How do you say Karl Rove in Persian? Posted by Lorelei Kelly

"Simulated irrationality" is an unspoken policy of Iran's leadership-- according to a young  Iranian-American academic who I had the chance to hear at a roundtable this week.  Hmmmmm... Maybe the leaders in Tehran and Washington are playing the same "Careful, cuz I'm nuts" game with each other.  We declare "all options" on the table, we're all sticks with no carrots (threats but not negotiations).  We conduct questionable mega-bomb tests in Nevada (creepily called "Divine Strake"). Congress prepares to dole out money for regime change.  As for the other side, Iran's leadership is impossible to decipher (who's in charge of the nukes?) Their wack-a-doo president rants constantly about Israel, denies the holocaust and ups the ante in the nuclear roulette.  Call me cynical, but politics, like love and war has no rules nor geography. Seems President Ahmadinejad has taken a page out of the Rove handbook: Ignore mainstream folks and stoke the fundamentalist base. The armageddon lobby has gone global. 

Here are some other tidbits I heard this week at various discussions.

Ahmadinejad's anti-Israel hysterics are a terrible embarassment for the rest of Iran's leadership. In fact, others in leadership have been forbidden to ever spew in similar fashion. He continues doing this for his political base for whom Islam's relationship to Israel is critical.  The rural poor are Ahmadinejad's base. Wealth distribution is their issue--and he turns on the fundi rhetoric to distract them from this cruel problem. Values-voters anyone?

"The establishment"  in Iran want Ahmadinejad to fail. If he fails on his own, he will be marginalized. If he can blame the USA, he'll stick around, buoyed by nationalism.  He's already in constant campaign mode, holding huge rallies. We need to stop writing the plot and characters for our enemy.

In May, 2003, the Bush Administration allegedly received a missive containing extensive concessions from Iran--including nuclear issues.  They didn't respond. Keep in mind, this was right as the USA rolled victoriously into Iraq--when the Neo-Con hubris was at its most extreme. The theory is that because of the Iraq experience, the Bush administration figured that no discussion was necessary and that they could trounce the Iranians later without compromise.  Most shocking missed opportunity: one Iranian concession was an offer to disarm Hezbollah.  Given the pulseless response, the Iranians concluded that working with Washington was impossible.

The USA can't rely on Europe to front the nuclear negotiations. Iran is not impressed with the European efforts. Everyone says former president Khatemi improved relations with the EU. Well, Iran received nada in return. They suspended uranium enrichment for two years and all they got were "security guarantees" that were already in the UN Charter.

Is doing nothing an option? No. Non proliferation alone is important enough to make an all out effort. But we haven't really explored diplomacy. We have the same problems today as in 1994, so maybe we need to fundamentally change our policy. If we require 100% compliance ( such as proof that they don't sponsor terrorism) we wouldn't need negotiations in the first place.  The US doesn't need a bunch of concessions in hand. We just need to show up.

Legitimacy counts: American efforts to hollow out the International Atomic Energy Agency (demoting them on Iraq and beating up on El Baradei) and the Non Proliferation Treaty (special deals for India) have rendered the US and the West unpersuasive on Iran. Then there's that pesky precendent of North Korea having nukes and being left alone by the USA and Iraq not having nukes and being invaded.

What's going on with Iran's huge youth population?  Are they "progressives" waiting in the wings? No, since the Khatemi experience was not seen as successful, apathy has taken hold. They haven't turned into revolutionaries, however, they have checked out of politics.

If the USA bombs Iran, the retaliation will be formidable. Iranian cells exist in both Afghanistan and Iraq and capacity for violence exists in the Palestinian territories, Bahrain and Qatar. ( There are anywhere between 5-15 thousand insurgents in Iraq keeping us busy, Ahmadinejad's base is 200,000) The region would explode.

