The Agonist - Iran

Can You Say . . .

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 21:09:47 -0700

. . . Chahr Shanbeh Souri five times superfast?

Just kidding. Seriously, this is cool, give it a read. Cool pictures, eh? Some aspects of traditional religion never die, even in Islam.

Pelosi's Disastrous Misstep on Iran

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:13:50 -0700

John Nichols | March 13

The Nation - ...the decision by Pelosi and her allies to rewrite their Iraq legislation to exclude the statement regarding the need for congressional approval of any military assault on the neighboring country of Iran sends the worst possible signal to the White House.

It is not too much to suggest that Pelosi disastrous misstep could haunt her and the Congress for years to come.

Here's how the Speaker messed up:

The Democratic proposal for a timeline to withdraw troops from Iraq included a provision that would have required President Bush to seek congressional approval before using military force in Iran. It was an entirely appropriate piece of the Iraq proposal, as the past experiences of U.S. involvement in southeast Asia and Latin America has well illustrated that when wars bleed across borders it becomes significantly more difficult to end them. Thus, fears about the prospect that Bush might attack Iran are legitimately related to the debate about how and when to end the occupation of Iraq.

Unfortunately, Pelosi is so desperate to advance her flawed spending legislation that she is willing to bargain with any Democrat about any part of the proposal.

Under pressure from some conservative members of her caucus, and from lobbyists associated with neoconservative groupings that want war with Iran and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC), Pelosi agreed on Monday to strip the Iran provision from the spending bill that has become the House leadership's primary vehicle for challenging the administration's policies in the region. ...

Looks Like Ali Reza Asgari . . .

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 10:51:22 -0800

. . . is popping up on more radars every day. Today it's at Steve Clemons' site, give it a read.

Update: Wapo: Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence

Much more in the comments and at minute 13:37 of tonight's radio show.

Norooz, Or . . .

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 09:38:55 -0800

. . . the Iranian New Years' celebration are about to begin. Take a look. Of course, I had to visit Iran in the midst of Ramadan. Believe me, Norooz would have been much more fun!

We Haven't Talked . . .

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 14:47:56 -0800

. . . of Iran in a day or two so until I work up a new post on the subject check this Wes Clark video out and then sign the petition. A little action item here and there never hurts.

First It Was . . .

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:46:41 -0800

Nizar Khazraji who went missing.

Now it's a general from next door: Gen. Ali Reza Asgari.

Compare and Contrast

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:47:01 -0800

Stratfor reports this:

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is prepared to pursue its enemies across Iran's borders, IRGC commander-in-chief Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi said Feb. 28.

But the IRNA article on the same issue says nothing of the kind.

What gives? Is there another source out that corroborates what Stratfor is saying?

Collision Course With Iran

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:05:57 -0800

by Dennis Kucinich

President Bush has claimed the Iranian government is supplying deadly weapons to fighters in Iraq and that those weapons are being used to kill US troops in Iraq. This sounds horrific and frightening--and that is the point. The Administration is preparing for a military strike against Iran. The justification chosen by the Administration is the one circumstance in which a President could bypass Congress and still wage a military conflict.

Continued at http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070312/kucinich

Remember Those Weapons . . .

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:08:32 -0800

. . . that could only be made in Iran? Well the Wall Street Journal has a story adding to the unraveling American claims these weapons were made only in Iran:

An American military raid in southern Iraq uncovered a makeshift factory used to construct advanced roadside bombs that the U.S. had thought were made only in Iran.

Ooops.

"Bush's Headlong Rush Into Iran?"

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:40:41 -0800

Commentary No. 203, Feb. 15, 2007
by Immanuel Wallerstein

The French have an expression fuite en avant, which the dictionaries translate as "headlong rush." But the translation loses the real meaning. A fuite en avant is something one does when one is in a losing situation, and one hopes to salvage it by doing more of the same or worse, thereby creating a situation in which one hopes people will feel they have to support you. Is this what Bush intends to do in Iran?

Continued at http://fbc.binghamton.edu/203en.htm

Will The Media Hype This?

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:23:39 -0800

Will the media hype the story of Iranian academics and scholars denouncing Ahmedinejad's Holocaust Denial Conference?

Probably not. It's not sexy enough.

Interview with Seymour Hersh: Must Watch

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 16:45:57 -0800

here.

Crazy World Of The Middle East

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:06:15 -0800

From Agonist reader MF:

No...it's worse than that. We are now forced to support the natural allies of those who attacked us on 9-11 STRICTLY AND ENTIRELY because we freely and without coercion attacked and destroyed the only counterbalance to Iran (Iraq) on the pretext that we were avenging 9-11 even though no Iraqis were involved in 9-11. Weird, huh? That is the crazy and backward world of the Middle East.

Confused? Me too!

On A First Read . . .

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 09:40:24 -0800

. . . all I can say about the Hersh piece is that I'm very concerned about Bandar Bush's fingerprints being all over our new policy. And what I don't understand is why we are allying ourselves with the very forces that attacked us on 9/11 against a nation that should be our natural ally? The Bush Administration really does get everything wrong, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, top generals say they'll resign if it comes to an attack on Iran.

You can watch Sy Hersh on CNN this morning here.

Nota bene: I'm wondering about something. The Los Angeles Times article discussing the intelligence the US has passed to the IAEA says this in passing:

In November 2005, U.N. inspectors leafing through papers in Tehran discovered a 15-page document that showed how to form highly enriched uranium into the configuration needed for the core of a nuclear bomb. Iran said the paper came from Pakistan, but has rebuffed IAEA requests to let inspectors take or copy it for further analysis.

The documents included detailed designs to upgrade ballistic missiles to carry nuclear warheads, drawings for subterranean testing of high explosives, and two pages describing research on uranium tetrafluoride, known as "green salt," which is used during uranium enrichment. IAEA officials remain suspicious of the information in part because most of the papers are in English rather than Persian, the Iranian language.

Didn't we once provide Iran with plans for a nuclear weapon?

Despite What Bill Arkin Says . . .

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 21:53:40 -0800

. . . in this post it appears as if we have activated real planning, as opposed to the usual contingency planning, for an attack on Iran, although we'll have to wait for the New Yorker to post the article online to see what kind of goods Hersh has this time.

We've also been passing bad intel on Iran to the IAEA. Didn't we do the same thing with Iraq?

* THE REDIRECTION
by Seymour M Hersh
Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism? h/t LJ