Iran assembly approves most of hard-line Cabinet TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received a broad mandate Thursday as parliament backed his main Cabinet choices — naming the first woman minister since the 1979 Islamic Revolution but showing international defiance by supporting a suspected mastermind in the bombing of an Argentine Jewish center that killed 85 people. The conservative-dominated legislature rejected Ahmadinejad's choice for energy minister and two other women nominated for less prominent posts. The rest of his 21-member Cabinet was approved. The broad backing was somewhat stronger than many in Iran had expected because even some of the president's fellow conservatives had criticized him for nominating unqualified ministers. Ahmadinejad is also under fire for the abuse of protesters detained following the disputed June presidential election, which the pro-reform opposition claims he stole with massive vote fraud. Analysts said parliament's strong support could indicate that despite differences among conservatives, they believe it is better to present a fairly united front as Iran faces possible harsher international sanctions over its nuclear program and continued pressure from reformists at home. The most defiant message parliament sent was its overwhelming support for Ahmad Vahidi as defense minister. He is wanted over charges of involvement in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires. Vahidi was the commander of a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard known as the Quds Force at the time of the attack and is one of five prominent Iranians sought by Argentina in the bombing. Lawmakers chanted "Allahu Akbar, or "God is great," as parliament speaker Ali Larijani announced the vote for Vahidi. Among the 286 lawmakers who attended, Vahidi received 227 votes — the most of any of the proposed ministers. Jose Scaliter, vice president of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association, told Argentina's Jewish News Agency Thursday that Vahidi's approval "is an absolute shame." State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Thursday that the United States had been hoping Iran would take a "fresh approach" and be willing to engage the world. "We find today's action disturbing, and, for Iran, it is sending precisely the wrong message," he said, adding that "Iran is taking a step backward" with the appointment of the defense minister. Crowley added that the United States supports Argentina's efforts to bring justice to the perpetrators of the bombing. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor also criticized it, saying it "is more proof of the violent nature of the regime and a total disregard of the need to work with the international community." Interpol issued a "red notice" for Vahidi in 2007, placing him on the equivalent of its most wanted list. An Interpol spokeswoman said Thursday that the notice will still be valid even if Vahidi travels on a diplomatic passport. She spoke on condition of anonymity according to Interpol's standard policy. Shortly before the Cabinet vote, Ahmadinejad told parliament that Western countries he accuses of stoking postelection unrest deserve "a crushing response from lawmakers to disappoint them." President Barack Obama has stepped up diplomatic engagement with Iran to reduce international tension, but the turmoil and allegations of Western interference have hampered the effort. The U.S. and its European allies have given Iran until the end of September to agree to nuclear talks or face harsher sanctions. They are worried that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons — a claim Tehran denies. Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, offered an opening for possible compromise with the West on Tuesday, saying Iran would present new proposals and would be ready to open talks to ease international concerns. But Ahmadinejad was as defiant as ever Thursday, saying "no one can impose sanctions on Iran anymore." Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi also took a tough stance, proclaiming Iran would not bend to Western deadlines set by "threat and pressure." Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will continue in his post in Ahmadinejad's second term. Parliament also endorsed the president's nominees in key posts heading the interior, intelligence and oil ministries. Alireza Nader, an Iran specialist with the Washington-based RAND Corp., said he believed conservative lawmakers rallied around Ahmadinejad because of growing foreign pressure and the continuing postelection turmoil. "This is not a good time for the conservatives to engage in their squabbles," said Nader. "It is better for them to stand at least somewhat united in the face of external and internal pressures and form a government that is able to function under adverse circumstances." But Nader said significant differences remained between Ahmadinejad and other conservative factions. Some of those differences were apparent in the vote over the three women who Ahmadinejad proposed as Cabinet ministers. Lawmakers approved a 50-year-old gynecologist, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, as health minister but rejected his nominees to head the education and welfare and social security ministries. "With a woman in the Cabinet, women have achieved their long-awaited dream," said Dastjerdi after she was approved. Some conservatives have criticized Ahmadinejad for elevating women to the Cabinet. Last month, the Emrouz newspaper quoted Mohammad Taghi Rahbar, a member of the parliament's judiciary committee, as saying there were "religious doubts" over how women would cope with the positions. Women's rights activists have criticized Ahmadinejad's appointments as a desperate ploy to improve his popularity rather than a true interest in promoting women's rights. Since coming to power in 2005, Ahmadinejad has cracked down hard on women activists. Dastjerdi is the first female minister since Education Minister Farrokhroo Parsay, who served in the 1970s but was executed for corruption shortly after Islamic clerics seized power in the 1979 revolution. source _____________
Unfortunetly browntown, iran is being ruled right now with an iron fist. I just hope the deaths of all those brave protesters and the torture of all those people in the prisons arent in vain. Kind of reminds me of the days when the shah was in power with his brutal secret police force the SAVAK (whom amnesty international has a good list of his atrocities on hand) tortured, jailed or killed any protesters that were against his monarchy. This is the exact kind of blowback that the iranians are suffering because of operation ajax in 1953 over the lie that mossadegh or iran was going to fall into the soviet sphere of influence. I was daydreaming about what iran would be like today if it was allowed to stay its course into a full fledged democracy. What a shame that the sins of a few greedy and powerful people have to effect millions today. My prayers are with the poor irianian people that are still suffering today. I really believe that the only chance for change in iran is when the iranian regular army switches sides and decided to go with the iranian people. This is the trump card here. The revolutionary guard and their kronies are a little better equipped and trained but they wont risk a civil war over their mullah masters.
