Is Iran Headed for War?

War will not happen as if Americans go there Pakistan will not cooperate with USA and afghanistan will collapse. If really america does to Iran pakistan people anger will go beyond limits and street demos can lead to collapse of military rule. American are dangerous to their enemies and generousto friends like general but they are not foolish.
Soon amerca will improve relations wwith Iran over next 10 years

I think we can ask input from Beharam. He is directly related to Iran.
Recently he has just disappeared, some hindu was trying to take to court in usa for defamation. What is news about that ?

inbred retard is around all right...his delusions now appear on the letters page of the daily times..as usual, inbred retard confuses china`s success for Pakiland`s..not sure why he`s off chowk..maybe someone wrote the the travis county officials and let them know that they`re recommending on their website, someone who`s made racist remarks...

Infrastructure

Sir: Looking at India and China, the two larger economies next to Pakistan we can observe different approaches to their economic development. Since 1991 India has promoted growth through technology at the expense of its infrastructural development. In contrast, China concentrated on manufacturing and achieved an average growth rate of around 10 percent as opposed to India’s eight percent. It appears that Pakistan’s economic policy is more in line with the Chinese approach.

Pakistan has many comparative advantages. Some of these are cheap labour, adequate foreign portfolio investment and sufficient albeit untapped resources. With the recent law allowing 100 percent profit repatriation of money invested by foreigners, Pakistan should be able to attract huge foreign direct investments in no time. And with the revenue generated through these, Pakistan should use its labour potential to tap the country’s resources and further develop its infrastructure.
BEHRAM B ATASHBAND
Austin

hey urstruly...the paki army and mushy are killing pakis for the love of islam..and that too to get some chump change from the US(from your tax $$ i might add)?

wutz up wit dat?

Maulana Nek Zaman
Tribal turf

All the people who have been killed in North Waziristan were local residents. I can tell you their names, and give details about their parentage, villages and even graves. Most of them, had identity cards issued by Nadra.

By Raza Rahman Khan

Maulana Nek Zaman is a member of the National Assembly from the troubled North Waziristan Agency, which has been a theatre of large-scale violence of late. The bloody incidents that took place there around President Bush`s visit to Pakistan claimed hundreds of lives.

Maulana Nek Zaman has studied at various religious schools across Pakistan, including Madrassa-e-Haqqania in Akora Khattak. A member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam`s Fazlur Rehman faction, he was also an activist of the party`s student wing, Jamiat-Talaba-e-Islam. Maulana Nek Zaman worked as a teacher at various madrassas of North Waziristan after graduating from Multan.

A Syed of Land Syedabad locality in the agency`s Dattakhel tehsil, he belongs to North Waziristan`s Daur tribe. Excerpts of his interview follow:

The News on Sunday: What in your opinion is the real cause of the crisis in North Waziristan?

Maulana Nek Zaman: The operation against the tribesmen of Waziristan is launched to avenge the historic defeat that these tribesmen inflicted on the British Empire under the leadership of legendary Faqir of Ippi. The people in Waziristan are being given a drubbing so that they are never able pose a threat to the policies the United States and the West in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the rest of the region.

Moreover, the tribesmen are being targeted for their love of Islam. All tribesmen are patriotic and their sacrifices for the country are unrivalled. They protected the Pak-Afghan borders at the height of Soviet presence in Afghanistan.

There are also no aliens in North Waziristan. This is evident from the contradicting official statements about the number of aliens. Sometimes it is stated that there are 500 foreign militants in the area, at other times it is said there are no aliens at all there.

At times President Pervez Musharraf says Al Qaeda has been wiped out of Pakistan country. If that`s the case then how come it still exists in the tribal areas? Aren`t tribal areas part of Pakistan? Suppose, if they have killed a lot of Al-Qaeda men, why haven`t they made their names public?

There might be some sporadic incidents in which some foreign elements could be involved. But these incidents (are not Pakistan-specific). They have taken place even in Saudi Arabia and Great Britain as well as in the rest of Pakistan -- for instance in Lahore, Gujrat and Karachi.

According to my information all the people who have been killed in North Waziristan were local residents. I can tell you their names, and give details about their parentage, villages and even graves. Most of them, had identity cards issued by Nadra (National Database and Registration Authority).

TNS: How many people have been killed in North Waziristan?

MNZ: More than 500 sons of the soil have been killed so far in various military operations there.

