Letter from Iran

Are we headed for a Bay of Pigs in Iran?

By Gary Sick

//edition.cnn.com/2012/03/05/opinion/sick-ira...

"There is an inevitability about sanctions imposed for political reasons. Serious negotiations and compromise are precluded, and the appetite for ever-stronger sanctions grows with the realization that past efforts were a failure. If you set an impossible objective and then begin imposing sanctions to achieve it, the result is always more sanctions, until you arrive at the point where there are no more sanctions and only force remains.

We are approaching that point."

In case you missed it here is the full page ad in The Washington Post that was signed by heavy weights of the military and intelligence world advocating against a war of choice on Iran.

//www.niacouncil.org/images/content/pagebuild...

Here is more regarding the ad:

//www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/03/05-4

Here is a very slick multi-media presentation by the Council of Foreign Relations entitled "Crisis Guide: Iran".

//www.cfr.org/interactives/CG_Iran/index.html

Note that "Time to Attack Iran" written by Matthew Kroenig was published by CFR's "Foreign Affairs" and was followed by a deluge of counter-arguments.

//www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136917/matt...

The Iran Debate: To Strike or Not to Strike""

//www.foreignaffairs.com/features/collections...

Personally I think Iran's nuclear program is a huge mistake and the truth about the nuclear industry has been hidden from the Iranian people. If they knew the facts they would demand that it be dismantled and abandoned. Here is one good article that lays out the facts about nuclear power:

"Nuclear Power and the Big Lie"

by KARL GROSSMAN

//www.counterpunch.org/2012/03/05/nuclear-pow...

"Dr. Yablokov, a biologist, and two other scientists, in the 2009 book, published by the New York Academy of Sciences, find that 985,000 people died between 1986, the year of the Chernobyl accident, and 2004 from the radioactivity it released. He projects the Fukushima toll will be greater.

Besides blowing in the wind, the radioactive poisons from Fukushima have been spread in food, which is why several countries have restricted food imports from Japan.
Moreover, the sea along the Fukushima site provides a vast pathway for spreading radioactivity. When radioactive poison gets into the marine environment a “concentration factor” kicks in as the radiation moves up the food chain. Small fish eat radiation-contaminated seaweed, and medium-size fish eat the small fish. Then big fish eat the medium-size fish and radioactivity becomes increasingly concentrated. Some of the fish are migratory, so it’s not just sushi in Tokyo that’s imperiled.

“A Duke University study found that the cost of solar power has not only recently declined by half, but also is poised to become cheaper than nuclear, even in places that aren’t always sunny.” The claims, she accurately wrote, that safe, clean, renewable power is not here to substitute for atomic energy “simply don’t stand up to scrutiny.”

Finally, about the "elections" in Iran: Even though the regime is claiming 64% the turnout seems to be in the range of 35%. Now that 35% consists of at least 20% that were coerced to vote because if they did not they would be punished in various forms; unable to be promoted in government agencies, unable to get licenses to open private businesses which would be the case for medical students, and of course members of the military establishment which have to vote. So there remains 10% to 15% of the population that actually supports this regime. So who are they? Well, they are the very religious, fundamentalists, blind faith types that truly believe in Mahdi and that Khamenie is the representative of Allah on earth. They are the families that will send their children to die on minefields because they totally believe that child will go directly to heaven. They are worshipers of martyrdom and it is this very large segment of the population that is the foundation of this regime. So the question for regime change advocates is: How do you bring about regime change when you have three to five million Iranians that make up this foundation? And they are the ones that control the television, radio, schools, newspapers, courts, government agencies and all political and military offices. Not so easy, eh?

Here is a live blog that covered the elections and did an excellent job:

//www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbure...