Revolutionary Guards Head: 'US Forces in Middle East 'Extremely' Vulnerable
The USG Open Source Center translates the following piece from Persian:
'Iranian Guards Chief: US Forces in Middle East 'Extremely' Vulnerable
Fars News Agency (Internet Version-WWW)
Tuesday, November 21, 2006 T19:35:28Z
The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has said: If America attacks Iran, its 200,000 troops and 33 bases in the region will be extremely vulnerable, and both American politicians and military commanders are aware of it.
The defense correspondent of Fars new agency reports that, addressing the students of Sharif Industrial University at the invitation of basijis students, Maj-Gen Rahim Safavi talked about the geopolitical importance of Iran in the region, and added: From a global and regional point of view, we live in a sensitive and transitory period of uncertainty and mistrust which is also fateful and complex.
Stating that Iran has an important and sensitive geopolitical position in the region and beyond, Safavi said: Iran can be instrumental in the establishment of organizations in the region and affect their performance, and their political progression.
Stressing that the unique geographical position of Iran and its proximity to the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are its wining cards in terms of foreign policy, the IRGC commander said: Iran can control at will the Strait of Hormuz through which 17 million barrels of oil are transported (as published).
Talking about the effects of the (1979) Islamic revolution on Muslims and the freedom-loving people of the world, the general stated: Muslims have learnt from Iran that Islam is a complete way of running a country and we are witnessing the effects of this understanding in Iraq, Lebanon and other countries.
At the end of his talk, asked about the aim of the latest US military maneuver, Safavi said: America has fallen into the quagmire of Iraq and Afghanistan and it can neither make headway nor retreat, and if it attacks Iran, it 200,000 troops and 33 bases in the region will be extremely vulnerable and both American politicians and military commanders are aware of it.
Safavi went on: Americans can start a war, but its ending will not be in their hands, taking into account that we have not yet asked the people of Iraq to take any action (as published).
The general's words were met with enthusiasm by the students, and continuing with his talk, he added: After the military exercises, one of the American generals in Kuwait said the same way that the combatants of Hezbollah and their missiles took us by surprise, so did Iran's missile capability.
In reply to another question about the defeat of the American plan for the Greater Middle East, the IRGC commander stressed: They have tried hard and so far have spent 400bn dollars in Iraq, but we are the beneficiaries. Moreover, two of our major adversaries, Saddam and the Taliban, are no longer there and our influence in the region has increased to the extent that we are the strategic winner in the Middle East.
Finally talking about the film clips of an American aircraft carrier (shown in Iran) Safavi said the aircraft that filmed the ship was built by Iranian students (like you), and we have full intelligence about extra-territorial forces in the region.
(Description of Source: Tehran Fars News Agency (Internet Version-WWW) in Persian -- (Khabargozari-ye Fars) is a privately-owned news agency. It began operating in mid November 2002. Its managing editor is Mehdi Faza'eli, the editor in chief of the Javan daily and a member of the managerial board of the Association of Muslim Journalists. The other members of the board of directors of the news agency, are Alizera Shemirani, of Farda newspaper, Abdollah Moqaddam and Akbar Nabavi of Resalat newspaper, the former director of Farabi Foundation Hasan Eslami-Mehr, and university professor Abolhoseyn Ruholamin.) '
posted by Juan Cole @ 11/23/2006 12:07:00 AM
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5 Comments:
Bloodiest Month in Iraq - Will Iran Be Bloodier?
Supporters of the Bush War in Iraq, such as British PM Tony Last-Year Blair, argue that the failure of the Bushiite project in Iraq is not due to their stupid strategeries, but rather the result of "evil" people...
However, this argument flies in the face of logic and historical precedents... The Geneva Conventions, for example, make an occupying military power responsible for the security and well being of the people living under occupation... While the Bushiites may claim that Iraq is now a sovereign nation, the degradation of Iraqi security took place right under the noses of the ill-equipped and under-staffed and downright incompetent Coalition Provisional Authority - which consisted predominantly of Bremer-ian Kissinger-types out to make history, and faith-based Bushiite true believers out on a summer crusade...
