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| 11/22 |
| 2006/9/1-5 [Science/GlobalWarming] UID:44247 Activity:nil |
9/2 Iranian views of US from an ex-official
http://tinyurl.com/ojgtj
This guy got his finger nail torned during Shah's regime because
of his political activities back in the day.
\_ Non-archived version: http://csua.org/u/gu0 (IHT.com) |
| 11/22 |
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| tinyurl.com/ojgtj -> www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/world/middleeast/28iran.html?_r=1&oref=slogin MICHAEL SLACKMAN Published: August 28, 2006 TEHRAN, Aug. They were torn out, he said, after Washingtons friend, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, put him in prison in the 1970s. Skip to next paragraph Hasan Sarbakhshian/Associated Press Ali Muhammad Besharati, leaning back, a former interior minister and deputy foreign minister, with Intelligence Minister Ali Younesi last year. Go to Complete Coverage His point is instantly clear: look at what happened when we had close ties to the United States. I was a medical student, said the man, Ali Muhammad Besharati, a former interior minister and deputy foreign minister. In the continuing conflict over Irans nuclear program, there are disputes over enrichment of uranium, discussions of heavy water reactors, and accusations over the governments intentions. Besharati is to hear the fight described as Tehrans frontline effort to block American influence in the region and to never again allow Washington to have an upper hand in Iran. That attitude is obvious among Irans current leaders, who see this not just as a battle over nuclear weapons but a fight for survival against a far more powerful enemy that has lumped them into an axis of evil and allocated millions of dollars to oust the government, political analysts and Western diplomats here said. Besharati, too, echoed the idea that giving in on the nuclear front would not solve Irans problems with Washington, only aggravate them. I would like you to write this down, he said, speaking through an interpreter. If we backed down on the nuclear issue, the US would have found fault with our medical doctors researching stem cells. What they would like to see us do is plant corn, make tomato paste and bottle mineral water, he added. His comments, during a 90-minute interview in his office, seem to reflect both a calculated political posture and a sincere hostility, and fear, toward Washington. Besharati, 57, works from an office in the Strategic Studies Center, a tower in the leafy northern section of Tehran that serves as an influential research organization for many of Irans policy makers. But his thinking reflects the spirit of a leadership that has given no indication that it is willing to halt enrichment or slow its nuclear march. In the imprecise language of Irans political divisions, Mr Besharati would be considered a moderate-conservative. Asked whether Iran is afraid that greater economic, political and social integration with the West might dilute the countrys Islamic identity, he turned the question around. He was born in Jahrem, near Shiraz, and as a young man was an Islamic political advocate. The shah imprisoned him for five years, and it was the feared Savak secret police that tore out his fingernails, he said. After the revolution, he won important positions in government. Mohammad Khatami, the change-minded cleric, surprised the conservative leadership and won a landslide victory as president. In many ways he is the model of an Iranian official, both in his bearing and in his stated positions. He travels with an armed guard and speaks the language of what might be called peaceful defiance: blaming the White House for American-Iranian problems while insisting Tehran wants nothing more than to live in peaceful harmony with the world. He does not answer when asked why for nearly two decades Iran kept its nuclear program a secret, in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Let me tell you a story, he said, adjusting the ring on his right hand. They feed you, but when they want to catch you, you run away. The chicken said, If you saw what was going on in the kitchen and the frying pan, you would not just hop from branch to branch, but fly away. He smiled, rose from his chair and pulled three hardcover books off a shelf. He said they were memoirs of relatives of the former shah. The shah of Iran never drank water without the permission of America, he said he read in one of the books. He opened one book, whose text was marked up, with important passages circled. True or not, balanced or biased, he was rolling, passionate and animated as he stated his understanding of Irans history and its relationship with the United States. He grabbed another book and said, paraphrasing, All the interrogators in the secret police were trained in the United States and Israel. Five of my fingernails were peeled out in interrogation. Besharati recounted every modern American offense against Iran, from the shooting down of the Iranian airliner that killed more than 200 civilians, to officials of the Reagan administration calling for pulling the theocracy out by the roots. All this, he seemed to be saying, was why Iran would not give in to Americas demands on something as consequential as the nuclear program. Although our economic system may not be strong, he said, our minds and our memories are. A brief videotape showed the long-range missile, the Thaqeb, or Saturn, leaving the water and hitting a target on the waters surface within less than a mile. The test was part of large military exercises that began Aug. |
