IRAN-US

A Bold Roadmap

Toward an Obama Policy for Better U.S.-Iran Relations

by Hooshang Amirahmadi
12-Mar-2009 (27 comments)
The ongoing promotion of coercive diplomacy, based on a “carrots and sticks” framework, and the continuing threats of military action against Iran – “all options remain on the table” -- have failed to achieve their stated objectives, which is to change Iran’s behavior in areas such as uranium enrichment, support for “terrorism,” opposition to Middle East peace and human rights violation. These policy approaches are based on false assumptions about Iran, an incomplete understanding of the Islamic Republic, and a problematic definition of issues standing between the two governments>>>

INTOLERANCE

Believe

There are far too many horror stories regarding Muslim’s crimes against Bahais

by Ghahremani
08-Mar-2009 (18 comments)
I just finished reading yet another article regarding the Bahai faith in the Iranian. It seems as if the more I read about such topics, the more I realize how closed-minded we remain. I do not practice any organized religion, yet I do respect them all for bringing peace to a majority of mankind. Years ago, when my children asked me about my faith and wanted to know what theirs should be, I told them I believe in a supreme power, one far beyond man's understanding. And, when they wanted to know to whom I prayed, my response began with stories of the old telephone system and how people needed an operator to be connected.>>>

NUCLEAR IRAN

Like it or not

Will Washington break with George Bush’s Iran policy?

by Ardeshir Ommani
02-Mar-2009 (38 comments)
While the western media along with Israeli Security Forces continue to make all kinds of noises and objections about “successful tests” at the Bushehr nuclear reactor, Iran reiterated its right of peaceful pursuit of developing nuclear energy, being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and monitored under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The high degree of hypocrisy reflected in the outcries by officials in the United States and the European Union Trio (France, Germany and Britain) can be accurately measured with just a brief glance back into the history of nuclear technology in Iran>>>

VIEW

Dangers Ahead

Obama, Iran and Israel

by Behzad Majdian
28-Feb-2009 (19 comments)
In conversations with some of my friends in Iran, I find myself bewildered by the extent of their credulity and naiveté about the whole Obama fanfare. Much to my dismay, I find that they are not alone in this. After eight years of suffering at the hand of George Bush’s America, a large majority of the people around the world have psyched themselves into believing that Obama is a qualitatively different president, and that a new era is about to begin in the U.S. under his leadership. It seems to me that a lot of people around the world, especially the younger generation in the developing countries, have become intoxicated -- or to put it bluntly, duped -- by the Obama euphoria>>>

SECULARISM

جامعهء مدنی يا جامعهء سکولار؟

ضرورت برقراری سکولاريسم بعنوان پيش شرط رسيدن به جامعهء مدنی

by Esmail Nooriala
28-Feb-2009 (8 comments)
در پی حدوث انقلاب 57 و تبديل شدن حاکميت ايران به استبداد مطلقهء مذهبی و برقراری سلطهء شرع بر جامعه، و ظاهراٌ بمنظور کوشش برای درک موانع رشد دموکراسی در ايران، يکی از مفهوم های کهن علم سياست که در دههء دوم انقلاب بشدت مطرح شده و مورد بحث متفکران ايرانی قرار گرفت مفهوم «جامعهء مدنی» بود. ما اوج سلطء فکری اين «گفتمان» را در انتخابات دوم خرداد 1376 و بقدرت رسيدن «اصلاح طلبان خودی» مشاهده کرديم. در واقع، دههء 1370 را می توان دههء پيدايش مفهوم سحرآميزی به نام «جامعهء مدنی» دانست که قرار بود پاسخگوی همهء حرمان ها و شکست ها و براندازندهء همهء موانع استقرار دموکراسی باشد. >>>

