Posted on 03/22/2005 2:44:03 AM PST by DoctorZIn
Top News Story
Converging U.S. Navy aircraft carrier groups in Middle East send strong message to Iran and Syria
Sudhir Chadda, India Daily (thanks to Dan Darling and Rantburg.com):
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is on the move in Atlantic Ocean and is possibly headed towards the Mediterranean Sea. The convergence of three carrier groups in the corridor of the Middle East will send very strong message to the Syrians and Iranians. There are indications that soon US is moving two more aircraft carrier battle groups to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. This will spell a formidable strike force for Iran and Syria who are in defiance on issues of Lebanon and Nuclear weapons development.
Outbound from Singapore, the USS Carl Vinson is currently crossing the Indian Ocean headed towards Middle-East. This will be the first time since February 2004 that US will have three major carrier groups stationed on and around Middle East.
Each of these carrier groups carry nearly 85 aircrafts and is capable of deliver precision-guided munitions. In addition there are anti-submarine aircrafts, airborne-early-warning and rotary-wing aircrafts. Because in the air refueling capabilities these aircrafts can operate from a long distance. The carrier groups are independent and can operate indefinitely.
U.S. military air bases in Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia and the three carrier groups will create a formidable force far superior to any military in the region.
In addition more than 100,000 battle hardened force in Iraq will be another major force in case US has to use force against Iran and Syria.
It seems American are preparing to deal with Syria and Iran in the next several months. The first priority right now is diplomacy in association with the Europeans and the rest of the world. But the leadership in Teheran and Damascus are taking notice of the power build up in the region.
There are seeds of democracy in Lebanon, Iran and Syria. The whole regions is getting a quick lesson on the benefits of democracy.
- Pakistan may agree to host US troops in preparation for an attack on Iran.
- El Baradei wants the US to give Iran "security assurances."
- The Christian Science Monitor reports 250 members of the MEK put down their arms and return home.
- Iran's Supreme Leader ready to put on military fatigues and fight to the death.
- Another report on Iranian bloggers in prison and others in the Middle East.
- The US brushes off calls for US "security guarantees" towards Iran.
- OpenDemocracy.net gives eight reasons why the US won't go to war with Iran and then why we will.
- Iran's Supreme Leader says the US is looking for reasons to attack Iran.
- And finally, MemriTV.org provides 3 more video clips of Iranian TV.
Iran: A Day We Will Never Forget
March 22nd, 05
by Potkin Azarmehr
Mens'NewsDaily.com
All Iranians love their New Year, Nowrooz. Literally meaning New Day, is a celebration of the first day of spring. It represents the end of the cold winter, and the beginning of the blossoming of the trees and when life becomes new again. But perhaps Nowrooz is a painful reminder for those in exile and even more painful for the Iranian refugees who are still waiting for their legal status.
Refugees who have fled the Islamic Republic of Iran, not only face dire financial difficulties, but they have to cope with the psychological pressures of whether they would be sent back to Iran or not. To them Nowrooz, is a day where they remember their loved ones they left behind. The traditional Nowrooz visits, where everyone makes an effort to visit their friends, neighbours and family members; for an Iranian refugee is instead turned into confined space of a hostel or a camp, where a knock on the door is not the welcome sound of a traditional visit by an acquaintance but more likely by an immigration official who either has the deportation orders or the relocation papers.
On top of all this, there is the lack of trust towards each other. Desperate situations make desperate people and the trust towards each other and your compatriots goes out of the window. No one is prepared to discuss his or her case with another compatriot, even if they meet each other at the canteens where they get their low quality, repetitive free meals.
So it is not surprising if Nowrooz for a refugee is more sorrow than joy. For a refugee, Nowrooz is a day where he contemplates on his loneliness in a foreign land amongst strangers, away from his loved ones, away from the traditions he holds so dear.
When Reza Pahlavi told me he wishes to spend Nowrooz amongst Iranian refugees, I was overjoyed with his decision. I volunteered to organize the event. I knew I had to help make such a thing possible. But at the same time, I knew it would be a daunting task to organize too.
The nearest such refugee camp was on the outskirts of London, right on the other side of where I lived. I went to see some of the refugees I knew there, but I couldn’t tell anyone what my real purpose was. When I asked them about how they will be celebrating Nowrooz, their hopeless eyes stared at me with some measure of contempt. Not that they said it but I felt them say “what is there to celebrate?”