TNS: Why does the government say that there are aliens in Waziristan?

MNZ: When Pakistan faces international pressure, it simply passes on this pressure to tribesmen. The government is using tribesmen as pawns in its international politics. Due to this, people (in the tribal areas) are becoming antagonistic towards their own country. A few days ago, I convened a jirga on the issue. (Pakistan Muslim League chief) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the ruling party secretary-general Mushahid Hussain, (minister of state) Amir Muqam and senator Salim Saifullah were present in the jirga along with mediapeople. I told the jirga that the tribesmen didn`t want to fight with their armed forces and their brethren or to destroy public buildings like schools and hospitals. They may be reacting to the deaths of and injuries to their loved ones. (They may be angry) because the properties of a lot of tribespeople have been destroyed.

General (retired) Aslam Beg has very rightly said that, even after the lapse of a hundred years, the Pakhtoons would settle their scores. So, the government should realise these sensitivities and should not allow the situation to aggravate. The government should strive to rub off the hatred from the tribesmen`s hearts.

Ameer Hamza Sahib, {``This leads us to Turkey. Turkey is a confirmed partner of America in war against terror (or more appropriately, against Muslims). It is desperately seeking EU membership and will not stop of anything short if it can fulfil its EU membership dreams. And if Europe decides to attack Iran, Turkey shall be an important partner in that war. And after Pakistan, Turkey is the only country that can be utilized nicely against Iran (due to its western border with Iran). ``}

Ameer Sahib,
You are all over the map and nowhere near the target. Somehow, you managed to omit Bolivia, Senegal, and Laos in the list of countries who could be potential launching pads for a war against Iran. You mentioned Turkey as a leading partner and you couldn`t be more wrong. Turkey didn`t even allow Americans to tresspass on its territory for a war against Arab Iraq so why would it support aggression against Iran - a country with which it has been at peace since 1639? It is interesting to note the ridiculous scenarios presented by some Pakis. Their unbelievable lack of geopolitics is eclipsed by some Indians like Mr. Kamath, who are drooling at the prospect of another Muslim nation facing annihilation. May his glass of wine turn into hemlock for his evil manners. :)

Now the ultra Wahabi and radical Sunni nations of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, and Afghanistan are the more likely culprits. During the Iran/Iraq war, all the major Sunni powers, especially the Arabs, with the notable exception of Libya and Syria, were with Sadman Houston against Shia Iran. Even Pakistan, with almost 20% Shia population, but led by Maha Sunni Atul Wahabi Gen. Zia, was leaning in Iraq`s favor, much to the consternation of Paki Shias. The Saudi Wahabis to this day persecute their Shia citizens who are approximately 15% of their population and on whose land exists most of Saudi oil.

Afghanistan and Iran have never been close and the brutal persecution of Shias in Afghanistan during Tally Ban days is well-known. Now that the Northern Alliance is nominally in control of Afghanistan, I doubt that they will support the US against their former benefactors, the Iranians. The Gulf nations of UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and yes, Saudi Arabia, along with the Saudi puppet, Mushy`s Pakistan, would all queue up to be America`s hosts. The truth is that the U.S. would not opt for an invasion, but rather a thorough destruction of Iran`s infrastructure and nuclear facilities. Of course the raison d`etre for this entire sabre-rattling is the menace posed to Israel`s dominance by the inevitable Iranian posession of nukes.

Speaking of nukes, let`s not play cat and mouse about nuclear energy. Is it the sole right of the US, Britain, and France to possess nuclear weapons? After executing the Rosenbergs, making a lot of hoopla over China`s blast, and sanctioning India and Pakistan for their tit-for-tat thrillers in 1998, why doesn`t the West discuss Israel`s own arsenal of nukes? What is the big deal, anyway? It`s not like any nation has gone out and deliberately used nuclear weapons on innocent civilians - killing hundreds of thousands outright and condemning millions to future diseases? Well, OK, only one has and we must make sure that it doesn`t happen again. So let`s go and disarm the ones who have thousands of these little devils instead of those who have only dozens and those who are just conducting Physics 101 experiments. Nuclear science, or any other science, is not the domain of Judeo-Christian white men of western European origins.

Brother And Shishter(Schwester)



``Raakhee Bandhan`` - Sheikh Rasheed a.k.a LOTA

#31 by mohar11 and others on this subject.

.... what`s up in baloch land anyway?

