WHO ARE IRANIANS?

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Some Iranians to this day find it troubling that Mr. Rumsfeld mysteriously showed up in Iraq back in the 1980s, and with a wink and nod shook hands with Saddam Hussein, one day before the Iraqi leader unleashed a devastating chemical attack on the peaceful, farming community in Southern Iran, and on the Kurds in the north (the Kurds who besides Iran proper live in Iraq, Turkey and Syria, like some Afghans are ethnically Iranians). Why was Donald Rumsfeld there? This only serves to remind one of Mr. Rumsfeld`s comments three years ago at the start the current Iraq War, in which he stated, 'We know where they are [talking about the Weapons of Mass Destruction], they are in an area around Tikrit and Baghdad, and East, West, South and North of there'; meanwhile, (later on the same planet) in another press conference Mr. Rumsfeld added, 'I haven’t lied…..I did not say where they were [talking about the Weapons of Mass Destruction], it is unclear where they are'.


Much attention is concentrated on the more recent political fodder and some wrongful comments made in regards to the Holocaust (and attention should be given to this issue). But what is missing is the other side of the coin, and a balanced, honest reporting. Perhaps, it would be more prudent, indeed essential to also mention the ancient ties and dependencies of the Jews on the Persians, both linguistically and theologically, and in the case of the Persian Jews, ethnically, which go as far back as over 3000 years. In fact, had it not been for Iran, today there’d be no state of Israel that we know of. It was the Persian knights led by their rebel king [Cyrus], who blasted through the Zagros Mountains in the Iranian plateau and literally cut the chains-and shackles-off the hopeful Jewish slaves in Babylon, freeing them and taking them back to Israel -- rebuilding Jerusalem by using the gold from Persia’s treasury. Or, the fact that the endearing Purim celebration, beloved by the Jewish community is to commemorate the saga of Queen Esther of Persia and King Xerxes, who once again, as the Iranians did so many times through-out history, saved the Jews from extinction. Why haven’t we heard about this side of the story? Where is the subjectivity? Is America, along with some feverish propagandist efforts by the Israelis, whose only goal is the convenience of the state of Israel at any cost, even loss of American lives, portraying a lopsided, at times outright inaccurate image of the Iranian people themselves, in order to convey a certain message so it could achieve its objectives easier?



Frustrated about their impressive past that the Greeks attempted to tarnish, and a present that unlike any other country in the world its identity is so full of confusion, almost unprecedented, these people who are an anomaly (the descendents of early Europeans who settled in Asia) the Iranians continue to press-on. Because in their hearts; they know who they are. In their hearts, they are `The Iranians`. In the interest of survival, for them, failure is not an option.