Iran sees Iraqi Situation as Opportunity to get off Axis of Evil List

[prontospyder]

- most anti-American graffiti in Tehran has been cleaned out.
- Tehran has granted dozens of foreign journalists rare visas and allowed them to transit through Iran to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq ahead of a conflict. Syria and Turkey, which also share borders with Iraq?s north, have refused similar access for reporters.
- Iran is also making preparations to accept hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees, readying camps along its frontier with Iraq.
- Stopping Iraqi oil smugglers
- Iran has agreed to help the United States in search-and-rescue operations for U.S. pilots.
- U.S. officials say they are impressed with Iran?s behavior since the Sept. 11, 2001. The Iranian government says it has arrested hundreds of al-Qaida fighters who strayed into Iran after the war in Afghanistan.

MSNBC

 

[Jmmsbnd007]

Finally, some sense around there.

 

[StageLeft]

That is good...

 

[prontospyder]

They are going in a totally different direction, compared to North Korea. They can be a key player in helping to stabilize that region.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: prontospyder
They are going in a totally different direction, compared to North Korea. They can be a key player in helping to stabilize that region.

NK sucks donkey! I'd like for Iran to straighten up but they have so far to come...maybe they don't want to be a target of Gulf War III ?

 

[BatmanNate]

They've been at odds with Iraq for ages, of course they're going to be as cooperative as possible to get rid of a bordering anti-kurd state. They hate Iraq even more than they hate America.

 

[HombrePequeno]

Honestly I don't know why they really were considered part of the "Axis of Evil" in the first place. Sure the Ayatollah is a douche bag but Khatami and the rest of the people are pretty decent.

 

[kermalou]

Iran is a puppet for the British.

that is all i have to say.

 

[rahvin]

Originally posted by: HombrePequeno
Honestly I don't know why they really were considered part of the "Axis of Evil" in the first place. Sure the Ayatollah is a douche bag but Khatami and the rest of the people are pretty decent.

Khatami is an Ayatollah in sheeps clothing. His head will roll with the rest when the youth in Iran finally decide they have had enough.

 

[exp]

They hate Iraq even more than they hate America.

Exactly. Right now they are just praising Allah that Public Enemy #1 is about to knock off Public Enemy #1A, and they certainly do not want to do anything to upset that imminent godsend.

I always thought the Axis of Evil label was facile in the first place, but Iran will still have to do a hell of a lot more than remove graffiti from the streets to convince me they have actually changed their ways.

 

[LadyJessica]

Why are Iran and Iraq at odds?

 

[ElFenix]

iran didn't like being under US/UK control like it had been, so the reactionary muslims gained control in 1979, but after a couple decades of that its looking more and more like they're not liking it.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: LadyJessica
Why are Iran and Iraq at odds?

Iraq attacked and invaded Iran in 1980. They had a long running war from 1980 to 1988. Iraq killed over a million people in Iran including civilians who died from Iraqi chemical weapons.

The war finally was called off after neither side could acheve a victory. Iran is very bitter to this day over the whole thing, which is understandable considering that weapons of mass destruction were used against them.

: ) Hopper

 

[SnapIT]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper27

Originally posted by: LadyJessica
Why are Iran and Iraq at odds?

Iraq attacked and invaded Iran in 1980. They had a long running war from 1980 to 1988. Iraq killed over a million people in Iran including civilians who died from Iraqi chemical weapons.

The war finally was called off after neither side could acheve a victory. Iran is very bitter to this day over the whole thing, which is understandable considering that weapons of mass destruction were used against them.

: ) Hopper

Yup, and the US supported all of it.... even supplied those weapons, but let's forget about that... (actually, the US first supported Iran but turned and then supported Irak, what a wonderful ally to have...)

It's nice to see how some people here thinks that Iraq treats their population badly and then cheers Iran without knowing anything about them...

Let me start with a simple question, this war is to fight terrorism, which country is actually KNOWN to harbour terrorists, Iran or Irak?

That would be, Iran, the country you are cheering are actually a worse enemy, they just see a golden oppertunity to earn your support... great.....

 

[tcsenter]

Yup, and the US supported all of it.... even supplied those weapons, but let's forget about that...

Yup, but not nearly to the extent that countries like Germany, France, and Russia were supplying Iraq with "those weapons", let's not forget about that...

Bush's Axis of Evil statement wasn't all that far off from Clinton's Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who in no uncertain terms and on multiple ocassions called Iran the "biggest supporter of terrorism in the world today". Ah...but that was Clinton's guy, so it was ok.

 

[reitz]

Originally posted by: Grasshopper27
Iran is very bitter to this day over the whole thing, which is understandable considering that weapons of mass destruction were used against them.

: ) Hopper

Ummm...check your history. Iran used chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war as well.

 

[Wag]

Iran was actually going in the right direction before Bush did his little "Axis of Evil" speech- They were actively helping us persue and capture Al Qaeda members, sharing intelligence with us, etc. Then Bush did his thing and pissed the Iraqi reformists off. A well deserved thanks for them helping us. Lol.

 

[tcsenter]

Iran was actually going in the right direction before Bush did his little "Axis of Evil" speech- They were actively helping us persue and capture Al Qaeda members, sharing intelligence with us, etc. Then Bush did his thing and pissed the Iraqi reformists off. A well deserved thanks for them helping us. Lol.

