Week in Review

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [3/12/06 -3/18/06] major news events regarding Iran. (The reports are listed in chronological order, not by importance) READ MORE

Iran's Nuclear Program.

• BBC News reported that Iran says Moscow's compromise proposal on its nuclear program is "off the agenda."
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that a senior Russian lawmaker, Konstantin Kosachev, warned Tehran that its refusal to continue talks on the Russian offer could "radicalize" a planned discussion of the Iranian nuclear issue at the United Nations Security Council.
• Agence France-Presse reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned today, Iran could leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if its nuclear rights are not accounted for.
• Yahoo News reported that the five veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council are deadlocked over the best way to pressure Iran. China's Ambassador Wang Guangya told The Associated Press as he left the meeting. "I think they want to be too tough."
• The New York Times reported that Iran has decided to shift course and confront the United Nations head-on. Ahmadinejad portrayed that position not as obstinate or rigid but as a reflection of strength. "We know well that a country's backing down one iota on its undeniable rights is the same as losing everything."
• Reuters reported that Russia's foreign minister said regarding a compromise solution to its nuclear dispute: "Iran is absolutely no help to those who want to find peaceful ways to solve this problem."
• Jerusalem Post reported that Iran said Monday it would begin construction on its first indigenous nuclear power plant within six months.
• The Times reported that Britain unveiled a proposal at the United Nations last night to give Iran 14 days to suspend all work linked to uranium enrichment.
• The Washington Post reported that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she is confident the United States eventually will get strong backing from other members of the U.N. Security Council.
• The Times reported that Britain will seek support for United Nations action on Iran from the full 15-nation Security Council today after the “Permanent Five” powers failed for a third day to agree a joint approach.
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that French President Jacques Chirac said that Europe can't make "the slightest concession" to Iran on regulations governing the nonproliferation of nuclear arms.
• Reuters reported that the five veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council failed again on Wednesday to reach agreement on a draft text aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions after a fifth round of negotiations.
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that the U.K. is considering a push for a weapons embargo on Iran.
• MSNBC reported that U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, compared the threat from Iran’s nuclear programs to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
• Reuters reported that the White House said an international diplomatic effort to force Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions must succeed "if confrontation is to be avoided."
• Iran Press Service reported that while there is a new coherence in Washington on Iran, there is disarray and confusion in Tehran.
• Reuters reported that John Bolton told reporters, "I would describe today's meeting as the best we have had so far. There are still areas of disagreement ... but I am very encouraged."
• Reuters reported UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program is the toughest test in diplomacy.
• CBS News reported U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Iran to resume negotiations over its nuclear program, while also calling the country a central banker for terrorism.
• IranMania reported Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Russia is not supposed to bargain over Iran's nuclear case in the UN Security Council.
• FOX News reported that U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the U.N. Security Council appears determined to send a "strong and clear signal" to Tehran about its suspect nuclear program, after a meeting of the powerful U.N. body that he described as the best so far.
• Nick Wadham, Forbes reported that Russia's U.N. ambassador on Friday rejected proposals that would have the U.N. Security Council demand a quick progress report on Iran's suspect nuclear program, saying - half in jest - that fast action could lead to the bombing of Iran by June.
• Deutsche Welle reported that the UN Security Council is inching toward an agreement on a revised Franco-British draft urging Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.
• Fox News reported that Britain favors drawing the United States into talks with Iran.
• IranMania reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucehr Mottaki announced unless Iran's nuclear energy rights are not taken into consideration, they will not accept a United Nations Security Council's decision on Iran.
• Iran Press News reported that Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Islamic regime's supreme national security council admitted that should U.S. take any steps in intensifying sanctions, the regimes situation would become more unstable.

Iran's Dissidents. Ganji is home at last.

• Iran Press News reported that despite Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji's having served his six year prison sentence this week, his release has been denied.
• Eli Lake, The New York Sun reported that Akbar Ganji must stay in prison because he is likely to face additional charges.
• Iran Press News reported on various dissidents inside of Iran including Mehran Kowsari who last year was imprisoned for being Bahaii.
• BBC News reported that Iran's most prominent dissident journalist Akbar Ganji has been freed from jail after five years and is now at home.
• The Hindu reported that Ganji said: "My views have not changed at all. Jail and pressures never forced me to change my views. Today, I'm more determined to say what I said six years ago."
• Seattle PI reported "My husband is so weak physically now. He is just 108 pounds. But I'm happy he is back home," his wife said. "He needs rest, please don't put too many questions to him. He's not going to be so outspoken." "No, I'm more radical than before," Ganji interrupted.
• Photos of Ganji at home.
  

Regime fears the March 14th "Festival of Fire" celebrations and Iranian New Year next week.

• SMCCDI reported that the Islamic regime has forbidden the sell of gasoline in containers in an effort to limit subversive activities, at the occasion of the banned "Tchahar-Shanbe Souri" (Fire Fiest) on March 14th. The regime hopes the ban will limit the fabrication of Molotov-Cocktails.
• Iran Press News reported that the Iranian regime failed to stop ancient Persian festival & New Year celebrations tonight which the regime considers to be religiously prohibited or unclean.
• Photos of the festival of fire celebrations in Tehran.
• SMCCDI reported that Islamic regime's security forces attacked Iranian celebrators/demonstrators in several cities by beating brutally women and especially young kids using clubs, chains and even knives have been used by foreign speaking militiamen.
• SMCCDI reported that an increasing number of Iranians went into most Iranian into the streets in a flagrant sign of defiance to the Islamic regime.
• Iran Focus reported that Iranian authorities imposed a de facto martial law in several volatile cities in the north-western province of Kurdistan as restive youths used the occasion of Iran’s traditional “fire festival” to hold anti-government protests.
• SMCCDI reported that inmates at the infamous Evin Political jail found a way to commemorate the banned "Tchahr-Shanbe Soori" (Fire Fiest).
• Iran Focus reported that anti-government demonstrations erupted across the Iranian capital as well as in towns and cities across the country and protestors set on fire an effigy of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
• Iran Press News published thousands of Iranian celebrants turned the ancient Persian Festival of Fire (Chaharshanbeh Souri) into an anti-regime uprising.
• Iran Press News reported that a regime-run newspaper admitted to the destruction of 90 banks and death of 9 regime guards during last week's "Festival of Fire."
• Iran Press News reported that Tehran bloggers claimed the Festival of Fire was celebrated with rallying cries for freedom.
  

Iranian Leaders On the Offensive.