NUKES

A Bomb for Everybody

Acquiring the nuclear bomb would actually be good for the whole world

by Ramin Mazaheri
26-Feb-2009 (11 comments)
They’re in the news often enough, but Iran’s relationship with the world hasn’t actually changed for nearly a decade. The sticking point is the nuclear bomb and no progression or regression is possible in Iran’s relations with the world until a genuine conclusion is reached. It’s hard to read the scorecard, but if the Iranian government’s desire was to win time they have won admirably. A conclusion will arrive in one of three options: Iran will get the bomb, Iran will be bombed for trying to get the bomb or Iran will renounce the bomb. The best result for everyone, perhaps surprisingly, is for Iran to hurry up and get the bomb. The sooner they do, the sooner Iran can begin to believe what much of the world already knows: Iran has become a major power>>>

IRAN-US

Think big

On Iran, begin with the end in mind

by Trita Parsi & Stanley Weiss
26-Feb-2009 (17 comments)
Only 15 minutes into his term as president, Barack Obama did what his predecessor had refused to do for eight years. He reached out to Iran. By calling for a new approach to the Muslim world based on "mutual respect," Obama signaled Tehran that a new dawn in U.S.-Iran relations may be in reach. His outreach was stronger and swifter than many had expected. It was a wise move, but there should be little surprise that Tehran has yet to fully respond. It won't. While small steps like these are necessary to set the stage for diplomacy with Iran, they will not break the gridlock between the two countries. To get the Iranians to respond, Obama must start with the end in mind>>>

KHAVARAN

این بانگ آزادیست

شک نیست خاوران یادگار پایدار نظام اسلامی خواهد بود

by Ramin Kamran
22-Feb-2009 (3 comments)
نظام اسلامی با فرستادن قربانیان تصفیۀ زندان­ها به خاوران می­خواست حذف متافیزیکی آنان را مکمل حذف فیزیکی آنها بنماید. از دیدگاه مذهبی کافرستان نقطه ایست که آنچه نفی کنندۀ تقدس است باید یکسره و بی تمایز در آن گنجانده شود. یکسره و بی تمایز از این جهت که مذهب برای آنچه ضد تقدس است ارجی قائل نیست تا بین اجزای آن تمایزی قائل گردد و به حسابی از یکدیگر مجزایشان سازد. همۀ آنها را فقط به تناسب خود تعریف میکند و یکسره نفی می­نماید، اصلاً برایشان اعتبار مستقل قائل نمی شود تا تعریفی اثباتی از آنها عرضه بدارد. از این دیدگاه کافرستان محل نیست شدن آن چیزهایی است که از اصل نمی بایستی بوده باشد و حوالۀ عدم مطلق شده است >>>

CHANGE

قفل شدگی در گذشته

ما همواره گريزنده از تغييريم و در نتيجه جا گرفته در و متعلق به گذشته

by Esmail Nooriala
22-Feb-2009
به جهان نوين عصر روشنگری که بنگريم در آن «نوآوری» و «بدعت» به اموری پسنديده و تشويق تبديل می شوند. در اين جهان است که انسان تربيت می شود تا با ناشناخته ها روياروی شود، دل سنگ و تاريکی و جمود را بشکند و به چشمه های زلال و آب های روان دست يابد، مرزهای دانش خويش را هر لحظه به پيشتر ببرد و همواره مراقب باشد که گذشته قفل اش را بر گرد دست و پای او نبندد. تنها اين انسان است که از تحول عقايدش نه هراس دارد و نه تشويش. آماده است تا حرفی، سخنی، اشاره ای، اطلاعی، اشرافی، و برخوردی از راه برسد و ميدان دل و ديده اش را فراخ تر کند. او از گذشته فقط نردبامی برای بر شدن به سقف فلک می سازد و از زبان نيوتون می گويد که «من اگر افق های دورتری را ديدم بدان خاطر بود که بر شانهء مردان بلند قامت گذشته ايستاده بودم». >>>

POINT

Band of Brothers

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Iran

by Mehdi Khalaji
17-Feb-2009 (13 comments)
During a February trip to Iran, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal praised Iranian leaders for their support during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, a further indication of the strengthening ties between the Sunni Islamist group, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organization, and the Shiite regime in Tehran. Mashal's statements come on the heels of the U.S. Treasury Department's terrorist designations of al-Qaeda leaders and operatives sheltered in Iran. These latest examples of Sunni-Shiite cooperation raise new questions about whether Iran can improve its relationship with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.>>>

REVOLUTION

What is there to celebrate?

