Iran-U.S.A

[Rasputin]

NIAC Makes Progress in Defamation Case with VOA Persian

Washington DC – The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) has taken legal action against proponents of US-Iran war who have waged a defamation campaign against NIAC. As a first sign of success, Voice of America’s Persian Service agreed to halt providing these activists a platform to spread false rumors about NIAC.
In a letter dated June 19, 2007, NIAC's attorney Afshin Pishevar demanded that Voice of America, Persian Service (VOA) "cease and desist" from continuing to function as a political platform for those attacking NIAC. This was the first time NIAC resorted to legal measures to thwart the campaign to depict all opponents of war between the US and Iran as agents of the Iranian government.

The cease and desist came following a broadcast on June 7, 2007 on VOA featuring Hassan Daioleslam. Throughout the program, Daioleslam lodged malicious and baseless claims against NIAC and its efforts to prevent war.

Unlike private news outlets, the government-funded VOA is legally bound to live up to strict journalistic standards and is answerable to Congress and American tax-payers. These standards include double sourcing information and providing accurate, all encompassing coverage of a given issue. The agency's Journalistic Code requires that for all coverage, including call-in shows, "views of a single party must be challenged by the interviewer if alternative opinions are unrepresented."

In violation of VOA's publicly proclaimed standards, the VOA host did not counter the slanderous remarks made by Daioleslam against NIAC during the live TV show, nor did he press the guest for evidence to back up his claims. NIAC was not invited to appear on the program, despite the host's public statement to the contrary.

Whether this was intentional or the result of staffer's lack journalistic training, the broadcast functioned to validate and propagate Daioleslam's false information.

Earlier this year, Daioleslam published an article targeting NIAC in FrontPage Magazine, a neo-conservative outlet. In April, NIAC issued a formal response to Daioleslam's article exposing the speciousness of his claims.

VOA had scheduled another appearance with Daioleslam on July 7. In a letter dated July 5, an attorney for NIAC called the advent of such a project "clear and convincing evidence of malice and wanton disregard for the truth" and placed the agency on legal notice. The program was cancelled the next day.

There is widespread concern that VOA has as of late failed to live up to its strict journalistic standards and organizational mandate. "Certainly, VOA Persian is not giving the Iranian public a fair image of American journalism or American values," Afshin Pishevar concluded in its letter to the agency in June. "And certainly, this is not the type of journalism Congress had in mind when they allocated funds to VOA's Persian programming."

NIAC is seeking a meeting with VOA's management to put a permanent stop to its broadcasts being used for political defamation.

Founded in 2002, NIAC is a grassroots, non-partisan and non-profit organization promoting the interests of the Iranian-American community. Its members and staff are deeply committed to ensuring that war between the US and Iran is avoided and that the disputes between the two nations are resolved peacefully.

[Rasputin]

US funds terror groups to sow chaos in Iran

America is secretly funding militant ethnic separatist groups in Iran in an attempt to pile pressure on the Islamic regime to give up its nuclear programme.


President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime is accused of repressing minority rights and culture
In a move that reflects Washington's growing concern with the failure of diplomatic initiatives, CIA officials are understood to be helping opposition militias among the numerous ethnic minority groups clustered in Iran's border regions.

The operations are controversial because they involve dealing with movements that resort to terrorist methods in pursuit of their grievances against the Iranian regime.

In the past year there has been a wave of unrest in ethnic minority border areas of Iran, with bombing and assassination campaigns against soldiers and government officials.

Such incidents have been carried out by the Kurds in the west, the Azeris in the north-west, the Ahwazi Arabs in the south-west, and the Baluchis in the south-east. Non-Persians make up nearly 40 per cent of Iran's 69 million population, with around 16 million Azeris, seven million Kurds, five million Ahwazis and one million Baluchis. Most Baluchis live over the border in Pakistan.

Funding for their separatist causes comes directly from the CIA's classified budget but is now "no great secret", according to one former high-ranking CIA official in Washington who spoke anonymously to The Sunday Telegraph.

His claims were backed by Fred Burton, a former US state department counter-terrorism agent, who said: "The latest attacks inside Iran fall in line with US efforts to supply and train Iran's ethnic minorities to destabilise the Iranian regime."

Although Washington officially denies involvement in such activity, Teheran has long claimed to detect the hand of both America and Britain in attacks by guerrilla groups on its internal security forces. Last Monday, Iran publicly hanged a man, Nasrollah Shanbe Zehi, for his involvement in a bomb attack that killed 11 Revolutionary Guards in the city of Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchistan. An unnamed local official told the semi-official Fars news agency that weapons used in the attack were British and US-made.

Yesterday, Iranian forces also claimed to have killed 17 rebels described as "mercenary elements" in clashes near the Turkish border, which is a stronghold of the Pejak, a Kurdish militant party linked to Turkey's outlawed PKK Kurdistan Workers' Party.

John Pike, the head of the influential Global Security think tank in Washington, said: "The activities of the ethnic groups have hotted up over the last two years and it would be a scandal if that was not at least in part the result of CIA activity."

Such a policy is fraught with risk, however. Many of the groups share little common cause with Washington other than their opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose regime they accuse of stepping up repression of minority rights and culture.

The Baluchistan-based Brigade of God group, which last year kidnapped and killed eight Iranian soldiers, is a volatile Sunni organisation that many fear could easily turn against Washington after taking its money.

A row has also broken out in Washington over whether to "unleash" the military wing of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), an Iraq-based Iranian opposition group with a long and bloody history of armed opposition to the Iranian regime.

The group is currently listed by the US state department as terrorist organisation, but Mr Pike said: "A faction in the Defence Department wants to unleash them. They could never overthrow the current Iranian regime but they might cause a lot of damage."

