http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/iran/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Fri, 16 Feb 2007 05:00:01 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3022/eyes_off_the_prize/ About 30 years ago, U.S. diplomats famously dismissed the civil war raging in the jungles of Cambodia as a "sideshow" to the Cold War. Callous as that was, the uncomfortable fact remains that the diplomats were probably right. As bloody and heartrending as the situation in Cambodia got by 1977, in the end it appears to have had only a limited bearing on the wider historical forces at work in the world, adding a further dimension of sheer meaninglessness to the tragedy and trauma that still haunts millions of Cambodians. Today, headlines are fixated on the gore and chaos unfolding in Iraq. The conflict there has been shaping the outcome of the elections in many Western nations, and is certain… china india iran David Sirota Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3228/iran_and_americas_tug_of_war/ As the Bush administration boosts its military presence in the Middle East and issues frequent, pointed barbs at Tehran, which in turn quickens the pace of its nuclear enrichment program, two new books examine the object of the administration's hostility. In Iran Oil: The New Middle East Challenge to America (IB Taurus, 2006), British journalist Roger Howard offers a sober analysis of Iran's threat to American power, albeit one that has nothing to do with its nuclear ambitions. "Iran's contemporary challenge to the United States," he writes, "represents an explosive tension between politics and resources." Howard argues that by seeking to isolate Iran through U.S. and U.N.-backed sanctions, the United States forces nations to choose between backing its fight against… foreign policy iran middle east David Sirota Fri, 07 Sep 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3310/unveiling_muslim_feminism/ The cover of the July 21 Economist touted an article about Iran's push to develop nuclear weapons. But the accompanying photo, filling the cover along with the article's title, "The Riddle of Iran," presented a sea of figures in black chadors, floor-length cloths used by some Muslim women to cover themselves--despite the fact that the article said not a word about Iranian women. The riddle of Iran, the photo suggested, is the way that it teeters between modernity (the development of nuclear weapons) and antiquity (the omnipresent chador). By using the image of the covered Muslim women to question the modernity of the Iranian state, the Economist reflects an entire history of Western interactions with Muslim women. As Nima Naghibi… gender iran David Sirota Tue, 18 Sep 2007 04:59:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3347/another_war_we_cant_afford/ The Bush administration and its Beltway network of supporters and enablers are ratcheting up the rhetoric against Iran again, and this time it seems the positioning will have consequences. According to New York University professor and Informed Comment Global Affairs blogger Barnett Rubin, the rhetorical campaign will continue until a military campaign is executed in the very near future. According to one of Rubin's Washington sources who spoke to one of his contacts in a leading neo-conservative institution: They [the source's institution] have 'instructions' (yes, that was the word used) from the Office of the Vice-President to roll out a campaign for war with Iran in the week after Labor Day; it will be coordinated with the American Enterprise Institute,… foreign policy iran media David Sirota Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:59:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3430/the_accidental_war/ It's become fashionable in conservative Washington circles--among commentators with extraordinary access to the Bush administration--to suggest that people concerned about the threat of war with Iran are howling at phantoms. As the New York Times' David Brooks wrote in a Nov. 6 column, "The Bush administration is not about to bomb Iran (trust me). It's using diplomacy to build a coalition to balance it, and reverse an ugly tide." Washington Post columnist George Will struck a slightly less friendly tone with those who would actually support strikes, but drew the same conclusion, writing on Nov. 11 that "some Washington voices, many of them familiar, are reprising a familiar theme • Iran's nuclear program is near a fruition that justifies preventive… iran war David Sirota Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3444/the_boy_who_cried_wmd/ There goes the Axis of Evil. On Dec. 3, news broke that 16 U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Iran had halted its nuclear arms efforts in 2003. You would think the report--known as the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE)--would give Bush pause in his push for another war. You'd be wrong. At a Dec. 4 White House press conference, Bush said, "Iran is dangerous, and the NIE doesn't do anything to change my opinion about the danger Iran poses to the world. Quite the contrary." For years the Bush administration and its neoconservative buddies have been ratcheting the rhetoric against Iran. At an Oct. 17 press conference at the White House, Bush warned that Tehran's nuclear development could lead to… bush iran weapons David Sirota Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3449/rocking_lolita_in_tehran/ At a 2001 rock concert in Tehran, Iran, members of the alternative rock band O-hum wore jeans and T-shirts. Some of them had mop tops. The lead singer jumped around with his bright red guitar as young girls screamed and boys climbed onto the stage before jumping off and body surfing the crowd. Hundreds of young Iranians packed the Russian Orthodox Church (a neutral site not under government control) to hear O-hum's Persian Rock--a blend of Western and Iranian music that lead singer Shahram Sharbaf and guitarist Shahrokh Izadkhah co-created. Juxtaposing the lyrics of Hafez, a 17th-century Persian poet, with soft Middle Eastern string instruments, drum beats and electric guitar riffs, O-hum's music was hard and distinctly rock and roll.… iran music technology David Sirota Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:13:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3471/no_talking_to_the_enemy/ About five years ago, a young Iranian man became involved with the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisburg, Pa., where he joined a program through which college students and recent graduates learn practical skills in conflict resolution. At the end of his stay, he returned to Iran, where he became a member of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, via e-mail, kept in touch with his religious friends in the United States. In August 2006, the man (his U.S. contacts wouldn't name him) called the Mennonites to tell them that the recently elected Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, would be coming to New York to speak before the United Nations General Assembly. He brokered a… foreign policy iran David Sirota