The evil side of extremism

Signs of America's decline are all over the walls for those who only care to look


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The evil side of extremism
by Ali A Parsa
23-Nov-2007
 

We should condemn extremism of all kind, right? Wrong. The purpose of this writing is to demonstrate that, extremism like a coin has two sides-good and evil. Then, why do most of us fail to observe that during the long history of our world, the extremists have been behind all important events and movements such as revolutions, dynasty replacements and other changes, from drastic to subtle?

We also need to remind ourselves that only one or a handful of leaders are the engines of the movements and they determine the direction of the change-good or evil. It follows that all great religions like Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as other lesser religions have been manifestations of extremist views of their time in opposition to the status quo.

In fact, extremism has been an integral part of all changes in our natural world and the underlying cause of evolution in response to the ever-evolving physical, chemical and biological changes and interactions going on within all living systems, from a single cell to complex organisms in nature.

One common denominator in behavior of living systems is that they all exhibit an initial resistance to change, but gradually adjust to them until a new equilibrium in the system is reached or all the dust is settled at least for a while, or until another change is needed. As a soil scientist with deep concern for the direction of our world, I see a clear resemblance between the living system of soil and human societies. The living system of soil has what we call the buffer system that resists drastic changes like, for instance in pH- acidity or alkalinity of the soil until a new equilibrium is reached and new adjustments are made. Suffice to say that if not for this marvelous buffer power of the soil, all life within the soil would succumb to the sudden changes. Further scientific explanation of such interesting phenomenon is beyond the scope of this writing. In the Far East this social phenomenon is referred to as the balance between ying and yang. In human societies ignorance, arrogance and hypocrisy can disturb this balance and create catastrophes.

The reason for this is that whereas extremisms in natural world have always followed the natural rules of law, but in human societies they often don't. This is due to interference from the imperfect human beings and the inferiority of their decision making as compared with the strict laws of nature. That constitutes the reason why most people or public dreads the change in status quo. Indeed, most revolutions have left a bad taste in public's mouths. Most extremists have abused the public and utilized them as instruments to feather their own nests. It is most ironic that most governments have been selective in the kind of education and information they instill in the public in order to avoid or delay another change in status quo.

Although a minority of public-the elite has managed to survive the evil of extremism, that has not been the case with most people (the masses). It seems as if the masses lack the ability of searching for truth, analyzing the facts and making unbiased personal, social, economic and political decisions by default. Indeed, the deprivation of the public from reaching their maximum potential has turned full control of the public to a handful of leaders to do as they wish. Such abuse of the public has led to more death and destruction in our history than that from natural calamities up to the present time. A popular American saying is, 'never underestimate the power of stupidity especially in groups!'

During humankind's recorded history, replacement of weaker governments by stronger ones in pursuit of power and wealth has been the real cause of all events behind the veneer of deceiving slogans. In our contemporary time the use of 'people' as in People's Republic, socialist republic and even Government of the People have gradually lost their meanings even if they had genuine causes and went through some initial reconstruction periods. However, sharing the power with the masses has not been an issue. As a result, the government and the people remained separated and the balance of power has, in most cases in favor of the governments. In the words of Barbara Tuckman, "Every revolution, in time, puts on the robes of the tyrant it deposed." While a few have argued the necessity of the governments for maintaining law and order and certain functions, the public at large has not been able to prevent their cancerous growth and their abuse of power.

One philosophical question facing humankind has always been, why does the public is short-changed even though it pays the most taxes, give more of their lives and plays by the rules more often. And, why even during the twenty first century or our modern time, in spite of our marvelous technology and its utilization in every aspect of our lives we have not been able to educate, inform and empower the public to shape their own destiny instead of leaving it to the extremists. In other words, why is the public more willing to forgo its rights and even resort to substance abuse and apathy instead of becoming active part of the political processes that affect their lives and pocket bloods? Why do we prefer to sit down, complain, let the chips fall where they may and then whine after we are shortchanged by the governments-or when the gate is left open and the horse is out, so to speak.

This indifference by the public and the abuse of its power by the governments has led to birth and premature death of many nations. As Erick Fromm said, "The world is graveyard of empires that did not meet the challenge of their time." The best answer to the question of public apathy seems to have been that by J.P. Durran who, in 1790 said, "The condition upon which God granted us liberty is eternal vigilance." Why is this eternal vigilance absent in most of us?