• National Union For Democracy In Iran reported that President AhmadiNejad’s budget proposal to the Iranian parliament has widened the rift between the office of the president and the parliament. But the parliament has finally approved a $6 Billion for the office of the President which is separate from the national budget.
• Islamic Republic News Agency reported that the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday lodged a protest against anti-Iran statements by US President George W Bush.
• BBC News reported that the leaders in Iran are highly conscious of the power of the media. They use a two-pronged approach. At home, they enforce controls and abroad, Iran harnesses satellite TV and radio to get its views across.
• Reuters reported that Iran's president says he would welcome a travel ban imposed by the UN.
• ABC News reported that Iran's supreme leader said that Iran's nuclear fuel program was "irreversible."
• Bloomberg reported that Iran may review some of its contracts with foreign oil and gas companies if the United Nations Security Council imposes sanctions.
• Los Angeles Times reported that in spite of the hostile rhetoric in recent days over Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Islamic Republic may be losing its long-standing reluctance to speak directly with the United States.
• Iran Focus reported that Iran described recent comments by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw against its nuclear activities as “utter nonsense.”
• Iran Focus reported that Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki demanded a timeline for the withdrawal of United States-led troops from Iraq.
• Iran Focus reported that Iranian Ayatollah Jannati said on Iran would never back down from its nuclear pursuit and the nuclear capability was the “dignity of Islam.”
• Iran Focus reported that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, accused the United States of pursuing a campaign of “creeping regime change” in Iran.
  

Power Struggle inside of Iran.

• The Washington Times reported that Iran's clerical and business establishments are increasingly turning against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• Iran Focus reported that the Majlis in Iran will grill Iran’s Larijani over nuke strategy on Thursday.
• The New York Times reported that powerful voices within Tehran are now criticizing Iran's nuclear policy.
• Memri reported that an Iranian Ayatollah said "We can negotiate openly, and maintain relations, with America."
  

Iranian regime leaders are worried about the threat from within.

• Monsters & Critics reported that the Iranian regime admits that it has resorted to broadcasting popular American films to compete with Iranian opposition broadcasters out of LA.
• Rooz Online reported that the secretariat of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SPSC) issued a confidential directive to the state-run radio and television network instructing its directors not to mention or discuss the fact that Iran’s nuclear file has been referred to the UN Security Council.
  

The Unrest inside of Iran.

• SMCCDI reported that violent clashes rocked, yesterday, the western City of Piranshahr following the murder of a resident, by Islamist Militiamen.
• Iran Focus reported that some 150 textile workers gathered on Monday outside the offices of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to protest. “Instead of justice-spreading government”, the workers said, Ahmadinejad’s government should be called the “sacking government”.
• Iran Press News reported that last Saturday the angry residents of Piranshahr (Kurdish town in Province of West Azerbaijan) clashed with the regime's brutal security forces.
• Iran Press News reported that the regime's forces clashed with young activists in Tehran suburb of Fardees-Karadj.
• Iran Press News reported the anger on Iranian universities over the regime's plan to bury martyrs on the university grounds.
• New York Post reported that if the Security Council won't act Europe's leadership on the Iranian nuclear problem suggests a third option: NATO.
• The Jerusalem Post reported that the Pentagon is looking into the possibility of Israel launching a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
• Radio Free Europe reported that University students in Iran are expressing deep concern over official attempts to turn university grounds into burial sites for the remains of Iranian soldiers.
• Iran Press News reported that 1000 workers from the Kerman coal mines have gone on strike.
• Iran Press News reported that 400 production units of household good and electrical factories inside Iran face financial crisis.
• Iran Press News reported that approximately 150 workers of the Miral Glass factory who have neither been paid for more than 11 months.
• Iran Press News reported that 300 workers from the Iran Auto factory gathered in protest.
• Iran Press News reported that hundreds of protesting workers from the Sangrood mines (Province of Gilan), have remained unpaid for 13 months.
• Iran Press News published a report and photo of the graves being prepared on University grounds for the burial of designated martyrs.

An attack inside Iran.

• Radio Free Europe reported that Iranian General Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam said rebels posed as security forces, stopped cars traveling along the Zabol-Zahedan road and then killed 22 passengers and suggested that U.S. and British intelligence agents were involved.
• Reuters reported that a Sunni rebel group said it was behind an attack that killed 22 people in a remote region in southeastern Iran saying that they attacked the convoy of a provincial governor, killing 22 soldiers, and took seven hostages, including a senior security official to obtain the release of members detained by Iran.
• Iran Press News published an update on the armed attack on regional authorities in the road between Zabol and Zahedan (Province of Sistan & Baluchestan).

Anti-Cartoon Conference Begins.

• Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported on the start of the anti-cartoon conference in Iran.

Iran's Oil Weapon.

• The Financial Times reported that the US is looking at “creative” ways of addressing the energy worries of China, Japan and India. One option would be to tap the oil stockpiles of the 26 industrialized IAEA nations. Emergency stocks are enough to fill an 18-month hole if Iranian oil exports stopped.
• Stratfor argued that although Iran threatened targeted oil boycotts against countries that support U.N. sanctions against it. It is not a threat that will hold much weight with China.
• Financial Times reported that International oil companies are putting multibillion-dollar projects in Iran on hold, concerned about the diplomatic standoff over the country’s nuclear program.
  

Rumors of War.

• The Washington Institute for Near East Policy published the full text of Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon's address the Hudson Institute about a potential Israeli attack on Iran.
• Iran Focus reported that the United States warned Iran through a secret channel that it would launch military attacks on a number of nuclear sites in Iran if there was no diplomatic progress a month after the Islamic Republic’s referral to the United Nations Security Council.
• Forbes.com reported Nippon Oil Corp said it will slash its imports from Iran by 15 pct, in part because of the international confrontation over Iran's nuclear program.
• World Tribune reported that the US is planning a major naval exercise in May to test its response to any Iranian naval blockade of the Straits of Hormuz.
  

Support for Internal Regime Change in Iran.