Yar bhai mohar, let me answer this question once and for all because you strawmen are clutching to this all over chokistan in your paki-bashing ... now kindly de-wax your ears with whatever garbage you have stuffed up there, notwithstanding any other orifices, and listen !!!

1) Baluchistan`s total population is around 8 million (in a country of 150 m). That too Half Baluchi/Half Pashtun. Some Punjabi sttlers as well.

2) The term `Baluch` when applied to entire non-Pashtun Baluchistan is a misnomer because these are further sub-divided into the indigenous Brahui speaking tribes and the `Baluch` who migrated from the Caspian region, i.e. Iran.

3) The Baluch were initially successful in overcoming the Brahuis under Mir Chakar, who established his capital at Sibi in 1487, and a Baluch kingdom briefly came into existence, before being destroyed by civil war between Mir Chakar`s Rind tribe and the rival Lasharis. The name however stuck.

4) The area now called Baluchistan was not in British India but was independant throughout the 18th century. The indigenous Brahui speaking Khans of Kalat were the dominant local power, and had actually `leased`` the Quetta region to the British, but remained in control of the rest of the territories. The independence of Kalat only ended in 1948 when the Khan merged with Pakistan, and the abolition of the state`s boundaries in 1955. The present shape of Baluchistan was finally rounded out in 1958 when the Sultan of Oman sold Gwadar, given to one of his ancestors by the Khan of Kalat, back to Pakistan. The point is, Brahuis were the dominant ethnicity of Baluchistan, not the so-termed Baluch.

5) While the Brahuis remained in control over the coastal areas and those bordering Punjab and Sindh, the Baluch remained closer to the western areas bordering Iran.

6) Under the terms of the merger, a `Sardari` (Feudal) system had been agreed to be retained in the region by Pakistan, which continues to this day. This system is something like the Waziristan tribal system with the very vital difference that law & order forces remained in control of Tribal Sardars, who were allowed to maintain personal armies for the purpose, paid for by Pakistan, while a Jirga system was retained in the NWFP tribal areas which is more democratic. This system meant tremendous power for the Feudals of Baluchistan. As a result, only maybe 5% of Baluchistan`s law & order is now under even provincial authority, let alone federal. Baluchistan is `feudal` of `feudals`.

7) Gas was first discovered in The Sui area of the Bugti (Baluch) tribe in 1955, and later in the Marri (Baluch) and Jamali (Brahui) areas. The reserves were huge. Under the constitution, royalty has to be paid which was agreed at 2% and continues to be paid. The Sardari system meant all federal development funds going to the Sardars which were never used for development, because of the classic reason that this would mean end of the Sardars, but misappropriated by them resulting in the continued under-development of Baluchistan compared to rest of the country.

8) So what`s the issue now? Out of the hundreds of Sardars in Baluchistan, two out of three tribes of the gas producing regions i.e. Bugti and Marri are up against the federal government, just as they had done in ZAB`s time as well as Nawaz, using the same forces paid for by the federal government, actually meant for law & order. Their demand? The royalty paid of 2% is not enough. That is it. Blackmail and holding rest of Baluchistan and indeed Pakistan to ransom. Nothing more.

Now, that would seem like an easy thing to agree to. Increase the royalty and get it over with. But as would be clear from above, these two tribes are hardly representative of Baluchistan. You give them more money now, they will do the same thing and not spend it on their people but just wait till they can demand even more. It is just two Sardars. Akbar Bugti, and Khair Bux Marri. Why doesn`t the Government just take them out? Because the key gas installtions are highly vulnerable to sabotage. How do you protect hunreds of mile of pipeline through open plains? Therefore negotiations accompanied with force has been applied through frontier corps (and not fighter jets nor the military mind you).

The only solution is end of the sardari system in Baluchistan, and direct provincial rule. Exile of these two sardars, and clean up the whole thing. Why hasn`t it been done before? Because political governments need votes, and these sardars command a lot of votes. But, the government has realized there is no other choice. The solution is in the making now.

Got it Doktor Mohar & Co.?

Is Iran headed for war? In my opinion, almost certainly.

The cynic in me thinks things will start escalating about a year before the next Presidential elections in America. This will help the Bush administration garner the election-publicity machinery that usually goes into overdrive about a year before the elections, to gain support for the war against Iran, and thus for the Republican party. As before, the Democrats will sheepishly second all ``patriotic`` motions raised in Congress.

