So it’s certainly correct to give the Islamic Republic of Iran a share of the blame for the terrible damage inflicted on Hamas by Israel. And it’s also important to note that, once the fighting started, you didn’t see the Iranians rushing for the battle field. The mullahs organized demonstrations by tens of thousands of self-proclaimed would-be martyrs, but they went home afterwards, not to Gaza. This is in keeping with long-standing Iranian practice: trick the despised Arabs into blowing themselves up to advance Tehran’s interests.
The Iranians themselves know the whole thing was a mistake, and we can see it by looking at their actions rather than listening to their lies. They’re carrying out a “lessons learned” analysis to figure out all their blunders. There’s lots to figure out:
Iran…as The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this week, is conducting an urgent probe into Hamas’s (that is to say, Iran’s own, ML) failures in Operation Cast Lead.
AdvertisementHamas has acknowledged some of them and Israeli security officials have detailed many more: Hamas did not expect Israel to respond to its escalated rocket attacks with a major offensive – not with general elections looming, and the scars of the Second Lebanon War still raw. It certainly didn’t believe the air strikes of week one would be followed by the ground operation of weeks two and three – Israel was deemed to be too wary of international criticism and too cowardly to risk its young soldiers. Hamas anticipated more practical assistance from the Arab world. And it fully intended to kill and maim more Israelis.
It planned to fire more rockets, more deeply, into more Israeli towns and villages and moshavim and kibbutzim, to murder more civilians. It hoped its booby-trapped buildings and tunnels and roadside bombs would fell more Israeli soldiers, and that its familiarity with Gaza’s camps and alleys would yield it greater success in close combat with the IDF.
The humiliating defeat of Iran’s proxy in Gaza comes hard on the heels of the catastrophic drop in petroleum revenues, which weakens the mullahs’ ability to finance terror, and alongside yet another blow from the U.S. Government, which froze the finances of four al Qaeda terrorists, including a long-time Iranian resident with a famous name: Saad bin Laden.
Saad bin Laden, along with daddy Osama and other members of his super-rich family, bailed out of Afghanistan during the American assault in late 2001 and took up residence in Iran. It was a hush-hush operation, since the mullahs were then pretending to be super helpful to the United States, even though they were training assassins and then sending them to Afghanistan to kill Americans. In relatively short order, the Iranian deceit was discovered. The leading Spanish anti-terrorist judge, Balthazar Garzon, publicly stated that the AQ leadership had reconstituted itself in Tehran. Eventually the evidence became too great for the mullahs to deny, and they concocted the story that they had “arrested” some important AQ personnel, and would consider trading them for people under American control. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage started saying that Iran was “a democracy,” and let it be known that we were very close to a deal, but of course we weren’t; the mullahs never had any intention of turning over any of their top proxies. Iran remained a safe haven for AQ terrorists, from which they came and went according to the requirements of the moment. Now, it seems, Saad bin Laden has gone to Pakistan.
The Wall Street Journal put it oddly:
The release or escape of Mr. bin Laden’s son, Saad bin Laden, suggests possible collaboration between Iran and al Qaeda and the potential that Saad bin Laden is a go-between. Al Qaeda has been regrouping in Pakistan after the U.S. forced the group out of its base in Afghanistan, and Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding there.
Saad bin Laden “has left Iran,” said Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell at a farewell press briefing. “He’s probably in Pakistan.”
This suggests that Mr. McConnell accepts the notion that bin Laden Jr. either “escaped” or “was released,” which is silly. It would be helpful if our intelligence “experts” just stuck to what they know, which seems to be that bin Laden Jr. went to another country. And it would be helpful if the Wall Street Journal were more careful in its use of language. After the U.S. drove AQ out of Afghanistan, its leaders spent several years in Iran, with, at a minimum, the full knowledge and apparent complicity of the Iranian regime. Does anyone know enough to say that AQ leaders weren’t/aren’t happy in Iran? Or, for that matter, does anyone know enough to deny what seems intuitively obvious: that Iran has been fully supportive of AQ? The mullahs certainly went all-out to help al Qaeda in Iraq. And they lost, bigtime.
