ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Duke's Damage Control</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: x-large; } .style3 { text-align: left; } .style4 { font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; } .style5 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="116" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="24" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="465" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="18" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="283" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="26"> <td width="624" height="26" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="1"> <td width="116" height="2574" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="489" height="1" colspan="3"></td> <td width="18" height="2574" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="2573"> <td width="489" height="2573" colspan="3" align="left" xpos="116" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5"><b> <br /> Iran Lashes Out</b></font><p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> by John M. Curtis<br> (310) 204-8700</b><br> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright June 28, 2009<br> All Rights Reserved.</i></font></p> <p><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style2">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span><span class="style5">A</span>rresting eight staff of the British Embassy, the right wing government of newly reelected Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slapped the West in the face, serving notice that Iran s defiance won t stop anytime soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> President Barack Obama hoped to find a change of heart from eight years of hostility during the reign of former President George W. Bush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Stiff U.N. Security Council sanctions haven t deterred Tehran from feverishly enriching uranium, a growing worry that the Persian nation seeks its first A-bomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When violent protests broke out after the disputed June 12 election the religious regime of Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faced the most dissent since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini s 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the Shah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran s Republican Guard and heavily armed Basij militia systematically crushed opposition led by reformer Mir-Hossain Mousavi.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Seizing British embassy employees harks back to the 1979 ransacking of the U.S. embassy and kidnapping of 52 diplomatic personnel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. diplomatic personnel were held hostage for 444 days, finally released at noon, Jan. 20, 1981, only minutes after former President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since the June 12 election, Ahmadinejad has done his utmost to divert attention and blame the U.S. and Britain. Tehran s street unrest, accepting no responsibility for fixing the election, giving Ahmadinejad another four years to antagonize the U.S. and Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Calling for executions of.election protesters, senior cleric Ahmed Khatami urged Khamenei to deal harshly with anti-election demonstrators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki blasted Britain and the U.S. for fomenting demonstrations, warning that more protests would cause more diplomatic damage.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>British had a long colonial history in Iran, developing, with the help of British Petroleum, Tehran s oil industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran s Interior Minister Hossein Mohseni Ejeie confirmed arrests of British Embassy personnel, insisting the employees started the rioting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Some of these individuals . . . have been summoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Some have been released after preliminary investigations and some have been kept in custody, said Ejeje, warning Britain to stop meddling in Iranian affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Promising a  strong an collective response, British Foreign Minister David Miliband got strong support from the European Union.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> There was . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>a unanimous view that the European Union would act with solidarity and common commitment in the face of harassment and intimidation, warning Tehran of consequences should detainees not be released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Milliband categorically rejected blame for meddling in Iranian elections. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Whipping up more paranoia, Khamenei and Ahmadinejad no how to distract voters from what Mousavi insists was fraud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He rejects any partial recount by Iran s Guardian Council and demands a new election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Mousavi has no power other that getting more followers to keep demonstrating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Despite sporadic demonstrations and cries of  Alluh Akbar, of two thousand marchers have been incarcerated, awaiting the harshness of Khamenei s justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With clerics like Khattami calling for death to protestors, Mousavi s followers will be driven more underground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The British embassy played an important role in recent riots both through media and its local sources [people], said Khamenei, accusing American and British officials of making  idiotic comments about Iran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Khamenei s harsh rhetoric matches his mouthpiece, frequently letting Ahmadinejad insult Western governments.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Seizing British embassy personnel extends the crackdown and makes future Western dialogue more difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Barack fournd out quickly that the Bush administration was not responsible for deteriorated U.S.-Iranian relations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Accused this week of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> acting like Bush, Ahmadinejad expected Obama to publicly apologize for saying he was  outraged and appalled by Iranian treatment of peaceful protesters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>White House officials got a rude awakening about the deteriorated state of U.S.-Iranian relations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether amicable, conciliatory or not, the same radical clerics run the Persian nation, unwilling to compromise on uranium enrichment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran sees nuclear power and weapons as giving it more clout on the world stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>More harsh U.N. sanctions won t stop Tehran from defying the West, enriching more uranium and eventually building A-bombs and delivery systems..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Seizing British personnel fires a shot across the bow, putting the West on notice that Iran calls the shots in its own backyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Detaining embassy employees violates British sovereignty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. and British officials must recalculate Iranian strategy in light of new developments, putting Iran on notice that provocative acts won t be tolerated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Blaming street protests on foreign influences dismisses the sham of a fixed election, giving sizable numbers of voters the first glimpse how Iran s religious clerics seek absolute power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With the government s crackdown underway, reform leader Mousavi loses hope that he can mobilize enough dissent to force a new election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have no intent of ceding power to reformers, especially Mousavi, now considered a traitor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>British officials must endure the humiliation while Tehran pounds its chest.</p> <p class="style3"> &nbsp;<span class="style4">About the Author</span></p> <p class="style3"> &nbsp;<b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet </a>and <a href="books.htnl">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2573"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2573"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="116" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="116" height="1"></td> <td width="24" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="24" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="283" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="283" height="1"></td> <td width="18" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="18" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homene.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2002 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>