Posted on 05/01/2006 10:43:03 PM PDT by FairOpinion
But military option may be the only way this can happen.
Reza Pahlavi doesn't want his country thorn by war, but if Iran develops and uses nukes, they won't be any of it left, so better some unavoidable breakage now, than devastation in the world and in Iran later.
PING
You guys let me know how that works out for you, ok!
BUMP
I saw this earlier (not here). Why would they be discussing it publicly? It seems like strategically, they'd not want it known?
The Shah was no Boy-scout. In fact, he was an a**hole.
Maybe instead the Persians read some Jefferson, or Locke, or Madison, or heck, even Burr. Look to men like Washington, Admas, Jay, Lee, or Jeff Davis and decide that they don't want to be a bunch of friggin ants cowing to a bunch of asshats. Maybe they should start acting like 21st-century HUMANS instead of cavemen.
Imposing some cake-eating dink on Persia because his dad was the former tyrant-in-charge is not the answer.
Only the Persians can get the entire world out of this can-of-worms.
I think it's part of a very complicated "chess game" in trying to put pressure on the Mullahs, but they only understand force.
I bet the "element of surprise" wasn't a part of his overthrow plans!
The Shah was "no boyscout", but he was trying to modernize Iran. He ruled with an iron hand, but how else can you deal with the radical Muslim elements, like the Ayatolla. The Shah was too kind, he should have executed the Ayatollah, instead of merely exiling him.
The Shah, as part of his "White Revolution" allowed women to vote, hold jobs, in general tried to secularize the country and bring it into the 20th century.
The Ayatollahs, took it back to the stone age, as the Taliban has done in Afghanistan.
The Shah was also a very reliable friend to the US and the West in general.
It's not like that at all.
Reza Pahlavi is living in the US and understands the modern world and democracy.
I have no truck with tyrants. When you say "he ruled with an iron hand". That's wrong. Maybe that is why the Persians have lost their way.
So how doyou think the Taliban and the Ayatollahs are ruling?
The Shah was moving the country forward, the Islamist extremist governments are taking it back to the stone age.
Reza Pahlavi
Since the establishment of the clerical regime in Iran, and the passing of his father, the late Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi has been a leading and vocal advocate of the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights for his countrymen.
In 1978, Reza Pahlavi, then Crown Prince of Iran, left his homeland to complete his higher education in the United States. An accomplished jet fighter pilot, Reza Pahlavi completed the United States Air Force Training Program at the former Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas. He is a Political Science graduate of the University of Southern California.
Reza Pahlavi has lived in Morocco, Egypt and, since 1984, the United States. He married Yasmine Etemad Amini on June 12, 1986. Yasmine is a graduate of George Washington University School of Law. Together with his wife and three daughters, Noor (April 3, 1992), Iman (September 12, 1993) and Farah (January 17, 2004), they reside in the state of Maryland.
Born on October 31, 1960, in Tehran, Iran, Reza Pahlavi is the eldest of four. Since the tragic passing of the late Leila Pahlavi (March 27, 1970 - June 10, 2001), Reza Pahlavi's siblings include Farahnaz (March 12, 1963), a brother Ali Reza (April 28, 1966), as well as a half-sister, Shahnaz (October 27, 1940).
http://www.rezapahlavi.org/index.htm
Yeah, I had seen him pop up somewhere just this week and didn't *dare* hope that he'd be saying any thing like this. It's just so tempting, but I agree that my own somewhat superstitious nature wants it not to be jinxed.
He's saying a lot of right things, IMO, but I'm scared of the "too good to be true" syndrome. More prayer is needed.
REza Pahlavi:
"My goal is simple, achievable and straightforward. I envision an Iran: wherein its prosperous economy gives every Iranian an equal chance for hope and opportunity; An Iran where its women fully participate in the political, socio-economic and cultural life of their homeland; An Iran where its press is free from intimidation, harassment, imprisonment and torture; This vision includes a progressive, civil and stable society in which the separation of Religion and State is recognized. Finally, the Iran of tomorrow ought to have a foreign policy based on principles of harmony and mutual respect.
To get there however, Iranians seek a political system in which participation in free and fair elections are guaranteed for all freedom-loving individuals and political ideologies.
I have called for unity among all groups dedicated to a democratic agenda and outcome to work together for a common cause - the establishment of a democratic and secular government. I intend to lead this movement culminating in a national referendum, beyond this system, and with international supervision, as a means to guarantee freedom and self-determination for the people of Iran.
I am confident that momentum is building and I am certain that the world will witness a dramatic political evolution in my homeland. It is my hope that Iranians will benefit from all the moral support the world community of nations can demonstrate for our quest for liberty."
Doesn't sound like the goals of a "tyrant", does it?
http://www.rezapahlavi.org/index.htm
Khomeini made his intentions known in France for years before he went back to Iran. He simply prepared the ground in Iran prior to his arrival and the people were ready to accept him. I think the Shahlet is thinking along the same lines but I seriously question whether the people of Iran would welcome the scion of one dictator to replace another.
The Shah may have been no Boy Scout, but he was our non-Boy Scout, and he was vastly more democratic than what replaced him.
When you are dealing with a bunch of nimrods who think that the appropriate response to the rape of a sister is to murder the sister...well, the Boy Scout Handbook doesn't have a chapter on how to deal with people like that. The Shah was trying to bring Iran into the modern age, and certain elements of Iranian society needed to be beaten into the modern age.
How do I think?
I think Islam is a death-cult more dangerous to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness than Nazism, Communism, and Fascism combined.
I think EVERY HUMAN on the planet is endowed, by our Creator, with the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
I think that supporting cavemen dictators that rule "with an iron fist" is wrong.
I think that a big part of why we face some of the choices we must make, today, is because too many cowards took the easy route and did not make the right choice.
And I think Veronica Lake was a very beauttiful blonde.
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