Further down in the story, the Journal does better:
Saad bin Laden reportedly facilitated communications between al Qaeda’s No. 2 official and the Iranian extremist Quds Force after al Qaeda’s attack on the U.S. Embassy in Yemen last year. He was part of a small collection of al Qaeda operatives who helped manage the terrorist organization from Iran, where he was arrested in 2003, according to the Treasury Department.
Earlier alleged activities include a prominent role in a 2002 suicide bombing of a Tunisian synagogue and facilitating travel for bin Laden family members from Afghanistan to Iran.
So he was “arrested” in 2003, which just happens to be when we invaded Iraq, and also just happens to be the year when, according to that infamous NIE from CIA, Iran “suspended” its “nuclear weapons program.” It’s pretty obvious, I think, that Iran is surging ahead on nuclear weapons–even Mr. al Baradei, of the UN’s wishy washy oversight agency, has said as much recently–and one will get you ten that there was no “suspension” at all, but a program to deceive us into thinking that. The story of the “arrests” is of a piece with that. Otherwise, you’d have to explain why al Qaeda in Iraq got full support from the mullahs, but their top people back in Tehran were under lock and key. Not bloody likely.
All of this confusion distracts us from the big story, which is that Iran is in a jam, defeated in Iraq and Gaza, facing a cash flow crisis, and the usual demonstrations raging on college campuses and factories all over the country. If ever there were a fine opportunity for the United States to support Iranian dissidents, this is it. But we’re apparently not going to do any such thing; we’re going to try to strike a deal, even though every president since Jimmy Carter has tried to do just that, and every one of them failed.
Obama’s even got a candidate to head the Intelligence Community who thinks he’s identified that most elusive creature, the “Iranian moderate.” Admiral Dennis Blair sang from the official hymnal during his confirmation hearings last week:
“While policymakers need to understand anti-American leaders, policies and actions in Iran, the intelligence community can also help policymakers identify and understand other leaders and political forces, so that it is possible to work toward a future in both our interests.”
There are certainly Iranians who disagree with the official doctrine that is best summarized in the street chant we see so often on the evening news: “Death to America.” In fact, there are probably 50-60 million of them. They are the oppressed people of Iran, and we don’t need the Intelligence Community to identify them. We see them in prison, we see them publicly executed in very brutal ways (including stoning), and we see their offices raided and smashed. Those are the people we should be helping.
Even if the Obama people can’t bring themselves to openly support democratic revolution in Iran–which is what they should do–they can at least publicly and incessantly read out the long list of political prisoners every time they meet with an Iranian counterpart. The President and Secretary of State Clinton, along with the various special envoys, should take a page from British TV and Film Director Ken Loach, who issued an open letter to the mullahs.
He says it very well:
I have read the information about Labour activists imprisoned in your country. These words express exactly the outrage of many people at your government’s callous disregard for civil liberties.
I am writing to strongly protest against a new wave of arrests and repression of labour activists in Iran. According to the latest news, the current labour activists who are known to be in jails across Iran are as follows:
- Mr. Mansour Osanloo, the president of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburb Bus Company…Mr. Afshin Shams, a member of “Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ organizations”… Mr. Farzad Kamangar, a 33 year old teacher and union and human rights activist from Kurdistan province. He has been sentenced to death by the Iranian government and has been severely tortured… Mr. Mohsen Hakimi, a member of the Coordinating Committee to Form Workers’ Organization and a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association…incarcerated in section 209 of the Evin Prison…Mr. Bijan Amiri, who is an auto worker and a member of workers’ mountain-climbing board…incarcerated in section 209 of the Evin Prison…Mr. Ebrahim Madadi, the vice-president of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company…currently detained in Evin prison…- Mr. Pedram Nasrolahi, who is a member of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations in Kurdistan…Mr. Bakhtiar Rahimi, a labour activist in Kurdistan…
In addition, many labour activists in Iran are under suspended sentences or await trials and are suspended or expelled from their workplace as the result of their labour activities, including many member of the Vahed Syndicate in Tehran as well as five leaders of the Syndicate of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company Workers’ Syndicate who were put on trial on December 20, 2008 and are now awaiting their verdict.