Unfortunately this and similar pleas from the elite have not been heeded by the mass. It is this ignorance that breeds apathy and complacency. It is also ignorance that makes the mass unconditional followers. Perhaps the saying "Ignorance is a bliss" expresses the general opinion of the mass. One answer may be that the masses are too decent and too honest to be involved in dirty politics. This unsolved puzzle still deserves considerable historical, philosophical, social and political discussions. Let us trace the historical aspects to about the beginning of a kind of recorded history.

Sinohe (pronounced SeeNohay) was a man who rose from the depth of degradation to become personal physician to the pharaoh Akhnaton. His views of the public in 14th Century B.C. Egypt was the title of the first major historical novel (The Egyptian, listed at amazon.com) published in 1949 by Mika Woltari, widely considered the greatest Finnish writer of 20th Century. In this book Sinohe states that the public is not educable and always prefers to be ignorant and, if educated, always tends to revert to the state of ignorance! He likened educating the public to dipping a person in water. He said, as that wet person does not stay wet when out of water, the public and education, too, do not stay together! The irony is that Sinohe considered himself as elite rather than a common man that he originally was and he elevated his own status first and then he denigrated the public. The hidden conclusion is that even though the public as a whole prefers not to be decision makers, all or a limited number of them can, through their effort cross over and become the leaders in their respective fields. The bottom line seems to be that a minority of the people or the elite have and will always be responsible for all changes.

Obviously no revolution went as far as the American Revolution to provide the opportunity for the public to break the barriers of class or a kind of caste system and reach their maximum potentials. The beauty of the American Revolution was its universal acceptance and the fact that it espoused talented people not only of its own, but also from all over the globe regardless of their background.

No extremist movement contained as much antidote for preventing the abuse of the public by the government as the American Revolution. The success of this revolution was due to the genuine desire of a handful of men who opposed the status quo. Thomas Jefferson, a staunch believer of change in status quo believed that society, like standing water becomes stagnant if not stirred once in a while. He is also quoted as saying, "God forbid if this nation goes without a revolution for twenty years," as if he could predict the problems our nation is facing now. Obviously Jefferson could not recommend a physically destructive revolution especially with the modern lethal weaponry. His was mainly intellectual revolution that could even be considered evolution rather than revolution.

History repeats and the American Revolution that illuminated the world is all, but faded away and is need of serious revival. In fact I call what is going on in America 'the undoing of the American Revolution' that invented the 'government of the people, by and for the people'-the first movement in the history of the world that tried to elevate the status of the public by devising the public education system.

At the start of twenty-first century while we have invented all kinds of gadgets to make our lives easier and save time, we are barely taking the first effective step to make use of the dividends of our marvelous technology to reduce the gullibility of the public. The bitter truth is that we have the most gullible people in the world. The irony is that while the cost of education goes up and we throw more money into the system we educate less. In the meantime, we have amassed weapons of mass destruction to destroy our world and ourselves many times over.

What we have achieved in recent decades has been the positive balance of our evil power that has baffled our most respected scientists and philosophers in their intellectual discourse. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The end of human race is that it will die of civilization." And, Albert Einstein was so concerned about abuse of technology that he said, "I do not know what weapons will be used in WW III, but I do know that WW IV will be fought with sticks and stones." I personally suspect that if we did a quantitative research on the net positive effects our technology that net effect would be zero or minus something.

I submit that all abuses stem from ineffective education, lack of ethics and lack or shortage of effective leaders. If not for these shortages, we could mobilize the masses in a way that we could use their latent positive potential and make our world better. In fact millions of decent Americans are volunteering to bring about positive changes both in America and abroad, but not enough to defeat the evil side of extremists.

Let us not forget that the American Revolution, the most noble, the longest lasting and the most effective revolution owed its success to a handful of leaders who were the products of effective education, ethical upbringing and followers of exemplary leaders before them. That is not to say that they were all angels, had no evil sides, did not engage in mud slinging and dirty politics that are customary at our time, but it is to say that they were as perfect as imperfect humans could be.