• The Washington Post reported that President Bush and his team have been huddling in closed-door meetings on Iran, the debate is over, and although administration is does not use the term "regime change" in public, and that in effect is the goal. But in private meetings, Bush and his advisers have been more explicit.
• Reuters reported that Britain will call for an expansion of global broadcasting in Iran and urge world organizations to boost the information flow to Iranians who may have little access to outside news.
• SMCCDI called for emergency financial support of NITV a leading Iranian broadcaster into Iran. The site is off the air, due to lack of funds.
• The International Institute for Strategic Studies published the full text of UK Foreign Minister Jack Straws remarks on Iran. He asked: "How then can we help the Iranian people realise their ambition for Iran to retake its place as a respected and law-abiding country within the region and within the community of nations?" Videos of the speech and QA.
• BBC News reported that the United States is developing the concept of a "cold war" with Iran. The idea is that regime or policy change could be effected by the Iranian people themselves.
• Telegraph reported that after five years of indecision and internal disputes the Bush administration has started a new, more vigorous phase in trying to undermine the ruling mullahs of Iran.
• Atlas Shrugs reported on that Harvard students plan to hold an "Iran Freedom Concert" in solidarity with Iranian Student Movement for Democracy and Civil Rights.
• The White House released their National Security Strategy of the United States of America which has a major focus on Iran. Full text.
• White House released a Presidential Message to commemorate the Iranian holiday of Nowruz.
  

US Congress on Iran.

• The Associated Press reported that a House committee is weighing legislation that would strengthen America's own policy toward the Islamic republic.
• Dow Jones Newswires reported that ignoring White House objections, a Republican-controlled House panel overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday to tighten sanctions against Iran.
  

Iran's Economy.

• Interactive Investor reported that UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Iran's actions over its nuclear program are beginning to cause "serious damage" to investor confidence there.
  

Iran's Troublemaking in Iraq. The US/Iran to talk?

• Reuters reported that the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad denied on Sunday seeking Iran's help to calm violence in Iraq.
• Reuters reported that President George W. Bush said "some of the most powerful IEDs (improvised explosive devices) we are seeing in Iraq today include components that came from Iran."
• ABC News(au) reported that the United States has indicated that it was not seeking dialogue with Iran in proposing talks on Iraq, but rather it is trying to get it to stop meddling in the affairs of its neighbor.
• Reuters reported that Ali Larijani said Iran is willing to open a dialogue with the United States on Iraq, "We accept this proposal and we will appoint a negotiating team for talks soon."
• BBC News reported that US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said he was concerned an offer by Iran to hold talks with the US on Iraq could be simply "a device" to divert pressure from Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
• U.S. Department of State reported that Secretary of State Rice said that talks with Iran would not be "negotiations." Full text.
• Reuters reported that U.S. officials in Iraq again accused Iran of meddling in Iraq's internal affairs, saying the Islamic Republic was carrying out "unhelpful activities" there.
• Sunday Times reported that the White House said Iran's offer to hold talks with the United States on Iraq is probably just a ploy to "divert pressure" Tehran has drawn over its nuclear program.
  

Iran and the International community.

• The Washington Times reported that a recent deal between Iran and Venezuela provides for the exploitation of Venezuela's strategic minerals signals that Chavez's government could be planning to provide Tehran with uranium for its nuclear program.
• The New York Times reported that Lebanon's leaders met here recently for what was billed as the start of a national dialogue to discuss disarming militias like Hezbollah, but government officials conceded that Lebanon's ability to resolve some of its most vexing domestic conflicts would depend on decisions made in Tehran and Washington.
• Rooz Online reported that Iraq's Moqtada Sadr and Seyed Hassan Nassrollah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbullah group made unreported visits to Tehran last week.
• TurkishPress.com reported that Jordan's King Abdullah II warned that any military operation on Iran would cause the situation in the region "to explode".
• Ilan Berman, Iran Democracy Monitor reported Iranian diplomacy is now targeting Turkey.
• Wanadoo reported an Iranian appeals court has confirmed a sentence of 18 months in jail for a German and Frenchman accused of illegally entering Iranian waters in a fishing boat.
• The Telegraph reported that Iran held secret talks with Shia militant leaders from Iraq and Lebanon only days before the country's nuclear negotiators threatened America with "harm and pain."

Must Read reports.

• Eli lake, The New York Sun reported that the Tehran regime has already started cracking down on democracy activists in the country who have received aid from the West.
• Azarmehr reported that the Islamic Republic is now using the Washington Post instead of State TV for propaganda against Iranian dissidents.
• Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen, FrontPageMagazine.com examined the Mullah-Hamas Axis.
• The Christian Science Monitor reported a new romance between US and France.
• Alex Alexiev, Center for Security Policy examined the transition of Iranian totalitarian theocracy to messianic Islamofascism and suggestions towards a strategy for regime change.
• BBC News reported that a group of exiled Syrian opposition leaders has announced they are to form a common front to oppose President Bashar al-Assad's government.
• William F Buckley, The National Review considered the question: What do we intend to do about it if Iran proceeds noiselessly to nuclear armament?
• Phyllis Chesler, The Family Security Matters warns of the coming Islamization of America.
• News Max reported that Rep. Curt Weldon said that Osama bin Laden has died.

The Experts.

• Michael Ledeen, National Review Online responded to a recent article by Karl Vick on American efforts to help Iranians who dare to challenge the mullahs. “U.S. Push for Democracy Could Backfire Inside Iran.”
• Amir Taheri, Gulf News suggested ways to nip Iran's designs.
• Amir Taheri, The Jerusalem Post argued that in any list of countries that might be subjected to Iranian nuclear bullying, if not attack, Israel would not appear in the top slot. An interesting read.
• Kenneth R. Timmerman, FrontPageMagazine.com warned the US administration needs to know who its friends are inside of Iran and more importantly, who they are not.
  

Photos, cartoons and videos.

• Cox & Forkum published a cartoon a while back that was appropriate for today: Bonfire of the Mullahs.
• ET, A View from Iran offered some sanctions on Iran that would actually work. Humor.
• Bob Gorrell published a cartoon: From Russia with love.
• Photos of Ganji at home.
  

And finally, The Quote of the Week.

The Hindu reported that the free and defiant Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji said:

"My views have not changed at all. Jail and pressures never forced me to change my views. Today, I'm more determined to say what I said six years ago."

Sunday's Daily Briefing on Iran

DoctorZin reports, 3.19.2006:

Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji: home at last.

• BBC News reported that Iran's most prominent dissident journalist Akbar Ganji has been freed from jail after five years and is now at home.
• The Hindu reported that Ganji said: "My views have not changed at all. Jail and pressures never forced me to change my views. Today, I'm more determined to say what I said six years ago."
• Seattle PI reported "My husband is so weak physically now. He is just 108 pounds. But I'm happy he is back home," his wife said. "He needs rest, please don't put too many questions to him. He's not going to be so outspoken." "No, I'm more radical than before," Ganji interrupted.
• Photos of Ganji at home.

Reports from the UN Security Council: Brits want US/Iran Talks?

