterday, but you sound too young to remember Tabatabai’s assassination in Washington DC by a black Moslem who is now residing in Iran as an actor, or that the very first suicide bombing in 1983 was the fruit of the labor of the IRI with its creation of Hezbollah and recruitment of Emad Moghnia, who was living in Iran till his death and caused that little skirmish you referred to as “some intervention in Lebanon (Moghnia commandeered the team that took the Israeli soldiers hostage which started that war).  You may remember the assassinations all throughout the 80s and the 90s in various countries of the world and the Buenos Aires Israeli embassy incident.  The nation’s wealth is lining the pockets of hazrateh Aghas and going to Palestine to fund Hamas and Hezbollah.  

As far as the Shah and the leftist propaganda concerning him, Baaghi, who may be dieing under torture, an ardent revolutionary himself, published the real numbers that the left was exaggerating to win world sympathy in order to topple the Shah’s regime.  By no stretch of imagination a perfect man, the Shah did suppress armed opposition to his regime and had armed guerillas tortured to find out their accomplices.  According to Baaghi  between 1963 and 1979, 3164 people died, of whom 32 were killed in 1963 street riots, and 2781 in the 1978-79 street riots, which leaves 383 people killed in a 25 year span.  The Rezaie brothers and Gole-sorhki who were made martyrs of, were armed terrorists who held up banks and had street shoot outs with the police.  The Shah did not exactly have a spotless record but it pales in comparison with the IRI atrocities.  The point is Amnesty International was far more vocal about the Shah’s regime (and I am old enough to remember that) than they have ever been about this monstrous regime.     

“In fact any objective observer can see that there is no evidence of a nuclear bomb.”

I think you may have convinced yourself of this, but you are mistaken if you fall for the puppetry of the masters of deception.  Thus far they have resorted to terrorism and little interferences, as you put them, but if they get their hands on nuclear weapons then as they have promised, Israel will cease to exist and the world will not sit still.  The consequences will be far worse.  If you recall they celebrated their Uranium enrichment program with a theatrical/musical celebration of sorts in front of the cameras, and Ahmadi promised Armageddon, first in a few weeks then in a few days and then he stopped talking about it.  They want the world to be confused because that is the best cover for them.  But if you think that the mullahs want a nuclear bomb as a deterrent to protect Iran, then you are participating in self deception.  The mulla regime has one goal in mind and that is to finish what Mohammad and his successors failed to do.  Khomeini himself said it and so have others.  There are few times in life when it is constructive to quote and listen to mad men like Khomeini.  

Anonymous4now you are dreaming!

I can't BELIEVE you are saying IRI is the only warmonger in the world. IRI has yet to start any war in its entire existence! You say "IRI hegemony", do you even know what the word "hegemony" means?

Compare that to US who invaded 2 countries and bombed 4 in the past 7 years, killed a million people. What about Israel that invaded and bombed lebanon?

"The world" hasn't decided anything. Only the US and former colonial powers who cannot tolerate any dissent from their own global plan.

Anonymous4now

That is a powerful response to Q. It is a passionate view, but it betrays a number of logical holes. Your emotions may have overpowered your reason. I am all for poetry, but yours ignores realities on the ground. It also seems to sing to the tune of wagner blaring in the background.

Since when have we started quoting and following the advice of khomeini to try and achieve a positive result? Foreign interventions are just as likey to give us another khomeini. They did give us the shah and subsequently a reputation that would embarrass a public streaker. He did top the world torture list of Amnesty International. He did exceedingly 'well' to beat his allies Apartheid South Africa into second place, which happened to be another close ally of Israel. An axis of torture in the world I would suggest.

Lets not exaggerate the unpopularity of Iran globally right now. Quite the opposite my friend. Iran (but not Ahmadinejad) is viewed as a rock and a lion throughout the world. It is Iranians who hate their government, but don't assume the world sees it that way too. It simply does not. Iran is viewed as a courageous defender of what it perceives to be its rights and interests almost universally. It is not seen as a bully forging ahead to world domination and destruction. It is NOT seen as a 'shameless and murderous regime'. Unless you believe that there is no world outside of US, Israel and Europe. In that case, your depiction is almost correct, but not quite. The majority of westerners do NOT want a war with Iran, and neither do the Israelis, rest assured.

Are you serious about saying: 'For the past 30 years the IRI hegemony has created mayhem the world over,'? Well I assure you I for one was not born yesterday. I recall some intervention in Lebanon and Afghanistan, and some lesser intervention in the countries nearby, but my, you have taken some gigantic liberty with the truth to describe THAT as 'mayhem the world over'. Lets not reduce the universe to the backyard of Iran and our personal defeats by the mullahs. It is a little self-centred.