I am disappointed in you pingpong. I knew you would somehow blame the US for Iran's idiocy, but I thought you could have managed to blame Hitchens too. What a let down.
Mabye if they weren't threatened so much........ *Cue the Iran threatened Israel off the map lie.....*
browntown dont be dosappointed in someone telling the truth. I just debunked someone royally on iran. How do u think these mullahs got into power? It was because of our puppet in iran the shah. His reign of tyranny was too much for the iranian people to take. i wouldnt blame hitchens, hes too much of an idiot to orchestrate anything like this coup. Hitch first loves saddam, thene hates him, then loves him then finally hates him again. Hes like a tennage boy whose hormones are out of control lol. Everyone knows we destroyed democracy there by what we did to mossadegh. This isnt anything to be disappointed in. Its the truth. The truth cant lie.
Pong wants us to believe that Iran was some beacon of democracy that was crushed by the anti-democratic, imperialist bully, the US. What he hasn't told you(and he probably doesn't know, because he seems to be ignorant of a lot of the facts) is that Mossadeq was doing everything he could to amass more power and undermine any democratic processes. He even rigged a referendum in '53 that would dissolve the parliament and grant him more "emergency powers", you know, sort of like Chancellor Palapatine in the Star Wars series.
I believe the "puppet" shah had the constitutional right to dismiss the power amassing, authoritarian, Mossadeq, which is what he finally did.
People who look to 1953 to explain the problems in Iran today will never find the solution. Whatever did happened, and whatever the motivation for events in 1953 does not change the fact that, TODAY, Iran is in control of its own destiny and is a violent, terrorist supporting government that oppresses freedom and liberties of its own people. pingpong thinks it is helpful to keep talking about 1953 and ignore that it is Iran's leaders TODAY who are leading that country to its demise. He thinks that is it helpful to keep absolving Iran for their actual behavior and instead blame the US for acts over 50 years ago. Next time you talk about Iran if you can manage to blame the USA and Hitchens, and also plug Ron Paul you will have hit the trifecta of irrelevance.
Not when he was being treasonous with the imperial planning coup that the americans planned with operation ajax. The shah was a traitor. Why do you think our government wouldnt say a word about this will 10 years later at least. The shah was a tyrant and a traitor and if the iranian people and the rest of the world knew fully how much of a traitor he was they would have booted him out sooner. Your still clining to the hope that our coup was justified on the tudeh party being a threat. I think i totally crushed you on that debate. Dont believe me folks. Check the debate out and check out why logicflux will never dare talk about the tudeh issue again. One huge debunking is enough. One can only eat so much crowlolol. Logicflux dont you hate that pacman pic, especially right after you thought you had me with that finishing move from mortal combat. Manny pacman will beat any of those mortal combat characters. No logic flux try writing this down 100 times, we knew the tudeh and the soviets werent a threat. After a while it will permiate into you. IF you feel im wrong try to debunk my facts and my citations. Citations are words that stox and hitchens don't know the meaning of. I didnt know you didnt know the meaning of citations also Browntown, your talking as if its ancient hiostory, Iran is what it is today. We have to learn how to coexists with them. The fact is we had no right to do what we did to them. You cat like its ancient history. Even our cia talked about the blowback that would happen. They knew it could lead to a state in which the mullahs could take power. For you to say that coup had no effect is being very ignorant of the facts. Thats like saying putting the shah in power had nothing to do with the iranian hostage crisis. Browntown, If I never talked about mossadegh , you never would have known the story, and still would think the shah was agoodie goodie, as i thought when I was in high school. This is why reading should be fundamental for all people in our great country. Lets take you through the steps Mossadegh the very popular pro democratic leader of iran is taken out of power in a coup helped by the traitor shah by our government and the greedy brits. All 3 groups knew the tudah didnt have power to fight the iranian army and the chieftans,(this fact was proven by my complete trouncing of logicflux), they took him out of power and the shah ran that country with an iron grip because he was a power hungry megalomaniac who knew he had american funding which made him feel that he could supress anyone in iran that disagreed with him. The people got so sick that they thought that anyone was better than him. hence the islamic revolution and where we are today. Now please tell me again that you feel we had nothing to do with how iran is today, and please make believe that people are going to actually read your posts so try to make it convincing , whether its by hook or by crook.
