Over at the Standard. Under President Obama, our approach to Iran–the world’s foremost state sponsor of terror, a rogue regime racing toward nuclear capability–is not only not regime change, it’s de facto regime preservation. So he delicately sought to say … Continue reading →
…make it Reuel Gerecht. He’s by far the most knowledgeable American writer out there with a profound understanding of the intelligence, military, cultural, and political context. His best guess: HH: Now this is Wednesday. Of course it’s now deep into … Continue reading →
A Special Message to the People of Iran By Barack ObamaPresident of the United States Greetings. As president of United States — or, if you prefer, the Great Satan — I have have been following with keen interest the vigorous … Continue reading →
Wow. The Czar surprises himself sometimes. A short while back, the Czar anticipated that some Democrats would link the Iranian elections to the 2000 US Presidential election. On a whim, and some prodding by the Mandarin, the Czar googled iran … Continue reading →
What, no one else listened to the Repo Man soundtrack? Anyway, from Michael Totten over at Contentions, here’s more towards the theory that a Khâmene’î/Ahmadî-Nezhâd/IRGC coterie may have seized power within the government of Iran. His Kurdish correspondent seems quite … Continue reading →
We got your “not meddling” right here, buddy. (Savor that Reuters headline, too.) Man, if only there had been some precedent that would have allowed them to foresee this eventuality.* Let your Œc. Vol. be the first to state, incidentally, … Continue reading →
…what stuns me about the commentary over the last couple of days is the perception that the regime has done something shocking with this election. The regime isn’t any different today than it was the day before the election, the … Continue reading →
Obama’s policy now requires getting past the election controversies quickly so that he can soon begin negotiations with the reelected Ahmadinejad government. This will be difficult as long as opposition protests continue and the government appears to be either unsettled … Continue reading →
The Czar took pen to parchment, and thought it worthwhile to write an angry open letter to the Guardian Council of Iran. And because it is the Czar’s way (specifically, to show off), he did it as a poem. So … Continue reading →
They asked Twitter to postpone maintenance to keep the Iranians in touch. Beautiful. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →So The Guardian quotes āyatollāh Ali Hoseyni Khāmene‘i as saying Mahmūd Ahmadinezhād’s victory is a “divine blessing,” but agrees that perhaps a recount is in order to verify the tally. Anyone else think it strange that an āyatollāh would basically … Continue reading →
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Obviously all of us have been watching the news from Iran. And I want to start off by being very clear that it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be; that we … Continue reading →
General strike tomorrow, followed by mass rally in Tehran at 17:00, conveys Jim Robbins at the Washington Times. Things look like they may are getting seriously unpredictable. Your Volgi has been out of the loop today, procuring Himalayan Death Lotus … Continue reading →
BBC News has a neat, compact summary of the Iranian situation by Jim Muir. Balanced, in the sense that we should not get our hopes up for real progress in Iran, but nevertheless advising us that we continue to watch … Continue reading →
Iranians supporting Mousavi are protesting in the streets, hoping to be heard. According to Fox News, though, one of the protest chants is: Mousavi, we support you! We will die but retrieve our votes! Where are the 63 percent who … Continue reading →
From Amir Taheri in today’s WSJ. Some of his thesis: Many in Tehran, including leading clerics, see the exercise as a putsch by the military-security organs that back Mr. Ahmadinejad. Several events make these allegations appear credible. The state-owned Fars … Continue reading →
A quick rundown on what’s going on: The “Islamic Republic,” a/k/a the velâyat-e fâqih (“the state of the religious jurisprudent), periodically holds sham elections. The results can be more or less fairly tabulated, but it’s largely irrelevant, as all the … Continue reading →
Admittedly, the Gormogons control pretty much everything. But the ongoing violence in Iran was unforseen, and catches the Czar, at least, very much by surprise. Do not get your hopes up that change is coming to Iran, but the widespread … Continue reading →
By now, you have read that racist moron goatherder Mahmūd Ahmadinezhād overwhelmingly won Iran’s presidential election with a minority of the vote. The Czar will explain how this occurs, as most of would think that sounds weird. Popular elections are … Continue reading →
The Obama Administration’s Iran policy seems to be one of willful blindness. No matter how many times Ahmadinejad states his intent to destroy Israel specifically and Jews generally, the Administration ignores him. The ‘Puter Policy states “when someone says that … Continue reading →
Following the unexpected success of a pro-Western government in Lebanon this week—although the Czar doubts we will see any strong democratic progress there since the parliament That’s right—racist moron goatherder Mahmūd Ahmadinezhād, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and … Continue reading →