For thousands of years religious and secular leaders and gurus believed that education would redeem humankind and would put an end to death and destruction brought about by ignorant, arrogant and selfish leaders who took the public for a long ride to achieve their selfish goals. The American Revolution was meant to put an end to this tyranny with the invention of public education for educating and enlightening the public to fend themselves against their selfish leaders. That noble purpose is reflected best in Thomas Jefferson who said, "Enlighten the people and the tyranny of body and mind will disappear like evil spirit at the dawn of a day."

It is not difficult to trace the reasons for the downfall of America. Simply put, it is the reverse of what Jefferson said. That is, keep the people in the dark and tyranny of body and mind will appear like evil spirit in the dusk of a day!-my own phrase.

America is the youngest and the most successful empire on earth. Only those with a sense of world history know that countless empires have appeared and disappeared from the face of the earth. The founders of America would spin in their grave if they could see how the nation they founded is taken for a ride by the evil side of extremism that is turning back the clock of history of America and the world. It is allowing the infrastructure of America go to ruin and trample upon the cradles of civilization just as Genghis Khan did in the 13th century and similar ones at other times. Recall Albert Einstein's concern. The signs of decline are all over the walls for those who only care to look.

These signs should be serious concerns of all citizens of this Nation of Immigrants, no matter when we adopted this land as our home or where we came from. In fact, the newly arriving immigrants have always been more protective of the American Ideals than those who were born here and lost the sense of appreciation through apathy and complacency. The most vivid sign of decline of America is that this backbone of America is constantly bombarded with the colonial mentality of extremists and neocons that ridicule immigrants, multiculturalism and multilingualism. This is nothing but declaring a war on the whole America and divide this unique Nation of Immigrants at its seams. Did the fact that all America's founders were bilingual or multilingual hurt America in any way or strengthened it through diversity? Indeed, with friends like these America needs no other enemies to worry about. If we worried about anti-American activities, this is it. Once again, welcome to observe the undoing of the American Revolution.

Let us use one historical evidence and judge for ourselves how the today's extremists use the same tactic as 2500 years ago and expect the public in America and in the world believe them.

"BEWARE THE LEADER WHO BANGS THE DRUMS OF WAR IN ORDER TO WHIP THE CITIZENRY INTO A PATRIOTIC FEVER, FOR PATRIOTISM IS INDEED A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. IT BOTH EMBOLDENS THE BLOOD, JUST AS IT NARROWS THE MIND. AND WHEN DRUMS OF WAR HAVE REACHED A FEVER PITCH AND THE BLOOD BOILS WITH HATE AND THE MIND HAS CLOSED, THE LEADER WILL HAVE NO NEED IN SEIZING THE RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENRY. RATHER, THE CITIZENRY, INFUSED WITH FEAR AND BLINDED BY PATRIOTISM, WILL OFFER UP ALL THEIR RIGHTS UNTO THE LEADER AND GLADLY SO. HOW DO I KNOW? FOR THIS IS WHAT I HAVE DONE AND I AM CAESAR..." -Julius Caesar

I leave you with a few questions and I hope you as the reader will help me to answer these questions:

How does the public still fall prey of the extremists after some 2500 years after Julius Caesar, not mentioning the onslaught of numerous others who seduced the public?

Moreover, why does this still happen in America in which public education, freedom, and democracy had the best chance to grow, mature, elevate the status of the public once and for all? In other words, how does the otherwise decent public is so detached from reality and the least interested in its own history, its present and its future generations who will inherit even more of the same?

Let us assume for a moment that the whole world emulates America in every respect as the extremists wish. Let us predict the social, economic and global impact of this emulation.

Social impacts -- A public education system that educates less and costs more; a public that is the least informed not only about the history and geography and culture of the world, but those of their own country ; the least voter turnout in exercising their participatory democracy ; a public and government that spend more money that they have; a public that chooses 'shop till you drop as a big source of relaxation; a public that is confused even about simple facts of life such as when, what and hoe much to eat, then over eat and spend billions of dollars to lose weight; a government that does not care about record national debt that spends borrowed money to venture into unhardened territories and trample over the Cradles of Civilization as Genghis Khan did, but more sophisticated warfare at the cost of bankruptcy of Social Security and Medicare; bullying the smaller country and allow the idea of bullying to spread not only in international arena, but in school yards, punishing drug producing countries because they are unable to fight the widespread substance abuse inside their own borders, energizing the repressive regimes if they cooperate and punishing more democracies if they choose to not to follow the order of the bullies; practically stealing the resources of other countries by any conceivable illegal means in order to live beyond their own means; being indifferent to international rules; letting the wage disparity ruin the morale of its workers; getting their young so disinterested in education that would increasingly depend on import of talents from other countries; making the country bankrupt and calling the most debtor country the richest nation on earth, following the example of colonial powers during the twenty first century; not recognizing that educated generations in emerging make this impossible; replacing truth with falsehood, peace with war, justice with injustice, education with ignorance, patriotism with profiteering and corruption,; be indifferent to the will of the young people to fight senseless wars and using mercenary to conduct such wars.