I tried to overcome their melancholy. “Nowrooz is a tradition which shows, we as Iranians still exist. We must keep it alive wherever we are, under whatever conditions we are.” I said to their gazed looks.
I felt I still needed to say more. I thought perhaps they are saying to themselves, its ok for you who don’t have our problems. So I continued “Even the Iranian soldiers who were taken into captivity by Saddam Hossein, when defending our motherland didn’t forget to celebrate Nowrooz. Even in their conditions and under the menacing looks of Saddam’s henchmen who loathed Iranians, our captive soldiers improvised and kept this tradition alive.” I wanted to say to them, look I know I am in a better condition than you, but as hard as it may be to think, there have been worse situations than yours too. So I continued “Throughout our history we have had our forefathers who kept the tradition alive even during the massacres and genocides against our people by foreign usurpers, our forefathers were killed but Nowrooz continued, Iran continued and we must continue it today” And I went on and on until I convinced them that it is necessary to set up the Nowrooz decorations and to celebrate. So we decided on a budget and I delegated one of the residents to be in charge of the Nowrooz decorations and another one to hire a keyboard so we can have some music to dance to.
However there was another problem. There was no guarantee that the people I spoke to were going to remain in the hostel for Nowrooz. A letter from NAS is slipped under the door periodically telling them that they will be displaced and sent to a new location the day after. So there was no guarantee that all the people I talked to and those I delegated to do the tasks would be there for Nowrooz.
I believed in what Reza Pahlavi had suggested and I wanted to do a good job but I found the pressure overwhelming due to the uncertainties and the fluidity of the people’s movements in the camp. The long distance from where I lived didn’t help either and I couldn’t tell anyone where I was going after work in the evenings.
The night before Nowrooz, I was making endless calls. I wanted to make sure that the people I had encouraged were still in high spirits and would turn up on the day. Some had other family members or simply wanted to be outdoors instead of being in their dingy camp environment. How could I say no to them, I couldn’t even tell them what was happening. Some of the families were given their relocation papers in the very week leading to Nowrooz. The numbers were dwindling and I couldn’t do much about it. On Sunday, I set off to go to the camp. In order not think about whether the day would be a disaster or not I took a book to read with me on the train. The book was on the life of Meena, the revolutionary Afghan woman leader who served her people so much despite all adversity. Meena’s courage gave me courage too.
My mobile phone rang a few times on the train. It was friends and relatives who wanted to know whether I would be seeing them on Nowrooz. I had to decline and the noise of the train prevented me from making an excuse like I am not well. I felt bad about disappointing them but I just couldn’t say where I was going.
When I got to the camp, I felt the numbers were sufficient. I was also pleased with the Nowrooz decorations. The keyboard player from Iran’s Kurdistan needed some practice though, it had been a long time since he had practiced his musical abilities after he fled Iran. But then that became a subject of friendly banter too and a way to beat the melancholy that was becoming really hard to overcome.
Finally, I got a call from Reza Pahlavi, he was a few minutes away. The refugees were finally told that Reza Pahlavi is on his way and will be spending the Nowrooz with them.
However it seemed that the message just didn’t register. Disgruntles of “Yeah sure thing”, “Very funny”, filled the air. I had to look serious and convince them that No really, the Prince is on his way and it was not a joke. I sent someone to greet the Prince at the front door, and asked the rest to line up next to the keyboard and stayed next to the door myself. As soon as I saw the Prince walk down the corridor, I gave the signal to the keyboard player to play the Ey Iran, National anthem, and for the rest to sing the anthem. Reza Pahlavi embraced me by the door and we exchanged quick New Year greetings, he then walked straight to our makeshift “choir members” shook hands and kissed each person present. Perhaps this was even more startling to everyone than anything else. So far it was too much of a dream any way but for the Prince to embrace them and kiss each one of them on the cheek was beyond their belief. In the short time they were notified of the Prince’s visit, few asked me about the protocol, to which I said “No protocol, just do as you feel as if your brother is coming to visit you.”
As the Prince was turning onto the next person to kiss and greet, I could see the tear drops of joy and astonishment in the eyes of those who had already been embraced.
We sat around the Haft Sin Nowrooz table. Reza Pahlavi asked the refugees to talk about why they left Iran, what they went through, and their current situation. It took a few minutes for the refugees to overcome their shock and find the ablity to talk, but the Prince did very well in making them feel comfortable.
