Booman Tribune ~ Comments ~ Oh Sh!t: Iranian President Elect Ex-Hostage Taker?

Gift Cards * New Arrivals

NOTE: Overstock bests Amazon's prices and is "blue."

THE BOOKS WITH "BUZZ":
______________

Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story:

True Compass: A Memoir
by Edward M. Kennedy.

Read Barack Obama's vision for America:

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
by Barack Obama

Boran2 and maryb2004 recommend:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Must-have information for all presidents-and citizens-of the twenty-first century?

Physics for Future Presidents: The Science behind the Headlines
Richard A. Muller

rae recommends:

Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire
by Morris Berman.

On BooMan’s shelf:

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
by Doris Kearns Goodwin

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES
Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.

Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")

Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)

Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)

"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen

The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review

BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual
$79.95 * Sale: $59.95

Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)

The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan

Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----

Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review

Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)

The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
by Madeline Levine

Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com
:

We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

:
:

Oh Sh!t: Iranian President Elect Ex-Hostage Taker? | 17 comments (17 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

YES! Definitely - It's Him ... (4.00 / 2)

Negotiated the Arms for Hostages deal before Election 1980 with team of Ronald Reagan

Contact person to set up covert arrangement to deliver essential military parts for US build fighter aircraft through Israeli arms runner Kashoggi

Looks like the Iranian contact on pic with Col. Oliver North - our right-wing patriot and hero - who finished the deals to ship military supplies to the death squads in Central America

All took place under the leadership of "Greatest American" President Ronald Reagan!

Yep - he's our partner ... once again!

BTW - Abraham Lincoln must not have been the person we all thought he was from our history books.
Perhaps didn't run clandestine arms to the Confederates when the North needed to be defended.

USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan Tribune and add some cheers!

by Oui on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 11:23:32 AM EST

Re: YES! Definitely - It's Him ... (none / 1)

Um, no.

I came back to this diary this morning because this story made the front page of the local paper, The News & Advance with the headline "U.S. examining claim that Iran's new leader was ex-hostage taker." The article featured blather from WH officials saying the situation required investigation. But it also featured two photographs: one of Ahmadinejad and the unnamed hostage-taker, side by side. You don't have to be a retired CIA photo expert (see Oui's post below) to see these are two distinctly different men. Different eyes, eyebrows, nose and cheekbones. There are similarities, of course, they are both Arabic-looking.

So, I'm wondering if any other local readers -- with eyes to see -- are pondering, as I am, why the WH feels this requires additional investigation and publicity.

So, dear friends, I conclude this is propaganda, pure and simple. What it does is remind the public of the hostage crisis with a subtle nudge, "Remember the Iranians. They hate us. We hate them. Remember we still haven't gotten even with them for taking our hostages."

What's that? Do you hear a drum beat? There are elections coming in '06 and Republicans need another war to bolster their national security creds...

by sjct on Fri Jul 1st, 2005 at 08:19:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Ex-Iranian Agent: Photo Not Ahmadinejad (none / 0)

"This man is Taqi Mohammadi, a militant who later turned into a dissident and committed suicide in jail," he said, pointing to the 1979 photo. Mohammadi was arrested on charges of involvement in the 1981 bombing in Tehran that killed the country's president and prime minister.

Saeed Hajjarian, a top adviser to outgoing President Mohammad Khatami, also denied an Austrian newspaper report and claims by Iranian dissidents that Ahmadinejad had a role in the 1989 slaying of an Iranian opposition Kurdish leader and two associates in Vienna.

Hajjarian, considered the brains behind Khatami's democratic reforms program, is a former top official in the Intelligence Ministry, or the secret service. Both supporters and opponents describe him as the "walking memory" of Iran's recent history because of his access to classified information and secrets within Iran's ruling Islamic establishment.

Hajjarian is one of many reformers who are at loggerheads with the hard-line Ahmadinejad. He was shot by a hard-line vigilante in 2000 and is paralyzed and cannot speak fluently.

Saeed Hajjarian

[...]
Exiled Iranian dissident Alireza Jafarzadeh, who runs Strategic Policy Consulting, a Washington-based think tank focusing on Iran and Iraq, said Ahmadinejad was a Revolutionary Guard commander who supplied the weapons used to kill the three on July 13, 1989 in Vienna. Jafarzadeh said his assessment was based on Iranian government sources "who have provided accurate information in the past."

Jafarzadeh is a former U.S. representative for the National Council of Resistance of Iran. The council is the political arm of the Mujahedeen Khalq, a group that Washington and the European Union list as a terrorist organization.

