Over 200 volunteer in Iran to carry out suicide bombings in Israel

[Colorado Blue]

By The Associated Press

TEHRAN - More than 200 young men and women presented themselves Thursday as volunteers to carry out suicide bomb attacks against Israelis and Americans in Iraq.

The meeting was organized at Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, south of Tehran, by the Headquarters for Commemorating Martyrs of the Global Islamic Movement, a shadowy group that has sought volunteers for attacks in Iraq and Israel since last year.

It was the third such ceremony that the group has held, but there has been no independent confirmation that any of its volunteers has carried out a bombing. The group claims its bombers have done attacks in Israel, but Israeli officials have said all suicide bombings have been claimed by Palestinians, with militant groups releasing videotapes of the bombers speaking before their attacks.

In Iraq, Sunni militants - many of them virulently anti-Shiite - are blamed for most suicide bombings against United States troops and their Iraqi allies.

snip

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/575391.html

[eleny]

1. Hmmmm...

I don't believe it.

[tobeornottobe]

5. the question is

what's not to believe?

[drdon326]

2. But of course Israel should roll over and die.

AND they reeeeeeally want peace.

[bennywhale]

10. Who's they?

The theocracy or the people?

[Sooner75]

3. Molly Ivins offered a good suggestion.

Read Molly Ivins' column today. She observed that by being in Iraq we are hurting the Iraqis that we want to HELP set up the new Iraq. She suggested that we give the Shia a valuable bargaining chip to use with the Sunnis. It's called "You come work with us on the new Iraq, and we'll get the US out of here." As Molly said, we can't cut that deal but THEY can. We CAN give 'em that leverage.

Sounds like a winner to me. Go Molly!

[Coastie for Truth]

4. One surprise about Iranian Shia

-- and my experience is with US educated, highly assimilated, high "Americanized", "cafeteria" or "Reform" (to put it in American vernacular) Iranian Shia --

--based on a very small sample, all techies, techie academicians, or academic medicine, or co-workers, or co-workers of my wife, or in my condo complex --

1) They all know the story of an early Persian Emperor whose Jewish concubine (never wife) saved his life during a coup d'tat attempt.

2) They all know that "Kosher" is "kind of like Hallal" -- and if beef or lamb is "Kosher" it is also "Hallal" at least in an emergency if you are hungry -- and that pork can never ever be either "Kosher" or "Hallal."

3) (Sephardic) "Life Cycle Events" and Shia "Life Cycle Events" are closer to each other then either of them are to Christian "Life Cycle Events."

Funerals should be the same day - without embalming

4) The Torah is written in Hebrew, the Koran is written in Arabic, and both of them are similar to Aramaic.

5) Both Mohamed and Moses took wives from "Yitro" (which has certain tribal/clan connotations in Muslim).

[tobeornottobe]

6. the question is

will the Iranians get rid of the mullahs?

[pelsar]

7. mullahs...

eventually the will. They dont consider themselves arabs...generally they believe they are "above them". One aspect of the iraqi war is that if it does succeed, in to some kind of pseudo democracy. those iraninian students who are now starting to protest, are going to be pretty pisseed that their neighbor has managed to have CNN in their homes and they dont....stay tuned to student uprising no 2

[tobeornottobe]

8. you're a patient man

I want them gone yesterday

[bennywhale]

9. "Over 200 hundred people volunteer to carry out

suicide bombings in ISREAL"

Associated press:

"More than 200 young men and woman presented themselves Thursday as volunteers to carry out suicide bombing attacks against Isrealis and Americans in IRAQ"?

[Colorado Blue]

11. Further down in the story it sounds pretty clear that attacks

are intended within Israel, and also to kill Salmon Rushdie, besides attacks in Iraq. The paper being Israeli, they probably tailored the headline for the home front.

This MUST be a really extreme splinter group, I find it hard to add up with the people I know. But the mullahs themselves have uttered such truly hateful rhetoric, one can see how the sentiment would eventually spread. Plus they're probably scared stiff, having seen Shock and Awe in action.

But to the point of suicide bombers? Iran sends money for such things, and for weapons, but isn't this a pretty unusual development?

[bennywhale]

12. This is unnerving

but i have confidence in the overwhelmingly young popluation of Iran.

Don't know about this two hundred, but definetely not representative of Young Iranians.

I don't know iof it was on American TV (perhaps not for political reasons), but in the days following 9/11, there were huge street demonstrations in Tehran by the young, mainly students. Banners of "In Sympathy" were raised by some. It was in condolence to the US, and it was against Terrorsim.

