Iraq-Afghanistan war

...and the winner is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

Read one of the many stories how these counteries have come together here.

Read the story of Iraq-Iran ties
here.

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Benjamin Netanyahu, Muammar Gaddafi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

I think all these clowns from the Middle East should be treated equally. Yes Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. In order to achieve that Israel must get rid of its nuclear arsenal which, according to former President Carter, consists of over 100 nuclear warheads. As long as Israel has nuclear arms, the nuclear arms race will continue in the Middle East. We cannot ask one party to disarm while arming the other to the teeth.

Right now the situation in the Indo-Pak sub-continent is very dangerous. Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons. After the botched invasion of Afghanistan, the neighbouring country of Pakistan has been destabilized hence making the situation very dangerous in the region. Should the world powers not pay attention to that too?

Right now all the pressure is on Iran and this kind of one-sided approach may backfire.

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Stephen Harper: Is he insecure?

Whatever you may think of other world leaders such as Gadaffi of Libya or Ahmadinejad of Iran, they do not shy away from the world stage to express their views. It looks that Harper is afraid of other world leaders and does not feel secure in their presence. First he did not show up for the global warming discussion at the UN saying that Obama spoke for Canada too. Instead he was having lunch with the mayor of New York.

Then when Obama spoke again to the UN on world issues, Harper ran to Toronto to help himself with some donuts at Tim Hortons. This time using the excuse that he was boycotting Ahmadinejad's speech. Okay, but he could have stayed for Obama's speech to show some solidarity with the US and give Canada some visibility at the international level. Apparently he has some serious issues being with other world leaders. Looks like an insecurity complex.

Obama has indicated time and again that he wants to actually have a dialogue with Iran on various issues including nuclear weapons proliferation. So where is Harper on that?

Now Gadaffi is stopping over in Canada, in Newfoundland. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon, is going all the way to Newfoundland to greet him there – that black oil is so sweet. Excuse being used is that the Minister wants to reprimand him for the welcome Libya gave to Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, the alleged Lockerbie bomber. Yeah right. Gadaffi's views on Israel and Middle East are not much different than that of Ahmadinejad. Why does the Harper government not do the same with the President of Iran – talk to him and reprimand him on his views.

Harper seems to have too many problems nationally and his continued anemic performance on the international level should be a source of great concern for all Canadians.

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Is Wolf Blitzer under cover in the U.S? ;)

He does not much care for Ahmadinejad of Iran but leaves the impression that he is sympathetic to Mousavi who was a candidate for the Presidency of Iran in the bitterly fought election of this year.

Is Blitzer actually an Ayatollah and living under cover in the U.S? Because some Ayatollahs are sympathetic to Mousavi ;)

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Iran: Promoters of Reform and Change

It is deplorable what is happening in Iran. Whether it is the supporters of Ahmadinejad or Rafsanjani doing the killing, it is nonetheless reprehensible. I say Rafsanjani as he the major player in all this. However, is it really about reform and change? Let us look at some of the promoters of this "reform and change."

John McCain: The same John McCain who sang "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran." If he had won the election he would have either carried out his intentions or given the go ahead to Netanyahu of Israel to do it.

Lindsey Graham: He is a constant spokesperson for Repugs saying how meek Obama is and that the US must support the demonstrators for change and reform in Iran. Another neo-con. Does he really have Iran's interest in mind? Also he was the guy in the inner circle of McCain during the election.

Nicholas Sarkozy of France: Here is another neo-con. He quickly replaced Britain's Tony Blair as the poodle of George W. Bush and came to the US to pay homage to his American Idol Bush. Bush was saber rattling against Iran before he left Whitehouse. Is Bush's poodle Sarkozy a reliable advocate for reform and change in Iran.

Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel: The man who very much wanted to bomb Iran but did not get the green light from the Obama Whitehouse to do it. Is he an authentic spokesperson for change in Iran? Since he could not bomb Iran is it possible that he sent his Mossad agents into Iran to stir up trouble?

