We really need to set up an audio file so the Twight Zone theme can be played while you read the latest assertion from Iran, whose leaders make statements that suggest government statements are written in padded rooms by people with an unusual perception of reality (open up a separate browser, get this post again and CLICK HERE for background music):
The Supreme Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps accused the Bush Administration and the Israeli security service Mossad of ordering the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, DC.
“The events of September 11 were ordered by U.S. [officials] and Mossad so that they could carry out their strategy of pre-emption and warmongering and unipolarisation in order to dominate the Middle East�, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi told military commanders on Tuesday. His comments were reported by the state-run news agency ISNA.
Now, if you think he’s delusional, this might reassure you:
General Safavi said that Iran was the leading force of the “Islamic world�. “The geographic heart of the Islamic world is in Mecca and Medina. But, the political heart of the Islamic world is in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] is the flag-bearer of the front of Islamic awakening and the fronts of the awakening of third world nations�, he said.
Oh.
He said that Washington had been defeated in its strategy of “attacking Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon� and creating a new order in the Middle East.
“The U.S.’s neo-conservative strategy was to dominate the vast energy resources of the Persian Gulf in order to be able to control Europe, China, and India and drive the world to a unipolar state. Therefore, it planned to change undesirable regimes such as those of Iraq, Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan�.
The IRGC general said that the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had defeated Israel during their recent war. “After many years, the political and military image and hollow might of the Zionist regime was broken and the real power of Hezbollah fighters was proven. Thus, Hezbollah defeated Israel�.
Those last two contentions have actually been debated in more thoughtful language on several fronts: whether the neocon’s vision has run smack dab into hard-nosed geopolitical realities and financial realities. And, also, the meaning of the recent Middle East events. Thoughtful and stable people can differ on that.
The Major General has another concern as well:
He accused Washington of plotting a “cultural� attack on Tehran by setting up new radio and television stations broadcasting into Iran, supporting dissident groups, and stepping up intelligence operations. “Therefore, the armed forces must be completely prepared in order to combat any forms of foreign and domestic threats�, he said.
He has a point there: beaming Tucker Carlson’s show into Iran would be an act of war.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.