Bharat Rakshak

abhischekcc wrote:1. How many parsees are left in India.. Enough for this project
2. How many of them would want to go back to Iran!? Depends on how they perceive this idea

abhischekcc wrote:RajeshA ji,

I am not a fan of secularism, it is too easily penetrated by westernisation, which leads to deculturization, loss of identity, and eventual recolonization.

Iran's adherence to radical Islam has a strong element of defiance built in. IOW, the society becomes more radical in the face of external threat. However, if Iran is allowed to open up properly, they would be more inclined not to take extreme positions in everything - from Israel to the bedroom. Helping them open up would enhance the security environment for everybody in the region, except USA. Even KSA should welcome a less radical Iran.

ramana wrote:Rule 101 : Never shoot the messenger
Rule 102 : Every thing is data
Rule 103: Never forget rule 101.

Nation State:
The nation-state is a state that self-identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a country as a sovereign territorial unit.

[1] The state is a political and geopolitical entity;
[2]the nation is a cultural and/or ethnic entity.

The term "nation-state" implies that the two geographically coincide, and this distinguishes the nation-state from the other types of state, which historically preceded it.

RajeshA wrote:Is there some inflexion point when the Persians get fed up of Islam in whatever form and turn away from it back to the roots?

Isn't the GCC+USA+TSP taking a chance on that?

A regime collapse in Iran, brought about by Sunni attacks, would simply mean that Persian nationalists would have a strong argument against Islamic brotherhood, and the Revolutionary Guards remnants would have to concur, tipping the country away from Islam altogether!

For India a rather interesting development, cutting off the Islamic crescent, allowing an Indic consolidation to the East of it!

Also a possibility I alluded to in the ebook!

The name "Iran" is a cognate of "Aryan", and roughly means "land of the Aryans"

By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - With a broad Sunni Muslim bloc of countries lining up against an emerging Shi'ite crescent in the Middle East, Sunni-majority and nuclear-armed Pakistan could play an important - albeit somewhat reluctant - role.

A step in this direction is Pakistan's decision to keep two army divisions on standby for deployment to Saudi Arabia in the event of trouble there. This followed a visit by Saudi Prince and secretary general of the National Security Council Prince Bandar Bin Sultan to Pakistan.

Earlier, Pakistan's Fauji Foundation, an armed forces entity, organized the recruitment of over 1,000 ex-army personnel for service in Bahrain's National Guard. The small Persian Gulf state, which is headquarters to the United States 5th Fleet, is suppressing protests with the help of Saudi invasion forces. Bahrain's ruling elite is Sunni, although about 70% of the population is Shi'ite.

The advertisement for Pakistanis to join Bahrain's National Guard was published about three weeks ago in a mass-circulation Urdu-language newspaper. Since then, the process of recruitment has continued unabated.

According to investigations by Asia Times Online, the recruits have been promised 100,000 Pakistani rupees (US$1,174) a month, beside other perks including free medical and accommodation. People with names that have a traditional Shi'ite ring - such as Syed, Abbas, Ali and Hussain - are being overlooked.

Iranian media have broadcast stories predicting a strong Pakistani role in the Gulf region; this resulted in Iranian-sponsored agitators in Bahrain killing several Pakistani workers for "collaborating with the Sunni rulers of Bahrain".

A calibrated response

[b]A senior Pakistani politician and a former member of the senate who is known for his closeness to the military establishment [/b]told Asia Times Online on the condition of anonymity that immediately after the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings earlier this year, Pakistan carefully positioned itself both domestically and at the diplomatic level to act as a "frontline state" for Sunni Islam.

In another sense, Pakistan has been a frontline state in the "war on terror" ever since the invasion of Afghanistan and the ouster of the Taliban in 2001 - an uneasy role at the best of times.

In backroom moves, the military briefed rightwing political parties - including the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam, the Pakistan Muslim League Q, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf and the Jamaatut Dawa - on what is believed will be a showdown within the Muslim world.

Exactly at this time, Pakistan's powerful foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, from the spiritual Qureshi family of Multan - the all-season favorite of the Pakistani military establishment whose changing political allegiances have always directed the course of Pakistan's political history - suddenly resigned.

He then began a powerful campaign against his own leaders in the ruling Pakistan People's Party. After a long break, Pakistan's military establishment and the old bloc of pro-establishment political parties were on the same page.

This time, though, the aim was not a military takeover but a future positioning for Pakistan.

This development had a trickle-down effect in the insurgent-hit tribal areas, where militants held their fire against the Pakistan army (a partial ceasefire agreement was already in place).


