Monday, 14 August 2006

August Bloggers

Well, that one should have foxed you, because "august" is not a reference to the month we're in. August in this title means: of high position.

The BBC website alerted me to the weblog of the President of Iran.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has joined the growing international community of bloggers and heads of state with an internet presence. A few weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted an on-line debate from the Kremlin. And now, Mr Ahmadinejad has a blog.


Iran, an oil-rich state sandwiched between the Persian Gulf to the south and the Caspian Sea to the north, and Turkey to the west and Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, underwent a revolution in 1979. The Shah of Persia was overthrown by the late Ayatollah Khomeiny. Persia was renamed Iran and became a republic, ruled according to Islamic Law, in which dissent is being suppressed. Only after the death of Khomeiny, in 1989, was an element of moderation introduced. In the aftermath of the revolution, staff at the US embassy in Tehran were held hostage. A rescue attempt by US forces went dramatically wrong, and it wasn't until much later that the embassy workers were released. The USA used to support the Shah of Persia, and are regarded as arch enemy number 1. [Map courtesy this site]


Ahmadinejad was elected recently, on a right-wing ticket. His ascent to power was marked by some extremely virulent speeching against the USA and Israel, promising the destruction of Israel. The president's blog has a poll on it, asking if we agree that the current war in Lebanon is the pre-amble to World War III. Mr Ahmadinejad has also sanctioned the resumption of Iran's nuclear programme, against the direction of the UN Atomic Energy Agency. Although a long way off yet, Iran could conceivably have nuclearweapons in the future. An allegation vehemently denied by the Tehran leadership, which states that the nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes, i.e. generation of power.

In the Middle East theatre, Iran is alleged to be supporting various factions in Lebanon and Iraq, primarily those with Shi'ite affiliation. For reference, there are at least two factions within Islam, Sunnis (ex-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein belonged to those) and Shi'ites. The Iranians are primarily Shi'ite, and fought a bloody war with Iraq between 1980 and 1988. Iraq was seen as a useful buffer against the Iranian foe, so its leader Saddam Hussein was forgiven all his atrocities and armed to the teeth by the then US administrations. Don't times change.

Coming back to the Shi'ite groups, one of those is called Hezbollah or Hizbollah. Ring a bell? That's the one that took two Israeli soldiers hostage on July 12th this year, after seeing the Israeli response to a similar incident in the Gaza Strip. I called that a deliberate provocation, one that the Israelis responded to as anticipated, in the usual heavy-handed way. And it hasn't helped them one bit, so far.

If anyone is wondering how Hezbollah got by all its heavy weaponry, look at Iran and nearby Syria. A lot of protest is currently going on against Israeli bombardments in Lebanon, which is an overreaction. Arab leaders have been deafening in their silence on this issue, seeing that Hezbollah is calling the shots (sic) in Lebanon, not the government in Beirut.

President Ahmadinejad has made some speeches which exceed his remit
as head of state. You don't call for the destruction of another state. He supports non-governmental armed factions in another state, undermining that state's legitimate government. He is in defiance of United Nations rulings on nuclear industry.

When you visit his blog, click on the US-like flag to switch to English. Read his blog, if the switch to the following page works. Remember that bloggers in Iran are subject to a very sophisticated on-line censorship. Bear in mind what I wrote.
I do not claim to be an authority on the country, far from it. But this summary is close enough, I think.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for this summary Pharm, very helpful.

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  2. Saw him on 60 Minutes last night, in quite a long interview.  He comes off as a very intelligent, well-spoken personality.  He is definitely someone to be taken seriously.  His contempt for Western powers was very evident.
    Lori

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  3. inreresting Guido
    natalie

    ReplyDelete