Therefore, I condemn all these arrests and repression of labour activists and organizations in Iran and demand the immediate and unconditional freedom of all incarcerated workers. I also ask the Iranian government to respect workers’ rights to organize, assemble and strike, put an end to persecution of labour activists and not to interfere in the affairs of independent workers’ organizations.
It would also be nice to hear words of this sort from the feckless leaders of the AFL-CIO, who keep whispering to me that they are actually doing a great deal to help their brothers and sisters in Iran. They’re doing it privately, you see. But this is the same failed tactic used for so long by the cowardly Western organizations who shrank from publicly denouncing the Kremlin during the Cold War, on the specious grounds that calling attention to the Communists’ crimes would only make things worse for Soviet dissidents. We subsequently learned, from the dissidents, that the truth was just the opposite. The dissident movement only gained real strength when President Reagan and Secretary Schultz openly and repeatedly demanded respect for the human rights of Soviet democrats. There is every reason to believe a serious human rights campaign in support of the Iranian dissidents would have similar results.
A serious human rights campaign would not stop with Iranian workers, but would support all Iranians at the mercies of the arbitrary repression of their regime. Above all, Iranian women need our support. Their names have to be heard, their plight needs to be dramatized, and their freedom must be defended. Condoleezza Rice was the perfect person to lead this campaign, but she abandoned her Iranian sisters. Barack Obama has similar credentials, and Hillary Clinton would seem a natural in this role.
It’s a hell of a lot better than turning loose our failed spooks in the search for Iranian moderates.
Great article. I don’t know what is it with U.S. administrations.What is it they don’t understand? The mullahs successfully have deceived every administration with mixed signals and messages by middle men while pursuing Nukes and the proliferation of arms and missiles to Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas and at the same time arming Shiites in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Guards’ Quds force leadership is in contact with Al Qaeda and have done joint terrorist activities such as the Khobar Towers bombing and events in Yemen. The West must understand after 30 years that there won’t be a Gorbachev in Iran,the mullahs who rule Iran will bury him if there ever is one in the hole of Jamkaran where the 12th Imam is said to be in hiding.No ONE INDIVIDUAL can change things in Iran cause its run by a shura.Are we really brain dead! And then you have the mullah’s lobbyist who call America the great Satan when they visit Iran but have full access to the State Department and fund campaigns of certain politicians!
Nice video with Michael Yon on PJTV.
The key to winning in Afghanistan is opium. The easiest way to get a win is to legalize the stuff and drive the price down to the price of celery juice. BTW George Schultz agrees with me about the futility of drug prohibition.
In any case if we don’t jettison the drug war soon we will have an Afghanistan South to worry about. Mexico.
The NIDA says Addiction Is A Genetic Disease. I don’t know how you fix genetics with police and armies. I’m willing to learn.
It would be more useful if instead of worrying over proper nomenclature, we used neutrons to decapitate the regime in Tehran.
1} Decapitate the regime via neutrons.
2} In the ensuing confusion, insert ground elements to properly secure Tehran’s Manhattan project, and to seize control of the vast archives in terror and carnage in Tehran.
3} During the power struggle that will rapidly follow, pick and choose winners, which to support with Special Forces, while simultaneously picking and choosing losers, who we pound from the air.
Result: REGIME CHANGE. And think too of the karmic nature of how that regime was “changed.”
“Condoleezza Rice was the perfect person to lead this campaign, but she abandoned her Iranian sisters. Barack Obama has similar credentials, and Hillary Clinton would seem a natural in this role.”
Our politically correct culture contends that race always trumps gender. The fact that the Iranian mullahs possess dark skin is of much greater importance than the abuse of women. By the way, this is the number one reason why Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama in the primaries. It’s almost all about race guilt.
Dan wants to do a Nixon with the clean neutron bomb? What’s the half-life of radiation from one of those? Lead suits for #2.
M Simon sounds as if he has an alterior motive.