Great news: President Obama has concluded that nuclear energy is a safe, clean, welcome alternative to conventional power, and is capable of solving national power shortages. This will end decades of nuke-fear by the Democratic party. No kidding! However, there … Continue reading →
Doesn’t Kim Jong Il have a compelling personal story? Like Sonia, he grew up in a poor neighborhood (North Korea), yet he’s managed to become a nuclear power, shattering the glass ceiling to take his seat at the old nuclear … Continue reading →
The proud, cultured, and great nation of Iran must be ashamed at the scumbag lunatics they’re ruled by. Farzad Kamangar, a 33-year-old teacher, journalist and human rights activist, is awaiting execution in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. The Islamic regime calls … Continue reading →
The Telegraph (UK) reports that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has a difficult meeting ahead with POTUS Obama, in that the PM must deliver a series of strong messages to the President, but at the same time avoid any risk of … Continue reading →
Terrific interview. His pointing to the interests of the Iranian nation-state versus the revolutionary ideology of the Islamic Republic is absolutely crucial and correct. And at the moment, the revolutionary strain is in the ascendant. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent … Continue reading →
The Times of London is reporting that Israel is readying itself for a fairly large assault of Iranian nuclear sites. Whether this is merely contingency planning or a basically-any-hour-now ramp up is not easy to say, however the situation looks … Continue reading →
North Korea’s Unha-2 missile…er, communcations satellite…was successfully launched, flew right over Japan, and put, evidently, an iPod into space that—if you listen to 470 MHz—you can hear endlessly looped recordings of “Song of General Kim Il-sung” and “Song of General … Continue reading →
A-yup. Whoever drafted President Obama’s public appeal to Iran has little or no idea about the way minds work out there. This gust of hot air spouting from the president of the United States was disconnected from reality, and so … Continue reading →
Read the whole thing. Money quote: Sooner or later, however, Barack Obama will also have to make hard decisions about regimes that oppose U.S. policy for reasons deeper than dislike of George W. Bush. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions … Continue reading →
So, President Obama went on YouTube and delivered a message to the leadership of Iran of how he wanted to get together and rap about all the false consciousness that’s harshing our bilateral mellow. Which, of course, led to Iran’s … Continue reading →
That the Pyongyang-Damascus-Tehran nuclear axis went undetected and unacknowledged for so long is an intelligence failure of the highest magnitude. It represents a plain unwillingness to allow hard truths to overcome well-entrenched policy views disguised as intelligence findings. Confucius, Œc. … Continue reading →
It’s just about that painful to watch. No, not our Celebrity-in-Chief’s talk-show yukfest on Leno, but this dreadful piece of PR/public diplomacy performed by the president. Friend of the Gormogons Steve Hayes has the story here. Among other things, Obama … Continue reading →
To add to GorT’s point, it should be remembered that Iran has long considered Afghanistan within its sphere of influence and continues to make trouble there. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…are the NorKs testing the waters with our new administration as mentioned here by the Volgi, but Iran is stepping up its game. Not only did it declare itself a nuclear a space power, but it continues to interfere in … Continue reading →
…the revised edition of The Great Terror (buy it now) comes to mind, but I’m not arrogant enough to believe I have anything like Conquest’s authority to say it. But let’s just say that this piece on Iran’s gloating about … Continue reading →
Offended by the Volgi’s comments about the low standards of discourse in much of the Muslim world? My bad: Another installment in my “why not let these people have a nuclear weapon, what can possibly go wrong” series. “The Zionists … Continue reading →
No sooner does the DoD release the new FM 3-36 Electronic Warfare in Operations manual, than someone evidently reads it. Check this out: we detect and respond to a “malicious” source in Iran reading detailed blueprints for a helicopter in … Continue reading →
GorT’s imaginary father, Thomas Sowell,* is imagining some nightmare scenarios for the American-Iranian clash we’re staggering involuntarily towards. And when I say nightmares, I mean my literal waking nightmare of our natal Washington vanishing in a shockwave and fireball. It … Continue reading →
Rule Number One of international politics is to know who your friends are. And Poland has been a great one, participating jointly with the United States in virtually every enterprise they have been asked to do, including NATO and Iraq. … Continue reading →
That’s what the President hopes can characterize our relationship with Iran? Uh, ok. Can we wait until they show us some deference and respect first? Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →And working on ballistic-missile defense. Meanwhile, there’s some disturbing strategery (or politicking) afoot on Team Obama. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →A commenter (dag, E.K.!) e-mails that we are too hard on President Obama and have whitewashed the enormities and foibles of President Bush. Our position: we started this blog after all the Bush controversies were long settled into obsessive partisan … Continue reading →