The best antidote to the above self-destructing trend is effective education that includes ethics and exemplary leaders. America has the wherewithal to educate the world starting from its own public with a cost that is a pittance as compared to development of weapons of mass destruction. Ignorance brings arrogance and these breed terrorism by highlighting the evil side of the people. Just watch the Animal Planet and see how wild animals are tamed and the best friends. All the extremists can do is to believe that people too, are educable.

Those who have abandoned hope that corporate America has no human face, should recognize the fact that corporations, too, have humane side and evil side. If Bill Gates and his wife have demonstrated this, so can the others.

While America is grappled with these problems the world is making more progress than America and yet our extremist leaders have gone into denial rather than facing reality which is the first step to overcome the problems. In other words, America remains a sleeping giant while the world goes through progress. Not long ago the same extremists used to turn their nose when a Japanese product was mentioned. Now, not only Japan, but also China and other newly emerging nations are added to that list and their products beat those of America's while America's trade deficits rise.

Finally, I hope that I do not leave the readers with the impression that I do not love America. I love truly love the American public, American history, its founders and the ideals they had. I only dislike where America is going. To me this writing is the ultimate expression of my love for America. I am not one of those who praise everything in America and deny the reality. To me, America's proven and unprecedented record of leading the world makes it the best superpower if America survives its present extremist leadership.

My only source of optimism and hope has been the way the decent Americans have expressed their dissatisfaction with the status quo during the last midterm elections. If that enthusiasm for change becomes a reality I will be my reward. I appreciate it if the readers assist me to answer the following questions:

By undoing the American Revolution, do the extremists believe that the public is not educable as Sinohe' did in ancient Egypt?

Is the extremists' resistance to change and ignoring the will of the public an indication of their belief that American Revolution was in vain?

To what extent are extremists driven by ignorance, arrogance and greed? Do our present extremist leaders qualify to be the real 'axis of evil?'

Please visit my website: www.terrorismandhowtostopit.org


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more from Ali A Parsa
 
Sahameddin Ghiassi

You shared nice materials

by Sahameddin Ghiassi on

Thanks a lot for this article.  


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IranIrooni, lack of

by Nader - West Covina (not verified) on

IranIrooni, lack of knowledge of people around the world does not make you “uneducated” or “indifferent” towards what going on in the world. These Americans are the same people whom their private sector helped the Muslim Tsunami victims more than the Islamic governments chipped in, combined. Yes, the same Muslims with enormous wealth showed how humane they are. Plus, are you saying that average people in lets say Brazil, Congo, Thailand, Slovenia……and the majority of the countries around the world, know everything about other cultures? Have you talked to Europeans, South Americans and others who think that it’s actually the Iranian people whom are terrorists, not the government? At least the Americans claim only the government is a terrorist inspiring and supporting government. And you argument about “Neo cons using technology to control the masses” is comical. Just one reason out of hundreds, U.S has been the leading the technological innovation for close to a century now,. And if we accept you claim about the “Neo Cons”, let’s just say they’re in “power” for 8 years only. And finally, if you think Islamic terrorism is not a threat, I would not say that you are not aware of the situation around the world, because pro-U.S policies and anti-U.S policies both agree that Islamic terrorism is the biggest threat of post WWII world, I would say that only someone who has clear HATRED and OGHDEH towards America will say that Islamic Fundamentalism is not a threat.