Alireza Jafarzadeh seems to be the Iran version of Achmed Chalabi? Does indeed look like an orchestrated attack of smears on Iran, part of preparation for war propaganda! It stinks - the Ugly American.

USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan Tribune and add some cheers!

by Oui on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 02:32:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

The murderer Rafsanjani ... (4.00 / 2)

...supposedly remade as a moderate pragmatist, would have been bad news as well.

"We're trying to give the illusion of due diligence." --Bennett Holiday to Jimmy Pope in Syriana

by Meteor Blades (tleelange@hotmail.com) on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 01:51:06 PM EST

Re: Oh Sh!t: Iranian President Elect Ex-Hostage Ta (4.00 / 2)

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have been arguing for nearly two years now that the Bushistas intend to attack Iran next. Iran is America's principal rival for control over the Arabian Peninsula, and as such, the Iranians must be knocked down a peg or ten.

I have been told time and again that (a) the American military is stretched too thin to do that and (b) the American public and Congress would never stand for it.

While American ground forces may be insufficient to launch an assault on Iran, American aerial and naval forces have overwhelming superiority over their Iranian counterparts. Bush can blockade the main Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, effectively strangling the Iranian economy, and simultaneously bomb the living daylights out of the Iranians (to eliminate its nuclear programme or some such pretence).

As for justifying the attack before the world, the American people, and the Congress--well, what you see before you is just the latest piece of a plan designed to manufacture an excuse.

Elements of "tension": The US complains about the Iranian nuclear programme. The US complains that Iranians are supporting jidahists in Iraq. Bush criticises the Iranian election process, resulting in a surge in the polls for the radical candidate and the defeat of the relatively moderate Rafsanjani. It turns out that the new President of Iran was one of the hostage takers (maybe...are these hostages "Swift Boat" veterans?).

The United States is moving closer and closer to attacking Iran. Bush is obviously pushing the Iranians hard, hoping they will lash out in some way that will justify his assault on them (attacking a US warship, shooting down American reconnaissance planes, etc).

If all else fails, Bush will announce an American-British naval blockade of the Iranians to prevent the import of nuclear materials (the new President says he's going ahead with Iran's nuclear programme), hoping to provoke an attack by the Iranians on American naval forces--or, failing that, American provocateurs will secretly attack the Iranians along the Iran-Iraq border in hopes of getting pursuing Iranian troops to cross the border.

The United States is going to attack Iran. The UK may or may not be along for the ride (probably not). It is going to happen, and nobody can stop Bush. Bush's Tuesday night speech showed a President quite divorced from reality and insistent on his view of things--and Bush has had his sites on Iran all along.

There are three types of people: those who see, those who see when shown, those who do not see.

by Shadowthief (Shadowthief1962@gmail.com) on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 02:32:40 PM EST

Vincennes and 290 Iranian deaths ... (none / 1)

I am very unhappy about some of the phrases used by the President of the United States. Some of his statements have been, to say the very least, unfortunate. It has been called by him an understandable accident and on Sunday he called it a proper defensive action.

I suppose, if one were to choose, an understandable accident is slightly better than a proper defensive action, but neither of these statements really reflects the full horror of what has occurred. The suggestion has been made that the President of the United States should have limited himself to a simple statement of responsibility, coupled with a promise to pay generous compensation to the families of the victims and, indeed, many American citizens have voiced their concern at the absence of a statement which has indicated a willingness to pay compensation to the victims. The sums involved in the context of the amount of money which the American Government spend on defence would be minuscule and one could contrast it with the cost of keeping the Vincennes on station for a week.

Seventh Fleet - USS Vincennes

USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan's Happy Hour and add some cheers!

by Oui on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 07:19:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Shakesperean drama? (none / 1)

It's too surreal for that. More like Fellini or the movie "Brazil." There are days when I wonder if the news isn't pure manufactured fiction.

by sjct on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 07:09:57 AM EST

Re: Shakesperean drama? (4.00 / 3)

I agree, sjct, surreal.

My first reaction to this is to questions its veractiy. That's what it's come to for me. And I hate that. Hate that my first thought is to question the motives people who went through a horrible ordeal.

I wore one of those metal wrist bands with the a hostage's name and rank from almost the beginning of the crisis. I lost it along with many things from my junior high and high school years about 15 years ago...that wrist band was one of the things I will miss the most.

I remember reading something about how the president-elect was a part of the group that arranged the embassy takeover, but, we are fed so much propaganda these days, I can't believe that this is true. Not that I would be surprised if it IS.

Life in present-day America: living in one big Salvador Dali painting. christ.

