Crisis and opportunity
Learning from the past historical moments helps us to turn crisis into an opportunity, to secure our society socially politically and economically from domestic to international levels.
Iran is now undergoing post election events , Although Iran’s post election atmosphere seems to be cool but there are still parties inside the country are unrest influenced by western intruders trying to stir the situation to save their disruptive reputation.
There are significant transition points in Iran post revolution era. the first decade we tried to fix socio-political instability crisis and on the other hand dealing with Iran-Iraq war burden on Iranians’ shoulders. This period started from 1979 and ended in 1989 with the death of Ayatullah khomeini.
After 1989Iran entered into the second period with loads of economical crisis, so new government came to the power with a new slogan “restructure of economy” but ignoring developing other social needs of new generation, I personally think that even general economic liberalization failed to some extent.
Here, I am not trying to underestimate their effort of reconstitution of Iran’s economic pillars. Iranians are all well aware of problems like tough international sanctions , wars and etc, hence such slight developments could be considered as economic growth, Although their effort was limited and didn’t have consistency , privatization process was revolving around the small circle of some politicians and their families only.
from 1997 people felt they needed to some new faces with new beautiful slogans such as reform promises, what we gained was nothing actually , reformist government ignored the economic development instead they involved in political arguments, in my eyes it was another failure of elites.
reviewing the said 3 phases we can see that Iran were mostly under lefties and some semi conservative claiming as progressives tottering to the lefties satisfying their self interests, during the first decade the sever antagonism towards capitalism and privatization caused reduction in productivity and weakening the economy, in the next periods governments failed at acting upon their promises such as reduction of subsidiaries and privatization of nationalized enterprises etc and etc…
In 2005 , Iranians felt for a real reform something different than reformists and voted for Ahmadinejad , a new face with new promises, Iranians saw him as a tough critic of past governments how ever politicians have never been really trust worthy,but Iranians preferred t o revive their hopes for brighter future with him. He was able to earn Iranian mobs respect , some might reject the idea but we can not ignore the truth,and now again they re-elected him waiting for the justice he has promised them to receive, right now if we want the system to survive , if we want to be in the right track of economic changes, if we want to save our culture, if we want to have political reforms , we need to stick to history lessons , the victory is in turning crisis into the opportunity
Join the Conversation
I don’t see how uniting behind Ahmadinejad will bring political reform and economic changes. Ahmadinejad is loyal to the system, and with the economy, he only made things worse during his first four years as president.
Ahmadinejad is the president of IRI whether Israel and Israelies want it or not!! uniting behind the president is uniting for Iran and for Iranian interest, getting engaged in silly inter-party arguments is what the enemies of Iran want to see and it will cost us more destroying Iran’s economy ,
voting in Iran is within the system, in fact voting is saying yes to the system no matter who you are voting for! ,by the way, even those disputed candidates never wanted to walk out of the system actually Iranians themselves would never let any one cross the red lines of the system , on the other hand the other candidates couldn’t do any better than Ahmadinejad, Iranians have seen Ahmadinejad’s performance and the other candidates’ governing rules, comparing them left no choice for Iranians to reelect Ahmadinejad, albeit ahmadinejad is not perfect, Iran deserves the best but he is almost better than previous ones, Ahmadinejad’s presidency was the only period in which people were able to criticize rulers openly ,
in my opinion Mousavi and Karrobi with mismanagement of the wasteful riots proved how they are weak in management and rough condition and once again showed their failed old fashion policy under cover of the false promise of change ,moreover they gave an opportunity to Iran’s sworn enemies as well as
a few extremist among both parties to make the situation worse and blockade the way of loyal-to-system critics too that I hope it wont last longer,
any how, what Ahmadinejad has said which made Israelis mad at him is actually what Iran has been saying for past 30 years, we are anti zionist and we will be, until Zionism to go away completely,
I also believe that under the right circumstances you could turn a crisis into an opportunity. For example, in the present crisis, Iranians have made their displeasure known, and it is possible to use that pressure to bring about reform from the Mullahs and from the political leadership. Even Ahmadinejad himself may be swayed by public opinion to liberalize some of the laws which the people on the street find oppressive.
However, when your agenda includes the destruction of another sovereign state, like Israel for example, then you greatly weaken any possibility of reform, because you position yourself in the crosshairs of people who are just as committed to defending themselves, as you are to destroying them.