• Deutsche Welle reported that the UN Security Council is inching toward an agreement on a revised Franco-British draft urging Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.
• Fox News reported that Britain favors drawing the United States into talks with Iran.
• Memri reported that an Iranian Ayatollah said "We can negotiate openly, and maintain relations, with America."

Iran preemptively rejects UN Security Council, if...

• IranMania reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucehr Mottaki announced unless Iran's nuclear energy rights are not taken into consideration, they will not accept a United Nations Security Council's decision on Iran.

UN Security Council sanctions could destabilize the regime.

• Iran Press News reported that Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Islamic regime's supreme national security council admitted that should U.S. take any steps in intensifying sanctions, the regimes situation would become more unstable.

US/Iran talks a "stunt?"

• Sunday Times reported that the White House said Iran's offer to hold talks with the United States on Iraq is probably just a ploy to "divert pressure" Tehran has drawn over its nuclear program.

US naval exercise in the Persian Gulf.

• World Tribune reported that the US is planning a major naval exercise in May to test its response to any Iranian naval blockade of the Straits of Hormuz.

Anti-Cartoon Conference Begins.

• Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported on the start of the anti-cartoon conference in Iran.

Update on last week's "Festival of Fire."

• Iran Press News reported that a regime-run newspaper admitted to the destruction of 90 banks and death of 9 regime guards during last week's "Festival of Fire."
• Iran Press News reported that Tehran bloggers claimed the Festival of Fire was celebrated with rallying cries for freedom.
  

Update on the attack inside of Iran.

• Iran Press News published an update on the armed attack on regional authorities in the road between Zabol and Zahedan (Province of Sistan & Baluchestan).

Here are a few other news items you may have missed.

• William F Buckley, The National Review considered the question: What do we intend to do about it if Iran proceeds noiselessly to nuclear armament?
• The Telegraph reported that Iran held secret talks with Shia militant leaders from Iraq and Lebanon only days before the country's nuclear negotiators threatened America with "harm and pain."
• Phyllis Chesler, The Family Security Matters warns of the coming Islamization of America.
• And finally, News Max reported that Rep. Curt Weldon said that Osama bin Laden has died.

Iran to reject UNSC resolution if ignored

IranMania:

Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucehr Mottaki announced unless Iran's nuclear energy rights are not taken into consideration, they will not accept a United Nations Security Council's decision on Iran. READ MORE

In his statement to journalists after meeting with foreign country ambassadors, Mottaki said the continuation of nuclear research is the basic demand of Iran in negotiations, according to zaman.com.

The minister drew attention to the different opinions among Council members considering Iran’s nuclear dossier.

Mottaki, saying Iran's nuclear right should be given due attention in the council’s resolution, noted: "Otherwise, we will not accept it.. If they take into account our right, we will take into account the Security Council's decisions."

Mottaki said there are countries that believe in Iran's nuclear right on the Security Council, and hoped the council members take “logical and conscientious decisions."

Curt Weldon: Bin Laden Is Dead

News Max:

Rep. Curt Weldon, who broke the Able Danger story last year revealing that military intelligence had identified lead hijacker Mohamed Atta as a terrorist threat before the 9/11 attacks, now says that Osama bin Laden has died.

Weldon made the stunning claim during an interview Wednesday with the Philadelphia Inquirer, which reported: "Weldon is making explosive new allegations. He says a high-level source has told him that terrorist leader Osama bin Laden has died in Iran, where he has been in hiding." READ MORE

Weldon cited as his source an Iranian exile code-named Ali, telling the paper: "Ali's told me that Osama bin Laden is dead. He died in Iran."

Weldon said he last spoke to Ali three weeks ago. The Iranian exile was a prominent source for his 2005 book, "Countdown to Terror." The book also contained the first mention of the Able Danger data mining operation.

The Pennsylvania Republican has long alleged that bin Laden has been using Iran for sanctuary.

In June last year, Weldon said in a TV interview: "I'm confident that I know for sure that [bin Laden] has been in and out of Iran ... Two years ago, he was in the southern town of Ladis, 10 kilometers inside the Pakistan border. I also know that earlier this year, he had a meeting with al-Zarqawi in Tehran ...

"If you look at the recent comments coming out of both the CIA and some of our military generals in theater, they're now acknowledging the same thing that I've been saying - that in fact, he's been in and out of Iran.

"[But] no one can prove it exactly until we capture him."

Britain May Push for New Iran Talks

Fox News:

Britain favors drawing the United States into new talks with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program and may float such a plan Monday at a high-level diplomatic meeting outside the U.N. Security Council, a U.N. diplomat said. READ MORE

With Washington now ready to meet with Iran over Iraq, any such plan put forward by a staunch Washington ally may offer the Americans a face-saving way to talk to Tehran about its nuclear program after years of refusing direct contacts on the issue.

The diplomat, who demanded anonymity in exchange for divulging the confidential strategy, said Saturday that the British proposal would have the five permanent U.N. Security Council members sit at the same table with the Iranians, along with Germany.

The British plan to make the proposal at a meeting of senior government officials from France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China and the United States, the diplomat told The Associated Press.

They would offer Tehran a new but unspecified package of incentives in exchange for a negotiated settlement on Iranian plans for uranium enrichment, the diplomat said.

But talks would only be offered if there was no progress among the five permanent Security Council members in agreeing on a strategy on Iran, and if Tehran remain uncooperative, he said. Any such negotiations would then begin by the early summer, he added.

Similar negotiations between Iran and France, Germany and Britain collapsed in August after Tehran rejected an incentives package offered in return for a permanent end to uranium enrichment, which it voluntarily suspended in 2004 under a deal with the Europeans.

Its subsequent moves to develop full-blown enrichment capabilities led the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board to ask for Security Council involvement earlier this year. Uranium enrichment can create both fuel and the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

The diplomat is well informed about international efforts to pressure Iran to make concessions on a nuclear program. While not discounting it, two other U.N. diplomats who have been following the issue but less directly said they were unaware of such a British plan.

Any formal push by the British of such a plan is significant because they have been among the most stalwart backers of Washington until recently in calling for strong pressure to be brought to bear on Tehran, including the possibility of Security Council sanctions.

If raised by Britain, the plan would put the Americans under some pressure to accept.

It is bound to be supported by Russia and China, which oppose any Security Council action beyond an appeal to Tehran to cooperate with the Vienna-based IAEA probe of its nuclear activities and to re-impose a freeze on uranium enrichment.

Germany too, would be expected to back such negotiations, leaving the Americans and French potentially isolated.

