Towards a global perspective . . .

The London Times online headline says Israel Stations Nuclear Missile Subs off Iran.   The article says that the subs have already spent time in the region, but a “decision has now been taken to insure the presence of at least one of the subs.” The New York Times headline says U.N. Says Iran Has Fuel for Two Nuclear Weapons.  They go on to say that “Iran has now produced a stockpile of nuclear fuel that experts say would be enough, with further enrichment, to build 2 nuclear bombs. ” What does that mean?   Iran has had the same amount of nuclear materials from the start.   It has taken them 10 years to enrich it to to 3%.   To be used in a bomb, it has to be enriched to 95%.   With relation to Iran, The NY Times is constantly trying to find a way to make newsworthy the absence of news.

But, there is some real news and the world press is reporting it: Read the rest of this entry »

According to Eurasianet.org, Tbilisi is wooing Tehran.    Georgian President Saakashvili is now making overtures to Iran.   They have mutually waived the need for visas and initiated programs to increase their interstate trade and tourism.  Iran is investing in Georgia.  Read the rest of this entry »

It has been brought up that I might seem to be advocating for Kurdish independence from Iran.  That was not my point.  I  support civil rights for the Kurds in Iran and everyone else there as well.   But my point was that the Kurds have been disenfranchised within the ‘modern’ countries where they reside, and that the European colonialists, by alternately supporting their quest for civil rights, and sovereignty, then opposing them at their convenience and for the furtherance of their own purposes, has seriously aggravated the problem.

The situation of the Kurds in Iraq is, I think, very fragile at present.  The convenience to the US of their independence is passing.  Yet they have used it well over the last 10 years, and it would be a good thing if they were rewarded for their success.  For them to become, at least, a self governed, federalist state of Iraq and be free to continue their progress would be good for the Kurds and good for Iraq.   They have much recent experience in developing a working state infrastructure to share.   And, their assertion of self direction and self government would be a safety valve of sorts for all of the Kurds in the region.  Of course this would only be true if the Kurds possessed the freedom in the countries where they reside to speak their language and and express their ethnicity without fear of reprisal.

This is my response to the previous entry, a poetic description of the conditions under which many Kurds live, and have lived for the last century.   The letter was posted on Facebook by a friend of the author, a Kurdish dissident in Iran, who was recently executed after about 5 years on death row in Iran’s notorious Evan Prison. The Kurds have many sad stories.  The story below is similar to other stories the Kurds tell.  And the ending is consistent as well, with the Kurdish experience.  The Peshmerga, the Kurdish militia, are “those who don’t fear death.”

I spent some time in Kurdish Iraq last summer.  They are doing pretty well there right now.  But, they have terrible stories to tell and their suffering continues in their feelings for lost relatives and friends and homes. Across the northern mountainous region of the Middle East and Persia, the Kurds are, and have been persecuted and disenfranchised for a hundred years and more.   Read the rest of this entry »

One of the 5 individuals recently executed in Iran was Farzad Kamanghar, a Kurdish school teacher and poet from Northern Iran.   I don’t know what specific deed he was accused of.   His lawyer says he had a perfunctory trial, with no evidence and no time for presenting a defense.   The others were involved in various bombings in Iran, but it appears likely the crimes Mamostay Kamanghar were more crimes of thought and communication.  It’s a sad world when encouraging young people to learn their ethnic heritage and to fight for the right to assert it is a crime.  Perhaps, Kak Kamanghar did more than that.  We can never know, and in light of following, I’m not sure it matters.

Below is a translation of a letter written from prison to a friend by Farzad Kamanghar, generously posted on Facebook by the recipient.  Whatever he may or may not have done, the heart breaking context he describes with such eloquence is the legacy of the Kurds, not only in Iran, but in Iraq, Turkey and Syria; not only in the present, but through more than a hundred years of  oppression, rejection and cultural annihilation.

*************************************************** Read the rest of this entry »

Some very interesting thinking on Iran has surfaced through this past week.   Robert Gate’s leaked memo has created a new opening for discussion of Iran policy in some significant circles.   I was starting to write a little piece based on an article by Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, posted on Politico Blog earlier this week, called The Slippery Slope to Strikes on Iran, where they say that they agree with Gates general analysis, but they disagree with his conclusion because they think that ‘containment’ is a ‘slippery slope’ that could easily lead to a military encounter.   They also quote Dennis Ross, Senior Adviser to the Obama Administration on Iran, as telling them before Obama took office, that he was assuming with regard to Iran,  that a little negotiation would prepare the way for a likely military military strike, which they believe would be a devastating mistake.   I wondered as I read this why Dennis Ross is in the White House and Flynt Leverett is at the New America Foundation.

Meanwhile, NIAC (National Iranian American Council) has come out in support of Keith Ellison’s Stand with the Iranian People Act, which suggests that restrictions on interactions between Iranian and American people should be eased (I whole heartedly agree), and that sanctions should target human rights violators rather than the people as a whole.   Read the rest of this entry »

I just want to mention this interview with Robert Blake, by Narayan Lakshman that I found on the Op/Ed page of the online version of The Hindu, the 2nd largest English language newspaper in India.  Blake is Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia       I’m thinking this piece might be the answer the question “What are some issues that educated Indian Citizens would like to ask about American policy in Central and South Asia?“  I suppose it will also shed some light on how the State Department would respond to those questions.

I was a little surprised by the very first question, though the answer is a blow off.  The interviewer asks about Indian workers in the US having to pay Social Security taxes.  Read the rest of this entry »

When I say that we, the U.S., should be talking to Iran and criticizing the recent human rights violations by the somewhat embattled government, I don’t mean that the US, or the West in general, should support the opposition directly.  When we support the opposition, we hurt them.  On the one hand, our support undermines their credibility; on the other, they don’t need us.   This is their fight.  As I said in my previous post, most of us aren’t even clear on what their goal is.   When we call the government on their brutal tactics and violations of human rights since the election, we are undermining the credibility of the government.  Iran has consistently pleaded their alignment with international law.  Read the rest of this entry »

The New York Times ran a front page article a week ago with the headline “Iran Shielding Its Nuclear Efforts in Underground Tunnels“, and accompanied by a bizarre PR photo of Iranian President Ahmadinejad accompanied by other men in suits, in a [highway] tunnel wearing hard-hats.     The picture looks like an ad for a Broadway play and the article reads like the storyboard for a political thriller.    The article not only presents currently disputed ‘facts’ and without a shred of evidence, it turns the one underground facility about which we were notified [by the Iranian Government], which so far has not been furnished with contents,  into a vast underground labyrinth full with a busily humming nuclear weapons program.   But, as if that isn’t good enough, the article goes into the past and raises all sorts of long ago debunked [by the IAEA and an NIE reported in late 2007] allegations about Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program 2003 and 2004.

Unfortunately, they are not alone.  Gareth Porter’s latest piece on IPS,  New Revelations Tear Holes in Nuclear Trigger Story, is the result of a detailed examination of evidence presented in a London Times article from mid December that claimed to have a leaked copy of an original document proving that Iran is working on a nuclear trigger mechanism.  Read the rest of this entry »

I could have written more.  I should have written sooner.  But, here’s something now.

——————————————————————————————————-

Pakistan
The Pakistani army has balked at attacking yet another province.   Apparently, they don’t really want to wipe out the man who connects them with the Taliban.  With more than 2 million internal refugees created so far by doing America’s bidding, perhaps they are getting tired of destroying their own country.  The Kerry Luger bribe might not be enough to cover it.  The US has told the Pakistani Army, either clean up (attack) Quetta or we’ll send in the drones.  The message hasn’t been well received.   Apparently,  American Diplomats in Pakistan are being harassed, and there is resentment and even hostility towards their US benefactors in the Pakistani military. *

Meanwhile, Pakistani President Zardari has suggested that the membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization could help with their counter-terrorism campaign.**  Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani has also requested membership in the SCO for Pakistan and reached out to them with a vision of  “shared peace”.  ***  He is working hard to solidify alliances and trade agreements with the neighboring ‘Stans’ who comprise the core membership in the SCO along with Russia and China.   I don’t think they can join while there is a perception that America controls their military actions.   Even so, while the US operates with lump sums (big ones), the Chinese and Russians are doing an increasing amount of business on the ground in Pakistan.