In this whole situation, restive Balochistan province, where a separatist movement festers, remains the only problem if Pakistan becomes involved in the Middle East crisis. The province is adjacent to Iran and has always been amenable to Iranian intervention.

Diplomatic moves

Backchannel talks on Turkey's position are the most important component before Pakistan jumps into the Middle East crisis. Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party had been in favor of the Arab uprisings, but the Libyan crisis has forced Ankara to think again.

Libya is now a haven for militancy in North Africa and the Middle East. Like all Sunni Muslim states, Turkey is dedicated to working for the supremacy of the Sunni orthodoxy that ensures the maintenance of the current regime.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which had been suppressed in Libya, has sprung up as a strong and organized political force and is actively collaborating with the Jamiat al-Muqatala, an armed opposition group that is not shy to show its affiliation with al-Qaeda.

Strengthened with looted weapons of the Libyan armed forces, these Islamists have apparently smuggled a large cache of weapons to Tunisia and Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood and its sympathizers of armed groups have also re-emerged.

Recently, former military intelligence colonel Abdul al-Zamar and a relative, former major Tariq al-Zamar, who were arrested in September 1981 over a failed coup against the regime of president Anwar Sadat, only 10 days before his assassination, were released along with several top leaders of the Jamaat al-Jihad (led by al-Qaeda deputy Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri) after strong popular demand on the streets of Cairo and other cities.

In this quagmire, Iranian-influenced Shi'ite Islam will play a big part. Significantly, it could influence Turkey's Nusayri population (self-proclaimed Shi'ites), who, according to some estimates, make of 18% of the population. Along with Iranian-sponsored Kurdish rebels in Turkey, the Nusayri have always been a potential threat for Turkey. The Turkish army, a flagbearer for Sunni Islam, has built many Sunni mosques in far-flung villages in an attempt to drown out the Nusayris.

Following the Saudi-supported agitation in Syria, the Iranian-sponsored proxy war in the Middle East is likely to gather speed, and first Pakistan and then Turkey are likely to play a proactive role on the side of Saudi Arabia to retain the supremacy of Sunni Islam in the Arab world.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief and author of upcoming book Inside al-Qaeda and the Taliban, beyond 9/11 published by Pluto Press, UK. He can be reached at [email protected]

Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran
President Ahmadinejad Warns Arab Monarchies of 'American Trap'

Has Washington pressured Gulf Arab countries to denounce Iranian interference? According to this news item from state-run Kahyan, Iranian President Ahmadinejad disputes whether the Gulf Arab states are genuinely suspicious of his government, and insists that the U.S. seeks to hijack revolts across the Arab world for its own purposes.

April 4, 2011

Islamic Republic of Iran - Kayhan - Home Page (English)
TEHRAN: On Monday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded that Saudi forces leave Bahrain and said that the United States and its allies have been pressuring Arab states in the Persian Gulf to accuse Tehran of interfering in the region.

On Sunday, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf [PGCC] issued a statement saying it was worried about "Iranian meddling." [see video below] Ahmadinejad said that since the statement was issued under pressure from America and its allies, it "has no legitimate value."


http://worldmeets.us/ http://worldmeets.us/kayhan000050.shtml#ixzz1Igf2Tuob

ramana wrote:During Iran-Iraq war the TSP had a division in KSA. So they are promising two of them now. And can the Turkish fight? When was the last time they got into a farcas in the West Asia?

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 4, 2011, 2:14 PM (GMT+02:00)
Tags: Bahrain Hizballah Iran Iraq Saudi king Abdullah
Saudi tanks in Bahrain

The accord reached between Saudi King Abdullah and the Bahraini monarch Hamas bin Isa Al Khalifa for the oil island's virtual annexation by Riyadh has so incensed Tehran that armed Iranian-Saudi clashes with the potential for all-out warfare may soon become unavoidable, debkafile's Iranian and Gulf sources estimate. Shiite-ruled Iraq would back Tehran in the first Shiite-Sunni collision to be sparked by the wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world - in contrast to the domestic discord raging in Libya and Yemen.

