Iran, Unconscionably
I had the opportunity to spend last night with a former member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who turned double agent for the CIA in the 1980s and 1990s. Though he was initially inspired by the potential for liberalization in the aftermath of the Shah, the brutal abuse of his countrymen by the mullahs – which he witnessed first-hand – compelled him to betray the regime.
Though he’s been out of the game for about 20 years, he still makes public appearances under a pseudonym, wearing sunglasses, a surgical mask, and a baseball cap, and speaking through a voice-modifying device. As one of the people who was responsible for arranging his visit to Los Angeles, I can attest to the fact that this paranoia is not excessive. The threats are very real. In one of the most powerful sections of the remarks he delivered last night, he said the following:
You see what you have witnessed recently happening on the streets of Tehran and throughout Iran is nothing new, ever since [the] early eighties, just a couple of years into the revolution, the Iranians have been pushing for freedom, for democracy … and they have been paying dearly for that. The Iranians are one of the most pro-western nations in the Middle East, but through suppression by the Islamic fanatics ruling the country their voices have been shut before it [sic] could reach out to the world.
I think that after 30 years of trying every which way in appeasing [sic] the murderers in Iran and after 30 years of sidestepping our principles and humanity, we should be asking “How do we help the aspirations of the Iranian people in their pursuit of freedom and democracy? How do we restore human dignity?”
In a time where we underplay the national security concerns emanating from Iran and almost entirely ignore the human rights violations (the Obama Administration’s decision to turn a deaf ear to the 2009 protests was among its most ignominious moments), this was a breath of fresh air. And it was particularly timely given this item that appears in today’s Los Angeles Times:
The sentencing of a leading Iranian human rights lawyer to 11 years in prison has resulted in a chorus of international condemnation.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, reportedly convicted of acting against national security and failing to wear the Islamic head scarf, was also banned Sunday from practicing law or traveling for 20 years.
Sotoudeh was arrested and placed in solitary confinement in September and has been tortured, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and Sotoudeh's family.
She aroused the ire of the judiciary when she spoke out about the secret execution of one of her clients, who was convicted of belonging to an outlawed monarchist group and hanged before dawn Jan. 28, 2010, without Sotoudeh's knowledge.
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Dec '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
It may seem trivial to mention the Iranian filmmakers who recently have been sentenced to prison and barred from making films for the next couple of decades, but it's indicative of the depth of the regime's paranoia and its recognition that the people can be inflamed to opposition and possibly revolution.
Nov '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
Clifford May's article in NRO today is right on point to another aspect of Islam's abuses. How does one get a religion of peace out of a name that literally means submission?
Edited on Jan 13, 2011 at 9:55pmMay '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
Troy Senik:
In a time where we underplay the national security concerns emanating from Iran and almost entirely ignore the human rights violations (the Obama Administration’s decision to turn a deaf ear to the 2009 protests was among its most ignominious moments),
Yes. I didn't support Obama, didn't vote for him, don't share his political philosophies. But when the Iranian people were rising up in their streets at real cost to their safety asking: "Obama, are you with us or against us?" and the administration did nothing to support them, not a word of encouragement, not any acknowledgement about liberty or freedom, I knew BHO was not a man cut out for public office in the US, let alone the presidency. It seemed as if he was waiting for the uprising to be put down so he could play patty-cake with the Iranian power elite, and the people be damned.
Natan Sharansky said it all when he recounted how Reagan's "evil empire" spread through the Soviet prison: "Finally, the leader of the free world had spoken the truth - a truth that burned inside the heart of each and every one of us."
Obama? Shame!
Jan '11
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
This week we received word that dozens of Christian converts (from Islam) have been rounded up by the government thugs--some couples forced to leave babies alone as they were carted off. As many as 70 people, maybe more (one unconfirmed source says hundreds). Meanwhile the abuses of the Baha'is continues unabated...
Oct '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
Robert Promm: Clifford May's article in NRO today is right on point to another aspect of Islam's abuses. How does one get a religion of peace out of a name that literally means submission? · Jan 13 at 9:54pm
Edited on Jan 13 at 09:55 pm
The imagery of the Hebrew word shalom (peace) is that of the rightous with his foot on the neck of the wicked. Don't forget that Isaac and Ishmael were both sons of Abraham.
Jan '11
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
What Kervinlee said.
Nov '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
Good Berean
The imagery of the Hebrew word shalom (peace) is that of the righteous with his foot on the neck of the wicked. Don't forget that Isaac and Ishmael were both sons of Abraham. · Jan 14 at 8:20am
Ah, true enough of Judaism but even in Old Testament time Yaweh says "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked."
However, when we get to the new dispensation in Christ you will find no such teaching for Christians to be God's proxy for judgment of unbelievers. "My kingdom is not of this world otherwise would my servants fight." We are to "...do good to all men...". The punishment of the unbeliever is God's matter, not mine.
Edited on Jan 14, 2011 at 11:16amOct '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
Robert Promm
Good Berean
The imagery of the Hebrew word shalom (peace) is that of the righteous with his foot on the neck of the wicked. Don't forget that Isaac and Ishmael were both sons of Abraham. · Jan 14 at 8:20am
Ah, true enough of Judaism but even in Old Testament time Yaweh says "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked."
However, when we get to the new dispensation in Christ you will find no such teaching for Christians to be God's proxy for judgment of unbelievers. "My kingdom is not of this world otherwise would my servants fight." We are to "...do good to all men...". The punishment of the unbeliever is God's matter, not mine. · Jan 14 at 11:14am
Edited on Jan 14 at 11:16 am
My reference was the similarity between Judiasm and Islam, although post-millenial Christianiity has a similar perspective. Read Psalm 2 and remember that Jesus is King of kings, Lord of lords and the Prince of Peace.
May '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
Thankyou, Margaret. To me, Obama's silence during the Iranian uprising is still the lowest point of his administration.
Nov '10
Re: Iran, Unconscionably
Good Berean
My reference was the similarity between Judiasm and Islam, although post-millenial Christianiity has a similar perspective. Read Psalm 2 and remember that Jesus is King of kings, Lord of lords and the Prince of Peace. · Jan 14 at 11:45am
It's an in-house debate on eschatology but there are few postmillenialists left in the church, mostly amillenialists and a minority position of premillenialists like me. ;-) Peace.
Edited on Jan 14, 2011 at 9:30pm