Iran Daily
October 2, 2006
2
From: Ben@tanosborn.com> To: Iran-daily@iran-daily.com Subject: "Shock and Awe" Diplomacy Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 7:16 PM
F
orcing American media to give frontpage coverage to what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez had to say this week from the podium at the United Nations--a very appropriate political closing to the summer--could be described as "shock and awe." Truth was dispensed via a large syringe instead of an eyedropper and to many people that represents shock and awe. If not the measured remarks on the unfairness of the UN by Iran's president, what Hugo Chavez had to say certainly had a "shock and awe" effect domestically. Americans are raised in the belief that they are the possessors of unquestionable moral authority for the entire world because of their "original virtue"--American exceptionalism--in total contrast to the rest of the world who are born with the "original sin". Yes, it all started back in 1831 with Alexis de Tocqueville. But "American exceptionalism" has been debunked as nothing more than a 21st century attempt to globalize the 19th century Manifest Destiny--a pseudo moral authority to annex much of Western Continental US, which resulted in kicking Indians and Mexicans out of both their cultures and their lands. Unfortunately, such Manifest Destiny, even with its Monroe Doctrine addendum, only covered "our rights" to the Americas, a puny hemisphere for a nation with an apparent galactic appetite to govern or influence. Down to the nitty-gritty, American exceptionalism, whether a few generations ago or today, is not an iota different from what European imperialism was centuries past. And the idea that America sets the norm for human rights behavior, or even adheres to it, has proved to be presently, if not always, wrong. America's behavior since the end of World War II has shrunk the idea of American exceptionalism to that of a self-centered, chauvinistic justification for Americans to portray themselves as a people they are not. Yes, Americans are different, powerful in many ways, but definitely not superior. The bottom line as to what Messrs. Ahmadinejad and Chavez brought to the table is simple and to the point: peace and tranquility in the world are unlikely to be achieved with present international structures, such as the UN, which are unfair to a majority of nations and peoples in this planet. A product of the WWII conflict, the United Nations has only catered to the desires of the victors in that conflict--those already powerful--and not to the needs of emerging peoples--those who lack any power--and who are most in needs of institutions that can give them a fair hearing in their political, social and economic struggles. To these two gentlemen, whose thinking probably parallels that of most nations, the US brings forth a behavior counter to peace and tranquility, or even social justice. And driving that behavior is President Bush. The preppy squatter living in the White House may not be the devil, as portrayed by Chavez, but indeed the trail he leaves behind, in both domestic and international deeds, stinks of sulfur and hydrogen sulfide. Infinitely more important than the odor, however, is the pain, death and destruction caused by his myopic decisions. One surmises that Hugo Chavez spoke in jest to get our attention, and his point across. The reality is that George W. Bush does justice to a common definition of the Prince of Darkness, and the association we have made with some horrendous historical people. Even a benign idiot crowned with an office of tremendous power, such as the US presidency, can cause insurmountable damage to mankind. Become a he-devil. [I am convinced that if a devil does exist, it is not a she-devil, nor gender-neutral.] Americans, whether members of the media, politicians of both fraternities, government officials or the public at large, have for the most part become irate to what they consider the impudence of these two people, branding them with demeaning and highly insulting names. [American exceptionalism is alive and well, and bipartisan in political affairs.] Whether or not the truth made a dent in Americans, Ahmadinejad and Chavez gave a moment of glory to the disenfranchised many, whether nations or peoples, who aren't offered a podium from which they can voice the iniquities they suffer. Mahmoud and Hugo, if for a moment, became their voice to the world. Whether anyone listens or not. Did these speeches bring diplomatic "shock and awe"? Not really, not when those who have the reins of power are heartless and shock-proof. But hope springs eternal. Ben Tanosborn
Iraqi Court Should Pursue Iranian Complaints Against Saddam
TEHRAN, Oct. 1--An Iranian judge on Saturday warned Iraqi High Court against any delay in investigating into Iranians' complaints against former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein and said Iran's Justice Office is determined to follow up the case. Prosecutor general’s representative, A b d o l s a m a d Khorramabadi, also told IRNA on Saturday that the Iraqi High Court recently announced that Iran had not sent any request to it to investigate into the crimes of Saddam. “Subsequently, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry's Judicial Office said the Iraqi High Court was not qualified to deal with the complaints filed by Iran and can only look into the complaints of Iraqi nationals against Saddam," he said. Explaining the process of informing Iraqis of the Iranian complaints, he said, "The complaints had been submitted to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry by the Iranian Embassy after long delays and minor amendments. After two months, the Iranian Embassy followed up the case through the Iraqi Foreign Ministry." The official disclosed further procrastination by the Iraqi judicial authorities. Pointing to the Iraqi High Court's charter, the Iranian Embassy asked for the referral of Iranian nationals' complaints to the High Court by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, but has received no response as yet. Khorramabadi insisted that Iran reserves the right to pursue its complaints against Saddam and his supporters. He called on the Iranian Foreign Ministry to more seriously follow up the issue. “The Islamic Republic of Iran should use all its potential to unveil the crimes committed by the Iraqi Baathist regime, Saddam and his supporters,” he said. Iran lodged a formal complaint with the Iraqi government against Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for his war crimes against Iranians as well as Iraqis. Saddam’s crimes include attacking Iranian soldiers with deadly chemicals in the warfronts as well as the mass-killing of Iranian troops and the Iraqi residents of Halabcha with poison gas in the operation called `Anfal' (March 17-18, 1988).