America is not going to tolerate Iran`s don`t-care attitude. America is the biggest gorilla on the block, and will not take Iran`s very public and not-so-veiled counter-threats lightly, if only for maintaining it`s public image.

I think the war will begin with sanctions and blockades to Iran`s oil exports. That IS Iran`s jugular, and it will be cut first. Those countries that recieve oil from Iran (including the US) will be compensated with Saudi/Mexican oil. And then there will be Iraq-style no-fly, no-access zones carved out consisting of large and vital oil-producing areas in Iran, which will cripple the Mullahs further. The reason that Mushy and Karzai will be able to save face with their respective people is because there would be only sanctions in the beginning, and not full-fledged war. The aerial bombings of nuclear facilities would come next, depriving Islamists of any potential access to nuclear weapons.

While democratic countries should have every right to own nuclear weapons (as long as at least one other country already has them), mullah-run theocracies and other Islamic autocracies certainly should not. And this war could bring to an end an Islamic theocracy.

So I would support this war effort.

#40 by Ramanujan

.... blockades to Iran`s oil exports. That IS Iran`s jugular, and it will be cut first....

Pray tell us how Iran survived after Khomeini`s revolution though the `jugular` had been cut as well as all foreign assets frozen for a whole year when they occupied the american embassy and fed dates to all those diplomats till Nixon made a deal with them?

#41 by zeemax

[Pray tell us how Iran survived after Khomeini`s revolution though the `jugular` had been cut as well as all foreign assets frozen for a whole year when they occupied the american embassy and fed dates to all those diplomats till Nixon made a deal with them?]


....frozen for a whole year when they....

ONE YEAR - not enough time for oxygen depletion.

#42 by Ramanujan

I see. How much time does it take for oxygen depletion for the Iranians as against the Americans? Pray tell.

You forget birdbrain that the Iranians were fighting a ten-year war with the then american stooge saddam at the same time as against americans themselves. Their oxygen didn`t run out for ten years. So ....?

continuation of #43

.... even in that just one year against americans, the oxygen ran out on the americans. Jimmy Carter, around the end of his term and after losing two of his choppers and dozens of `rescue` commandos due to `sand storms` of gabriel, resorted to talks, released all the foreign assets of around $4 billion or so, took his boys back home to mama, and let that biggest buffoon Ronald Reagan enjoy the glory because he couldn`t run for re-election.

Aah .. well ......!

``....and sanctioning India and Pakistan for their tit-for-tat thrillers in 1998, why doesn`t the West discuss Israel`s own arsenal of nukes?``

You are being naive Salim. The world isn`t fair, deep down its still might is right. In the case of Iraq, except for 50% Americans and Tony Blair, most of the world knew the WMD claim was bogus, yet the Americans were able to cobble up a coalition of half a dozen nations. Iran is a threat, with nukes unacceptably so. Israel isn’t an ally. Consider North Korea, why is so much flexibility there? Because Japan and South Korea are expendable albeit reluctantly.

Re: # 39 zee
[.....Got it Doktor Mohar & Co.? ....]

Sort of .... thanks for the long lecture - even though that still doesn`t answer the crucial questions... for example: why fighter bombers and artillery on a civilian population?....you say, only two out of hundreds of sardars are fighting but why is entire state in ``civil war`` as NYT put it?..... you say, it`s just blackmail - but baloch are poorest in the country despite the fact that gas is flowing from there for a long time.....

Kamath #8 {``Boy it is all fun to watch on TV how precision bombs can strike targets with surgical accuracy. It is remarkable how a weapon of war released literally thousands of miles away can strike a flagpole with practically no collateral damage! ...
It would be fun to watch how this Iran problem is going to be resolved by rest of the world. I say, just wait and watch TV news - especially a glass of wine in hand after a nice evening meal.``}

Ramanujan #40 {``While democratic countries should have every right to own nuclear weapons (as long as at least one other country already has them), mullah-run theocracies and other Islamic autocracies certainly should not. And this war could bring to an end an Islamic theocracy.
So I would support this war effort. ``}

When I meet Indians who are peaceful, objective, and non-violent, I see the benign face of Mahatam Gandhi. When I encounter Indians who are gloating about the prosepct of Muslim blood and drooling at the mouth for violence, destruction, and death against Muslims, I see Modi without his dhoti.

#47 *prospect