At present, none of the opposition groups are much more than irritants to Teheran, but US analysts believe that they could become emboldened if the regime was attacked by America or Israel. Such a prospect began to look more likely last week, as the UN Security Council deadline passed for Iran to stop its uranium enrichment programme, and a second American aircraft carrier joined the build up of US naval power off Iran's southern coastal waters.

The US has also moved six heavy bombers from a British base on the Pacific island of Diego Garcia to the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which could allow them to carry out strikes on Iran without seeking permission from Downing Street.

While Tony Blair reiterated last week that Britain still wanted a diplomatic solution to the crisis, US Vice-President Dick Cheney yesterday insisted that military force was a real possibility.

"It would be a serious mistake if a nation like Iran were to become a nuclear power," Mr Cheney warned during a visit to Australia. "All options are still on the table."

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany will meet in London tomorrow to discuss further punitive measures against Iran. Sanctions barring the transfer of nuclear technology and know-how were imposed in December. Additional penalties might include a travel ban on senior Iranian officials and restrictions on non-nuclear business.

[Rasputin]

US wants fresh Iran talks on Iraq

The United States says it wants to have another face-to-face meeting with Iran over concerns that it is contributing to worsening security in Iraq.
Iran had to stop supporting sectarian militias, said US state department spokesman Sean McCormack.

Iran's foreign minister said his country would respond positively to talks if requested by the US.

The two sides held a ground-breaking meeting in Baghdad in May - the first since they severed ties in 1979.

But the violence in Iraq has continued unabated since then - despite the sending of nearly 30,000 extra US troops there.

In the latest attacks, gunmen wearing military uniforms killed 29 people in a village in Diyala province north of Baghdad.

'Threat to troops'

"We think that given the situation in Iraq and given Iran's continued behaviour that is leading to further instability in Iraq, that it would be appropriate to have another face-to-face meeting... ," Mr McCormack told reporters.

"They need to stop supporting sectarian militias that are exacerbating sectarian tensions, they need to stop supporting EFP [explosively formed penetrators] networks that pose a threat to our troops," the spokesman said.

No date had been fixed yet.


Ambassadors to Iraq attended the talks in May

In Tehran, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said: "We look positively at holding a second round of talks. There exists a possibility to hold such talks in the near future."

Early in July, the US military in Iraq accused Iran of orchestrating an attack that killed five US soldiers and of using Lebanese militants to train insurgents.

The information came from a top Hezbollah fighter recently captured in southern Iraq, an army spokesman said.

Brig-Gen Kevin Bergner said the suspect admitted working with the Quds Force, linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Iranian officials have always denied involvement in anti-US and anti-British attacks in Iraq.

Tehran says it supports the US-backed Iraqi government, and blames the violence on the myriad conflicts within the country since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

US envoy in Iraq Ryan Crocker met his Iranian counterpart Hassan Kazemi-Qomi for four hours on 28 May.

Both countries agreed that a secure and stable Iraq was in their interests.

But Iran rejected the US charge that it trained Iraqi militants, asserting that the coalition presence was an occupation.

The Iranians perhaps have most to gain from the talks with the US, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran.

Iran would like to use the talks to defuse the tension surrounding its nuclear programme and to prevent or delay new sanctions, our correspondent says.

Some officials in both Tehran and Washington would like to broaden the discussions to cover the many issues dividing the two countries, he says.

But holding any talks is hugely sensitive as, to many Iranians, America is still the great Satan.

To Americans, Iran is a state sponsor of terror with a president committed to the destruction of Israel, says our Tehran correspondent.

[Rasputin]

Human Rights Watch Letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Iranians Held by the US in Iraq

Dear Secretary Gates:

We are writing to you with regard to the legal status of the five Iranian officials who have been detained in Iraq under the authority and control of the United States military since January 11, 2007. Human Rights Watch remains concerned about the legal basis for the arrest of the five Iranians, who may have been accredited diplomats at a consular office; the unwillingness of the US to transfer the Iranians to Iraqi authorities for prosecution under Iraqi law; and, the US failure to provide the Iranians fundamental due process rights. Human Rights Watch calls upon the US government to address these issues or promptly order their release.

Early on the morning of January 11, 2007, US military forces raided the two-story building of the Iranian liaison office in Arbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. US forces reportedly arrested six Iranian men (one of whom was quickly released) and confiscated computer equipment and other material. US officials told the media that the raid was intended to arrest two senior Iranian officials who were visiting Iraq. The two escaped, and the five arrested were reputedly mid-level members of the Quds force, the foreign operations wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who were allegedly providing funds, arms and training to insurgents in Iraq. Following their arrest, the detainees were taken to the US airbase at Balad, north of Baghdad. It is unclear if the detainees are still held there. They have been visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross and on July 7 for the first time by Iranian officials. The US military is holding them as “security detainees.”


I.


The US raid on the Iranian liaison office and ensuing arrests raise concerns of the violation of consular immunity and the protection of diplomatic officers. Human Rights Watch takes no position on the legal status of the Iranian liaison office or the five Iranian officials. However, it is our view that at least since the end of the formal occupation of Iraq by United States and other coalition states on June 28, 2004, US forces in Iraq should act in a matter consistent with Iraqi legal obligations under international law.

The Iranian government and the Kurdistan regional government assert that the Iranian liaison office was an official consulate, entitled to consular protection under international law. Since the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq in 1992, Iran has opened bureaus in the major Kurdish cities of Arbil and Sulaimanya. According to the Kurdish Regional Government, these offices issue travel documents to Iraqi Kurds who want to visit Iran for medical treatment, business, education or other social purposes. After the arrests, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the media that the office was providing consular functions and was in the process of upgrading to a formal consular office. On June 13, Iran filed a complaint about the raid and the arrests with the United Nations. Just days after the incident, the US government stated that the liaison office was not an accredited consulate and thus not entitled to consular protection.

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides for the establishment of consular posts with the consent of the receiving state and for the inviolability of the consular premises. Article 31 of the convention states that authorities shall not enter consular premises without consent and that a receiving state is “under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the consular premises against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the consular post or impairment of its dignity.”

Similarly, Iranian, Kurdish and Iraqi officials contend that the five detained Iranians are diplomats protected by consular immunity under international law. Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari said the men were Iranian diplomats who were working officially in Arbil with the approval of the Iraqi government. The US maintains that the five men were not consular officers entitled to special protections.

Under article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consular officers shall not be liable to arrest or detention pending trial, except in the case of a grave crime and pursuant to a decision by the competent judicial authority. Moreover, they shall not be imprisoned or subject to any other form of restriction on their personal freedom except in execution of a judicial decision of final effect. Where detention of a consular officer is proper, the proceedings against the officer shall be instituted with the minimum of delay.

We urge the US government to provide a legal explanation for its decision to reject claims of consular immunity and the protection of consular officers; to date the US government has only provided conclusory statements that the liaison office and the individuals detained were not entitled to international consular protections.


II.


In the event that the five Iranians are implicated in a criminal offense, they should be turned over to the Iraqi authorities for prosecution in accordance with international fair trial standards. Such a transfer should not be made if there are substantial grounds for believing the detainees would be subject to torture in Iraqi custody.

The US government has stated that it is holding the five Iranians in “coalition detention” in accordance with United Nations Security Council (SC) resolutions 1546, 1637 and 1723. These resolutions endorse the transitional Iraqi government and extend the mandate of the US-led Multinational Force (MNF) into 2007. As with all so-called security detainees held by US forces in Iraq, the specific legal basis for detention are the June 5, 2004 letters between the Prime Minister of the Interim Government of Iraq and the US Secretary of State annexed to Security Council Resolution 1546. The annexed letters provide that “[u]nder the agreed arrangement, the MNF stands ready to continue to undertake a broad range of tasks" to maintain security in Iraq, including “internment where this is necessary for imperative reasons of security.”

The treatment of persons held in accordance with SC resolution 1546 is found only in a Coalition Provisional Authority memorandum of June 27, 2004. The memorandum states that “[t]he operation, condition and standards of any internment facility established by the MNF shall be in accordance with Section IV of the Fourth Geneva Convention….Security internees who are placed in internment after 30 June 2004, must in all cases only be held for so long as the imperative reasons of security in relation to that internee exist and in any case must be either released from internment or transferred to the Iraqi criminal jurisdiction…” (sec. 6). Thus even under the US government’s own terms, the five Iranians must be held for “imperative reasons of security” or for a cognizable criminal offense, or they must be released.

SC resolution 1546 should be implemented in a manner that is as consistent as possible with the requirements of international law for the treatment of persons in detention. The Fourth Geneva Convention applies during periods of occupation, but that occupation formally ended – according to the United States, the United Nations and others – in June 2004. The Fourth Geneva provisions on the treatment of security detainees are no longer applicable in Iraq.

Since the end of the formal occupation, the ongoing armed hostilities in Iraq can no longer be considered an international armed conflict – that is, an inter-governmental conflict between states parties to the Geneva Conventions – but is a non-international (internal) armed conflict. Persons taken into custody during an internal armed conflict must be treated in accordance with international human rights law, such as is found in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. International human rights law requires that all persons arrested be promptly brought before a judge; be charged with a cognizable criminal offense; have access to legal counsel and family members; and receive a prompt trial in accordance with international fair trial standards. Limited and specific derogations of these rights are only permitted during a declared state of emergency.

Iraq’ s Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), which applies to all persons in Iraq, provides protections against arbitrary arrest and detention, such as requiring criminal suspects to be brought before an investigating judge within 24 hours of arrest.

Human Rights Watch recognizes that serious human rights violations, including torture and other mistreatment, commonly occur within the Iraqi criminal justice system, and that the right to a fair trial frequently is not met. International law prohibits the transfer of individuals to the custody of another state where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be subjected to torture. Given that the Iraqi government has stated that it does not consider the arrest of the five Iranians justified, we have no information to indicate that this is a concern in this case. The Iranians, with the assistance of their lawyers, should be given an opportunity to raise concerns about their safety should their transfer to the Iraqi justice system be considered.


III.


In the event that the transfer of the five Iranian detainees to the Iraqi authorities is not forthcoming, the US government still must respect their fundamental rights as administrative detainees.

International law sets out fundamental rights due all persons in detention, including so-called “security detainees.” The US government should ensure that all persons in its custody be entitled to the following protections:

[Rasputin]

1) Be provided specific information regarding the reasons for detention.
2) Have the right to challenge, with the least possible delay, the lawfulness of the detention before an independent and impartial body.
3) Have access to legal assistance.
4) Have the right to periodic review – at least every six months – of the lawfulness of continued detention.
5) Be able to attend proceedings in person and with legal counsel.
6) Have contacts with family members, including by correspondence and visits.

US authorities reported to the media that the status of the five Iranians was reviewed in April under the auspices of the Combined Review and Release Board (CRRB), established between the Iraqi government and the Multinational Forces in 2004, and that the five would not be entitled to a new review until six months later, in October. Human Rights Watch remains concerned that the CRRB process does not provide detainees all of the minimal rights set out above, including permitting the participation of a lawyer at the review.


***


In conclusion, Human Rights Watch urges the US government to treat the five detained Iranian officials in full accordance with international law. Should there be no diplomatic solution to the matter, the US government should publicly clarify its legal basis for the raid on the liaison office and for determining that the Iranians were not accredited diplomats. In the event the five Iranian officials were implicated in criminal offenses, the US government should promptly turn them over to Iraqi authorities for prosecution in accordance with international fair trial standards. At a minimum, the US government must ensure that the Iranian detainees are afforded the basic rights due all so-called security detainees. The US government should meet these responsibilities or promptly release them.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to receiving your response.