| csua.org/u/gu0 -> www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/27/news/tehran.php TEHRAN A former high-ranking Iranian official wants Americans to see his cracked thumbnails. They were torn out, he said, after Washington's friend Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi put him in prison in the 1970s. His point is instantly clear: Look at what happened when we had close ties to the United States. "I was a medical student," said the man, Ali Muhammad Besharati, a former interior minister and deputy foreign minister. "But they put me in prison because I opposed American dominance in Iran." In the ongoing conflict over Iran's nuclear program, there are disputes over enrichment of uranium, discussions of heavy water reactors, and accusations over the government's intentions. But to listen to Besharati is to hear the fight described as Tehran's frontline effort to block American influence in the region and to never again allow Washington to have an upper hand in Iran. That attitude is obvious among Iran's current leaders, who see this not just as a battle over nuclear weapons but a fight for survival against a far more powerful enemy that has lumped them into an "axis of evil" and allocated millions of dollars to oust the government, according to political analysts and Western diplomats here. Besharati, too, echoed the idea that giving in on the nuclear front would not solve Iran's problems with Washington, but only aggravate them. "I would like you to write this down," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "If we backed down on the nuclear issue, the US would have found fault with our medical doctors researching stem cells." "What they would like to see us do is plant corn, make tomato paste, and bottle mineral water," he added. His comments, made during a 90- minute interview in his office, seem to reflect both a calculated political posture and a sincere hostility toward, and fear of, Washington. Besharati, 57, works from an office in the Strategic Studies Center, an office tower in the north of Tehran that serves as the influential think tank to many of Iran's policy makers, including the Expediency Council, which technically arbitrates disputes between the elected and appointed levels of government. At the moment he is not a member of the inner circle of power, though he has a personal relationship with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and as interior minister he appointed the current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as a governor. But his thinking reflects the spirit of a leadership that has given no indication it is willing to halt enrichment or slow its nuclear march. In the imprecise language of Iran's political divisions, Besharati would be considered a moderate-conservative. Asked whether Iran is afraid that greater economic, political and social integration with the West might dilute the country's Islamic identity, he turned the question around. "Can the West be more flexible and accept us as we are?" He was born in Jahrem, near Shiraz, and was an Islamic political activist. The shah imprisoned him for five years, and it was the feared Savak secret police that tore out his fingernails, he said. After the revolution, he won important positions in government, serving in Parliament, for a decade as the No. He was in charge of the election process the years that Mohammad Khatami, the reform-minded cleric, surprised the conservative leadership and won a landslide victory as president. He dressed in a sharp charcoal suit, wore a white collarless shirt buttoned to the top, and sported a scruffy beard. He travels with an armed security guard and speaks the language of what might be called peaceful-defiance, placing all blame for US-Iranian problems on the White House while insisting Tehran wants nothing more than to live in peaceful harmony with the world. He does not answer when asked why for nearly two decades Iran kept its nuclear program a secret, in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. He said they were memoirs of relatives of the former shah. "The shah of Iran never drank water without permission of American," he said he read in one of the books. He opened one book, and its text was marked up, important passages circled. he asked forcefully, "Our agriculture was demolished, our educational system was destroyed." True or not, balanced or biased, he was rolling, passionate and animated as he stated his understanding of Iran's history and its relationship with the United States. He grabbed for another book and started paraphrasing: "All the interrogators in the secret police were trained in the United States and Israel." "Five of my fingernails were peeled out in interrogation." Besharati recounted every American slight against Iran in modern times from the shooting down of the Iranian passenger liner that killed more than 200 civilians, to Reagan administration officials calling for pulling the regime out by the roots. All of this, he seemed to be saying, was why Iran would not give in to America's demands on something as consequential as the nuclear program. But the depth of fear and anxiety expressed over America's intentions toward Tehran seem to make the case for nuclear weapons, or a weapons program, as a deterrent. "Although our economic system may not be strong," he said, "our minds and our memories are." |