Iran’s Bid for Regional Power

``as a matter of fact the girls never tire of telling me that i am ``the coolest abu in the whole wide world`` (and, by the way, all their paki friends agree even though their parents panic and start reciting the ayat-ul-qursi and laholaywalaquwat when they see me coming) ``

Why am I not surprised. LOL!!

American hegemony over the middle east keeps the oil flowing. Resource poor third world countries , like India, need the oil, to industrialize. A few crazed middle eastern mullahs , can destroy india`s economy. Look at this way, and one has to be thanful to Israel and the Yanks, for putting the fear of god into the mullahs.

malik99 - you said:
Imagin if Iraq was armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons as well as long range missiles that could hit Israel. Were that the case, Iraqis would not be having the ``social issues`` that they are having now. In fact, just yesterday there was a major ``social issue`` - 47 Iraqis died and 200 were injured from the sharpnels of the exploding issue.``

well its not as if Iraq didnt have social issues since before this invasion or the prior gulf war in 91.
lets be fair for just a second, saddam was a dicatator and he had taken his country to war with iran.....the rest is history. my point isnt that everything is great outside of iran, but im saying that if these arab/iran countries can get their countries working towards the right direction....before then exploiting their stability to take it one step further and become nuclear power - then the repurcssions would be less felt.
its like jumping from grade one to grade four, the point being the new kid wont last long.

just a thought to ponder on......i do understand where you are coming from, but its a double edged sword really.

I have a question for the author or other readers: I noticed that the title here is : Iran’s Bid for Regional Power, not Iran’s Bid for Regional Hegemony.

There is no mention of hegemony, except for one reference to American hegemony. Haven`t read all the interacts, but did any of you mention Iran`s (bid for) regional hegemony?

How do you guys distinguish between a bid for regional power from a bid for regional hegemony?

Would very much appreciate.

Jibbe:
The United Satan and its minion devils were dirt-poor when they set out to beg, rob, steal, loot and plunder the Indian, and Chinese and Islamic civilisation ,`` the magnificence & grandeur of the likes of which the world has yet to see``(speech by the CEO of Hewllet-Packard)

These bunch of thugs with their bible-rifle-title missionary-mafia has plagued the entire world and their demise, inshallah, is not far-off. The soviet union with all its roti-kapRRa-makan social-issues is no more. When Man tries to fancy himself as the provider and sustainer , he is the greatest mushrik of all. Be it as a dictator, a king, a democracy Demon, or as a Priest. The world does not need social-engineering or this socio-poli science crap. The greates good is done when the govenments are only bus condutcors & drivers but never the decision-makers for destinations.

Those who subscribe to the ``advanced`` ideas of infanticide( abortions), no-children, laundaybaaz-marriages, haraamkarees, and such very `modern` practices[ The Pharoahs, Nimrods, and Caligula era --progress list of the ist century not 7th) are helping to hasten the demise of these Demons.

Every effort must be made by all to develop arsenal for defence only. The rest of the work is being done by these `advanced` ones themselves.

hamidm - As for regime change, don`t be a freakin racist that only a white anglosaxon can deliver hapless Iranians from evil. If Iranians can all get together and overthrow the US installed ruthless king who set up the Savak secret service that would skin prisoners alive, then they can also get rid of their current rulers if/when they get sick of them.

and if you are oh so moved by the plight of poor iranian lolitas, are you willing to put your family`s life on line to free them? i doubt it. There probably won`t be a hamidm in the liberation army. The liberation army would be full of Johnny, and Tommy and Jimmy, and Jose and Rico from poor middle america. you are more suited for arm-chair liberation. And as long as you get your morning coffee with a touch of cinnamon and access to internet drop the load off your brain, life is A ok.

jibbe - you said ``If Iran wants to go nuclear, how about first solving the many social/economic issues which have bogged it down over the years. ``

Imagin if Iraq was armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons as well as long range missiles that could hit Israel. Were that the case, Iraqis would not be having the ``social issues`` that they are having now. In fact, just yesterday there was a major ``social issue`` - 47 Iraqis died and 200 were injured from the sharpnels of the exploding issue.