…Mark Helprin fires off another jeremiad on America’s neglect of her own defenses and her political class’s incompetence in prosecuting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →It is being reported today that Israel is preparing plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities without U.S. backing. While this might prove difficult as the U.S. controls the Iraqi airspace through which the Israeli attack fighter/bombers would have to fly, … Continue reading →
“One Arab ambassador told me recently that the Iranians are reminding Arab leaders that America didn’t help Fuad Siniora, the prime minister of Lebanon, or Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, when they got into trouble—that in fact Washington left … Continue reading →
Hamas. Iran. Russia. China is on the clock! Mary, patroness of the United States, ora pro nobis. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…on Iran’s asymmetric-naval-warfare doctrine for kicking us out of the Persian Gulf. Click through to the monograph for depth, but Kaplan’s piece is very good. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →…into a James Bond villain (judo! flyfishing! tiger tranquilizing! Seriously, how long until he starts showing up in public walking his new pet tiger on a chain and followed by a Yakut with a spike-laden, throwable shapka?), we find out … Continue reading →
So, let’s see what’s going on. Rattling sabres, or just flexing, Russia claims it’s going to build a space-based missile-defense system and upgrade its nuclear submarines. And laughing at the U.S. and defiling the grave of James Monroe, she’s giving … Continue reading →
So, we’ve crossed Iraq off our list of malefactors. Who’s left on the actively anti-American front? Well, if we ignore great powers like Russia and China, we’ve got Venezuela, Iran, Syria & North Korea. (Pakistan’s ISI may soon be bidding … Continue reading →
…by Ralph Peters here. I don’t know much about Putin the man, but Peters seems pretty on-target. Jumping off from that piece, Abe Greenwald here discusses just how alien the cultural and psychological premises of our principal adversaries are, and … Continue reading →
…look increasingly formidable. But, not to worry, we’ve been spending healthily to keep the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet combat ready, right? Oh, never mind. (We’re down to, what, a 281-ship fleet from 587?) Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like … Continue reading →
So goes the apothegm of Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevski, the nineteenth-century intelligent who, among other things, wrote a novel whose title—Что делать? What Is to Be Done?—Lenin re-used (and which the Volgi uses as a trope hereabouts). Kolya Ch. meant that … Continue reading →
As my mother used to say. U.S. passivity continues to embolden Russia. (And Iran, and maybe China.) Good post by Abe Greenwald: A strange and counterproductive psychology continues to prevent the U.S. from taking bold action against Russia’s move to … Continue reading →
Here. As I think I’ve argued somewhere (oh yeah, here, though sketchily), the West has a fair number of cards to play against a revanchist, expansion-minded Russia. NATO membership is one. If it’s as transparently a bluff as Fukuyama says, … Continue reading →
Some reasonable speculations from Robert Freedman at MESH on the Middle Eastern repercussions of Russia’s invading Georgia. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →This will keep you up nights. Confucius, Œc. Vol.Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu. 3.14.242.153
Continue reading →Interesting piece here. However, as always, remember that Ahmadinejad is generally a sideshow, if a consequential one. All real power is concentrated in the hands of Khamene’i, the Rahbar (that’s Persian for Duce or Führer [or Vozhd], seriously.), whose very … Continue reading →
Wonderful piece by Martin Kramer over at MESH on the late Ann K.S. Lambton, OBE FBA, whose Persian Grammar I have not five feet from my desk. Her knowledge of Iran was such that she realized that Mohammad Mosaddegh, the … Continue reading →
Like Peter Pham at NRO’s Tank, the Œcumenical Volgi has long had an eye on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, stemming from his long interest in Central Asian affairs (which interest led to one of the most painful incidents in his … Continue reading →
Read ’em in full. Melik Kaylan: Having overestimated the power of the Soviet Union in its last years, we have consistently underestimated the ambitions of Russia since. Already, a great deal has been said about the implications of Russia’s invasion … Continue reading →
Guess who thinks Iran’s a paper tiger? That’s right, Qaddhâfî. Don’t forget to stop by his website. Humanitarian that he is, he wants to ban machine guns! Wonder why. And don’t forget Ahmadî-Nezhâd’s blog. Do check out the awesome “e-mails … Continue reading →
Tick tick tick. In general, I think the nuttiness of the Islamic Republic is overstated—they generally comport themselves like most rational state actors. However, their rationality has led them to believe that aggression, particularly through proxy terrorism, is rewarding. Consequently, … Continue reading →