Are the Mullahs going to want to become friends? Maybe fair weather ones. Reminds me of the Planet of the Apes. President Obama will be “bright eyes” in Iran with the Mullahs.
“What have you done to Hillary’s brain?!”
“It’s a madhouse!”
And we all know how it ends. It was Dan.
I’ve been talking to my friend for a while now. Yes he’s an Iranian and lives in Tehran. He spent two years in Canton Central because his mom is an American Jew and wanted to see America first hand.
I talk to him quite a bit and all he can say is how the Mullahs just don’t understand the people of Iran. When the Theocracy says something like this everyone their simply sigh, roll their eyes and walk on.
Obama has the makings of a good Dhimmi.
What a fantastic idea. It could be a foil to the “poor Palestinian” meme of the moment.
I LIKE IT!
“Iranian dissidents — especially women — are waiting for Obama and Hillary to speak out and support them.”
—That will be a very VERY long wait.
The past is prologue. It has been used in other circumstances, and it fits here.
Michael Ledeen would make a great UN Ambassador for the USA! Alas, now that the ‘smart’ people are running this country. I am sure that we won’t have to worry about Iran or Terrorist any longer.
Faster Puhleese….I can relate to Neutron Dan’s solution to the problem, better than 4 years of Barry and Hellary mishmash of diplomacy.
uh oh, got my post with links swallowed !!!
anyway, in résumé, the whole thing is a “Hide-and-seek” game since Brezinski opened the pendora box 3 decades ago, that, may-be, Israel, while not “being” aware of the underground “tricks” of the successive US administrations in ME (Bolton, same agenda), will have to pay the consequences in the next years, I am afraid
Iranian women are waiting for “the one” to help them? I hope they aren’t holding their breath.
No, Obama won’t support them.
Obamble is gonna throw these maniacs a new life line. This is so irresponsible and stupid. Pres Bush should have helped overthrow these mad Mullahs back in 2003-2004 period when he was freaking so popular inside of Iran for the liberation of Iraq & Afghanistan.
I wonder what Obambi will say when the Israelis raid the nuke facilities in Iran. You can be sure that Israel won’t wait to be snuffed simply because someone else’s president has the mind of a flea.
Obama as the chance to be a very transformational figure geopolitically. Sadly, his Carter-like pacifism and Baker-like realpolitik will ensure he’ll miss these golden opportunities. By 2010-’11, we’ll know for sure how the rest of his first term (and second?) will play out, in terms of foreign policy.
It’s almost like you can see the scenario unfold months and years ahead of it happening: Obama will end up appeasing Iran (although he’ll put it under the guise of “tough diplomacy”), Iran will continue to wage war on us and go after the bomb, and a year or two or three from now, Bibi Netanyahu will be forced to make the toughest decision any Israeli PM has ever had to make. I think you all know what that means.
Hiliary would if the price is right. Hell, most of our government would if the price is right.
Sell outs!
Obama’s only constituency is the international media, academic, entertainment and to some extent corporate elite: his arrogance, narcissism, shallowness and disregard for views not originating in his “circle” mirrors that constituency perfectly. He will always attend to their needs and self-image, and to nobody else’s.
“Obamble is gonna throw these maniacs a new life line. This is so irresponsible and stupid. Pres Bush should have helped overthrow these mad Mullahs back in 2003-2004 period when he was freaking so popular inside of Iran for the liberation of Iraq & Afghanistan”
-
Please Winston, you know better than that. Bush barely had enough support to win in Iraq. It’s almost impossible for a democracy to fight any kind of wars except existential wars or lopsided ones that are quickly over like the U.S/ Granada engagement.
“By 2010-’11, we’ll know for sure how the rest of his first term (and second?) will play out, in terms of foreign policy.”
—
We know now. Against their advice he’s ordered Gates and the Joint Chiefs to draw up plans to withdraw from Iraq in 16 months.
“Iranian women are waiting for “the one” to help them? I hope they aren’t holding their breath.”
I think we should leave this fight to the feminists here in the west. They are always up for a good fight.