Reformers
SIASAT-E ROUZ: The reformers are seriously organizing an election campaign for the concurrent Experts Assembly, councils and midterm elections, slated for Dec. 15, to regain their lost popularity by instigating crisis for the current administration. The lack of media support is a problem for the left wing, given the nonpartisan stance of the national television. Nevertheless, if they win the race, they aspire to bring out 12 newspapers which will compensate for the poor media coverage afflicting the reformist faction. Criticizing the manner in which the next election will be held seems to be the favorite pastime of reformers. They usually speak about dishonesty, unreliability and injustice when it comes to discussing the elections.
No Solution
MARDOMSALARI: To our chagrin, mischaracterization is common in the incumbent parliament. Instead of dealing with problems head on, our MPs tend to deliberately blame them on other sources. For instance, their recent approval of the merger of the health and welfare ministries does not appear to be conducive to solving prevalent problems such as poverty, unemployment, drug addiction and wealth imbalance. More importantly, the Health Ministry is facing many problems, such as lack of unanimity regarding numerous issues such as setting fees for doctors. Hence, it will take more than a merger to solve the ministry’s administrative and management problems.
PJAK Bombed Notification Over Iran-Turkey Pipeline ‘Ziafat’ Plan
TEHRAN, Oct. 1--Two parliamentarians notified President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in writing about the delay in implementing a plan to supply the people’s essential needs during the fasting month of Ramadan. Jalal Yahyazadeh and Ali Asgari called for the immediate execution of the ‘Ziafat’ (Party) plan under which the government has pledged to provide basic commodities to families such as rice, chicken and meat at low prices in Ramadan (started Sept. 25). Two other MPs, Abasali Rostami and Ali Sarafraz, called on Commerce Minister Massoud Mirkazemi to control prices of basic commodities, particularly during Ramadan, IRNA reported on Sunday. Morteza Tamaddon, another MP from Shahr-e Kord, called on President Ahmadinejad to oblige related organizations, based on Note 13 of this year's budget law, to rehabilitate the public transportation fleet and prepare the ground for reducing gasoline consumption. Meanwhile, 14 MPs from Isfahan province, which has one of the highest number of accident-prone zones and road accidents throughout the nation, notified Minister of Roads and Transportation Mohammad Rahmati to explain the stoppage of the Tehran-Isfahan electric train construction. O R U M I E H , West Azarbaijan, Oct. 1--The pipeline transferring natural gas from Iran to Turkey was bombed by the terrorist group Free Life of Kurdistan PJAK (Iranian wing of the PKK), said commander of West Azarbaijan Police Department on Sunday. The explosion occurred on Thursday in a remote mountainous area near the border town of Bazargan in northwestern Iran and disrupted gas exports to Turkey. According to Fars News Agency, Hossein Karami added that three members of PJAK carried out the explosion.
Mesri Confidence Vote Postponed
TEHRAN, Oct. 1--First Vice Speaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar said on Sunday the Majlis postponed the vote on the competency of Abdolreza Mesri, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nominee for the post of welfare minister, which was scheduled for Tuesday. President Ahmadinejad, in a letter to Majlis Speaker Gholamali Haddad-Adel on September 25, named Kermanshah MP Mesri as his candidate for the vacant post and hoped that his nominee would obtain the required vote of confidence in accordance with articles 87 and 133 of the constitution. The president had earlier accepted the resignation of former Welfare Minister Parviz Kazemi. The vice speaker said the decision was made following a letter written to Ahmadinejad by Mesri calling on the Majlis to postpone the debate on his competency due to the single-urgency bill on merging the ministries of welfare and health. Bahonar added that the government also agreed with the request, noting that Majlis Social Commission would discuss the bill this week. Simultaneous with the president's acceptance of Kazemi's resignation, Ali Youssefpour was named as caretaker of the ministry.