In fact any objective observer can see that there is no evidence of a nuclear bomb. Even if that were the case, your claim that the mullahs would threaten the whole world with it is more than a little paranoid. The 'world' can see that the mullahs would not want to have their own nation annihilated though nuclear war, and they are quite ready to live with a nuclear Iran. If you read between the propaganda lines, there is a growing acknowledgment of the need for a deterrent for Iran.

Not that I am trying to promote such an idea. Nuclear weapons are the epitome of unreason. Nobody should have them. Nobody should want to have them.

Why do you not ask yourself what the US had to gain from attacking Iraq. Was it worth it? 

It was your misguided brand of interventionist 'loyalty to humanity' that raped Iraq. And, guess what, that was about non-existent nuclear weapons too.

It is astounding that you are calling for intervention in Iran by the very same rapists.

I apologise for my tone. It was inspired by yours, and I know that is no excuse.

Peace!

We must do what we can to stop the bombings and killings of

innocent people in Iran. I am not going to let the dislike of the Iranian regime keep me silent. Silence means  it's OK to attack Iran or any other country for that matter. We need to get involved in the political process here in USA. We are American citizens with rights. It's better to use it or we lose it. What happens if we call our congress man/woman? Do we gain or lose? Call your representative please.

Q: How could you not see

Q: How could you not see something that is as plain as day light?  For the past 30 years the IRI hegemony has created mayhem the world over, funding and orchestrating most of the terrorist activities in the Mid East, and creating a reputation for Iran which does not befit the character of its people, all the while tormenting, torturing and killing and terrorizing Iranians.  Wouldn’t the West benefit more by reaping the benefits of lucrative contracts with Iran, much like Europe, and especially Russia, have in the past 30 years rather than boycott and Saber rattle.  Have you asked yourself, why would the U.S. benefit from a war in Iran?  Would they not avoid it if Iran was not provoking them?  In their limited world view, the IRI (the Mullahs and mental midgets like Ahmadinejad) has really come to believe in its own hegemony and superiority little knowing that if the cannons break loose they will not have time to pack up and leave Iran to escape the wrath of the Iranian population.  Europe has finally concluded that the IRI hegemony is becoming dangerous and are now talking tougher than Bush.

Khomeini himself asked for international support and intervention to topple the regime of the Shah (see this link)

http://www.iranian.com/main/singlepage/2008/khomeini-1978

and here is how I responded:

“The Imam himself, the ultimate pursuer of independence and the bastion of protection against foreign intervention, believes that the peoples of the world, and the governments of the world, should step in and affect a regime change in Iran to save Iranians from Human Rights abuses and the tyranny of the regime (of the Shah).  It is an irony, that the rest of the world is taking his advice to remove his tyrannical regime and his legacy from Iran, and end the ultimate abuse of Human Rights; a nuclear weapon in the hands of the mullahs.”

The question is not one of phony loyalty to the dirt of your homeland and pretending like it is the end of the world if and when the world decides they cannot take a chance with a nuclear weapon in the hands of the Mullahs.  After all what is Iran without its people?  The question is one of loyalty to humanity and the salvaging of the livelihoods of Iranians who do want to be rid of this regime but don’t have the means to combat this shameless and murderous regime which would not hesitate to kill the numbers of people, they claimed, the Shah did.  

Farhad Kashani: Thank You for FINALLY showing your real face

Your first sentence was this:

The only war mongerer in the world is the fascist regime in Iran.

I ask anyone with any pretense of objectivity to really consider the above statement.

Is a person who makes such a statement really in touch with reality? How ideologically brainwashed does someone have to be to make such an extraordinary statement demonstrably false on many levels?

I hope people now understand what kind of extremism they are dealing with when choosing to respond to people like Farhad Kashani and other pro-intervention voices.

Iraj/Anonymous-today

Yes I see your point that opposition to it is an effective way of stemming a possible tide that could gather pace.

Any serious attempt at implementation would of course cause a global economic crisis, but I guess we cannot rely on these people to be rational. 

Peace!

Here are two more cents

Yes, I do agree with Iraj. Even though this is a non-binding resolution that on the surface simply appears to be election year noise - like all those Republican candidates who kept outdoing each other during the primaries in promising to nuke Iran - appearances DO matter. Every act that prepares the American public (and they are the only public that matter to an American president), softens them up so to speak for an eventuality of invasion or other military action, is important. The language of this resolution is very alarming and need to be taken seriously.

