praktike has been an Iran “posting”:http://americanfootprints.com/drupal/node/2359 “machine”:http://americanfootprints.com/drupal/node/2360 lately. Some really interesting stuff worth checking out if you are an interested party such as myself.
I particularly recommend “Iran & the Bomb”:http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18935 by one Christopher de Bellaigue, who according to prak:
bq. has lived in Tehran for many years as a correspondent for the _Economist_, has an Iranian wife, and has published a haunting memoir of his own time there called _In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs_.
The article is long, but gives some indepth background to the context of the nuclear issue with Iran. A choice quote on Iran’s pragmatism:
bq. The Iranians’ ability to behave with startling pragmatism was first displayed during the Iran-contra scandal of 1986, when they were found to be cooperating with their American enemies to buy arms from Israel, whose right to exist they contested. After the death three years later of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranians developed relations with Saudi Arabia, a kingdom that Khomeini himself had loathed. The Iranians also indicated that they would take no action to implement the death sentence that Khomeini had passed on Salman Rushdie. After the attacks on America of September 11, Iran provided valuable support for the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and for the new Afghan government.
I have previously contended that taking down Iran militarily would be extremely difficult. Iran is highly nationalistic, has its fair share of potential _kamikazes_, has a large military, and can cause some serious damage in Iraq if it wanted to. Not to mention the fact that most average Iranians back the regime on the nuclear issue, and view the West’s reaction as unwarranted antagonism.
In 2004 “I went to Iran”:http://www.cominganarchy.com/2004/12/23/iran-diary/ in the run-up to the Bush re-election, hoping not to get bombed. This summer there is a good chance I might go for research and language-training… I hope I don’t get bombed. This is turning into a very dubious pattern.
*UPDATE:* “More Iran”:http://zenpundit.blogspot.com/2006/04/stopping-iranian-bomb-wont-prevent.html from Zenpundit.
“…has an Iranian wife…”
There are few things I hate more than experts trying to puff-up their street cred by touting their marriage to a native. Notice how the two sentence blurbs always manage to squeeze in this fact. Perhaps I’m overreacting, but I’ve just wasted too much time with blowhards in the East Asia arena who have tried to one-up other people by saying, “Wel, my WIFE is Chinese/Korean/Japanese, and she says/that makes my opinion this much more important.” I’m sure Ms. de Bellaigue is glad to know why the marriage happened.
At this point what alternative is there to an extended bombing campaign?
The risks are very high, in Iraq and otherwise, yes. But I would say letting them continue on their merry way to nukedom would cost us much more.
I read his book two years ago, but have since found “The Soul Of Iran”, “Perisan Mirrors”, “Reading Lolita In Tehran” & “The Mantle Of The Prophet” to be better reads about contemporary Iran. The benefits of the reading suggestions by blogs like CA & ZenPundit….
Its even worse in the military, you can’t have a single intelligent conversation about Asia or any other region/country because somebody’s wife or girlfriend is from this country or that nation, or because they spent 4 days there on a port visit or a liberty stop and of course between whoring and drinking, they’re omnipresent, having seen and done it all.
Younghusband, are you fluent in Persian/Farsi now?
Eddie, not at all. About all I can do is haggle with a bazaari and order a specific number of kebabs. Oh, and I can point out hott chix (Persion: _nanaz_) to me mates.
I agree about the issue of using the girlfriend/wife as a “proof of expertise.”
A recent hobby of mine has been to visit easypersian.com, something I discovered by accident about two weeks ago. Its pleasantly diverting from the sickness of family members and the bullshit of work, to say the least. He makes learning the language seem so … well…. fun.
I hope your on-scene experience is of great benefit for you, and I pray that I (or anyone else in the Navy/military) don’t have to deploy to the waters around Iran to participate in a bombing campaign that would ruin you or anyone else’s visit. Its all up to the mullahs and their ilk unfortunately.
I can’t say I’ve learned all that much from my Korean wife about Korea, per se. Sure, she’s helped me to gain some idea of how some Koreans think and some understanding of her background, which was very low class, but in terms of politics or history or other things, she just doesn’t know all that much and some of it is influenced by dubious nationalist ideas and leftist teachers from her university days. I’ve learned alot of interesting details about daily life and such, but politics and geopolitics? Hah.
This can’t be a good sign: “Iran Asks Russia to Help Send Man Into Space”:http://mosnews.com/news/2006/04/11/iranspace.shtml
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Well, to read between the lines: War Drums above suspects that ComingAnarchy is waging a disinformation campaign to drum up public support for military action in Iran. Is CA merely repeating rumour or speculation, or is (CA’s post on Iran) a sounding of public opinion? Already, in Spain, there are those who have swallowed the (portrayal of Iran as dangerous) hook, line, and sinker, repeating the BS that the President of Iran is a new Hitler who must be stopped, etc.
Unstated, but implied in the post is the suspicion that CA is a cover for some devious yanqui intelligence agency.
You imperialist warmongering scum!
Guerras Posmodernas has discovered our iron grip on world public opinion, funded by the CIA, zionists, Swiss bankers, Japanese industrialists, and neocon media magnates. Foiled again!
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