(The better informed everybody becomes the greater the chance that war can be prevented and propaganda can not distort reality. With a couple of clicks you can do your part by simply forwarding this to others.)
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(It should be noted, especially those in the Obama Administration, that Iran will essentially be shut down till April 2nd and so for this period of time they should not expect any response to provocations, signals, threats, disinformation, or outreach. Iranians will be very busy with family matters and taking a break from work and traveling.)
( Note to Netanyahu: Try to control yourself for two weeks because the way you are leading Israel you are becoming the “existential threat” more than anybody else.)
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(Below is an Op-Ed from Ray Takeyh of the Council of Foreign Relations followed by a thorough pummeling by Cyrus Safdari. In the ring you will find two intelligent and well informed Iranians that have a totally different take on the situation. Read both articles and decide for yourself who is more in touch with reality.)
Iran’s Missing Moderates
By RAY TAKEYH
Today, Iran is ruled by a supreme leader who brooks no dissent, countenances no alternative perspectives and seems obsessed with nuclear science. Gone are pragmatists and reformers who once used their status and power inside the government to edge Khamenei away from confrontation. That is the key difference between today’s impasse and previous historical encounters with the Islamic Republic.
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Ray Takeyh shovels more of the same on Iran
By Cyrus Safdari
(I’d like to wish all the readers of this blog a Happy New Year…”Aayde shoma mobarak”.)
(Hopefully 1391 will not see war take place or a military strike on Iran because we Iranians all know that problems can be solved peacefully and through “chooneh” and hard bargaining.)
(One thing I have learnt about my own culture, which I was unaware of for many years because I lived abroad, is that Iranians may argue and fight and seem to be on the brink of pulling each others eyeballs out but almost always they find a way to sit down and make peace. Americans are not like this. They pull out a gun and shoot each other. Let’s hope this cultural difference does not end up as war.)
(Mr. Obama, Mr. Netanyahu, please cool it, get the facts, sit down and talk, and have faith in Iranians to bring about democracy and the rule of law in Iran through our own means and not through your bombs and sanctions. Even if the regime is mistakenly working on making a nuke (no evidence for this) you know and everybody else knows that it’s worthless and will only result in the complete destruction of Iran if it is tested or used.)
(The officials in Iran are ready to talk and comprise in my opinion, so please give them a chance to do this. They take their time to muddle through and reach a decision (and it drives one crazy!) but one thing you can be certain of they do not want a military confrontation. Peace is the answer, not war.)