——————————————————————————————————-

Afghanistan
President Obama has announced an expanded commitment to the ‘war’ in Afghanistan, committing 30K more troops in addition to the 20K troops he OK’d earlier this year.  The Generals say that we need even more troops.  And the Generals concede that there are only 100 Al Qaeda operatives on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.  So what gives?  If this is the best ‘Jobs Program’ Obama can come up with, we have a serious problem.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have reached out to the SCO for support as well.  They promised not to mess with their neighbors.  They just want their country back. ****   Kyrgyzstan, an Afghan neighbor and full member of the SCO,  is looking into trading some of it’s national debt for assisting in Afghanistan. *****   I’d say China is teaching it’s children well.

————————————————————————————————————–

Yemen
The Yemeni government is fighting a civil war on two different fronts.  The Yemeni Government blames the Iranians and accuses them of arming the ‘insurgents’, but there is no confirmation for their accusation, and it’s an easy out for them to blame the Iranians for any failures they have.******   The Saudi’s have joined in the war on the Northern front, enthusiastically bombing Yemeni towns. *******  Now, the US has now engaged in Yemen.   It is rumored that a couple of recent strikes on Al Qaeda were perpetrated by Americans.   The Yemeni government insists that they are responsible, and you might say that’s true, whether their men our ours physically launched the missiles.  Certainly that’s how the Yemeni people feel.  And they aren’t very happy about it either.

A significant Al Qaeda operative was the target of one of the strikes, but he escaped though while ‘terrorists’ were apprehended and killed.   The other strike killed at least 30  civilians including women and children, causing significant upset in the population.   Could you call the murder of 10 civilians with Hellfire missiles ‘terrorism’?  What ever happened to police actions.  Now, it’s all armies.

The Yemeni-American preacher who had been in contact with the soldier who recently killed 13 people on a killing spree at fort Hood was rumored to have been at both sites.     Since he has repeatedly denied any connection with Al Qaeda (unusual for Al Qaeda suspects not in custody), it seems unlikely he would be hanging out with their leadership.    It seems he might have been the target of the second strike, which killed the women and children, and which may have be conducted by Americans.

If they wanted him for conspiracy or as an accomplice to the crime, one would think they could just ask the Yemeni government to pick him up and extradite him. . . . .  perhaps secretly, as in rendition, if there’s a public relations problem.   I’m not advocating the latter.  In fact, I’m not sure this guy would be convicted if given a fair trial.   But it would certainly be better than killing 30 innocent people with Hellfire missiles.

By the way, when did our war on Yemen begin?  Was it the reference in Obama’s Afghanistan speech?   Kind of like Bush’s references to the Axis of Evil?  Obama doesn’t even need to use hyperbolic language.  He just mentions a country, and that’s enough.   Of course, the Saudi’s were already there, softening things up.

I just watched Joe Lieberman on Democracy Now! (yes, it’s Monday) say that if we don’t act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow’s war.”  I’d say it’s a done deal.   Guess that answers the question as to whether we were on the scene in those recent strikes.   +

————————————————————————————————————-

Iran
The voices for change in Iran will not be silenced by brutality.  Ayatollah Montazeri, the rightful heir to Khomeini died this week.   He would have preferred a more muted role for the Welayat Faqih and for the clergy in the Islamic Republic.   I suppose it’s a waste of time to consider the ‘path not taken’ at this point.   Montazeri has been supporting the dissidents who have been in the streets repeatedly since the June election which the opposition claimed was fraudulent.  With his death so close to Ashura, renewed protests are assured.

Ashura falls on today, December 27th.   This is the day of atonement for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet’s grandson.   This is the most important Shi’ite holiday, when many people are in the streets.   Not surprisingly, there have been clashes between protesters and the police.   According to Al Jazeera, 5 protesters have died, including Mir Hossein Mousavi’s nephew, who is rumored to have been shot.  The Iranian police say that some of these people died in a car accident, and only one was killed by a bullet,but they don’t know how this happened, because the police weren’t using bullets.++   I don’t think that’s going to fly at this point.   On Democracy Now! this morning, Hadi Ghaemi said Mousavi’s murder was reportedly an assassination.  He was shot point blank.The chief of Police in Tehran said that 300 demonstrators were arrested Sunday.