Reminding myself about the reality of the past 30 years

by Shahrzad Arshadi
15-Feb-2009 (30 comments)
Allow me to go back to the beginning of the revolution, or maybe a little bit before. It was 1978. The Iranian revolution was in full swing. I was a teenager full of life and passionate about a big change, like so many young people during that period. We were all ready to get rid of the monarchy and bring justice and equality to our country. The future was so bright and it was right in front of us; we could be free from the hands of a dictator! Finally the time had come: 1979 was glorious. The Shah left the country! However, the glory of the 1979 revolution did not last long for many Iranians. Women were the first to be targeted by the new regime.>>>

30 YEARS

Revolution is not dead

We look forward to a future when we the Iranian people will be free from all forms of dictatorship

by Reza Fiyouzat
13-Feb-2009 (45 comments)
No shame in saying it. We carried out a revolution with everybody else in the country. We became humans just like everybody else. We did our fighting and got our butts kicked. The fight is not over, though, and will not be any time soon. We are still here and still doing what we can, and the next generation of socialists inside the country has picked up beautifully where we got beat, imprisoned, executed or driven out of the country. But, we learned and proved something that cannot be taken away. It is a lesson that puts the deepest fears in any dictatorial regime. We proved that it is possible to get rid of tyrants>>>

IDEAS

Democracy and Natural Right

A Philosophical Response to Trita Parsi

by ganselmi
13-Feb-2009 (8 comments)
In his recent opinion piece on the recently-announced candidacy of Mohammad Khatami for the upcoming presidential elections in Iran, Trita Parsi proscribes the steps he believes the purportedly reformist cleric Mohammad Khatami should take in order to fulfill the broken promises of his previous stint as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. What most stands out from Mr. Parsi's article however, is his characterization of the elections themselves: "The Iranian presidential elections will not be democratic by Western standards," he writes, "but they won't lack excitement or fierce competitiveness.">>>

INTELLECTUALS

یقه روشنفکر دینی
by Ahmad Sadri
13-Feb-2009 (4 comments)
مدتی قبل مقاله ای در شرق نوشته بودم تحت عنوان "روشنفکر دینی سه نقطه باید گردد" که دفاعی بود از روشنفکری دینی در برابر گروههای سکولارکه میگفتند اینها باید تکلیف خود را مشخص کنند. کوسه و ریش پهن نمیشود. بیایند یکی را انتخاب کنند: یا روشنفکر باشند و یا دیندار. این دوستان روشنفکری و دینداری را طوری تعریف کرده اند که با هم نمیسازد و تاوان تعاریف خود را میخواهند به روشنفکر دینی تحمیل کنند. به آن مسائل نمی پردازم زیرا بحث آن به تفصیل رفته است. ولی ظاهراً دو موضوع در ایران هیچوقت کهنه نمیشود. یکی بحث رسالت روشنفکر است (که فعلاً مطمح نظر این نوشته نیست) و دیگری مسأله نقد روشنفکری دینی. معلوم نیست اگر این پروژه اینقدر که میگویند ورشکسته است چرا یقه روشنفکران دینی را رها نمیکنند؟ >>>

IRAN-U.S.

Who should apologize?

If there is anyone who must apologize it's the regime in Tehran

by Fariba Amini
12-Feb-2009 (175 comments)
When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks of "60 years of US crimes in Iran” and the coup against the nationalist regime, he sounds less than authentic. He and his regime have never uttered the name of the man responsible for the oil nationalization, whose government was in fact toppled for that reason. Ahmadinejad keeps using old-style rhetoric to enflame people's sentiments against the US and to rally them behind his failed economic and social programs. His pre-election campaign rhetoric, “a man of the people” is now just an empty slogan. His administration has included some of the most corrupt and criminal people since the inception of the Islamic regime.>>>
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