Comments

[Cal]

Flynt Leverett says Bush doesn't want a deal, and explains why:

...you had a bunch of neo-cons, and even the president himself [against dialogue], it’s not just the neo-cons who wanted regime change and nothing else. Ultimately the president is, on this issue, very, very resistant to the idea of doing a deal, even a deal that would solve the nuclear problem. You don’t do a deal that would effectively legitimate this regime that he considers fundamentally illegitimate. I think that’s the real issue.

Hope you don't have draft-age children, Lorelei.

[Pejman Akbarzadeh]

Dear Friends
I noticed that you have used the word "Farsi" (instead of "Persian") as
English name of our language in your article.

I would like to point out that FARSI (which is originally PARSI) is the
native name of our language and PERSIAN is its English equivalent; as the
native name of German language is 'Deutsch', but we never use 'Deutsch' in
place of 'German' in English; or native term of Greek Language is "Ellinika=
"

and always in English we say 'Greek' language, not 'Ellinika' language. Sam=
e

to "Espanol" vs. "Spanish".

If you notice the title of dictionaries that have been written by several
great Persian scholars (eg. Prof. Moein, Prof. Aryanpour, Prof. Baateni,
etc.) The title of all of them is "English-Persian Dictionary" not
"English-Farsi Dictionary":
http://www.mazdapublishers.com/Farhang-EP.htm
http://www.aryanpour.com/

Meanwhile the official institution "Farhangestan; The Academy of Persian
Language and Literature, in Tehran" (

www.PersianAcademy.ir)

in an announcement has rejected the use of the word 'Farsi' instead of
'Persian' in English. (I have attached it).

According to Dr. Hossein Sameie (visiting linguistics professor of Emory
University in Atlanta), "PERSIAN, alongside the name of a language, may be

used, as an adjective, for the other aspects of our history and culture. Fo=
r

example, we can speak about 'Persian Literature', 'Persian Gulf', 'Persian
Carpet', 'Persian Food'; this way, 'Persian' may be a common concept and
function as a link between all aspects of Iranian [Persian] life, including
language. 'Farsi' does not have such a characteristic"

And finally, of course you are aware that all international brocasting
centres (eg. BBC, VOA, DW, etc.) have "Persian Service" not "Farsi Service"
;
BBC : www.bbc.co.uk/persian/index.shtml
VOA : www.voanews.com/persian/index.cfm
DW : www.dwelle.de/persian/
Radio Free Europe : www.rferl.org/bd/ir/

Radio France Internationale: www.rfi.fr/fichiers/Langues/rfi_persan_main.as=

p

Same to the "Persian Linguistics Association" :
www.persiandirect.com

"American Association of Teachers of Persian" (AATP):
http://homepages.nyu.edu/%7Emmk4/AATP.htm

"The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature":
http://www.apersian.org/

Oxford University:
http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/nme/persian_info.shtml
Columbia University:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mealac/languages/persian/
Yale University:

http://students.yale.edu/oci/ycps/ycpsProgramCourses.jsp?subject=3DPERS&dep=
t=3DPersian

etc.
If you want to have more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If possible, please revise your English texts and please use the proper
English name for our language; PERSIAN, not FARSI.

Thank you so much for your attention.

Best regards,
Pejman Akbarzadeh
Member of ARTISTS WITHOUT FRONTIERS (Tehran Chapter)
http://artistswithoutfrontiers.com/pakbarzadeh/index.html

*P.S.--- The Announcement of the Persian Academy:*
The Language of the nation of Iran [Persia] in English is called "Persian"
[or in other European languages: Persane, Persisch, Persa, Persiska, etc.]
and is known worldwide as PERSIAN. Recently some people have been trying to
use "Farsi" instead of Persian, the trend which has also been followed by
some non-Iranians. This has

occurred to the extent that it has raised the question "Which is the correc=
t

word, in English, for the language of Iran's people, Persian or Farsi?!..."