Wanna bet? http://img12.imageshack.us/i/sovietorbit.jpg/ Now pong why don't you stop hijacking this and every other thread. Take your OCD meds.
The Islamic revolition was in 1979. Today is 2009. Over the last 30 years who is controlling Iran? Can we undo whatever was done in 1953? You play this game, the same one the Palestinians play, as though history stops and you can go back to some event and start again. You can't. Time continues on and so today, Israel exists. And no matter how many people want to talk about its formation and blah blah blah, you and I both know that it is not going anywhere and you just need to deal with what is there now. We don't go back in time. Today, Iran is run by Mullah's. You want us to keep talking about a 1953 Iran, it is gone, it does not exist, I was not born then, I don't know that Iran, I only know the Iran today. Iran is what it is - we all have our history. Every nation carries with it good and bad. The US dropped nuclear weapons on Japan somehow that is not the issue in every topic today. I don't know what happened in 1953 and I really don't care that much - because it really makes no difference in my life. Even if I accept everything you say is 100% true, I don't see how it makes a difference in how I would treat Iran today. (I think you said the US should apologize. Other than that, what would you be doing differently because of your fixation on 1953?)
Browntown, ever heard of the saying, whats past is prologue? We study the past so that we try to prevent ourselves from making the same mistakes. We have no right to meddle in the affairs of other countries. Our track record stinks. Let them solve their own problems. Have we not learned enough and dont we have enough of these mistakes on our hands to learn that once we meddle wew ill make things worse. Logicflux, its nice to know that you have reduced yourself to rediculing others. You sure are better at that than posting the whole truth
Apparently you cant accept the fact that you got owned. I proved that mossadegh was a true hero to most iranians, made you say uncle and your still posting about mossadegh. Fluxee, lets not discusshow the tyrant shah and our government were planning operation ajax. Mossadegh was saving his countries from our spies andthe traitor shah. Apparently my post is still ringing in your ears as I not only matched you fact for fact on mossadegh but actually made you quite posting on the thread. Apparently you support a dictatorship over a democracy, illegal overthrows of freedom loving countries, coups that were formed over a lie, and monarchys over democracies. Logic are you sure you believe in democracy???? Fact for fact you cannot argue the 1953 coup Logic. This is why you shoose to post these childish comparisons and not post on the main board. Shah is a dictactor, Mossadegh was a democratic peace loving leader who is a hero among iranians and most of the world. Hmmm, I wonder which debate I will choose next to make you pick the avatar of my choosing because everytime I see that avatar, I know it was me that inspired you to choose it , and it represents a victory of the truth over deception, of the whole picture instead of a dogmatic one sided picture that favors the sheeple that follows his governments every word even if he found out that hes been lied to. Flux, Im tired of winning these debates. Cant we stick to things we both cant prove? That way you can be guaranteed a tie Im American and proud, and part of being an american as our founding fathers taught us is to seek the truth. I can see mossadegh smiling down in heaven now. His democratic soul is loving this.
http://iran.sa.utoronto.ca/coup/web_files/markcoup.html Mossadeq being some great champion of democracy is a myth. Middle East politics have always been insane and riddled with power grabs and the Mossadeq era is no different. Keep talking pong.