Still, such a British proposal might be welcomed by more moderate U.S. administration officials as a way of engaging Iran directly without losing face.

One of the diplomats suggested that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was prepared to consider such talks while senior Pentagon and U.S. National Security Council officials were opposed.

Russia and China are blocking a U.S.-led push for a firmly worded Security Council statement that would increase pressure on Tehran and are even more strongly opposed to what would be the next logical step — a binding resolution demanding Iran to comply.

A key sticking point for Russia is a proposal asking IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to deliver a progress report in two weeks on Iran's progress toward clearing up suspicions about its nuclear program. Russia and China say two weeks is far too soon and are said to be pushing for ElBaradei to report not to the council but to his own agency.

"Let's just imagine that we adopt it and today we issued that statement — then what happens after two weeks?" Russia's U.N. ambassador Andrey Denisov said Friday.

With talks stalled in the Security Council, moderate U.S. administration officials might be ready to contemplate direct multilateral talks with Tehran along the lines of the six-nation talks with North Korea designed to get it to give up its nuclear arms aspirations.

The concept of U.S. involvement in such talks has suddenly become less unthinkable with a decision by the U.S. administration earlier this week to talk to Iranian officials about Iraq after a nearly three-decade break in diplomatic ties between the two countries. U.S. officials have emphasized those talks would not touch on the nuclear issue.

Russia and China, which are allies of Iran, have said in the past that tough council action could spark an Iranian withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Anti-cartoon conference opens in Iran

Deutsche Presse-Agentur:

A two-day conference titled 'Constructive Religious Dialogue - Framework for World Order' was opened Saturday in Isfahan, central Iran.

The conference, attended by more than 200 religious scholars from almost 40 countries, including Iran, was organized to reach an international condemnation on the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed deemed by Muslims worldwide as insulting.

'The main aim of the conference is to approve the necessity of an internationally acknowledged convention for respecting all religions and their prophets and sanctities,' conference chairman Mahmoud Mohammedi-Araqi said.

The cleric said that the attendance of Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian scholars in the conference proved that not only Muslims were insulted by the cartoons but also the followers of other religions. READ MORE

'Avoiding further insults against religions and prophets will not only help a better understanding between different religions but also secure global peace,' said Mohammedi-Araqi, who is also head of the Organization for Islamic Culture and Communication.

The cartoons, initially published in January by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and carried last month by several Western newspapers, led to fury and violent demonstrations in several Islamic countries, including Iran.

Iran accused the United States and Israel of having initiated the cartoon issue to sow the seeds of discord between Muslims and Christians

'Denmark was intentionally chosen as there is a cross on the Danish national flag. This was a pre-planned conspiracy for starting a crusade and creating a conflict between Muslims and Christians,' Mohammedi-Araqi told IRNA state news agency.

Another issue to be raised in the conference was limits to the freedom of the press and expression in the West and why the same freedom was not respected when it came to the issue of the Holocaust.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caused an international uproar after he called for the eradication of Israel from the Islamic world, the relocation of the Jewish state to another part of the world and when he doubted the real extent of the Holocaust.

'If some believe that Jews were burnt to death, then we have to look for those who allegedly did it,' Mohammedi-Araqi said in the conference.

'It was the West which created anti-Semitism, just like the anti- Islamism trend right now (in the West),' the cleric said.

Iranian Ayatollah: We Can Negotiate Openly, and Maintain Relations, With America

Memri:

In an interview for the reformist Iranian online daily Rooz (www.roozonline.com ), Hossein Mousavi-Tabrizi, secretary of the Qom Seminaries Association of Researchers and Instructors, criticized the nuclear and economic policies of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ayatollah Mousavi-Tabrizi called for Iran to talk, conduct open negotiations, and renew relations with the U.S. READ MORE

The following are the highlights of his statements. [1]

"The Way We're Going, We're Causing a World Consensus Against Us"

Rooz: "What do you think will be Iran's most important problems in the new year?" [2]

Ayatollah Tabrizi: "The most important problem will be the nuclear energy issue. We ask God for our senior officials to act so that this problem will be solved at the lowest possible cost, and so that there will be no additional problems for the people...

"The second problem that seems very important is Iran's economic problems. In my opinion, planning must be such that no inflation or economic stagnation problem is created in the country..."

Rooz: "Does the political problem, which is the nuclear energy [issue], affect the economic problem?"

Ayatollah Tabrizi: "Certainly, the influence is great. But in light of the planning that was done, I feel that the budget was prepared in such a way that it will cause inflation and a rise in prices."

Rooz: "Is there a way to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully?"

Ayatollah Tabrizi: "In my opinion, there was and is a solution. But right now the situation is more difficult. These problems could have been solved in a better way. One of the best ways is for us to reduce the political tension in the world. We cannot solve our problem by creating additional tension; the way we're going, we are causing the creation of a world consensus against us.

"The most important task of the previous government [and the] previous Supreme National Security Council [as headed by Hassan Rohani] was to prevent the creation of a consensus against us, and they succeeded at this. But, most unfortunately, today America is advancing in the direction of creating a consensus against us..."

"The [Iranian] People Have Not Sworn to Cooperate [With the Regime] Forever"

Rooz: "Is it appropriate for us to talk with America too, under the present conditions?"

Ayatollah Tabrizi: "Yes, indeed. What is the problem? Negotiations do not mean dependence. Are the other countries that are negotiating with America dependent upon it? First, negotiations do not mean relations. Second, relations do not mean dependence. Right now, we maintain that Syria is not dependent upon America, but at the same time, the two countries are conducting negotiations and contacts, and maintaining ambassadors and embassies. We too can conduct negotiations, even open [negotiations], and also have contacts [with the U.S.] - as happened many times [between the U.S. and Iran] in the matter of Afghanistan and Iraq. There was a need for them to sit and talk because there were issues that required discussion. [The countries] can talk now, too."

Rooz: "What does Iran stand to gain in conducting negotiations with America under the present conditions?"

Ayatollah Tabrizi: "I don't know what the gain is, but I know that wherever they would have an effect, negotiations must be conducted with all the countries."

Rooz: "What do you think will be the reaction of the [Iranian] people, in light of the problems that they face, primarily in the economic sphere?"

Ayatollah Tabrizi: "If the people see honesty and integrity on the part of those in charge [of the regime], and know that they are interested in their welfare, and that the enemy is the one who is creating the problems, they will bear the burden. But if, heaven forbid, the people feel that the senior officials are not honest and have no integrity, lied to them, or did not show a serious effort to solve the problems, of course problems will then be created. After all, the people have not sworn an oath to cooperate forever."

