"Going to Tehran" Review

A very in depth and well written review by Gareth Porter of the Leverett's new book, Going to Tehran. This book looks to be quite important in the field Iranian international relations studies. Perhaps I will soon have the time and effort to translate this into Persian!

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“Going to Tehran” arguably represents the most important work on the subject of U.S.-Iran relations to be published thus far.

Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett tackle not only U.S. policy toward Iran but the broader context of Middle East policy with a systematic analytical perspective informed by personal experience, as well as very extensive documentation.

More importantly, however, their exposé required a degree of courage that may be unparalleled in the writing of former U.S. national security officials about issues on which they worked. They have chosen not just to criticise U.S. policy toward Iran but to analyse that policy as a problem of U.S. hegemony.

Their national security state credentials are impeccable. They both served at different times as senior coordinators dealing with Iran on the National Security Council Staff, and Hillary Mann Leverett was one of the few U.S. officials who have been authorised to negotiate with Iranian officials.

Both wrote memoranda in 2003 urging the George W. Bush administration to take the Iranian “roadmap” proposal for bilateral negotiations seriously but found policymakers either uninterested or powerless to influence the decision. Hillary Mann Leverett even has a connection with the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), having interned with that lobby group as a youth.

After leaving the U.S. government in disagreement with U.S. policy toward Iran, the Leveretts did not follow the normal pattern of settling into the jobs where they would support the broad outlines of the U.S. role in world politics in return for comfortable incomes and continued access to power.

Instead, they have chosen to take a firm stand in opposition to U.S. policy toward Iran, criticising the policy of the Barack Obama administration as far more aggressive than is generally recognised. They went even farther, however, contesting the consensus view in Washington among policy wonks, news media and Iran human rights activists that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election in June 2009 was fraudulent.

The Leveretts’ uncompromising posture toward the policymaking system and those outside the government who support U.S. policy has made them extremely unpopular in Washington foreign policy elite circles. After talking to some of their antagonists, The New Republic even passed on the rumor that the Leveretts had become shills for oil companies and others who wanted to do business with Iran.

The problem for the establishment, however, is that they turned out to be immune to the blandishments that normally keep former officials either safely supportive or quiet on national security issues that call for heated debate.

In “Going to Tehran”, the Leveretts elaborate on the contrarian analysis they have been making on their blog (formerly “The Race for Iran” and now “Going to Tehran”) They take to task those supporting U.S. systematic pressures on Iran for substituting wishful thinking that most Iranians long for secular democracy, and offer a hard analysis of the history of the Iranian revolution.

In an analysis of the roots of the legitimacy of the Islamic regime, they point to evidence that the single most important factor that swept the Khomeini movement into power in 1979 was “the Shah’s indifference to the religious sensibilities of Iranians”. That point, which conflicts with just about everything that has appeared in the mass media on Iran for decades, certainly has far-reaching analytical significance.

The Leveretts’ 56-page review of the evidence regarding the legitimacy of the 2009 election emphasises polls done by U.S.-based Terror Free Tomorrow and World Public Opinon and Canadian-based Globe Scan and 10 surveys by the University of Tehran. All of the polls were consistent with one another and with official election data on both a wide margin of victory by Ahmadinejad and turnout rates.

Sa'adi again

I read this very well written (if at times effusive) description of Wheeler Thackston's translation of Saadi's Golestan. I have not read this translation (in fact I just discovered it!) but Thackston is a literary giant and I am sure he does it justice. I'm excited since this has the Persian and English side by side with notes and vocabulary which will make the notoriously difficult syntax of Saadi much easier to comprehend. Thackston's Introduction to Persian is one of the best out there and has a similarly wonderful index of Persian works with very informative notes. I look forward to providing more detailed notes of this translation if I can get my hands on a copy soon. Here's the description of Thackston's Golestan translation:

Is the Gulistan the most influential book in the Iranian world? In terms of prose, it is the model, which all writers of Persian seek to emulate. In terms of moral, philosophical or practical wisdom, it is endlessly quoted to either illustrate or prove a point. Sir John Malcolm even relates being told that it is the basis of the law of the Persians. It also traveled abroad. Voltaire, Goethe, Arnold, Longfellow, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, and Franklin discovered, read, and took inspiration from the work. Moreover, travelers to Iran have often point out that to understand the mind of the inhabitants, one should read the Gulistan. 