If you really want to move your economy forward, you will find a way to partner with other nations in the region for the sake of economic growth, including Israel, which is probably more able and more inclined to bring prosperity to the region than anyone else. If instead you generate contempt for one another, then you set yourself back, always on the defensive, not knowing what will happen next.
What good came from the Iran/Iraq War? Saddam decided he wanted to take you out. Did anyone benefit from that decision? Is that the game we want to keep playing in the Middle East? Or do we choose instead to grow up and to realize that we either all have a place at the table, or none of us does?
to Nissim,
First of all what is the relationship between reform , change , Iran and Israel? who wants to destroy any sovereign state? destroying a non entity state ?? if you call it Israel we call it occupied Palestine so no one is after destroying any sovereignty ! ,I just wonder how can someone destroy something which has never existed?
Iran respects to anything Palestinians the real owner of the land decide but For YOUR kind information Zionism has been equaled to racism as per UN resolution, so there s no way for any one to defend such an ideology,
Israel economy depends on western companies which have branches in Israel by force for example American companies can have away to escape from paying tax by extending their company in Israel, that’s the fact imposed by AIPAC , there is no give and take rule for Israel, Israel is only-give-me- state , and sadly a great portion of American tax goes into israel to sponsor more killings of innocent people, the moment west stops their help , Israel will be drown deeply ,
Who stirs the situation in middle east? Iran? iraq? afgahnistan? or Israel? Israel ‘s slogan is Nile to Euphrates so they will do whatever in their hand to divert attentions from israeli crimes to other places in mid east, It s ironic that you example Saddam as if you don’t know who supported Saddam? who provided Saddam with mass destruction weapons to punish Iran after the revolution? It was the USA and almost all of the western countries backed by Zionists ‘ spiritual and financial aid.
in your opinion whoever is against expansionists like Zionists is terrorists and doomed , isn’t hypocritical while you defend a few Iranian protesters calling Mullas rule in Iran oppressive , you are ignoring the rights of millions of oppressed Palestinians and other nations,
is illegal settlement in Gaza not oppressive? let me ask you a simple question, where were Israel and western countries when Hutu and Tutsis were killing each others in Rwanda? 900 000 people died yet no one cried for them …?but at the same time Bush started gulf war saving Kuwaitis!!!
well well, Nissim you may need to Reform your self ! to depend on Zionists won’t make any one to have proper reform!
If you partner with countries like Israel, or the U.S., you will improve your economy. You have oil, but oil in an of itself does not create a healthy economy. And with the economic empowerment of the man on the street, comes a greater say, and greater reform. Such a process was started by the Shah, who got along with Israel pretty well, but granted, there was a lot of corruption, repression, and mismanagement there as well.
You can do more than respect what Palestinians decide. You can use your power to push things toward a just and fair settlement. Like it or not, Israel is a sovereign state. You have the ability to use your influence to bring the peace and to let loose the foces of economic prosperity, and democratic reform.
I think that by any fair and objective comparison, Israel’s record with respect to the treatment of minorities would stand up well as compared to the treatment of minorities in almost all the nations of the region. Israeli Arabs, who comprise 20% of Israel, do face some discrimination, but are accorded virtually equal rights, including the right to sit on the Supreme Court, and the right to hold elected office. They also enjoy the highest standard of living of all Arabs in the Middle East. But there is room for improvment, that’s for sure. The Palestinians outside Israel are suffering because as yet a peace treaty, which would protect their rights, has not been negotiated. But I don’t think it’s fair to put that blame entirely on Israel. Many have been complicit in this neglect.
Not quite. Israel has a good economy because of the hard work and ingenuity of Israelis. They do enjoy favorable trade relations with the U.S. and the developed world. But that status was not earned by “force” but rather due to shared values and common interests.
Then why is Israel helping African countries with healthcare and food. Why are Israeli teams often the first to be dispatched when earthquakes and other disasters happen. Why do Israeli hospitals treat Jews and Arabs alike, even Arabs who are not citizens of Israel. A Lebanese lady who was injured in Lebanon tells her story of how she was only able to receive treatment in Israel during their civil war. Why is that?
The 9/11 plot was hatched in Afghanistan. Not Israel, as far as I can tell.
Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and Kuwait. Not Israel.
Iran is hell bent on acquiring nuclear weapons and destroying Israel. Israel never threatened to destroy any nation.
Syria is meddling in Lebanon.
Hizbullah is challenging Lebanon’s democracy.
Hamas seems like it could care less about the welfare of its people.