[1] http://www.roozonline.com/08interview/014666.shtml

[2] The Persian New Year begins March 21.

Iran's secret talks with Iraqi militants spark fears of proxy war

Harry de Quetteville, The Telegraph:

Iran held secret talks with Shia militant leaders from Iraq and Lebanon only days before the country's nuclear negotiators threatened America with "harm and pain", independent sources in Teheran have revealed.

The Iraqi firebrand cleric, Moqtadr al-Sadr and the chief of the armed Shia group Hizbollah in Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah, held separate consultations with leading officials in Teheran.

Al-Sadr commands thousands of fighters in Iraq, with the power to destabilise further the country and target British and American troops, while Hizbollah's missile-wielding fighters are stationed on Lebanon's southern border with Israel. The revelation of their visits to Teheran has stoked fears that Iran's Shia clerical rulers are drawing up plans to wage a co-ordinated proxy war, using foreign Shia militias, in the worsening dispute with the West over its nuclear ambitions. READ MORE

In a statement 10 days ago to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran said that America could inflict harm and pain, before adding: "But the United States is also susceptible to harm and pain."

On Friday, Ali Larijani, a leading Iranian nuclear negotiator, said: "Iran has chosen the path of resistance till achieving full access to nuclear energy, because we consider it a legitimate right." Iran insists that its nuclear plans are for peaceful purposes, a claim disputed by the United States, which fears that Teheran is developing nuclear weapons.

The visits of al-Sadr and Nasrallah to the Iranian capital went unmentioned in state-controlled media, but were reported on the Iranian expatriate internet site, roozonline, widely regarded as a reliable source of information from inside the tightly controlled Iranian regime.

While Iraq and Lebanon are home to the most powerful Shia militias, the voice of Iran's ruling clerics also holds sway with Shia minorities and Iranian communities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its capacity to destabilise the Middle East also extends to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

• Iran's most prominent dissident journalist has been freed from jail after six years, much of which was spent in solitary confinement. Akbar Ganji was imprisoned in 2001 for investigating the murder of five dissidents by intelligence agents.

Tehran Bloggers: The Festival of Fire was celebrated with rallying cries for freedom

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

The fires that burnt on this years' Festival of Fire (Chaharshanbeh Souri)* are unforgettable. The flames of this fire set the Tyrants ablaze from head to toe as the youth of our land, Iran, mingled the sounds of their cries for freedom with the celebratory cheers of this national festival and echoed it all around the streets of the nation.

In the streets of different cities all across Iran, from Tehran to Zanjon, Mash'had, Babol, Tabriz...fires blazed in such a way that felt inextinguishable. This crimson and unruly fire represented the force of our opposition and resistance, which sooner or later will explode into the sweeping national wrath of the Iranian youth, confronting the brutal forces that have annexed our Iran and our Persian heritage.

One of the reports announced that in certain areas in Tehran and townships people were saying: "The City has been liberated; the security forces and oppression units have no power or control over the people and youth who have poured into the streets."

Iranians all across Iran have joined hands and without heeding the threats and warnings of brutality by the regime's disciplinary forces enthusiastically and rapturously took to dancing and celebrating; they launched fire crackers in front of the special guards patrol cars blocking them from entering into areas where people were assembled. In many instances the guards and the disciplinary patrol units were faced with angry protests and forceful encounters with people, which scared them into scampering out of the area in fear for their own safety. Iranians then victoriously chanted anti-regime slogans. READ MORE

As an example when one of the regimes disciplinary forces commanders showed up at the Gisha neighborhood of Tehran to arrest 3 youths who were in possession of fire crackers, he was faced with an entire neighborhood that came to the aid of the 3 youngsters; the area residents surrounded the guard and his posse, forcing them all out of Gisha all together.

Young Iranians perceived on that day, that the path to victory and freedom from the clutches of the bloodthirsty Mullahs, either hardliner or the so-called reformists is in continued resistance and forceful protests.

Fellow Iranians and Youths of the Nation,

You lit a flame that burns bright and it will continue to burn until we obtain our ultimate victory

Society of Young Bloggers of Tehran

*This is an ancient Persian celebration, predating Islam by a couple of thousand years; it marks the approaching of the Iranian New Year (which is also pre-Islamic), celebrated on March 21st, the Vernal Equinox. People build small bonfires and jump over the flames to purify and purge themselves of all the negativity and pain of the passing year so that they can begin the New Year with a clean spirit and fresh outlook. During this celebration, it is also customary to light sparklers and throw fireworks. Since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the Mullahs have done everything they could to dissuade the people of Iran from continuing these Persian celebrations, calling them pagan in an attempt to eradicate the Persian heritage from Iran.

Regime-run newspaper admits to the destruction of 90 banks and death of 9 regime guards

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

Despite a flurry of reports from various regime-run news sources that originally stated that Chaharshanbeh Souri celebrants stormed 9 banks on Tuesday night, March 14th, the correct news was exposed by KAYHAN, the mouthpiece newspaper belonging to the Fuehrer Mullah Khamnei. In it's Thursday issue Kayhan quotes, Commander Talaii, the head of Tehran's disciplinary forces in saying that the correct number of banks that were stormed were in fact 90.

This newspaper also reported that 9 of the regimes guards were killed in the confrontation with the people, 122 guards were injured by celebrants of which 85 were treated on the spot by emergency workers. The remaining 37 guards were transfered to hospitals. READ MORE

KAYHAN offensively called the frustrated and blameless celebrants, agitators and thugs and reported on the arrests of 306 in the province of Fars, 36 in Marogheh, 174 in Tehran, 70 in Hamadan, 367 in Semnan; each of the detainees were charged with possessing firecrackers and sparklers.

Intensification of sanctions will upset the Islamic regime's peace of mind

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Islamic regime's supreme national security council admitted that should U.S. take any steps in intensifying sanctions, the regimes situation would become more unstable and went on to make terrorist threats. He said: "I don't think Americans are that simple-minded however, if they do make any attempts at upsetting the regime's peace of mind, we can and will put all our ‘capabilities’ to work too.”

Larijani who showed annoyance at the possibility of talks with the U.S. added: "We don't trust what Americans have to say one bit; whenever Americans need us they create these rumors and say they want to talk and when things are resolved then they don't have anymore to say."

Armed attack on regional authorities in the road between Zabol and Zahedan (Province of Sistan & Baluchestan)

Iran Press News: Translation by Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi.

