Iran: Co-architect of IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp) Speaks

Mohsen Sazegara co-founded the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1979, and served the Islamic Republic until 1989 in a number of senior government positions, including deputy prime minister for political affairs and managing director of the National Radio of Iran. He went into exile after being imprisoned in 2003, and is currently a visiting researcher at Harvard University.

He warns in this piece that what Was Once a Revolutionary Guard is now Just a Mafia, "Today the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution — known in Farsi as the Sepah-e Pasdaran and in English as the Revolutionary Guard — is a mafia-like organization with a corrupting influence on Iran’s army, police, media, industries, judiciary and government. It is imperative that every effort now be made to contain the Revolutionary Guard’s powers, because its political and economic adventurism will ultimately lead to a serious crisis, not just in Iran but also across the Middle East."

As a co-architect of the IRGC, he also takes us through a series of tactical and strategic decisions that was taken in Paris by Khomeini et al and his ilk that gave rise to IRGC . It's a long read but well worth it....click here.

Read more!

Cheney Links Action on Iran To Winning Iraq

Shouldn't this have been obvious from the beginning?

Forward.com:

The administration’s case for tying Iraq to the Iranian issue received support from senior Israeli officials speaking to the delegates. Olmert, who woke up at 4 a.m. to speak via satellite from his home in Jerusalem, did not mince words when expressing his support of the Bush administration’s Iraq policy.

“Those who are concerned for Israel’s security,” Olmert said, “for the security of the Gulf states and for the stability of the entire Middle East should recognize the need for American success in Iraq, and for a responsible exit.”

The Israeli prime minister came out against “premature” withdrawal from Iraq and said that, while he does not want to meddle in American politics — “I have enough politics at home” — he believes that “when America is stronger in Iraq, Israel is stronger in Israel.”

Similar views were expressed by Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni, who said earlier Monday that “if we appease the extremists — if they feel that we are backing down — they will sense victory and become more dangerous not only to the region but to the world. This applies to the decisions made on Iran; it is true for Iraq.”

I give the Islamic Republic of Terrorists (hardliners and reformers et al) another year or two of poking their fingers into the eyes of their perceived enemies (the Great Satan and Israel),uttering reckless, jinoistic, demogaugic, and pseudo-revolutionary rhetorics, unleashing oppression and terror, brushing with nuclear disaster and generally making a fool of themselves...Then, ideally on the 30th anniversary of the revolution that toppled the Shah, the Iranian people will assert themselves and take their country back from the mafia theocracy that has done Unconscionable horrors and has inflicted colossol and permanent injury to the body and soul of the nation.

Read more!