To the best of my knowledge, there are no illegal Israeli settlements in Gaza.
That’s what happens when people act based on hate, instead of what makes sense. When people believe in what they want to believe, and set aside the truth. It’s what happens when good people are defenseless against the cruelty of their fellow man. Jews learned these lessons in the Holocaust, and Israel will do whatever it has to, to prevent that from happening again.
Hatred toward one another will get us nowhere fast. If you want your country to prosper, and to usher in some very needed reforms, then there is nothing wrong in working together to bring justice to the region, including the embattled Palestinians who are waiting for their place at the table. The accusations, one to another, may make us feel better about our positions, but they will not bring justice. For justice to come, we must let go, a little bit, of who we are, and of what we believe, so that something greater than ourselves can finally come to be, something we can all believe in even more.
economic growth is not related to having relationship with israel, Israel itself is a leech , although zionist money is what keeping israel alive!
which african country is enjoying israeli help? yet i am to find any!. the only time israel helped afriacan was cheating falsha jews to move to israel on the contrary israelies treated falasha jews as third class citizens, and recently it has been proven israel is provoking Darfur crisis,
in Palestine Palestinians can’t go through checkpoints to reach to hospitals , there are many palestinian pregnant mothers die during delivery due to waiting behind checkpoints…..and you talk about possible treatment of arab and Israelis in israel hospitals?!!In the recent israeli parliament election they banned arab israeli groups is this what you call democratic state?
I meant it in west bank,
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and to economic and social development [... and] have been established in breach of international law.”
International Court of Justice Ruling, July 9, 2004
settlement facts:
There are currently 121 Israeli settlements and approximately 102 Israeli outposts built illegally on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967. All of these settlements and outposts are illegal under international law and have been condemned by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions
Approximately 385,000 settlers in 80 settlements will be located between the Separation Wall and the Green Line if Israel holds to projected plans.
9 11 plot has nothing to do with afghanistan nor Iraq, On September 10, 2001, the Army School of Advanced Military Studies issued a report written by elite US army officers, which was made public just prior to 9/11. The report gave the following description for the Mossad: “Wildcard. Ruthless and cunning. Has capability to target US forces and make it look like a Palestinian/Arab act.” [Washington Times, 9/10/01]
amazingly they have also arrested dancing jews on 9- 11, Just remember, Israel bombed the USS Liberty back in 1967, so this kind of treachery is nothing new to them.
and about my question regarding rwanda, you missed my point there,
what i was trying to remind you was that no western country or NATO stopped them from killing , but also Belgium and UN worsened the situation for Rwandans, if you cry for human right , then why are your behavior is different towards different countries in different regions?
Iran has never threatened any nation so far, and we never talked about destruction of Israel, as I siad before , for us there is no Israel at all to wish for its destruction,
Israel has been threatening Iran constantly, talking about bombing Iran civil nulcear facilities, seems you are still in winter sleep! please wake up now
Iran is a member of NPT unlike Israel, so which one is more dangerous Israel with nuke ?or Iran with peaceful nuclear facilities for civil usage only to generate energy under the NPT ?
Hezbollah is a political party in lebanon and has taken part in Lebanon democratic elections , democracy is when majority wants something. Hizbullah is there with people’s choice so try to respect democracy Hezbollah has got representative in government ministers, parliament members and etc etc….
wrong again, hamaswas elected by 85% of Palestinians because of them caring for people’s welfare, Hamas built schools , sport clubs and hospitals etc etc…..
Samimaneh,
I I call your clan the occupiers of Iranian people’s rights. You are in the place where you don’t belong. It is very obvious that you and Ahmadinejad’s clan try they very best, implementing whatever possible to stay in power, but you surely do not represent our people and your surely cannot talk on behalf of our Great nation, who are opposed to your corruption, your thirst for power, your unconditional service to Russia, your militaritstic views and to your dirty ways of suppressing the peacefully opposing masses in Iran. You will have a very regrettable place in the book of history, and you surely do not belong to us, you are Samimaneh the servants of your Northern masters, and you have nothing to do with religion, culture, honesty, justice, humanistic relationship with the rest of our neighbors, Arab or Jew, what you look for is supporting trouble so you can survive.
elinor,
clan? you? you you ….and a comment full of insults, unfortunately eli, your kind talk like traitors and the only intellect u have is insulting and being judgmental without knowledge , there are many in many millions in Iran who don’t have an access to media and network to slap you harder for being such rude so called Iranian a cyber protester who is not even capable of understanding of the situation of Iran and Iranians.