The regime-run news agency, ILNA, quoted Hossein-Ali Shahriari, the regimes' representative to the Majles (Islamic Parliaments' Assembly) saying: "Scoundrels and anti-revolution groups dressed in the regime's disciplinary forces uniforms gunned down the commander of the town of Zahedan, his deputies and their company on the road between the towns of Zahedan and Zabol. The commander is the only one who is still alive and in a hospital ICU, in critical condition. This past year, 1384* has been a disastrous year, security-wise for the Province of Sistan & Baluchestan; many of the security and disciplinary forces were assassinated by these types of evildoers." READ MORE

The Sunni group JONDOLLAH MOVEMENT, commanded by Abdol-Malek Rigi has claimed responsibility for the attack and has specified: "Two provincial administrators from Zahedan survived the attack. Seven of the regimes official cars were burnt and 7 people, 2 of whom were high-ranking revolutionary guards, a disciplinary guard and the deputy of the Islamic regime were captured alive. These operations are for avenging the brutal murder of 3 young Sunni men from the Noti'eh Zehi clan of the Sheh-Bakhsh Tribe and who were innocently slaughtered by the regime. Other than that 5 of our compatriots who are presently in prison must be freed within the next few days, otherwise we will kill those who we have in custody."

Within February and March, Jondollah Movement took 8 soldiers and one Sergeant hostage from the Jalegh border patrol (border of Pakistan & Afghanistan). Rigi and the members of the Jondollah were then able to disarm the entire command post. The soldiers who were taken hostage then lead the members of Jondollah to a large depot which contained 2 RPG's, one Doshika with a thousand bullets, 8 Kalashnikov with 4 magazines, one colt .45 with a few rounds, one complete walkie talkie unit, one 60 mortar-shell launcher with 3 rounds, several boxes of tracing bullets, 3 boxes of military bullets and 2 night goggle. Members of Jondollah seized the weapons and arms however the commander of the border patrol was killed.

*The Iranian calendar (also known as the Jalaali Calendar) is a solar calendar currently used in Iran and Afghanistan. It is observation-based, rather than rule-based, beginning each year on the vernal equinox as precisely determined by astronomical observations from Tehran. The Iranian calendar was legally adopted by the Persian Parliament on March 31st, 1925, specifying the adaptation of the calendar from its Zoroastrian origins to the numbering of the year which is representative of the year of Mohammad’s migration from Mecca to Media in 622 CE; the Zoroastrian origins of this is a celebration of the first day of spring, that the year is the “true solar” year “as it has been”, and specifying the month names and the number of days in each month. ON March 21st the year 1384 will officially end and 1385 will begin.

The Coming Islamization of America

Phyllis Chesler, The Family Security Matters:

As Americans, we have a long and legendary history of welcoming and assimilating immigrants. This includes granting political asylum to those in flight from political persecution. But, as Americans we must also ensure that what has gone wrong in Europe/Eurabia does not happen here. Thus, at this moment in history, we cannot allow a large influx of Arab and Muslim immigrants who have no intention of assimilating into a western, modern, and democratic American way of life. Please note that I am saying a "large" influx of immigrants who do not wish to "assimilate." I am not talking about Arabs and Muslims who not only want to assimilate but who are actively in flight from repressive Islamist regimes. How we might do this is the subject of another piece.

Here, I want to focus on those things that specifically endanger America in the absence of a massive influx of Arab and Muslim immigrants bent on jihad. I am talking about the ways in which a small but organized number of Muslim-Americans and Muslim immigrants, aided by their many Christian- and Jewish-American supporters, are currently seeking to begin the Islamization of America. READ MORE

According to the scholar Bat Ye'or and the journalist Oriana Fallaci, Europe became "Eurabia" due to a massive influx of hostile Muslim immigrants with a high birth rate whose passage to Europe was aggressively funded both by Arab oil money and by European doctrines of "multi-cultural tolerance."

A similar, and similarly dangerous, multi-cultural tolerance also exists in America - but so far, mainly among only our intellectual elite and our liberal and progressive media. Thankfully, respect for barbarism (equal rights for cannibals), does not yet exist among most American civilians. However, our concept of "religious tolerance," academic freedom, and free speech are now being used to promote and protect hate speech against America and Israel and against the Judeo-Christian tradition. Let me give some recent examples.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is fighting to overthrow the American state department decision not to admit Tariq Ramadan. Please note: Ramadan's grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood and his father joined the family business. (The Brotherhood is a staunch advocate of jihad against the west and lethal Jew-haters). Ramadan is ALSO a suave apologist for Islamic religious and gender apartheid and is, arguably, pro-jihad. He is, no doubt, a "moderate" compared to al-Qaeda's Bin Laden and Iran's Amadinejad. But, Ramadan may outdistance such terrorist counterparts in terms of his far more sophisticated disinformation capability. Nevertheless, the ACLU sees his right to teach and preach as a First Amendment issue. Perhaps they have a point. My questions: Are we obligated to extend First Amendment rights to our enemies when we are at war? Even if doing so endangers us?

And further: Why did PEN - a distinguished Association of Writers of which I am a proud member - feel obliged to honor or to "invite" Ramadan to their festive annual conference which will take place at the end of April of 2006? Would they extend a similar honor to Hitler? Would they do so simply because the American administration had banned the sale of his book or refused to allow Hitler to preach here? According to Iranian dissident, Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, PEN was going to honor both Ramadan and Magdi Allam, the Egyptian-born non-practicing Muslim deputy editor of Italy's premier newspaper, Corriere della Sera, but Allam refused to appear together with Ramadan. When I called the PEN office they confirmed that Ramadan was still "invited" but was no longer being given an award. Why does an American organization dedicated to both free and artful speech feel that "even-handedness" obliges them to honor a Muslim anti-Islamist and a Muslim Islamist apologist at the same event? Whose favor do they curry, whose censure do they fear? That of western politically correct intellectuals or that of Islamists? Is there an operative difference when it comes to pro-Islamist free speech?

More recently, the former head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Norman Seigel, followed by the Mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg, defended the right of the New York City's top Muslim prison imam to rage against America, against Jews, and against Zionists. At a conference of Muslim students, Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil claimed that Muslims were being "tortured" in city jails; that "the greatest terrorists in the world occupy the White House;" and that we should not allow "the Zionists of the media to dictate what Islam is to us." The imam was suspended with pay for two weeks but not fired. Perhaps he DOES have the right to say anything he pleases as a citizen; perhaps his loss of this right might also endanger us all. My question: But what if he is indoctrinating a large population of NYC criminals? Conversion to Islam, especially among African-American men in jail is growing, both here and among North- and Carribean-African men in Europe. Can we consider them truly "rehabilitated" if they hold such views when they are released?