Hillary and Obama never mentioned “iranian women;s struggle” during their campaign, so why should they care about them now?
The funny thing is the only politician running, during the campaign, who raised “Iranian women struggle” was Sarah Palin. Believe it or not!
Every-time Hillary visited Southern California, the Iranian group that raised funds for her were strong proponents of direct dialogue with Mullahs so they can make more millions. So, she has to pay them back.
I see Obama’s Middle Eastern views the way Carter’s was. Obama does not mind dealing with dictators and Mullahs’ regime as long as they behave nicely on the surface. The hell with human rights and majority of population over there.
The next Iranian revolution will be led by Iranian women with or without Obama’s help.
Check out this upcoming project. http://www.reelcontent.org/projects
The preoccupation with finding “moderates” is unmanly, in fact infantile and deeply embarrassing.
Confronted with people who passionately want us dead, we go looking for people who only moderately want us dead.
We could take them out cheap, hard and nasty in about 3 or 4 hours. Or we could do it much more delicately and expensively in about 3 or 4 weeks.
Either way, I can’t imagine what we are waiting around for.
The Persian people will get as much help from the Democrats in DC today as the South Vietnamese got from the Democrats in DC after the fall of Saigon.
The only thing Democrats care about less than the freedom of Americans is the freedom of foreigners. And they don’t like free Americans very much.
The Persians had better be thinking about doing this on their own. Besides, the world would respect them better for it.
Although, personally I don’t think they’ve got the stuff to pull it off.
OBAMA LIVING JIHAD FAIRY TALE
Dear Mr. President: there is a huge difference between the Islamic faithful and jihadist murderers.
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/01/jihadists-1-obama-0.html
When Ledeen says “they’ve called for the assassination of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak,” the term “they” refers back to Iran’s mullahs. I have not heard that Iran’s mullahs have called for Mubarak’s assasination, so I tried looking it up.
The only report I found about an Iranian group calling for Mubarak’s assasination was made by the NCRI here:
ncr-iran.org/content/view/5948/1/
The group who supposedly made the call to assasinate Mubarak is called the “Guardians of Martyrs’ Blood”, and Mr Ledeen’s claim that the Iranian Mullah’s had something to do with it are false. The “Guardians of Martyrs’ Blood” has never been heard of anywhere ever before this supposed incident. The NCRI, who reported this, is a classified as a foreign terrorist organization by the US. Iran denies that this story has anything to do with their government:
english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8710221567
In summary:
A terrorist organization claims that a previously unknown group with the hilarious name of “Guardians of Martyrs’ Blood” has called for Mubarak’s assasination. Mr. Ledeen then claims that it was really the Iranian Mullah’s who made the call for the assasination.
“[Iran's Mullah's] called for the assassination of…Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, and Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni”
As for Iran’s Mullah’s calling for the assasination of Abdullah, I cannot find a report of this anywhere, even from terrorist rganizations. Regardind the Iranian Mullah’s calling for the assasination of Livni, that report comes from MEMRI:
memritv.org/clip/en/1986.htm?auth=25a76ebbeee72e214eb5fbd270738408
In the speech, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said about Livni:
“Every time I see that woman’s face, I wish somebody would waste a bullet on her.”
I had a Persian speaking coworker listen to the speech, and, surprisingly, the above quote is accurate! Wow. The statment, however, was an expression of disgust, and was not a serious call for her assasination.
“There are certainly Iranians who disagree with the official doctrine that is best summarized in the street chant we see so often on the evening news: ‘Death to America.’”
It’s a good thing civilized countries don’t do things like this:
“When the leader of Israel’s religious-Zionist Meimad Party recently addressed a meeting of 800 high-school students in a Tel Aviv suburb, his words on the virtue of Israeli democracy for all its citizens were drowned out by student chants of ‘Death to the Arabs.’”:
theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090126.wisrael26/BNStory/International/home
“No Hillary and Obama won’t neither will Hollywood or NOW.”