Rafsanjani: He is the major player in the current turmoil in Iran. He is the guy who is pulling the strings of Mousavi. A very powerful man in Iran however he lost the elections to Ahmadinejad in 2005 and is a pretty sore loser. Him and Ahmadinejad do not get along.

It is these kinds of supporters which makes one wonder if the current struggle in Iran is for change or just a struggle between religious hardliners using the general public as pawns. Maybe in the future some leader will come along who is truly for change and only then can one expect genuine change in Iran.

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Iran, Rafsanjani, Mousavi and turmoil

Rafsanjani

Right from the beginning I had my serious doubts about Faux News's reporting on Iran and about CNN's Wolf Blitzer going on non-stop about a reformist move in Iran and then kind of gloating about it. I stopped watching CNN during the Iraq invasion as it had become a propaganda organ for the Bush administration. Right from the beginning there was something not right about the Iraq war and it became obvious as time went by. I did not watch CNN for a few years to come and only started watching it again during the last Presidential election.

Rafsanjani and Mousavi reformists? I kept thinking, how could that be? Rafsanjani was president in the 1990s and very much a part of the Ayotollah establishment and ideology and of course Mousavi was Prime Minister from 1981 to 1989 under Ayotollah Khomeini. It is apparent that there is something more to it. It is a struggle for power between the hardliners and unfortunately young people are being used as pawns to obtain these objectives. Moreover, it is a golden opportunity for the US and other western interests to destabilize Iran. However, it is very hurtful to see that young people and the general public are paying the price.

In almost every society a few are in control and the vast majority is manipulated for the benefit of those few. That applies even more in emerging democracies like Iran. The current struggle looks like one between Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad. Rafsanjani being a very rich and influential man has the capability to finance and stir up the trouble.

A fellow blogger Ken, who knows much more about Iran than I do, has great posts on these issues, which I would recommend reading:

The US has been trying to destabilize Iran.

The Nation magazine and the Iranian election.

Power struggle in Iran and Rafsanjani.

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Iran and its vulnerabilities

Given Iran's history and its exploitation in the past, will it accept foreign help? Would it not look at it as a Trojan horse? Where all the commotion in Iran is going to lead is hard to tell. One can only wish all the best to the people of Iran.

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Mir Hossein Mousavi loses elections in Iran

Mousavi has lost the election and the US and other western nations are upset that a chance for a progressive Iran is lost. But is it? Mousavi was Prime Minister during first Ayotollah Khomeni and very much a conservative if not more conservative than Ahmadinejad. If Mousavi would have won, I do not think there would have been much change.

Azar Nafisi who authored Things I've Been Silent About, and is also a visiting professor and the executive director of Cultural Conversations at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC writes that:

"In order to win Mousavi had taken up the progressive slogans, which he had previously fought against. I was there at the beginning of the Islamic Revolution when he was the Prime Minister, and implemented many of the repressive measures which he now denounces.

I (like many others) was thrown out of the university that Mousavi helped to shut down as part of the Cultural Revolution."

So there you go, Mousavi was not much of a progressive as he is built up to be in the west. I believe as far as the US and Middle East is concerned not much has changed. The only way to settle instability in that part of the world is to deal with the Palestinian issue head on and solve it. That will take lot of wind from under the wings of extremists and fundamentalists in the region.

As far as the election in Iran is concerned, it seems the results are fair but then we do not know the details. However, I will say this much, that they do not seem to be as badly rigged as the Bush brothers succeeded to do in Florida in 2000 - remember those hanging chads. I believe that victory was stolen from Al Gore. If Al Gore had taken office in 2000, we would have a different world today. In my humble opinion a better world.

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Benjamin Netanyahu: A loose canon literally?

Media reports suggest that Benjamin Netanyahu will win the February 10th election in Israel and become the new Prime Minister. This is bad news for Israel and for the rest of the region. Netanyahu is a right-wing nut who is trigger happy. He wants to expand Israeli settlements into Gaza and the West Bank and won't be looking for peace and compromise anytime soon. His other obsession is to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. He has been repeatedly advocating it and telling the US to forget about the economy and other woes, as Iran is a bigger problem according to him.

