The Iranian Times

Thursday, September 10, 1998 / Shahrivar 19, 1377, No. 560


Sehaty Foreign Exchange

Shahin & Sepehr

CDnow


    Khayyam


    Afghanistan

    We don't need this
    Polemic on a seemingly impending war with Afghanistan

    By Laleh Khalili

    I don't want another war, no matter what the excuse. I don't want us to march on Herat or further afield. No reason that has been stated by the Iranian government is good enough basis for an invasion of Afghanistan. I was devastated when I read the Amnesty International report stating that the 11 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-e-Sharif were killed after the fall of the city. The image of the bodies left in the Consulate for two days without burial shattered me. I thought of the rubble, I thought of the sound of artillery in the background and of rivers of blood. But even this atrocity and the humiliation attendant to it is not a reason good enough for a war. Nor is the Iranian government's crying foul of the brand of Islam practiced by the Taleban. It is NONE of their business.

    Iran has finally arrived at a place where it seemes it can step out of the dark damp caverns of isolation. Speech can now be heard in Tehran even in dissent. Voices are now a cacophony of ideas, rather than the monotonous drone of a monolithic state apparatus. Investments seemed to be pouring in. Iran seems to even have lain to rest old grudges with its Arab neighbors. And a war shall lay waste to all that. Saudi Arabia and UAE are sure to support the Afghans. The precarious rapprochement between Iran and the West (read U.S.) will collapse. Accusations of sedition and propaganda of unity will be used as a vise-grip to clamp down on the expansion of free speech... go to feature


    Anyway

    An Alta Vista search for "Iran, Afghanistan, war" today turned out 292,780 pages. The search for "Iran, Afghanistan, peace" turned out 242,030 pages.


    History

    Revolution: 1979-1999

     Boys & girls march


    More Letters

* The past is still in me

Reza Mirkhani writes: I was just listening to the song "Aayeneh haa" by Farhad off the net. I was at his concert in San Francisco when I lived in the San Francisco's Bay Area. I cried then and I cried now. I am not sure why, but tears sometimes find their own way down.

It is 6:30 pm in a gloomy night in San Diego. I listened to the song while looking outside our office window which overlooks rolling hills and some other commercial buildings. It is a strange feeling listenting to certain songs that take you back... FULL TEXT

* Such hyprocrisy!

Ali writes: And this is supposed to be a good thing ["Iranian-Americans donate to Clinton defense fund"]? Bill Clinton, the liar, murderer, adulterer? What an honor to be associated with him! The same guy who calls Iran a terrorist nation? And you are proud of Iranians who suck up to this son of a bitch? Such hyprocrisy!... FULL TEXT

* Fellowship: Travel Fellowships for Iranian Scholars
* Stamps: Iran philately seminar, Los Angeles
* Conference: Dialogue of Civilizations?, Tehran

* Conference: Challenges for Iranians Abroad, Indianapolis"


New section

Music CDs
Persian and general music CD store

* Persian Classical Music
Hossein Omoumi / Audio CD / Released 1993

* Persian Classical Melodies, Volume 1
Maroufi & Khorram/ Audio CD / Released 1996

 More news 

Three-day mourning for slain diplomats

TEHRAN, Sept. 11, (IRNA) - the office of the leader of the islamic revolution and the supreme religious jurisprudent ayatollah seyyed ali khamenei here thursday night issued a message of condolence over the martyrdom of the iranian diplomats at the hand of afghan taliban group in mazar-i sharif and announced a 3-day mourning period ... FULL TEXT

Iran in new war games as Afghan tensions boil

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taleban militia Thursday pledged to punish some of its fighters who ``acting on their own'' killed nine Iranian diplomats, an apparent attempt to appease an angry Iran which is preparing a second round of major war games on their common border. The Sunni Moslem Taleban, which rules most of Afghanistan, said renegade Taleban guerrillas acting without orders killed the Iranians in an incident which has provoked the huge military buildup by Shi'ite Iran ... FULL TEXT

Iranian dissident denied bail

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A former deputy prime minister and long-time political prisoner is being detained without bail or access to his lawyers, an Iranian newspaper and a human rights group say. Abbas Amir-Entezam was arrested Tuesday, apparently on defamation charges, according to Iran's Akhbar daily ... FULL TEXT

Jadidi is world champmion

TEHRAN, Sept. 10, (IRNA) - abbas jadidi, the iranian freestyle wrestle in 97 kg catagory bagged the first gold medal for his country at the 33rd world freestyle wrestling championships here thursday afternoon ... FULL TEXT

Iranians stand for U.S. anthem

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranians stood today as the American national anthem was played here for the first time in 19 years when a U.S. wrestler took first place in the World Wrestling Championships. The more than 12,000 spectators, among them Iranian Vice President Mustapha Hashemi Taba, stood as a recording of the Star-Spangled Banner blared from the arena's sound system and the U.S. flag was raised above the Azeri and Iranian flags ... FULL TEXT


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Quote Unquote

Respect

I never imagined Iranians were like this. You are the best fans in the world. I really respect you.

Sam Henson
U.S. wrestler at world championships in Tehran reacting to crowd applause
Associated Press
Sept 10, 1998


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