Sincerely,


Sarah Leah Whitson
Executive Director
Middle East and North Africa division

[Rasputin]

U.S., Iran to Hold More Talks on Iraq's Future

The United States and Iran will hold a second round of critical talks on the future of Iraq in the next 10 days, possibly as early as Saturday, according to U.S. and Middle Eastern officials. The initiative comes despite mounting tensions between the two nations on such issues as Iran's nuclear program and the fate of imprisoned Americans in Tehran.

U.S. and Iranian officials yesterday welcomed a second meeting between their top envoys in Baghdad. "We look positively at holding a second round of talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at a Tehran news conference.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the meeting is needed because Iran's actions are leading to further instability in Iraq.

"We think that . . . it would be appropriate to have another face-to-face meeting to directly convey to the Iranian authorities that if they wish to see a more stable, secure, peaceful Iraq -- which is what they have said they would like to see -- that they need to change their behavior," he told reporters.

The first meeting between U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi on May 28 was designed to create mechanisms for improving cooperation to stabilize Iraq. But tensions have increased. The Green Zone in Baghdad has come under sustained shelling three times, and the southern city of Basra has been pounded -- both by Shiite militias that are supported and armed by Iran, U.S. officials said yesterday.

"If there is another meeting, I suspect that we would convey to the Iranians that they say they would like strategic stability in Iraq, and if that is in fact the case, they're certainly going about it in an odd way," McCormack said.

The State Department said that Tehran must end its support for militias that are exacerbating sectarian tensions and stop providing explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, which are used against armored vehicles and have been tied to many U.S. deaths.

Even as Washington agreed to the second round of talks, the State Department lashed out at Iran for "parading" imprisoned Americans Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh on Iranian television yesterday. It called on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to intervene to block a documentary scheduled to run tonight with alleged confessions from the Americans.

"These two individuals have labored for years to build bridges of understanding between our two countries; their efforts should be recognized as a benefit to both our nations," McCormack said in a statement yesterday. "We call upon Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei to treat these people with the respect they deserve, to put an end to any further broadcasts, and to release all Americans currently being held on groundless charges."

The detained Americans include Esfandiari, a Potomac resident and scholar at the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Tajbakhsh, of the Open Society Institute; and California businessman Ali Shakeri, who are all jailed in Tehran's Evin Prison. Parnaz Azima, a correspondent with Radio Farda, has been blocked from leaving Iran.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Human Rights Watch called on the United States yesterday to release five Iranians it has detained in Iraq since January. The advocacy group said that the Iranians should be turned over to the Iraqi government for trial if they committed crimes rather than be held without charges along with thousands of other "security detainees," largely foreign fighters, in Iraq.

Even as U.S. and Iranian officials prepare to talk, the Bush administration is discussing a third Security Council resolution that would impose tough new sanctions on Tehran for not complying with a U.N. mandate to suspend its uranium-enrichment efforts.

The ongoing U.S.-Iran dialogue, the first overt diplomacy between the two nations in almost three decades, is part of the scramble to produce progress on several fronts in the Middle East as the Bush administration moves into its final phase. But U.S. officials concede that they remain a long way from any real breakthroughs.

The White House is already playing down expectations after President Bush's announcement Monday of a U.S.-sponsored Middle East conference this fall to bring together major parties involved in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. White House press secretary Tony Snow said that it should be viewed not as a "big international peace conference" but rather as an exploratory meeting.

[maryam9]

in response to the original question. heres an interesting quote -
"During the last six thousand years nations have hated one another, it is now time to stop. War must cease. Let us be united and love one another and await the result. We know the effects of war are bad. So let us try, as an experiment, peace, and if the results of peace are bad, then we can choose if it would be better to go back to the old state of war! Let us in any case make the experiment. If we see that unity brings Light we shall continue it. For six thousand years we have been walking on the left-hand path; let us walk on the right-hand path now. We have passed many centuries in darkness, let us advance towards the light.."

(writings from the Bahai faith)

(Page 62-63, book: "Abdul-Baha in London").

[Rasputin]

US steps up effort to stop EU firms trading with Iran

An escalating crackdown by the US on foreign companies and banks doing business with Iran is provoking opposition in Britain and Europe, where diplomats say the action could lead to a trade war.
Congress wants all international companies to end their investment in Iran and is pushing through a bill that would penalise companies which fail to do so. The British, along with other European governments, see the US approach as draconian and are lobbying against it.

The American move reflects frustration at the failure, so far, of western diplomacy to persuade Iran to stop its uranium enrichment programme which the US, Britain and others suspect is a step towards a nuclear weapons capability.
Iran denies it has ambitions to build a nuclear weapon.

A senior British banking source said yesterday there was a great deal of annoyance in the City with the US approach. The two British banks most frequently mentioned in Washington in relation to Iran are HSBC and Standard Chartered. The source said both banks have scaled down their operations in Iran and maintain a modest presence in Tehran.

But much of their former business, which consisted principally of managing payments between companies, has been picked up by German and French banks whose governments have resisted pressure from Washington, the source said.

The state department has been pressing for disengagement for months. But the move is being given added impetus by the Iran counter-proliferation bill going through Congress that would penalise the American interests of companies that continue to have a presence in Iran. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, said: "Our goal must be zero foreign investment."

The bill appears to have overwhelming support in Congress. Congress passed the Iran and Libya sanctions act in 1996 that threatened action against foreign governments and companies, but gave the state department discretion over when to implement it. The new legislation proposes to remove that discretion. The state department prefers persuasion to coercion, fearing the latter would alienate allies, and opposes the legislation.

The security council has imposed limited sanctions on Iran, mainly economic and travel bans, and a third round of sanctions is being discussed.