Poor people like you open their mouth before their brain ,
I am servant of no one but Allah almighty, unlike you won’t lick boots of Americans or any one else…..try to be more polite and thoughtful whenever you want to comment on posts and pass your false judgment on people here and there,
Samimaneh, I honestly don’t know where to start with you.
First of all, you are not the represenative of the Iranian people, and you are not their single voice. Who are you to say that the Iranian people are all anti-zionist and will be until it goes away? Why should the Iranian people care about the Palestinian problem when their own people are suffering? What does Zionism, and Israel have to do with Iran, and the issues it has? Absolutely nothing.
Secondly, if I’m not mistaken, Ahmady was elected the first time because the majority of the people boycotted the election, not because they wanted him. Did you not notice the HUGE voter turnout this time around? Why was it so high? Because the MAJORITY of the people didn’t want Ahmady in office again, so they casted their votes against him.
These so called ‘riots’ were started because Ahmady stole the election. They sparked because Iranians are FED UP with this system, and don’t want it anymore. A vote within the system doesn’t mean that people are in support of it, a vote in this case was just another step to doing away with this bogus regime. Mousavi/Karroubi were/are seen as figures that the people can use to create change. Big change always starts small.
And lastly, where is your proof that the post-election unrest is western influenced? Because protestors that were arrested were tortured into a forced confession? Because your beloved Ahmady and Khamenei said so? Explain how the west can stage a protest among not just one group of people, but many different ones? I think it would be pretty difficult for the CIA to get not just young liberal students, but also middle aged truck drivers, store owners, taxi drivers, or construction workers to all unite under it’s objectives. You talk of history lessons, well let me tell you one thing, Iranians have learned their lesson of foreign involvment, and will never allow it to happen again. Which is why these events are NOT western influenced. I think its time to stop attending Friday prayers, and listening to that douchebag Khamenei speak, and actually open your eyes.
Hamid,
you mix my reply to Nissim about zionism with my post”crisis and opportunity” where I never talked about Zionism and Israel nor Palestine. I was saying what happened people voted for ahmaidnejad and how it would be better for iranians to unite instead of dividing, and work for developing iran ..any how..needless to say .. Israel is actually one of the cause for sanctioning Iran ….you are in USA and amazingly think of yourself as voice of Iran who wants to impose his lame idea to iranians inside Iran, you are an outsider who has got no idea who the majority voted for, so dont give me wishy-washy interpretation about Ahmadinejad and Iran,
by the way first time Ahmadi got into the office with 17 million votes .. a huge turnout eh,
there are many credible reports about western countries interference destabilizing Iran since 2 years ago than any evidence on fraud in the election. Iranians may not want them to intefer but they would , and there are many inside iran who will pave the way for them willingly or unwillingly,
early decrlation of victory from mousavi caused the doubts so people outraged ONLY in a few cities and mainly in tehran where mousavi has got leading number. This is classic CIA destabilization trick, I am not saying Mousavi is CIA employee but he was deceived and reacted exactly in a way they wanted to, the early deceleration of victory had left psychological impression, and it s amazing how people didn’t get the trick ,
the CIA has a successful history of manipulating politicians!
should I drown myself in delusion like u do? or shall we listen to mr pahlavi like you do !
Samaimaneh,
Don’t worry, your supporters are raping and killing in the prisons the ones who happen to raise their voice in opposition.
I think of unity and harmony in the Middle East. Unlike you, I am not the voice of this regime, I rather reflect the random ideas of people who are for life and prosperity, not death and oppression in the name of religion.
In the days that children of people areve in jails and suffer, the days that they are being tried in phoney courts, you have the nerve to scho your submissiveness to the president who did not hesistate to meet his master the day he was ” ellected???”
You can havve your ideas, but I voice ours, so the people in the countries in our region know that you do not represent me, though you are armed to teeth by your masters and the ones who think like me are dragged off the streets and into the cells for you to commit your despicable crimes.
You are right, if your clan finds me, I would end up the way my brethren ended, and that is what gives you the ease and the the sense of self-righeousness to threaten me and the ones who think like me.
You speak for yourself, but I speak for people of my country who are brave and honest, rational, supporters of democracy and human values, the people who do not call any nation their enemies, who do not stimulate a cause against the other to make people turn a blind ey on their misdeeds as a consequence.