Amazing isn’t it–500 women running for office in Iraq and people clain there have been no gains. Iran cannot claim this kind of women’s rights for sure. At this point I have very little more hope for us than the Arab nations. Time for NOW and Code Pink to get behind the women of the east. They are ready. A little pressure on the Saudis wouldn’t be amiss, tho’ it may not do any good. Slamming Republicans should not be their ony jobs. (NOW And Code Pink.)
As long as women continue to accept the shackles of the Sons of Allah, they will continue to get away with what they have gotten away with.
Listening, and material support would go a long way in achieving this goal.
Dave 742,
Keep checking your sources, I’m sure they are not complete. They are interesting. In the mean time quit sounding like a Moslem apologist.
Oscar:
“In the mean time quit sounding like a Moslem apologist.”
Regarding my message nuber 28: Here is an anology corresponding the the issue I brought up:
Let’s say there was a domestic terrorist group whose goal was the violent overthrow of the US government. A much more violent and formidable version of the Weathermen. Let’s say that this “weathermen” group had a website, and on it they ran a story claiming that the US government announced that it is offering a reward for the assasination of Arab leaders. People in Arabic countries relay this story to the public, but in their version they leave out the part that the story originated with a US terrorist group, and simply report that the US government announced that it will give a reward for the assasination of Arab leaders. The US government denies the story, but the Arab public believes it. In this situation, would you object to the fact that the Arab public would believe a story that originated from a US terrorist group that seeks the overthrow of the US government? If you were to point out this fact, would you be a US “apologist”? Or would you be someone that values the truth?
Iran is very rich country in the region, but its people are very very poor!!! 80 percent are living under poverty line. Just recently, 3 men committed suicide, 2 ablaze themselves out side mullahs’ Majlis and Ahmadinejad’s office, 1 man who was a worker throw himself down from 8th floor. Is these sad for a rich country?? With so many oils and wealth!!How the wealth of Iranian is being spended? Mullahs are making nuclear bomb, exporting terrorism, making oil deal so the European governments would continue their appeasement policy with mullahs and against the right of Iranian people.
I am sorry that US has not realized yet, that negotiation and appeasement policy is a poison policy for the mullahs and if they delay to stop these evils … then the time would come that mullahs have got the atomic bombs and world can’t do any thing about it.
U.S. is making a delay for stopping these mullahs….. Hilary Clinton and Obama better stop asking mullahs to negotiate with them…
We the Iranian youth have learned and believe that what ever mullahs and their forces say to our people is upside – down! We know that when they say State Security Forces, that is the most dangerous forces to be avoided, when they say we want to enrolled people for helping brother nation Palestinians and Iraqis, … we are sure they are trying to make and plan another disaster for them in the region.
How is it that mullahs and their henchmen are after the rights of people of Gaza but abuse the rights of 80 million people of Iran every second and moment!!!
Hope Obama would understand that he can not find any one to negotiate with in mullahs’ government, 30 years these policies have been checked, and it is the time to stop the mullahs and their atomic bombs without any appeasement. Khatami, Khamenie, Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad, all of them are the same, dictator all the mullahs together must be overthrown so our people and specially the women get free.
I agree with Ahmad comment that everything the mullahs and their forces say is upside – down remember “Sardar Zarei” who was the head of moral police for “immoral women”, and he was arrested in naked in a corrupt house with five naked women!!!!!!!
We are very happy that NCRI and PMOI were removed from the injustice terror list of EU which was due to appeasement policy. That was a victory of justice to terrorist government of Iran. This policy is against the rights of all Iranians people and not just its fair resistance. And we hope that Obama would not continue this appeasement policy with mullahs again and let the people of Iran get ride of all of these inhuman mullahs!!!
The next Iranian revolution will be led by Iranian women. I agree with that, since the most pressure are on women right now in Iran. Therefore, the first ones who are after overthrowing of mullahs are the women in Iran who have been most suppressive during 30 years.
I wanted to thank you Mr. Michael Ledeen, for this great article, to make public awareness about mullahs and their terrorist actions around the world. I really respect such writers like you who write the reality and the truth and give us a chance to express ourselves which we are not able to do it in our country, Iran, under mullahs.