The White House sees it as inconsistent for European countries to support sanctions but to allow companies to continue trading. Britain says it has no legal basis to order the banks to close their Iranian operations. European diplomats say the US is aiming at the wrong targets and should focus on Arab and far east companies that have a greater exposure to the Iranian market.

Any penalties imposed by the US would be in breach of World Trade Organisation rules, they argue.

A senior US official said there have been discussions between Stuart Levey, the under-secretary of state at the treasury, and the British government, though he acknowledged that the involvement of British banks and companies was not as deep as some on the continent.

He said the EU had £11bn in export credits to Iran in 2005, the latest figure available. "So we have been in discussions with many of the leading governments - Germany, France, Italy, Spain - the four largest countries with exposure to export credits. This is really quite inconsistent with where we are going with UN sanctions," he said. "We have had two sanctions resolutions: so why would you be promoting trade with Iran?"

[Rasputin]

مجرى برنامه راديويى ,نشنال پايليك,:آمريكا تحت سلطه جنگ طلبان قرار دارد


ايسنا: به نوشته روزنامه لس*آنجلس مانيتور ديويد يارساميان مجرى برنامه راديويى ,نشنال پايليك, راديو در كتاب خود با عنوان ,هدف قرار دادن ايران, كه مجموعه مصالحبه*هاى وى با نوام چامسكي، ارواند ابراهاميان، و ناهيد مظفرى به روابط ايران با آمريكا، عراق و افغانستان پرداخته است. به عقيده يارساميان دولت آمريكا نه تنها رويه اشتباهى را در پيش گرفته است بلكه جورج بوش رييس جمهور آمريكا مرتكب جنايات جنگى شده است.

در بخشى از كتاب او آمده است:, آمريكا تحت سلطه جنگ طلبان قرار دارد. ايران خطرى براى آمريكا ندارد اين آمريكاست كه براى ايران خطرناك است.,

وى درباره اشغال عراق نيز آورده است:, آنها به خاطر اين از ما متنفر نيستند كه ما صاحب برخى ارزشها و آزادى هستيم، آنها از ما متنفرند چون كشورشان را اشغال مي*كنيم، بي*گناهان را مي*كشيم، و مهمترين منابع انرژى آنها يعنى نفت را از آنها مي*گيريم. اين امر نفرت عميق از آمريكا را به ارمغان داشت.,

بارساميان افزود:, ماجراجويى آمريكا در ايران تصادفى نيست، بلكه به واسطه سياست خارجى آمريكا برنامه*ريزى شده است. كلمه امپرياليسم اگر چه در دايره لغات دولت آمريكا جايى ندارد، اما جهان بدون شك تحت سلطه فرهنگ و قدرت آمريكا قرار دارد.,

وى در پايان گفت:, دموكراسى آمريكا دربخش مراقبت*هاى ويژه قرار دارد و اين برعهده شهروندان ماست كه زندگى جديدى را به دولت آمريكا بدهند.,

[Rasputin]

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to onewho is striking at the root”.
- Henry David Thoreau

With censorship abound, we must dodge the bullet of stupor and learn to recognize that Dick Cheney, this Yale drop-out who wore the color of cowardice during the Vietnam War, was chosen to be the devil’s instrument in order to influence George Bush on his destructive path.

While the electronic highways are jammed with petitions to impeach Bush and Cheney, we must not fail to hold to account those who have held our highest office hostage and ax the root of evil. The destructive forces have already made their way into our future and the sparks alone are more threatening that the blaze we are currently engulfed in.

A future determined by the enemies of compassion and humanity. The seeds of damnation have been planted in such places as The Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (IASPS); a Jerusalem-based think tank which spewed out the likes of David Wurmser, the Middle East adviser to Dick Cheney, Douglas Feith, and Richard Perle, the architects of the Iraq war. They hatched their dastardly schemes among the most ambitious and ruthless of Americans, spreading their lust for hatred, greed, and genocidal wars. Our collective apathy being the weapon they chose to accept for our submission.

Surely it was no coincidence that David Wurmser found himself at the pro-Israel American Enterprise Institute (AEI) where Lynn Cheney, the Vice President’s wife was a senior fellow (and where she also served on board of directors of Lockheed until 2001. Lockheed Martin stocks, not surprisingly, soared as a result of the illegal invasion of Iraq). What good fortune for Wurmser that Lynn’s husband selected him to be his Middle East Security Advisor. Cheney, the man behind the Iraq war, and the power in the White House who with a defeated army seeks further battles as he turns his lust for another massacre towards Iran[1] . What is the prize of this slaughter?

Eliminating Competition
Upon taking office, George W. Bush commissioned the Bakers Institute (Rice University) and the Council on Foreign Relations to study the energy trends and requirements of the 21st century. The comprehensive 99-page report recommended that not only should the administration ease its Iraqi oil-field investment restrictions, but actions and policies should be taken to promote the well-being of the Iraqi people which was being undermined in light of the sanctions and the continuous bombings. Although the report strongly recommended the enlistment of allies in order to phase out the sanctions with “highly focused and enforced sanctions that target the regime’s ability to maintain and acquire weapons of mass destruction” it stated that the hostilities should be stopped.

Furthermore, the joint report favored the Iranian route for the Caspian oil exports which would serve several purposes. In itself, it would translate into a policy shift towards Tehran, and throw Iran as a counter weight to Iraq. The transport of oil through Iran versus the prohibitively expensive longer and costly Baku-Ceyhan pipeline would be pf great benefit to the West, and the world, and help build up the drastically low global spare capacity, according to the report. Another strong contention of the report was that the U.S. ought to move the Caspian region into a zone of cooperation with Russia instead of a zone of competition and confrontation, enabling future cooperation such as jointly countering Islamic militants in the region (Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century, 2001, pp. 38-40,45,) [2]. Of note, the Kazakh officials had been in favor of the Iran route, as well as the U.S. oil companies such as Chevron, Exxon-Mobil and Conoco [3].