In the US, Sanctions have once again been passed by Congress.  They are unilateral as China and Russia are critical of the use of sanctions to limit Iran’s nuclear program, and will not support them in the Security Council.  The US can enforce them by penalizing other countries that trade with Iran, not Russia and China, of course.  No, we can only penalize our friends.

————————————————————————————————–

Palestine
Egypt is blocking the Viva Palestina Convoy, an International initiative to bring material assistance and moral support to Gaza from entering.  Of course, Israel isn’t a possible alternative point of entry.  Their vindictive and racist agenda is not open to question or debate.   Israel has allowed little in the way of building materials into Gaza since they bombed it to rubble a year ago.  There is little water and minimal food for survival.   Few are allowed out for medical care and medical supplies are inadequate within.   There is no fuel for cooking and heating.  Now Israel is building an underground wall to block the tunnels in Rafah that provide the inhabitants of Gaza with what little they have.  Then what?

————————————————————————————————————

Israel
The deal to free Gilad Shalit from Hamas is slowly progressing.   The deal would have Israel trade 1000 prisoners for Shalit.   A significant portion of the Israeli public is not just in favor of the trade, but insistent on it.    They say there are a few Palestinian prisoners with ‘Israeli blood on their hands’ who are being disputed.   100 or 150 of the prisoner’s will be released only on the condition that they are barred from Palestine.   Last I heard, Marwan Barghouti is among those likely to be released, though his brother Abdullah is one of the handful who are likely to be rejected.   +++

Marwan is the interesting brother, though.  He’s a Fatah hero who ran for President of Palestine from prison in 2006.   Surely he will be on good terms with Hamas if they can free him along with 1000 others from Israeli prisons.  Seems like he might be just what the Dr. has ordered for Palestine.  A man who with good connections to both Fatah and Hamas, a man who is popular with the people, a revolutionary hero with political ambitions.   Perhaps the Israeli apartheid is finding it’s Nelson Mandela.

———————————————————————————————————-

Lebanon
Ha’aretz says US President Obama has suggested to the new Lebanese government that they should ‘crack down’ on Hezbollah ‘arms smuggling’.    It seems that he missed the point that the new government has integrated the Opposition, of which Hezbollah is a significant member, and passed a law to legitimize Hezbollah as a  necessary part of their defense infrastructure.   In that case, I’m not sure you can call it smuggling.  In the same article, they say refer, once again, to the pirate arms shipment from Iran that it supposedly confiscated last month. ++++     [see next post]

—————————————————————————————————-

The Kurds

There’s more violence in Kirkuk and Mosul.   I’ve been reading about the runup to the Iraq war, and the Kurds were in it up to their eyeballs.  Who can blame them, after the horrific abuse they have suffered from Sadam.  However, from an objective standpoint, it seems like the US could have supported them without destroying the rest of Iraq.  Even now, the contention over Kirkuk is complicated, but there is a paragraph in the constitution that says exactly how to handle it.  But, the Iraqi government isn’t willing to implement it.   The International Crisis Group says it could spark a civil war in Iraq to do so.

What could this awful ruling be?   Article 140 says that they will take a census in Kirkuk and have a referendum there to decide whether or not it is part of Kurdistan.  Since  Kurdistan is part of Iraq and, for now, no one is disputing that, it seems like a fair solution.  Maybe the loser will be upset, but as in any democratic action, the winner will have a measure of truth on their side.   On the other hand, not following through has Kurds once again talking about independence.

—————————————————————————————————————–

The United States
Looks like ‘Conservative Democrats’ are urging Obama to shelve Climate Change and work on a much needed Jobs Bill instead.  I bet they can’t pat their heads and rub their bellies at the same time either.

• *              New York Times
• **            Pakistani Associate Press
• ***          The Nation
• ****        Pakistani Defense Forum, Global Military News, Xinhua
• *****      Central Asia News, Ferghana, RU
• ******    Glenn Greenwald interview with Gregory Johnson
• *******  Al Arabia News
• +               Democracy Now!  Headlines.
• ++            Al Jazeera
• +++         IBA, Jerusalem; Ha’aretz
• ++++      Ha’aretz