At the end of this week’s podcast, the Sanity Squad briefly mentioned the election results in Iran, which were being counted and reported (preliminarily) even as we spoke. First the results showed a repudiation of Ahmadinejad, then new “results” seemed … Continue reading →
On the topic of James Baker and Lee Hamilton’s suggestion that we talk to Iran and Syria about helping us out in Iraq, I’d say a person would have to be either abysmally stupid, mindbogglingly ignorant, or stark raving mad … Continue reading →
It’s not just that I disagree with the “we need to talk with Iran” folks. It’s that they actually seem demented and deluded. Their suggestion makes no sense–or about as much sense as “talk with Hitler” would have made in … Continue reading →
[The follow-up second part of yesterday’s post on Vietnamization and Iraqization is coming soon. It was postponed for this one.] Assassinations are a dime a dozen in the Middle East. Lebanon, in particular, has seen quite a spate of them … Continue reading →
In honor of Oriana Fallaci, the fearless and uniquely outspoken correspondent who died yesterday in Florence Italy, I’m posting excerpts from her 1979 interview with Ayatollah Khomeini, which occurred not long after he came to power (these quotes appeared as … Continue reading →
When I was writing about the 1979 Iranian revolution I asked the following question: The Shah’s secret police–SAVAK, usually referred to with an adjective such as “dreaded” or “hated” before the acronym–was active in Iran to stifle those who would … Continue reading →
Last night I was talking to my fellow Sanity Squad members after taping this week’s podcast (no, it’s not online yet, but should be soon). The session you hear is usually just the tip of the iceberg for us. As … Continue reading →
Iran and Ahmadinejad have once again demonstrated the great and awesome power of the UN and their fear of its sanctions, in Iran’s continued defiance of the UN’s call for limitations on its nuclear program. Although Kofi Annan made a … Continue reading →
[Parts I and II.] For anyone who was alive at the time and old enough to pay attention to the news, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Jimmy Carter and the Iranian Revolution is the hostage … Continue reading →
[Part I of this series can be found here. Part III is here.] Shapour Bakhtiar took office as Prime Minister of Iran on Jan 6, 1979. He was appointed by the Shah in one of the latter’s final acts in … Continue reading →
One of my favorite verses from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (the Fitzgerald translation of the Persian original) is this: The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to … Continue reading →
France gives Iran quite the tonguelashing: Foreign Affairs Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy describes Iran’s refusal to halt its uranium enrichment program as “unsatisfactory”. “Unsatisfactory” is such a tepid way to describe what Iran is actually doing, which is to defy and … Continue reading →