As usual in discussions here, Kosa Nostrans agreed 100% with each other in
last night’s thread on the possibility that the NeoImps will somehow manage to test their notion that intervention in Iran will give them a chance to do well what they continue to botch so badly in Iraq.
OK. Some of us didn’t agree with other, and even some NeoImps are leery about taking military action against Iran, much as they might like to.
Most of the conventional media seem scared to death of providing any historical context regarding Iran, except to remind us about the American hostages of 25 years ago and Tehran’s reputed support for terrorism against Israel. For them it’s all about the possibility of a Persian Bomb, not about oil or imperialist meddling by the world’s only - in the choice neologism of Tom DeLay - superduperpower.
While we ponder if the Bush Administration could possibly be so stupid and venal as to add some sort of direct military intervention in Iran to its insanely reckless, criminally counterproductive foreign policy, a lot of Iranians are wondering why they should be excluded from the nuclear club.
Many Iranians want nuclear power to ensure respect, security
By Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson
ISFAHAN, Iran - Electrical engineering student Roozbeh Rahimi reflects a common sentiment among Iranians when he expresses hope that this famous tourist city will gain fame soon for its nuclear technology.
"We need nuclear power. And if it's used for military purposes, all the better," said Rahimi, 22.
Hanging out with friends in an upscale shopping district five miles from a heavily guarded nuclear research facility, Rahimi isn't worried about pressure from Europe and the United States to scale back the program. "No one has respect for us now."
Iran's Islamic government says its nuclear programs are for peace, aimed at generating electric power. The clerics who rule the nation want to continue the programs while allaying the fears of the United States and Europe that Iran is secretly developing nuclear weapons. The Bush administration, which accuses Iran of sponsoring international terrorism, is troubled by the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran.
This week, Iran struck a deal with Europeans that will curb its work on uranium enrichment in exchange for a set of economic incentives.
But one thing's clear on the streets of Isfahan: Iran's leaders face no pressure from their own people to scale back the project.
"We have the right to be safe and to defend our own people and country," said Rahimi's friend, Masoud Iranfadah, 25, a film producer.
With recent American-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which border Iran to the west and east, and squabbles over water rights with neighbors to north and the south, many Iranians, like Iranfadah and Rahimi, say they don't feel safe. They question why they shouldn't have nuclear weapons when nearby Israel, Pakistan and India do.
Of more than two dozen Iranians interviewed in Isfahan and Tehran, all favored Iran's acquiring nuclear power and enriching its own uranium to power its plants, even if the process could be manipulated to develop an atomic bomb.
Most added that they'd like to see Iran develop nuclear weapons as a deterrent and to enhance its stature in the Middle East.
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