Written some seven and a half centuries ago by Sa di of Shiraz the Gulistan or Rose Garden is a collection of moral stories divided into eight themes: The Conduct of Kings, The Character of Dervishes, The Superiority of Contentment, The Benefits of Silence, Love and Youth, Feebleness and Old Age, The Effects of Education, and The Art of Conversation. In each section stories are told from which the reader learns how to behave in a given situation. Sa di can be moral. Honesty gives God pleasure. I haven t seen anyone get lost on the right road. He may be practical. If you can t stand the sting, don t put your finger into a scorpion s hole. He is philosophical in these lines which are engraved at the entrance of the United Nations: The members of the human race are limbs one to another, for at creation they were of one essence. When one limb is pained by fate, the others cannot rest.

The Gulistan is considered the essence of elegant but simple Persian prose. For 600 years, it was the first book placed in the learner s hand. In Persian-speaking countries today, quotations from the Gulistan appear in every conceivable type of literature and is the source of numerous everyday proverbial statements, much as Shakespeare is in English. 

This is the first complete English translation of the Gulistan in more than a century. Wheeler M. Thackston, Professor of Persian at Harvard University, has faithfully translated Sa di into clear contemporary English. To help the student, the original Persian is presented facing the English translation. A 3,600 word Persian-English and Arabic-English glossary is included to aide with the more difficult meanings. 

The Gulistan is imbued with a practical wisdom of life. Sa di recognizes people for what they are. Every personality type that exists is found in the Rose Garden, the good, the bad, the weak, the strong, the pious, the impious, honest folk, and the most conniving of cheats. Hypocrites abound, foolish kings appear with their wily ministers, wise rulers vie with their malevolent courtiers, boastful young warriors turn tail and run [emphasis added]. The beauty of Sa di s wisdom is that it is timeless. What is expressed is in a setting so close and familiar to the modern experience that it is as relevant today as it was six hundred years ago.

Knowing that you don't know

I'm currently reading about a fascinating movement in the 14th century called the "Sarbedars" who operated in Khorasan (somewhat near modern day Mashhad). They're a fascinating bunch and during their rule a prominent poet by the name of Ibn Yamin emerges, who composes these funny lines (variations of this still abound in modern Persian):

One who knows and knows that he knows... His horse of wisdom will reach the skies.
One who knows, but doesn't know that he knows... He is fast asleep, so you should wake him up!
One who doesn't know, but knows that he doesn't know... His limping mule will eventually get him home.
One who doesn't know and doesn't know that he doesn't know... He will be eternally lost in his hopeless oblivion!

آن کس که بداند و بداند که بداند

اسب خرد از گنبد گردون بجهاند

آن کس که بداند و نداند که بداند

آگاه نمایید که بس خفته نماند

آن کس که نداند و بداند که نداند

لنگان خرک خویش به منزل برساند

آن کس که نداند و نداند که نداند

در جهل مرکب ابدالدهر بماند

Islamic Political Alternative

Excerpt from Richard Bulliet's excellent book, Islam: the view from the edge, written in 1994:

"I maintain that, whether or not they ultimately live by the ideals they espouse, today's Islamic activists have inherited from their historical tradition a claim to authority quite different from that of the familiar Middle Eastern monarchs and dictators, a claim that holds substantial promise of restructuring the political, cultural, and moral atmosphere of the Middle East.

The authority I see them wielding is the ability to answer the questions raised by believers in a fashion that convinces the believers of their correctness.. Nationalistic answers that once seemed heady and progressive, buttressed by a purported superiority of cultural and intellectual values originally imported from the West, now fall flat before the whispered--or shouted--suspicion that they are actually symptoms of the malignancy of cultural Imperialism...

I believe the future of the Muslim world lies with the Islamic political alternative."

Crusades in Muslim Lands

I ran across this really interesting piece of prose regarding the crusades. I thought would be nice to share with readers, it is very moving and beautiful. The excerpt is from the chronicler Ibn al-Athir.

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http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/middleages/topic_3/alathir.htm

It was the discord between the Muslim princes * * * that enabled the Franks to overrun the country. Abu l-Musaffar al Abiwardi >> note 3 composed several poems on this subject, in one of which he says:

We have mingled blood with flowing tears, and there is no room
left for pity.

To shed tears is a man's worst weapon when the swords stir
up the embers of war.
Sons of Islam, behind you are battles in which heads rolled
at your feet.
Dare you slumber in the blessed shade of safety, where life is
soft as an orchard flower?
How can the eye sleep between the lids at a time of disasters
that would waken any sleeper?
While your Syrian brothers can only sleep on the backs of their
chargers or in vultures' bellies!
Must the foreigners feed on our ignominy, while you trail behind
the train of a pleasant life, like men whose world is at peace?
When blood has been spilt, when sweet girls must for shame hide
their lovely faces in their hands!
When the white swords' points are red with blood, and the iron
of the brown lances is stained with gore!
At the sound of sword hammering on lance young children's hair
turns white.
This is war, and the infidel's sword is naked in his hand, ready
to be sheathed in men's necks and skulls.
This is war, and he who lies in the tomb at Medina >> note 4 seems
to raise his voice and cry: "O sons of Hashim!
I see my people slow to raise the lance against the enemy:
I see the Faith resting on feeble pillars.
For fear of death the Muslims are evading the fire of battle,
refusing to believe that death will surely strike them."
Must the Arab champions then suffer with resignation,
while the gallant Persians shut their eyes to their dishonour?

