January 19, 2007

The Fox and The Henhouse

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran report at their website:
Mullahs’ regime announces it will soon carry out limb amputations in Iran
Thursday, 11 January 2007

NCRI - The chief of the regime’s judiciary in the western city of Kermanshah, Allah-Yar Malik-Shahi yesterday said, “Soon there will be a number of limb amputations in public in connection with robberies in [Kermanshah] Province.” (Official news agency IRNA, January 10, 2007)

He said, “The judiciary will cut off the hand which steals people’s properties in order to serve as a lesson for others… Carrying out several sentences in public will greatly decrease such crimes in society.”

The medieval regime has resorted to extreme measurers, such as limb amputation, eye gouging, flogging, and the degrading punishment of parading prisoners around towns, to combat the rising tide of popular uprisings and demonstrations in various provinces across Iran.

The Iranian Resistance calls on all international human rights organizations to condemn the medieval regime’s punishments and take urgent action to stop the barbaric and systematic violations of human rights in Iran.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
January 11, 2007
Yes, that is the same Iran, Green politician Angelika Beer called "a fascinating country with a young well-educated society" and about which nobody laughed.

Elsewhere, Germany highlighted Iran's role in Iraq peace efforts.
Berlin, Jan 18, IRNA
There will be no solution to the Iraqi conflict unless Iran and Syria are also involved in international efforts to restore peace to the war-stricken country, German deputy foreign minister, Gernot Erler reiterated Thursday in an interview with German radio.

Erler urged for a greater political approach to the Iraq crisis which would integrate "important actors like Iran and Syria in a constructive policy".
[...]
Berlin has repeatedly stressed Iran's important regional role for peace and security in the Mideast.
I wonder whether Erler can say: "Fox -- Henhouse".

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, the Iranian regime is bad and there is no democracy, I agree. But why make war? Why can't we solve this problem with peace, democracy and diplomacy. If we invade Iran as we did with Iraq and Afghanistan we are no better than the Taliban and the Mullahs. We are fighting crime with crime and that is not democracy. We are not better.

The_Editrix said...

So are you saying that the Allies of WWII are in no way better than the Nazi-Germans?

Amerind said...

editrix, do you agree with the doctrine of pre-emptive war?

And by the way, I didn't catch anything in peaceandhappiness' comment to suggest a belief that the Allies were no better than the Nazis. Did I miss something?

The_Editrix said...

Amerind, I had no idea that there IS a "doctrine" of pre-emptive war. I stated in an earlier post that military matter are not for civilians to judge. Soldiers know the risk best. Maybe that is why some (not all) ex-soldiers made such excellent heads of state.

If my memory serves me correctly, it was Colin Powell who was critical of the Second Gulf War. (But then, he is a Negro, you know... one if those who never fought for anything, so what do we expect...)

On a serious note, now I have to answer your question I'll say that pre-emptive strikes are not illegal per se in my opinion.

I think, too, that the Second Gulf War was neither unjustified nor un-winnable. (IS there such a word?) I think the Americans botched it again.

That said, my reply to peaceandhappiness' comment makes more sense, doesn't it?

Amerind said...

I agree that America's current administration has certainly botched the Second Gulf War.

But, with all due respect, I still don't understand your assertion that "military matters are not for civilians to judge". Is it not the civilian population for whom the military exists? Isn't your assertion sort of like saying that one cannot judge a book if one is not an author?

The_Editrix said...

"Is it not the civilian population for whom the military exists?"

Certainly! But doctors, lawyers (the latter only theoretically) or any other experts are there to serve their clientele as well and one USUALLY complies with them and abandons compliance with their educated opinions and expert measures and recommendations at one's own risk.

War is thorny, whatever the circumstances. In pre-democratic societies it happened only too often that a military genius got megalomaniac and power-hungry and abandoned his best knowledge for a victory that would never -- COULD NOT -- happen (Napoleon Bonaparte comes to mind). In democratic societies amateurs often botch the effort (or lack of effort) professional soldiers deem appropriate.

Anonymous said...

"The medieval regime has resorted to extreme measures, such as limb amputation, eye gouging, flogging, and the degrading punishment of parading prisoners around towns, to combat the rising tide of popular uprisings and demonstrations in various provinces across Iran."

How distressing this kind of news is. Why does this base level of reasoning still exist in today's world. What purpose does it serve other than to paralyze with fear and ultimately cause strife and rebellion. How can the lawmaker's not see that.