International law also recognizes the right of an occupied people to resist foreign military occupation, and any sensible military planner would have anticipated the Iraqis to launch an insurgency - especially the Sunnis who were going to be removed from the power base of Iraqi politics...
In addition to that, only a moron could have been blind to the fact that Iran would end up with a strong influence in Iraqi affairs, given that all major Iraqi Shiite militia and exiled political leaders were based out of Iran for over 25 years... These Shiite militias, be they the SCIRI's Badr Corps, the PM Nuri Maliki's Islamic Dawa or the Jaish Mahdi, all are hostile to foreign domination of their territories, as the British have discovered over and over again in southern Iraq...
It is for these reasons that I, for one, lay the blame for the current death and destruction in Iraq solely on the planners of this Bush War in Iraq... They are damned if they do, and damned if they don't, and rightly so.
And if they attack Iran, they should be prepared to be neck deep in Shiite in Iraq and Lebanon.
There are, of course, those who whine and dine over what they claim to be no non-military alternatives to the Iraq situation, whether it is the 2002 or the 2006 scenario... These people pretend as if the last 50 years of diplomatic engagements in resolving security and economic disputes never existed... It seems as if the Political Science and History departments they got their Ph.D.'s from only taught them the glorified version of the use of military force as an instrument of foreign policy. Which says a lot about the state of xenophobia and the Rambo-complex in American universities' foreign policy tinking.
Yes, I said tinking, not thinking.
Bush's strategy is to bomb Iran, just enough to get Iran angry and kill thousands of US soldiers. Then US would get really angry, this will give Bush an excuse to attack Iran with full force, possibly using nuclear weapons.
It's a tested military strategy, it's called "wounding the enemy" and then "turning your back on the enemy". It's basically going forward without a plan and hoping for the worst. It was the same neocon morons who US stuck in Iraq in the first place, giving a nice target for Iran to hit at.
Dear Professor Cole
Some Good News
It is hard to find anyone in the Bush administration who endorses the way Rumsfeld was handled. His friend and comrade, Vice President Cheney, is reported to be profoundly disturbed. But even before the election, Cheney appeared melancholy. A high-ranking administration official who visited the vice president then reported him to be nothing like the upbeat Cheney of earlier years in this administration.
Source Robert Novak Washington Post
'but rather the result of "evil" people...' Actually, this is correct as the "evil people" are Blair and Bush and their numerous minions.
I'd say your analysis is just a bit off...yes, Bush does not have any political capital left...BUT, we Americans do not like being bullied, do not like people poking their finger in our collective chest. We grow tired of Imams, clerics and various assorted Islamic nuts, including the leader of Iran declaring jihads, handing down edicts, and acting like it's Islam on death...in short, many of us in America are tied of Iran's games, tired of radical Islamic terrorists, tired of having the Muslims riot over the least little thing like cartoons poking fun at Allah. A Congressman suggested taking out a Mosque every time a terrorist attacks any where in the world...a good idea if you ask me.
Our troops vulnerable if we attack Iran...personally, I endorse one of two plans.
1. Since no one really seems to want to help America, fine...lets just walk away, and let the whole region fall into a civil war. Give the United Nations and various Middle Eastern countries say 6 months to put 300,000 troops on the ground in Iraq, or we leave, end of story, to hell with the whole mess.
2. Increase our troop strength in Iraq to around 500,000, build at least three world class military bases, and lastly, NUKE Tehran to show Iran we are not playing around any more, and that there nuclear program will not be tolerated, nor will their supporting terrorists and insurgents be tolerated...might be wise to take out Damascus in the same fashion.
I'm just one American, I don't make the decisions, but tired of all this game playing...people ignore our NUKES because they think we will not use them...maybe it is time to prove them wrong.
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