Can you visualize Netanyahu and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in that region dealing with each other? It gives one the creeps. Netanyahu bombing Iran and Ahmadinejad reacting to it could engulf the whole world in the perils of a devastating war. So much for Obama's diplomacy. US got rid of Bush and Cheney but Netanyahu and Ahmadinejad could be a bigger hurdle to world peace. They both could be characterized as fanatics. One wants to wipe out Iran from the map and the other wants to wipe out Israel from the map – mama mia where would that lead rest of the world. Gaza and Palestinian issues may become miniscule and ignored if all these flare-ups take place

One thing you have to give to Ahmadinejad is that he has invaded no one. On the other hand Israel is addicted to invasions, Lebanon, Gaza, West Bank, Syria and in the past Egypt and Jordan as well as bombing Iraq. And Benjamin Netanyahu is one of the major addicts of such gun slinging. We need more than Obama - maybe we need divine intervention (after all, all the prophets came from the Middle East). We need this divine intervention to have a meeting to bring these people together in a peace treaty.

Here is what the Arab World thinks of Netanyahu.

And here is what the rest of the World thinks of him.

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Condi Rice does not want to negotiate with Iran

However, she does need some loving ;) Ahmadinejad and Condi Rice make a good couple ;)

The hypocrisy of Bush Administration is incredible. They repeatedly said they would not talk to Iran (John McSame himself said this as well) and then they send the Under Secretary of State to France to talk to high officials from Iran. They have to make up their mind.

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Ahmadinejad of Iran Endorses John McCain...

...sort of ;)

Hillary Clinton gets into the fray too. Imagine if these characters have to deal with each other.

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Debate between Ahmadinejad of Iran and Bush of U.S. - an international event ;)

For those who had difficulty following the debates, here are the transcripts ;)

Bush: Come on, you are not duly elected President.

Ahmadinejad: Yes, and you won yours in 2000 fair and square.

Bush: Your economy is a mess.

Ahmadinejad: For sure, yours is thriving!

Bush: You're too conservative.

Ahmadinejad: Yes, and you're liberal and progressive.

Bush: You're a warmonger!

Ahmadinejad: Yes, and you have a World record for a peacemaker.

Bush: You're violating human rights.

Ahmadinejad: Sure, you have built a Hilton at Guantanamo Bay and hundreds of human beings are vacationing there.

Bush: You're building nuclear weapons.

Ahmadinejad: Poor you, you have no weapons? Enjoy your retirement.

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Bush in Bahrain: He thinks more oil will be his gain ;)

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George W. Bush is very jealous :)

Putin, in Iran, Sends Warnings to US
Russian leader Vladimir Putin met his Iranian counterpart Tuesday and implicitly warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet republic to stage an attack on Iran. He also said nations shouldn't pursue oil pipeline projects in the area if they weren't backed by regional powers. Click here to read more.

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Breaking News ;) -- Donald Trump fires George W. Bush

...but, Butthead approves of George W. Bush!

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George W. Bush: Concerned about his image and talent

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George Dubya's Ultimate Mission

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Bush's Dream Team For Peace, Or Axis of Evil?

SYRIA: OFFICIALS CONFIRM PARTICIPATION IN BAGHDAD TALKS
Damascus, 28 Feb. (AKI) - Syrian officials say their country will participate in regional security talks in the Iraqi capital which will also be attended by representatives from Washington, the Al-Jazeera satellite television network reported Wednesday. The Syrian announcement followed an earlier indication from Iran that it was considering taking part. While the talks announced on Tuesday by Iraqi foreign minister Hosheir Zebari could bring US representatives face-to-face with those from Syria and Iran, Washington has specified this will not amount to direct, bilateral talks with what it has branded "rogue states". Click Here to Read More

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Bush has stepped up his "search" for Weapons of Mass Destruction

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After hanging Saddam Hussein, Bush is after Ahmadinejad; Bush wants all the Iraq loot to himself

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