Strategic Depth - 2 : IRAN

Patriotism is to support your country all the times and your government only when it deserves.

A catch 22 situation for us. There is strong need to keep the Iranian people on our side. Historically Iran has been a long time partner of India and we need to redevelop and strengthen our relationship. Never had we felt a need of a friend in that area than during the Khandhar hijacking fiasco. We had not even one friend to back our claims, support any action that we had contemplated nor suggested any remedies. That incident shook the top thinkers of our foreign policy and forced them to adopt a completely new approach towards Iran. We are now stuck with a position that Iran has or will shortly secure few nuclear weapons making it another atomic power in our neighbourhood. It is again a challenge that we need to make sure that even in the worst case scenario we do not close all channels of communications with the Shiite country. I also envisage that Iran would have far greater role to play in countries like Iraq, Lebanon and other countries having large Muslim Shia populations. For realising what Iran’s full role would be in such countries, we need to have a working knowledge of the Shia history and culture. Shia’s as a community have been persecuted since time immemorial and they see Iran as their natural holy land. It is akin to what Jews think about Israel. This is a major reason due to which Iran has remarkable inroads in Shia dominated areas of different countries including Indian cities like Lucknow, Delhi, etc.

In India Shia’s have been historically been better placed then the Sunni Muslims. They have had far less communal riots, discrimination and perceived lack of opportunities towards their community.

Shia’s world over have been in the forefront of education, knowledge, research and other progressive activities. Even within the different Muslim sects they are known to be the most advanced as far as women rights, family planning, general awareness, etc is concerned. In India they have had good representations in civil services, Army, police and other government organisations. In most such organisations, they have excelled and even retired at ranks like secretaries, DGPs, Lt. Generals which is very heart warming. This reflects the progressive nature of the community at large. They have however the sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim engrained in them which they revisit every moharrum. This provides them the will and the strength to fight injustice, perceived and as well as real. For Iran as a country, it also serves as a deterrent as far as attacks on them by any other country are concerned. Most Shia’s realise that the Iranian revolution has not been a 100% success but with a dearth of alternates, this seems to be the best available choice. The fact that the world treats them as Arabs is most hurting for the Iranian people. Such a poor knowledge in the west of difference between Persian society and Arab society shocks the Iranian people. They are still amused that the Iranian president has been made most infamous by the west when in reality he does not yield any power in the real terms. He at the most is only the global face of the mullahs who run the Iranian power machine.

The poorly planned, even more poorly executed Operation Iraqi freedom and the resultant civil war has made most Iranian vary of contemplating a change in their government. The mullahs who were seen to be losing their grip on power in Iran have been bought back to the centre stage by President Bush’s Iraq policies. America will realise the complete implications of the fumbled Gulf War II in years to come. It should also be known that US and Iran has started some track II dialogues when Taliban has started ruling Afghanistan. This however proved short lived as the Gulf war II reversed all what had taken so many years to build. It should also be known that Iran has been one of the strongest barriers to the entry of narcotics to the western world from Afghanistan. The Iran border guards have one of the highest death rates while trying to fight Afghan Drug runners and smugglers. This should be viewed in the context of the fact that the best Narcotics come from the southern regions of Afghanistan which also borders Iran. It also is the most lawless of all the areas in Afghanistan and the only place where western powers can stop the activities of drug and gun smugglers is in Iranian territory and not in Afghanistan.

Look at the American track record with Iran. It says a lot to the shocking state in which U.S has been treating Iran and its people. They feel that the American far right then and the neo cons of the current regime in Washington have no other agenda except ruling their land through the creation of a puppet regime in Tehran. The activities of the CIA in league with the G-2 Desk at the pentagon has right from the over throw of the legally elected government of Premier Mossadeq in August of 1953 (Code named Op TPAJAX) to the accession of the Shah of Iran after Mossadeq’s overthrow to supporting the Iraqi dictator during the Iran Iraq war (even when he was using chemical and biological weapons against Iran), led Iranian people to accept the words of the Mullahs that Americans have no other agenda other than to make Iran a U.S backed banana republic. The facts on how the Americans had trained anti Mossadeq forces at Fort Leavenworth in the U.S and coordinated the entire exercise from SIS base in Cyprus has only added to lowering the credibility of any promises that the Americans might given to the Iranian people on the reasons for the impending conflict. The recent revelation that since the last 2 years, CIA assisted by the secret division of the Army’s green berets (who operate on U.S presidential orders within a country “perceived” enemy of the US even when they are not at war) have been scouting the Iranian country side try to finalise the locations of different American tactical bases to be used in the event of an Iran US war. This is in addition to the previous incursions that the Americans did in Iran for installing different equipments to measure the size, weight and even checking if any gasses are leaking from trucks which carry such nuclear materials on all roads which lead to a known nuclear site. These measuring equipment which is camouflaged as stones/rocks, in road signage’s poles and in ditches/culverts have been installed after India was successful in fooling the u.s spy satellites during the 1998 nuclear tests. These are to compliment the spy satellites that failed so miserably during the Indian tests. It is another story that none have detected any nuclear preparedness by the Iranian regime in the last 2 years. Iranians have always followed the IAEA except only once when lied about their links with the Pride of Jhootistan oops Pakistan Mr. A.Q Khan (Mr. Burglar). They have been supplied with some designs of the centrifuge by Mr. Khan and his “handsome young” male Sri Lankan companion in Dubai but that was the first and the last time the Iranian took AQ’s help.

Let us hope that the American people are able to oppose any violent intervention that these neo cons have in their plan for Iran. As for India, we will be faced with one more unstable “neighbour” and one less Muslim regime opposed or cold to Pakistan. In the future, our interests in Afghanistan have been designed to operate mainly through Iran. Iran has even at the best of times been neutral to Pakistan so it is Pakistan who would gain in case U.S backed regime is propped up in Iran.

In spite of all these facts the common Iranian does not have any bitterness towards America. They are more amazed than bitter seeing the way Americans are behaving towards their country. Iranians are not fools that they would not have made preparations to thwart the impending American attack. They in simple terms have been weaving carpets for more than 2000 years. They understand the intricacies of complex issues much more than the neo con crooks like Paul Wolfowitz, Richard pearl, Dick Chaney, Donald Rumsfeld or even their founders Irving Kristol or Norman Podhoretz or Leo Strauss did or do now. They have their own ways and means of equating their war with the Vietnam War of the 60s& 70s.