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Iran wants to go nuclear - and it should, it has the right too. However, I pity many of the Arab countries and Iran who think that the only way to gain respect and to progress in the world is to arm themselves and for the Palestinian issue to be solved.
What a load of bullshit (excuse my french).
If Iran wants to go nuclear, how about first solving the many social/economic issues which have bogged it down over the years. Instead, these mullahs who run the country will go nuclear, get more sanctions put in place on them, cripple the economy, the young and old will be frustrated/poor (iran cant even turn to its arab brethren who despise the former. The Arabs didnt even come to Saddams aid after he fought the war on Iran, instead, Kuwait helped cripple Iraq`s economy even further by raising production of oil and pumping oil illegally from Iraq`s southern borders)
The economy which is already stagnant will cripple, and the resulting chaos that it will bring the country (which is already outcast) - will be dire.

Now Urstruly and echoboom, the resident mullahs of chowk, will argue that every country has a right to go nuclear. Yes, every country does have a right, but can they not progress towards that goal while taking into account the world order, and the conditions of their own people which are at best poor. That is my point of view, ofcourse others are free to agree/disagree, but i often feel that its best not to jump the gun. Iran has more potential than any other arab country because its people are open minded and importantly more educated. With oil revenues being hurt by sanctions - i only wish this country could get back on its feet and play a role in the world today, because like i earlier mentioned, no country has more potential than Iran.

echoboom: you finally make a good point.
Muslims shoud learn to differentiate between Jews and Zionists. The former being the people of the book and the cousins of the Arabs, we believe in the same God and we share similiar prophets and traditions.
Zionists on the other hand....well why get into it, thats another long topic.
But its important to remember that all Jews are not zionists, and Khomeini`s main concern was the freedom of the Palestinians from the Israeli occupation.

This is a little off topic, but George Bush in his speech to the U.S. which was broadcast to Iraq two days before the war began said the following:

In free Iraq there will be no more wars of aggression against your neighbors, no more poison factories, no more executions of dissidents, no more torture chambers and rape rooms. The tyrant will soon be gone. The day of your liberation is near.

No more torture chambers and rape rooms - well Abu Ghuraib and other examples got rid of that illusion.
No more wars of aggression on your neighbors - at the same time the U.S. is threatning Iran and Syria??
No more poison factories - well, there were none to begin with.

Irony has been given a new meaning, thanks to George W.!!!

echo,

........... what about the bahais and other dhimmis ?...... are they too flourishing in iran ?........ did you see the full page ad in the ny times last sunday ?........ it seems your precious mullahs, having driven out the poor bahais, are now busy tearing down all vestiges of their past in the land of their prophet ........... soon there will be no sign of bahais in iran, just as there is no sign of the kafir and the jew in mecca .............

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malik mian,

........... as odd as it might sound to misogynist momins, i actually listen to the women in the household .............actually, since they outnumber me three to one, it is rather prudent

........ and yes, i have been reading all the books my poor daughters are assigned for summer reading by sadistic english teachers just to share in their suffering - it is one of the perils of fatherhood .............. and no, my daughter does not think i am ``yucky``, she was referring to the other desi uncles whose nose and ear hair is rather disgusting - and you know who they are! .............. as a matter of fact the girls never tire of telling me that i am ``the coolest abu in the whole wide world`` (and, by the way, all their paki friends agree even though their parents panic and start reciting the ayat-ul-qursi and laholaywalaquwat when they see me coming)

....... in any case, i still think it is time for a regime change in iran - the poor people of iran made a contract with the devil but that does not mean their future generations have to suffer ....... now, i am not advocating that the marines have to march into tehran ........... but it is our moral obligation to help lolita free herself from the clutches of humbert humbert ........... no?

Iran always wanted to dominate the region as a regional power, but the revolution of 1979 delayed the fait accompli. The only major differences between Iranian political aims under the Shah and under the present government, is that under the Shah, Iran would have been United States` client state. Under the present government, Iran would be ``self-employed`` and as an independent regional power, it would create a multipolarity of interests, which would threaten the economic hegemony of the United States over the oil producing regions of the Middle East.

Ciao