Once they got going, the Prince listened to each one and their plight carefully. As many times as you hear these stories, it is still unbelievable to hear some cases. Who would have thought our people were one day be reduced to this? We, the children of Cyrus the Great, who were once the masters of the region, having to go through such humiliation and such hardship.
Something I heard for the first time was that many Iraqi or Afghan nationals were recently claiming to be Iranian refugees and the stupid, disorganized British courts were granting them asylum, yet the real Iranians were refused their refugee status!
The Prince then started a discussion on what can be done about the problems, and everyone exchanged their views. After the topic of Asylum and refugee was discussed, the Prince talked briefly about the future and the recent appeal for referendum, and then fielded all sorts of questions. Some of the questions were by people who were against monarchy in Iran, but Reza Pahlavi felt comfortable in answering them. He insisted that we need to struggle against the common enemy. “We need to overcome our factional party politics games and think about the bigger problem which has affected all of us.”
We were already well over our agreed time for booking the room with the hostel management. I went out to ask for a further extension, while the Prince continued to field questions.
Finally the Nigerian hostel management insisted on playing the “Look I have already done you a favor” card. No one wanted the event to finish though. The Prince gave everyone a signed copy of his book, Winds of Change, and then there was the endless demands to have photos taken with him. Everyone wante dto capture this extraordinary moment. Individual pictures, group pictures, it did not matter, they were pictures of smiles, joy and hope. I was kicking myself for not having taken pictures of before and after the Prince’s arrival. Perhaps then I could have shown what an uplifting experience this really was.
Once all the camera finally ran out of film, I got everyone around the keyboard player again, the Prince joined us as well and we all sang the Ey Iran national anthem together. Perhaps the most emotionally charged Ey Iran anthem we all ever sang. Our keyboard player was no Stevie Wonder and none of us were Placido Domingos, least of all me who by this time felt I was coming down with a flu, but we sang with our hearts. It was a day none of us will ever forget and we will tell our children about it. A symbolic day where the symbol of Iran’s unity, the symbol of Iran’s continuity and the symbol of Iran’s future had all gathered in one place. We had the right to sing the Ey Iran anthem louder than ever, more heartfelt than ever, and not care about our musical abilities. At that particular time, standing with the Prince amongst us, on the occasion of Nowrooz, we were the best choir ever.
There were Iranian refugees from all different parts of Iran that day. The earlier melancholy was replaced with hope and joy. That is the power of Reza Pahlavi and the position he holds.
http://www.mensnewsdaily.com/archive/a-b/azarmehr/azarmehr032205.htm
What a beautiful story.
Thank you for sharing that story. May God bless the Prince.
Tick...tick...tick...goes the divine clock.
Thank you for the info
What a wonderful story.
I wish the Iranian people would unite and invite Reza Pahlavi back to lead them.
If there were a gov't waiting in exile, maybe the push to remove the regime would happen faster.
Breaking News: Showdown: Battle groups head for Mideast WorldNetDaily ^ | 3/23/2005 | Jerome Corsi Posted on 03/23/2005 9:31:54 AM CST by cncrnd Three carrier battle groups are converging on the Persian Gulf. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson has departed Singapore and is currently crossing the Indian Ocean, en route to the Middle East. The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is also on the move, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, reportedly headed toward the Mediterranean. Reports are also circulating that the U.S. Navy has dispatched ships containing nuclear armaments to reinforce the battle groups. This will be the first time since February 2004 that the U.S. has had three major carrier groups stationed on or around the Middle East. Each of the carrier groups are armed with 85 aircraft capable of delivering precision-guided munitions. The air refueling capabilities of the aircraft allow them to operate from long distances. Each carrier battle group will include nuclear submarine protective cover. The battle groups can act independently and can stay on station indefinitely. The U.S. military air bases in Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, not to mention those recently established in Iraq and Afganistan, give the U.S. formidable muscle in the area. In addition, we have more than 150,000 battle-hardened Army and Marine forces on the ground in the region, capable of responding to any threat we face. What's going on? Looks like it's showdown time with both Iran and Syria. President Bush has said in words of one syllable that Iran will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. He has also demanded that Syria completely withdraw its military and intelligence forces from Lebanon. Nor will George W. Bush rest quietly until the mullahs quit funding Hezbollah....
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