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April 2, 2008 at 13:45:41
by larry beinhart Page 1 of 3 page(s) |
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THE ROAD TO ESFAHAN I'm in Shiraz, on the way to Esfahan. It's good to get out of gray, smoggy Tehran, one of the least photogenic cities in the world, where black is the new black, from the hejabs on down. My personal reaction is, this is how writers should always be treated.
One of the attractions of Shiraz is the tomb of Hafez, a Persian poet from the 14th Century. It's thronged at night. Iranians bring flowers, then stand or kneel beside the sarcophagous and recite his poems.
Iranians are among the most gracious and hospitable people I've ever met.
The question, of course, is whether we should bomb these people?
In America today, we tend to see things in Manichaean terms. That is, we divide things into absolute opposites, light and dark, good and evil, us and them.
We could, if we went back far enough, blame that on them. The word Manichaean refers to the Persian prophet Mani (from around 250 AD). The whole notion of good and evil, with man in the middle, having to make a choice, then rewarded and condemned in an after life, goes back to an even earlier Persian prophet, Zoroaster, from around 1,000 BC. Those ideas entered Judaism during the Babylonian exile and the liberation of the Jews by Cyrus the Great of Persia, and from there, into Christianity.
There are still Zoroastrians and Jews in modern day Persia, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
These are people with a rich and varied history. A very humanistic history.
The question is, why should we bomb these people?
The answer is that they are part of the Axis of Evil!
Iranians are somewhat confused by that designation.
The United States was attacked on September 11, 2001 by a ragged group of conspirators called Al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, headquartered in Afghanistan, where they were protected and nurtured by the Taliban. The Taliban were, and are, fanatical, fundamentalist Sunnis. They're the ones who put women in burkhas, those full body coverings, and veils, required men to be bearded, banned all music, television, movies, photographs, statues, stuffed animals and dolls.
The Taliban came to power in 1996. They were supported by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
They were opposed by the Northern Alliance. The Northern Alliance was supported by Russia, India and, most of all, by Iran.
The United States was neutral from 1996 to 2001. After 9/11, we demanded that Afghanistan's Taliban government hand over Osama bin Laden. When they refused, we entered the war, primarily with air power, in support of the Northern Alliance.
"American links with the Northern Alliance were fragmentary … Afghan opposition groups [were] suspicious of the United States. Tehran's mediation proved essential … Iran also provided intelligence … agreed to rescue American pilots … allowed some 165,000 tons of US food aid to traverse its territory … [after the fighting] Iran was instrumental in crafting the interim Afghan government."
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| 3 comments |
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RE: Road to Esfahan
Once again, Mr. Beinhart, you've shown your wisdom and writing skills. If only every American could read your piece, and then act on it to stop this insane administration. You have given us yet another reason why they need to be impeached IMMEDIATELY. How long will we let this insanity go on? Can we last until we get a more sensible person in the White House? (and in the Congress, for that matter) by im4unity (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 54 comments) on Wednesday, Apr 2, 2008 at 8:11:48 PM
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Facts and fiction
Dear Larry, I don't know where you've been during the last year or two but the idea that 19 arabs attacked the USA is believed by very few and they only believe because they have very limited descerning skills. Perhaps you can explain how 3 towers fell in their own footprint when even the propaganda machines tell us only two aircraft hit the towers. Buildings which collapse as a result of a fierce fire could not possibly free fall, each floor would offer resistance before it collapsed, this is basic physics. by douglas kay (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 83 comments) on Wednesday, Apr 2, 2008 at 8:13:52 PM
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Facts and Fiction In The Land of Spin
Iranian people's unsurpassable hospitality based on a deep-rooted culture is a fact. Their inborn and fierce opposition to invasion and external agression is another fact. This article is admirable for its honesty towards a peaceful people that has never invaded another sovereign nation, and has never used pre-emptive force to grab land and steal oil . Some corrections, however, are called for in order to make it more palatable to Truthers gathered here. This is how parts of it should be read : ...the US was attacked on September 11, 2001, by a ragged group of conspirators called NeoCons, led by dick cheney, headquartered at the White House where they were protected by the forces of Zion. ...the Talibans came to power by the help of CIA. The US was never neutral. After 9/11 we demanded that Afghanistan's Taliban government resume opium production which had been brought to a halt. When they refused we attacked them. Thanks to us the economy is 100% opium-based today. ...the question is should we bomb them because thery resist Zio's project to rule the world...? by ramsheyi (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 793 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Apr 3, 2008 at 2:02:51 PM
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