Well Bush's 'Axis of Evil' speech is probably the most misreported, mistranslated, and misrepresented statement ever, most of it deliberate.

What Bush actually was referring to were certain hard line 'factions' within Iran and North Korea, not a generalized condemnation of those countries.

Now Warren Christopher, however, did not mince his words at all when he more than once publicly referred to Iran as the biggest supporter of terrorism in the world today. Nor did Clinton himself whenever he spoke of Iran.

Ah, well, but that was the Clinton administration, so it's ok.

 

[Alistar7]

Originally posted by: SnapIT

Originally posted by: Grasshopper27

Originally posted by: LadyJessica
Why are Iran and Iraq at odds?

Iraq attacked and invaded Iran in 1980. They had a long running war from 1980 to 1988. Iraq killed over a million people in Iran including civilians who died from Iraqi chemical weapons.

The war finally was called off after neither side could acheve a victory. Iran is very bitter to this day over the whole thing, which is understandable considering that weapons of mass destruction were used against them.

: ) Hopper

Yup, and the US supported all of it.... even supplied those weapons, but let's forget about that... (actually, the US first supported Iran but turned and then supported Irak, what a wonderful ally to have...)

It's nice to see how some people here thinks that Iraq treats their population badly and then cheers Iran without knowing anything about them...

Let me start with a simple question, this war is to fight terrorism, which country is actually KNOWN to harbour terrorists, Iran or Irak?

That would be, Iran, the country you are cheering are actually a worse enemy, they just see a golden oppertunity to earn your support... great.....

First of all we hardly turned our back on Iran, there was a revolt against the Shah and the Islamic Repuiblic was formed, our embassy was invaded and hostages were held for 444 days, unlesss you're biased beyond reality you can accept these historical facts, if not you blame the US. (not that theres hasnt been a certain pattern noticed...lol)

I agree Iran has more ties to terrorism and is far more likely to provide them with WMD, but not that Saddam has NONE. Considering they have the worlds 2nd largest natural gas supplies, and the 6th largest oil reserves, Iran's recent claims the nuclear program was restarted for "needed energy" sources is a joke. I am hoping the sudden emergnce of a democracy so close will be the straw that breaks the camels back. Iran has a population of @ 62 million, half of those are under 25, most of those are extremely dissatisfied and would like to see a democratic, secular government.

I don't believe they have assisted in dealing with al-queda, quite the opposite. They have been known to travel and hide there, the Iranians were also supplying that small cell that was just inside Iraq's border, a small isolated group (800) of "kurds" we bombed. I don't think Bush has any plans or hopes on going into Iran, different leadership, different situation.

 

[StormRider]

Originally posted by: HombrePequeno
Honestly I don't know why they really were considered part of the "Axis of Evil" in the first place. Sure the Ayatollah is a douche bag but Khatami and the rest of the people are pretty decent.

I agree. From what I understand, the people of Iran actually seems to like us. After Sept 11, their sympathies seemed geniune. So, Iran seems to be a country that "officially hates us" but the people seem to like us.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia/Jordan/Egypt are a countries that "officially likes us" but the people hate us.

I think I prefer the Iranian situation. Also, as an undergraduate, I had a few Iranian friends so my heart is biased into thinking they are good people.

I really would like us to be good friends with Iran. We basically left them alone and now they seem ready for reform instead of us mucking around with them and causing resentment against us.

 

[GoodToGo]

Originally posted by: LadyJessica
Why are Iran and Iraq at odds?

Two different sects of Islam, one is Sunni controlled and one is Shia controlled.

 

[jjones]

Iran is an interesting situation. When the CIA backed coup overthrew the elected government in Iran (who had just recently nationalized Iran's oil industry) and installed the Shah back in 1953, Iran become a very pro-Western society with plenty of backing and industrial involvement from the US. Unfortunately, the Shah's regime was so suppressive that it led to the rise in influence of the Ayatollahs, the terror attacks and student uprisings, and finally the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The Iranian Revolution resulted in the seizure of power by the Ayatollahs and the subsequent Islamic Republic of Iran, a new theocratic government.

Now it seems that there a bit of a longing for the old days under the Shah. Not the suppressive regime itself of course, but the desire to return to a society more interactive with the West. What really should have happened was that the government of Mosaddeq back in 1953 should never have been the subject of a CIA coup. Most likely, Iran would be the type of government that we would have friendly relations with today, instead of a country that still holds a deep resentment for the US role in installing and propping up the Shah's regime.

More wonderful results of the Cold War, the bad old days of the CIA, and ultimately the very bad decision by Eisenhower. That coup has cost the US greatly, not too mention its overall direct and indirect effects on Iran and the Middle East for decades now.

Edit: And BTW, the responsibility cannot wholly be placed upon the shoulders of the US. The original idea for the coup, and who pushed it upon the American administration, were the Brits. They occupied Iran in WWII and ousted the Shah's father. After the Iranian Parliament voted to nationize the oil industry and elected Mosaddeq in 1951, they drew up plans for a coup. Truman originally rejected the plan but later Eisenhower let himself be talked into it.

 

[Red Dawn]

Huge Anti War Protestest in Tehran