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| Iran |
| Iran Stops Volunteers at Iraqi Border |
| 2003-04-01 |
| We could file this under Iran if you like, Fred. TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran is preventing its citizens from crossing the border into Iraq to fight for President Saddam Hussein, saying that would violate its neutral status. "But I have a note from my ayatollah! Please?" ``I tried to cross the border, but military forces blocked my way,'' Mohammad Kanani, 23, a Iranian military officials on the border said they were under orders not to let anybody through. ``We have prevented and will prevent anybody seeking to cross the border without authorization U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has warned Iran that the United States would hold it responsible if any Iranian-sponsored forces crossed into Iraq. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said Iran was determined not to take sides in the war. "Please don't hit us next! Hit those Syrians! Ummmm, yummy Syrians! Haven't you had a Syrian lately?" Iran is known to be ambivalent about the war. On the one hand, Tehran is eager to see the end of the regime of Saddam Hussein, whom it blames for an eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s. On the other, Iran is loathe to see another neighbor - after Afghanistan and Pakistan - fall under American influence. Feeling a little surrounded, are we? However, the war in Iraq has aroused the sympathies of the Arabic-speaking Pro-Saddam "Then again, I could say here and herd goats." Heidari, a driver in his thirties, said Arabic-speaking Iranians routinely tuned in to Iraqi television, followed its See ya soon, Heidari. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #10 Anonymous, do you have a link? There seem to be about 1,000 Iranian Democracy movements... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2003-04-02 07:13:23 |
| #9 I wonder if they all really wanted to fight instead of skulking away, giving themselves up and asking for asylum. The Movement for Iranian Democracy has a very interesting site and they don't like the Euros. You should check it out, Murat, you might be surprised at how Iran really feels. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-04-01 16:17:01 |
| #8 Iran is preventing its citizens from crossing the border into Iraq to fight for President Saddam Hussein, saying that would violate its neutral status. This is a (sort of) brain. Though choice for Iranians, choosing between Saddam and the US. This is a (sort of) brain on Islamonazism. |
| Posted by: Celissa 2003-04-01 12:41:46 |
| #7 Let 'em through on a one-way bus ride down Highway 666 if they are dumb enough. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-04-01 10:59:28 |
| #6 Am I the only one disappointed that these Islamofanatics were not allowed to enter Iraq? Why is it that I have these images of CIA agents in Iran and Syria, by holding little seminars with coffee and donuts, titled: TEN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES OF A SUICIDE BOMBER. After the seminar, selected candidates are herded out the back door for their free, one in a lifetime, bus trip down HWY 80. |
| Posted by: becky 2003-04-01 08:49:31 |
| #5 "Abbas Heidari, an Arabic-speaking resident of Ahvaz" these are not ordinary Iranians - these are Ahvazis, "ethnic Arabs" who live in the southwest corner of Iran bordering Iraq. In Iran-Iraq war Saddam attempted to "liberate" ahvaz. He apparently also maintains an "Ahvazi Liberation Front" in Basra - these may be among holdouts in Basra. Iran seems to be making its choices cautiosly, maybe even wisely. It would be interesting to know how this playing out between Khatami on the one hand, and the various ayatollahs on the other. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-04-01 08:40:05 |
| #4 lol... tough choice???... the everyday people pf Iran may be hoodwinked by thier leaders -- "look over there - those horrible American infidel dogs!!!"... I would think the economic elite of Iran would rattle thier sabres at us a little less when they remember how many of thier children they send to us for advanced education -- maybe they're just feeling guilty about the way they enjoy bootleg American porn and want to shift blame to the great corrupter?... these are the same PEOPLE, by the way, that we had confidence to arm in the 1970's -- if the poor bastards would be educated in the TRUTH, they'd line thier so-called "religious leadership" up against the wall and shoot them... If they were capable of seeing the truth, they would never side with Saddam, would they? Really Murat, who is worse, the US or Saddam? Whose people are more likely to wake up in the morning to find a family member spirited away in the night? Whose people enjoy more freedom? Honestly, I don't see why this is such a difficult choice for the Iranians...... |
| Posted by: steve 2003-04-01 06:11:23 |
| #3 Not sure if it would be such a bad idea to let them pass. Along with the Syrian jihadis, Hezballah, and the rest, if they want to die for Saddam, it might be a good idea to get them all in one place and whack the lot. |
| Posted by: Ben 2003-04-01 05:58:04 |
| #2 The religious nuts might prefer to join Saddam but how would the Iraq war veterans feel? Don't they want to see the Iraqi Shi'ites and their holy shrines free again? |
| Posted by: Tokyo Taro 2003-04-01 04:43:48 |
| #1 Though choice for Iranians, choosing between Saddam and the US. |
| Posted by: Murat 2003-04-01 03:17:29 |