In the third week of March, debkafile reveals, King Hamad agreed to hand over to Riyadh control Bahrain's defense, external, financial and domestic security affairs. The Saudi king's son Prince Mutaib was confirmed by the two monarchs as commander of the Saudi and GCC forces invited to enter the tiny kingdom to put down the Shiite-led uprising, and it was agreed that Saudi Arabia would soon start building a big naval base on the island opposite the Iranian coastline.
The accord between the Saudi and Bahraini monarchs appeared for the first time in DEBKA-Net-Weekly 487 on March 25. It revealed then that King Hamad had allowed his realm to become the de facto 14th province of Saudi Arabia in order to block the Shiite uprising against him and its knock-on impact on Saudi Arabia's two million restive Shiites next door.
Neither Riyadh nor Manama has made the pact public. The Bahraini province of Saudi Arabia will differ from the other 13 in that it will not be governed by a Saudi prince like the others but by a member of the Al Khalifa royal family who will enjoy equal royal privileges with his Saudi peers.
Our sources report that in closed meetings with senior Saudi princes, King Abdullah explained the fundamental importance of this step for the kingdom's national security. He reported that Iran and its Hizballah surrogate were actively stirring up Shiite opposition in Manama as the first step toward fomenting a Shiite uprising against the Saudi throne.

On March 21, Riyadh resolved to expand the terms of reference of the Saudi-Gulf military intervention requested by King Hamad. Instead of just safeguarding the royal palace and strategic facilities against rampaging protesters, our sources report, it was decided to expand the mission to guarding Bahrain's borders against external attack – i.e. Iran or Iraq.
To this end, Saudi troop reinforcements have been pouring into Bahrain from the last week of March, including armored units and a variety of missiles. debkafile's military sources estimate that some 11,000 Saudi and United Arab Emirates boots have hit the ground in Bahrain since then.

Four days later, on March 25, Manama announced that planes taking off from Iraq or Lebanon would not be permitted to land in the kingdom, thereby cutting of the main route used by Iran and Hizballah to bring over intelligence agents and military instructors to aid the Shiite opposition.
The second important military step afoot at present is the transfer of Saudi fleet units from the Gulf of Oman and Red Sea to the military section of Bahrain's port, where the US Fifth Fleet has its headquarters and berths its ships. This is a provisional facility, to serve the Saudis until they finish building a port at Manama for parking their main Persian Gulf naval and marine command center, in response to the expanded facilities on the opposite shore of Iranian Revolutionary Guards' naval and marine raider units.
March 31, the Iranian parliament's security and foreign affairs committee strongly condemned Saudi military steps: "Saudi Arabia knows better than any other country that playing with fire in the sensitive Persian Gulf region is not in their interests," said the statement.

Since then, Iranian media have not stopped denouncing Saudi actions in Bahrain, likening them to Saddam Hussein's 1990 conquest of Kuwait which triggered the first Gulf War against Iraq. Riyadh was even accused of accepting clandestine US and Israeli support.

Then, Saturday, April 2, Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki chipped in by reviling US Middle East policy as discriminating among the popular movements in motion against the different Arab dictatorial regimes: "Whatever decision is made on Libya should be applied to any government that suppresses its people with iron and fire," he said.

Sunday, April 3, the threatening recriminations coming from Tehran and Baghdad prompted the Gulf Cooperation Council to hold a special foreign ministers' meeting. It passed a resolution which "severely condemned Iranian interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain in violation of international pacts."

Language this blunt has never before been heard from GCC leaders. It is attributed by our Gulf sources to Saudi King Abdullah's adamant resolve to challenge Tehran headon on every issue affecting the Gulf region's security, to the point of Saudi military intervention when called for – even at the risk of precipitating an armed clash between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The Islamic Republic finds itself confronted with its first forthright, no-nonsense challenge: If it backs down in the face of Saudi military activism, the Shiite communities across the region will conclude that Iran is both unable and unwilling to stand up for the Shiite-Arab revolt against Sunni regimes – whether in Bahrain, in other Gulf emirates or in Yemen and Lebanon.

Iraqi Prime Minister al Maliki faces the same quandary with regard to Iraqi Shiites who consider Bahraini coreligionists to be an integral part of their tribes and clans.
It is taken for granted by Saudi Arabia, Gulf capitals and Western military and intelligence observers that Tehran has been pushed into a corner from which it cannot afford to pull back from its overarching commitment to sponsor Bahrain's Shiites. The Iranians are therefore expected to send their Bahraini Shiite networks into terrorist action against Saudi military targets very soon. Riyadh is already braced for these assaults - and not just in Bahrain but in other GCC states including Saudi Arabia proper.
They will not go unanswered; hence the dire predictions among seasoned observers that armed hostilities between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia may at some point become unavoidable.

Egypt-Iran: Egypt is ready to re-establish diplomatic ties with Iran after a break of more than 30 years, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby said on 4 April. Elaraby's statement came after a meeting with Iranian official Mugtabi Amani, the first meeting between officials from both countries since the departure of former President Mubarak.


Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi called for developing bilateral cooperation, beginning with having Elaraby visit Tehran or having himself visit Cairo, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said