Logicflux Your still debating me on this after I slam dunked you on the facts????? I guess some people just dont know when to quite. Time for a ROYAL DEBUNKING YET AGAIN. Ok I proved to you that operation ajax wasnt done for our fear that mossadegh and iran were headed into the soviet sphere of influence. I debunked you on the fact that the operation was done out of pure greed by us and also the pig-headed stubborness of the brits back then. I debunked you also on the fact that you cant see the truth and would rather believe that our government was incapable of doing things that were done out of greed and selfishness. Here we go again. I was praying for you to bring up the majlis and wham, god answered my prayers. Its very nice of you to state that Mossadegh dissolved the Majlis(parliament) in iran but as usual with your deceptive "50% of the whole picture" Posts, you conveniently left out a few major facts. Here I will show some of the majlis being part of the cia plot and how they and General Zahedi (the cia hand picked puppet picked to replace mossadegh by the cia itself) plotted against mossadeq and were part of operation ajax. . If you had some semblance of the truth you would have looked back at the debate me and gtech had(which showed some of this info allready), and believe me Gtech was a super super super tough guy to debate, which is why i came out of our debates respecting him on this ability alone. You on the other hand keep digging yourself into the debating hole post after post. So be it Lets get to the reason why mossadegh dissolved parliament. By this time as I had pointed out many times in my debunking of you on our other thread, operation ajax was in full effect and mossadegh acted couragiously in doing the only thing he could to protect his countrymen from our grasp. Since you seem to be in love with cia memos lets start you off with some fresh brewed information. I suspect that after this debunking you will do a stox and stop posting on the subject the same way he no longer posts about hitchens. This is our CIA getting involved in choosing a prime minister for the iranian people http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/iran-cia-summary.pdf Page 5 of 12 "General Fazlollah Zahedi, former member of Mossadeq's Cabinet, was chosen as the most suitable successor the the premier since he stood out as the only person of stature who had consistently been openly in opposition to Mossadeq and who calaimed any significant following. Zehedi was to be approached by CIA and be told of our operation and its aim of installing him as the new prime minister. He was to name a military secretariat with which CIA would conclude a detailed staff plan of action. Page 6 of 12 And " Arrangements were made for a visit to Iran by General H Norman Schwarzkopf, former head of US Gendarme, whom the shah liked and respected. Schwarzkopf was to explain the proposed project and get from the shah signed firemans (royal decrees) dismissing Mossadeq, appointing Zahedi, and calling on the army to remain royal to the crown." Now that we have established Zahedi as the CIA's pic to succeed Mossadeq Page 7 of 12 and on the next page this "On D-Day, the Shah was to be at some location outside of Tehran so that Zahedi, armed with the royal firmans and with military support, could take over the government without danger of the Shah's reversing his stand, and to avoid any attempt on the Shah's life." This right here is amazing information in that it shows that the CIA had a backup to its plan so it would be very hard for it not to succeed in case the Shah got cold feet. Zahedi's role was muchmore important than most high school history books taught us, as when I was in high school, all I knew was about the Shah taking power. Now that we have established Zahedi's importance, lets see how he was connected to the Majlis Here we see Zahedi (the main guy in operation Ajax handpicked by the cia to replace mossadeq) and Haerizadeh and Baqai(majlis or parliament members) working together in conjunction with each other to try to over throw mossadeq. It was clear that elements of the majlis were working together with Zahedi who was a cia puppet here. http://iran.sa.utoronto.ca/coup/web_files/markcoup.html "Zahedi and the Rashidians began to plot against Mosaddeq shortly after the latter returned to office on July 21. A Kashani emissary and National Front leaders Makki, Baqai, and Abol Hassan Haerizadeh approached Zahedi and expressed their dissatisfaction with Mosaddeq. Zahedi apparently gained Kashani's support in exchange for a role in the selection of post-coup cabinet members. From this point on, Kashani, Makki, Baqai, and Haerizadeh worked against Mosaddeq in loose collaboration with Zahedi and were among Mosaddeq's staunchest opponents. Zahedi met with a British embassy official and expressed his opposition to the growth of U.S. influence in Iran. The embassy officer cabled London for advice, saying "I don't want to set [the Rashidians] off working up a coup d'etat and then have to call it off"(23). " http://iran.sa.utoronto.ca/coup/web_files/markcoup.html Hmm lets also take another at the guy you brought up fluxie, the parliament member (majlis) , named Baqai. Sounds like a sweel guy that could never be bribed right??????????? Here we see a majlis member being bribed by the cia. I think I can say with 100% confidence that someone was slam dunked!!!! This rebuttal post is dedicated to the protesters in Iran who are fighting hard to get their freedom and independence. God bless you and may you succeed against the extremists.