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While I praised your article, I must say ...

by IranIrooni (not verified) on

Ali - I will again say, may God bless you for what you wrote. HOWEVER, as an honest human being, I must say that I could not find a 'legitimate' source to your Julius Caesar quote. In fact, I have found a couple of sites, well known and well respected sites, that believe Caesar may never have said this, and his quote was another example of and Internet hoax. In fact, they referred to various terms used in the quote and cited that their usage was very unlikely in the Roman times B.C. Just an fyi, and I recommend that you somehow verify it is a Caesar quote. I must say that no matter who may have said it, I certainly agree with it.


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May God (whether a Muslim, Jewish, Christian or other) Bless You

by IranIrooni (not verified) on

Ali - that was a great piece. I basically agree with what you wrote. In terms of lack of education driving this unwanted and fearful trend, I think we should ask why has education, the desire for it, and of course, its cost, increased so much? And with education, I am including individuals' knowledge of current events in the US and around the world, type of education that would make a democracy really work (as it creates more knowledgable voters). Education overall is declining because of a couple of reasons - 1) lack of time and 2) false view that it is not necessary (and this view is based on short-term thinking). Americans, regular American families, literally have no time to be aware of what's going on in the US or in the world. Both men and women of families have to work full-time every week in order to get by, and of course raise their kids. When workers come home, they have to spend the limited available time with their families, so where's that extra reading time per day, or that extra interaction time with family members and others per day???? It isn't there. For this reason, the media can easily influence the public. Communication is now in the form of mktg words, and with limited time available to the public, as long as the media gets those key words and messages across, its done its job. Nowadays "islamifacism", "terrorism", "9/11", "patriotism", "safety", "freedom", "fear" .. and more have become key words that have influenced so many. What's amazing is that while many now understand how their unknowing ignorance (incl myself) led to the disaster we are seeing in iraq, the same thing will lead to approval and launch of the Iran war.

And regarding your thoughts on the technology "gadgets", I think those have actually more than anything helped those neocons to influence the mass ... that's probably the saddest thing.

Again, a great piece. Wish you, your family, and everyone in the US, Iran, Iraq, and the entire world, good luck, health and happiness.


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Extremism? EXTREMIST?

by Faribors Maleknasri M. D (not verified) on

An extremist is the one who practices the extremism. It is known that for the graet devil the countries which do not give thier wealth voluntarily are all but extremists. the countries who give at least more than the half of their wealth are the moderats. Iran was for years the best friend of devils and western. Iranians gave all. not only their wealth. they had begann to give also their ideals away. the iranians ideals. Since AN SABU BESHKAST O AN PEYMANEH RIKHT is iran one of the mostextremists countries of the world. then come some countries of middel america and some arab-countries. the arab countries who prefer to live with their mighty rich and glorious IRI such as saudi arabia, jordan, kuwait, emirates well the devil does not know how these countries are to classifeid. one can assum that they will be soon all but extremists. please just acknowledge the folloing:
US must acknowledge Iran as a key regional player!
is this not the most ugly sighn of extremism? how can any body - please acknowledge: any body! -ever dare to think something like that? unless she/he is an extremist? Just imagin the one who has said that is:Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijaniin following interview( he dares even to give interview):

Q. My first question is about the nuclear blue print that Iran handed to the IAEA. Many argue that the sole notion of Iran having such a document is suspicious. What kind of effect do you think this has had on the public opinion?
A. Our cooperation with the IAEA basically started with the Lisbon negotiations where we reached an agreement with EU's Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana and the IAEA and a Modality was hammered out. I feel that we are en route to success. The modalities worked out between us and the agency, have been carried out successfully and the supervision of the agency has been implemented.

On the other hand Mr. ElBaradei's report also reveals Iran's truthfulness in cooperating with the IAEA.

Although at times some world leaders were diplomatically tongue tied regarding the issue. For instance some countries said they were astonished by the report.

After reading and processing ElBaradei's report, the world leaders started to comment on the subject. US officials labeled our interaction with IAEA 'selective'. This is not true since Iran is proceeding in the context of a modality concluded with the agency. If the Bush administration has any concerns regarding our peaceful nuclear program they should interact with the agency and ask them whether we have remained true to the modality or not. The IAEA has expressed its satisfaction with our cooperation.

Our impression is that although they have accepted with their hearts, they cannot testify to this truth with their tongues.