There would have been no wars except... .
A.Nesdat Pamir delivered a strategy paper in September 2001 which countered the Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century. His paper was entitled “Turkey: The Key to Caspian Oil and Gas”. He woefully cites the Strategic Energy Policy Challenges for the 21st Century paper while in his own strategy paper he argues that since the Persian Gulf is expected to be responsible for almost 80% of the world crude exports between 2000-2020, the control of this oil is of utmost importance; citing a Turkish source, continues: “ given that the price of oil have allowed states to invest heavily in Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), the primary external of this development, both economically and diplomatically, has been Russia” [4]. Russia, therefore, is arming the Middle East with WMD and the 80% oil potential should be rescued. According to him, the lifeline of America would be for it to use the prohibitively expensive Ceyhan –Baku Pipeline [through Turkey and Israel] in order to avoid the anti-American Middle East .

In his paper, Pamir sounds the alarm at the Russian-EU friendship. It is worthwhile reminding the readers that this report was written three months after George W. Bush invited Vladimir Putin to be his guest having “looked deep into his eyes” and trusting Putin. Today, there are missiles pointing towards Russia and Russia is aiming missiles at Europe. Indeed, the devil is a genius; so clever that the report Bush himself had commissioned was tossed aside. War was chosen over peace.

Eleven short days after the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq, the Israeli National Infrastructures Minister, Joseph Paritzky showed his keen interest in running Iraqi oil from Mosul to Haifa; an idea that had been previously discussed in the 80’s with non other than Donald Rumsfeld. [5] That was just to wet the appetite...

Not only does Israel want to be the transit point for Iraq’s oil, but for the whole Caspian region. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (Oct 21, 2005), Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Israel’s infrastructure minister visited Turkey to discuss a $4 billion, 1,093 project to bring Caspian Sea oil and gas to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast from Azerbaijan via Georgia. The Israeli interest is to see how this pipeline can serve Israeli interests. Alternatives discussed were to transport the oil across Israel from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, where it would be loaded onto tankers headed for Asia. Another option was to use the 158-mile Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline to transport the oil from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. The pipeline build in 1968 during the Shah’s regime was designed to ferry oil in the opposite direction, from east to west. [6]

It would seem that the flow of oil through Israel warrants the dropping of bombs on the region. As IASPS adjunct scholar D.Y. Anaximander said in 2004: “The depths to which we've come ... now marked by the convergence of terrorist Islam and Western elites (represented at this moment by the Democrat candidate for president of this country) are such that we must be grateful -- it is horrifying to say -- that we were attacked by Muslims.” [7] But if only oil were the only source of all evils. A more precious and scarce commodity that is causing this butchery is water.

Policy makers in the Middle East are keenly aware of the fact that climate change, population growth and escalating rates of consumption has made water a critical determinant of foreign policy and national security. But none have Israel’s leverage given their strategists and implementers in Washington.

According to BBC online President Mikhail Gorbachev stated that there have been 21 armed disputes over water in recent history - and 18 of them involved Israel. "It's highlyunfair," said Yehezkel Lein, a water expert for Israeli human rights group B'tselem, who help to solve water problems in Palestinian areas. "We are talking about mainly the mountain aquifer and the Jordan River system. Regarding the first one Israel exploits approximately 80% of the renewal water resources, and the Palestinians the remaining 20%. Regarding the Jordan River system, the Palestinians do not have any access." [8] At the rate they are being massacred, Israel will soon have access to 100% of the water. But that is hardly a drop in the sand for Israel’s insatiable thirst.

Israel faced one of its worst droughts in 1990-91. A second more serious drought in 1998, forced it to turn to water rich Turkey. Years earlier, former Turkish President Turgut Ozal had proposed a “peace pipeline” to sell surplus water from the Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers to parched countries in the region; a costly project, with the daunting challenge of requiring cooperation between nations. It was time to call in the troops – American troops.

In a strategy paper entitled “The Geopolitics of Water” (September 2000 - IASPS) penned by Paul Michael Wihbey and Ilan Berman, the following suggestions were made:

“The region contains two sets of countries, each capable of drawing others to follow them, depending on their success. At one pole are the Baathist dictatorships of Syria and Iraq: when the possibility existed, they were aligned with the Soviet Union against the West. At the other pole are the Israeli and Turkish democracies, allies of the U.S. through thick and thin. On the sidelines, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon have swung to and fro.”

[Rasputin]

Part II


They convince our policy makers in Washington that : “There is little doubt that were Turkey and Israel intent on restoring Lebanon and distributing the area’s water in a rational manner, they would stand a chance of success. A stable strategic grouping capable of deterring the militant Baathist regimes in Syria and Iraq would promote the commencement of large-scale regional water planning and grid systems. Since extensive water planning proposals will necessitate the establishment of pipelines and energy grids stretching across borders, a political and military structure that can ensure the safety and security of the carriers will be the prerequisite to effective water sharing. Already, Turkey and Israel have engaged in serious negotiations starting in May 2000 to import 50 billion cubic meters of fresh water from Turkey using tanker ships. But an effective regional system would require political-military cooperation against Syria”

Contrary to the devils’ predictions, invasion of sovereign Iraq met with resistance. Turkey claims that the Manavgat River basin is secure and that all necessary measures will be taken to guarantee the safety and quality of water up to the loading point, but the pipeline would have to go through Syria. Israel needs troops, American troops in the region to ensure the safe passage of water – and oil.