I want something else, to get me through this, semi-charmed kinda life..
Third Eye Blind

by brinnainne on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 08:27:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Shakesperean drama? (4.00 / 2)

Yeah, it is sickening when you realize that your first reaction is, "How far will they go to justify their attack on Iran?", and that this is just an attempt to garner public support from the unsuspecting...

"Life is always better with clean pants."

by CabinGirl on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 09:21:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Iranians deny allegations (4.00 / 2)

According to this AFP story:

"Mr Ahmadinejad was never one of students following the path of the imam that took the spy den (US embassy). He was never there," said Mohsen Mirdamadi, an ex-hostage taker who went on to become a member of parliament.
[snip]
Abbas Abdi, who like Mirdamadi is regarded as one of the instigators of the embassy seizure, also fiercely denied that Ahmadinejad had anything to do with the operation.
"I say again: No Sir, he was not one of them. What I say is very clear. If you ask me if I know somebody and I say 'no' that is all I can say."

Take with the usual grain of salt but I would think they would be proud if one of their own had been elected President.

What you said about living in a Dali painting reminded me of a diary I posted here way back in the beginning, Alice, though it is less of a wonderland and more of a horrorland.

"We apologize for the inconvenience." God's last message to his creation.

by Athenian (ath3nian -at- hotmail dot com) on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 10:46:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

My reaction too. (none / 1)

It just seems so convenient. But that doesn't mean it is not true. But I predict that, true or not, it will get massive amounts of news attention and work to stir up people's anti-Muslim bias. It will also distract people in the US from the fiasco the Iraq war is becoming.

by Time Waits for no Woman (time.waits_at_gmail.com) on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 11:06:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: My reaction too. (4.00 / 4)

I'm skeptical. Just catching the news covergae of CNN where they are reporting that other former hostages don't agree with the ID. It definitely is interesting that this will bring many people back to this horrible time and the flip side is that it can, once again, highlight the Iran-Contra affair. This should be interesting.

I wonder why this is just coming out now as well. Wouldn't those 5 former hostages who have identified him have noticed pics of him before the election? Why didn't they speak up then? I can hear the right-wing spin now - attack their credibility and you hate America and you support terrorists. Well, after all the crap this administration has pulled, anyone who is not skeptical is a fool.

by catnip (llamg88 at hotmail.com) on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 01:13:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Oh Sh!t: Iranian President Elect Ex-Hostage Ta (none / 1)

I woke up to this story on the new this morning, and the first words out of my mouth were "Oh SHIT!" as well.

This is not good...

"Life is always better with clean pants."

by CabinGirl on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 07:10:06 AM EST

Re: Oh Sh!t: Iranian President (none / 1)

I saw the picture in which he's leading a hostage away -no link sorry- yesterday. It looks like him yes, but I'm a graphic designer and use Photoshop alot and it looked to me like his head had been put onto some else's body. There was a halo around his head and his hair was smooth around the edges- just like you would get with a bad photoshop job. I

'm going to take this with a grain of salt for now.

by OyBurger (lythalive@comcast.net) on Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 10:56:15 AM EST

Ahmadinejad was not among the hostage-takers (none / 1)

Leaders of the radical Islamic student group that carried out the Nov. 4, 1979, takeover of the embassy, said Ahmadinejad was not among the hostage-takers. "He was not part of us. He played no role in the seizure," Abbas Abdi, one of six leaders of the group, told The Associated Press. Mohsen Mirdamadi, leader of the students who swept into the embassy, also said Ahmadinejad was not involved.

Abdi and Mirdamadi are now leading proponents of reform that would support democratic changes and are at loggerheads with Ahmadinejad.

Mohammad Ali Sayed Nejad, a friend of the president-elect, said he and Ahmadinejad unsuccessfully argued in favor of seizing the Soviet Embassy at the time, and Ahmadinejad told colleagues in a recent meeting he opposed targeting the American mission because it would bring international condemnation down on Iran. "I believed that if we did that, the world would swallow us," he said, according to his aide Meisan Rowhani.

Ahmadinejad dropped his opposition to the U.S. Embassy takeover after the revolution's leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, expressed support for it, but he never participated, said Rowhani.

CNN has coverage with a former FBI agent to compare available photos and video shots, his conclusion was very clear: is not the same person! Sorry George - although for GWB truth is not an option in his War of Terror.

USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan Tribune and add some cheers!

by Oui on Fri Jul 1st, 2005 at 12:35:54 AM EST

A Select Group of Men ... (none / 1)

The Hostages and The Casualties

Sixty-six Americans were taken captive when Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979, including three who were at the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Six more Americans escaped. Of the 66 who were taken hostage, 13 were released on Nov. 19 and 20, 1979; one was released on July 11, 1980, and the remaining 52 were released on Jan. 20, 1981. Ages in this list are at the time of release.