Traffic accidents in Iran

Iran has extremely bad driving practices, as those who have visited the country can attest. Below is some very informative information from a UN organization (UNICEF) which paired up with other organizations in Iran to help spread awareness.

Key points:  Each year, road traffic crashes kill nearly 28,000 people in Iran, and injure or disable 300,000 more.

What can be done to help bring these numbers down? I must admit I'm not an expert, but a list of solutions has been listed by UNICEF. In any case, becoming informed is the first step to take for sure. I know Iranians are good at being engineers, so any comments about what to do practically would be more than appreciated! 


I've re-posted the UNICEF article below, hopefully once we realize the gravity of the situation we can go about helping to combat this problem.

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Traffic accidents on Iran’s roads cause thousands of deaths and injuries every year, and cost the country’s economy billions of dollars. UNICEF, together with Iran’s Ministry of Health, State Welfare Organisation, police forces, and the Municipality of Tehran, has begun an awareness-raising campaign to shed more light on these facts and to contribute to reducing the mortality and injury rates caused by road accidents. Some of the key statistics of which any traffic participant in Iran should be aware are:

Ø The rate of road accidents in Iran is twenty times more than the world’s average.

Ø Globally, road traffics accidents kill 1.2 million people every year and leave 20-50 million people injured and disabled.

Ø In Iran, among all unintentional fatal injuries inflicted on children under five, traffic-related fatalities are the leading cause of death.

Ø Each year, road traffic crashes kill nearly 28,000 people in Iran, and injure or disable 300,000 more.

Ø Every 19 minutes one person dies on Iran’s roads, and every two minutes people will hear that one of their family members has survived a crash but with serious injury and perhaps lifelong disability.

Ø Traffic fatalities cost Iran’s economy six billion US dollar every year, which amounts to more than five per cent of the country’s Gross National Product.

Ø Some 25 per cent of all road fatalities in Iran are those involving motorcycles; over 60 per cent of those occur because the drivers did not wear a helmet and incurred head traumas.

Ø 90% of road traffic deaths in the world occur in low-income and middle-income countries.

Ø By the year 2020, road crashes will rank ahead of cancer and behind only heart disease and depression in terms of life-years lost.

Ø Globally, Road traffic injuries are the second leading cause of death for young people aged 5–25 years.

Ø Road traffic crashes are predictable and can be prevented. Many countries have achieved sharp reductions in the number of crashes and the frequency and severity of traffic-related injuries by addressing key issues. Interventions that have been proven to be effective include those that deal with:

Ø Speeding: Speed is a main factor contributing to road traffic injuries in most countries. Young men in particular are likely to drive at excessive or inappropriate speeds. Reducing the average traffic speed by 1 km/h has been shown to lead to a 4%–5% decrease in fatal crashes.

Ø Seat-belts: Seat-belts have saved more lives than any other road safety intervention in the event of a crash. Young male drivers have been found to use seat-belts less frequently than other groups. Seat-belts can reduce the risk of all injuries by 40%–50%, and of fatal injuries by 40%–60%.

Ø Child restraints: Child restraints, such as infant and child seats and booster seats, have been shown to be highly effective at preventing fatalities among both infants and young children travelling in cars. Child restraints reduce the death rates in car crashes by 71% among infants and by 54% among young children.

Ø Helmets: Wearing a helmet is the single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities resulting from motorcycle, moped and bicycle crashes. Young men are less likely to wear helmets while riding motorcycles. Motorcycle helmets have been shown to reduce the risk and severity of head injury by about 70%.

Ø Road design and infrastructure: Measures to improve road design and infrastructure include: separating different types of traffic; providing safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists; building pavements and recognizable crossing structures for pedestrians; and reducing traffic speeds by constructing speed bumps, rumble strips and roundabouts.

Ø Emergency services: Many road crash victims die before they reach a hospital because of inadequate emergency services, including medical, fire and police services. Improving the emergency services from the crash scene to the health facility and beyond will increase the chances of those involved in road traffic crashes surviving, and avoiding long-lasting disabilities and injuries.

گفتگوی تنهایی - مصاحبه با شهاب حسینی - ویژه رمضان ۱۳۹۱

یک گفت و گوی بسیار زیبای با شهاب حسینی