You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Iran
Iran forced to choose lesser of two evils
2003-02-09
US-led war threats against Iraq are facing Iran with a stark choice - accept the massive troop buildup on its borders of arch foe the United States or risk Iraq maintaining the capacity to repeat its chemical attacks of the 1980s. As the question weighs heavily, Iran's influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani voiced the Islamic republic's dilemma on Friday in a sermon at Tehran university. "We are clearly in favour of disarming Saddam of weapons of mass destruction and we are clearly opposed to US presence in the region," Rafsanjani said in a sermon to the faithful at the main weekly Muslim prayers.
Tough choice, isn't it?
But "the US presence is worse than Saddam's weapons of mass destruction," he charged, adding that Washington "is pressuring the countries in the region for cooperation (and) this is not acceptable from a civilised government."
Neither was gassing 100,000 Iranian troops. So shuddup.
"We believe that a regime like Iraq should not be allowed to have weapons of mass destruction, including chemical, biological and nuclear arms," said Rafsanjani, who heads the influential Expediency Council which arbitrates political disputes.
It's kind of funny, watching them wiggle like that...
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#3  heh heh ...nice letter Paul. I would propose that we have Rumsfeld deliver that instead of Powell. That'll twist their turbans
Posted by: Frank G   2003-02-09 18:35:02  

#2  Well, Mr. Rafsanjani, things are tough all over. We don't want to go to Iraq, and we certainly did not want to get in bed with Pakistan in order to deal with Afghanistan and the Taliban and their guests. But sometimes you have to make a deal with the devil (or Great Satan) in order to prevent a greater evil. Speaking of which, we would sure appreciate if you slow down on the Beshehr reactor, it makes us and our friends nervous. Have a nice day.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2003-02-09 14:34:49  

#1  So Mr. Rafsanjani heads the "Expediency Council." That name says so much about the Iranian government that I, for once, am speechless. They are so hosed.
Posted by: Mike Orris   2003-02-09 12:25:21  

00:00