This question was put to the official institution FARHANGESTAN (Persian
Language and Literature Academy in Tehran) by the Commerce Department for
Australia,
at Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In their 34th meeting on 7th of
December 1992, the Persian Academy unanimously passed the resolution that
this language must be called PERSIAN and the reasons given were:

1- PERSIAN has been used in a variety of publications including cultural,
scientific and diplomatic documents for centuries and, therefore, it

connotes a very significant historical and cultural meaning. Hence, changin=
g

PERSIAN to FARSI is to negate this established important precedence.

2- Changing PERSIAN to FARSI may give the impression that it is a new
language, and this may well be the intention of some Farsi users.

3- It may also give the impression that FARSI is a dialect of some parts of
Iran and not the predominant (official) language of this country.

4- Fortunately, FARSI has never been used in any research paper or
university document in any Western language and the proposal of its usage
will create doubt and ambiguity about the name of the official language of
our country.

[perianwyr]

That's interesting information. Thanks for passing it along.

[libertarian soldier]

"In May, 2003, the Bush Administration allegedly received a missive containing extensive concessions from Iran--including nuclear issues... "
With all due respect, I am supposed to believe this because...?
"The USA can't rely on Europe to front the nuclear negotiations. Iran is not impressed with the European efforts. Everyone says former president Khatemi improved relations with the EU. Well, Iran received nada in return. They suspended uranium enrichment for two years and all they got were "security guarantees" that were already in the UN Charter." Maybe it is not impressed and received "nada" because it wouldn't make permanent commitments to EU on non-proliferation and its intent to build a bomb, and the EU3 actually held firm to a bottom line. No doubt your next missive will address the fact that NK is unimpressed with the 6 Party negotiations, and that we must negotiate one on one. Perhaps followed by one addressing the failure of the UN to act on Sudan and the need for the US to go in, on its own if necessary. And then complete the string with a complaint about US unilateralism and unwillingness to negotiate.

[JOSEPH CLARK]

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS LOST ALL CREDIBILITY IN THE WORLD. NO ONE BELIEVES A WORD WE SAY.... THE AMERICAN POPULUS DOES NOT BELIEVE MUCH OF WHAT HE SAYS. THIS PRES AND HIS PEOPLE HAVE PLAYED INTERNATIONAL POLITICS BADLY AND WE WILL UNFORTUNATELY REAP THE HARVEST FROM THAT WHICH THIS PRES AND ADMIN HAVE SOWN. GOD, PLEASE HELP US !

[Bill Arnett]

"As for the other side, Iran's leadership is impossible to decipher (who's in charge of the nukes?)"

What a statement! It presumes that not only does Iran already have nukes, but that even they don't know who controls them! Ludicrous.

And you know, I am sick unto death of hearing about the horrors of Iran obtaining a nuke when US foreign policy is to attack countries without nukes (if they have oil) and leave the ones with nukes alone. Our policy guarantees proliferation.

Mutually Assured Destruction is just as valid a defense position today as during the Cold War when Russia had 20-thousand or so missiles aimed at us. Even if Iran obtained a dozen nuclear weapons it would be able to use one just once, and then face total annihilation. Not much future in that, eh?

I'm also sick of all the quaking, quivering Republican Guard members of Bushco who want us to live in constant fear. They should all go home and hide under the bed like the abject cowards they are.

As for me, I am an American, living in the (formerly) greatest country in the world, with the capacity to defend ourselves against any enemy. I fear no one, and the mega-cowards running the country are not, nor will they ever be, true patriots. Strong, secure countries with faith in its people, institutions, and government don't have to go around the world playing bully to prove their superiority. It's a disgusting shame what the neocons and Bush's Republican Guard have done to the hearts, minds and reputation of this once-great country.

By the time Bush is gone we will be lucky to be a third-world banana republic – without the bananas.

[PoliticalCritic]

If true, that is an important bit of information about Iran that the MSM is not picking up on. Now it appears that Bush will invade Iran as well. I'm sure his plan will be to invade just before the calendar gets to November and elections are coming up. He'll figure that since we're at war, everyone will vote GOP. Please let him be wrong.

[HAMIDE]

PLEASE HELLP TO IRANIAN FOR DEMOCRASY.

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