| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iran |
| A clericâs call to arms - to liberate Iran |
| 2003-10-09 |
| Grandson of the ayatollah advocates U.S. invasion of Iran by Christopher Hitchens EFL and Fair Use Oct 6 â I have no respect for the hereditary principle and neither does Shiite Islam, which considers earthly kingship to be profane. But no one can be completely uninterested in heredity per se, and my first thought, on meeting Hossein Khomeini, was that he has his grandfatherâs eyebrows. Still, our conversation quickly banished the notion that this 45-year-old cleric is the least bit interested in running for his grandpaâs job. Refreshing concept, no? He is a relatively junior cleric â a sayeed â but he wears the turban and robe with some aplomb and was until recently a resident of Qum, the holy city of the Iranian Shiites and once the Vatican, so to speak, of the Khomeini theocracy. As soon as it became feasible, however, he moved to Baghdad (where he would have been executed on sight until a few months ago) and is now hoping to establish himself in Karbala, one of the two holy Shiite cities in southern Iraq. He refers as a matter of course to the work of the coalition forces in Iraq as a âliberation.â He would prefer, he says, to live in Tehran, but he cannot consider doing so until there has been âliberationâ in Iran also. More... Though not written as an interview (damn!) it is revealing and important - if accurately reported. Iâm sure there will be more very soon either confirming or denying this piece, so watch for follow-ups. BTW, Hitchens (now based at Vanity Fair) is the bane of the NaziMedia crowd since he was once a beloved Lefty Loonie, but his stance on Saddam and Iraq caused great consternation at Moonbat Central - and turned them against him, to put it mildly. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #6 Bomb-a-rama, I agree with Steve. There are already quite a few dead Shiite clerics in Iraq that Sadaam didn't whack. I would surround myself with well-paid family members and stay away from toll booths. |
| Posted by: Superhose 2003-10-9 12:36:22 PM |
| #5 "Saddam doesn't run the show anymore, and his Baathist sympathizers aren't going to be marching unopposed into Karbala to kill someone they don't like." It's the Shiite thugs controlled from Tehran that he has to worry about. If I was them, I'd wack him and frame the Sunnis. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-10-9 12:08:30 PM |
| #4 He must have excellent security. I didn't think he'ld last a week. Saddam doesn't run the show anymore, and his Baathist sympathizers aren't going to be marching unopposed into Karbala to kill someone they don't like. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-10-9 11:42:55 AM |
| #3 He must have excellent security. I didn't think he'ld last a week. |
| Posted by: Superhose 2003-10-9 9:23:33 AM |
| #2 I'd say it was accurately reported. I linked a couple of similar articles about him back in August. He's very much on our side and I sincerely hope he stays alive. Note: the first link is to my blog, where I have quotes, since the article is no longer available. The second is an NYT story requiring registration. |
| Posted by: Kathy K 2003-10-9 8:26:58 AM |
| #1 NOTE: I don't know why, but in verifying a good posting here on Rantburg, I can't get the MSNBC link to serve the page - although I had it open just a few minutes ago in order to create the post. No matter, the piece was considered important enough for it to be echoed on Frontpage.mag - here's the link to their repost of the piece: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10191 Apologies for any confusion! Hell, I'm confused by the MSNBC page-load failure! |
| Posted by: .com 2003-10-9 3:13:31 AM |