Our policy makers, possessed, have drowned America’s soul in blood, shame, and infamy. Once again, ignoring a policy of diplomacy which would lead to peace, we are being led to war. We owe it to future generations to redeem ourselves. Not only must Bush and Cheney be impeached, all those who endorse the policy of ‘all options are on the table’ be removed from office, but with awareness and sound values, we must hold to account the hijackers of American policy. “When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion”. (Ethiopian proverb)


[1] Guardian: Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran

[2] Task Force Report: (pdf)

[3] A. Nesdat Pamir “Turkey: The key to Caspian Oil and Gas”, IASPS September 2001

[4] Elnur Soltan, “Hatemi’nin Rusnya Ziyartei: Soyut Analsmalarin Somut Sonuclari” (Hatemi’s visit to Russia: Concrete Results of Abstract Agreement). Stratejik Analiz. April 2001 [Turkish] pp5-19

[5] Haaretz: Infrastructure Minister Paritzky dreams of Iraqi oil flowing to Haifa

[6] Yigal Schleifer “Isarel and Turkey hope to show that oil, water and business to mix” Jewish Telegraphic Agency New York Oct 21, 2005

[7] IASPS: The Pillar in the Streets: Vietnam-AntiWar (August 30, 2004)

[8] BB: Water war leaves Palestinians thirsty

[Rasputin]

'تعیین تاریخ مذاکره مجدد سفرای ایران و آمریکا'


هوشيار زیباری از گفتگوی مجدد سفرای ايران و آمريکا درباره عراق استقبال کرده است
هوشيار زیباری، وزير امور خارجه عراق، اعلام کرده است که مقام های ايرانی و آمريکايی روز سه شنبه، ۲۴ ژوئيه، برای بار دوم در بغداد درباره اوضاع عراق ديدار و گفتگو خواهند کرد.
در دور اول مذاکرات ايران و آمريکا که اواخر ماه مه امسال برگزار شد، حسن کاظمی قمی، سفير ايران در عراق، با رايان کروکر همتای آمريکايی خود ديدار کرد.

طرفين تاکيد کرده اند اين گفتگوها به اوضاع عراق محدود بود و دربرگيرنده برنامه هسته ای ايران نبوده است.

هوشيار زیباری روز يکشنبه ۲۲ ژوئيه، ضمن حمايت از گفتگوی مجدد سفرای ايران و آمريکا درباره عراق، ابراز اميدواری کرد اين ديدار "نتايج ملموسی" داشته باشد.

به گفته وی، مقام های دولت عراق هم در جلسه ديدار هيات ايرانی و آمريکايی حضور خواهند داشت.

گزارش شده که در دور پيش سفير آمريکا اتهام حمايت مالی و نظامی ايران از شورشيان و شبه نظاميان مخالف آمريکا در عراق را مطرح کرده بود.

سفير ايران هم نيروهای ائتلاف به رهبری آمريکا در عراق را "اشغالگر" توصيف و از کوتاهی آنان در تجهيز مناسب نيروهای نظامی عراق انتقاد به کرده بود.

اتهامات جديد

روز يکشنبه ارتش آمريکا در عراق اعلام کرد دو شورشی را در نزديکی مرز ايران به اتهام قاچاق مواد منفجره از ايران به عراق بازداشت کرده است.

ارتش آمريکا می گويد اين دو نفر با سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی ايران ارتباط دارند.


سفیر ایران در دور نخست گفتگوها انتقادهای ایران از عملکرد آمریکا در عراق را مطرح کرد

ايران همواره اين گونه اتهامات را رد کرده است.

ارتش آمريکا هنوز ۵ شهروند ايران که می گوید اعضای نيروی قدس سپاه پاسداران هستند را در بازداشت دارد.

ايران می گويد اين ۵ تن ديپلمات های ايران در کردستان عراق بودند.

توجه زياد

جيمز دابينز-نماينده پيشين دولت جورج بوش در امور افغانستان- از روند فعلی مذاکرات ايران و آمريکا انتقاده کرده است.

وی که پيشتر با مقام های ايرانی در امور افغانستان مذاکره کرده است می گويد، مذاکراتی که به شدت توجه مطبوعات جهان را به خود جلب کند و طرفين در آن تنها از سياست های طرف مقابل گله و شکايت کنند احتمالا بی ثمر خواهد بود.

اين ديپلمات آمريکايی معتقد است سفير فعلی آمريکا در عراق اختيارات گسترده ای که او درباره افغانستان داشت را ندارد.

به گفته آقای دابينز وی در سال ۲۰۰۲ اجازه داشت با مقام های ايرانی درباره افغانستان هر زمان و هرجا که خواست گفتگو کند.

به گفته وی، رايان کروکر پس از ديدار اول با هيات ايرانی بايد مستقيما به واشنگتن گزارش می داد و برای برگزاری دور دوم مذاکرات اجازه می گرفت و اين حدود دو ماه طول کشيد.

اين ديپلمات آمريکايی تاکيد کرده است جلوگيری از فروپاشی عراق و تقويت دولت مرکزی عراق به نفع ايران و آمريکاست.

وی به کاخ سفيد پيشنهاد کرده است با تغيير روند فعلی مذاکراتش با ايران، آن را به صورت مرتب، غيررسمی و خصوصی انجام دهد.

[Rasputin]

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iranian envoys will hold talks in Baghdad on Tuesday to discuss the worsening chaos in Iraq, following up on a landmark meeting in May, Iraq's foreign minister said on Sunday.

"Iraq will host the second round of U.S.-Iranian talks on the 24th of this month," the minister, Hoshiyar Zebari, told Reuters by telephone.

"We support this dialogue and hope it achieves tangible results."

He said the ambassadors to Iraq from both countries would lead the talks, with Iraqi government officials also present.

The two ambassadors met in Baghdad on May 28, in the highest-level meeting of the two foes in almost three decades.

The growing security chaos in Iraq has pushed the two countries, which have not had diplomatic ties since shortly after Iran's 1979 revolution, to seek common ground.

Washington accuses Shi'ite Muslim Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq. Iran denies backing the charges and blames the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 for the bloodshed between Iraq's majority Shi'ite and minority Sunni Muslim Arabs.