Further, what does it mean that in 2005 Duke University and in 2006 Georgetown University defended the right of the Palestine Solidarity Movement to hold their annual conference at their universities? Both institutions claimed that even if the hate speech against Jews, Israel, and America was false and inflammatory that it was still protected by the First Amendment and by academic freedom. Let's assume they are right. My question: At what point can we understand that such hateful teaching and preaching has the power to inflame someone like the Iranian student, Mohammed Reza Taheriazar who just drove his rented SUV into a crowd of fellow students at the university of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, injuring nine people? According to Daniel Pipes, this quiet and seemingly assimilated terrorist said that he wanted to "punish the American government for their actions around the world" and that he "wanted to avenge the death of Muslims around the world."

Such ideas are rampant in the Islamic media worldwide. Just as the 2000 intifada against Israel has gone global, so too has the hate speech against America, Israel, and the West gone global and become technologically magnified. The anti-American and anti-Zionist mosque sermons which have historically taken place locally every Friday have now also gone global and are available, via satellite, throughout the world, including in Europe.

Not to worry. The Qatar-based network, al-Jazeera, (yes, the very same network to which bin Laden and al-Zaraquawi send the videos of their beheadings), wants to open an office in Washington, D.C. to "spin" the news in English for us. Luckily, like the Dubai Port deal, it has encountered some American resistance. There is no guarantee that such resistance will ultimately prevail.

But here's what really worries me. The same First Amendment, free speech, and academic rights that seem to work so well for Islamists, do not seem to protect our right to criticize Islamic terrorism or Islamic religious and gender apartheid. Thus, by and large, the First Amendment absolutists of the American media did not choose to reprint the Danish cartoons in solidarity with the Danish cartoonists. In fact, only one brave young editor, Harry Seigel, of the New York Press walked off the job when his boss refused to allow him to do so.

And, the bookshop so well known for stocking books by dissidents, (I am talking about San Francisco's City Lights Bookshop), absolutely refuses to stock or sell Oriana Fallaci's work. This is quite shameful.

And, those of us who describe Islam/Islamism accurately are often slandered as "racists" and as "Islamophobic" and silenced by lawsuit and by fear of lawsuit. Members of Cincinnati's Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) managed to shut down a production of a play by Glyn O'Malley about the first female suicide bomber. A group of Muslim students at De Paul University managed to get Professor Thomas Ciesielka fired or permanently "suspended" because, off-duty, (just like the NYC prison imam above), he tried to tell the truth about the Israel-Palestinian matter. Muslim students, perhaps shocked that anyone would dare disagree with their anti-Israel views, reported him as a "racist." Ciesielka's pro-American and pro-Israel free speech is, apparently, not as protected as is that of another De Paul University professor, Norman Finkelstein, who is a well known Holocaust denier and Israel-demonizer. Finkelstein has certainly not been suspended for his false and inflammatory views; in fact, he is up for tenure. Finkelstein has also attacked Allan Dershowitz in an obsessive-compulsive way - not only in print, but in person, to cheering university crowds all across the country.

In Europe, lawsuits have been launched against those who tell the truth about Islam. A series of such lawsuits has kept Fallaci in exile from her native land, Italy, and has made it dangerous for her to visit Switzerland. For similar reasons, Israeli-American author, Rachel Ehrenfeld, cannot visit England where a Saudi billionaire has won a default judgment against her. Ehrenfeld's alleged crime? She told the truth about this particular Saudi's funding of terror - and she has counter-sued him here, under her First Amendment right to do so. Interestingly, while many major newspapers and booksellers, including Amazon, have written amicus briefs on her behalf, no one but Ehrenfeld is funding the actual lawsuit in defense of our collective right to tell the truth about the Islamic funding of terrorism against us.

Finally, the same western intellectuals who insist on our right to mock both Judaism and Christianity are often the first to charge "Islamophobia" and "racism" when Islam is presented accurately and criticized, not to mention presented in a series of rather innocuous cartoons. (Please realize that the three offensive cartoons were slipped in by Muslims and that the riots against the cartoons were carefully orchestrated months later.)

Some conclusions.

We have to re-evaluate the meaning of free speech both in terms of hate speech and in terms of war-time realities. This is hard, not easy to do but it must be done - and quickly - by the best lawyers and legislators in our land.

We must begin to insist that Muslims allow the same free speech and religious practices to religious minorities in their countries that they wish us to extend to them in the West. This means that if Muslims want religious freedoms in the West, they have to extend such freedoms to Jews, Christians, and to other religious minorities in Muslim countries. Although it is rather late in the day to do so. The Middle East is already entirely judenrein, free of Jews, except in Israel. I doubt whether any of the 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab Muslim countries, or their descendants, will want to return. But Christians have long been--and still are--persecuted, often severely, under Muslim rule. Thus, America might begin to peg every trade or peace treaty with a Muslim country or business to an agreement about religious tolerance and freedom.

We should not allow a falsely positive or superficial picture of Islam to be taught in public schools (and inserted into textbooks) nor should we teach a balanced view of Islam as long as Islamic schools, both here and abroad, refuse to teach anything true about Judeo-Christian culture.

We must find some legally and politically sound ways to slow down or to eliminate entirely the growth industry of Islamic-jihadic hate speech in America. Islamists do not hesitate to both falsify, exaggerate, and censor our culture e.g. the Danish cartoon incident. We cannot allow our traditions of freedom and tolerance to be taken over by intolerant forces in the service of repression or terrorism.

Finally, we endanger countless Muslim women and girls and freedom-loving Muslim men as well, when we extend religious freedom to Muslims who believe it is their religious right to subjugate, torment, mutilate, and even murder women and dissidents.

Islamists have been using our strengths against us, ju-jitsu style. We insist that we are proud to tolerate the intolerant. We can no longer afford to do so. We must stand up to intolerance and hate speech, just as we must stand up to jihad. With all our hearts, and with all our might.

FSM Contributing Editor Dr. Phyllis Chesler is the well known author of classic works, including the bestseller Women and Madness (1972) and The New Anti-Semitism (2003). She has just published The Death of Feminism: What’s Next in the Struggle for Women’s Freedom (Palgrave Macmillan), as well as an updated and revised edition of Women and Madness. She is an Emerita Professor of psychology and women's studies, the co-founder of the Association for Women in Psychology (1969) and the National Women's Health Network (1974). She is currently on the Board of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East and lives in New York City. Her website is www.phyllis-chesler.com.