Both parties have a crucial role in the process. On the one hand Iran should ponder more on the issue and on the other hand Mr. ElBaradei and Solana should not let the game-wreckers wreck the game and succeed in destroying what has been achieved so far. I am very hopeful that this will have good results.

Q. Why are the US and its allies sabotaging Iran's nuclear case?

An American scholar who is also a member of a foreign relations committee said that although the nuclear issue is commonly understood to be the main outstanding setback between Iran and the US, it is not the main issue.

We have to accept Iran is a key regional player however, the US refuses to recognize this. They are threatened by Iran's strategic position, natural resources and young and educated work force and our influence in the region. Iran has also joined the nuclear club with its development in peaceful nuclear technology.

If they recognize Iran's role in the region and have a logical interaction with Tehran, the result would be a win-win situation.

Many European politician's which I have encountered believe Iran has a key regional position and they have expressed their desire to expand relations with Iran in various fields.

But some countries are troublemakers. They make contradictory remarks. Recently I read a book by a Harvard lecturer on the Zionist Lobby's role in the US. The author says that after 9/11 the Zionist lobby pushed America to engage other countries to attack Iraq. Does being the Zionists' slave serve the US national interests? Are the Americans loosing troops in Iraq or the Zionists?

I believe that after much trial and error in the region, the Americans must come to the realization that military confrontation with Iran will not serve their interests. However, should they decide on decent interaction with Iran, they will see positive results in terms of regional peace and stability.

I believe the root of the US aggression toward Iran does not lie in our nuclear program rather I believe it to be much more complicated than that.

Q. Some political analysts argue that Iran is not on the right path in the negotiations and they have certain reasons for this argument. They believe it's too late for negotiations and that the US and Israel are pushing hard for a military confrontation with Iran. Do you think that Iran should continue on this path or change its policies?

A. Iran does not want to play this predetermined chase game. I believe we are on a logical path and we will continue with our current strategies. I agree that there are certain parties pushing the US into a conflict with us, but I also believe there are logical people in America who realize that a new conflict is not in their interest.

The important thing is to understand that Iran has now achieved peaceful nuclear technology. We are committed to a peaceful nuclear program and the agency has attested to this.

This peaceful technology can benefit the region; however, if they take the wrong step they will face the consequences and will end up in a situation similar to Iraq.

Q. The US and the Zionist lobby have the power of the media and they are propagating against Iran what do you think Iran should do to nullify the propaganda?

A. If you look at our most recent cooperation with the agency it's very clear that the Western media is deliberately ignoring Iran's achievements with the IAEA.

This is not possible. We have reached an agreement with Mr. Solana in Lisbon. The Agency has greater supervision vis-à-vis Iran's current activities and so far all past ambiguities have been resolved.

We have done whatever the agency required. The contaminated containers in Karaj were inspected and are no longer an issue. We also had supervision in our Arak facility and the recent report also refers to an agreement over Natanz. In addition to all these agreements we have allowed snap inspections to take place.

Regarding the P1 and P2 centrifuges the agency put forward 50 questions, each one in turn consisted of many sub questions. They also conducted interviews and we went beyond our legal obligations to the IAEA. The agency's recent report confirms that the problem concerning the P1 and P2 issue has been resolved.

We have gone the extra mile; however the US and its allies are still not happy. They are demanding things beyond our agreement with Mr. ElBaradei.

The problem is that they do not clarify what they want from Iran. They say we should cooperate with the agency and explain about our past activities. As soon as we try to solve one problem they immediately put forward another one. I believe we need serious dialogue, they must tell us what they want in plain language so we can respond accordingly.

Even though their voice can be heard loader as they are in control of the world media, having a mouthpiece is not always enough; you need evidence to back up your claims.

While America is facing serious problems in Iraq, the Bush administration continues to paint a portrait of success in Iraq. But this is far from the truth.

Q. How could we use that negative public opinion to our own benefit?

A. I am sure Iran can make use of this capacity. An American presidential candidate has said they need at least ten years to wipe out and effectively change the heinous picture the Bush administration has painted in the region. This is the reality of today's world. Hatred is building up in the people of the region including Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf littoral states vis-à-vis their incorrect policies. The same goes for Pakistan where the same hatred is felt.

Negroponte was in Pakistan some days ago. Such actions will not help Parviz Musharraf; they will only worsen the situation. The very presence of the US in the region and their lobbying is making Muslims sensitive.