These five men were outspoken on 'recognition' of Ahmadinejad.
William J. Daugherty, 33, Tulsa, OK. Third secretary of U.S. mission.
Sgt. Kevin J. Hermening, 21, Oak Creek, WI. Marine guard.
Lt. Col. David M. Roeder, 41, Alexandria, VA. Deputy Air Force attaché.
Col. Charles W. Scott, 48, Stone Mountain, GA. Army officer, military attaché.
Cmdr. Donald A. Sharer, 40, Chesapeake, VA. Naval air attaché.

In CNN interview with former FBI specialist on person identification, two clear differences were established. First the width between eyes, the bridge across nose, and eyebrows are clearly spaced differently. Second is the nose silhouette, one has a beak like nose, the other has a straight angle nose. He was quite definite in his conclusion from the material presented to him. See the latter link "five men" and the photos to compare yourself.

USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan Tribune and add some cheers!

by Oui on Fri Jul 1st, 2005 at 02:53:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

US and Israel Waging Smear Campaign (none / 0)

U.S. and Israel Waging Smear Campaign

TEHRAN - July 3, 2005 -- Iran accused the U.S. and Israel on Sunday of a smear campaign against its president-elect and warned Europe, which is in tricky nuclear negotiations with Tehran, not to join in the mudslinging.

The ultraconservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won a landslide presidential election victory, has been accused of taking American hostages in 1979 when radical students seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Iranian exiles and an Austrian politician are alleging he was involved in the 1989 slaying of a Kurdish leader and two associates in Vienna.

Iranian officials have denied both allegations.

"The charges are so evidently false that they don't deserve an answer. It's clear that it's mere lies," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Sunday at a news conference in Tehran.

USA WELCOME: Make Yourself Known @BooMan Tribune and add some cheers!

by Oui on Sun Jul 3rd, 2005 at 07:04:40 PM EST

Oh Sh!t: Iranian President Elect Ex-Hostage Taker? | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

. Home
. About
. Contact
. Advertise
. FAQ
. Search

Username:
Password:

. Make a new account
. Reset password

Recommended Diaries

Talking Race at the Tea Party Convention
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 8
3 comments

Long Overdue - Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 9

George Willoughby
by Al Price - Feb 7

My Excellent Super Bowl Adventure-The Art of Socioprophecy
by Arthur Gilroy - Feb 7
16 comments

Booman...demon sheep? You betcha. Brilliant!!!
by Arthur Gilroy - Feb 4
21 comments

Israel accused of playing the Holocaust card
by shergald - Feb 1
17 comments

Clarke (D-NY): Mea culpa, I will support Eretz Israel
by Oui - Feb 5
3 comments

Recommended World Diaries

Clarke (D-NY): Mea culpa, I will support Eretz Israel
by Oui (NL) - Feb 5
3 comments

Recent Diaries

Long Overdue - Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 9

Talking Race at the Tea Party Convention
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 8
3 comments

Here Goes the Brodog
by brodog - Feb 8

My Excellent Super Bowl Adventure-The Art of Socioprophecy
by Arthur Gilroy - Feb 7
16 comments

George Willoughby
by Al Price - Feb 7

Growing Discontent with Democrats & Access-Bloggers..
.
by Archangel M - Feb 7

Living In The Age Of The Exploit
by danps - Feb 6
1 comment

Saturday Painting Palooza Vol.235
by boran2 - Feb 6
7 comments

Clarke (D-NY): Mea culpa, I will support Eretz Israel
by Oui - Feb 5
3 comments

Fixing the Economy Means Fixing Immigration
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 5

Prescribing Improved Nutrition to Combat HIV/AIDS in Africa
by borderjumpers - Feb 5
1 comment

Friday Foto Flogging
by AndiF - Feb 5
116 comments

Health Care: Why not the best?
by Shockwave - Feb 4

Living the Past in the Present: Voter Intimidation Tactics...
by Project Vote - Feb 4

Booman...demon sheep? You betcha. Brilliant!!!
by Arthur Gilroy - Feb 4
21 comments

Thursday Immigration Blog Roundup
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 4

Using Daily Kos to promote Israeli propaganda
by shergald - Feb 4
16 comments

Biweekly Public Opinion Roundup: State of the Union and the...
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 3

Breeding Respect for Indigenous Seeds
by borderjumpers - Feb 3

Small Banks, Big Impact
by The Opportunity Agenda - Feb 2

More Diaries...

Booman Tribune Homepage
admin@boomantribune.com
powered by Scoop

More blogs about Blogs at Technorati.

Technorati Profile