The United States has been leading diplomatic efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear ambitions -- but both sides say any talks will focus solely on matters in Iraq.

[Rasputin]

ايران و آمريکا 'فقط درباره عراق مذاکره می کنند'


شان مک کورمک گفت ايران در گذشته در مواردی به برقراری ثبات در کشورهای همسايه خود کمک کرده و می تواند به بهبود اوضاع عراق نيز کمک کند
وزارت خارجه آمريکا اعلام کرده است مذاکرات اين کشور با ايران در بغداد فقط به وضعيت عراق محدود خواهد شد و شامل موضوعات ديگر نمی شود.
شان مک کورمک سخنگوی وزارت خارجه آمريکا روز دوشنبه در پاسخ به اين سوال که آيا ساير موضوعات از جمله وضعيت آمريکائيان ايرانی تبار که توسط مقام های ايرانی بازداشت شده اند در دستور کار اين ملاقات جای دارد گفت اين در جهت منافع هيچ کس نيست که از ساير مسائل بعنوان اهرم فشار در نشست بغداد استفاده کند.

وی دستگيری اين افراد را 'غيرعادلانه' و 'مضحک' خواند و خواستار آزادی سريع آنها شد.

سفرای ايران و آمريکا در بغداد قرار است روز سه شنبه دور دوم گفتگوهای دو کشور را در مورد ثبات و امنيت عراق آغاز کنند.

رايان کروکر، سفير آمريکا در عراق و حسن کاظمی قمی، همتای ايرانی وی برای بار دوم طی سه ماه گذشته در بغداد ديدار می کنند.

دو طرف پيش از اين در اواخر ماه مه هم ديداری داشتند که نتايج چندانی به همراه نداشت، اگر چه دو طرف اين مذاکرات را 'مثبت' ارزيابی کردند.

ایران نیز اعلام کرده این گفتگوها به عراق محدود می شود.

سخنگوی وزارت خارجه آمريکا با اشاره به اظهارات مقام های ايران مبنی بر تمايل تهران به استقرار صلح و ثبات در عراق گفت ايران بايد در عمل نشان دهد که خواستار يک عراق با ثبات است.

وی ايران را متهم کرد از پيکارجويان شيعه عراقی حمايت می کند.

شان مک کورمک گفت ايران در گذشته به برقراری ثبات در کشورهای همسايه خود کمک کرده و می تواند به بهبود اوضاع عراق نيز کمک کند.

وی به حمايت های ايران در جريان نشست بن و ايجاد دولت جديد افغانستان اشاره کرد.

سخنگوی وزارت خارجه آمريکا ابراز اميدواری کرد ايران 'رفتار خود را تغيير دهد' و نقش مثبتی در اوضاع عراق بر عهده گيرد.

وی گفت هنوز روشن نيست که پس از اين نشست ملاقات های بيشتری بين مقام های ايران و آمريکا صورت گيرد.

در همين حال تونی اسنو سخنگوی کاخ سفيد يکبار ديگر ايران را متهم به ارسال سلاح به عراق کرد.

وی افزود کنفرانس بغداد که به درخواست دولت عراق تشکيل می شود فرصتی برای ايران خواهد بود تا تعهد خود به استقرار آرامش در عراق را نشان دهد.

ايران اتهام های آمريکا را رد کرده و ناآرامی های عراق را ناشی از اشغال اين کشور توسط آمريکا و ساير نيروی های ائتلاف خوانده است.

[Rasputin]

ديدار دو سفير!
سقوط سطح مذاکرات امروز
جمهوری اسلامی و امريکا






دور دوم مذاکرات جمهوری اسلامی با امريکا در سطحی نازل تر از دور اول، امروز در بغداد آغاز می شود. زمان اين مذاکرات تاکنون چند بار به تعويق افتاده بود. در دور اول يکی از معاونان وزارت خارجه جمهوری اسلامی در مذاکرات شرکت کرد اما اين بار امريکا سطح مذاکرات را تاحد سفير امريکا درعراق پائين آورد و به همين دليل و بعنوان اقدامی متقابل، جمهوری اسلامی نيز سفير خود در عراق را پای ميز مذاکره فرستاد. مذاکرات در ارتباط با امنيت عراق است و اين خود به معنای دخالت داشتن جمهوری اسلامی در حوادث عراق محسوب می شود و قبول اين مذاکرات از سوی جمهوری اسلامی نيز عملا تائيد کننده اين امر است. اين درحالی است که برخی مقامات سياسی سابق که درحاکميت کنونی نقش اساسی ندارند، اعتقاد دارند بجای مذاکرات دوجانبه با امريکا بر سر امنيت عراق، بهتر است جمهوری اسلامی در کنفرانس های منطقه*ای و عمومی تر شرکت کند؛ زيرا اين مذاکرات دو جانبه با تمرکز روی عراق عملا يعنی قبول اتهاماتی که امريکا و اروپا در رابطه با انفجارها به ايران می زنند.

ظاهرا، کاهش سطح گفتگوها از جانب امريکا به دو دليل بايد صورت گرفته باشد. نخست آن که ضمن به نمايش گذاشتن نقش جمهوری اسلامی در عراق، مايل به تفاهم و امتياز دهی نيست و دوم اينکه امريكا نمی خواهد تا نشست آينده شورای امنيت سازمان ملل و گفتگوهای آشکار و پنهانی که با اعراب منطقه در جريان است و می رود تا به يک جبهه با شرکت اسرائيل عليه ايران ختم شود اين سوژه را از دست بدهد و گفتگو با ايران را به نتيجه ای برساند.

نشست شورای امنيت تا ماه سپتامبر به تعويق افتاده است و امريکا در اين فاصله نه نيازمند مذاکره بلکه نيازمند برجسته تر ساختن نقش نظامی – اتمی جمهوری اسلامی در منطقه است!