Condoleezza Rice has time and again mentioned US's unconditional support for the Zionist Regime by saying we are Israel's strategic partner in the region. They must realize that this in itself is problematic. They are not honest they are biased and because of this people hate them.

They vowed to turn Iraq into a beacon of democracy. Do we have a beacon of democracy right now in Iraq? Five or six months ago the Americans conducted a survey; originally a high percentage of Iraqi people had high hopes for creating democracy in the country but now only three percent of the Iraqi public has any hope.

They might claim that Al Qaeda is at work there, they are attacking us not others, but the main issue is what they have done to the Iraqi people. How they have treated them? Your soldiers are breaking doors; they are beating defenseless men, women and children. It's quite natural that the Iraqi public has lost faith in the cause of this war.

This is where the media comes in. the media can remedy and whitewash the reality to some extent but it won't be able to wipe everything clean. I am not saying that this situation that the Americans have brought on themselves is to our benefit. We don't want the Muslim world to hold the American nation in contempt. But the same time we believe American officials are totally to blame for causing these bleak circumstances.

Q. With regards to all the points you mentioned the US is pushing for a new round of sanctions. After the release of this recent positive report, do you think the Bush Administration will be able to pass a new round of sanctions in the UN Security Council and if it actually does how will it affect Iran?

A. America is marching toward a new adventure in the region. So far they have not been able to misuse Mr. ElBaradei's report. We have information that the US pressured the IAEA which resulted in the alteration of some main points in the final report. The original text and the final released document have certain differences.

After the release of the document they took many different positions and expressed different views. Their initial reaction labeled Iran's cooperation with the agency as selective. This was not true. We have a cooperation agreement and we are acting accordingly.

I cannot predict the future but I think the US will insist on the next resolution to be passed against Iran. My recommendation to them would be to allow Mr. Solana and Mr. ElBaradei to take the peace projects forward. This can benefit the US in the region but if they want to change the rules of the game then Iran will pay special attention to everything.

Q. A number of analysts ask why Iran has let the situation come to this point? Why wasn't Iran transparent from the beginning?

A. We have gone down a bumpy road in our negotiations with the West and have experienced many ups and downs. At one point we agreed on a two-year suspension and voluntarily implemented the additional protocol, but nothing came out of this for Iran. And at the end of the day we had nothing in return for our good will.

We resumed our program as they were not true to their word. From then on we have remained open to the idea of reaching an agreement and we have had numerous talks with Western officials.

In Berlin we came to an understanding with Mr. Solana and we were committed to the implementation of this agreement. But the West literally chose to ignore our accord and walked away.

As we have said many times before we are ready to negotiate but if we face any kind of discrimination we will not hesitate in delivering a fitting response.

We have told Mr. ElBaradei that we are ready to cooperate with the agency and we proposed they select five subjects at a time and we will cooperate and resolve these issues one by one.

In the past they conducted a series of inspections but nobody really found out what the end results of those inspections were. It's like a person holding a basket full of apples, taking a bite out of each apple and throwing the rest out. What we are saying is that you have an apple in your hand finish eating the apple then start eating another apple.

The new document is very clear, supposedly we will first deal with plutonium once that is completed we will go on to the case of the containers and when that's completed we will proceed to P1 and P2. This is very transparent.

Our position is clear. Our red line is the NPT but if their demands go beyond the NPT we will have to sit down and talk to determine what they really want from Iran.

Iran has declared time and again that it has nothing to hide.

There are two approaches toward Iran. One in the technical approach which is proceeding rather smoothly. The other approach is an illogical one, for instance Israel may come out and say we don't want a nuclear Iran. This is their problem and we don't need to do what they desire.

States should first and foremost figure out how they want to deal with this issue. Do they want to take the logical path or the illogical one?

This will certainly help find solutions for some regional problems. When you look around you see that thanks to the Americans there are problems in Iraq, in Lebanon and in Afghanistan to name a few.

Consider Afghanistan the occupying forces were supposed to control drugs and destroy terrorism in the country. In which front have they succeeded? Narcotics production has reached 8500 tons compared to a couple of years ago when it was 3000 tons.

The Bush administration can either constructively engage Iran to help normalize relations or oppose it.

