http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15732708%5E1702,00.html
IRAN's all-powerful supreme leader said today the United States had been
"humiliated deep inside" by the Islamic republic's presidential election,
won by hardliner Mahmood Ahmadinejad.
"You illustrated the secret of your solidity and power against the
expansionist policies of the arrogance of the world," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
said in a message to the Iranian people read out on state television.
"Despite its babbling, your enemy is now humiliated deep inside because of
your greatness and the transparency of your democracy," Khamenei said.
The terms "arrogance of the world" and "enemy" are Iranian regime speak for
the United States, also known here as the "Great Satan".
Khamenei told Iranians the election was "practical proof of your commitment
to bravely guard the Islamic republic's interests (and) fulfil all the
Islamic and revolutionary ideals."
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| User: "Steven Douglas" |
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| Title: Re: US 'humiliated' after Iran election |
26 Jun 2005 07:50:41 PM |
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MonsieurStat wrote:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15732708%5E=
1702,00.html
IRAN's all-powerful supreme leader said today the United States had been
"humiliated deep inside" by the Islamic republic's presidential election,
won by hardliner Mahmood Ahmadinejad.
"You illustrated the secret of your solidity and power against the
expansionist policies of the arrogance of the world," Ayatollah Ali Khame=
nei
said in a message to the Iranian people read out on state television.
"Despite its babbling, your enemy is now humiliated deep inside because of
your greatness and the transparency of your democracy," Khamenei said.
The terms "arrogance of the world" and "enemy" are Iranian regime speak f=
or
the United States, also known here as the "Great Satan".
Khamenei told Iranians the election was "practical proof of your commitme=
nt
to bravely guard the Islamic republic's interests (and) fulfil all the
Islamic and revolutionary ideals."
From the Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2005
Iran's Election Results Worry L.A. Emigres
By Anne-Marie O'Connor, Times Staff Writer
Many Iranian emigres on Saturday said they were stunned by the
landslide election of a hard-liner as president of Iran and worried
that it would exacerbate tensions with the United States and roll back
reforms that had eased the lives of their relatives and friends back
home.
As news of the election results spread Friday night, dozens of Los
Angeles Iranians gathered in Beverly Hills with Iran-based film
director Tahmineh Milani for a premiere of her new film, "Unwanted
Woman," whose feminist themes encapsulate the reformist movement in
Iran.
"Many were surprised and frightened," said Nayereh Tohidi, acting
chairwoman of the women's studies department at Cal State Northridge.
"They worry this is going to turn back the political situation to the
early years of the revolution."
But in Los Angeles, which has the largest Iranian community outside of
Iran, reactions varied. Although some Iranians said they thought
reforms might be endangered, others said they believed the government
would be foolhardy to impose restrictions on young Iranians at a time
of frustration over unemployment and low wages.
Some Iranian political activists said they welcomed a conservative
regime, hoping it would lead to more U.S. aid to the regime's
opponents. Others said the success of Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was not as significant as it might be, given the number of
conservatives already in government.
Several emigres, however, raised concerns about the election of
Ahmadinejad, a political upstart who trounced a former president,
Hashemi Rafsanjani, a cleric whose campaign was so eager to appeal to
reformists that it used English-language slogans, including "Just
Work."
If the Ahmadinejad government tightens dress and behavior codes that
have liberalized in recent years, Iranians said, some Iranian Americans
might be reluctant to return for regular visits to Tehran. The
president-elect's social justice rhetoric is also of concern to wealthy
Iranian emigres who travel to Iran to manage property they own there or
to visit summer villas on the Caspian sea, Iranians said.
On a broader level, the prospect of an Iran governed by a hard-liner,
who has chastised his country's outgoing government for making too many
concessions in negotiations with Europe over Iran's nuclear enrichment
program, could portend a more polarized, confrontational relationship
between Iran and the United States.
"This election, for most of the Iranian community here, is a very
worrisome development," said Iranian attorney David Nahai, a member of
the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Iranian
American Jewish Federation.