I guess you and the rest of Ahmadi-phillians are now so pleased with how USA welcomed your presence in the political arena as ” the reality”. I never thought that the government of any powerful country in particular thinks of any of the little Middle Eastern countries as prior to its interests, what I have on my mind is a Middle East composed of countries as a united region that would emerge as a peaceful power, helping its own people and a good and satble friend for the rest of the wold.
elinor,
the burden of proof is on your shoulder, so try to prove it, action talks louder, and stop rerpeating your hatred through imagining stuff, your type is known in iran for us Iranians a traitor who tells lies mostly,
even karroobi couldn’t prove his lame accusation , I am not defending any one here , read my article posted here once again it seems you don’t understand simple words at all,
you sound very angry , you may need to go through anger management counseling sessions so that you can be able to write something with harmony without contradicting yourself and without insulting other iranians,
your problem is that you live in a self made world where you don’t see any Iranian except a few ppl like yourself, you are trapped in your own falsehood,
you represent no one but a sick minded person who is rude and irrational,
again my clan?? you are funny , I can say funny and sick with twisted mind , we all become upset when we hear of our youngsters killed in such PHONY protest and may Allah bless their souls, we also wish for justice, for any one the problem is you never got my point in the article, anyway I cant expect much from a dysfunctional person like you, and MAY I KNOW WHERE ON MY ARTICLE OR REPLIES TO YOU SAID YOU WILL BE ARRESTED AND SO AND SO….GEE! YOU CAN’T EVEN FOLLOW TEH DISCUSSION AND DEBATE PROPERLY ..GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK!
unfortunately a few people like sohrab , neda, Muhammad amini ……..gave their lives for liars like you who only rants in cyber space you coward!, PEOPLE LIKE ME WILL strive to see their murderers punishments any way this doesn’t mean that the whole system is murderer, there are also many young boys killed in the street by some so called protesters only because of being basijie , people like me see Iran with all Iranians , but you ….sigh you talk inhumane about humanity isn’t a big conflict within you?
hmmm , another contradiction!may I know which countries ? and which country in mid east wants to emerge with another?
you may be talking about Israel who wants to emerge middle east to the land already stolen ….what a peaceful one you are the one who insults iranians only because they say something good about Ahmadinejad!
people like you say death o this and that anywhere suits you , and you become admirer of whoever supports your hatred,
may God give you peace in your heart and mind..you really need it
Quoting the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “By the late 1990′s, official ties had been reestablished with 39 countires south of the Sahara. Today, Israel and the sub-Saharan countries are engaged in an ongoing political dialogue, expressed in reciprocal visits by heads of state and government ministers. Furthermore, dynamic activities exist, including eocnomic and commercial ties, curtural and academic contacts, a variety of joint agricultural projects, medical assistance, professional training programs, and humanitarian aid in time of need.”
Also, whenever there is an earthquake, or some other disaster, Israeli teams are usually one of the first to arrive. As an aside, my wife and I visited our daughter in Turkmenistan, during her Peace Corps service, and guess what we saw there? Israeli greenhouses, which were used to teach new agricultural techniques to the farmers. If I am not mistaken, Israel just opened its embassy in Ashgabat.
In a democratic state people could try to do undemocratic things, but to the best of my knowledge, Arabs are free to run for parliament, and have been elected to parliament, and are serving in parliament even as we speak. They are very vocal about their opposition to various policies, and are entitled by law to their opinions, and to their freedom of expression.
The settlement issue is very contentious. However, my sense is that in the final agreement, most of the settlements will be turned over to Palestine. Some of them will become part of Israel, in exchange for some Israeli land. There is also no reason to prevent some Jews from continuing to live in Palestine, and to become citizens of that country, just like Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel. Prime Minister Fayaad said something to that effect.
Having the capability doesn’t mean you’re doing it. Israel needs a lot of “capability” to survive in the Middle East.
If I remember correctly, there were some Palestinians dancing, not Jews.
I’m pretty sure that Ahmadinejad did talk about “wiping Israel off the map.” Doesn’t sound too friendly to me.
So that means that technically Israel is allowed to have nuclear weapons and Iran isn’t.
Israel had had nukes for 60 years without a problem. Would you be willing to agree to using equipment that would assure a civilian use for your nuclear facilities? I think that could be arranged and would settle the matter.
Yes, and they also built and launched thousands of missiles. They located these in civilian population centers. And they are fully committed to destroying the Jewish state. So what they build is canceled by what they destroy. How about building a better economy, and a future that points to the possibiltiy of peace?