When you see that Iran has set its mind on working with the IAEA and that it will stop at nothing to achieve regional security, common sense tells you to use this to your benefit.
I am afraid! I am afraid if those 70 Million Extremists - some poeple use to call them " fanatic Mullahs " - well I am afraid if those in Iran living extremists continue to do so sonn they have the holocaust in their country and its neighbourhood. All ther littl and big devils and first of all the graet satan will be then burned down.
I think it is better for me to come to an End. In "IRANIAN" is nothing sacred. but there are things which are even less sacred. they are not aloud to be mentioned. Greeting


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Extremism - a faulty application of a word

by LostIdentity (not verified) on

I think there's a misconception about the word : extremism. I think we use this word carelessly thise days. To me an over-achiever is an extremist and the action of over-achieving is therefore : extremism.

I would rather use the word : Agreession as it rightly applies to the contemporary elements who push their agenda.
My point, Extremism is a character issue and eventually will bear instability since it's not sustainable within one's physics with a limited energy source.

Aggression is the intolerable action that an over-achiever takes beyond his natural right. The outcome is that the nature, society, people or an individual will fall victim to this action.

So, I think extremism is a natural right of a person provided that the effect is limited to his/her own domain.


alborz

We should condemn...

by alborz on

all forms of extremism, because it has only one side.  While I agree with the assessment of the current state of affairs, I must say that the writer neglects to make a few associations amongst key historical events and this failure, could alter the conclusions he has reached.

 

In the words of George Bernard Shaw,  "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

This philosophical outlook pre-supposes a historical context and a social condition that is conducive for change to take root and sustainably change the course of human civilization.  The term "extremists" in the context of this article confers a status that is reserved for those that have brought about positive and lasting change to human civilization.  This is certainly not the case for extremists. None of the Prophets of God, whether it be, Zoroaster, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Christ, Muhammad, The Bab or Bahaullah were extremists in their historical contexts.  Neither were notable national leaders such as Gandhi or Lincoln.  Extremism is defined as "a tendency or disposition to go to extremes or an instance of going to extremes, esp. in political matters: leftist extremism; the extremism of the Nazis," and extremist is defined as "One who advocates or resorts to measures beyond the norm, especially in politics.” 

 

Now can we say that Jesus was an extremist Jew?  Hardly.  Words used inappropriately can convey a message either not intended or one that the writer is purposefully trying to conceal.  In the first instance it leads to misunderstadings and in the second it is deceptive.  In this context, while I agree with the writer that change is brought about by those that do not settle for the status quo, I cannot call them extremists.  As an example, Muslim extremists have achieved very little in gaining wide spread adoption of their beliefs, but rather brought about a realization that people in this world have a collective interest in combating them and any form of extremism, and have caused the creation of a more unified front in opposing extremism of any sort.  The realization that no nation is immune from the adverse conditions of this world, has led to a positive advancement in human civilization which we now refer to as "collective security" in a new world order. This development can hardly be credited to the extremists whose objective was never to bring about a "collective concern" for the condition of the world.

 

This American Republic will continue to exert its influence in world events for the foreseeable future.  Despite its blunders, it will exert a lasting influence on the course of human civilization. In fact, the education and awareness of the American public today about the world, and the Mid-East in particular, has never been greater and as a result they will be making decisions about the future leadership of their country differently based on their greater awareness, no matter how deficient it may still be.  This country goes through a revolution every 4 or 8 years and the lessons learned in each cycle will continue to influence the direction that the community of nations will take.

 

Finally, let’s be clear that there is not a single instance where extremists, as defined earlier, have made substantive or lasting contribution to human civilization or its advancement.  Also, the advancement of human civilizaiton has never been a linear progression. It has consisted of a pattern of progress and regression.  Recall that Europe’s emergence out of the Dark Ages was founded on a declining civilization that was born out of the emergence of Islam as not just a religion that concerned itself with the human soul and spirituality, but as a template for regulating all aspects of human interaction.  Today’s extremists have no such contribution to make. No doubt we will continue to see the rise and fall of beliefs, ideologies, governments and through it all, the status quo will change, not because of extremist, but in spite of them. For this reason alone all extremism, by its true definition, should be condemned and not tolerated.

 

Alborz


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