Iranian Terrorism

Since the early in 1980s western governments in general and their media outlets in particular have been reporting that Iran is one of the largest state sponsors of terrorism. In fact in the 2006 Lebanon war, the Israelis and Americans reported that there were Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen on the ground directing the campaign. I'm curious, wouldn't you think that after 30 years they would have caught at least one person in the act of terrorism against the west that was Iranian in origin? I mean 30 years is a long time to go without having a person in custody. Sure you can say Rafsanjani ordered this, Khamanei ordered that, but besides the good word of the western media, is there any unrefutable proof? A government memo? A voice recording? A person who confessed that wasn't under durress? Perhaps satellite images showing movement of weapons? The only Iranian terrorists whose activities are unrefuted and who have been caught in the act, who had/have weapons in their possession, are in "Protective Custody" of the USMC in Camp Ashraf in Iraq.
I'm certainly not one to defend the IRI for its activities, and lords knows they've done their fair share of sinister things. But you'd think after all these years they would have caught a single Iranian in the act. Just simply curious. Aren't you?

HR 362

This is simply a non-binding resolution. This is in no way has the power of enforcement, and only calls for the US to lead a multilateral movement with the UN. Last I checked, only the executive branch has the power to determine foreign policy. As it stands right now, America is too weak, too unpopular, and too broke to afford an Iran war. Give it a rest people. This is called sabre rattling. Besides, they know, nothing would please Ahmadinejad more than a war.

This is how they started Iraq war campaign

Dear Niloufar 

This resolution effectively demands a blockade against Iran -- an act that would be widely seen as an act of war and could invite Iranian retaliation, possibly leading us into a shooting war. and it is not drawn by some people who have nothing better to do. It is drawn by the same people who gave us Iraq war. This resolution (H. Con. Res. 362) does not ask for the approval of United Nations but US allies.

This is article #3 of the resolution: "..demands that the President initiate an international effort to immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities by, inter alia, prohibiting the export to Iran of all refined petroleum products; imposing stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains, and cargo entering or departing Iran; and prohibiting the international movement of all Iranian officials not involved in negotiating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program"

Congressional leaders seem to have assumed that there would be little opposition to this punitive measure against Iran, and they have put it on a fast track to passage. But due to the threat of war, many organizations and reasonable members of Congress are working overtime to stop this bill.

It only takes a few minutes of our time to get in touch with our congressmen/women and show our opposition to this resolution. We must be heard or we'll be ignored.

Here is the link again: National Iranian American Council

Iraj jan

I had a quick look at the text of the proposal a few days ago. from what I remember the proposal call for an international blockade not a unilateral one.

But no one will support it, especially not in the UN and Bush has already said that he would veto it. Congress carries no real weight. It is just empty gestures by people clearly with nothing better to do. 

Peace!

whenever there is some

whenever there is some international entity calling for iran to be punished over its terrorist activies in lebanon, iraq, and gaza there are people like you who label them war mongers? has it ever occured to you maybe people in iran are celebrating these bills...they have pillaged our country, killed our brothers and sisters, and desicrated our culture...i think freezing their bank assets and checking their cargo is the least of all trouble

With Iran haters like you

Kashani, who needs enemies? Yes, You can't absolve the Mullas, They're also to blame. But to say they are they the only warmongers in the world, shows clearly where your head is located.

I just signed the petition on line

We can be complaining forever about negative stuff in the world. But we also have a choice to do something about it. Some people on this site sound like a broken record player they can't stop repeating the same things over and over again. As an American tax payer I do not want my taxes to be spent on wars. We need peace to improve our living conditions here. We have spent 800 billion dollars so far for the current wars. We cannot afford borrowing money from China, Japan, South Korea and Europe to pay for our wars.

The only war mongerer in

The only war mongerer in the world is the fascist regime in Iran. A few Iranian political groups who blame all the problems between the U.S and Iran which was caused by the Islamic fundamentalism supporting policies of the IRI, on lobbies such as AIPAC or on Israel, unfortunately, resist any attempt by the U.S or anyone else to weaken the Iranian regime. Some of the leaders of these groups travel to Iran freely and come back, which raises the questions how much support they got among Iranians and how much credibility they have between them? Iranians who want nothing less than the demolition of the regime in Tehran. Earlier, they were blaming Republicans only, and making up excuses that Republicans are going for a “crusade” against Iran and other accusations, now they are “surprised” that Democrats are taking action too. The same thing with Obama. They talked about him as he is their savior, and as soon as he spoke against the barbaric regime in Iran, they turned against him calling him an “AIPAC puppet”.

Take action, here is another link

Here is another link:

http://capwiz.com/justforeignpolicy/issues/alert/?...

Election year posturing

This is an election year which means all spineless political whores in Washington from both parties are jumping on the bandwagon for some serious butt-kissing of those hateful in their constituencies and their pay masters among the political class who actually run the US.