"It also doesn't help with all of the efforts taken in this country to
enhance the image of Iranians and facilitate assimilation," Nahai said.
"Once again, the opportunity to have a friendlier Iran, on the inside
and outside, may have been lost.
"In some perverse way, there may be people who think that this can now
result in some bloody upheaval in Iran," he said. "I don't think most
people here share that desire."
Some conservative Iranian American political activists welcomed a
hard-line replacement for outgoing two-term President Mohammad Khatami,
whom they saw as a figurehead who made the Iranian government more
palatable.
Some opponents of the Iranian government viewed the ascension of
Ahmadinejad =97 who told voters last week that "we did not have a
revolution in order to have democracy" =97 as a victory.
"You don't want to have a smiley face covering up the true face of the
regime," said Pooya Dayanim, Encino-based president of the Iranian
Jewish Public Affairs Committee, which lobbies the U.S. government on
Iran policy. "This is just going to highlight how out of step Iran is
with the international community and the pro-democracy trends in the
Middle East."
Foad Pashai, Tarzana-based secretary general of the Constitutionalist
Party of Iran, which favors restoring the son of the ousted Shah
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi as a constitutional monarch, said the victory of
Ahmadinejad might make the U.S. more inclined to support the opposition
movement within Iran with computers, telephones and other equipment.
"Right now, I think Europe and the United States should decide what to
do," Pashai said. "This government is hard-liners =97 no reformists, no
moderates, no nothing."
Elham Aryana, an activist in the 1999 student protests in Iran who now
is vice chair of the Los Angeles-based Iranians for a Secular Republic,
also welcomed the election results, "because now I think something will
happen to provoke an uprising in Iran."
Apolitical Iranians are far less eager to imagine violence that could
harm loved ones in Iran.
"I am just concerned about the people over there," said Soraya
Mansouri, owner of Soraya Flowers in Los Angeles. "Maybe with this
government they will have a lot of problems."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lairan26jun26,0,6684631.story?coll=
=3Dla-home-local
.
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| User: "MonsieurStat" |
|
| Title: Re: US 'humiliated' after Iran election |
26 Jun 2005 10:19:34 PM |
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This is all peachy, but most Iranian expats get their news from Western
sources who portray everything as black vs. white, hardliners vs.
softliners, conservatives vs. reformists, etc. Reality is more complex than
these labels.
Mahmood Ahmadinejad says and thinks the same thing as the vast majority of
Iranians (both inside and outside of Iran). And that is there is only one
way left of dealing with the Western, and particularly American threats
against Iran, and that is by showing strength and force. This politic of
appeasement and being "nice" does not work, and is in fact quite dangerous.
Look what happened to Iraq. Had Saddam continued to play hardball, these
goons would have never dared to invade Iraq. But as soon as he started
bending backwards for them to appease them, he had to run to a hole with his
tale between his legs. And now, Iraq has been practically destroyed and has
no more hope for a longtime to come. With the election of this president,
Iranians have bought themselves some extra insurance that won't be the faith
of Iran.
Stat.
"Steven Douglas" <dsteven@flashmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119833441.485700.213200@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
MonsieurStat wrote:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15732708%5E1702,00.html
IRAN's all-powerful supreme leader said today the United States had been
"humiliated deep inside" by the Islamic republic's presidential election,
won by hardliner Mahmood Ahmadinejad.
"You illustrated the secret of your solidity and power against the
expansionist policies of the arrogance of the world," Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei
said in a message to the Iranian people read out on state television.
"Despite its babbling, your enemy is now humiliated deep inside because of
your greatness and the transparency of your democracy," Khamenei said.
The terms "arrogance of the world" and "enemy" are Iranian regime speak
for
the United States, also known here as the "Great Satan".
Khamenei told Iranians the election was "practical proof of your
commitment
to bravely guard the Islamic republic's interests (and) fulfil all the
Islamic and revolutionary ideals."
From the Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2005
Iran's Election Results Worry L.A. Emigres
By Anne-Marie O'Connor, Times Staff Writer
Many Iranian emigres on Saturday said they were stunned by the
landslide election of a hard-liner as president of Iran and worried
that it would exacerbate tensions with the United States and roll back
reforms that had eased the lives of their relatives and friends back
home.