Needless to say they were brutally dispersed and replaced with crowds not so supportive.

I really believe Iran will soon be at tipping point with its young.

[Resolution_242]

13. BUT

but i have confidence in the overwhelmingly young popluation of Iran.

Are .. uh.. they the ones who are developing Nukes despite the world's 4th Largest Oil reserves .. and will they .. uh... "The young" .. be in control of the 'button'..

[bennywhale]

14. Do you know anything of the demographics of Iran? Over

70% of the population are under 25. Many of these are beginning to pull away ideologically from the theocracy, and they are struggling to control them. Demonstrations by young students are broken up viciously by the state. It is not the sign of a cohesive state.

These young people are interacting with people outside Iran from other parts of the world.

Demographics will ultimately be the end of oppression and extremism.

Nukes? Only started developing when they saw America invade their neighbour.

From a realist perspective its a rational thing to do.

[pelsar]

15. iranians for bush....

when the BBC world service released the results of its 2004 presidential poll it revealed an interesting figure. Of the sixteen linguistic ethnical groups surveyed around the world, Persians were overwhelmingly the most supportive of President Bush. In fact, over 52 percent of Iranians preferred Republican George W. Bush to challenger John Kerry who only received 42 percent support. Thus, surprisingly, unlike in the United States where the presidential race was relegated to a couple of percentage points, in Iran President Bush won by a landslide.

Numerous other sources have confirmed these results. Renowned intellectuals and journalists have agreed. For instance, Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times, who spent an entire week in Iran, recently wrote: "Finally, I've found a pro-American country. Everywhere I've gone in Iran, with one exception, people have been exceptionally friendly and fulsome in their praise for the United States, and often for President George W. Bush as well." Thomas Friedman, another Pulitzer Prize winner and ardent critic of the war in Iraq, wrote: "young Iranians are loving anything their government hates, such as Mr. Bush, and hating anything their government loves. Iran . . . is the ultimate red state."

http://www.affbrainwash.com/archives/019413.php

interesting poll......the mullahs time is limited...its just a matter of which incident will send the "students in mass to the streets"

[Resolution_242]

16. Wrong. And of Course I know Iran's Demographics

`
bennywhale:"...Nukes? Only started developing when they saw America invade their neighbour.

"From a realist perspective its a rational thing to do."

Iran has been developing Nuclear Weapons WAY before we invaded Iraq.

Your statement that it was only since is preposterous, and Over-the-top Apologism or .. astonishing naivety/ignorance.

Many people ON the Left complained we shouldn't have invaded Iraq because the ALREADY EXTANT Iran Program was more of a threat and they (or NK), if anyone should have been first.

Alas, as we all know (with an obvious exception), 'the young' do not yet control the Government or it's weapons and may not for years to come. (Alas)

"....The current nuclear program is headed by the President, the commander of the Iranian Revulutionary Gaurd Corps (IRGC), the head of the Defense Industries Organization, and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO). These leaders continue the pursuit of WMD's and support Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear programs against all pressures from the United States and its allies.

Iran ratified the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1970, and since February 1992 has allowed the IAEA to inspect any of its nuclear facilities. Prior to 2003 no IAEA inspections had revealed Tehran's violations of the NPT.

Since the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Tehran redoubled its efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missiles. In addition to Iran's legitimate efforts to develop its nuclear power-generation industry, it is believed to be operating a parallel clandestine nuclear weapons program. Iran appears to be following a policy of complying with the NPT and building its nuclear power program in such a way that if the appropriate political decision is made, know-how gained in the peaceful sphere (specialists and equipment) could be used to create nuclear weapons (dual-use technologies have been sold to Iran by at least nine western companies during the early 1990's). Also, in this atmosphere of deception, unconfirmed reports have been made that Tehran purchased several nuclear warheads in the early 1990's

It is evident that Iran's efforts are focused both on uranium enrichment and a parallel plutonium effort. Iran claims it is trying to establish a complete nuclear fuel cycle to support a civilian energy program, but this same fuel cycle would be applicable to a nuclear weapons development program..."

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/nuke.htm

[bennywhale]

17. Ok i'll accept your point about the time-scale

however it still stands that from a realist perspective it is obvious that Iran should be pursuing nuclear weapons. I didn't say good and i didn't say "should", i said it was rational for them to do it. Which it is.

I despise the authoritarian theocracy, however it is still rational for them to pursue nuclear weapons as a way of defending themselves. Even if we think they're bad they don't think they're bad so its self preservation.

As for the young. I don't know when but demographics WILL be the downfall of the regime i just hope its before anything bad happens.