“One of them was arrested and two other suspects have been identified,” he said. He noted that during the past two weeks, members of PJAK were also involved in criminal activities in the region, including the killing of two local residents and causing injuries to six others. Karami added that Iran and Turkey reached an agreement to tighten security measures along the joint border and intensify the campaign against PKK. Turkish and Iranian Kurdish rebels operate in the region, particularly from bases in northern Iraq. Ankara blames PKK rebels for deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed campaign for an independent Kurdish homeland in southeastern Turkey in 1984. PKK is enlisted as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Iran accuses PJAK of killing dozens of its armed forces in insurgent attacks in areas bordering Turkey.
TM Probe
SEDA-YE EDALAT: Rumors regarding the diminished role of Majlis in investigating the performance of Tehran Municipality, which was claimed by some Tehran City Council members, lack any rational basis. Tehran Municipality has spent 3,500 billion rials from levies collected from the people without any legal authorization from the concerned state body. What is noteworthy about Majlis performance is that it has not adopted a factional stance vis-à-vis the municipality’s performance. This is a good Majlis initiative and it should continue the same in future.
Probationary Basis
HAMBASTEGI: With the beginning of the new school year, the government announced new working hours for governmental institutions, schools and banks for the next three months on a probationary basis. The government’s decision is aimed at reducing Tehran’s traffic congestions and preventing delay in workers attending their workplaces. However, the question that occurs to one’s mind is why this plan is being executed on a probationary basis. Perhaps the government needs access to statistics to believe that these are important considerations.
Comparison
AYANDEH-E NOU: Although the rift among members of British Labour Party over the possible resignation of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and finding a successor has widened, the former Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, gave way to his successor Shinzo Abe in a quiet and efficient manner. The youngest Japanese premier since World War II, Abe is determined to continue with the reforms launched by his predecessor. A comparison between British and Japanese parliamentary elections will reveal that though Britain is a pioneer in adopting a parliamentary system, Japan seems to be more successful in running a more efficient system.
Majlis Allocates Funds for Importing Gasoline
TEHRAN, Oct. 1-Following prolonged disputes over the controversial issue of gasoline subsidies and imports, lawmakers on Saturday ratified a single urgency bill on withdrawing $3.5 billion from the Foreign Exchange Reserve Account to import gasoline. According to Fars News Agency, 136 MPs voted in favor, 57 against and 13 abstained. Once the draft receives the Majlis approval, the government will be allowed to withdraw this amount by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2007) for importing gasoline. The administration has decided to compensate for the shortage of gasoline in the second half of the Iranian year through imports. The government has
Perspective
Fighting for Justice
From Page 1
Seven million cars in Iran consume the same amount of gasoline used by 35 million vehicles in developed countries, due mainly to the hefty subsidies that make gasoline a very cheap commodity. (Fars Photo)
postponed its earlier decision to implement the twotier gasoline price scheme. Seven million cars in Iran consume the same amount of gasoline used by 35 million vehicles in
developed countries, due mainly to the hefty subsidies that make gasoline a very cheap commodity in Iran. Lack of stringent controls over gasoline smuggling to neighboring
states has also made the situation unsustainable. Analysts believe increasing fuel prices at the pump is also not the solution because of its inflationary repercussions.
Hamas is presently facing three options with regard to its future strategies. First, if Hamas holds on to its present uncompromising stance and does not come to terms with Mahmoud Abbas, it will be facing increasing internal pressures and even an uprising engineered by Fatah. Second, if Hamas accepts the conditions put forward by Fatah and recognizes Israeli statehood, it might save its government for a short period but will lose its popularity in the long run. The third option is that Hamas quits the government and prefer being sidelined over remaining in power. Although the third option has also certain disadvantages such as weakening the integrity of Palestinians against Israel, the negative consequences of this decision will boomerang on the opponents of Hamas. The Palestinian people deserve the support of all fair and democratic governments in regaining their long denied rights.