As news of the election results spread Friday night, dozens of Los
Angeles Iranians gathered in Beverly Hills with Iran-based film
director Tahmineh Milani for a premiere of her new film, "Unwanted
Woman," whose feminist themes encapsulate the reformist movement in
Iran.
"Many were surprised and frightened," said Nayereh Tohidi, acting
chairwoman of the women's studies department at Cal State Northridge.
"They worry this is going to turn back the political situation to the
early years of the revolution."
But in Los Angeles, which has the largest Iranian community outside of
Iran, reactions varied. Although some Iranians said they thought
reforms might be endangered, others said they believed the government
would be foolhardy to impose restrictions on young Iranians at a time
of frustration over unemployment and low wages.
Some Iranian political activists said they welcomed a conservative
regime, hoping it would lead to more U.S. aid to the regime's
opponents. Others said the success of Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
was not as significant as it might be, given the number of
conservatives already in government.
Several emigres, however, raised concerns about the election of
Ahmadinejad, a political upstart who trounced a former president,
Hashemi Rafsanjani, a cleric whose campaign was so eager to appeal to
reformists that it used English-language slogans, including "Just
Work."
If the Ahmadinejad government tightens dress and behavior codes that
have liberalized in recent years, Iranians said, some Iranian Americans
might be reluctant to return for regular visits to Tehran. The
president-elect's social justice rhetoric is also of concern to wealthy
Iranian emigres who travel to Iran to manage property they own there or
to visit summer villas on the Caspian sea, Iranians said.
On a broader level, the prospect of an Iran governed by a hard-liner,
who has chastised his country's outgoing government for making too many
concessions in negotiations with Europe over Iran's nuclear enrichment
program, could portend a more polarized, confrontational relationship
between Iran and the United States.
"This election, for most of the Iranian community here, is a very
worrisome development," said Iranian attorney David Nahai, a member of
the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Iranian
American Jewish Federation.
"It also doesn't help with all of the efforts taken in this country to
enhance the image of Iranians and facilitate assimilation," Nahai said.
"Once again, the opportunity to have a friendlier Iran, on the inside
and outside, may have been lost.
"In some perverse way, there may be people who think that this can now
result in some bloody upheaval in Iran," he said. "I don't think most
people here share that desire."
Some conservative Iranian American political activists welcomed a
hard-line replacement for outgoing two-term President Mohammad Khatami,
whom they saw as a figurehead who made the Iranian government more
palatable.
Some opponents of the Iranian government viewed the ascension of
Ahmadinejad who told voters last week that "we did not have a
revolution in order to have democracy" as a victory.
"You don't want to have a smiley face covering up the true face of the
regime," said Pooya Dayanim, Encino-based president of the Iranian
Jewish Public Affairs Committee, which lobbies the U.S. government on
Iran policy. "This is just going to highlight how out of step Iran is
with the international community and the pro-democracy trends in the
Middle East."
Foad Pashai, Tarzana-based secretary general of the Constitutionalist
Party of Iran, which favors restoring the son of the ousted Shah
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi as a constitutional monarch, said the victory of
Ahmadinejad might make the U.S. more inclined to support the opposition
movement within Iran with computers, telephones and other equipment.
"Right now, I think Europe and the United States should decide what to
do," Pashai said. "This government is hard-liners no reformists, no
moderates, no nothing."
Elham Aryana, an activist in the 1999 student protests in Iran who now
is vice chair of the Los Angeles-based Iranians for a Secular Republic,
also welcomed the election results, "because now I think something will
happen to provoke an uprising in Iran."
Apolitical Iranians are far less eager to imagine violence that could
harm loved ones in Iran.
"I am just concerned about the people over there," said Soraya
Mansouri, owner of Soraya Flowers in Los Angeles. "Maybe with this
government they will have a lot of problems."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lairan26jun26,0,6684631.story?coll=la-home-local
.
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